    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book I)]
    [March 27, 2002]
    [Pages 517-521]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at a Fundraiser for Senatorial Candidate Saxby
    Chambliss in Atlanta
    March 27, 2002

        Thank you all very much. Saxby, thanks. I am honored that so many
    showed up. I want to thank you for such a warm welcome. I'm here to
    deliver this message: Saxby Chambliss needs to be in the United States
    Senate. And I'm so pleased you agree with me. [Laughter]
        First, I want to thank Julianne. One
    of the things I've learned is that a life in the public arena is a lot
    easier when you've got a great wife. He married above himself, and so
    did I. [Laughter] We both married schoolteachers. And like Saxby is
    proud of Julianne, I'm really proud of Laura. I
    wish she were here tonight. She's in Crawford, Texas. The two dogs and
    the cat--[laughter]--went down to Crawford, because that's where I'm
    headed after this event. I love my job. But even though I've changed
    addresses, my home is still in the heart of Texas.
        I want to thank Saxby's mother for
    being here. She informed me when she came through to get her picture
    taken that she was here, but she was a Democrat. [Laughter] I said that
    didn't bother me one bit. [Laughter] I never would have gotten to be the
    Governor of Texas had not a lot of Democrats voted for me. [Laughter] It
    doesn't matter whether you're Republican or Democrat when it comes to
    doing the right thing for the country and the right thing for our
    democracy. We welcome all people; we welcome anybody.
        And looking at the mother reminds me to remind all the youngsters
    here to listen to your mother. I'm still listening to mine. [Laughter]
    I'm listening to her most of the time--don't tell her I said that.
    [Laughter]
        I want to thank Bo Callaway for being the
    master of ceremonies. I appreciate his long service to the United States
    of America. I want to thank Congressmen Barr and
    Collins, Deal,
    Linder, and Norwood,
    fine, fine members of the congressional delegation from the great State
    of Georgia, members with whom I enjoy working, members who represent
    your State in a proud way. And I appreciate you letting somebody from
    the State of Ohio in--[laughter]--the chairman of the Education
    Committee, John Boehner. Thank you, Mr.
    Chairman.
        I had the privilege of saying hello to one of Georgia's most
    distinguished citizens today, and that's Judge Griffin Bell. I'm so honored the judge is here. You all have
    produced a lot of fine leaders from your State, and Judge Bell is one of
    the finest. And I appreciate the party chairman, Ralph Reed. I appreciate his dedication to grassroots politics.
        And I want to thank the R.B. Wright fifth grade choir. You read more
    than you watch TV. [Laughter] And thanks for coming.
        And I want to thank all those who worked hard to make this a
    successful evening, and I want to thank you all for caring about your
    country and for doing what is right: getting involved in democracy and
    working hard. And when you find a good one like Saxby Chambliss, work
    your heart out, because there is no finer American than Saxby. He loves
    his family. He loves his country. He's a man of enormous experience.
    He's one of these can-do politicians, somebody who goes to Washington
    and tries to figure out how to make things better.
        I value his advice on terrorism. He's sound when it comes to
    counterterrorism. He's been in the Oval Office to give me sound, solid
    advice. And I've listened to it every time he's come in there. I
    appreciate his love for education. He understands this: that if you
    can't read, you can't realize the American Dream. I like to put it this
    way: Reading is the new civil right, and

    [[Page 518]]

    we must have people who understand the profound impact quality education
    can have on the future of this country.
        And I'm glad Boehner is here. I had the
    honor of signing a profound piece of education reform. It said a couple
    of things. One, it says we believe in high standards for everybody, not
    just a few but everybody; that we trust the people of Georgia to run
    your schools more than we trust the people in Washington, DC; that we're
    committed to spending Federal dollars on education, but for every dollar
    spent, we expect there to be results.
        We believe--and I strongly believe--every child can learn. And
    therefore, the system must focus on every child. The name of the bill
    that Saxby worked on and John Boehner worked
    on is ``No Child Shall Be Left Behind.'' And that's the way I feel. And
    that's the way America must be, that the promise of America must be
    extended to every single person. Saxby understands that, and I'm going
    to be proud to have him in the United States Senate working on these
    fundamental issues that will help change America.
        There is no more fundamental issue than to--making sure we have a
    judiciary of people that do not interpret the law from the bench, people
    who do not try to write law from the bench, people who interpret the law
    and not try to write it. And I put up a good man from
    Mississippi the other day. And I
    don't remember the senior Senator from Georgia
    defending this man's honor. And we're going to have more fights when it
    comes to the judiciary. And I'm going to put strict constructionists on
    the bench. And I expect people in the United States Senate, from a great
    State like Georgia, to do what Zell Miller did
    and--stood up and defended the honor and integrity of Judge Pickering.
    And that's what Saxby Chambliss is going to do.
        He also knows something about agriculture. This State will benefit
    by having somebody who knows something about agriculture in the United
    States Senate. Saxby knows what I know: that we're the best producers in
    the world, that Georgia farmers and American farmers are the best. And
    if you're the best, it benefits our farmers to fight to open up markets
    around the world. And that's exactly what I'm going to do. And I want
    his help. You see, it's a confident nation that tears down barriers.
    It's a confident nation that insists that people open up their markets
    to our food products. It's been my policy, and I need people in the
    United States Senate who's willing to back me on that policy. And so do
    the American farmers.
        I'll never forget one time in Chicago when a reporter said, ``Would
    you ever deficit spend?'' And I said, ``Well, only--only if we were at
    war, only if there were a national emergency, or only if there is a
    recession.'' Never did I believe we'd get the trifecta. [Laughter] But
    we're dealing with it.
        And let me talk about this recession. We cut taxes at exactly the
    right time. We understand that if you let people keep their own money,
    they will demand more goods and services. And as they demand more goods
    and services, somebody will produce more goods and services. And when
    you produce more goods and services, you expand the job base.
        Now, some folks evidently don't understand that. They've been
    reading a different textbook than Saxby and I read. You see, they either
    want to delay the tax cut or raise your taxes. We need somebody in
    Washington--a friend of the taxpayer, a vote we can rely on. And let me
    tell you a crucial vote that's going to come up. The tax reform act
    started the end of the death tax. However, we need to make getting rid
    of the death tax permanent in the Tax Code. We don't need anybody up
    there who's going to waver, somebody who's going to try to check in with
    a higher political authority on whether this is the right move or not.
        Getting rid of the death tax forever is important for small-business
    owners. It's

    [[Page 519]]

    important for farmers. It is important for ranchers. The death tax is a
    bad tax. The death tax says that someone is going to have to work all
    their life to build up their assets and then leave most of it not to who
    they choose but to the Federal Government. Saxby Chambliss understands
    that. It's a vote that you can count on in the United States Senate,
    when it comes to tax policy.
        And we're dealing with the other issues. We're dealing with the
    national emergency, and we're dealing with the war. I had the honor of
    going to Georgia Tech today to talk about our homeland defense.
    [Applause] I'm glad they let one graduate in--[applause]--two in.
    [Laughter] I talked about my administration's commitment to protecting
    the homeland, to doing everything we can do to keep American families
    safe. Part of that protection is to make sure that if there is any
    attack, that we can respond quickly, so I talked about a first-
    responders initiative. I had the honor of being with some of the finest
    folks in your State, the firefighters and those who work for the police
    and emergency medical teams, to lay out one of my budget priorities,
    which is a first-responders initiative. We've got $3.5 billion in the
    '03 budget to make sure that if there is an attack, we can respond
    quickly.
        I've also talked to folks about how we're going to strengthen the
    Coast Guard to make sure our ports are more secure. We've got an airline
    security bill to make sure that air traffic is--air travel is as safe as
    it can possibly be.
        I want you to know that our law enforcement is communicating better
    from the Federal to the State to the local level. Anytime we get any
    whiff or hint that somebody may do something in America, we're reacting.
    We're doing everything we can.
        We need better control of our borders. We want to know who's coming
    in and why they're coming in and are they leaving. So we're doing
    everything we can to bolster the homeland security. It's the most
    important job, is to be able to assure Americans we're doing everything
    we can to keep you safe. But the best homeland security, the best way to
    protect Americans for the long run, is to find the killers and bring
    them to justice one by one. And that's exactly what we're going to do.
        I don't know what they were thinking on September the 11th. They
    must have taken a look at America and said, ``All they'll do is sue
    us.'' [Laughter] They were wrong. They were wrong. I said right off the
    bat, ``You're either with us, or you're against us.'' I meant every word
    of what I said.
        I also said that if you harbor a terrorist, if you hide a terrorist,
    if you feed a terrorist, you're just as guilty as the murderers who hit
    New York and Washington, and you will be held accountable. And thanks to
    a mighty coalition led by a fantastic United States military, the
    Taliban found out exactly what I meant.
        I like to assure my fellow citizens that we don't seek revenge; we
    seek justice. And it's important for the young in America to understand
    that when we went into Afghanistan, we went in not as conquerors but as
    liberators. Young girls went to school--many young girls went to school
    for the first time this past weekend, thanks to the United States of
    America.
        I have submitted a budget that significantly increases our defense
    budget. It's the largest increase in 20 years. I did so for two reasons.
    One, anytime that we commit U.S. troops into action, they must have the
    best training, the best equipment, the best pay possible. We owe it to
    those who are willing to sacrifice for freedom.
        I expect the United States Congress to pass the budget I submitted.
    I expect them to get the appropriations bill for defense out early, not
    late. Now is not the year to play games with the defense of the United
    States of America. And Saxby understands that. He knows what I'm talking
    about. I also have asked for a significant increase because we're in
    this for the long

    [[Page 520]]

    haul. We're fighting for freedom. We fight people who are killers,
    coldblooded murderers who hate America. They hate the fact that we
    worship freely in our country. They can't stand the fact that we have
    political discourse. They resent the fact that we're a free society.
    Freedom scares them.
        And when it comes to defending freedom, they will find out that this
    Nation is determined and steadfast. And we will provide the resources
    necessary to chase them down. These are international criminals. They
    will be treated like international criminals. And we will not stop until
    we hunt them all down to make sure our children and grandchildren can
    grow up in a peaceful world.
        And the task is more than one person or more than one terrorist
    organization. There are some nightmare scenarios that we must confront
    if we want to secure the peace and defend our freedoms. One such
    scenario is the fact that a terrorist organization could join up with
    some of the world's worst leaders, who harbor some of the world's worst
    weapons. I referred to some of those world's worst leaders as an ``axis
    of evil.'' I meant exactly what I said. Now, our Nation is deliberate.
    We're steady. We're going to talk with our allies. But we will not let
    the world's worst leaders hold our Nation and our friends and our allies
    hostages with weapons of mass destruction.
        And I believe that the fact that we will remain strong and united as
    a nation, that we will be determined, will yield a world that will be
    more peaceful. It's going to be rough at times, no question about it.
    And we'll call upon our citizens to sacrifice, particularly those who
    wear the uniform. But as a result of a steadfast, absolute determination
    to defend freedom, the world's going to be more peaceful.
        Out of the incredible evil of September the 11th will come some
    lasting good. And nothing compares to peace. We fight for peace, we long
    for peace, but we will not relent. We will not weary until peace is
    secure.
        And out of this terrible evil will come some good at home. And the
    reason why is because the great strength of our country lies in the
    hearts and souls of our citizens. What a fabulous nation we are; what a
    great country America is. You know, the thing that I love about our
    country is the fact that people are willing to help people in need, and
    it doesn't require a government law. You see, people ask me all the
    time, ``What can I do to help in the war against terror?'' You can be
    vigilant, you can be alert, but you can also love a neighbor just like
    you'd like to be loved yourself.
        If you want to do something against evil, do some good. If you want
    to do something against evil, mentor a child who may need to learn to
    read. Walk across the street if there's a shut-in and say to that
    person, ``I care for you.'' Feed the hungry. Go to your church or
    synagogue or mosque and convince a Sunday school class to get a project
    that will help somebody who hurts. Recognize the power of faith in our
    society, when it comes to healing the addiction of alcohol or drugs.
        That's what we can do in America. We can capture a unique spirit in
    this land and stand squarely in the face of those who are evil. And
    that's what America is doing. And that's why it's such a huge honor to
    be the President of the greatest country on the face of the Earth.
        I'm honored you all are here. Thank you for supporting this good
    man. May God bless you all, and may God bless America.

    Note: The President spoke at 6:30 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom at the
    Grand Hyatt Hotel. In his remarks, he referred to Representative
    Chambliss' wife, Julianne, and his mother, Emma B. Chambliss; former
    Representative Bo Callaway of Georgia; Griffin Bell, senior partner,
    King and Spalding; Ralph Reed, chairman, Georgia Republican Party; and
    nominee for U.S. Circuit Judge for the Fifth Circuit Charles W.
    Pickering,

    [[Page 521]]

    Sr., of Mississippi. A tape was not available for verification of the
    content of these remarks.