    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book II)]
    [October 24, 2002]
    [Pages 1876-1883]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 1876]]

    Remarks in Charlotte, North Carolina
    October 24, 2002

        Thank you all for coming. I'm glad to be back in North Carolina, and
    thanks for such a warm welcome. I want to talk about some things that
    are important. I want to talk about the future of this great country.
    We've got some tough tasks ahead of us. No question in my mind, we can
    accomplish anything we set our mind to. We're the greatest nation on the
    face of the Earth.
        I want to talk to you about how to make our country safer, stronger,
    and better. And one way to do so is to send Elizabeth Dole to the United States Senate. There is no question
    in my mind, she is the right person for the job for North Carolina.
        The senior Senator from North Carolina is retiring after a lot of
    good years of service to our country. I admire his service--no finer
    gentleman in the United States Senate. He represented North Carolina
    well. He's a credit to our country. And the right person to follow
    Senator Jesse Helms is soon-to-be Senator
    Elizabeth Dole.
        She married well, and so did I. The truth
    of the matter is, Senator Dole--the male Senator
    Dole--and I married above ourselves. Laura sends
    her best. I just talked to her on the phone. She's on our--she wishes
    she could be here. She's on our ranch in Texas. It's been raining, so
    she needs to sweep the porch, because the President of China is coming tomorrow. [Laughter]
        But she's doing great. She sends her love to
    Elizabeth, her best to all the candidates.
    She sends her best to all the friends of ours in North Carolina. I'm
    really proud of the job she's done on behalf of the American people.
        I want to thank you all for coming, because it gives me a chance to
    thank you for what you have done and for what you're going to do. And
    what I hope you do, and I think you're going to do, is go to your coffee
    shops and your places of worship and your community centers and remind
    people that in America they have a duty to vote, that in this country
    there is a responsibility that comes with being a United States citizen.
    We expect you to vote. We expect you to do your duty.
        And by the way, when you're reminding them to vote, you might make a
    couple of suggestions. [Laughter] One suggestion is Elizabeth
    Dole. When you're getting on the telephone
    and when you're putting up the signs and when you're mailing the
    mailers, the grassroots that makes a difference in an election, make
    sure you do so--if you're living in Robin Hayes's district--to send Robin Hayes back to the United States
    Congress.
        I appreciate Robin. I appreciate talking to
    him. I appreciate his firm stands on national security, and he's kind of
    wearing me out when it comes to jobs in North Carolina. [Laughter] He
    cares deeply about the people in his district and the people of this
    State. He cares deeply about making sure people can find work. And I
    appreciate his deep concern. I appreciate working with him to make sure
    our economy continues to grow.
        With us today as well is Congressman Cass Ballenger. He's another friend. He's another good one you sent up
    to the United States Congress from the State of North Carolina. And I'm
    real proud of Sue Myrick. She's done a
    great job. She's a fine soul. She's got those North Carolina values
    etched in her heart, and she represents you well in the United States
    Congress. I want to wish Carolyn Grant all the
    best, and hope for--the folks in her district realize she is the best
    candidate for the United States Congress.

    [[Page 1877]]

        I'm thankful for the mayor being here.
    Mr. Mayor, thanks for your time. [Applause] You've got a--a couple of
    your relatives showed up, Mayor. [Laughter]
        You've got a lot of great candidates running for your court,
    particularly the supreme court. And I hope, as you're getting out to
    work, you make sure you've got a bench that is strong, a bench where
    people aren't on there to legislate but to interpret the constitution of
    the State of North Carolina.
        And speaking about benches, another reason we need Elizabeth
    Dole in the Senate, besides the fact that
    she's going to do a great job for North Carolina, is I've got to have
    United States Senators who will work with me to make sure our Federal
    judiciary is strong. The record--I'm picking good people to be judges--
    good, solid, honorable people to be the judges on the Federal judiciary,
    people who will strictly interpret the Constitution of the United
    States, not people who will use the bench to write new legislation.
        And the record of this United States Senate is a lousy record. They
    have politicized the process. They have distorted the records of many of
    our good candidates we put forward. They're playing petty politics with
    the candidates that I put up there. We're not getting a hearing fast
    enough. The percentage of judges is the worst in modern history,
    percentage of judges approved, and that's not right.
        Let me tell you about one, Terry Boyle from
    North Carolina, I nominated for the fourth circuit court. I nominated
    him a long while ago. He can't even get a hearing. For the sake of a
    good, sound judiciary, we need to change the United States Senate, and
    you can start by electing Elizabeth Dole to
    the Senate.
        You got a good shot, if you go out and vote and you work hard, to
    capture the legislature. And that's important. So I'm here not only to
    tout the candidacies of some fine people, but I'm here to thank you--
    thank you for getting to--getting ready to get to work. We're coming
    down the stretch. Candidates can't win without you. So do your duty.
    Convince your neighbors to do their duty. And by the way, make sure you
    not only talk to Republicans but talk to some Democrats. Some of these
    Democrats understand the difference between good Government and bad
    Government. They know the difference between a good candidate and a bad
    candidate. They know the difference between plain talk and somebody who
    is going to cloud up the issues. And also find those who don't give a
    hoot about a political party and turn them out to vote. It's the right
    thing for America to do that.
        I appreciate so very much Elizabeth's
    focus on education. I share the same focus. We share the same
    philosophy. It starts with the belief that every child can learn. That's
    an important distinction. It's important to have that ingrained in your
    heart. If you believe every child can learn, it means you're going to
    insist upon high standards and high expectations. It means you're
    willing to challenge what I call the soft bigotry of low expectations.
    If you lower the bar, if you believe certain children can't learn, if
    you believe certain inner-city kids can't possibly learn, if you believe
    children whose parents may not speak English as a first language can't
    learn, then you're willing to have low standards and low expectations.
    And that's not right for America.
        Secondly, Elizabeth and I not only
    believe you ought to set high standards, we believe in local control of
    schools. We believe that you got to trust the local folks. Listen, the
    people who care more about the children of North Carolina are the people
    of North Carolina, not people living in Washington, DC.
        We're spending Federal money on education. As a matter of fact,
    North Carolina will receive $1 billion of Federal monies, and that's
    good. And it's monies targeted to people who need help. But for the
    first time, we're starting to ask the question,

    [[Page 1878]]

    Are we getting a return on our dollars spent?
        See, for the first time the United States Congress has said, ``For
    money spent, we expect every child to learn because we believe every
    child can learn. Therefore, you got to show us whether or not the
    children can read and write and add and subtract.'' And if not--first of
    all, if so, we'll heap praise where it belongs, and that's on your
    teachers and your parents and your principals who are working hard to
    make sure there's a quality education for every child. But if the
    accountability system shows that there are children trapped in schools
    which will not teach and will not change, you better make sure you've
    got public representatives who are willing to challenge the status quo.
    No child should be left behind in America. I look forward to working
    with Elizabeth on education matters, based
    upon the philosophy I just outlined.
        I look forward to working with her to
    make sure medicine works. Listen, medicine has changed; Medicare hasn't.
    Medicine is modern; Medicare is stuck. And yet it's an incredibly
    important program. It's a promise which we have made to our seniors.
    It's a promise that we must keep for the sake of having a stronger
    America and a better America. I look forward to working with Elizabeth
    Dole to make sure that Medicare is modern, just like medicine, and the
    seniors have got a prescription drug plan.
        We share the same view that if somebody is looking for work in
    America and can't find a job, that we need to do everything we can to
    increase jobs in America, that we ought to be thinking about pro-growth
    policies--pro-growth so people can find work, not pro-growth so the
    Federal Government expands; pro-growth so that the person here in North
    Carolina who's looking for work is able to put food on the table. That's
    what we want. And one way to do that is to let people keep more of their
    own money.
        We read from the same textbook. It says, if a person has more money
    in their pocket, he or she is more likely to demand a good or a service.
    And when somebody demands a good or a service in our society, in the
    marketplace, somebody is more likely to produce the good or a service.
    And when somebody produces that good or a service, somebody in North
    Carolina, or elsewhere in America, is more likely to find work.
        The best way to invigorate a sluggish economy, the best way to make
    sure that people are able to find work, is to let people keep more of
    their own money. The tax cuts that Elizabeth Dole supports will provide the people of North Carolina,
    over the next 10 years, $28 billion in income tax and death tax relief,
    $4.5 billion in child credit relief, $1.8 billion in marriage penalty
    relief, billions of dollars over the next 10 years to be in your pocket
    so you can decide what to do with it, so you can help invigorate the
    economy by just doing what you normally do, which is, demand a good or a
    service.
        But the issue is alive and well because there are some in Washington
    that do not want to make the tax relief plan we put in place permanent.
    See, it's temporary. I need a United States Senator to join me--with me
    to make sure that tax relief is permanent. How can you plan if tax
    relief is temporary? How can you run your small business if you're not
    sure what the tax rules are going to be? It doesn't make any sense to
    say, ``On the one hand, we giveth; on the other hand, we taketh away.''
    We need a United States Senate that will make the tax relief permanent.
        I know it makes some of them nervous up there to hear us talking
    about that. But they've got to understand that small business is the
    engine of economic vitality for America. Seventy percent of new jobs are
    created by small businesses. We want the entrepreneurial spirit to
    flourish. We want small businesses to be able to grow to be big
    businesses. And one way you do so is, you let them keep more money in
    their

    [[Page 1879]]

    pocket. That's how you encourage small-business growth. And by cutting
    the individual tax rates, which most small businesses pay because
    they're sole proprietorships or limited partnerships, we are
    invigorating the small-business sector of America.
        I believe this economy is going to be fine, because interest rates
    are low, inflation is low, and productivity is high. It's also going to
    be fine because the entrepreneurial spirit is strong in America. That
    dream is a big dream for people. Today we've got with us David and Helen-Marie Berthold. They started their own business. It's called Ehren-Haus
    Industries. It's a plastics and wire company. They had a dream. They
    wanted to own their own business. They wanted to make employment
    opportunities available in North Carolina. They worked hard to build up
    their own business, and they're pretty darn good about it, by the way.
    David and Marie won the 2001 Entrepreneurial Award from the Charlotte
    Chamber of Commerce. Marie is the National Association of Women Business
    Owners Woman of the Year. They know what they're doing.
        But let me tell you what they're worried about. They're worried
    about overregulation. They see reams of regulations coming out of these
    bureaucracies at the Federal and State level. I look forward to working
    with Elizabeth Dole to make it easier for
    small businesses to prosper, not harder for small businesses to prosper,
    by reducing unnecessary regulations.
        Let me tell you what else they're worried about--and so am I.
    They're worried that they're not going to be able to leave their
    business to their family. If you're a farmer or you're a rancher or
    you're a small-business owner, the death tax is an incredibly punitive
    tax. See, people work all their life to build up their small business,
    like David and Helen-Marie have done. You've got farmers here in North Carolina,
    worked all their life to build up their farms and then want to leave it
    to their child. But the death tax oftentimes prevents people from doing
    that. It means a person's assets are taxed twice. It means the Federal
    Government gets in between the owner of the asset and the person they
    want to leave it to. You need to have a United States Senator who speaks
    plainly on how bad the death tax is to America and make sure that the
    death tax is repealed forever.
        Let me talk about one other issue right quick, about domestic
    policy. And I worry about the cost of health care, and I'm worried about
    the accessibility of health care. And one reason the cost of health care
    is up and one reason there's fewer doctors practicing medicine is
    because there's too many junk and frivolous lawsuits hurting our docs.
    We want people to have access to the courts, but you can't have access
    to the courts when you've got frivolous lawsuits filed all over the
    place. And you've got docs being run out of business.
        I was in Mississippi the other day, and I was talking to a young
    doctor who had moved down to the Delta. He followed his heart. He and
    his wife moved to the Delta from up North because they wanted to help
    people who couldn't help themselves with medicine. The lawsuits, the
    trial lawyers have made it so hard for this guy to practice
    compassionate medicine. He said, ``I've had it. I'm moving back home.''
        Listen, we can have a health care system that's responsive. We need
    a legal system that takes care of people who are injured. But we need a
    law at the Federal level, a medical liability reform law that prevents
    the plaintiff's attorneys of America from driving up health care costs
    and driving good people out of medicine.
        No, there's a lot of work we're going to do together to make sure
    that America is a stronger place, make sure the economy goes forward,
    make sure people get educated. We've also got to make sure America is a
    secure place, safer place. It's the biggest challenge we have right now
    in America, is to protect the homeland.

    [[Page 1880]]

        You've just got to know that there's an enemy out there lurking
    around which hates America. They just do. And they hate us because of
    what we love. We love freedom, is what we love. We love to be able to
    worship an Almighty any way we see fit in America. We value our
    elections, although the candidates may be getting a little tired of it.
    We value open discourse. We value a free press. We value freedom. And so
    long as we love freedom, there's going to be an enemy out there which
    hates what we love. You've just got to understand that.
        We're in a new era. Oceans no longer protect us. After September
    11th, 2001, we learned a harsh lesson here in America--that reality has
    changed. It used to be, when we were coming up or when we were younger,
    that two oceans could protect us. And there would be a conflict
    overseas, and the United States had the luxury of picking and choosing
    whether or not we wanted to participate in the conflict. We had that
    luxury, but it's changed. And America must understand it has changed. No
    longer can we assume oceans will protect us--as a matter of fact, quite
    the contrary. We must assume that the enemy is coming, and we've got to
    do everything we can to protect the homeland.
        That's why I started talking about the issue of Iraq. In the new
    reality, we must view all threats--we must take all threats seriously.
    We must have a cold, hard look at every threat facing America. And the
    man over there in Iraq is a threat. After
    all, he has gassed his own people. He hates what we stand for. He hates
    what America believes in. He has not only gassed his own people; he used
    weapons of mass destruction on his own people. He's used weapons of mass
    destruction on countries in his neighborhood. He has told the world he
    won't have weapons of mass destruction; for 11 years he's lied. Time and
    time and time again, he has lied. Time and time and time again, the
    United Nations has passed resolutions telling him, ``Disarm.'' He's
    totally ignored the resolutions.
        So here is our strategy. Our strategy is to make it clear to the
    United Nations: We want you to be effective. We don't want you to be the
    League of Nations. We want you to be an effective United Nations. It's
    your choice to make. We're sending a clear message to Mr. Saddam
    Hussein: We believe in peace in America. We
    want the world to be peaceful, not only for ourselves but for people in
    your neighborhood. And so you must disarm. You said you would disarm,
    and you must disarm. It's your choice to make.
        We have made the call to the international community and to Mr.
    Saddam Hussein, himself, to disarm. But my
    friends, if the United Nations won't act, if they're feeble in their
    responsibility, and if Saddam Hussein won't disarm, the United States
    will lead a coalition in the name of peace to disarm Saddam Hussein.
        That's our responsibility. That's my responsibility to see as
    clearly as I can see, to anticipate true threats to our homeland and
    deal with them--deal with them in a way that enables me to tell you that
    I'm doing everything I can--or we're doing everything we can to protect
    the people. That's our most important responsibility.
        There is a lot of good people working hard on your behalf, people at
    the Federal level, people at the State level, people at the local level,
    a lot of people. See, we're on alert. We understand the realities. We
    remember, and we're not forgetting what took place. We saw what happened
    in Indonesia. We understand the people we're dealing with. There's no
    therapy, by the way, that can heal these people. These are coldblooded
    killers; that's all they are.
        And so, therefore, we got to do everything we can here at home to
    button up the homeland. That's why I asked the Congress to join me in
    setting up a Department of Homeland Security, a Department that's--whose
    job it is to make sure that number one priority of agencies involved

    [[Page 1881]]

    with the homeland security is just that--is your protection. We need
    people under one agency, I felt, because in order to make sure that that
    becomes the number one priority, that some cultures within agencies need
    to change. And we could effect a cultural change better if there was one
    agency involved with your protection.
        We're making some progress. The House voted a good bill, and the
    Senate is stuck. The Senate hasn't gotten a homeland security bill.
    They're arguing over things. As a matter of fact, they said, ``We'll get
    you one, Mr. President, but you got to pay a price.'' And here's the
    price they wanted me to pay: They want to roll back an authority that
    every President since John F. Kennedy has had, which will allow me to
    suspend some work rules for the sake of national security.
        See, I need to have that capacity, like every President since John
    Kennedy has had, to say that it's in our national interest that certain
    work rules be suspended, not that we're going to suspend collective
    bargaining rights, not that people can't accumulate the way they see
    fit, but that certain rules which may get in the way of our ability to
    protect America need to be suspended.
        I'll give you an example. We thought it was important for customs
    agents to wear radiological detection devices. After all, if you're
    worried about weapons of mass destruction coming into America, you want
    your customs people to have a device that will help detect weapons of
    mass destruction. The union heads said, ``Wait a minute. You can't make
    these people wear that. That's an issue over which we must have
    collective bargaining.'' See, because I had the power to suspend the
    rules, after 4 months' discussion, we got it done.
        But the Senate is stuck. They're more interested in some special
    interests up there, and I'm not going to stand for it. It's not right
    for America. I need to be able to put the right people at the right
    place at the right time to protect America, and Elizabeth Dole will be a strong ally.
        The best way to protect America, however, is to hunt the killers
    down, one at a time, and bring them to justice. And we're making
    progress. But it's a different kind of war. Used to, you could measure
    progress based upon the number of tanks that no--were out of commission
    or number of airplanes you shot down.
        These people we fight are people who hide in caves or lurk around
    the dark corners of parts of the world and send youngsters to their
    suicidal death. See, that's the new kind of army we face, and they're
    tough. They're not as tough as we are, but they're tough. They hide. You
    got to understand when you explain this to your children--it's important
    you do and--or people who are questioning why this is going on, you've
    got explain to them that here in America we value life. Everybody
    counts. Everybody is a precious soul. But they, the enemy, they don't
    value life. They've hijacked a great religion, and they murder. Innocent
    life doesn't matter to them. It just doesn't count. It doesn't--it's
    just not on their radar screen.
        And there's a difference. And therefore, we fight a determined
    enemy. But the only way to deal with them is to keep our coalition
    strong and to hunt them down. You know, I laid out a doctrine--you just
    got to know it still stands. It said, ``Either you're with us; either
    you love freedom and with nations which embrace freedom, or you're with
    the enemy. There's no in-between.'' And the doctrine still stands.
        Sometimes you'll see the progress on your TV screens, and sometimes
    you're not going to see the progress on your TV screens. It's a
    different kind of war. We're cutting off their money when we can find
    it. We're sharing intelligence, and we're hauling them in.
        The other day a guy popped his head up, named bin al-Shibh. [Laughter] He's not a problem anymore.
    [Laughter] He was a significant character because he wanted

    [[Page 1882]]

    to be the 20th hijacker. He was still out there plotting.
        Slowly but surely, this great country, with our friends and allies,
    are hunting them down and bringing them to justice. It doesn't matter
    how long it takes, by the way. Yesterday I signed a defense
    appropriations bill, right there in the Rose Garden. I said two things
    about it. One, anytime we put our troops into harm's way, they deserve
    the best pay, the best training, and the best possible equipment.
        And secondly, that was a message to friend and foe alike: It doesn't
    matter how long it takes. The increase in defense spending, the largest
    since Ronald Reagan, sends a clear message: We're in this deal for the
    long haul. See, we understand freedom. We understand responsibility. I
    don't know what the enemy was thinking when they hit us. I can't
    imagine. They must have thought we were so self-absorbed, so selfish, so
    materialistic that after 2001--September 2001, oh, we might have filed a
    lawsuit or two. They didn't know. They don't understand America. They
    don't understand America like I understand America. When it comes to the
    defense of our freedom, when it comes to our obligations and duty for
    the future for our children, this country will remain strong, and this
    country will remain tough.
        For those of you who have got relatives in the United States
    military, you tell them their Commander in Chief has got all the
    confidence in the world in those good troops. I'm glad they're on my
    side.
        No, we got a lot of work to do, but I want you to know--I firmly
    believe this--that if we stay the course and do our duty, fulfill our
    obligation, we can achieve peace. That's my dream. My dream is not only
    for a peaceful America but to bring peace in parts of the world who have
    quit on peace.
        I believe it's possible that we can achieve peace in the Middle
    East. I have a clear vision on how we can get there--going to have to
    renounce terror. We have to remain true to our principles. We have to
    remember that freedom is God-given--it's not United States-given--that
    freedom is a universal value, not an American value.
        No, out of the evil done to America can come some great good,
    starting with peace in the world. And here at home, we can be a better
    America. You just got to understand there are pockets of despair in this
    country. People hurt--places where people are addicted or lost. People
    wonder whether or not the American experience, the so-called American
    Dream, is meant for them. My attitude is, so long as one of us hurts,
    all of us hurt. But I believe we can eradicate those pockets of despair
    and hopelessness. I believe that--not only by having a good education
    system, good health care, making sure that the welfare system is in
    place that encourages and helps people work--I believe we can accomplish
    that. But we've got to understand the limitations of Government.
        Government can hand out money, but it can't put hope in people's
    hearts. It can't put a sense of purpose in people's lives. The way we
    can change America--one heart, one soul, one conscience at a time--is
    for each of us to understand people hurt and put our arm around them and
    tell them we love them. If you want to change America, love your
    neighbor just like you'd like to be loved yourself.
        No, our vision--Elizabeth's vision and my
    vision--understands the great power of all faiths in our society. We
    understand a universal law of love. And we understand that America can
    change, that there are forces more powerful than addiction; there are
    forces more power than--powerful than hopelessness; there are forces
    more powerful than loneliness.
        My call to our fellow Americans, if you want to join the fight
    against evil, is do some good. Mentor a child, just like your mayor
    does. Mentor a child. You can save Charlotte, North Carolina, one heart,
    one soul, one conscience at a time. Be a Boy Scout leader or a Girl
    Scout leader. Go

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    to your Boys Clubs or Girls Clubs. Feed the hungry. Find housing for
    those who need a home. There's all kinds of ways you can help.
        One person can't do everything. I recognize that. But each of us can
    be that one person doing something to make sure that the enemy which
    hits us understands that they hit the greatest, most powerful, and yet,
    at the same time, most compassionate country on the face of the Earth.
        No, they hit us; they didn't know who they were hitting. Out of the
    evil done to this great country is going to come a more peaceful world.
    And out of the evil done to this great country is going to come a more
    hopeful day.
        I want to thank you for your interest in our political process. I
    urge you to get out the vote. In the meantime, may God bless you all,
    and God bless America.

    Note: The President spoke at 9:35 a.m. at the Charlotte Coliseum. In his
    remarks, he referred to senatorial candidate Elizabeth Dole and her
    husband, former Senator Bob Dole; President Jiang Zemin of China;
    Carolyn Grant, candidate for North Carolina's 13th Congressional
    District; Mayor Patrick McCrory of Charlotte, NC; and President Saddam
    Hussein of Iraq.