    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book II)]
    [October 18, 2002]
    [Pages 1832-1839]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri
    October 18, 2002

        Thanks for coming. Thanks for the warm welcome. I'm honored to be
    here at the--on the campus of this fine university. I'm proud to be here
    in southwest Missouri. I love the values of the heartland represented in
    this part of our country, the values of faith, the values of family, the
    love of our country. I appreciate you coming out to say hello. These are
    the values which make Missouri a great State and make our Nation a great
    nation.
        I want to thank you for your friendship. I want to thank you for
    your prayers. I want to thank you for your concern about our political
    process. I appreciate your interest. I appreciate your willingness to
    take a stand. And I am here in the State of Missouri to take a stand:
    The best person running for the United States Senate is Jim
    Talent.
        I need him in the Senate to work with
    him. We've got some big problems facing our country. But there's no
    doubt in my mind that we can achieve anything we put our mind to.
    There's no doubt in my mind that no matter how high the hurdle, the
    United States of America, when we put

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    our mind to something, can cross that hurdle.
        Jim Talent shares my optimism about the
    future of this country because he knows what I know: This country is
    blessed with the finest people on the face of the Earth, and that, by
    trusting the people and calling upon the best of America, we can achieve
    anything--I mean anything--we set our mind to.
        I appreciate Jim Talent's values. He's a
    family man. He's got his priorities straight. He's a man who doesn't
    need a focus group or a poll to tell him what to think. He's more than
    happy to stand on principle. He's more than happy to say, ``This is what
    I believe, and I'm not changing.'' And I appreciate a man who's willing
    to take those values, the Missouri values, and the sense of purpose to
    Washington, DC.
        He's also got a record. See, he's
    already been up there once. He's shown us what he can do. And when he
    was up there, he wasn't afraid to take the lead. He is one of the key
    authors of one of the most important pieces of social legislation in the
    last decade, and that is the welfare reform bill that transformed
    millions of lives in America, because he knows what I know, that dignity
    is found when you find work, that work is the cornerstone of any life
    that has got dignity.
        I appreciate his understanding of small
    business. See, he is an advocate for small business in Washington, DC.
    We need that kind of attitude up there. See, after all, our economy is
    kind of bumping along. It's not as strong as it's going to be. So long
    as we keep working on it, it's going to get better.
        But one of the things we've got to understand is that most new jobs
    in America are created by small businesses. And therefore, we've got to
    have somebody in the United States Senate who understands that and is
    willing to work on an environment that encourages the growth of small
    businesses. Jim Talent's got a record, and
    he's got a good record.
        He also will work to change the tone in
    Washington. Listen, we're proud Republicans, but we've got to serve
    something bigger than political party in these times of stress on our
    country. It's important to put all this aside and focus on what's right
    for the American people. And Jim Talent understands that. I'm proud to
    stand by his side.
        And we share something else in common: We both married above
    ourselves. [Laughter] He married
    Brenda. I married Laura. And by the way, the First Lady, she sends her love and
    her greetings. She's heading down to Texas today, so you drew the short
    straw. [Laughter] She's doing great, though. I want to remind you that
    when I married her, she was a public school librarian. [Applause] Public
    school librarians united for Laura. [Laughter] She didn't care for
    politics when I married her. She didn't particularly care for
    politicians when I married her. [Laughter] Thank goodness she said yes.
        People have got to see why I asked her to
    marry me. She's calm. She's steady. She cares deeply about our children.
    She loves education. It's our top priority. A lot of people are still
    wondering why she said yes. [Laughter] But nevertheless, she's doing
    great. I can't tell you how proud I am of her, and I love her dearly.
        I want to thank the senior Senator from Missouri for being here.
    He's done a fabulous job on behalf of the citizens of Missouri. He is a
    man whose judgment I trust, whose vote I can count on. He's a strong
    ally. He's got the right instincts. He's got a great voting record. And
    that is Senator Kit Bond.
        I appreciate so very much the fact that your Congressman has joined
    us today. Roy Blunt is effective. He's smart. He
    can count votes. I appreciate his support, and I appreciate his
    friendship.
        I appreciate the fact that former Congressman Mel Hancock is here. I want to thank Congressman Hancock for coming.

    [[Page 1834]]

        You've got yourself a hot Senate race--State senate race. This race
    matters. It matters a lot. You've got a good man running, a good, down-
    to-earth fellow who's going to tell you what he thinks. He's going to do
    in office what he said he's going to do. And that's Dan
    Clemens.
        I've got a great Cabinet. I've asked people from all across our
    country to serve our Government in my Cabinet. You trained one of the
    best ones in my Cabinet. Yesterday morning I met with the Attorney
    General. He said, ``You make sure you remind
    my folks at home that I haven't forgot where I came from.'' John
    Ashcroft is doing a great job for America.
        And finally, I appreciate you letting some of my fellow Texans cross
    the State line. They must have not checked these boys' backgrounds
    before they came. [Laughter] I've known the Gatlin Brothers for a long
    time, and I really appreciate the three brothers coming. I'm--
    Larry is my good buddy. He is a fine, fine,
    fine American, and Steve and Rudy are as well. I hope you're enjoying them as much as I've
    enjoyed knowing them. And I'm real proud their here. I want to thank the
    Gatlin boys for coming today.
        Now, I've got some things on my mind that I want to share with you.
    I've got some issues I want to discuss with you. I've got some reasons
    to be here besides just politics. I need somebody to help me deal with
    our economy. Now listen, the foundation for growth is strong. Interest
    rates are low. Inflation is low. We've got the best workers in the
    world. Productivity is high in America. The entrepreneurial spirit is
    strong in this country. The foundations for growth are strong. But so
    long as somebody is looking for work can't find work, I think we have a
    problem. And so therefore, we need to put people in the United States
    Senate who wants to think about--when it comes to the economy--how to
    create jobs.
        The role of Government is not to create wealth. The role of
    Government is to create an environment in which small businesses can
    grow to be big businesses, in which the entrepreneur can flourish, in
    which anybody who's got a dream can work hard and realize that dream.
    Most jobs, as I mentioned, are created by small businesses. For the sake
    of economic vitality, for the sake of job creation, we've got to have
    people in the Senate who understand that when a person has more money in
    his or her pocket, it will serve as a stimulus to job growth.
        You see, here's the page of the textbook which we've read. It says
    that when a person has more money, he or she is likely to demand a good
    or a service. And when you demand a good or service in our economy,
    somebody is likely to produce that good or a service. And when somebody
    produces the good or a service, somebody is more likely to find work.
    For the sake of job creation, for the sake of making sure our people can
    find work, the tax relief came at the absolute right time in American
    history.
        But here's why we're still talking about it. Because of a quirk in
    the rules in the United States Senate, after a 10-year period, the tax
    relief plan we passed goes away, unless the Congress makes it permanent.
    And that's the issue.
        The tax relief plan over the next decade for the people of Missouri,
    if permanent, would mean there is $27 billion in income tax relief and
    death tax relief in your pockets. That's more money for you to have to
    make decisions about. It's your money to begin with, by the way. There's
    $4 billion additional money in your pocket because of the tax relief on
    the child credit. There's a $1.5 billion money in the Missouri people's
    pockets because we're doing something about the marriage penalty. See,
    what we think is that the Tax Code ought to encourage marriage.
        It's like the Senate giveth, and then the Senate taketh away.
    [Laughter] In this case, the Senate giveth, and the Senate taketh

    [[Page 1835]]

    away over $32 billion that would help economic expansion and growth.
    There's no question in my mind that Jim Talent understands what I'm talking about, that in order to make
    sure our economy is strong so people can plan, so the entrepreneurial
    spirit remains strong in America, we need to make the tax cuts
    permanent.
        One of the worst taxes that we have on the books that we're trying
    to get rid of and won't get rid of unless we have a Senator and Senators
    who vote to make it permanent, is the death tax. This death tax hurts
    Missouri farmers. This death tax, it hurts small-business owners. It's a
    bad tax. Don't take my word for it. Let me quote some of citizens in
    your neighborhood.
        There's a guy named Jim Staley. He's a fourth
    generation family farmer in Willard, Missouri. He wants to pass his farm
    on some day to his children. That makes sense. The guy's working the
    land. He's got some kids. He says, ``I want my kids to be able to work
    the land, too. I want the family farm to survive.'' He remembers when
    his daddy died, he had trouble trying to make sure the farm stayed in
    the family and didn't go to the Government. He remembers those times. So
    he's worried about it. Here's what he says: ``It's a shame that
    Americans are taught that if you work hard all your life, you can pass
    it along to your family, and they can work to make it better. But when
    it comes down to it, the Government ends up taking it away.'' That's
    what the death tax does.
         It's a bad tax. It's a bad tax. It's a bad tax because it taxes
    assets twice. It's a bad tax because it prevents somebody who owns
    something from passing the asset on to whoever he or she chooses.
        Fellers Fixtures, right here in Springfield, Missouri, Carl
    Fellers, here's what he thinks. First of all,
    he says he thinks he pays enough taxes already. See, most small
    businesses pay tax at the individual income tax level, because you're a
    sole proprietorship or a limited partnership. When you reduce rates on
    people, you're also reducing rates on small businesses. But he doesn't
    believe that he ought to pay more taxes than he has already when he
    dies. And neither do his children.
        No, we need to make sure, for the sake of economic vitality, for the
    sake of job creation, that you elect you a United States Senator who
    makes sure the tax relief plan is permanent.
        Jim Talent will be a Senator who's
    committed to making sure we have an education system that we're proud
    of. I signed a great piece of education reform. It challenges the soft
    bigotry of low expectations. It holds people to a high standard. It
    says, in return for receiving Federal money--and we cranked up the level
    of Federal money, by the way, for education spending--but in return for
    receiving Federal money, you've got to show us. Just like you say in
    your State motto, ``Show Me'' whether or not the money is being well
    spent. Show me whether or not our children are learning to read and
    write and add and subtract. We ask that question because we want to make
    sure not one single child gets left behind in America.
        Jim Talent knows what I know, that
    medicine has changed, and Medicare hasn't, that medicine is modern, and
    Medicare is stuck in the old ways. We need a Senator up there who can
    work with people in both parties to make sure that we modernize Medicare
    for the sake of our seniors. Modernizing Medicare means that we've got
    to have a prescription drug plan for our seniors.
        One of my most important responsibilities is to put good people on
    the Federal bench. Our definition of good people obviously are people
    who are honest, who know the law, who are there to serve something other
    than themselves, who won't use the bench as a legislator might use the
    bench from which to write new law, but to strictly interpret the
    Constitution of the United States. And the Senate has got a lousy record
    when it comes to my judges.

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        Look at the percentage that they've approved. It's the worst record
    in modern history. It's worse than how the Senate treated President
    Clinton, President Bush 41, President Reagan. They're holding up the
    nominees. And when they put some of my good nominees forward, they're
    not telling the truth about their records. They're distorting their
    records. They're playing shameless politics with the judges I put
    forward. You need to have a United States Senator like Jim
    Talent who will not play shameless politics
    with the judges I've put forward. No, there's a lot of things we can do.
        We're going to work together to make sure America is a strong
    country by having a good economy and making sure we fulfill our promises
    to our children and to our seniors. I know I can work with this
    man.
        I also will be working with the next Congress to protect America. We
    learned a sad lesson on September the 11th, 2001, and that is that we're
    no longer immune from attacks from an enemy which hates us, that oceans
    no longer protect us like we used to think they could. It's changed the
    dynamics. The battlefield is here at home.
        People must understand that there's still an enemy which lurks and
    desires to hurt. They do it because of what we love. They hate what we
    stand for. We love freedom. We love the fact that people can worship an
    almighty God any way he or she chooses. We love every aspect about our
    freedoms. We love our free press, and we love the discourse and--a
    political discourse in a free society, and we hold those freedoms
    dearly. And we're not changing. No matter how they try to terrorize, how
    they try to threaten, we're not changing. And so long as we don't
    change, we have to do everything we can to protect America in the new
    realities we face. It's a dangerous world, but nobody's going to cause
    us to retreat from this world.
        Obviously, my job is not only to deal with threats that we find in
    these dark caves but also to anticipate threats. I want to thank the
    United States Congress for speaking with one voice about a
    tyrant and a dictator who has constantly
    defied the world, who refuses to disarm, who, in the new reality, serves
    as a true and real threat not only to the United States but a threat to
    our friends in the Middle East, a threat to other freedom-loving
    countries.
        The world has been put on notice, Mr. Saddam Hussein is now on notice. We expect him to disarm. We expect
    him to live up to the obligations that he has told the world that he
    would meet. We expect the United Nations to be the United Nations, not
    the League of Nations. We expect them to join us in keeping the peace,
    by holding this dictator to account. That's what we expect.
        No, the threats are real. It's a different era. And this country
    will deal with these threats in an open way and a firm way and a
    resolved way, because we love our freedoms. We understand the biggest
    obligation we have, at least the biggest obligation I have, is to do
    everything I can to protect the homeland. There are a lot of good people
    working hard to protect the homeland. Anytime we find a hint about
    something that might be done to America, we're moving on it. Anytime we
    find any evidence that somebody might be thinking about harming our
    country, there are a lot of folks on the case. We're disrupting; we're
    denying; we're doing everything we can in our power and within the
    United States Constitution to protect the homeland.
        And that's why I went to the United States Congress and asked them
    to create a Department of Homeland Security, so I can tell the American
    people and future Presidents can tell the American people that we're
    doing everything we can to protect you--everything we can. You see,
    there's over 100 agencies involved with the protection of our homeland.
    It means they're kind of scattered about. If the number one priority of
    America is to protect the homeland, it seems to make sense to me to put
    them under one agency, so we

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    can make that the number one priority that everybody involved with
    homeland security must meet.
        And we're having a big debate up there about it. Sometimes in our
    Nation's Capital, they talk to much--[laughter]--and do too little.
    Sometimes they do too much when they should be talking. [Laughter]
        The House passed a good homeland security bill. The House heard my
    call to have a bipartisan approach to protecting the homeland. The House
    heard the call to put aside politics and not let interests--be
    interested in special interests but to focus on the American people, not
    only today but down the road. And the House passed a bill. They're stuck
    in the Senate. The Senate can't get it done right now. It's stuck.
        And here's the issue. The Senate is saying, ``Sure, Mr. President,
    you can have a homeland security bill, but there's going to be a
    price.'' And here's the price. They want to roll back an important
    authority that every President since John F. Kennedy has had, and that
    authority is this: For 40 years, a President has had the capacity to
    suspend labor rules in every Department of Government when the national
    security is at stake. The President has had the capacity to be able to
    change rules in order to protect America.
        One example of what I'm talking about, just so you'll know clearly,
    is that customs agents, we thought, ought to be wearing radiological
    detection devices, just in case somebody tried to smuggle a weapon of
    mass destruction into America. We thought that made sense for them to
    wear these. The head of the union said, ``Uh-uh, that must be voluntary.
    You can't make anybody do that, and therefore, let's have a collective
    bargaining session over it,'' which might have taken a year's time.
        See, we don't have time for that kind of thing. The Senate wants to
    roll back my authority. The Senate wants to say, ``You can have that
    authority, Mr. President, to suspend workers' rights or workers' rules
    in the case of a national emergency, in the Agriculture Department, but
    not for the Homeland Security.'' And that's not right.
        Jim Talent understands what I'm talking
    about. You put him in the Senate; we'll get us a good homeland security
    bill, which will make it easier for Presidents to protect America.
         I need to be able to put the right people at the right place at the
    right time, and that's what the Senate must hear, loud and clear. And
    one way they can hear it is, they can hear it from the people. You can
    express yourselves, right in the ballot box. That's the way you can send
    a message loud and clear about the importance of having a Homeland
    Security Department that will work today, that will work tomorrow, and
    will work for decades to come, because this threat, folks, is real for a
    while.
        And that's why the best way to protect the American homeland is not
    to hope these fellows change their mind, not to hope that they go get
    therapy to make them think different, but it's to hunt them down one by
    one and bring them to justice--what America is going to do.
        We are in a different kind of war, and we're still at war. We're in
    a war unlike the past. See, the past you used to say, ``Well, we're
    making progress because we've blown up a couple of tanks or we sunk a
    ship or their Air Force isn't as strong anymore.'' These people hide in
    caves and send youngsters to their suicidal deaths. See, they don't
    appreciate the value of life like we do. In America, we believe every
    life is precious; everybody has worth. These people don't value life,
    and they hijack a great religion and murder in the name of that
    religion.
        They just did that recently in Indonesia, and we'll be joining our
    friends in Australia in a day of mourning for the terrible tragedy that
    took place. We lost lives. They lost a lot of lives. Listen, these are
    killers, nothing but coldblooded killers, and we're going to treat them
    that way, and we're

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    going to hunt them down, one person at a time.
        And we're making progress, thanks to a great United States military,
    and thanks to friends and allies. We're making progress. One reason
    we're making progress is because of the doctrine that says, ``Either
    you're with us, or you're with them,'' still stands. It's still
    relevant. Our coalition is still rounding people up. It's a different
    kind of war. Sometimes you'll see progress, and sometimes you won't. The
    other day, a guy named bin al-Shibh, he
    popped his head up. He's no longer a problem. He was significant because
    he was to have been the twentieth hijacker. And he was still plotting,
    and he was still planning. I bet you we've captured over a couple of
    thousand of them, maybe up to nearly 3,000 by now. Like number, they
    weren't as lucky. We're going to deny them sanctuary. We're going to
    find them. We're going to put them on the run.
        It doesn't matter how long it takes, my fellow Americans, when it
    comes to our freedom, it doesn't matter how many years it takes, the
    United States of America will stay the course, because we will defend
    America, no matter the cost.
        I'm going to sign a defense bill next week. The Congress has gotten
    it to my desk, and I appreciate that. That is the largest increase in
    defense spending since Ronald Reagan was the President, for two reasons.
    I want to--I asked for that request, one, anytime we put our troops into
    harm's way, they deserve the best training, the best possible pay, and
    the best equipment. We owe that to our troops, and we owe it to their
    loved ones. And the other message is, the other message to friend and
    foe alike is that we take our responsibilities seriously, that we love
    our freedoms. We love our country, and we're not quitting. There's not a
    calendar that says, well, gosh, it must be time to haul in; it must be
    time to shut her down. That's just not the way I think, and that's not
    the way America thinks.
        I can't imagine what was going through the mind of the enemy. They
    must have thought that America was so selfish, so materialistic, so
    self-absorbed that after 9/11/2001, we might have filed a lawsuit or
    two. [Laughter] That's not us.
        I want you to know that out of the evil done to America can come
    some incredible good, that that's what we believe as a nation. And one
    of the--what's going to happen, I believe, by being strong and firm and
    being clear in our resolve, is that we can achieve peace. It's my dream,
    is to achieve peace. I want there to be peace for the American people.
    Since we value every life, and everybody counts, no matter where they
    live, we want there to be peace in parts of the region that have quit on
    peace. I believe it can happen. I do. I believe by being strong and
    resolved and standing on principle and understanding freedom belongs to
    everybody, not just a few, that we can have a peaceful and more hopeful
    world.
        And here at home, the evil done to America can help us deal with a
    serious problem. There are people in our country who hurt. There is
    loneliness and despair. Amidst our plenty, there are pockets of
    addiction; there are people who aren't loved; there are people who
    wonder whether the American experience is meant for them. So long as any
    of us hurt, we all hurt. We must step back from our materialism and ask
    the question, what can I do to help America? And the best way that you
    can help America is by loving a neighbor like you'd like to be loved
    yourself.
        No, the enemy hit us. Today--the enemy hit us, but today we're a
    stronger nation because we refuse to back down, but also because we've
    redefined patriotism as somebody who does more than put their hand over
    their heart. A patriot is somebody who is willing to put their arm
    around somebody who hurts, somebody in need--somebody who says, ``I love
    you.'' I want you to be one of those people. One of us can't do
    everything in society, but one

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    of us can do something to help somebody who needs a hand, somebody who
    needs love, somebody--somebody who knows or somebody who cares about
    them.
        Today we've got Erin Bryant, who goes right
    here--to school here. She's an active member of the Student Community
    Action Team at Southwest Missouri State. She spends time volunteering to
    make somebody's life better. She's involved with people who want to feed
    those who are hungry and house those who are homeless.
        Be a Boy Scout leader. Be a Girl Scout leader. Do something. And
    it's the gathering momentum of the millions of acts of kindness and
    decency which will allow this great land to stand squarely in the face
    of evil. No, the enemy hit us. They didn't know who they were hitting.
    They hit the greatest nation on the face of the Earth. And we will show
    the world why.
        There's no question in my mind that even though there's hurdles
    ahead of us, we can achieve a lot. We can achieve peace, and we can make
    sure the light shines brightly, the light of hope, in every corner on
    this great land. I say that with confidence because this is the greatest
    nation, full of the finest people, on the face of the Earth.
        May God bless you all, and may God bless America.

    Note: The President spoke at 9:48 a.m. in the Hammons Student Center. In
    his remarks, he referred to Brenda Talent, wife of candidate Jim Talent;
    entertainers Larry, Steve, and Rudy Gatlin; Carl A. Fellers, president,
    Fellers Fixtures, Inc.; President Saddam Hussein of Iraq; and Ramzi bin
    al-Shibh, an Al Qaida operative suspected of helping to plan the
    September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, who was captured in Karachi,
    Pakistan.