    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book II)]
    [August 14, 2002]
    [Pages 1410-1417]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at a Dinner for Gubernatorial Candidate Doug Gross and the Republican Party of Iowa in Des Moines
    August 14, 2002

        Thanks for such a warm welcome. It seems like only yesterday I was
    at the Ames straw poll. [Laughter] I guess you could say I cut my
    Presidential teeth right here in the State of Iowa.
        I want to thank you all for coming today. I'm honored to be here to
    proudly support the next Governor of the State of Iowa, Doug Gross. They
    tell me he grew up on a farm with nine brothers and sisters, so many
    kids they didn't need any machinery. [Laughter] The truth of the matter
    is, all they've got to do is make sure all those brothers and sisters
    vote, and it will be a landslide. [Laughter]
        I'm honored to be here with the next first lady of the State of
    Iowa, Eileen Gross. Doug and I both married
    above ourselves. [Laughter]
        Speaking about my wife, she's in Texas today.
    She sends her greetings to our many friends who are here. I'm sorry
    she's not with me, but I can tell you, I am incredibly proud to be
    married to such a fine lady and a person who is making a great First
    Lady of the United States.
        I want to thank all of you all for coming. I want to thank you for
    helping Doug to this point. I want to thank you for what you are going
    to do, which is to turn out the vote, to go to your coffee shops, your
    churches or your synagogues and your community centers, and tell the
    people of Iowa what a good man this guy is, a man who

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    believes in family, a man who has got deep faith, a man who is going to
    bring credit to the Governor's office of the State of Iowa.
        I'm pleased that we're joined here today by my friend the next
    United States Senator from Iowa, Greg Ganske.
    And when you put Ganske in there in the Senate, you're going to have two
    fine United States Senators; nobody better than Chuck Grassley in the United States Senate. We've done a lot in
    Washington, a lot of positive things, and a lot of it had to do with his
    leadership. I'm sorry he's not here to hear me bragging about him. But
    if you see him, tell him.
        And you've got Jim Nussle, who is the
    chairman of the budget of the House of Representatives. Nussle has done
    a fantastic job of making sure we've got a sound budget, that he
    represents the taxpayers of the United States in a great way. I want to
    thank you for coming, Jim.
        I appreciate so very much two fine Governors--or former Governors
    who are here with us today, people who mentored Doug, who taught Doug
    how to manage a Governor's office, and that of course would be Bob
    Ray and Terry Branstad.
        We've got some fine Members for the United States House of
    Representatives with us today, Iowa State Senator Steve King and Stan Thompson, both
    candidates who are going to win and help us in Washington, DC.
        I want to thank so very much Debi Durham, who is going to be the
    next Lieutenant Governor of the State of Iowa. Thank you, Debi.
        I appreciate so very much my friend Chuck Larson, who is the chairman of the Republican Party. And I want
    to thank all the grassroots activists who are here. Those of us in
    office never can thank people enough for the grassroots work that goes
    on in the precincts all across the State of Iowa and all across our
    country. Many of you have worked tireless hours on our behalf, and both
    of us, both Doug and I, thank you from the bottom of our heart.
        I was working the State fair today, and a proud grandfather, an
    uncle, I think it is, came up and said, ``Have you ever heard of Jeff
    Clement?'' I said, ``Yes, I know a little
    something about baseball. I've heard of the fellow. He's a boy from
    Marshalltown, Texas. He has the high school home run record.'' Believe
    it or not, Jeff is here with us today. Jeff, I want to thank you for
    coming, and congratulations on being a power slugger.
        I not only appreciate Doug's smalltown values. By those, I mean
    values where, when he says something, he means it. Those are the kind of
    values you need in office. As you know, when people shake hands in
    smalltown Iowa and smalltown Texas and they say--they give you the word,
    they stick to that word. That's the way it works. And those are the
    values he'll bring to the statehouse here. When he says he's not going
    to raise your taxes to balance the budget, he means he's not going to
    raise your taxes to balance the budget.
        He understands, if you tax things too much, you're going to get less
    of it. And what we need is more job growth. We need small businesses to
    flourish. This State doesn't need more taxes. It needs more jobs so
    people will stay here at home. And Doug understands that. He's got a
    creative program to increase the jobs here in the State of Iowa. It
    starts with fiscal sanity in your statehouse.
        And, by the way, we need some fiscal sanity in Washington, DC, as
    well. One of my big concerns is that we overspend in our Nation's
    Capital. Fortunately, we've got a good man like Nussle watching the budget. But recently--I don't know if you
    followed this or not--but recently, the Congress passed what they call a
    supplemental. It's a way to supplement appropriations. And we needed a
    supplemental to help fund the war on terror and a supplemental to help
    pay for homeland defense. But they sent over to me about $5 billion we
    didn't

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    need, $5 billion of extra money. Part of that $5 billion, by the way,
    was a new building to house the worm and bug collection of the Federal
    Government. It doesn't sound like an emergency to me. And the fine print
    of part of that supplemental said, ``You either spend all of it, or you
    spend none of it. You've got to take the entire 5 billion additional
    dollars on top of what was needed for the military and homeland, or you
    don't spend any of it.'' And they made their position clear, and I made
    my position clear: For the sake of fiscal sanity, we're not going to
    spend the $5 billion.
        And that's the way Doug is going to lead as well. For the sake of
    fiscal sanity, you can't say yes to every single appropriations bill
    that comes. You've got to set priorities. You need to have a Governor
    who knows how to manage the office. A Governor who has got the ability
    to say no and the ability to say yes, but always remembering that the
    money that we spend in Government is not the Government's money, it's
    the people's money.
        I look forward to working with Doug on farm policy. Today, at the
    State fair, I had the honor of talking to a lot of people who make their
    living off the land. By the way, one of my favorite statements, which is
    a true statement, is: If you own the land, every day is Earth Day. The
    people who care more about the quality of our environment are people who
    have to make a living off the land. And today I was able to talk to a
    lot of people who make their living off the land. And I assured them
    that in order for there to be economic prosperity in America, we've got
    to make sure our agricultural sectors are strong and vibrant. And that's
    why, one, I was proud to sign the farm bill, and, two, I look forward to
    working with Doug on not only research and development projects that
    will enable us to grow our way out of energy dependence but to continue
    a good policy of promoting ethanol in America.
        The thing I like about him the most is his passion for education. He
    better be passionate for education; he's got enough kids to educate.
    [Laughter] But he knows what I know, that the number one priority of any
    Governor has got to be to make sure every child in the State receives a
    quality education.
        And let me tell you our philosophy. It starts with understanding and
    believing that every child can learn. You see, if you don't think any--
    every child can learn, then you set low standards. He believes and I
    know we must set high expectations for the public schools in Iowa and
    all across our country. He believes that every child has got the
    capacity to learn to read and write and add and subtract.
        We passed a bill out of Washington, DC. It was a good piece of
    legislation, and one of the cornerstones of that bill says, we trust the
    Doug Grosses of the world. We trust the people of Iowa to set the path
    for excellence for every child in the State of Iowa. One size doesn't
    fit all when it comes to running the public schools. All power shouldn't
    be in Washington, DC. We ought to be trusting the local folks to run
    their schools. And when you have this man as your Governor, I trust him
    to run the schools.
        But in order to make sure every child learns and no child is left
    behind, it is incredibly important that we measure, that we hold people
    to account, not to punish anybody but to determine if their kids are
    learning the basics. And if they are, we will continue to praise
    teachers. And for those of you who teach, thank you from the bottom of
    our hearts. But when we find children trapped in schools that will not
    teach and will not change, you better have you a Governor who is willing
    to challenge the status quo so children are not left behind. And I
    believe strongly, Doug will be that kind of Governor. He's not going to
    be beholden to special interests. The only interests he cares about is
    making sure no child in America--not one single child in the State of
    Iowa or in America--is left behind.

    [[Page 1413]]

        No, we've got a good man here. I like to put it, when you find a
    good one in politics, you'd better help him. And that's why I want to
    thank you all for this help. There's no question in my mind that with
    his hard work and his vision and his passion for people--bringing people
    together to get things done, on behalf of all of the citizens of Iowa,
    come this November, he's going to be the next Governor of your State.
        Before I leave, I do want to share with you some of the challenges
    that our Nation faces. And one, of course, is economic security. The way
    I like to put it, anytime anybody who wants to work can't find a job,
    then we've got a problem. And so we've got to constantly think about how
    to create jobs in America. That ought to be the question of all of us in
    Government. What can we do to create an environment in which the
    entrepreneur or small business or producer can flourish? And I believe
    that starts not only with fiscal restraint in Washington, DC--and as I
    mentioned, I sent a pretty clear message the other day about my view of
    overspending.
        I also know it has something to do with tax policy. Thank goodness
    we cut the taxes on the American people when we did. The way to help the
    Nation recover from recession is to let people keep more of their own
    money. Some of the folks in Washington don't understand that. They don't
    understand, if a person has more money, that person is going to demand a
    good or a service, and if they demand a good or a service, somebody is
    going to produce the good and service. And when they produce the good
    and service, it means somebody is more likely to find work. And that's
    the way the economy works.
        But interestingly enough, not only did we reduce the taxes, but we
    did so on a temporary basis, because the Senate rules have it that after
    10 years, the tax reductions revert to where they were. It's awfully
    hard for people who are trying to set up a business or run a farm to
    plan with uncertainty in the Tax Code. For the sake of long-term
    economic growth, for the sake of job creation, the United States
    Congress must make the tax reductions permanent. And that includes
    making sure that the repeal of the death tax is permanent.
        I can't imagine what's going through the minds of these Senators and
    Members of the House who do not want to get rid of the death tax. They
    must not understand what it does to the family farmer or the rancher or
    the small-business entrepreneur. We've got people coming to our country
    for the first time, they're starting their own business. It's a part of
    the dream of being an American. And yet our Tax Code is such that they
    have trouble leaving it to their heirs because their assets get taxed
    twice. That's not right. We put the death tax on its way to extinction.
    It's time you get you a Senator who understands that--two Senators who
    understand that in Iowa, and it's time for the Congress to make sure
    that the death tax is permanently repealed.
        For the sake of economic growth, I'm going to promote trade.
    Confident people tear down barriers. And I'm confident in the American
    farmer, and I'm confident in the American entrepreneur, and I'm
    confident in the high-tech industry in America. I'm confident in our
    enterprise. And therefore, I want to level the playing field and tear
    down trade barriers all around the world, so we can feed the world.
    We're the best at what we do, and it's important for us to promote the
    best of what we do. For the sake of job creation, I'm going to use the
    newly earned trade promotion authority and aggressively promote free
    trade for American products.
        No, there's a lot of other things we can do. We need a terrorism
    insurance bill. For those of you in the construction industry, you
    understand what it means to not be able to get insurance because of the
    premiums as a result of the potential threat of terror. And as a result
    of terrorism insurance premiums being sky high and not affordable, $8
    billion of commercial construction has been delayed or taken off the

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    books in America. That means somebody who is wearing a hardhat isn't
    working. And this Congress needs to come together and get me a terrorism
    insurance bill so major construction projects can go forward, a bill
    which rewards hard-working Americans, not a bill which rewards trial
    lawyers.
        No, the fundamentals of growth are strong in our economy. Inflation
    is down. Interest rates are down. Productivity is up. Consumers are
    still buying. But we have been shaken, no question about it. As a matter
    of fact, the first three quarters when I was in office, we were in
    recession. However, the last three quarters have been positive growth,
    which is a good trend. And then the enemy hit us, and that shook our
    economy.
        And then another enemy cropped up. After a while, it became apparent
    that some in our corporate America thought it was okay to fudge the
    books, thought it was okay to not tell the truth. Well, we got together,
    Republicans and Democrats, and passed the most significant corporate
    reform law since Franklin Roosevelt was the President. And here's my
    message to those who think they're going to cheat the shareholders or
    their employees: If you do, we're going to find you, arrest you,
    prosecute you, and put you in jail.
        And we're making progress--and we're making progress. The American
    people must understand, by far the vast majority of people who are
    running corporate America are good and honorable, decent people, people
    who care deeply about their employees, people who understand they have a
    responsibility to their shareholders. No, we've got a hurdle to cross
    here in our economy, but I'm optimistic about America, and I'm confident
    in our future.
        And I'm also confident we're doing everything we possibly can do to
    protect the homeland. My most important job now and the most important
    job of the Federal Government is to prevent the enemy from hitting us
    again.
        I know there's a lot of kids here today who are probably wondering,
    ``Why would somebody want to strike the United States of America? What
    is it about our country that creates a certain hatred toward us, toward
    our citizens?'' And the answer is, people hate us--certain people hate
    us because we love freedom, that's why. We love the fact that people can
    worship freely in America. We love the fact that we can have political
    discourse in an open way. We love a free press. The more we love
    freedom, the more some hate America.
        But the bad news is, for the enemy, we're always going to love
    freedom. We value our freedoms. It's what we're made of. It's what makes
    us shine as a beacon for many around the world. The Government of the
    United States is--spends a lot of time chasing down every possible lead,
    every hint about somebody who might be thinking about doing something to
    America.
        My job is to make sure our Government functions as well as it
    possibly can, and therefore I proposed a sweeping reform to our
    Congress. I recognized that there's over 100 agencies involved with
    homeland defense. I mean, they're scattered all over Washington. You've
    got them here, and you've got them there, and you've got them here, and
    it's kind of hard to bundle them up, to make sure that their number one
    priority is my number one priority, which is to protect the homeland. So
    I proposed a new Cabinet office, a new Secretary of Homeland Defense,
    responsible for making sure the agencies who have got something to do
    with homeland defense make homeland defense its number one priority, and
    making sure that cultures within the agencies change so that they can
    work together to defend the homeland.
        I'll give you one example. On our borders, we've got all kinds of
    agencies down there. We've got the Border Patrol. We've got the Customs.
    We've got the INS. Sometimes they talk. Sometimes they don't talk.
    They've got different strategies even though they're in the same sector
    on the

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    border. For the sake of protecting the homeland, we need to bring these
    agencies under one umbrella, with one major task: Protect America from
    future attacks.
        And I want to thank Nussle and Ganske for working on a homeland defense package, which is a
    good package out of the House. It gives the administration--not only
    this administration but future administrations--the flexibility
    necessary to put the right people in the right place at the right time
    to create a culture of protection.
        But it looks like we might be having a little slight problem in the
    Senate. See, if you look carefully at what they're doing, they're more
    interested in protecting their own political turf and their own
    jurisdictions than they are the American people. They want us to be
    hamstrung by a thick book of bureaucratic rules, because they have been
    more interested in special interests. The special interest I've got in
    mind is the American people, and I call upon the Senate to get me a good
    bill so I can protect the homeland of the American people.
        But the best way to get the homeland secure is to find the enemy one
    by one and bring them to justice. And that's what the United States of
    America is going to do. This is a different kind of war than we've been
    used to. It's--I guess the best way to describe it, it's the kind of war
    where the commanders hide in caves, and they send youngsters to their
    suicidal deaths. These people are--they kind of blend into, sometimes
    big cities, sometimes the countryside. They always find some place where
    the underbelly is soft, and they burrow in there. It's like we're on an
    international manhunt.
        And we're making progress. We really are. We're using our
    intelligence services wisely. We're sharing intelligence with members of
    this vast coalition of freedom we put together. We've got a fabulous
    military, a lot of young men and women who are taking a risk on behalf
    of freedom. And we're hunting them down, one by one. We've arrested over
    2,000 of these killers; another like number haven't been quite so lucky.
    But there's more of them out there; there just are. You just need to
    know that. And so long as they're out there, and so long as they're
    threatening America, this Government is going to do everything we can to
    find them.
        We don't seek revenge; we seek justice. And justice we're going to
    find. That's why I've submitted the largest budget since Ronald--defense
    budget since Ronald Reagan was the President. I wanted to make it clear
    to those who wear our uniforms and their loved ones and their families,
    when we put you in harm's way, you deserve the best pay, the best
    training, and the best equipment possible.
        I also wanted to make it clear to the enemy and to our friends that
    history has called us to action. We understand that, and we're going to
    defend freedom. And we're going to do everything possible to secure
    freedom for our children. That's the message we're sending, that we're
    not fainthearted, but we're determined. We're resolved. We're united. We
    understand the moment, and we're not going to blink, and we're not going
    to yield.
        The task at hand is pretty tough, no question about it, but so are
    we. We're plenty tough. But we're also plenty caring. I said loud and
    clear at one point, if you harbor a terrorist or feed one of those
    terrorists, you're just as guilty as the terrorists. And the Taliban
    found out exactly what the United States meant. But we just didn't go
    into Afghanistan to conquer; we went in to liberate. It's important to
    remember that thanks to the United States and our coalition, young girls
    now go to school for the first time--some young girls go to school for
    the first time in Afghanistan. And we haven't left Afghanistan. As a
    matter of fact, we're helping democracy flourish there, and we're
    helping rebuild that country. No, we're a kind nation. We're plenty
    tough, but we're plenty kind.

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        I don't know what was going through the enemy's mind when they hit
    us. They must have listened to too much of the gossip shows or
    something, and thought that we were so materialistic, so focused on our
    own personal balance sheets, so self-absorbed, that after 9/11 all we
    might do is file a lawsuit or two. [Laughter] But they found out this is
    a different kind of nation than they thought. This is a determined
    people, a resolved people, a people who are willing to defend values,
    values that we hold dear.
        Out of the evil done to America is going to come some good. Out of
    what was done to this country is going to come some incredible good. By
    being strong and united, by willing to stand tough in the face of
    adversity, we can lead the world to peace. And that's my goal. My goal
    is peace. By speaking plainly and clearly about what's right and wrong,
    about the effects of terror, we can not only achieve peace in America, I
    believe we can achieve peace in the Middle East and South Asia,
    countries and people that have given up on the hope of peace.
        No, out of the evil done to America can come some incredible good,
    not only abroad but here at home. It's so important for us and for all
    of us to remember that in this land of plenty, there are pockets of
    despair, pockets of poverty, places where children say, ``This American
    experience isn't meant for me.'' So long as people suffer, the whole
    country suffers. And therefore, we must resolve as a nation to help
    eliminate those pockets of addiction and despair. Government can hand
    out money, and we do a pretty good job of that at times. But it's
    important to remember, what Government cannot do is put hope into
    people's hearts or a sense of purpose in people's lives. That's done
    when a loving citizen remembers the universal call to love a neighbor
    just like you'd like to be loved yourself. That happens when somebody
    mentors a child, or feeds the hungry, or goes and sees a shut-in and
    says, ``I love you.'' That's how that happens. You see, America can
    change, one act of decency at a time. I like to remind our fellow
    citizens that one person can't do everything, but each of us can do
    something to make our country a better place. People ask me, ``What can
    I do to help on the war on terror?'' You can love your neighbor just
    like you'd like to be loved yourself. It is the gathering momentum of
    millions of acts of kindness and decency which will define the true
    character of America.
        No, out of the evil done to our country is going to come some
    incredible good. And part of that good is not only the understanding
    that you've got to serve something greater than yourself in life, part
    of it is to sacrifice to make the country a better place. And that
    sacrifice comes in all different ways. Perhaps the most dramatic
    sacrifice of all was on Flight 93. Citizens were flying across the
    country. They were told on their cell phones by their loved ones that
    their plane was going to be used as a weapon to perhaps destroy the
    White House or the Capitol. History will record, these brave souls told
    their loved ones they loved them. One of the last words was ``love.''
    They said a prayer. A guy said, ``Let's roll,'' and they drove the plane
    in the ground. What a fantastic example--a sad example but a fantastic
    example of serving something greater than yourself.
        If you want to join in the war on terror, help somebody in need.
    Work hard to make your community a better place. Tell your children you
    love them every single day. Love them with all your heart and all your
    soul. No, I believe that out of the evil done to America is going to
    come some incredible good, because this is the finest country, full of
    the finest people on the face of the Earth.
        It is my honor to be here for your next Governor. Thank you all for
    coming, and God bless America.

    [[Page 1417]]

    Note: The President spoke at 6:55 p.m. in the Arena at the Polk County
    Veterans Memorial Auditorium. In his remarks, he referred to Steve King,
    candidate for Iowa's Fifth Congressional District; Stan Thompson,
    candidate for Iowa's Third Congressional District; and Chuck Larson,
    Jr., chairman, Republican Party of Iowa.