    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book II)]
    [September 5, 2002]
    [Pages 1537-1542]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 1537]]

    Remarks at a Luncheon for Representative Anne M. Northup in Louisville
    September 5, 2002

        I want to thank you all. Thanks for coming. I'm really honored to
    have been invited back to Louisville by Anne to help in her reelection
    effort. She is a incredibly--she is a breath of fresh air in Washington,
    let me put it to you that way. She's honest. She's open. The thing I
    love about Anne is her heart. It is as big as Texas. [Laughter] She
    cares deeply about her fellow citizens.
        You see, what we need in the political process is people who put the
    people ahead of partisanship. They put people's concerns and hopes and
    aspirations ahead of personal success--their own personal success.
        See, I love the idea that this is a soul who is willing to work in
    neighborhoods where somebody might not have ever voted for her. She's
    not the kind of citizen who said, ``Did you vote for me,'' and
    therefore, ``I'm going to help you.'' She's the kind of citizen who
    says, ``I'm honored to be in the position I'm in, and what can I do to
    make Kentucky, and Louisville, Kentucky, as hopeful a place for every
    citizen?'' Anne Northup deserves to be reelected to the United States
    Congress.
        I value her advice. I value her friendship. I value being able to
    work with her to do what's right for America. I also like the fact that
    she loves her family. She's got her priorities straight. She loves
    Woody, and she loves her kids.
    I love the fact that Anne is an adopted mom. It shows something special
    about her heart and her willingness to love. I enjoyed meeting her
    mother and dad. She
    probably listens to her mother about as much as I do--listen to mine.
    [Laughter] But she is--she's got her priorities straight, her faith and
    her family and the people of Louisville, Kentucky.
        So I want to thank you all for coming to help this good lady. I want
    to thank you for contributing, and I urge you to contribute your time.
    It's--this fundraiser is going to be history in about 30 minutes, or if
    I keep it shorter than that, about 20 minutes. But now you've got more
    work to do. And for those of you who are the grassroot activists here in
    this community, for those of you who help lead our party, I want to
    thank you for what you have done; I want to thank you for what you are
    going to do. You need to go to your coffee shops, churches, and
    community centers and synagogues and pass the word that when you've got
    a good soul like Anne Northup, citizens need to go out and support her.
    So, thanks for helping her, and thanks for coming.
        I also want to thank a member of my Cabinet, Elaine Chao, for being here. I appreciate her leadership. She's
    doing a fantastic job, and I'm sure she would like me to mention the
    fact that she married old Mitch. [Laughter]
    And when you're remembering Anne, don't forget Mitch. He's a good--he's
    a great United States Senator. We need Mitch McConnell back in the
    Senate. He's doing a really, really good job for the State of Kentucky.
    I value his advice as well.
        And we were just traveling today from Washington to here earlier
    with another fine United States Senator, and that's, of course, Jim
    Bunning. And I appreciate his leadership and his
    support. I want to thank Ellen Williams. I
    want to thank State Senate President David Williams. I want to thank the members of the statehouse who are
    here. I appreciate the fact that Geoff Davis,
    candidate for the U.S. Kentucky Fourth District, is with us. And Geoff,
    I appreciate you putting your hat in the ring.
        I appreciate all my fellow citizens. We've got some issues we've got
    to confront here in America, and I want to share some of them with you.
    A lot of these issues are

    [[Page 1538]]

    going to require having the steady hand of Anne Northup in the Congress.
        My job is to make America secure, to strengthen the country, and
    make it a better place. And starting with making America a better place
    means we better make sure every child is educated. I don't mean a
    handful or some in the suburban districts. Every child--I mean every
    child in America--must be educated in order for America to be a better
    place. And I want to tell you how--what an influence Anne Northup had in
    a significant piece of legislation that we passed. It's called the No
    Child Left Behind legislation.
        That bill means what it says: No child, not one child in America
    left behind. The philosophy of the bill should speak volumes to the
    people of this district about Anne's mentality. It first starts with
    understanding that every child can learn. You see, it challenges low
    expectations or the soft bigotry of low expectations. When you lower the
    bar, when you expect mediocrity, you tend to get mediocrity. And that's
    not good enough for our children.
        No, this bill says every child can learn. It also says the people
    who care more about the children in Louisville, Kentucky, are the
    citizens of Louisville, Kentucky. We believe strongly in local control
    of schools. We expect the local people to chart the path to excellence
    for every child--every child--who lives here in Louisville, Kentucky.
        But inherent in this bill are two other features that I want to
    explain to you: One that says, if you believe every child can learn,
    therefore you want to know if every child is learning. And therefore, in
    return for a lot of Federal money, we expect every school district in
    America to teach our children how to read and write and add and
    subtract, and so we measure. We want to know. We expect there to be
    accountability. We're willing to ask the question, ``Have you
    succeeded?'' And we're also willing to say, ``If you haven't, we expect
    to see something different.'' We don't want our children trapped in
    schools--we won't be satisfied if our children are trapped in schools
    that won't teach and won't change.
        But Anne's biggest contribution--and I mean, a significant
    contribution--was to fight for and get funding for a Reading First
    Initiative. It is a Federal initiative that recognizes all this talk
    about structuring our schools, all the talk about making sure the public
    education system is reformed doesn't matter a whit if our children can't
    read. And so, Anne, working with some of the best experts in the
    country, calling together the best minds, put in this bill a significant
    reading program, one that's not only funded for a billion dollars but
    one that recognizes reading is a science, not an art. We know what
    works, and we expect the curriculum around America to be in place that
    teaches every child how to read.
        We've got work to do in our economy. There are some people in our
    country that can't find work, and they want to work, and that means
    we've got a problem. The foundations for growth are good. Inflation is
    down. Interest rates are down. Listen, we're the most productive workers
    in the world. We're really good at what we do in a lot of places. And
    even though there are some progress, I'm not satisfied. And one of the
    things I appreciate about Anne is that when we needed to let people have
    more of their own money to make sure that the economy didn't completely
    crater--and a matter of fact, to make sure that the growth started--that
    she joined me in fighting for tax cuts for the American people.
        And we need her back up there, because there are some in Washington,
    DC, who want to take those tax relief plans away, see? There are some
    who can't stand the thought of letting the people have their money. They
    get confused about whose money we're talking about. We're not talking
    about the Government's money. We're talking about the people's money.
    And the best way to make sure there are jobs available for people who
    work is to understand,

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    if you let a person keep more of their own money, they're likely to
    demand a good or a service. And when they demand a good or a service,
    somebody is likely to produce a good or a service. And when somebody
    produces a good or a service, somebody is more likely to find work.
        We need to make the tax cuts permanent. We need to make the repeal
    of the death tax permanent. And Anne understands that. She understands
    that. That's the kind of mentality we need in Washington.
        Washington is a tough and ugly town at times. We saw that today in
    the United States Senate. I named a really, really fine woman from Texas to one of the appellate benches. This
    woman was ranked highly qualified by the American Bar Association. She
    ran statewide in my State of Texas and got over 80 percent of the vote.
    She's highly respected by Republicans and Democrats. And I named her to
    a higher bench. And today her nomination was rejected by the United
    States Senate. A handful of Senators distorted her record. A handful of
    Senators, acting out of pure politics, did not let this good woman's
    name go forward. The United States Senate must act in better stead. This
    is a--treating a fine woman this way is bad for the country; it's bad
    for our bench. And I don't appreciate it one bit, and neither do the
    American people.
        I also appreciate the fact that Anne understands that the stakes are
    high for our future, that our country has entered into a new era, that
    our homeland is a battlefield, and that our most important job as a
    Government is to protect the American people, is to do everything in our
    power to keep America safe, is to prevent the enemy from hitting us
    again. The enemy is still out there. They're people who just hate
    America; you know, they just do. They hate us because we love--we love
    freedom. We love our values. We love the fact that our citizens can
    worship an almighty God freely in America. That's what we love. We
    love--we love free speech. We love a free press. We love all aspects of
    our freedom. And the more we love our freedom, the more they hate us.
        And you've got to understand something about these people. They do
    not value life. In America, every life matters. Every life is important.
    Every individual counts. The enemy is willing to take innocent life
    because they hate, and they have no compunction in doing so. These
    people are people who have hijacked a great religion, distorted its
    tenets, and they're still out there. And so, therefore, we've got to do
    a lot here in America to protect our country.
        And we're making good progress; we really are. There's a lot of
    really fine people that are communicating like they've never
    communicated before, that are sharing information. See, now that we're
    on alert, now that we know they're there, we're much better about
    responding. We've got people at all levels of government working
    overtime to chase down any lead, to make sure that any hint that
    somebody might do something to us is followed up on.
        And that's why I went to Congress, by the way, because this is our
    priority, to get them to give us a new type of arrangement about how to
    deal with the new threat of the 21st century. Listen, I promise you I
    didn't run--or you know I didn't run on, ``Vote for me. I want
    Government to be bigger.'' [Laughter] I ran on, ``Vote for me. I'll try
    to make it work better when it's supposed to work.'' And one way to make
    it work better is to collect the agencies involved with the homeland
    security and put them under one Department of Homeland Security, so that
    we can make the number one priority of the people that are working hard
    in these agencies the protection of the homeland, so that we can do a
    better job of protecting our borders.
        We've got three agencies on our borders, INS and Customs and Border
    Patrol, and they've got different cultures and different strategies. And
    they ought to be working

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    seamlessly, to find out who's coming in our country, what they're
    bringing in our country, and whether they're leaving the country when
    they say they're going to be leaving the country.
        And yet, if the Senate bill goes through on homeland defense, I
    won't have the capacity to move the right people in the right place at
    the right time in order to protect our homeland. We won't have the
    capacity to make this part of the homeland security work seamlessly. I
    am not going to accept a bill where the Senate micromanages, where the
    Senate shows they're more interested in special interest in Washington
    and not interested in the security of the American people.
        But the surest way to secure the homeland, the only way to fully
    secure our homeland, is to chase the killers down, one person at a time,
    and bring them to justice. And that's what we're going to do. They hide
    in caves and send young kids to their suicidal death. They don't have
    formations and flotillas. They're resourceful killers, is what they are.
    And so they're kind of slithering around, hiding, and trying to find a
    dark corner to get in. And we're shining the light on them.
        It's going to take a while, see? This isn't something that's going
    to end anytime soon. In order to secure freedom, we must keep them
    moving, keep disrupting. And that's why I have submitted a defense bill
    to the Congress which is the biggest increase in defense spending since
    Ronald Reagan was the President, because I understand that this isn't
    going to be a short-term operation. I want to send the signal to our
    friends and allies that we're not quitting anytime soon. I want to send
    the signal to our enemy that you have aroused a compassionate and decent
    and mighty nation, and we're going to hunt you down.
        I also asked for the increase because anytime we send our troops
    into harm's way, they deserve the best pay, the best training, and the
    best possible equipment.
        The House passed a defense bill, and the Senate passed a defense
    bill. But since they're different, they've got to get together and
    reconcile. And so they need to start meeting today. You see, a lot of
    times in Washington they like to play politics with the defense bill.
    They like to hold it up. But I want to remind those who think they can
    play politics with the defense bill, the American people aren't going to
    stand for it in a time of war. They need to get the defense bill to my
    desk as soon as possible, so I can sign it.
        And we're making good progress on our war. Sometimes you'll know it,
    and sometimes you won't. Remember, this is a different kind of war.
    We're having to adjust to the fact that sometimes we'll catch one of
    these killers, and everybody will know about it. And sometimes you just
    won't know about it. [Laughter] That's just the way it is.
        Anne was right, we are enforcing the doctrines, however. We're
    enforcing the doctrines of this first war of the 21st century. One of
    the doctrines is, if you harbor one of these people, you're just as
    guilty as they are. If you feed a terrorist, harbor a terrorist, hide a
    terrorist, you're just as guilty as those who murdered thousands of
    innocent citizens on September the 11th. And the Taliban found out what
    we meant. See, it's important in the world, when you say something, that
    you do it.
        But what was important about that action was not only did we uphold
    doctrine, but more importantly, we liberated a country. I want you to
    tell your kids, if they start questioning about the motives of the
    United States of America, if they start to get concerned about war--and
    I can understand why they would--you can remind them that this great
    country went into Afghanistan not to conquer anybody but to liberate
    people. And thanks to this Nation and our friends and allies, many young
    girls go to school for the first time in Afghanistan.

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        That's the way we think as a nation. We think about peace for our
    children and other people's children, and we think about liberating
    people, because every life matters to us, see. Everybody counts. When I
    say every life matters, I'm not talking about just American lives. I
    mean every life around the globe. We believe in the value of human life
    here in America. That's what we hold--we hold that dear to our hearts.
        I also laid out a doctrine that says, either you're with us or with
    the enemy--either with us or with them. And a lot of times the actions
    that you're reading about are taking place because of friends and
    allies. I'll give you one example. Gloria Arroyo, the President of the Philippines, hauled in this guy--
    or actually, brought the guy to justice who was running the Abu Sayyaf*
    group, which was a group of Al Qaida-type killers that had kidnaped two
    Americans called the Burnhams and were holding them hostage. They didn't
    care about their lives. One guy, the dad, lost his life. But slowly but
    surely--my point to you is that this coalition of nations, which care
    for freedom and understand the stakes, are making good progress. We're
    hauling them in--sometimes they're not as lucky as that--but we're after
    them, one by one. And we're going to stay after them, one by one, until
    we win.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        *White House correction.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        There are other challenges facing us. See, my job is to not only
    chase down those who have hit but to anticipate. We're a battleground.
    We've never been a battleground before; therefore, the stakes have
    changed. See, if you're not a battleground, if you don't have to worry
    about your people getting attacked because of vast oceans protecting
    you, then you can think one way. But September the 11th changed thought
    here in America. It should, because now we realize the enemy is willing
    to take the battle here. And they're resourceful.
        One of my jobs is to think ahead and to think--is to cause debate,
    and I started that yesterday, to encourage the American people to listen
    to and have a dialog about Iraq. And I meant it when I said that I'm
    going to consult with Congress. I want there to be an open discussion
    about the threats that face America. Tomorrow I'm calling leaders in
    Russia, China, and France to talk about the threats that face us all. I
    will see Tony Blair on Saturday. I will see Jean
    Chretien Monday. My point to you is, not only
    will I consult with Congress and talk to Congress--my administration and
    I will do so--I will also see many of the leaders of the world and
    remind them of the facts. The facts are, this is a man who gassed his own people, he's invaded two countries,
    a person who stiffed the international organization time and time again.
        I look forward to the debate. I look forward to the American people
    understanding the threats we face. But one thing is for certain: I'm not
    going to change my view, and it's this--and my view is, we cannot let
    the world's worst leaders blackmail America, threaten America, or hurt
    America with the world's worst weapons.
        I believe--I believe--I believe that good is going to come out of
    the evil done to America, because I know America. I know the strength of
    our country. I truly believe that we have an opportunity to achieve
    peace. These killers hit us, and in their hatred they have given us a
    chance to achieve peace. If we're tough and strong, if we stay focused
    on how to achieve peace, if we remind the world in clear terms the
    difference between good and evil and speak clearly about the two, we can
    achieve peace. We can achieve peace not only for America; we can achieve
    peace for the people of Israel and Palestinians. We can achieve peace. I
    believe it. I believe we can achieve peace in South Asia. No, this
    enemy, these killers hit America. They, in so doing, created an
    opportunity to achieve peace.

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        They hit us at home, and out of that evil will come some incredible
    good. America is a compassionate country. The irony of the attacks--the
    irony of the attacks is that America became a more compassionate place.
    In the face of the evil, thousands of our citizens understood that in
    order to fight evil, they needed to do so by doing some good, that you
    can fight evil by loving your neighbor just like you'd like to be loved
    yourselves, that it's the gathering momentum of millions of acts of
    kindness and compassion which define the true character of America.
        And that's happening. You see, the definition of patriotism has
    changed in America for the better. A patriot is not only somebody who
    puts their hand on their heart. A patriot is somebody who helps somebody
    in need. A patriot is somebody who mentors a child. A patriot is
    somebody who goes to their church or synagogue and mosques and organizes
    a way to feed those who hunger or house those who need shelter. A
    patriot is somebody who goes to a shut-in and says, ``I love you.'' A
    patriot is somebody who knows that somebody can't do everything, but
    somebody can do something to help America change one heart, one soul,
    one conscience at a time.
        And that's happening. No, out of the evil done to America is coming
    a new culture, a culture which says each of us are responsible for the
    decisions we make, a culture which stands in stark contrast to, when I
    first got into politics, when it said, ``If it feels good, just go ahead
    and do it,'' here in America and ``If you've got a problem, blame
    somebody else.'' No, there's a new day here in this country. It's a day
    in which we understand that there's addiction and hopelessness and
    despair and that Government can hand out money--and we do a pretty good
    job of it--but what Government can't do is change people's hearts or put
    a sense of purpose in people's life. That's done when loving, decent,
    kind Americans hug a neighbor in need.
        So the enemy hit us, and instead of retreating, instead of filing--
    only filing a lawsuit, we decided not only to get after them, we decided
    not only to hold them to account, we decided that we're going to love
    our neighbor, just like we like to be loved ourself. And America will be
    a better country for it.
        On September the 11th, we'll mourn the loss of life. We'll remember
    what happened to us. And at the same time, I hope our country doubles
    our effort to make this land the greatest land on the face of the Earth,
    a hopeful place for every citizen who's fortunate enough to be a
    citizen.
        Thank you for coming. God bless you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 1:05 p.m. in the Medallion Ballroom at the
    Seelbach Hilton Louisville. In his remarks, he referred to
    Representative Northup's husband, Robert Wood ``Woody'' Northup, and her
    parents, James and Floy Meagher; Ellen C. Williams, chairman, Republican
    Party of Kentucky; Texas Supreme Court Justice Priscilla Owen, nominee
    to be U.S. Circuit Court Judge for the Fifth District; President Gloria
    Macapagal-Arroyo of the Philippines; Prime Minister Tony Blair of the
    United Kingdom; Prime Minister Jean Chretien of Canada; and President
    Saddam Hussein of Iraq.