    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book II)]
    [November 2, 2002]
    [Pages 1988-1993]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks in Tampa, Florida
    November 2, 2002

        The President. Thank you all very much. Thanks a lot. Thank you all.
    Jeb and I are sure glad we came. You're lifting his
    spirits, and I appreciate that more than you know.
        I want to thank you all for coming. I'm traveling the country,
    reminding people about the American spirit, the fact that no matter what
    the cost, we'll defend our freedom; this American spirit that says to be
    a patriot, you've got to serve something greater than yourself; a spirit
    of America that says we love freedom, and if you love freedom, you have
    a duty to vote.
        If you love our country, it doesn't matter what your political party
    is; you have an obligation to participate in democracy. I've come into
    this important State to urge people from all walks of life, from all
    political parties, to do your duty next Tuesday. But when you get in
    that voting booth, I've got a good suggestion for you. [Laughter] For
    the sake of the Florida taxpayers, for the sake of the Florida
    schoolchildren, for the sake of dignity and integrity in the office of
    Governor, send Jeb Bush back to Tallahassee. And
    you might as well send Frank Brogan back with
    him. They make a great team, on behalf of all the citizens of this
    State.
        One of the things Jeb and I share in common,
    besides a fine mother who's still telling us what to do on a regular
    basis--[laughter]--is, we both married above ourselves. We both have got
    great wives. I'm honored to be here with the great first lady for
    Florida, Columba Bush, and of course, a
    University of Texas law school student--Hollywood handsome, I might
    add--a great man, George P. Bush.
        You drew the short straw tonight. You got me instead of Laura. [Laughter] She's campaigning up north, and you got
    stuck with the President. But she sends her love. She sends her love to
    Jeb and Columba. She sends
    her best to all our friends in Florida. And like me, she reminds you: Go
    to the polls, and take some friends to the polls so this good man can
    serve you for 4 more years.
        Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!

    [[Page 1989]]

        The President. And that's another reason I've come today, is because
    I want to urge you to help Jeb. See, I want you to
    go to your houses of worship tomorrow, go to your coffee shops on
    Monday--go to your coffee shops, go to your community centers. Tell
    anybody who will listen what a good man you've got in your Governor. I
    want to remind you, make sure you don't ignore Democrats.
        See, they don't want their taxes raised--a lot of them don't.
    Democrats in Florida know the difference between somebody who tells it
    like it is and somebody who just tells it any way he sees fit.
    [Laughter] Democrats in this State want good government. They want
    somebody to do what he says he's going to do in office. Independents
    want the same thing. So starting tomorrow, round up people and tell them
    to go to the polls on Tuesday. Jeb's counting on
    your help, and so am I.
        And you won't be wasting your time. You watch and see what happens
    next Tuesday, thanks to your hard work, thanks to his good message,
    thanks to his great record. Not only are
    Republicans going to turn out in droves, but this man is going to get
    independent vote, discerning Democrat vote; wise Democrats are going to
    come his way. And you're going to have 4 more years of a great Governor
    in Jeb Bush.
        I want to thank a couple of Members of Congress who are here. I know
    Bill Young is here. I call him ``the
    Chairman.'' See, he runs the Appropriations Committee in the House of
    Representatives. Not only do I call him ``the Chairman;'' I call him
    ``sir.'' [Laughter] He's a powerful Member from Florida, and he's a
    great Member from Florida. I'm proud to call him friend, and I'm proud
    he's here.
        Mike Bilirakis is here as well, a fine
    Member of the United States Congress. These are two of the good ones,
    and you've got a fine person running for Congress as well. Her name is
    Ginny Brown-Waite. We need to send her to
    the United States Congress. So when you're out there rounding up the
    votes for Jeb, don't forget Ginny.
        I'm also proud to be up here with a member of my Cabinet. I wanted
    somebody to work with me to close the housing gap in America. Too many
    of them are minorities--don't own their house. Too many of them don't
    own a home. We're going to close that gap. It makes sense to encourage
    people to own something in the great country called America. We want all
    people--[applause]--there's nothing more--there's nothing better than
    owning your own home. Too many of our African Americans don't own a
    home. Too many Hispanics in this country don't own a home. And so I
    called upon a Floridian to help me close that homeownership gap.
        I picked a solid American, a man of great success, a man who
    represents the best of the country. After all, his parents, when he was
    a little boy, put him on the boat to escape the clutches of Fidel
    Castro, so he could grow up in freedom, and now he's a member of the
    President's Cabinet, Mel Martinez.
        I'm also proud to be up here with the great General Norman
    Schwarzkopf, the man who set the example.
        Finally, I want to thank the good folks here at the University of
    South Florida, particularly President Judy Genshaft for her hospitality, and all the good folks who put up
    with us today. It's a great place to celebrate the candidacy and the
    soon-to-be victory of Jeb Bush. We thank you for
    your hospitality.
        The thing you've got to remember about this good man who's your
    Governor is, he did in office what he said he would
    do. See, that's important. We've got too many in the political process
    who just say things, just kind of float something out there and hope it
    sounds good, hope somebody might bite on it, hope it convinces people,
    but have no intentions or capabilities of getting it done. That's the
    exact opposite of your Governor. He said he was going to work to improve
    education for every child in the

    [[Page 1990]]

    State of Florida, and he has fulfilled that promise.
        See, he's got the right mindset. He believes
    every child can learn; that's what he believes. And therefore, he's
    willing to ask the question: Can every child read; can every child
    write; can every child add and subtract? And if not, he's willing to
    challenge the status quo. You have a Governor who will not be captured
    by special interests. You have a Governor with one interest in mind, to
    make sure that no child in the State of Florida is left behind.
        We're going through some tough economic times in America. We're kind
    of bumping along, is how I describe it, just bumping. And that's not
    good enough for this country. Anytime somebody who wants to work and
    can't find a job, it says we've got a problem. But there are some bright
    spots in this Nation about job creation. And the brightest of all bright
    spots is right here in the State of Florida. This man, he just doesn't talk about jobs. You're creating them
    here.
        He and I understand this: The role of
    Government is not to create wealth but an environment in which the
    entrepreneur can flourish, in which the small business can grow to be
    big businesses. No, you've got the right man if you're worried about the
    economic vitality of your State. You've got the right man if you're
    worried about job creation. That man is Jeb Bush.
        Been tough budget times for a lot of States. It's tough economic
    times. Remember, we went through a recession. And then the enemy hit us.
    Then we had a little problem with some of our corporate executives.
    [Laughter] They forgot what it would mean to be a responsible leader.
    They forgot what it means to tell the truth. Some of them thought they
    could fudge the books, shade the numbers. Those days are over with.
        Thanks to Members of Congress here, I had the ability to sign the
    toughest law, the corporate reform law, since Franklin Roosevelt.
    There's not going to be any more easy money, just hard time when we
    catch you fudging the numbers and not doing your responsibility.
        But as a result of these tough times, revenues have dwindled in
    States, and it's been hard for some Governors to manage the budget--not
    the Governor of Florida. This man managed the
    budget during tough economic times. He took on the tough tasks to make
    sure your money was spent properly. He understands what I know: When
    you're talking about money in Tallahassee or money in Washington, it's
    not the Government's money; it's your money. And Jeb Bush is a good
    steward of your money.
        It should be clear to the people of Florida from all political
    parties that the man knows what he's doing, that
    the man is a plain speaker, that the man cares deeply about the citizens
    of this State. When he hears of hurt, he doesn't go around and say,
    ``Well, if you're hurting, I'll only try to help you if you're a
    Republican.'' He cries when anybody hurts. He's got deep compassion for
    the citizens of Florida, an honest man, who's brought integrity and
    dignity to the office. He's the kind of guy that will make you proud.
    He's the kind of guy that you need to send back to Tallahassee as a
    reelected Governor of Florida.
        Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
        The President. Jeb has handled tough problems
    in Tallahassee, and we're going to handle tough problems in Washington
    on your behalf. I talked about the economy. I'm worried about people not
    being able to find work. We'll do everything we can to make sure job
    creation is strong. And the best way to do that is to let you keep more
    of your own money. Those tax cuts we passed came at the right time in
    American history.
        Now, when you hear them talking about in Washington up there, ``Oh,
    we better revisit the tax cuts''----
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!

    [[Page 1991]]

        The President. ----that just means they're fixing to try to get in
    your pocket. For the sake of economic vitality, for the sake of growth,
    and for the sake of jobs, we need to make the tax cuts permanent.
        No, there's a lot of issues we'll be working on. We'll be working on
    health care issues, of course. We've got to make sure Medicare works.
    Medicine has changed. Medicine is modern. Technology has changed
    medicine. New discoveries have changed medicine. But Medicare is stuck
    in the past. It hasn't changed. For the sake of fulfilling our promise
    to seniors, I need to have people in Washington, DC, with whom I can
    work to modernize Medicare, which means prescription drugs for the
    seniors of the State of Florida.
        No, there's a lot of issues we need to work on. But the biggest
    issue of all is to protect you. You see, there's still an enemy out
    there that lurks around. They hate us. They hate us because of what we
    love. We love the freedom to worship. We love the freedom to speak our
    mind. We love every aspect about freedom, and we're not changing. And so
    long as we love, they hate. And so we've got a task ahead, and that is
    to protect you. That's why I went to Congress and said, in spite of the
    fact that a lot of good people are working hard--you see, anytime we get
    a hint, any piece of evidence that somebody is thinking about doing
    something to America, we're moving on them. We're disrupting them. We're
    denying them.
        But the threat is real. And therefore I went to Congress and said,
    ``Give us a Homeland Security Department, so we can better coordinate
    the agencies involved with protecting you. Give us something to make
    sure that we can change cultures, so that people get the message that
    our number one responsibility in Washington, DC, is to protect the
    American people from further attack.'' The Members of the House
    responded, but it's stuck in the United States Senate.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. Yes, and it's stuck in the United States Senate, and
    you need to know why it's stuck in the United States Senate, and you
    might let some of your Senators know why it's stuck. It's because they
    want me to give up power that Presidents have had since John F. Kennedy.
        See, Presidents since John F. Kennedy have had the capacity to
    suspend some collective bargaining rules, in any Department of the
    Federal Government, for the sake of national security. In other words,
    I'll have the capacity--I do have the capacity today, unless the Senate
    has its way, for me to take some rules and set them aside so we can
    better protect you. And that's the issue, and I'm not giving up that
    power, for the sake of the American people.
        But the best way to protect you is to hunt these killers down, one
    at a time, and bring them to justice.
        Audience members. U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!
        The President. Therapy won't work. [Laughter] I asked Congress for a
    big increase in defense spending. I want to thank Chairman Young for leading the way. I had the honor of signing a
    defense appropriations bill, which increased defense spending, the
    largest increase since Ronald Reagan was the President, and there's two
    reasons why. I want you to hear the reasons.
        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, you need to know and our friends need to know and our enemy
    needs to know, we're in this deal for the long haul. There's not a
    calendar on my desk in the Oval Office that says on such-and-such a
    date, we're pulling them in. No matter how long it takes, no matter what
    the cost is, we will defend freedom. History has called us into action,
    and we're not going to tire. We're not going to quit until we have
    defeated the agents of terror and until America is safe and our friends
    are safe.

    [[Page 1992]]

        And we're making progress. This is a different kind of war. In the
    old days, you know, if you destroyed an enemy's tanks or sunk his ships
    or knocked down airplanes, you knew you were making progress. A lot of
    these folks don't have tanks. They hide in caves. They send youngsters
    to their suicidal deaths. So therefore, the doctrine that says, ``Either
    you're with us, or you're with the enemy,'' is just as important today
    as it was a year ago, and it still stands.
        Slowly but surely, we're hunting them down. It's going to take
    awhile. You just have got to know it's going to take awhile. But the
    stakes are high. And they're really high, particularly on what happened
    on September the 11th. You see, a cold reality came--my job, by the way,
    is to see the world the way it is, not the way we hope--hope it is. And
    there's a cold reality. Oceans no longer protect us from threats. Oceans
    no longer protect us from gathering dangers across the--in other parts
    of the world.
        It used to be, we could pick or choose. We learned a lesson that the
    battlefield is here at home, and we've got to be realistic about that.
    And that's why I started the debate on Iraq. You see, I view the
    man as a serious threat to America and our
    friends and allies. He's a man who has told the world he wouldn't have
    weapons of mass destruction, yet he does. We know a while ago that he
    was close to having a nuclear weapon. We have no idea today how close he
    is. If he has a nuclear weapon, it's a serious problem for America and
    our friends and allies.
        We know he's got chemical weapons. He
    said he wouldn't have them, but we know he's got them. Not only does he
    have them, he used them. He used them in his neighborhood. He used them
    on his own people.
        We know that he's had connections with Al
    Qaida. There would be nothing more pleasing to him to be able to use one
    of these shadowy terrorist networks. He could serve as the armory and
    the training grounds. They could be the deliverer of weapons, and we
    would never see his fingerprints.
        We know he's a danger. And that's why I
    went to the United Nations, to take my explanation there. See, I want
    the United Nations to succeed. I think it's important in the new threats
    facing America that we have an international body that has got the
    backbone necessary to hold people to account. For 11 years, however,
    this guy has defied the United Nations. Not once, not twice, but 16
    times he has said, ``Forget it.''
        And therefore, I have said to the United Nations, ``Show us whether
    you can be an effective body at keeping the peace or whether or not
    you'll be the League of Nations. Show us whether or not you'll be an
    effective--ability to hold people to account, or whether you're going to
    be an empty debating society''--their choice to make.
        And Mr. Saddam Hussein has got a choice
    to make as well. He has said he wouldn't have weapons of mass
    destruction. We expect him not to have weapons of mass destruction. But
    the Congress spoke with a voice that I hear, and I believe that, if they
    do not disarm Saddam Hussein, if the United Nations can't act and he
    himself will not disarm, for the sake of peace and for the sake of
    freedom, the United States will lead a coalition to disarm him.
        I don't know what was going through the mind of the enemy. I can't
    imagine what the enemy was thinking when they hit us. They probably
    thought the national religion of America was materialism, that we were
    so materialistic and caught up in money that we were selfish and self-
    absorbed and shallow. Oh, they probably thought that after September the
    11th, 2001, we'd file a lawsuit or two. [Laughter]
        You see, they know something--they don't know something I know, that
    the spirit of America is strong, the American spirit is alive and well,
    that this great Nation, if we stay the course, if we remain strong,

    [[Page 1993]]

    if we speak clearly, if we remember that freedom is not an American gift
    to the world, it is a God-given gift to the world, if we remain true to
    our principles and values, we can achieve peace. And that's the dream,
    to achieve peace. And that's one of the good that's going to come out of
    the incredible evil done to America.
        And you know what else is going to happen in America? America is
    going to be a better country as a result of what happened to us. We
    still weep for the victims. We still mourn for those who lost life. But
    out of the evil done to America is going to come some great good.
        It's because you've got people like Jeb Bush,
    who understand the true strength of the country lies not in the halls of
    Government but in the hearts and souls of our fellow citizens. He and I
    know that Government can hand out money, and we will do everything we
    can to try to help people help themselves and reform programs and make
    sure education works. But Government cannot put hope in people's hearts
    or a sense of purpose in people's lives. That does when--that happens
    when people put their arm around somebody who hurts and says, ``I love
    you. What can I do to help you? Can I mentor you? Can I be the head of a
    Boy Scout troop or a Girl Scout troop or run a Boys or Girls Club?''
        No, you see, the important thing to remember is that if you want to
    make a difference in America, you can help change this country one
    heart, one hurting soul, one conscience at a time. And although one of
    us can't do everything, each of us can do something to make an enormous
    difference.
        No, the enemy hit us. They had no idea who they were hitting. Out of
    the evil done to America is going to come a peaceful world. And out of
    the evil done to America is going to come a more hopeful and
    compassionate tomorrow, because the American spirit is alive and well.
    It is strong; it is vibrant.
        I want to thank you all for coming tonight. I want to thank you for
    supporting my brother, Jeb. May God bless you. And
    may God bless America.

    Note: The President spoke at 7:20 p.m. in the Sun Dome at the University
    of South Florida. In his remarks, he referred to Gov. Jeb Bush of
    Florida, his wife, Columba, and their son George P. Bush; Lt. Gov. Frank
    Brogan of Florida; Ginny Brown-Waite, candidate for Florida's Fifth
    Congressional District; Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, USA (Ret.), former
    commander of Operation Desert Storm; and President Saddam Hussein of
    Iraq.