    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book II)]
    [September 5, 2002]
    [Pages 1550-1556]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at a Dinner for Congressional Candidate Chris Chocola in
     South Bend
    September 5, 2002

        Thank you all very much for that warm welcome. And thank you for
    that kind introduction, ``Congressman.'' [Laughter] I'm proud to come
    back to my alma mater. Well, that is, my honorary alma mater. [Laughter]
    I'm proud to come back to support Chris Cacho--Chocola. [Laughter] He's
    a fine man. You're lucky he's running for Congress. The people of this
    district need to send him to Washington, DC.
        I want to thank you all for coming. I appreciate your support of
    Chris. I want to thank those who organized this dinner. I thank John
    Hiler, who's campaign chairman. I want to thank
    Father Scully, from one of the greatest
    universities in America, that is, Notre Dame. I appreciate Doc
    Bowen. I asked him if he wanted to be
    called Secretary or Governor. He said, ``Governor.'' I said, ``I
    understand that.'' [Laughter] Former Congressman Bud Hillis is here. A current Congressman, Steve
    Buyer, is here, and I appreciate Steve coming.
    He's been a strong ally in the United States Congress. Brose
    McVey, who is running for Congress from the
    Indianapolis area, is with us today. And Brose, thank you for running
    for Congress, and sure hope you win. I appreciate Jim Kittle, who's the chairman of the party.
        But most of all, I appreciate all the grassroots activists who are
    here. I want to thank you for supporting this good man. I want to thank
    you for what you have done, but most importantly, I want to thank you
    for what you're going to do, and that is turn out the vote. We need him
    in the United States Congress.
        Chris Chocola is a man of faith and family. He's got good, solid
    Indiana values. He married above himself--[laughter]--and so did I.
    [Laughter] I love the story that's told about Chris sitting there
    yelling at TV screen on Sunday morning. Sarah
    finally said, ``If you get so agitated at screaming at the TV screen
    about all the opinions being made, why don't you start talking to voters
    instead? Why don't you go out and ask for the vote and serve your
    country?'' And thankfully, he said yes. I appreciate a good wife who
    stands by her husband, who is willing to work to see the best interests
    of this district are represented in Washington, DC.
        I also love the fact that they place high priority on their
    children. There's nothing more important than having people in
    Washington, DC, who understand that their most important job is to be a
    good mom and a good dad. And you've got that in the Chocola family.
        I had the honor of shaking some hands a little earlier. And more
    than one person, Chris, said they wished Laura
    were here. You drew the short straw. [Laughter] By the way, she's doing
    great. When I married her, she was--we were both raised in Midland,
    Texas, for starters. And the truth of

    [[Page 1551]]

    the matter is, when we met and married, she wasn't very interested in
    politics and wasn't too keen on politicians. Now she's the First Lady of
    the United States, and she's doing a fabulous job. I'm proud of the way
    she has set an example. I'm proud of her calm demeanor in the face of
    crisis. I'm proud to call her wife. I love her dearly, and I wish she
    were here.
        I like Chris because not only is he a good, honest fellow, he
    doesn't need polls to tell him what to believe, doesn't need to run a
    focus group to figure out what's in his heart, but he's also run a
    business. I've spent a little time in Washington now, and I can assure
    you, we need more people in the Nation's Capital who have met a payroll.
        See, the entrepreneurial spirit is so incredibly important in
    America, and we need to--people need--we need people in Washington who
    understand that spirit. In this case, you've got a person who has helped
    build a small business to--I guess you'd call it a medium-size business.
    A lot of people would call it a large business when they understand this
    business employs over a 1,000 people.
        See, what we need in Washington is people who understand the role of
    Government when it comes to enterprise. And the role of Government is
    not to create wealth. The role of Government is to create an environment
    in which the entrepreneur can flourish, in which small businesses can
    grow to be big businesses, in which America's producers can flourish.
    And that starts with creating a tax environment that is hospitable to
    growth and jobs.
        I suspect in this campaign you're going to find a difference of
    opinion about taxes. I'll give you our opinion. In the midst of slow
    times, economic times--and we're in slow economic times. As a matter of
    fact, history will show that the first three quarters of my
    administration--during the first three quarters of my administration, we
    were in recession. And it's then that it's best to stimulate economic
    growth and job creation by letting people keep more of their own money.
    Here's the difference of opinion in Washington, and you're beginning to
    hear it creep into the dialog. Some want to get rid of the tax cuts.
    Some want to raise taxes in the midst of a recession. That's the
    absolute wrong policy. Some want to raise tax when we've got slow
    economic times. That's the wrong policy.
        The textbook we read from says, if you let a person keep more of
    their own money, you will enhance the demand for goods and services. And
    if somebody demands an additional good or service, somebody is going to
    produce that good or a service. And when somebody produces that good or
    a service, somebody is more likely to find work. What we're interested
    in is stimulating the entrepreneurial spirit of America, stimulating
    small-business growth, so people in America can find work.
        And one of the issues we're faced with is this--because of a quirk
    in the law, this tax relief plan that we have passed is going to expire
    in 10 years. I admit that's kind of hard to explain. That's tough to
    explain in Crawford, for example, when you tell them, ``We'll get you
    tax cuts, but we're going to take it away from you.'' The Senate rules
    have it that after 10 years the tax relief that we passed go away. And
    that's bad for America. See, it's hard to plan when there's uncertainty
    in the Tax Code.
        There's also some good social policy in the Tax Code. We mitigate
    the harm of the marriage penalty. We believe that the Tax Code ought to
    encourage marriage, not discourage marriage. And one of the very
    important features of this bill, besides rate reduction, which is good
    for job creation, is that this bill puts the death tax on the road to
    extinction. The death tax is bad for Indiana farmers. It's bad for
    Indiana businessowners. It's bad for Indiana, period. And we need a
    Congressman who is willing to join me to make sure the tax cuts are
    permanent.

    [[Page 1552]]

        No, the economy is not like it should be. And we've made pretty good
    progress in Washington. We need people up there who understand the
    responsibility that comes with running a business. In this country, we
    expect people to tell the truth. We don't want people cooking the books.
    We don't want people fudging the numbers in order to try to get ahead. I
    had the honor of working with both Republicans and Democrats to sign the
    most comprehensive corporate reform since Franklin Roosevelt was the
    President. My attitude is, if you cheat the American people, if you
    cheat the taxpayer, if you cheat your employees, we're going to hold you
    accountable. No more easy money in America, just hard time for those who
    betray the trust.
        I appreciate so very much Chris' understanding of the need to make
    sure that every child--every child in America--gets a good education.
    There is a debate that rages in America about public schools, and there
    should be. Here's our attitude: Every child can learn. We believe it's
    essential to raise standards and raise the bar, to challenge the soft
    bigotry of low expectations. We believe it's important to trust the
    local people to chart the path to excellence for every child. See, we're
    strong backers of local control of schools. We understand the people who
    care more about the children of South Bend, Indiana, are the people who
    live in South Bend, Indiana. And therefore, we should empower them--
    empower them to make sure that the public education meets the high
    standards. So local control of schools is a cornerstone of good
    education policy. We should never federalize education in America.
        And thirdly, we believe in holding people accountable. You see, if
    you believe every child can learn--in other words, if you're willing to
    set high standards--then you want to know whether or not that's taking
    place. If you believe every child in America can learn, it's essential
    that we insist that we measure to determine whether they are learning.
        We want to know whether or not our children can read and write and
    add and subtract, and the only way to do that is to insist that States
    which receive Federal money develop accountability systems so parents
    and concerned citizens understand exactly that which is taken place. And
    when we find children trapped in schools which will not teach and will
    not change, as a society we must demand something better, because there
    is no second-rate children in America. Every child should be educated,
    and no child should be left behind.
        And I hope the Second District sends somebody up to Washington who
    is strong on national defense, somebody who understands the challenges
    we face, somebody who is willing to join me in insisting that Congress
    adequately fund our military. I say that because the most important
    challenge the next Congress will have is to join me in protecting our
    homeland. Economic security is vital, but I believe our economy is going
    to right itself and grow. The ingredients for growth are there: low
    interest, low inflation, high productivity amongst our workers. The
    entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well and recovering. The biggest
    challenge is the homeland security.
        Our biggest challenge is to make sure that the enemy doesn't hit us
    again. And they're out there. That's the reality of the world in which
    we live. The battlefields of the past have shifted. The battlefield can
    now be here in America, as we learned tragically. And there is still a
    group of people out there, nothing but a bunch of coldblooded killers,
    by the way, that hate America. And they hate us because we love freedom.
    I want you to tell your kids that the reason there is an enemy that
    wants to strike America is because this great country, this great land,
    loves freedom. We love the fact that people can worship freely in
    America. We love the fact that people can speak their mind. We love a
    free press. We love everything that freedom offers,

    [[Page 1553]]

    and we're willing to defend it at all costs. The more we love freedom,
    the more the enemy hates us. And that's why we've got to protect the
    homeland.
        And there's another interesting characteristic of these people. They
    don't value human life, and we do. Every life is precious in America.
    Everybody counts. Everybody has worth, no matter what their status. And
    the enemy doesn't think that way. And so long as we adhere to those
    values, and so long as they're running around, we've got a problem here
    at home. And we're going to deal with it. We're going to deal with it in
    a way that protects our Constitution. It's a sacred document, as far as
    I'm concerned. And we're going to do it in an intelligent way.
        You need to know there's a lot of fine people working hard to
    protect America right now. Anytime we get a hint, anytime we get a
    lead--our antennae, by the way, are much more sensitive now than they
    were prior to September the 11th, obviously. We're aware of the new
    battlefield. And so we're moving on these hints and these leads, and
    we're disrupting, and we're after them here at home.
        I went to Congress and asked the Congress to help me protect our
    homeland by setting up a Department of Homeland Security. When I first
    laid out the initiative, some of our folks were a little concerned that
    I was trying to create big Government. I readily concede my slogan
    wasn't, ``Don't vote for me. I'm for big Government.'' But I do want our
    Government to work. I want it to, particularly now that we're
    threatened. I want it to do what you want it to do, to do everything we
    can to effectively protect our homeland. So I sent up a comprehensive
    package to Congress to take all the agencies involved with homeland
    security--and there's over 100 of them in Washington--and put them under
    one umbrella, so that we can have the right focus and the right priority
    in this agency.
        To tell you how Washington thinks, however--the House, by the way,
    responded well, and I want to thank Steve for
    his vote. But in the Senate, they're debating the issue, and they're
    trying to micromanage the process. There's a little confusion as to--
    over who is the executive branch and who is the legislative branch. The
    legislative branch wants to try to run how we run our operation. And
    that's unacceptable, and I'll give you an example.
        In order to protect America better, we must do a better job of
    securing our borders. We've got to know who's coming into America, what
    they're bringing into America, and whether they're checking out when
    they say they're going to leave America. We've got three different
    agencies on our borders. We've got the INS and the Border Patrol and the
    Customs agency, all of which have got important duties, none of which do
    a very good job of working together. They wear different uniforms.
    They've got different strategies sometimes.
        For the sake of homeland security, the Senate must give this
    President and future Presidents the ability to move people to the right
    place at the right time in order to disrupt the enemy. They should not
    micromanage the process. They've got to worry more about the American
    people and less about the special interest that roams the Hall of the
    United States Senate.
        There's no doubt in my mind Steve would be
    with us in that spirit. He understands management, and he understands
    priority. The reason I say we need people in Congress up there to--who
    understand the new world we're in and are willing to support our
    military is because the best way to secure the homeland is to hunt the
    killers down, one person at a time, and bring them to justice. And
    that's exactly what the United States is going to do.
        They hide in caves. See, this is a different kind of war. And part
    of my responsibilities as your President is to remind people about the
    realities that we face in America. One of the realities is, is that
    these people hide in caves. They find the darkest cave they can find,
    and then they

    [[Page 1554]]

    sell--send their youngsters or young folks to their suicidal deaths.
    They don't have tanks. They don't have munition factories. They've got
    determination and hatred in their hearts. They've got suicidal killers.
    And so we've got to run them down, no matter where they are, one by one.
        I sent a significant increase in the defense budget up to Congress.
    It's the largest increase since Ronald Reagan was the President. I did
    so because I wanted to send two messages: One, anytime we send our
    troops into harm's way, they deserve the best pay, the best equipment,
    and the best possible training. You need a Congressman from this
    district who understands that. I also sent a second message to friend
    and foe alike, and that is, this country will stay the course no matter
    how long it takes to defend freedom, that we're in this for the long
    haul, that we understand the stakes and we value our liberty and we're
    going to defend our country for the sake of our children and our
    children's children.
        And we're making some pretty good progress. Sometimes you see what
    happens; sometimes you don't. This is one of these kind of wars where
    things happen, and you just don't know about it. But I bet we have
    hauled in over a couple of thousand of these people. I say ``we''; it's
    not only ourselves but our friends and allies. And they're still hitched
    up. They're still anxious to help, because they understand the stakes.
    Probably a like number weren't as lucky, but we're seeking justice
    around the world.
        It's important for our youngsters to understand this about our
    country as well: When we say something, we've got to do it. When we say
    something, we do what we say. When we told the world that if you harbor
    a terrorist, you're just as guilty as the terrorist--and we mean it. And
    Afghanistan and the Taliban found out exactly what the United States of
    America was talking about.
        We went to that country not to conquer anybody but to liberate
    people. This great Nation liberated people from the clutches of one of
    the most barbaric regimes in history. And now, thanks to America and our
    friends and allies, young girls go to school for the first time--many
    young girls go to school for the first time in their lives.
        We've got a lot of work to do. Once we get them on the run, we
    intend to keep them on the run by denying them sanctuary or training or
    finances or camps. Once we get them moving, we're going to keep them
    moving until we bring them to justice. And it's going to take awhile,
    just is. But the price is worth it. I know the nature of the enemy. No
    matter what it takes, no matter what the cost, we owe it to history, we
    owe it to our children's freedom to be tough and strong and to pursue
    the killers.
        I started a debate in Washington yesterday that is a very important
    national debate. It's a debate that we must have. It's a debate about
    our future and about peace, and it's a debate about Saddam
    Hussein. I want Congress involved in this
    debate. Tomorrow morning I'm going to call the leaders of China and
    Russia and France to talk about how to make the world more peaceful and
    more secure. I'm going to meet with Prime Minister Blair Saturday night, Prime Minister Chretien on Monday, all aimed at building a consensus and talking
    about a true threat that faces our country.
        There is nothing more threatening than to have weapons of mass
    destruction in the hands of somebody who hates America and hates
    freedom. There's doubt in people's mind; I understand that. But there
    should be no doubt that Saddam Hussein has
    invaded two countries in recent history. There should be no doubt that
    he's totally defied the international community. You see, he agreed to
    disarm, and he's totally defied that--what he agreed to. Where I come
    from, if you say you're going to do something, people expect you to do
    it. I expect him to do it.

    [[Page 1555]]

        There's no doubt that he has killed his own people. He's poisoned
    his own citizens at times. He has used chemical weapons on others.
    There's no doubt in my mind that we should allow the world worst leaders
    to hold America hostage, to threaten our peace, to threaten our friends
    and allies with the world's worst weapons. I'm a patient man. We've got
    a lot of tools at our disposal. But I'm going to act on this premise,
    that freedom is precious, and we owe a free society to our children and
    our children's children.
        The enemy struck a great country. You know, they must have ignored
    reality when they hit us, or they were operating on false premises, such
    as, this country is so materialistic and selfish, so feeble in our
    strength, so shallow in our beliefs that after September the 11th we
    might have filed a lawsuit or two, but that's all we were going to do.
    But they learned--they learned something about this country. They
    learned about our character and our fiber and our beliefs. Out of the
    evil done to America is going to come some good. They couldn't have
    possibly realized that, because they didn't understand who they were
    hitting. Out of the evil they have done to us--a tragic, tragic day in
    our history, September the 11th--will come peace.
        If we stay steadfast and strong, if we're willing to delineate
    between good and evil, if we're willing to continue to work with others
    to protect freedom, we can achieve peace. We can achieve peace not only
    for our own citizens, but since we value all human life and everybody
    matters, we can achieve peace in parts of the world that have quit on
    peace.
        No, they hit us, but they roused a mighty spirit in this country,
    and they've given us a chance to seize the moment, to define history, to
    define our history as a peaceful history. It's going to be some steep
    climbing for awhile. We've got some high hurdles. But I want you to tell
    the young ones that the aims of this country, the aims of this great
    country is to achieve peace.
        And here at home, we've got to recognize that in the midst of our
    wealth and prosperity, there are pockets of despair and hopelessness,
    people wondering whether or not the American Dream is meant for them. My
    attitude is, when one of us suffers, all of us suffers. But I believe we
    now have a chance to rectify that, to make our country hopeful for every
    citizen, because I know what the spirit of America is all about, and I
    know what's taking place in community after community after community.
    After September the 11th, many of our citizens took a step back to
    assess that which is important in life. Many of our citizens understand
    to fight evil, you do so by loving your neighbor just like you'd like to
    be loved yourself; that it's the collective acts of kindness and
    goodness that take place in our society on a daily basis that stands
    strong against the evil done to America and paints the true face of a
    compassionate country.
        I recognize, and I hope you do, that there is a role for Government.
    And Government can hand out money, and sometimes we do a pretty good job
    of it. But what Government cannot do is put hope in people's hearts or a
    sense of purpose in people's lives. That is done when a loving citizen
    puts his or her arm around a despairing American, and says, ``I love
    you. What can I do to help you? How can I teach you to read? What is it
    I can do to make your life more hopeful?''
        See, one person can't do everything in America, but one person could
    do something. And each of us must be that one person doing something to
    stand tall in the face of evil. And that's what's happening here in
    America. All across our country there are churches and synagogues and
    mosques working miracles of change in people's lives. There are people
    who, on a daily basis in America, feed those who hunger, provide shelter
    for those who need shelter, teach values to our children.
        No, the enemy hit us, but they didn't realize what was going to
    happen. They

    [[Page 1556]]

    didn't realize that we're going to do whatever it takes to defend our
    freedom. Nor did they realize that this country is going to emerge a
    stronger and more compassionate land.
        The culture of our country--I first ran for Governor, and one of the
    main reasons why was because I wanted to be a small part of a cultural
    change in America. I felt it was incredibly important for the future of
    this country to be a part of a change of a culture from one which had
    said, ``If it feels good, do it,'' and ``If you've got a problem, blame
    somebody else.'' My hopes and dreams still exist for a culture which
    says, ``Each of us are responsible for the decisions we make in life.''
        If you're fortunate enough to be a mom or a dad, you're responsible
    for loving your child with all your heart and all your soul. If you're
    living in South Bend, Indiana, you're responsible for the quality of
    education in your neighborhood. You're responsible for helping a
    neighbor in need. You're responsible for the quality of life around you.
    If you're running a corporation, you're responsible for telling the
    truth. This responsibility era is beginning to take place.
        There's--an amazing event happened on September the 11th that helps
    define what I'm talking about. It defines that concept of serving
    something greater than yourself in life. It was on Flight 93, when some
    of our fellow citizens were flying across the country. They had heard
    from cell phones, generally from their loved ones, that the plane that
    they were on was going to be used as a weapon. And a lot of them on that
    airplane told their loved ones goodbye. They spoke about love. They said
    a prayer. One guy said, ``Let's roll,'' and they served something
    greater than themself in life by taking that plane into the ground.
        This country is a fabulous country because of that spirit. You see,
    there's a new patriotism in America, a new sense of responsibility to
    something greater than ourselves. There's no doubt in my mind that out
    of the evil done to America will come incredible good, will come peace
    and a compassionate tomorrow, because this is the greatest nation on the
    face of the Earth, full of the greatest people.
        May God bless you all. Thank you for coming. And may God bless
    America.

    Note: The President spoke at 5:55 p.m. at the Century Center. In his
    remarks, he referred to former Gov. Otis R. ``Doc'' Bowen of Indiana;
    Rev. Timothy R. Scully, executive vice president, University of Notre
    Dame; Sarah Chocola, wife of candidate Chris Chocola; President Saddam
    Hussein of Iraq; Prime Minister Tony Blair of the United Kingdom; and
    Prime Minister Jean Chretien of Canada. Mr. Chocola was a candidate for
    Indiana's Second Congressional District.