    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book II)]
    [September 27, 2002]
    [Pages 1689-1696]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at a Dinner for Gubernatorial Candidate Matt Salmon in Phoenix, Arizona
    September 27, 2002

        Thanks for that kind introduction, ``Governor.'' First, I want to
    thank the host of the dinner for organizing an early dinner. [Laughter]
    It's good for Colangelo's ballpark.
    [Laughter] I guess tonight's the night for the D-backs.
        I know this for certain, that this will be the only candidate I ever
    campaigned for who rides a Harley, speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese, and
    fronts an Elvis cover band. [Laughter] He's the candidate I'm
    campaigning for who's going to win. Matt's a breath of fresh air. See,
    he told the voters of his congressional district he'd only serve three
    terms. And when the third term finished, he didn't run again. He's the
    kind of person who does in office what he says he is going to do, which
    is vital for the statehouse and Arizona.
        The State faces real challenges, but with him you're going to get a
    straightforward fellow--somebody who will tell you the truth, somebody
    who will give it his all to make Arizona the best State for everybody
    who lives here. It's my honor to be here. I'm proud to support him, and
    I thank you all for coming as well.
        I had the privilege of meeting Nancy. Both
    of us married above ourselves. [Laughter] Nancy and Matt are the proud
    parents of four kids, and they place their family above all else. And it
    gives me great comfort to know I'm working for somebody who has got his
    priorities straight.
        And I appreciate you mentioning Laura, Matt.
    She sends her best. She sends her best to our friends who are here. She
    sends her best to you and Nancy. She's over there in Crawford, waiting
    for me. One of the good things about coming out West is, I get to spend
    the night in Crawford and remember there are values other than
    Washington values that count in the Nation. It's good to come out West
    where the spirit of individualism still remains strong, to come out West
    where you can see a long way, to come out West where people understand
    helping neighbors is an important part of building a good State. So,
    thanks for having me. I'm sorry Laura's not here. She's doing great. And
    by the way, I'm really, really proud of the job she's doing as our First
    Lady.
        We went up to Flagstaff where we were working on the drought relief
    program. It was raining. [Laughter] But I was up there to help a fellow
    named Rick Renzi, who is going to be the next
    Congressman from northern Arizona. I want to thank Rick for putting his
    hat in the ring, and I want to thank you all for helping him.
        I'm also honored to be with two great United States Senators, a
    great patriot, a man who is speaking clearly about the need

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    to defend America and defend our freedoms, and that's John McCain. And by the way, he married above himself too.
    [Laughter] And today I was traveling with Jon Kyl.
        One of the jobs of the President is to pick good judges, is to put
    people of sound judgment and great talent on our Federal benches. And
    the United States Senate has been, in some cases, not treating my
    nominees fairly. I named a great lady named Priscilla Owen to the bench. She'd run statewide in our State, had
    overwhelming votes, one of the top graduates of her law school. The
    lawyer group rated her one of the best, the highest ratings they could
    give. And yet the Senate distorted her record because she wouldn't be
    willing to legislate from the bench. Jon Kyl has
    remained strong on the Judiciary Committee to make sure my nominees get
    a fair hearing. We need to change the United States Senate so we can
    change the United States course.
        I want to thank Congressman Hayworth--he's
    not here, but I'm going to thank him anyway--and Shadegg and Flake and Kolbe for their support. Arizona has got a fine congressional
    delegation, and I'm proud to be able to work with these Members. I want
    to thank your Governor for coming today, my
    friend Jane Dee Hull. I want to thank the mayor of Phoenix for being
    here, Mayor Rimsza. And I also want
    to appreciate those of you who helped organize this dinner. I want to
    thank Chairman Fannin.
        But most of all, I want to thank the grassroot activists who are
    here, the people who put the signs in the yards, the people who do the
    phone calling, the people who do the mailers, those tireless souls who
    never get thanked. I want to thank you for what you have done, and as
    importantly, I thank you for what you're going to do, which is to turn
    out a big vote come November the 5th.
        I appreciate your next Governor's agenda. It starts with making sure
    that the State doesn't raise the taxes on the working people. I
    appreciate that promise. He's a man who keeps his word. It's one of
    these issues that will distinguish him from his opponent. If he says
    he's not going to raise your taxes, he means he's not going to raise
    your taxes. And that will be good for the economy of Arizona.
        He's focused on jobs. He briefed me on his WorkFair 2010 program.
    See, he and I understand the role of Government is not to create wealth
    but to create an environment in which the entrepreneur can flourish, in
    which small businesses can grow to be big businesses. I appreciate his
    vision for job creation.
        I also appreciate his brand of compassionate conservatism which
    says, we're going to help people help themselves, that when it comes to
    welfare that job training is essential to help people find work. We
    understand that in work you find dignity, in work you find the chance to
    put food on the table, in work you have a chance to realize your own
    self-worth. And so when it comes to helping people, your next Governor
    will make sure that work is an essential part of your welfare system
    here in the State of Arizona.
        I also appreciate his commonsense views on our forests. You've got a
    lot of vital land here. We're mismanaging our forests. We're doing a
    lousy job of protecting an important treasure for the country. We ought
    to be thinning our forests. We ought to be taking the burnt timber and
    making use of it. We ought to be clearing the timber out from underneath
    our trees. We ought to be saving our forests with commonsense forest
    policy. And I want to work with a Governor who understands that.
        No, I appreciate Matt. I appreciate him working hard to make this
    State a safer and stronger and better place. And that's what we've got
    to do for our country as well. A strong America is a country that works
    to make sure people can find work. I'm worried about the fact that some
    of our fellow Americans who want to work

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    can't find a job. And we've got to do everything we can to increase our
    job base, to do everything we can to make sure our economy continues to
    grow.
        That's why it's absolutely essential, in my judgment, that we make
    the tax cuts we passed permanent, that we don't let them be temporary,
    that we get rid of that Senate rule that says, we're going to give--on
    the one hand, we giveth; on the other hand, we taketh away. See, we give
    you tax cuts, but because of a--kind of a weird rule in the Senate,
    those go away after 10 years. For the sake of planning, for the sake of
    job creation, for the sake of growth, for the sake of small businesses--
    the tax cuts need to be permanent. And that includes getting rid of the
    death tax forever.
        We need an energy bill out of Washington, DC. For the sake of job
    security and for the sake of national security, we need an energy bill.
    They've been talking too long up there. We need a bill which encourages
    conservation, promotes new technologies, promotes renewables, but a bill
    which will encourage increase of supply here in America. Listen; we're
    too dependent on foreign sources of crude oil. And unfortunately, some
    of those people don't like us. For the sake of job security and national
    security, I need an energy bill, and I need it soon.
        There are some big projects that have been put on hold because
    construction folks can't get terrorism insurance. They estimate over
    300,000 of our fellow citizens aren't working, 300,000 hardhats aren't
    working because people can't get insured because of the terrorist
    attacks. Congress needs to act. They need to get a terrorism insurance
    bill to my desk. For the sake of job creation, for the sake of helping
    people find work, for the sake of the 300,000 hardhats who would be
    working--I need a terrorism insurance bill, a bill that does not reward
    the trial lawyers, but a bill that encourages construction workers to
    get back to work.
        There's a lot of things Congress can do to help, and I look forward
    to working with them to create the jobs. And I know the two Senators
    here and the Members of Congress are anxious to help to expand our
    economy. But one thing Congress must not do is overspend. See, one thing
    Congress has got to do is hold the line on spending if we want our
    economy to grow. Interest rates are low. Inflation is low. Productivity
    is some of the best in the world. The foundation for growth is there.
        But to make sure people can find work, it's important for Congress
    not to overspend. And there's a danger. See, every program in Washington
    sounds good. Everybody's idea is a brilliant idea. The problem is, is
    those brilliant ideas cost in the billions. Plus, the Senate doesn't
    have a budget. Senator McCain wants it to have a
    budget. Senator Kyl wants it to have a budget. It
    doesn't have a budget. The other side hasn't been able to get a budget.
    And when you don't have a budget, guess what the danger is--that there's
    no fiscal responsibility with your money. There's no fiscal restraint.
    For the sake of job creation, the Congress must fund our priorities and
    hold the line on additional spending.
        And we'll work together, and we'll work hard together to make sure
    this country is a stronger country, to make sure people can find work.
    We've also got to make sure it's a safer country. I think our biggest
    job is to protect the homeland, and the reason we need to do so, there
    is still an enemy out there which hates America. They hate us because of
    what we love. We love freedom. We love the fact that people can worship
    an almighty God any way they see fit here in America. We love the fact
    that people can have honest discourse and political debate. We love a
    free press. We love everything about freedom, and we refuse to
    relinquish that love. And so long as we love freedom, there are people
    that want to hurt us. See, that's the problem we face.

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        And the other difference is, we value life in America. Every life
    matters. Everybody counts. Everybody is precious--not to the enemy. They
    have hijacked a great religion, and murdered--murdered innocent people
    and could care less. And that's who we're fighting, and they're out
    there. So we've got to do everything we can to protect the homeland.
        You've got to know, there's a lot of good people working hard to
    protect you: Conversations taking place that never took place before in
    Washington; a lot of information sharing; a lot of folks running down
    every hint, every lead, every idea that somebody might be thinking about
    doing something to America. We're moving on it--within the confines of
    the United States Constitution, I might add. We're pursuing leads. We're
    disrupting. We're making sure, as best as we possibly can, that the
    enemy doesn't hit us again.
        And that's why I went to the United States Congress and asked the
    Congress to join me in the creation of a Homeland Security Department. I
    did so because there's over 100 agencies in Washington, DC, that have
    something to do with securing the homeland. They're everywhere, and it
    seems like to me that if the number one priority of the Government is to
    defend the homeland, they ought to be under one agency, so we can change
    the culture of these agencies, so we can insist on priority.
        And the House moved, and the Senate is stuck. And the Senate is
    stuck because they want to micromanage the process, not all Senators but
    some Senators. They want to have a thick book of rules that will tell
    the executive branch and this administration and future administrations
    how to deal with the--securing our homeland. I appreciate these two
    Senators here, standing strong for doing what's right, for leaving a
    legacy behind so future Presidents can more likely deal with an enemy
    who could care less about rules and regulations, an enemy which is
    willing to move fast.
        Now, let me just tell you what I'm talking about, so you'll
    understand. After September the 11th, the Customs Service wanted to
    require its inspectors at our Nation's 301 ports of entry to wear
    radiation detection devices so they could--these guys would have them on
    their belts, and if there was--somebody was trying to smuggle a weapon
    of mass destruction into our country, we'd know about it; somebody was
    trying to bring something in illegally, across the border, we would know
    about it, through the radiation detection device. The union that
    represents the Customs workers objected to this commonsense action; they
    didn't like it. They sought to invoke collective bargaining, which would
    have taken a year to resolve.
        See, it's those kind of rules which bind the capacity of the
    executive branch to do the job you want us to do. In order to locate
    employees in cases of emergency, the Customs Service sought to have
    employees provide their home addresses and their telephone numbers to
    the Customs Service. That makes sense. If you've got somebody you think
    may be getting ready to hit us and you need to move one of your Customs
    employees into a spot of action, you need his phone number. The union
    objected to listing the phone numbers and said such a request would
    violate the privacy rights of workers. The union actually filed a
    grievance and sought to negotiate something as sensible as this request.
        We do not need rules and bureaucracy to entangle us in the job you
    want us to do. Protection of the homeland of the United States is more
    important than special interests in Washington, DC.
        In this State, you don't need to write your Senators. In this State,
    they've been strong in leaving a legacy behind, an important legacy,
    because this enemy isn't going away. And the best way, however, to
    secure the homeland, short term and long term, is to hunt the killers
    down, one person at a time, one at a time, and bring them

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    to justice, which is what the United States of America is going to do.
        And we're making progress. We're making progress against the
    killers. That's all they are, by the way, nothing but a bunch of
    coldblooded killers. And that's the way we're treating them. Sometimes
    it's hard to tell the progress; this is a different kind of war, as you
    all know. I mean, in the old days you'd count the number of tanks you
    destroyed or the number of airplanes you destroyed and say, ``We're
    making progress.'' These folks don't have tanks. They don't have
    airplanes. They hide in caves. They send youngsters to their suicidal
    death. That's the kind of people we're fighting. And they're
    resourceful, and they're determined, but they're not as resourceful and
    determined as the United States of America.
        I put out a doctrine that said, ``Either you're with us, or you're
    with the enemy.'' That doctrine still stands today. And a lot of nations
    have joined us in rounding up these killers. We've captured over a
    couple thousand of them. We got one the other day in Karachi. He
    popped his head up, and he's no longer a
    threat to the United States or our friends.
        That's the kind of war we fight. It's not a glamorous war according
    to the old TV shows and stuff. It's just one person at a time, and we're
    relentless. And we're absolutely determined because we love freedom, and
    we owe it to our children to be relentless and determined.
        And that's why I asked the Congress to pass a defense bill that's
    the largest increase in defense spending since Ronald Reagan was the
    President. It sends two signals, as far as I'm concerned. One, anytime
    our youngsters are sent into harm's way, they deserve the best pay, the
    best training, and the best possible equipment. We owe that to them, and
    we owe it to their loved ones. For those of you in the audience who have
    got a loved one in the military, I'm proud of them; I've got great
    confidence in them; and I want to thank you for your sacrifice as well.
        Secondly, the reason I requested the defense bill that I did is
    because I wanted to send a message to friend and foe alike that we're
    not quitting. There is no calendar on my desk that says, by such-and-
    such a date, we're leaving, that we're going to quit when--by an
    artificial time. That's not the way we think in America. No matter how
    long it takes, we will defend our freedom. That's the message we sent.
        Now, the House passed the bill, and the Senate passed the bill, and
    it hasn't gotten to my desk yet. We're at war, and the defense bill
    hasn't made it. I'm calling upon the leaders of the Senate and the
    leaders of the House to reconcile any differences they have quickly and
    get the defense bill to my desk before you go home. Quit playing
    politics with the defense bill.
        In order to defend our freedoms, there's going to be some steep
    hills to climb, and we're going to have to climb them and climb them
    together. We've still got work to do against Al Qaida in Afghanistan. I
    want you to tell your children, if they ask you about all this war
    rhetoric, that your great country went into Afghanistan not to conquer
    anybody but to free people. We went in and freed people from the
    clutches--[applause]. It's really important for you to tell them that we
    value each life, no matter where that life lives.
        And we cried when we heard the stories about the Taliban not letting
    young girls go to school. It broke our heart, but it also made us joyous
    when we realized upholding the doctrine that said, ``If you harbor a
    terrorist, you're just as guilty as the terrorist,'' not only allowed
    the United States to keep its word, but we freed people. We freed people
    from the clutches of the barbaric Taliban regime.
        We've got work to do in Afghanistan, and we will continue to do the
    work in Afghanistan. You know, they're kind of sliding around the border
    regions, and we've got people looking for them. Sometimes

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    they try to get into Pakistan, and we're teamed up with the Pakistan
    Government to find them. Sometimes we get them on the run, and then they
    think they can light in other countries. And so we're pressuring them in
    other countries. It doesn't matter where they think they can light;
    we're after them.
        We've also got a big chore to make sure the world's worst leaders
    never threaten, blackmail, or harm America with the world's worst
    weapons. I went to the United Nations the other day. I did so because I
    wanted to make the case against a madman, a
    case against a man who has lied to the world, the case in front of this
    august body that for 11 long years he has stood in defiance of
    resolution after resolution, and at the same time built up his cache of
    chemical and biological weapons.
        This is a man who continues to murder his
    own people, a man who has gassed--used gas on his own citizens, a man
    who has used chemical weapons on his neighbors, a man who has invaded
    two countries, a man which hates--who hates America, a man who loves to
    link up with Al Qaida, a man who is a true threat to America, to Israel,
    to anybody in the neighborhood.
        And so I went to the United Nations, and I said to the United
    Nations, ``You need to deal with him. You, a
    collective body of freedom-loving countries, need to deal with him. For
    11 years he's made fun of you. You can either be the United Nations and
    be effective, or you can be the League of Nations. Your choice.'' I hope
    they're the United Nations. I hope they're a robust United Nations. I
    hope they're capable of helping to keep the peace. That's their choice.
        Saddam Hussein has got a choice, and that
    is, he can disarm. There's no negotiations, by the way. There's nothing
    to negotiate with him. He told the world he would disarm 11 years ago,
    and he's lied to the world. It's their choice to make. He must disarm,
    just like he said he would do. And the United Nations, in order to be
    effective, must disarm him. But for the sake of our freedom, for the
    sake of our future, if nothing happens, the United States will lead a
    coalition to hold him to account and to disarm Saddam Hussein. We owe it
    to the world to do so.
        I want to thank members of both political parties in the Congress
    for working on a strong statement of resolve that the world will see.
    Members of both political parties have worked together with the--with
    members of my staff, to develop a statement that shows our determination
    and our desire to keep the peace, to make the world a more peaceful
    place. I think you're going to see that our Government will be, shortly,
    speaking with one voice, and the world will take notice.
        History has called us into action, my fellow Americans; it just has.
    We have a chance to blink, or we have a chance to lead. I intend to
    lead.
        As we make sure that we're a safer and stronger place, we've also
    got to work to make America a better place for all of us. I mean all of
    us. It starts with making sure the education systems work. I appreciate
    the idea of having a Governor who is willing to work to challenge the
    soft bigotry of low expectations--somebody who is willing to raise the
    standards, somebody who believes, like I believe, every child can learn,
    and somebody who is willing to measure to determine if every child is
    learning.
        You see, it's really important to measure. If you believe children
    can learn, then you want to know. And if you find children trapped in
    schools which won't teach and won't change, you'd better have you a
    Governor who won't stand for the status quo. There's no second-rate
    children in Arizona. There's no second-rate children in America.
        But a better America also understands that the true strength of our
    country is not our Government, but the true strength of the country is
    the people, the hearts and souls of the American people. See,

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    that's what I think the strength of the country is. And we can change
    this country. You've got to understand that amongst the plenty, there
    are pockets of despair and hopelessness in this country. There just are.
    There are people who are addicted. There are people who are lonely.
    There are people who are lost. When you say ``American Dream'' to some
    of our fellow Americans, they go blank. And that's not right, and we
    need to deal with that. We need to address that part of our--because
    when one of us hurts, all of us should hurt.
        And we can change that part of the American scene. And we've got to
    understand, as we do, the limitations of Government. Listen, Government
    can hand out money, and we do a pretty good job of it sometimes. But
    what Government can never do is put love in somebody's life; can't put
    hope in a person's heart. That's going to happen because our fellow
    Americans decide to fight evil by doing some good. That will happen when
    our fellow Americans understand being a patriot is more than just
    putting your hand over your heart. Being a patriot is serving something
    greater than yourself. Being a patriot is somebody who mentors a child.
    Being a patriot is somebody who feeds the hungry. Being a patriot is
    somebody who starts a Boy or--Boys or Girls Club. Being a patriot--who
    does everything he or she can do to make the quality of life in your
    neighborhood as good as it can be.
        I don't know what's going through the mind of the enemy when they
    hit us. Oh, they probably thought after September the 11th, we might
    file a lawsuit or two. [Laughter] But they learned differently. They
    learned that this great country is plenty tough, and we'll defend our
    freedoms. They also learned that we're plenty compassionate and that
    we'll respond to their evil with decency. One person can't do everything
    in America, but one person can do something. And as you do that
    something, I want you to remember that you can change this country--one
    heart, one soul, one conscience at a time.
        I believe that we're in the midst of a cultural change in America; I
    believe it. I believe we're shifting our culture from one which had
    said, ``If it feels good, just go ahead and do it,'' and ``If you've got
    a problem, blame somebody else.'' I believe that since the terrible
    attack on America took place, that we're ushering in a period of
    personal responsibility, where each of us must understand, if you're
    lucky enough to be a mom or a dad, your most important job is to love
    your child with all your heart and all your soul. The culture of
    responsibility says, ``If you live in Phoenix, Arizona, you must do
    everything you can to support the quality of life in that community.
    Don't hope for some distant Government to do it.'' The culture of
    responsibility says, ``If you run a corporation in America, you're
    responsible to be honest with the books and treat your employees and
    shareholders with respect.''
        I believe it's happening. And perhaps the most vivid example about
    what I'm talking about, about serving something greater than yourself,
    took place on Flight 93. America must remember that tragic story,
    because it speaks volumes about the great spirit of the country--people
    flying across the plain, 40 passengers and I think 4 crew members, I
    believe it was. They learned from their loved ones that something was
    taking place on the ground that no one could possibly imagine in
    America. They realized the plane they were on was going to be used as a
    weapon. They talked to their loved ones. They said the word ``love'' a
    lot. They said a prayer. They prayed for strength. One guy said, ``Let's
    roll.'' They took the plane into the ground. They served something
    greater than themselves. That's a powerful story because, to me, it
    speaks to the soul of our country, our worth.
        There is no question in my mind that if we remain strong and focused
    and tough, we can achieve peace. We can achieve peace for our country.
    We can achieve

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    peace in the Middle East, peace in South Asia. There's no doubt we can
    do that, if we're tough and strong and determined to speak clearly and
    always defend freedom. And at home, we can eliminate those pockets of
    despair. We can help people with love.
        And the reason I'm optimistic is because I know America. America is
    full of the finest people on the face of the Earth. America is the
    greatest nation on the face of the Earth. Thank you for coming. May God
    bless, and God bless America.

    Note: The President spoke at 4:38 p.m. in the Ballroom at the Phoenix
    Civic Plaza. In his remarks, he referred to Jerry Colangelo, managing
    general partner, Arizona Diamondbacks; Nancy Salmon, wife of candidate
    Matt Salmon; Rick Renzi, candidate for Arizona's First Congressional
    District; Mayor Anton E. ``Skip'' Rimsza of Phoenix; P. Robert Fannin,
    chairman, Arizona Republican Party; Ramzi bin al-Shibh, an Al Qaida
    operative suspected of helping to plan the September 11, 2001, terrorist
    attacks, who was captured in Karachi, Pakistan; and President Saddam
    Hussein of Iraq.