    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book II)]
    [October 17, 2002]
    [Pages 1819-1825]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at a Luncheon for Gubernatorial Candidate Sonny Perdue and Senatorial Candidate Saxby Chambliss in Atlanta, Georgia
    October 17, 2002

        Thank you all for coming. I'm glad you all are here. Thanks for
    coming, and thanks for such a generous Georgia welcome.
        You know, coming down on the airplane today, we were visiting about
    the politics here in Georgia, and a couple of the citizens from this
    great State told me my picture seems to be on the TV screen a lot--
    [laughter]--that a lot of people are using my image during the campaign.
    Well, I'm here to clarify a few things. The voters shouldn't be
    confused. For the sake of Georgia, for the sake of the United States,
    Saxby Chambliss needs to be the next United States Senator.
        No, the voters shouldn't be confused. For the sake of Georgia and
    for the sake of a great public school system, Sonny Perdue needs to be
    the next Governor of Georgia.

    [[Page 1820]]

        I appreciate you all coming. I want to thank you for what you're
    going to do. First, I want to thank you for what you have done, which is
    come today. [Laughter] And what you need to do is go to your coffee
    shops, your places of worship, the community centers, and let good
    people of Georgia understand that when you find two good ones, two good
    candidates like these two, they've got to work and vote on their behalf.
    Grassroots politics is going to win this election.
        And there's another secret weapon in the case of these two men's
    campaign, that's their wives. They both married well. Like me, they
    married above themselves. [Laughter] I'm so proud that Julianne
    Chambliss is with--standing by Saxby's
    side. She's a great mom. She's going to be a fabulous Senate wife. And
    I've got to tell you, I'm real proud of Mary as
    well. Mom and grandmom--she's going to be a great first lady for
    Georgia.
        You drew the short straw; Laura's in Mobile,
    Alabama. [Laughter] But she sends her very best. She's doing great, by
    the way. You know, I like to remind people that when I married her, she
    was a public school librarian in Texas. She didn't like politics. She
    didn't care for politicians. [Laughter] Now she's the First Lady of the
    United States and doing a magnificent job.
        I appreciate members of the congressional delegation. All but one
    decided they wanted to fly on Air Force One, so I had coffee with them
    this morning. [Laughter] But it's a fine group of individuals
    representing Georgia in the United States Congress: Congressman Jack
    Kingston, Mac Collins,
    Johnny Isakson, Bob Barr, Nathan Deal, Charlie
    Norwood, and John Linder.
        I'm proud of that delegation, and I hope and I feel like the good
    folks around Georgia will be wise to add to the delegation, starting
    with Phil Gingrey from the 11th Congressional
    District. Clay Cox is running for Congress. We need
    to get Clay in there. I'm real proud of the chairman of the Georgia
    Republican Party, my longtime friend Ralph Reed.
    I want to thank Ralph for his leadership. Alec Poitevint is the national committeeman. He also is a longtime
    friend. My friend Fred Cooper and Eric
    Tanenblatt all work hard to make sure our
    party is vibrant and alive and well, make sure our party not only is
    organized at the grassroots level but make sure our party sends out a
    message that all are welcomed. All who believe in the philosophy of
    personal responsibility, local control of your schools, limited
    Government, compassionate Government are welcome into our party. All are
    welcome to vote for these good candidates who are running. We don't care
    what party you have. We don't care whether you're a Republican,
    Democrat, or independent. What we care is, you support these good
    candidates because they're the right people at the right time for the
    State of Georgia.
        Sonny knows what I'm talking about. Sonny knows what I'm talking
    about. After all, he used to call himself a Democrat. [Laughter] And
    that's okay. I'm used to Texas politics. We had a lot of folks who
    called themselves one party label, but they--we all felt the same about
    things. Sonny represents Georgian values. He is a down-to-earth fellow.
    He's a plain speaker. When he says something, he means it. He might not
    be the prettiest fellow to look at--[laughter]--but he can get the job
    done for all the people in Georgia.
        And that means having a school system that leaves no children
    behind. Sonny's got a good education plan. It's one that makes sense.
    It's one that's going to challenge the soft bigotry of low expectations.
    It's going to set high standards. Sonny is going to support the teachers
    of Georgia. Sonny isn't going to try to micromanage the process from
    centralized government. He believes in local control of schools.
        And Sonny is the kind of no-nonsense fellow who will hold people to
    account. You see, he'll be willing to measure to determine whether or
    not each child is learning in Georgia. And when he finds children

    [[Page 1821]]

    trapped in schools which won't teach and won't change, he won't be bound
    by special interests. The only interest he cares about is the children
    of the State of Georgia.
        He knows what I know: The role of Government is not to create wealth
    but an environment in which the entrepreneur or small-business owner can
    flourish. Seventy percent of new jobs in America are created by small
    businesses. And it seems like, if you're worried about your job base,
    that you want to have somebody who's been a small-business person
    running your government, somebody who's actually done what a lot of
    others talk about. I think the fact that Sonny started his own business
    in the field of agriculture is one of the strongest reasons why the
    folks of Georgia ought to send him up to the capital.
        He also understands how important it is to have good roads and an
    efficient infrastructure. He's a practical man. He's a down-to-earth
    fellow who has asked the questions, how do you get the job done? He
    doesn't wait for a focus group. [Laughter] That's not his style. That's
    not how they raised them in south Georgia. If you're worried about your
    infrastructure, it seems like to me you want somebody who's licensed to
    fly a plane, who can drive a bus, or knows how to operate a truck. And
    that man is Sonny Perdue. And I'm proud to be here. I'm proud to say as
    loud and clear as I can, I'm for Sonny Perdue because he'll make a great
    Governor.
        And there's no doubt in my mind you've got to make sure that Saxby
    Chambliss is your United States Senator. Saxby is a leader. He's a
    leader. He can make things happen. I've watched him--I've watched him
    closely.
        I worked with him on the education bill, a fine piece of education
    reform. He brings a deep compassion for education. He and I understand
    the role of the Federal Government is limited, but the role of the
    Federal Government must be active. It says this: When we spend Federal
    money, we expect there to be good results. If you believe every child
    can learn, like we do, if you want to challenge the soft bigotry of low
    expectations, that finally we've begun to ask the question, what's
    happening? With all that money we're spending, what's happening? Why
    don't you show us whether or not our children can read and write and add
    and subtract? Why don't you show us whether or not our children have got
    a bright future? And if so, I promise you, we'll praise the teachers.
    But if not, we expect a return on behalf of the taxpayers' dollars. This
    piece of reform was substantial reform. And Saxby Chambliss was one of
    the leaders in the House of Representatives to make sure this bill got
    passed.
        He understands what I know: Medicine has changed, but Medicare
    hasn't. Medicine is modern; Medicare is old and needs to be reformed.
    Saxby Chambliss is one of the leaders in the United States Congress to
    make sure that Medicare changes with medicine and that seniors have got
    prescription drug benefits.
        I'm for Saxby because he will help me make sure that the judges I
    nominate get a fair hearing and get confirmed. My job is to put good,
    honorable, hard-working, intelligent, capable people on the Federal
    bench, people who will not use the bench to serve as a legislator but
    people who will sit on the bench to strictly interpret the United States
    Constitution.
        And the record of this Senate is a lousy record. If you look at the
    record, the percentage of my nominees who have been approved, and look
    at the reason why they haven't, you'll find that they're playing too
    much politics in Washington, DC. They're slow playing the process. And
    when some of my really good nominees got a hearing, they distorted their
    records. They listened to the small groups of special interests in
    Washington, DC. For the sake of a good, sound Federal judiciary, I need
    a United States Senator who will stand strong for my nominees, and that
    is Saxby Chambliss.
        We've got some challenges ahead of us. No question one of the
    challenges is to

    [[Page 1822]]

    make sure people can find work in America, that we can build on the
    foundation of economic growth. I'm optimistic about our economy's future
    because I know when interest rates are low and inflation is low and the
    productivity of our great workforce is high, we can grow our economy. I
    believe strongly that the future is a bright future. But we've got a lot
    of work to do. Together, we've got a lot of work to do.
        And there are some clear-cut things that the Congress can do. And
    one of them is to understand the significance of tax relief when it
    comes to economic vitality. Saxby and I read the page out of this
    economic textbook that says if you let a person keep more of their own
    money, they're likely to demand a good or a service. And when somebody
    demands a good or a service in the marketplace, somebody is likely to
    produce the good or a service. And when somebody produces that good or a
    service, somebody is more likely to be able to find work.
        And so we passed tax relief. Some people were enthusiastic about it.
    Some weren't quite so sure. And we got it passed. But the reason the
    issue is still alive is because there's a quirk in the Senate rules.
    This is a tough one for me to explain to you. It's like the Senate
    giveth, and the Senate taketh away. [Laughter] You see, after 10 years,
    the tax relief plan reverts back to where it was when we started
    relieving the taxes. So that creates uncertainty. It's hard, if you're a
    small-business person, to plan with uncertainty. It's hard for an
    economy to be steady if there's an uncertain Tax Code.
        One of the big issues in this campaign is, who understands what I've
    just described, and who's willing to join the President in making sure
    the tax relief plan is permanent? And that person is Saxby Chambliss.
        No, I will continue to work on our economy, helping to make sure our
    workers can find work. There's a lot of things we can do. We need an
    energy bill. We need a terrorism insurance bill. We need to make sure
    Congress doesn't overspend. Listen, every idea sounds like a genius idea
    in Washington. [Laughter] The problem is, they all cost billions. I've
    got to make sure I've got Members of the House and Members of the Senate
    who understand we need to set priorities and make sure we don't
    overspend. For the sake of economic vitality, there needs to be fiscal
    restraint and fiscal sanity, which means you better have a United States
    Senator who understands that when we're spending money in Washington,
    we're not spending the Government's money; we're spending the people's
    money.
        Economic issue is a big issue. There's no bigger issue, however,
    than protecting the homeland. I say that because there's an enemy that
    still lurks out there, a enemy which hates America. And they hate us
    because of what we love. They hate us because we love freedom. They hate
    us because we hold dear and deeply love the idea that anybody can
    worship an almighty God any way he or she sees fit. They hate the idea
    of a free press, free political discourse. That's what they hate. And so
    long as we love our freedoms, they will try to harm our country.
        We've got a new task ahead for America, and that is to do everything
    we can to protect the American people. It used to be that oceans could
    protect us. We used to be able to sit back here in America and feel safe
    and confident, because there's two vast oceans to protect us from
    potential enemies. But that has changed after September the 11th, 2001.
    And that's why it's essential for our country not only to deal with the
    threats we see today but to deal with threats we may see in the
    immediate tomorrow. That's why I called upon the United Nations and our
    United States Congress to deal with Iraq before it becomes a--before we
    get hurt. Oceans no longer protect us. The threat is real. The threat's
    alive.

    [[Page 1823]]

        I want to thank Saxby and other Members of the United States
    Congress for joining me in passing a strong resolution so that the
    United States speaks with one voice. It's now up for Mr. Saddam
    Hussein to do what he said he would do, to
    disarm. It's now up for the free nations of the world to show some
    courage and backbone and disarm him.
        There are real threats that we face, and therefore, our most
    important job is to do everything we can to protect the homeland. A lot
    of people are working hard to do just that; they really are. We've got a
    lot of good agents at the CIA and FBI, and State police and local
    police, first-responders, all of them working hard to do everything we
    can to protect the American people. When we get a hint, any bit of
    evidence, we're moving; we're disrupting; we're denying. We're aware of
    the threat. And so we're on--we're on full game all the time. That's our
    job. We take it seriously.
        But I need the tools necessary to do the job better. And that's why
    I went to the United States Congress to work with me to develop a Office
    of Homeland Security, so that we could better coordinate amongst the
    many agencies involved with securing the homeland, so we could set clear
    priorities amongst the agencies involved with protecting the homeland,
    so if need be, we could change cultures, so that some point in time I'm
    more able to say and future Presidents are more able to say, ``We're
    doing everything in our power at the Federal level to protect America.''
    It's our most important and solemn duty.
        I laid the initiative out, and thanks to the strong leadership of
    Saxby--he understands this issue really well--thanks to his leadership
    amongst--with others in the House of Representatives, the House
    responded quickly and passed a significant piece of legislation, an
    historic piece of legislation.
        The Senate hadn't acted yet, because in order to pass the Department
    of Homeland Security, there's got to be a price for it. And that price
    will be to roll back important authority that every President since John
    F. Kennedy has had to act in the interests of national security. For 40
    years, Presidents have had the ability to suspend labor rules in every
    Department in the Federal Government when our national security is at
    stake. Now the Senate leadership wants to roll back that authority in a
    time of war for one Department, whose job it is--will be to protect the
    American people during that war.
        If the Senate had its way, I would have the authority to suspend the
    work rules in the Department of Agriculture but not in the office of
    homeland security. The Senate Democrat leaders want to tie the hands of
    this Department as we determine who to hire, who to fire, and whether or
    not people can be moved. Any President must have the capacity to put the
    right people at the right time at the right place, in order to respond
    to threats to our homeland.
        The Senate debate revolves around whether or not there ought to be a
    thick book of rules micromanaging the process. I'll give you an example.
    Right after September the 11th, the Customs Service wanted to quickly
    assign its best, most qualified inspectors to the northern border. The
    union leaders objected. They said we had to bargain over these
    assignments; we had to take time to hash it out, rather than moving our
    best to where we thought we needed to move them immediately.
        Now, I'm not going to accept a bill which will tie the hands of this
    President and future Presidents to be able to carry out one of our most
    solemn duties, which is to protect the homeland. There's no question in
    my mind, if Saxby Chambliss were in the Senate, I would not have to
    worry about his leadership or his vote on this important matter.
        The best way to secure the homeland, however, is to hunt the killers
    down, one person at a time, which is exactly what the United States of
    America is going to

    [[Page 1824]]

    do. The war on terror is a different kind of war. The old World War II
    vets who are here--and I want to thank you for your service--will
    remember the days when we could measure progress based upon tanks
    destroyed or battleships sunk or aircraft shot down. This is a different
    kind of war. We're fighting coldblooded killers who hide in caves and
    send youngsters to their suicidal deaths. And they're willing to kill
    innocent people anywhere.
        See, there's a huge difference between us and them. We value life.
    We say everybody counts; everybody is precious. They've hijacked a great
    religion and are willing to murder in the name of that religion. And
    that's the way they are. And there's only one way to deal with it.
    Therapy isn't going to work. And that's to find them--that's to find
    them. That's why this coalition of freedom-loving nations is incredibly
    important. That's why it's absolutely essential that we continue to
    remind people, either you're with us, or you're with the enemy. That's
    why it's essential that we continue to make sure that when we say
    something, we mean it, and the world knows we mean it.
        Next week, I'm going to be signing a defense appropriations bill. I
    want to thank the Members of Congress. I want to thank Saxby and others
    for getting this bill to my desk before they go home. It's important for
    us to send a message that we're going to make sure our troops have got
    the best pay, the best equipment, the best possible training. Anytime we
    put somebody in harm's way, we owe it to them and we owe it to their
    loved ones to support them. And that's exactly what this defense bill
    does.
        And the second message we're going to send when I sign that bill is
    to friend and foe alike: It doesn't matter how long it takes: we're
    staying the course. When it comes to the defense of our freedom, there
    is no timetable; there is no calendar. When it comes to making sure our
    children can grow up in a free society, in a free country, this great
    land will do whatever it takes to secure our freedoms.
        No, we're making progress. We're hauling them in one at a time.
    We've got over a couple thousand of them, and maybe that like number
    wasn't quite so lucky. Sometimes you'll see us making progress, and
    sometimes you won't. Sometimes those people who chatter on the cables
    will be talking about it; sometimes you're just not going to hear. It's
    a manhunt, one at a time. And at the same time, we're going to deny them
    sanctuary. If we find them lighting somewhere, we're going to ask the
    host country to move them on. Either you're with us, or you're with
    them.
        We're making good progress. I'm working hard to make sure America is
    a stronger place and a safer place, but we've all got to work together
    to make sure America is a better place too. And there's some things
    Government can do: Make sure every child is educated; make sure our
    health care systems work; make sure people are treated with respect and
    dignity; to make sure we change the tone in our National Capital and our
    State capital--get rid of all this needless politics, bring people
    together, achieve big objectives.
        But a lot of what is going to make America continue to be the
    greatest country in the world depends upon you. If you want to fight
    evil, love your neighbor just like you'd like to be loved yourself. If
    you're interested in doing some good, if you're interested in joining me
    and Sonny and Saxby in making sure that those pockets of despair and
    loneliness and hopelessness get eradicated, the surest way to do so is
    to put your arm around somebody in need and say, ``I love you. I love
    you.''
        Government can hand out money, but Government cannot put hope in
    people's hearts or a sense of purpose in people's lives. That's why I'm
    such a strong believer in the Faith-Based Initiative, an initiative
    which will empower people of all faiths in America to do what they've
    been called

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    to do, to help a neighbor in need, to love somebody.
        See, it doesn't take much to help change America; it really doesn't.
    Helping somebody who's hungry, mentoring a child, going to a shut-in's
    house and saying, ``What can I do to help,'' running a Boy Scout or Girl
    Scout troop--it all adds up. It's those millions of acts of kindness and
    generosity that take place on a daily basis in America which truly
    defines the hopefulness of our country.
        See, the enemy hit us. They didn't know who they were hitting. Oh,
    they probably thought we'd file a lawsuit or two. [Laughter] But
    instead, they hit a country which is strong and tough, a country, by
    remaining strong and tough and always remembers what we love, and that
    is freedom, that we can achieve peace.
        I believe America will lead the world to peace. And at the same
    time, here at home we can make sure, by following our hearts, by being
    the compassionate country we are, to make sure this American experience
    shines brightly for every single citizen who lives in our country.
        No, they hit us. But out of the evil is going to come some
    incredible good, because this is the greatest nation, full of the finest
    people on the face of the Earth. May God bless you, and may God bless
    America.

    Note: The President spoke at 12:15 p.m. at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis
    Hotel. In his remarks, he referred to Julianne Chambliss, wife of
    Representative Chambliss; Mary Perdue, wife of candidate Sonny Perdue;
    Clay Cox, candidate for Georgia's 13th Congressional District; Alec
    Poitevint, national committeeman, and Fred Cooper, former chairman,
    Georgia Republican Party; Eric J. Tanenblatt, former Georgia State
    chairman for the George W. Bush Presidential campaign; and President
    Saddam Hussein of Iraq.