    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book II)]
    [September 26, 2002]
    [Pages 1667-1675]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at a Reception for Senatorial Candidate John Cornyn in Houston, Texas
    September 26, 2002

        The President. Thank you for coming. Thanks for being here. Thank
    you all. I am here because there's no doubt in my mind that John Cornyn
    needs to be the next United States Senator from Texas. And I want to
    thank you all for--thank you all for coming to help him get there. It's
    important for Texas that he be elected. It's important for America that
    he be elected. He's the best man with whom I can work. He's a man who
    can help us get some things done to make America a safer and stronger
    and better place for all of us.
        It's an honor to be back home.
        Audience member. Welcome home.

    [[Page 1668]]

        The President. Thank you. I might have changed addresses, but I
    haven't changed homes. [Laughter] And I'm so grateful you all came out.
    Actually, as we get closer to the election, I'm not only working on ways
    to strengthen the economy, also working on ways to keep our country
    peaceful; I'm getting on the road. And it's nice to be in a State where
    I can actually vote for the candidate I'm campaigning for. [Laughter]
        I appreciate John a lot. I appreciate his willingness to run for
    Federal office. I appreciate his willingness to serve in Washington, DC,
    to take his great family--to take Sandy and his
    two daughters to live
    in our Nation's Capital. It's a sacrifice to leave Texas. [Laughter] But
    it's important that he win. And I'm so proud of John. I'm proud of his
    character, proud of his dignity.
        I really appreciate Sandy. She's a fabulous
    wife and a great--will be a great Senator's wife. As she stands strong
    by John's side, I'd like to remind people that both he and I married
    above ourselves. [Laughter] Speaking about the First Lady, she is--she's in Mexico today representing our country.
    We will meet in Crawford tomorrow night--Crawford, Texas, that is.
    [Laughter] She is a remarkable person. She's--I know there's some
    Midlanders here--she was born and raised in Midland. She was a public
    school librarian when I met her. The truth of the matter was--is that
    she wasn't that interested in politics--[laughter]--or politicians.
    [Laughter] And now she's stuck with the President of the United States,
    and she's doing a fabulous job as the First Lady.
        I want to appreciate all the grassroot activists who are here. Of
    course, I know many of you because I asked for your help in '94 and '98.
    And another guy named Bush has been asking for
    your help a lot longer before that, and many of you provided it. And I
    want to thank you all for what you're going to do on behalf of John and
    Rick Perry and the rest of the candidates
    running, and that is to turn out the vote.
        It's essential that you continue to man the phones and put up the
    signs and energize the precincts like I know you can do, here in Harris
    County and in other counties. I know we've got some folks from Jefferson
    County here and Midland County. I know there's some folks from Travis
    County. I really urge you to continue to energize the people. This is an
    important election, and so when you go to your churches or your
    synagogues or your community centers, talk it up. Remind people they
    have a duty to go to the polls. And as you get them going to the polls,
    remind them that the best man running for the United States Senate is
    John Cornyn.
        We will face some challenges together in Washington. Of course, one
    of the biggest challenges is to make sure that our people can find work.
    My attitude is, anytime somebody who wants to work can't find a job, is
    we've got a problem in America. And so, we've got to always think about
    how to grow our economy. What can we do to create--to encourage the
    private sector to create more jobs?
        See, John and I understand the role of Government is not to create
    wealth, but an environment in which the entrepreneur can flourish or the
    small business can grow to be a big business. Seventy percent of new
    jobs in America are created by small-business owners. And we've got to
    always encourage the entrepreneurial spirit.
        I started doing that when I first got up to Washington, by cutting
    the taxes on the people that work. We took a page out of this textbook:
    It says that if you've got an economic slowdown and you let people keep
    more of their own money, they're going to demand a good or a service.
    With more money in their pocket, they're more likely to demand something
    additional. And when they do, somebody is going to produce the good and
    service. And when somebody produces the good or service, somebody is
    more likely to find work.

    [[Page 1669]]

        The tax cuts came at exactly the right time. They were important.
    But the problem is that because of Senate rules, they go away. Now,
    that's a tough one to explain when you get outside of Washington, I
    readily concede. On the one hand, we giveth; on the other hand, we
    taketh away. [Laughter] That's Washington.
        I need somebody in the Senate who understands the importance of tax
    cuts. I need somebody in the Senate who understands we need to repeal
    the death tax for the sake of our farmers and ranchers and small-
    business owners. And that somebody is John Cornyn. Make no mistake about
    it, the candidate in this race who will support making the tax cuts
    permanent is John Cornyn. And that's important for economic vitality and
    economic growth.
        I want somebody up there with whom I can work to get an energy bill.
    We need an energy plan for America. We need a plan that not only gets
    people back to work but a plan that lessens our dependence upon foreign
    sources of crude oil. We import over--we import easily over half of our
    energy, of our crude oil. And unfortunately, sometimes we get it from
    places that don't care for us. [Laughter] And so, for the sake of
    national security and for the sake of job security, we need an energy
    bill. And I want a Senator with whom I can work to get a good energy
    bill, on behalf of Texas and on behalf of America. And that man is John
    Cornyn.
        A stronger America is an America that constantly works to increase
    the job base. We need a terrorism insurance bill in Washington, DC.
    There's a lot of hardhats, good, hard-working people who aren't working
    because big projects can't get going because they can't get insurance.
        The enemy hurt us when they hit us. They hurt our economy. And one
    of the ways they hurt us is, we can't insure big projects. And the
    Congress ought to step in. It's a useful role for the Congress. But we
    need an insurance bill--a terrorism insurance bill that rewards the
    hardhats and not the trial lawyers. We need a good terrorism insurance
    bill. And I can assure you--I can assure you, I know this man's record.
    I can assure you, John Cornyn cares more about hard-working people. He
    cares more about the hardhats than the trial lawyers in America.
        We need people up there who understand that if Congress overspends,
    it will serve as an anchor to economic vitality and growth. It's
    dangerous up in Washington when it comes to your money. Every idea is a
    good idea. Every idea they float up there sounds like a good idea. The
    problem is, in Washington the price tags run into the billions. They
    don't have a budget out of the United States Senate. You can imagine
    what will happen without a budget if there's no fiscal discipline, if I
    don't enforce the fiscal discipline, and if others in the Senate aren't
    willing to stand up and enforce fiscal discipline.
        They can't get a budget. The House has got a budget, but the Senate
    was unable to get a budget in the expenditure of your money, which
    creates a problem. I need to have United States Senators who are willing
    to work with us to fund priorities but to not overspend, Senators who
    understand the money we spend up there is not the Government's money.
    The money we spend in Washington is the people's money. And that Senator
    is John Cornyn.
        A stronger America is one which constantly works to expand the job
    base so people can find work. And I will continue to do that.
        A stronger America is also one that's got a good bench, a good
    Federal bench. There was an interesting moment in this campaign. I
    nominated a fabulous woman, first-rate woman, named Priscilla Owen--top law student out of Baylor; been elected
    statewide in Texas a couple of times, overwhelmingly once; had the
    highest ranking of the ABA, the best rating you could possibly get. I
    knew she'd be a great judge. Good, solid Texas woman, somebody--it would
    be good to have that attitude and

    [[Page 1670]]

    her point of view on the bench. So I sent her nomination up there. It
    became political. They distorted her record. They didn't give her a fair
    chance. Shamefully, the Senate turned down her nomination. In so doing,
    that was not only bad for Texas; it was bad for America, as far as I'm
    concerned.
        It's important for the voters of this State to listen to what was
    said by the two candidates running for the United States Senate about
    Priscilla Owen. There's only one candidate in
    this race that stood up strongly with me and strongly supported the
    ratification of her nomination, and that candidate was John Cornyn.
        We also have got to work to make America a safer place. I say that
    because there is an enemy which still hates America, lurking. It is an
    enemy which is different from other kinds of enemies we have taken on.
    See, this enemy--you can't measure the enemy's strength based upon the
    number of tanks he has or the number of aircraft or the number of ship.
    This is an enemy that hides in dark corners of cities around the world.
    This is an enemy which hides in caves and sends youngsters to their
    suicidal death. That's the kind of people we fight.
        They hate us because we love things. We love freedom, for starters.
    We love the fact that we can worship freely in America. We love that,
    and we're never going to relinquish that freedom. We love the fact that
    we can have honest political discourse, there can be debate, that people
    can choose who they want to be the United States Senator. We love a free
    press in America. We love freedom; they hate freedom. So long as we love
    freedom, they hate us, and they want to hurt us. That's just the facts
    of life, as we head into the 21st century.
        The other thing that distinguishes--there's a lot of things that
    distinguishes, but one of the things clearly that distinguishes us: In
    America we value each life. Life matters. Everybody counts. Everybody
    has got worth. That's not the way they think. They have hijacked a great
    religion, and they murder innocent lives in the name of a great
    religion.
        And so we've got to be aware of the facts and reality. I certainly
    am. My number one job and the number one job of future Senators and
    future Congresses is to protect the American people, to guard the
    homeland, to do everything we can to make sure that you're safe.
        And we're making progress. I mean, we're talking better now in
    Washington, DC. The FBI and the CIA share information. Anytime we get a
    lead, a hint, we're moving on it. We're awake to the realities of the
    21st century. No longer are we protected by two vast oceans. And there's
    a lot of good people at the State level and the local level, great
    firefighters and policemen and EMS teams all prepared, and wonderful
    people at the Federal Government--at the level of the Federal Government
    that are working hard to fulfill our number one priority, which is to
    protect you.
        So I went to Congress, and I asked them--I said, ``Look, if the
    number one priority is the defense of our homeland, let's have an
    organization so that the number one priority becomes reality to the
    different--hundreds of agencies involved with the protection of America.
    Let's organize, in a way.'' Listen, I didn't run for office, I concede,
    and say, ``Vote for George. I'm going to make the Government bigger.''
    [Laughter] That's not my intention. I want it to work on your behalf.
        And so I sent up a bill--or an idea, and the House passed a good
    bill. The Senate is struggling over it right now. The Senate is
    struggling over it because they want to try to micromanage the process.
    They want to tell the administrative--the executive branch, this
    President and future Presidents, who can hire, who can fire, where to
    move them. See, that's what they want. They want there to be a lot of
    rules and regulations, and I'm not going to accept that.

    [[Page 1671]]

        Let me give you some examples. To get a emergency phone number from
    customs employees--in other words, it makes sense, if you've got a
    problem, you want an emergency phone number--union leaders call that an
    invasion of privacy. See, that's not right. That's a work rule that
    doesn't make any sense in the new era. It might have made sense before
    we became subject to enemy attack, but that doesn't make any sense.
        Port inspectors refuse to carry radiation detectors. If you're
    worried about trying to find a potential weapon of mass destruction, you
    ought to strap on one of those radiation detectors to figure out whether
    they've got one. This is not a harmful device. The leaders of that group
    say, ``They've got to be voluntary. You can't make a person carry a--one
    of those detectors.'' That doesn't make any sense. This is true, what
    I'm telling you. [Laughter]
        Customs inspectors cannot be assigned to sensitive jobs unless
    they're most senior--in other words, that you can only assign people
    based upon seniority, not based upon talent. That doesn't make any
    sense. You see, the enemy doesn't care about these rules. The Senate
    does, and it bothers me. [Laughter]
        Don't get me wrong, there's fine Senators from both parties who care
    deeply about our country. Senators from both parties are struggling with
    this issue. But it is essential for the sake of protecting America that
    we not allow special interests to drive the process. It is essential to
    give this President and future Presidents the ability to move people to
    the right place at the right time to protect America.
        I don't think I'd have any problem convincing John of the need to
    give the President flexibility. As a matter of fact, I know he'd be a
    strong ally. The best way to protect our homeland, however, is to hunt
    the killers down, one person at a time, and bring them to justice.
    That's the best way to protect the homeland.
        It's important for you to know the doctrine I laid out still stands:
    You're either with us, or you're with the enemy. That's clear. I will
    continue to make that clear. Our coalition is strong. We're still
    getting a lot of cooperation. Remember, this is a different kind of war.
    It requires sharing of intelligence and cutting off money and
    communicating closely and hunting these people down. I mean, they hide
    in Karachi. We got the other guy the
    other day who thought he was going to be--wanted to be the 20th
    hijacker. He popped his head up, and now he's in detention. [Laughter]
    He's no longer a threat to America and our friends and allies. He's no
    longer around.
        It's not a very glamorous war from the sense that the cables and all
    the air time can cover, but it's happening. We've detained over a couple
    of thousand people--I want to say over 2,500 are no--are off the
    streets, thanks to the United States and our friends and allies. I mean,
    we are hunting them down. And about equal that number weren't as lucky.
    They're not around at all, because we've got a fabulous military, by the
    way. We've got some brave soldiers who are--[applause].
        I submitted a significant increase in defense spending, the largest
    since Ronald Reagan was the President, because I wanted to send two
    messages. One, anytime this Nation sends our troops into harm's way,
    they deserve the best pay, the best training, and the best possible
    equipment. We owe it to the troops, and we owe it to their loved ones as
    well.
        I also wanted to send a clear message to friend and foe alike that
    the United States of America is in this deal for the long haul; that
    when it comes to the defense of our freedom, when it comes to making
    sure our children can live in a free and civilized society, when it
    comes to defending that which we hold true, we're not quitting. We're
    not quitting. It doesn't matter how long it takes. It doesn't matter how
    long it takes to find the enemy. The

    [[Page 1672]]

    United States will stay with it. We're a determined nation. We're a
    strong nation. We're a nation that loves freedom.
        And that defense budget sent that signal. The problem is, it hasn't
    made it to my desk yet. [Laughter] See, the House passed it, and the
    Senate passed it. And it hasn't gotten resolved in the conference
    committee. It's very important, before the Senate and the House go home,
    that they give me a defense bill. It's a defense bill that is necessary.
    It sends a important signal. It shows that we're resolved and serious.
    They ought to stop playing politics with the defense appropriations bill
    and get it to my desk.
        No, we'll stay with it. I also want to remind you that--that
    doctrine that says, ``If you harbor a terrorist, if you feed one of
    them, you're just as guilty as the killers.'' And I want you also to
    remind your youngsters about what this Nation did in Afghanistan. Not
    only did we do what we said we were going to do--which is, I think,
    important in life--but we sent our troops in not to conquer anybody but
    to liberate people. We freed a country from the clutches of barbaric
    tyrants. It's unbelievable how backward and brutal these were,
    particularly to women.
        I had the honor of hosting, in the Roosevelt Room, I believe it was
    16 Afghan women who had flown over. And one of the things we promised
    the Government we would do is we would host training sessions for women
    to give them a chance to get--be a part of the Government. That's what
    we want. That's how we--that's what we think is important in life. We
    believe everybody matters, everybody has got worth, in America. And it
    was a touching moment to listen to the women and talk to the women and
    to realize that--and it was a proud moment to realize that our country
    had a part of freeing them, of giving them a chance to realize their
    worth and their potential.
        You see, we love peace, and we love freedom. We don't say to people
    in Afghanistan, ``You must have our form of Government. You know, the
    way America does it, you've got to do it.'' But what we do say is, ``We
    want to free you. We want to give you a chance.'' And so we're going to
    stay in Afghanistan. We're going to stay in Afghanistan to hunt down the
    killers; they still lurk around. They occasionally come in, and we'll
    find them. They kind of bunch up somewhere, and they're just--they think
    they're elusive, and they think they're clever, but they've got the
    mighty United States on them. And we're going to stay on them.
        And we've also got some other tasks ahead of us as well. I went to
    the United Nations the other day to make a case about a true threat to
    freedom, a true threat to the United States, a threat to Israel, a
    threat to peace in the region. And that is Iraq.
        I made the decision to go to the United Nations because I want the
    United Nations to be effective. You see, in order to fight the new wars
    of the 21st century, we need to be able to have collaborative efforts to
    share intelligence, to share information, to arrest, to haul people in.
    And an effective United Nations will make it easier to keep the peace,
    in my judgment.
        But the United Nations, in the face of Saddam Hussein, has not been effective. For 11 long years he's defied
    them. He's wheedled out of agreements. He's deceived. He's lied. The
    question before the United Nations is, ``Will you be the League of
    Nations, or will you be an effective body to keep the peace?'' That's my
    challenge to them.
        I also challenged--I also have made it clear that Saddam
    Hussein must disarm. There's no negotiations.
    Those ended a long time ago. There's no need for us to try to sit down
    at a table. There's no discussion to be had. He's got chemical weapons;
    he needs to get rid of them, all of them. He's got biological weapons;
    he needs to destroy all of them. There's no doubt in

    [[Page 1673]]

    my mind he wants to have a nuclear weapon, and he's got some capacity.
    I'm not saying he's got one yet, but he's developing the capacity, as we
    learned right after Desert Storm. He needs to get rid of it--no
    discussion, no debate, no negotiation. The burden of proof is on Saddam
    Hussein.
        And so now it's up to the United Nations and it's up to Saddam
    Hussein to determine whether or not there
    will be peace, to determine whether or not the world's worst leader--and
    remember, this is a guy who continues to torture his people if they
    dissent. This is a man who's gassed his own people. This is a man who
    attacked two countries in the neighborhood. This is a man who used gas
    on a neighbor. This is a man who continually lies. This is a man who
    does not know the truth. This is a man who is a threat to peace. It's up
    to the United Nations and it's up to him to decide their fate. If the
    United Nations won't act, if he doesn't disarm, the United States will
    lead a coalition to make sure he does.
        I want to thank members of both parties, Republicans and Democrats,
    for joining to work with us to develop a strong statement of resolve.
    Today in the Rose Garden, right before I got on Air Force One, I had a
    public event with Democrats and Republicans, Members of the Congress who
    have joined with us to send a clear message to the world about America,
    our strength of purpose, our desire for peace, our unwillingness to
    accept 11 years of deceit.
        This is not a partisan issue, folks. This is an issue that is
    important for America. This is an American issue, a uniquely American
    issue. And it's--as I reminded the Members, that--I say uniquely
    American issue because I truly believe that now that the war has
    changed, now that we're a battlefield, this man poses a much graver
    threat than anybody could have possibly imagined. Other countries, of
    course, bear the same risk, but there's no doubt his hatred is mainly
    directed at us. There's no doubt he can't stand us. After all, this is a
    guy that tried to kill my dad at one time.
        I take my responsibility seriously as the Commander in Chief. I want
    you to know I understand the--how serious it is to commit our troops.
    But I truly believe that history has called us, and we're going to have
    to act if he doesn't do what he's expected to do. And when we do, we'll
    be swift and strong. If we have to, we'll win. And the world is more
    likely to be at peace after it happens.
        I long for peace. Behind the rhetoric is a deep desire for peace,
    and I believe it's achievable. But we're going to have to remain strong
    and determined. We must continue to speak clearly about good and evil.
    We must be resolved in our determination to defend freedom and to free
    people around the world. And there's no doubt we can achieve the
    mission, no doubt in my mind.
        As we work to make America a stronger and safer place, we have
    always got to remember to make it a better place, too. And that's really
    important. I know John shares my passion for education. We passed a good
    education bill in Washington. I want to share with you, right quick,
    what it says. It says, ``Every child can learn.''
        I don't know if you remember, in the campaign I said, ``I promise to
    challenge the soft bigotry of low expectations.'' I know that when you
    lower standards, that people suffer, and generally when you lower
    standards, they're lowered for inner-city kids or kids whose parents
    don't speak English as a first language. We believe in high standards,
    and we raised the bar. We trust local folks to manage the path to
    excellence.
        But for the first time, the Federal Government says, ``When you
    receive Federal money, you show us whether or not the children are
    learning to read and write and add and subtract. If you receive a dime
    of Federal money, we expect you to perform. Every child can learn, and
    no child will be left behind in America.''

    [[Page 1674]]

        A better America is one that has got a health care system that is
    responsive to the people. John's got a strong record of holding HMOs
    accountable for bad decisions they make, and I appreciate that record,
    John.
        We need a prescription drug plan for seniors. Listen, Medicare is an
    incredibly important program. It is old. Medicine has changed; Medicare
    hasn't. And we need to change Medicare with medicine, so seniors get the
    kind of coverage they need and deserve. And I look forward to working
    with John on that.
        And I'll tell you, one other thing we need to do in Washington; you
    see, health care needs to be accessible and affordable. Lawsuits are
    driving docs out of business. Lawsuits are driving up the cost of
    medicine. We need Federal medical liability insurance. There's no doubt
    in my mind of the two candidates in this race, John will work with us on
    these issues--no doubt. And as we work on these issues, I believe
    America will be a better place for it.
        You know, the enemy hit us. I can't imagine what was going through
    their mind. They probably thought America was so selfish and
    materialistic and self-absorbed that after 9/11/2001, we might file a
    lawsuit or two. [Laughter] They don't understand us, do they? This
    Nation is a strong nation. It's a fabulous nation. Out of the evil done
    to America is going to come some good. You mark my words. If we remain
    strong and tough in our war against terror, we can achieve peace. We can
    achieve peace not only for America; we can achieve peace in the Middle
    East; we can achieve peace in South Asia. If we remain strong and
    principled and determined, we can have a peaceful world, and I believe
    it's going to happen.
        And at home, if we unleash the true strength of the country, we'll
    have a better America. You see, we've got to understand that in America
    there are pockets of despair and hopelessness and loneliness and
    addiction. There are people who hurt. There are people that when you say
    ``the American Dream,'' they say, ``I have no idea what you're talking
    about.'' But that can change, because the true strength of America is
    the people of America. The true strength of America is the fact that our
    country is full of loving and caring and decent people who have heard a
    new call.
        See, I think there is a new culture evolving--one from, if--it says,
    ``If it feels good, do it,'' and ``You've got a problem, blame somebody
    else,'' to a culture that says, ``Each of us are responsible for
    decisions we make in life.'' That means if you're a mom or a dad, you're
    responsible for loving your children with all your heart. That's your
    most important responsibility. It means if you're living in a community
    in Texas, you're responsible for the quality of life, and you're
    responsible for loving your neighbor just like you'd like to be loved
    yourself. It says, if you're running a corporation in America, you're
    responsible to tell the truth to your shareholders and employees.
        As a result of this change of attitude, as a result of that, people
    now understand that a patriot is more than somebody who just puts his
    hand over his heart; a patriot is somebody who cares for somebody who
    hurts. America is changing. The enemy hit us, but out of the evil will
    come some incredible good--a more compassionate society.
        My call to our fellow Americans is to understand the limitations of
    Government. Listen, Government can hand out money. We can do that, and
    we do a pretty good job of it sometimes. But what we can't do is put
    hope in people's hearts or a sense of purpose in people's lives.
    Government is not capable of saying ``I love you,'' to a child who
    hurts, or ``What can I do?'' to somebody who is shut in. That will
    happen when our fellow citizens recognize we can change America for the
    better, one heart, one soul, one conscience at a time.
        No, the enemy hit us, and it's been tough on America. But out of the
    evil is

    [[Page 1675]]

    going to come a peaceful world and a more compassionate society, because
    this is the greatest nation, full of the finest people, on the face of
    the Earth.
        May God bless you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 5:36 p.m. in the Imperial Ballroom at the
    Hyatt Regency. In his remarks, he referred to Sandy Cornyn, wife of
    candidate John Cornyn, and their daughters, Haley and Danley; Gov. Rick
    Perry of Texas; 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.