[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book II)]
[October 8, 2002]
[Pages 1757-1764]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Remarks in Alcoa, Tennessee
October 8, 2002
The President. Thank you all for coming. Thanks for coming. It's an
honor to be back in East Tennessee. If I was dragging coming on this
day, this Tennessee band kind of livened my step. [Laughter] I'm honored
to see you all again. I'm proud to be in your presence. You represent a
great university and a great State, and I'm honored you're here. I want
to thank you all for coming. I've got some things on my mind, and I want
to share them with you.
The first thing on my mind is this: I know--I know what it takes to
be a good Governor. I know the characteristics necessary for someone to
be able to assume that high office. Van Hilleary has what it takes to be a great Governor for Tennessee.
I've also learned a lot about the United States Senate--[laughter]--and
I know we need Lamar Alexander in the United
States Senate.
I appreciate so much Bill Frist. He's a
distinguished citizen. He's a good friend, a good, honorable man who
cares deeply about the citizens of this State, brings a lot of expertise
to the Senate. He's kind of one of those fellows who can get something
done in the United States Senate, and that's the kind of attitude we
need in the United States Senate. And I appreciate Bill. I want to tell
you how proud I am to be on the stage with Janice Bowling, who's going to be the next Congresswoman.
I appreciate my friend the mayor, the honorable Victor Ashe, for being here. I've known Victor for a long, long
time. We both proved that you don't have to graduate from--with honors
from college in order to hold higher office. I'm really proud to be with
Victor's mother. I've known Mrs. Ashe for a
long, long time. I'm proud to see you, Martha. Thanks for coming to say
hello. I'm proud you're here.
I want to talk about the future of your State and the future of our
country. First, let me talk about your State. It's important you get a
good soul to be your Governor, somebody who shares your values, the
values of hard work and family, the values of service to others. It's
important you get somebody who when they speak, they speak your
language, who knows the soul of the citizens of the State. It's
important to get somebody in there who doesn't need a poll or a focus
group to tell them what to think, somebody who makes decisions based
upon a philosophy, somebody who stands tall when sometimes the winds of
public opinion may be drifting a different way, somebody you can count
on, somebody, when they turn up the butane, the political butane, you
know where they stand. That person, no doubt in my mind, is Van
Hilleary.
One of the things I like about him is he--
when the country called, he stepped up, and he served in Operation
Desert Storm and Desert Shield. Then he decided that he wanted to serve
in Congress. He went to one of those districts where they said, ``This
is a district where a Republican can't possibly win.'' He went out and
said, ``Listen, I want to represent everybody. I'm not here just to
appeal to a small segment of the district. I'm here to represent a
philosophy and a way of life in a State I care deeply about.'' And he
won where people didn't think he could win. And for a while,
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they didn't think he could win here in Tennessee. You watch what happens
on election day. Van Hilleary is going to be the next Governor.
He understands agriculture, and that's
important for this State. He understands budgeting. That's important for
this State. [Laughter] He's been dealing with the Washington budget. If
you can figure out the Washington budget, I can assure you, you can
figure out the Tennessee budget. But the thing I like most about Van is,
he understands the most important priority of a State is to make sure
that every single child gets educated.
I like--when I was the Governor of a State that started with the
letter T and has a university that wears orange and called UT--
[laughter]--I used to say that education is to a State what national
defense is to the Federal Government. It's ``the'' priority. And I want
to tell you all something, and you need to tell your friends at the
coffee shops and at your community centers, that when it came to writing
one of the most comprehensive pieces of education reform ever in the
history of our country, Van Hilleary played a
significant role.
And let me share with you right quick the philosophy, because it's
important to understand the philosophy behind educational excellence, at
least our philosophy. He mentioned challenging
the soft bigotry of low expectations in order to make sure every child
learns in America. We must do that. We can never assign any child to
failure. Every child can learn. If you believe every child can learn,
then you must have a Governor who's willing to set high standards and
high expectations. If you lower the bar, you see, if you believe certain
kids can't learn--``Let's just move them through to get them off our--
get them off the agenda''--if you lower the bar, you're going to get bad
results.
Secondly, you've got to trust the local folks. See, one in--one of
the key parts of the bill says that one size doesn't fit all when it
comes to education, that you've got to trust local people to chart the
path to excellence. You've got to empower local people to make the
decisions for the children in their district. The people that care more
about the children in Tennessee aren't in Washington; they're in
Tennessee. And therefore, local control of schools is a fundamental part
of education reform.
But let me tell you one other part. And it's important for the
citizens of Tennessee to pay attention to this part of the education
debate. If you believe every child can learn, like we do--see, if you
believe that every child can learn, then you're willing to measure to
determine if every child is learning. Those who don't believe every
child can learn will say, ``We don't need to measure,'' because if you
don't believe they can learn, then why should you care? In order to make
sure every child learns, it's essential that the good people of this
State have a Governor who's willing to insist upon accountability.
We need to know in society--we need to know whether or not the
curriculum is working. We need to know whether our teachers have the
tools necessary to teach. We need to know whether or not schools are on
the right track. We need to know whether or not each child in Tennessee
can read and write and add and subtract. If you can--if you can't find
out, you'll never know. If you don't measure, you'll never know. In
order to make sure no child gets left behind--I don't mean any single
child in this State--you better have a Governor who is willing to hold
people accountable for results. And when you find children trapped in
schools that won't teach and won't change, you better have a Governor
who's willing to challenge the status quo, and that man is Van
Hilleary.
And I'm proud to strongly endorse the candidacy of Lamar
Alexander. There's no question in my mind,
and there should be no doubt in the minds of your fellow citizens--
Republican, Democrat, or independent alike--that this man has proven
[[Page 1759]]
his worth in the public sector and will be another great United States
Senator from the State of Tennessee.
He knows education. He knows fiscal
responsibility. But let me tell you another reason why we need him up
there. One of the most serious parts of my job is to make sure that the
Federal bench has got good judges on it--good, honorable, decent people
who are willing to serve their communities and their Nation on the
Federal bench, people who won't use the bench to act like or serve like
a legislator. See, we've got the legislative branch. We don't need our
judges acting like legislators. We need our judges there to strictly
interpret our United States Constitution.
And I've named good judges. I named a lady the other day from the State of Texas, who I know
well. She got elected several times statewide in my State,
overwhelmingly so; came out of the law school class--one of the tops in
her law school class; was ranked by the American Bar Association with
the highest of high ratings; was embraced by both Republicans and
Democrats alike. I put her nomination up there. They played politics
with her nomination. They distorted Priscilla Owen's record. I need
Senators like Lamar Alexander who will join
me in making sure our Federal judiciary is strong and sensible and will
not rewrite the Constitution from the bench.
And I appreciate Janice Bowling, willing
to run and serve in Washington, DC. It's very important that we make
sure that Denny Hastert is the Speaker of
the House, make sure that coming into the next session that we've got a
Speaker with whom I can work. Janice stands for a lot of good things,
stands for a lot of good issues, but the thing that I'm most impressed
with is, she'll vote for Denny Hastert to be the Speaker of the House in
Washington, DC.
We've got a lot of work to do in Washington. We've got a lot of work
to do to make America a stronger place and a safer place and a better
place. Making sure America is a stronger place really means we've got to
make sure people can find work if they can't find work--people are able
to find a job. We've got to do everything we can to make sure that the
policies in Washington stress economic growth, to do things that
stimulate that part of the economy which will grow jobs.
See, I worry about it when people can't find work. If somebody is
looking for a job and they can't find work, we've got a problem in
America. We want our people to be able to put food on the table.
Obviously, I'm concerned as well when the stock market is declining. But
I want you to know, I'm optimistic about our future. Interest rates are
low; that's a good sign. Inflation is low; that's a good sign. We've got
the best workers in America. Our productivity is the highest in the
world. Our entrepreneurial spirit is strong. The foundation for growth
is good. But I'm going to work as hard as I possibly can to do
everything we can do to make sure our economy grows.
It starts with a--the belief, the firm belief that when times are
slow, we must let people keep more of their own money. When times are
slow, the best way to encourage economic growth is not to increase the
size of Government but to increase the size of money in our citizens'
pockets.
Here's what we believe, and this is a fundamental difference between
some of the voices in Washington and what I believe and what others on
this stage believe. By letting people keep more of their own money, they
will then more likely demand a good or a service. They'll demand
something. And in a marketplace economy, somebody is likely to produce
that good or a service. If there's a demand for a good or a service, in
our society somebody's going to produce it. And when somebody produces
it, it means somebody is more likely to find work.
The tax relief plan that Van supported and
Senator Frist supported and many
[[Page 1760]]
members of the Tennessee delegation supported came at the absolute right
time. It was important that we cut the taxes on the people to provide
wind to the economic growth and vitality. And there are some in
Washington who want to get away with that--get rid of that tax relief
plan. There are some who don't believe--it's a good, honest debate--they
don't believe in our philosophy. But for the sake of economic vitality,
we must not let them raise your taxes. And for the sake of economic
vitality, we must make the tax relief permanent.
The House has got a budget, and I want to thank Van for working on the Budget Committee, and it's a good
budget. It's a budget that says, we can get back to balance if we're
realistic on how we spend your money. The Senate doesn't have a budget.
And you can imagine what that could mean for your money. Without a
budget, without kind of a go-by, without constraints in a society or in
an environment in which every program sounds like a brilliant program--
except they all cost billions of dollars--it's likely that we could have
some runaway Federal spending. And we can't have that, for the sake of
economic vitality. We can fund our priorities--listen, we've got plenty
of money to fund the priorities. We can stay focused with your money on
our priorities. But for the sake of job creation, the Congress must not
overspend. For the sake of economic vitality, for the sake of the
strength of the future of our economy, the Congress must remember whose
money they're spending. It's not the Government's money; it's your
money. They need to be responsible with your money, in order to make
sure the foundation for economic growth is strong.
And before they go home, there's something else they can do. They
can pass a terrorism insurance bill. See, there's $15 billion worth of
construction projects which are on hold around America because people
can't get insurance for the project. The enemy hit us, and it made it
very difficult for people to be able to insure those projects. And so,
therefore, I think it's a useful role for the Congress to serve as a
backstop against a potential terrorist attack.
This is a jobs program. This is a way to get our people back to work
the right way, to encourage private sector jobs. There's over 300,000
jobs, good hardhat jobs that have been delayed because we can't get a
terrorism insurance package out of the United States Congress. There's a
lot of voices up there talking about the economy, and I'm glad they're
talking about it. But they ought to stop talking, and they ought to
start doing, by getting a terrorism insurance bill to my desk so we can
get people back to work. And that terrorism insurance bill must remember
who we're trying to help. We're not trying to help the trial lawyers.
We're trying to help the hardhats of America. Now, I--the economy is on
my mind because I want our fellow countrymen working; I want them to be
able to put bread on the table.
The safety of the country is on my mind, too. See, there's still an
enemy which hates America, lurking around. And so long as that's the
case, my most important job is to protect you. My most important job is
to rally the assets of Government at all levels to do everything we can
to deny the enemy, to prevent them from hitting America.
People say, ``Well, why''--and I know a lot of kids are probably
asking, ``Well, why America?'' And you've just got to understand that
the enemy hates us because of what we love. We love freedom. We love the
idea of people--[applause]. We love the fact that, in this great
country, people can worship an almighty God any way they see fit. That's
what we love. We love free political--we love the debates. We love
free--we love the discourse of free people. We love a free press. We
love everything about our freedom, and we're not going to change. We're
going to stand tall and stand strong.
[[Page 1761]]
We also value life in America. Everybody counts. Everybody has
worth. Everybody is a precious soul. And the enemy we--the enemy doesn't
regard life the way we do. You see, they hijack a great religion and
kill innocent people. They don't care, but we do. And so long as we hold
those values dear, which we will, the enemy will try to strike us.
And so we've got a lot of good people--you just need to know--
working hard to protect you, a lot of good folks. We're sharing
information. I mean, we're running down every hint, every idea. Every
piece of evidence we get, we're chasing it down so that we can say to
the American people, ``We're doing everything we can do.''
That's why I went to Congress and asked them to put together a
Department of Homeland Security, to join me in creating a new
Department, so we could better coordinate the over 100 agencies that are
involved with protecting you. And we got a good bill out of the House,
and it's stuck in the Senate.
And the reason it's stuck in the Senate is because there is a
disagreement over how best to manage the agency. On the one hand, they
want us to have a thick book of rules to micromanage the decisionmaking
process. I'll give you one example. The customs agents should be wearing
radio detection devices--radiological detection devices on their belt so
that, if when they're looking for weapons of mass destruction and they
come close to one, it--this device will send a signal. It ought to be a
part of their job. But the thick book of rules says, ``Well, that's up
for collective bargaining before you can make a person do that.'' See,
we've got--that violates a rule, and therefore, we got to negotiate that
out.
Folks, we don't have time to negotiate a lot of these issues. We've
got time to negotiate some issues. We've got time to negotiate some
issues, of course. But we don't have time to sit around and negotiate
the work rules necessary to protect you. The enemy doesn't sit around
worrying about a thick book of regulations. And so, for the sake of our
national security interests, the Congress, the Senate ought to give this
President and future Presidents the ability to put the right people at
the right place with the right equipment at the right time to protect
America.
But the best way to protect America for the short term and the long
term is to hunt the killers down, one person at a time, and bring them
to justice, and that's what we're going to do. I say one at a time,
because that's the kind of war we're in. See, we're facing an enemy
which hides in caves and sends youngsters to their death, suicidal
deaths. They don't have tanks. They don't have big infantries. They
don't have industrial complexes. They are coldblooded killers. And the
only way to measure success against this part of the war against terror
is to hunt them down one at a time. A man named bin al-Shibh popped his head up the other day. He's no longer
a problem to America.
It's a different kind of war. You might think about it as an
international manhunt, which means we've got to make sure that those of
us--that those hunting with us are strong and buoyed in their--our
mutual love for freedom. That's why the doctrine that says, ``Either
you're with us, or you're with the enemy,'' still stands; it still
holds. We've got a lot of people working with us to chase these people
down. And I want you to know, the coalition that we put together is
still strong, still viable, and still necessary.
I bet you we've--I say, ``I bet you''--I don't have an exact count,
but we've hauled in a couple of thousand or more. And like number
haven't been so lucky, thanks to the United States military, in large
part. We're making progress. Slowly but surely, we're making progress.
And that's the kind of war we fight. Sometimes you'll see it on TV, and
sometimes you're just not going to see it on your TVs, as we make
progress.
[[Page 1762]]
I submitted a significant increase in defense spending to the
Congress to--because I want to send two messages. One, anytime we put
one of our youngsters into harm's way, anytime we put our military into
harm's way, they deserve the best training, the best equipment and the
best possible pay. We owe that to those soldiers, and we owe it to their
loved ones.
I also want to send a clear message to friend and foe alike that the
United States is in this for the long haul, that there is not a calendar
that says, it's time to quit. See, when it comes to the defense of our
freedoms, it doesn't matter how long it takes to defend our freedom. We
love our freedoms, and we're not going to quit. We're not going to look
at this kind of--group of international killers and say, ``Well, it's
time to go home.'' That's not the way we think in America, and that's
not the way we want the world to see us.
See, we want the world to see us the way we are. We're determined,
and we're after them. And we're going to stay after them until we're
able to more secure the peace. And that's why the United States Congress
needs to get the defense bill to my desk before they go home. They've
been talking about this defense bill for quite a while. Before they go
home, they ought to stop playing politics with the defense bill and let
me sign it. It's important for the future of the country.
Last night, I continued a dialog on the war on terror. I talked
about a significant threat to our country, and that threat is Saddam
Hussein and some of the folks in Iraq.
Audience member. Chase 'em out!
The President. I truly believe that, as you could tell from my
discussion last night if you listened, that he is a threat. He is a threat to the United States. He's a threat to our
friends in the region. He's a threat to anybody who holds freedom dear
to his heart.
People are concerned about Saddam, and I
understand that. But a lot of Americans have understood that the
dynamics have shifted since 11 years ago, because of what happened on
September the 11th. No longer are we secure. No longer can we feel free
because we've got two oceans separating us from--from that part of the
world, for example. And therefore, it's very important for us as a
country to think about how best to protect us for the short run and the
long run. We owe this to our children. This debate is an incredibly
important debate for our country to have.
I want to thank members of both political parties for taking a--for
realizing the seriousness of this issue. This week, you'll see the
Congress debate this issue. As I said last night, this isn't an issue of
committing our military one way or the other. It doesn't say this--the
resolution--threat is imminent, nor does it say it's unavoidable. But it
does send a clear signal to the world, and I mean not only the United
Nations but the whole world, that we take this threat very seriously in
America, that we'll be speaking with one voice, that we love our
freedoms, and that if the United Nations is unable to deal with the
problem--and I certainly hope they can--that the United States will
lead--and if Saddam Hussein chooses not to
deal with it. See, he's the guy who said he would have no weapons of
mass destruction. He's the person who told the world plainly, ``I won't
have chemical weapons or biological weapons,'' or, ``I won't seek a
nuclear weapon.'' He said that. He's the man who said, ``I promise you I
won't do this.'' Yet for 11 years, he's defied resolution after
resolution after resolution. It's his choice to make.
And the U.N. can show whether or not it's the United Nations or the
League of Nations. They get that choice to make, too. It's their choice.
But my message, and the message from the Congress, people of both
political parties, will be, for the sake of peace--and I emphasize, for
the sake of peace--if they won't deal with this man, the United States of America will lead a
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coalition to disarm him--for the sake of peace.
I take my responsibilities as the Commander in Chief very seriously.
A military option is my last choice, the last choice. But should we
commit our military, we'll be ready; we'll be prepared; we'll have a
great plan. And make no mistake about it, we will prevail.
And finally, as we work to make America stronger and safer, we've
got to make--work to make America a better place, too. Always got to
remember that a better America is on the forefront of our agenda. That
not only means a working America, but that means an educated America.
That means making sure we've got a health care system that's modern and
make sure we understand that medicine has changed and Medicare hasn't.
We need prescription drugs for our seniors to make sure Medicare is a
modern program that works.
But there's something else we can do in this country. We can fight
evil by doing acts of kindness and decency. We can fight evil by loving
our neighbor like we'd like to be loved ourselves. In our society, in
this great land, this great society and this wonderful country, there
are pockets of despair and hopelessness. There are people who hurt in
America, people who hurt because of addiction or loneliness, people who
wonder whether or not the American Dream--what that means. It's empty
words for some. They just don't see any future. There is no hope. And we
can change that in this country. We can change it.
Listen, Government is limited in its scope. It can hand out money.
But what Government cannot do is put a sense of purpose in people's
lives or hope in people's lives. That happens when a neighbor says to a
person in need, ``I love you. What can I do to help you? What am I able
to do to make your life more hopeful?''
See, our society can change, and in my judgment will change, one
heart, one soul at a time, because people are now understanding that
after September the 11th, 2001, there is a new definition to patriotism.
Patriotism is more than just putting your hand over your heart.
Patriotism is serving your community by helping somebody in need.
And that can happen all kinds of ways. See, if you mentor a child
like Linda Clark does--I met Linda, who's a--
she's a soldier in the army of compassion. She came out to the Air Force
One to say hello. She started a mentoring program. She's involved with
Project Grad. She understands one person can make a difference in
somebody's life. I don't know where you are, Linda. Where are you?
You've got a lousy seat. But anyway, Linda mentors a fifth grade child.
She's making a huge difference in that child's life.
You can go to a shut-in's home and say, ``I love you.'' That's part
of what I'm talking about. Run a Boy Scout troop or a Girl Scout troop
or a Boys or Girls Club. There's all kinds of ways that each of us can
make a difference. We've got different talents; we've got different
views; and each of us can use those talents and our views to make a
difference in changing America for the better.
Listen, the enemy hit us. They didn't know what they were thinking
about. They probably thought we'd file a lawsuit or two. [Laughter] They
didn't know America, did they? See, they didn't know this. They didn't
know that this great Nation loves freedom and loves peace, and we will
work hard to achieve and maintain both. They also didn't realize that
we're also not only a tough nation, but a compassionate nation, a nation
which is a nation full of people who are going to respond to this evil
with helping a neighbor in need.
You know, there's a period of personal responsibility, I think,
coming into the country. Really important for our youngsters to
understand that the culture which has said, ``If it feels good, do it,''
and ``You've got a problem, blame somebody else,'' is a culture that's
moving on. It's being replaced. We're replacing it with a
[[Page 1764]]
culture that says, ``Each of us are responsible for our behavior and our
decisions.'' If you're a mother or a dad--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 lucky enough to live in
Tennessee or Knoxville, Tennessee, you're responsible for the quality of
education in a neighborhood. If you're running a corporation, you're
responsible to tell the truth to your shareholders and employees.
I feel it happening. I feel it happen, which allows me to boldly
predict that, because we're the greatest nation on the face of the
Earth, we will not only face down evil, but we can achieve peace in a
country which is more hopeful, more decent, more optimistic for
everybody who's lucky enough to be called an American.
Listen, thanks for coming today. May God bless you all, and may God
bless America.
Note: The President spoke at 10:30 a.m. at McGhee Tyson Airport. In his
remarks, he referred to gubernatorial candidate Van Hilleary; senatorial
candidate Lamar Alexander; Janice Bowling, candidate for Tennessee's
Fourth Congressional District; Mayor Victor H. Ashe of Knoxville, TN,
and his mother, Martha Ashe; Texas Supreme Court Justice Priscilla Owen,
whose nomination to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Fifth Circuit failed
on September 5 when the Senate Judiciary Committee refused to send it
forward for a vote by the Senate; 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.