[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book II)]
[September 17, 2002]
[Pages 1601-1607]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at a Luncheon for Senatorial Candidate Lamar 
Alexander in Nashville, Tennessee
September 17, 2002

    Thank you all very much. Thanks. Thank you. Thanks a lot. Thank you, 
``Senator.'' [Laughter] There's no doubt in my mind Lamar Alexander will 
make a great--a lot of great contributions to our Nation. But one of the 
lasting contributions he will make is a contribution he made before when 
he held office, and that is, he brought honor and dignity to the office 
to which he had been elected.
    I'm proud to be back in Tennessee. I want to thank you all for 
having me here. I'm proud to come back and say as clearly as I can to 
the citizens of Tennessee, Lamar Alexander should become the next United 
States Senator. And there's a lot of reasons why, and one of them is 
because he married well. Like me, he married a Texan. And like me, he 
married above himself. We appreciate Honey, 
and she's a class act like Lamar is, and I'm proud to know them both.
    I wish my wife were here with me. You may 
remember, or maybe you don't know, but when I married Laura, she was a 
public school librarian. She didn't care for politics; she didn't like 
politicians. Now here she is, the First Lady of the United States.

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Thank goodness. What a fabulous job she is doing. I bring her greetings 
to Lamar and Honey and all of you all. She 
is doing great, by the way. She's settled in. Public housing is all 
right there in Washington. [Laughter]
    I do want to thank the members of the mighty Tennessee delegation 
who are here, starting with Fred Thompson. 
There's only one man in this State who can fill the shoes of Fred 
Thompson, and that's Lamar Alexander. And Fred, thank you for your 
service. I appreciate his service to Tennessee and to America. 
Fortunately, he isn't quitting early. He's still got some--he's got 
some--he's got a task ahead there on the floor of the Senate, and that's 
to make sure I get a Homeland Security Department that is unfettered 
from Government rules and bureaucracies, a Homeland Security Department 
that will allow this President and future Presidents to move people to 
the right place at the right time, in order to protect the homeland from 
an enemy which still hates us. And Fred Thompson is leading that charge. 
And as he succeeds and when he succeeds, he will leave behind a fabulous 
legacy for future administrations and Senators. Fred, thank you. You've 
been a great Senator.
    I appreciate Senator Bill Frist. He too is a 
fine Senator. You sent two good ones up there, and you're about to send 
another good one in Lamar. But thank you for being here, Senator Frist. 
I appreciate the next Governor of the State of Tennessee, Van 
Hilleary, for joining us today. I want to thank 
Ed Bryant, and I want to thank Zach Wamp as well for being here. I hope these Congressmen are 
here to hear my speeches. I hope it's not just to get a free ride on Air 
Force One heading back to Washington. Either way, you'll find the 
speeches are probably too long and the accommodations on Air Force One 
is just fine. But these are fine Members of the Congress. I'm proud to 
work with them.
    I'm also traveling today--since we're going to a school here in 
Nashville, I'm traveling with our Secretary of Education, Rod 
Paige, who's doing such a fantastic job on 
behalf of the children of America. And Rod, thank you for coming.
    I want to thank all those who helped put on this event. I want to 
thank Ted Welch. I want to thank Beth 
Harwell and Stephanie Chivers. I want to thank my friend David Kustoff. I want to thank all of you all who are involved in 
grassroots politics.
    One thing people like Lamar and I understand is that we can't win 
without the folks who are willing to dial the telephones and put the 
signs in the yards and make sure the mailers go out on time, make sure 
the voters go up to vote. I want to thank you for what you have done, 
and I want to thank you for what you're going to do. It is really 
important that you go back to your coffee shops, your houses of worship, 
your community centers, and remind the good people of Tennessee what a 
fine leader Lamar Alexander has been, is, and will be on behalf of the 
people of Tennessee.
    He should win this race just on what he has done. He was one of the 
great Governors of this State. He's one of the most imaginative and 
reform-oriented Secretaries of Education. He'd been in higher education. 
He loves his family. He loves his country. He's got fabulous values. The 
thing I appreciate about him is that he does not rest on his laurels; 
he's a forward-thinking man. He knows that we've got to continue to work 
together to challenge the status quo when we find our children trapped 
in mediocre schools. He understands that mediocrity must be challenged. 
He challenged--liked to challenge what I call the soft bigotry of low 
expectations. It's going to be good to have a man in the United States 
Senate who will stand by my side to insist upon strong accountability, 
to make sure that no child in America--not one single child--gets left 
behind in our public education system.
    As Lamar mentioned, we're going over to a school here in Nashville 
to talk about

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the importance of teaching history and civics to our Nation's youth, 
that we want to make sure that when we talk about how--why we defend 
liberty, they understand the history of liberty; they understand the 
great ideals of our country and the values that make America the 
greatest nation on the face of the Earth. I look forward to going with 
Lamar over to East Literature Magnet School to talk about the promise of 
America and the hope for a better world, not only here but around the 
world. He understands the value of education.
    He also understands the need to make sure our economy grows. In 
Washington, sometimes when you listen to the rhetoric of some of them up 
there, they believe Government creates jobs. See, the role of Government 
is not to create wealth but an environment in which the entrepreneur and 
small business can flourish, so people can find work. And that's why 
it's going to be important to have somebody who understands that when 
you let a person keep more of their own money, that person is likely to 
demand a good or a service. And when they demand a good or a service in 
this country, in this system, somebody is likely to produce the good or 
a service. And when somebody produces the good or a service, somebody is 
more likely to find work.
    And the whole economic package of this administration is based upon 
jobs. We will do everything in our power to make sure that jobs are 
available for people who want to work, and that starts with letting 
people keep more of their own money. The interesting thing is, we have 
passed this tax relief plan, and yet because of a quirk in the law, a 
quirk in the Senate rules, the law goes away after 10 years. That's kind 
of a hard one to explain to the ranchers in Crawford, Texas: ``We're 
going to cut your taxes, but we're really not cutting them.'' What we've 
got to make sure is, you send the United States Senator from Tennessee 
who will make the tax cuts permanent on behalf of the working people of 
this State.
    By the way, one of the things we did in our tax relief package, 
besides laying the groundwork for economic growth, was we started 
putting the death tax on its way to extinction. The death tax is bad for 
Tennessee farmers. The death tax is bad for Tennessee ranchers. The 
death tax is bad for Tennessee entrepreneurs. The death tax is just 
plain bad. And you better send you a Senator up there who will get rid 
of the death tax once and for all.
    The foundation for economic growth is strong here in America. 
Inflation is down. Interest rates are low. Productivity of the American 
worker is up. But one of the things that you need to be concerned about 
is Congress overspending, is Congress not understanding the need for 
fiscal responsibility, so that our economy continues to grow. If 
Congress overspends, it will serve as a drag on economic vitality. You 
see, some of them up there don't understand whose money we're spending. 
We don't spend the Government's money in Washington; we're spending your 
money. And it's important to have United States Senators like 
Thompson and Frist who 
understand fiscal sanity is important in Washington.
    See, every program sounds great up there. Everybody's idea sounds 
wonderful. The problem, in Washington terms, they've all got billions of 
dollars' worth of price tags attached to them. They can't even get a 
budget out of the United States Senate. We need a budget. If you don't 
have a budget, the likelihood that--the likelihood is, the Senate is 
going to overspend. How can you set priorities without a budget? And my 
priorities are defending the American people, making sure the homeland 
is secure. And therefore, we need to have Senators in Washington, DC, 
who are there to protect the taxpayers' money, to be fiscally sound.
    No, I've got a veto, and I intend to use it if they overspend. But 
it would certainly

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be helpful to have Senators up there that don't cause me--necessary to 
use it.
    I appreciate the fact that I'll be able to work with Lamar on making 
sure the good people who I nominate to our Federal benches will not only 
get a fair hearing but a speedy hearing and will get approved. The 
country got to see what happens when the Senate gets so politicized that 
they won't give people a fair hearing when it comes to judicial 
nominees.
    I named a fabulous woman out of Texas, named Priscilla Owen, to the Fifth Court. And they distorted her record. 
She had the highest ranking from the ABA, and yet having listened to the 
rhetoric coming out of a highly politicized and polarized committee, you 
never would have realized how qualified she is. She was turned down for 
purely political purposes. For the sake of a Federal judiciary that is 
strong and solid, we need United States Senators like Lamar Alexander 
who will be fair and reasonable and realistic and will not play politics 
with the President's judicial nominees.
    And I look forward to having this good man in the United States 
Senate to stand side by side with me to help fulfill the most important 
role we have in Washington, and that's to protect the homeland. Our most 
important job is to protect an enemy which still exists and still hates 
from taking other lives.
    People say, ``Well, you know, are you sure they're still out 
there?'' Yes, I'm sure, and I know they still hate. I want you to tell 
your children who ask the question, ``Why would America be under 
attack,'' to look them square in the eye and tell them, ``It's because 
we love freedom, is why we're under attack.'' We hold freedom dear. We 
love the idea of worshiping freely in America, and we'll never let go of 
our freedoms. And so long as we hold dear to our freedoms, the enemy 
will hate us, because they hate freedom. These are people that do not 
value human life. And here in America, we say, ``Everybody matters. Each 
life is precious. Everybody counts.'' These are people who hijacked a 
great religion in order to justify their murder.
    So our most important job is to do everything we can to make sure 
our homeland is secure. And it starts with an issue that I talked to you 
about that Fred's working on, and that is to combine the agencies 
involved with homeland security in such a way that we can properly 
enforce our borders, for example. We need to know who's coming into 
America. We need to know what they're bringing into America. We need to 
know if they're leaving America when they say they're going to leave 
America.
    And yet when you look down at our borders, north and south, there 
are three different United States agencies involved with the security of 
our border, Customs, INS, and Border Patrol, all of them manned by very 
fine men and women, all of them staffed by hard-working Americans. But 
they've got different cultures, different strategies. It makes no sense 
for the President not to be able to put the right people at the right 
place at the right time to protect the homeland.
    And the problem is, in the United States Senate, they're more 
interested in Washington's special interests than they are in the 
interests of protecting the American people. I hope they get a good bill 
out of the Senate before they go home to campaign. But I'm going to make 
good on my promise that if the flexibility is not in the bill, the 
flexibility that Fred is so hard working on, that I'm going to use my 
veto power. I will not accept a lousy bill that makes it impossible for 
the President--this President or future Presidents--to do what the 
American people expect, and that's to protect the homeland.
    The best way to secure the homeland, the best way to make sure that 
we protect our children and our children's future, the best way to 
defend freedom and civilization itself, is to hunt the killers down, one 
person at a time, and bring them to justice,

[[Page 1605]]

which is exactly what the United States of America is going to do.
    We're in a different kind of war. But make no mistake about it, it's 
still war. In the old days, you could count the enemy's tanks or 
airplanes or ships, and say, ``Well, look how much we demolished,'' or 
``Their industrial capacity can't keep up with the war demands, and 
therefore, they're diminished as an enemy.'' This is a different kind of 
enemy. Remember, these are the kind of enemies that hide in caves. They 
find the darkest cave they can find. They burrow in there, and then they 
send some youngster to their suicidal death. These are people that hate. 
These are people that take innocent life at the drop of a hat. These 
people are resourceful, and they're wily, and they're determined. But 
they are not as determined as the mighty United States of America. There 
is no cave deep enough; there's no neighborhood dark enough for them to 
hide in, as far as I'm concerned.
    And thanks to a coalition of countries that love freedom as much as 
we do, and thanks to a fantastic United States military, we're making 
good progress on the war against these killers. Just read your 
newspaper. The other day, the fellow that 
thought he wanted to be 20th hijacker is in custody. He's off the 
streets. He thought he could hide. He thought he could run. He thought 
he could escape the justice of the United States of America. No matter 
how long it takes, this mighty Nation will do everything is required to 
defend our freedom.
    I bet we've hauled in over 2,500 of them so far. I say ``we''--it's 
not just the America military; it's our friends and allies. Remember the 
doctrine, ``Either you're with us, or you're with the enemy,'' and that 
doctrine still stands. And as a result, over a couple thousand of them 
have been hauled in, and that number--about the same number met a 
different fate. They weren't as lucky.
    And another doctrine still stands. It says, ``If you harbor a 
terrorist, if you feed a terrorist, if you house a terrorist, you're 
just as guilty as those who murdered thousands of innocent American 
lives.'' And the Taliban found out what we want. I want you to remind 
your children, with all--in the midst of all this war talk, the midst of 
the--on the television screens seeing our troops and all the stuff going 
on--remind them that this mighty Nation went into a country, as we 
upheld that doctrine, not to conquer anybody but to liberate a people 
from the clutches of one of the most barbaric regimes in the history of 
mankind. Thanks to the United States and our friends and allies, many 
young girls, for the first time, go to school.
    No, this great, compassionate Nation will not only defend our 
Nation; we will believe in freedom for everybody. See, we think 
everybody matters, every life counts, every person has got worth, 
whether they be American or anywhere else around the globe.
    Speaking about barbaric regimes, we must deal with probably one of 
the most--not probably--one of the most real threats we face, and that 
is the idea of a barbaric regime teaming up with a terrorist network and 
providing weapons of mass destruction, to hold the United States and our 
allies and our friends blackmail.
    I gave a speech at the United Nations. I said, for the sake of 
peace, for the sake of security, after 11 years of not doing what he 
said he would do, it is time for us to deal with the true threats; it's 
time with us to deal with Saddam Hussein; it's time for us to secure the 
peace. The United Nations must act. It's a time for them to determine 
whether or not they'll be the United Nations or the League of Nations. 
It's time to determine whether or not they'll be a force for good and 
peace or an ineffective debating society. The United States will remain 
strong in our conviction that we must not and will not allow the world's 
worst leaders to hold the United

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States and our friends and allies blackmail or threaten us with the 
world's worst weapons.
    I have asked Congress to support me in this war. And I must say, the 
bipartisan support has been strong, and I appreciate that. But Congress 
has been lacking in one area. I requested the most--the largest increase 
in defense spending since Ronald Reagan was the President, for two 
reasons. One, anytime we send our troops into harm's way, they deserve 
the best pay, the best training, and the best possible equipment. And 
secondly, I wanted to send a message to friend and foe alike that the 
United States is not going to relent in our quest for freedom, that 
we're in this deal for the long haul, that there's not a calendar on my 
desk that says by such-and-such a date, we quit. See, that's not what 
you do when you face an enemy which hates. That's not what you do when 
you know that history has called us to defend our freedoms.
    I say the Congress failed because the House passed a defense bill 
and the Senate passed a defense bill, but they haven't gotten together 
to get me a defense bill yet. They need to act. The leadership in 
Washington needs to move a defense bill to my desk as quickly as 
possible. They not ought--they ought not to play politics with the 
defense appropriations bill in the midst of a war, a war that will 
define civilization itself.
    I don't know what got into the enemy when they hit us. They must 
have thought the Nation was so materialistic and so self-absorbed and so 
selfish and so shallow that after September the 11th, 2001, all we would 
do is file a lawsuit or two. They didn't understand America. They don't 
know that when they struck us, they struck a mighty nation that loves 
freedom. They didn't realize that out of the evil done to this country 
can come incredible good. And I believe that. I believe that by 
remaining tough and strong on terror, by working with nations around the 
world and reminding them the stakes--about the stakes, by always 
adhering to the ideals that make our Nation strong, that we can achieve 
peace.
    I want you to tell your kids, my dream is peace. I want the world to 
be a peaceful world, not only for our children but children everywhere. 
I want there to be peace in the Middle East, and I believe by remaining 
tough and strong, we can achieve peace in the Middle East. I believe we 
can achieve peace in South Asia. I understand that the hurdles are going 
to be great, and there's going to be rough moments. But the enemy has 
given us a chance to achieve some good out of the evil, by realizing 
peace.
    And here at home, we have a chance to foster a more compassionate 
society. In the midst of our plenty, there are people who hurt in 
America. There are people who are addicted, who are lonely. There are 
people who wonder whether or not the so-called American Dream is meant 
for them. I understand that Government can hand out money, and we do a 
pretty darn good job of it. But what Government cannot do is put hope 
into people's hearts or a sense of purpose in people's lives. That is 
done when a fellow American puts their arm around somebody who hurts and 
says, ``I love you. What can I do to help you?''
    There's a new spirit in America, thanks to what happened on 
September the 11th. We still mourn for the loss of life, but there are 
thousands of our fellow citizens who have asked the question, ``How can 
I help?'' And they've heard the call: You can help fight evil by doing 
good. You can fight evil by loving your neighbor just like you'd like to 
be loved yourself.
    No, in this country, there's a new sense of responsibility. People 
are learning that being a patriot is more than just putting your hand 
over your heart and saying the pledge allegiance. Being a patriot is 
serving a cause greater than yourself. The enemy hit us, but they didn't 
know who they were hitting. They've--they hit a country with a strong 
spirit, a strong sense of purpose,

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a strong drive to make sure that every single citizen has a chance.
    And so I remind my fellow Americans, it doesn't take much to be a 
part of a change, to be a part of the gathering momentum of millions of 
acts of kindness that will define the true face of our country. Mentor a 
child. Go to a shut-in's house and say, ``Can I help you?'' Be a part of 
the Boys and Girls Clubs. I met a young man 
who--today who wants to run a--is going to run an after-school program 
in the Boys and Girls Club. He's a junior in high school. He heard the 
call. Join the Peace Corps. If you're a youngster, be a member of the 
USA Freedom Corps. Serve a country by serving a neighbor in need. And 
that's what's taking place.
    You know, I first got into politics because I believed our culture 
ought to change from one that said, ``If it feels good, do it,'' and 
``If you've got a problem, blame somebody else,'' to a culture which 
says, ``Each of us are responsible for the decisions we make in life.'' 
And if you're a mom or a dad, you're responsible for loving your 
children with all your heart and all your soul. If you're living in 
Nashville, Tennessee, you're responsible for the quality of education in 
the neighborhoods; you're responsible for the quality of life. If you're 
running a corporation in America, you're responsible to your 
shareholders and your employees to tell the truth and not lie about your 
books. If you're a responsible America, it means you love your neighbor 
just like you'd like to be loved yourself. And that's what's happening.
    There's no question in my mind this great country is going to rise 
to the challenges we face. There's no doubt in my mind that by remaining 
strong and steadfast, we can win the war on terror and help the world 
become more peaceful. And there's no doubt in my mind that we can find 
those dark corners of hopelessness and help bring light, by loving 
them--by loving a neighbor in need.
    You know why I say ``no doubt in my mind''? Because this is the 
finest country on the face of the Earth, full of the most decent, 
honorable people. I'm proud you came today. I'm proud to support Lamar 
Alexander.
    May God bless you all, and may God bless America.

Note: The President spoke at 11:55 a.m. in the East Exhibit Hall at the 
Nashville Convention Center. In his remarks, he referred to Honey 
Alexander, wife of candidate Lamar Alexander; Tennessee gubernatorial 
candidate Van Hilleary; Ted Welch, finance chairman, Alexander for 
Senate; Beth Harwell, chairman, and Stephanie Chivers, national 
committeewoman, Tennessee Republican Party; David Kustoff, candidate for 
Tennessee's Seventh Congressional District; 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; President 
Saddam Hussein of Iraq; and Boys and Girls Club volunteer Harry Ingle, 
Jr.