[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book II)]
[October 18, 2002]
[Pages 1839-1846]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at Rochester Community and Technical College in Rochester, 
Minnesota
October 18, 2002

    Thank you all for coming. Yes, kind of sounds like the Metrodome in 
here. I appreciate so many good folks coming to say hello. You know, I'm 
aware of Rochester. After all, I still listen to my mother. [Laughter] She's a proud member of the board of Mayo 
Clinic.
    I thank you for coming today. I'm here to talk about some of the 
challenges we meet as a nation. I want you to know that I'm incredibly 
optimistic about this Nation's future. And I'm here to support a man for 
the United States Senate who shares my optimism about America. There's 
no doubt in my mind that what is best for Minnesota and what is best for 
America is that Norm Coleman become the next 
United States Senator. I'm here to support the ticket, and there's no 
question in my mind that you need to have Tim Pawlenty as the next Governor for Minnesota.
    I want to thank you all for your concern about our country. I want 
to thank you for your participation in the process. Thank you for taking 
your time to look the candidates over. Thank you for understanding that 
being a part of America is the obligation to participate in our process. 
I want to thank you for what you have done for America. I want to thank 
you for what you're going to do. And that is, man the phones; go to your 
coffee shops; go to your houses of worship; remind the people of our 
community, whether they be Republicans or Democrats or couldn't care 
less--[laughter]--that when you find a good one,

[[Page 1840]]

you ought to support him. And you found some good ones in these 
candidates here in Minnesota.
    I'm also glad to be in the breadbasket of America. We eat because of 
you. [Laughter] I love the values of this part of the world--faith and 
family, love of country--I love the values of this part of the world. 
Hard-working, good, honest, decent people, people I'm proud to call 
friend, people neighbors are proud to call friend--no, you're the 
strength of our great country. And nothing we can't overcome, because 
we're the finest country on the face of the Earth.
    I want to thank the good folks here at Rochester Community and 
Technical College for your hospitality. I particularly want to thank--
it's kind of hard to welcome a President, I know, but you've done a heck 
of a good job, plus you've got a Texan running the deal. [Laughter] I 
want to thank Don Supalla, who's the president, 
for his hospitality.
    I want to thank the Members of Congress who are with us: Gil 
Gutknecht, who's a friend of mine. Thank you 
for coming, Gil. I appreciate you coming. I want to thank Congressman 
Mark Kennedy for being here as well. Mark's 
a fine one. You lowered your standards; you let somebody from Missouri 
travel with me--[laughter]--but he's a fine Congressman named Roy 
Blunt. I appreciate Congressman Blunt being here 
with us today.
    I want to thank the people who are running for office. I want to 
thank Carol Molnau, who's running for the 
Lieutenant Governor of the State of Minnesota. I want to thank John 
Kline, who will make a fine United States 
Congressman. Clyde Billington is running 
for the Congress; we need to help Clyde. And Dan Stevens is running for Congress. I want to thank these candidates 
for running.
    You drew the short straw today. You didn't get my mother, and you didn't get my wife. 
[Laughter] But Laura sends her best. She's doing great. She's doing 
really good. She's an amazing lady. You know, when I married her--we 
were both raised in Midland, Texas, which is really not a pretty place 
to look at, but it's full of fine people. [Laughter] She was a public 
school librarian. By the way, her heart is still with our children. She 
desires for every child to learn how to read in America. But anyway, 
when I married her, or asked her to marry me, at least, the truth of the 
matter was, she didn't like politics--[laughter]--and didn't 
particularly care for politicians, either. [Laughter] Thank goodness she 
said yes. She's now a fabulous First Lady for our country.
    I know something about what it takes to be a Governor, and you've 
got a good man running for Governor here in 
Minnesota. He's a person who can get results. He's proven that already 
in the statehouse. He has worked to make sure that government stays 
within a budget, and that's not easy. Generally, when governments meet, 
everybody has got a great idea. They all cost billions of dollars. 
[Laughter] That's why you've got to have somebody who understands the 
money we spend in government is not the government's money. Tim 
understands that.
    He also understands the most important 
thing a State can do is to make sure you get it right when it comes to 
the schools. The most important issue for any Governor in any State is 
to make sure every single child in your State receives a quality 
education. What you've got to have in the statehouse is somebody like 
Tim who is willing to insist upon high standards and high expectations, 
somebody who is willing to challenge what I call the soft bigotry of low 
expectations. You see, if you get you--you've got to have a Governor who 
understands you must raise the bar and expect the best, who believes in 
his heart of hearts that every child can learn. You've got to believe 
that.
    And then you've got to--and then you must have a Governor who trusts 
the local people, who trusts the local people to chart

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the path to excellence, who empowers the teachers and parents and 
principals to chart the path for excellence so every child can learn.
    And then you've got to have a Governor who's willing to ask the 
fundamental question, are we succeeding? You see, if you believe every 
child can learn, then you want to know whether every child in your State 
is learning. If you believe every child can read, then it makes sense to 
measure to determine whether or not every child is learning to read and 
write and add and subtract. And when they are, there will be plenty of 
praise for the teachers. But you better have you a Governor who's 
willing to challenge the schools that won't teach and won't change. No 
child should be left behind in Minnesota or anywhere else in America.
    No, I'm proud to support Tim, and I 
encourage you to go out and work on his behalf. He'll make you a good 
Governor. And I'm also proud to be here with Norm Coleman. I need him in the United States Senate, and let me tell 
you why.
    First, I'm confident he can do the job. He 
has proven himself as a leader. He was the mayor of St. Paul. He kept 
taxes down. He helped revitalize that city. He's got his priorities 
straight. You lost your hockey team, and he got you another one. He's 
not one of these polarizer-type people, you know, pitting one group of 
people against another. Frankly, we've got too much of that in 
Washington, DC. There's too many voices up there that would rather call 
names than get things done, too many dividers.
    Norm Coleman is a uniter. He starts in the 
center, and he works with people to bring them together to do what's 
right for America. No doubt in my mind he can do the job, and like me, 
he married well. [Laughter]
    And I tell you, we've got some problems, and we do. The economy is 
not as good as we'd like it to be. There are too many people looking for 
work and can't find it. And anytime that's the case in this country, we 
need to do something about it. The foundation for growth is strong. 
Interest rates are low. Inflation is low. Listen, we've got the most 
productive people in the world. Our farmers are the most productive in 
the world. Our workers are the most productive in the world. The 
entrepreneurial spirit is strong in America. Small-business sector is 
vibrant. There's a lot right with what--our country when it comes to our 
economy. But still, too many are looking for work.
    And so the fundamental question is what to do about it. The role of 
Government is not to create wealth. That's how some of the other folks 
in Washington think. The role of Government is to create an environment 
in which the small business can flourish, in which the producer can find 
markets, in which the entrepreneur can make a living. That's what the 
role of Government is.
    And that's why I feel so strongly about tax relief. You see, when 
your economy is bumping along, when your economy is not doing as well as 
we want it to do, one way to increase jobs is to let people keep more of 
their own money. Some folks in Washington don't understand that. They 
think when the economy is bumping along, it's better to take more money.
    Here's what we believe: We believe that when a person has more 
money, they're more than likely to demand a good or a service. And in 
our society, when somebody demands a good or a service, somebody is more 
likely to produce the good or service. And when somebody produces that 
good or service, somebody is more likely to be able to find work. For 
the sake of job creation, for the sake of the working people in America, 
the tax relief came at the right time.
    If the tax relief were permanent, that would mean $33 billion of 
more money in your pocket over the next 10 years--$33 billion as the 
result of the rates going down. It would mean $4 billion of tax relief

[[Page 1842]]

over the next 10 years because of the child credit. It would mean $1.4 
billion because we significantly slashed the marriage penalty. See, one 
of the things we believe is, the Tax Code ought to encourage marriage, 
not discourage marriage. That's a little bit over $38 billion if the tax 
cuts were permanent. Let me explain the problem with the issue and why 
you need to be asking the questions here in Minnesota about this issue.
    See, there's a quirk in the Senate rules that says, ``Yes, you can 
have tax relief, but after 10 years it goes away.'' It's kind of like 
the Senate giveth, and the Senate taketh away. [Laughter] I have trouble 
explaining that in Crawford, Texas, I'll be honest with you. [Laughter] 
It's hard to explain a system where we say, ``You bet, we're going to 
let people keep more of their own money, but then after a while, it goes 
away,'' like a significant tax increase.
    And so I've been asking the Congress to join me in making the tax 
relief permanent. It's essential for job creation. It's essential for 
job growth that you have a United States Senator who will join me in 
making tax relief a permanent part of the Tax Code.
    One of the worst taxes of all is the death tax. You just ask your 
farming families what I'm talking about. You see, it's a tax that taxes 
a person's assets twice. Once is plenty, as far as we're concerned. You 
can tax them once, but don't tax them twice. You know, for the sake of 
the family farmer or the rancher or the small-business owner, we need to 
get rid of the death tax forever. You see, it ought to be right for 
somebody to be able to pass their assets on to whoever they want without 
the Federal Government getting in the way.
    And I hope the farmers of this part of the State ask the question of 
the two candidates: Who's willing to make sure the death tax is forever 
gone from the Tax Code? That ought to be a question people all over 
Minnesota ought to be asking in this race. It's an important question. 
It's a question that shows whose philosophy and whose values are more in 
tune with the people who live in Minnesota.
    We can do more to make sure our economy is strong. Listen, we need 
to have an energy bill that includes ethanol. We need to have an energy 
bill that encourages conservation. If you're worried about jobs in 
America, we need to be less dependent on foreign sources of crude oil.
    I look forward to working with Norm to make sure our medicine is--
the medical system is modern. Listen, Medicare is old, and medicine 
isn't. Medicine has changed. Medicine has evolved, and Medicare hasn't. 
A lot of talk in Washington, but they have yet to get it right when it 
comes to treating our elderly the right way. We need to modernize 
Medicare and include prescription drugs.
    We want our medicine to be affordable and accessible. We want people 
to have access to the health care, and we need it to be affordable. But 
we've got a problem, and that is, there's too many lawsuits. There's too 
many junk lawsuits suing our docs. It's one thing to hold a person to 
account; it's another thing to fill our courts with frivolous lawsuits. 
It's running up the cost of medicine.
    These junk lawsuits are running people out of work, and it's making 
it harder for people to get health care. I was down in Mississippi. I 
met with a doctor. He and his wife were good missionary-type folks, and 
they moved to the Delta. It's one of the poorest parts of our Nation. 
They wanted to practice medicine to help people. They were healers. They 
wanted to use their God-given talent so somebody else could be healthy. 
The junk lawsuits ran them out of the State. Made me want to cry; made 
me want to weep.
    The cost of medicine affects the Federal budget. It affects our 
Medicare. It affects VA hospitals. It affects Medicaid. For the sake of 
making sure our health care system works, we need to have Federal 
medical

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malpractice reform, and Norm Coleman will support me on that issue.
    There's a lot we can do to make sure we're wise about spending your 
money. There's a lot we can do together to make sure that people can 
find work. There's a lot we can sure do together to make sure that the 
promises made to certain of our citizens are kept.
    But the biggest job I've got and the biggest job we will have is to 
protect the American people from an enemy which hates America because of 
what we love. They hate us because we love freedom, and we're not 
changing. We love the fact that in this great country, people from all 
different kinds of walks can worship an almighty God any way he or she 
sees fit. That's what we love. We love the fact that people can speak 
their mind in America, can freely say what they want. We love the idea 
that there's a free press. We love every aspect of the freedoms. And so 
long as we hold those dear to our heart, there's going to be an enemy 
out there. And since we're not changing, we're going to have to do 
something about that enemy out there.
    We learned a terrible lesson on September the 11th, a lesson that we 
must adjust to as a nation. And that is, no longer can two oceans 
protect us. See, it used to be we could sit back and say, ``Oh, there's 
an emerging threat, but two oceans can protect us, and we can take our 
time to decide whether or not we need to respond to that threat.'' We 
learned something else about us, and that is, we're a battlefield now. 
And therefore, as a nation, we've got to do everything we can to win the 
battle, protect the people here at home.
    I recently have been talking about an issue that's a grave issue of 
national concern, and that's Iraq. It's an issue that--we've had a good 
debate in Congress; it was an important debate. Congress is now speaking 
with one voice, along with me, and here's what we're saying: Any man who 
murders his own people, any man who uses weapons of mass destruction on 
his own people, any man who invades two countries in his region, any man 
who has defied resolution after resolution after resolution, any man who 
said he would disarm and hasn't, is a man who is a threat. And 
therefore, we call upon Mr. Saddam Hussein to 
disarm, just like he said he would do.
    And we call upon the United Nations to show us whether or not this 
is a body that can effectively keep the peace, or it's like one its 
predecessors, the League of Nations. We call upon people to come 
together to disarm this man before he harms the United States or our 
friends and allies. In the name of peace--in the name of peace, we call 
upon Saddam to disarm.
    So long as there's a threat out there, your Government will do 
everything we can to protect you. And we're making progress. There's a 
lot of good folks--you've just got to know this--there's a lot of good 
folks working a lot of long hours to run down any hint, any idea, any 
whisper that somebody might be thinking about doing something to 
America. We're moving on it. We're doing everything we can to share 
intelligence.
    And we're getting better at it, by the way. See, we're now on alert. 
We understand; we know the risks. We understand the enemy better and 
better. We're going to protect our United States Constitution, and at 
the same time, we're going to follow every lead. That's our most solemn 
duty.
    And that's why I asked the United States Congress to join me in the 
creation of a Department of Homeland Security. This is an important 
issue. It's an important issue, and it's important we get it right. You 
see, this is an issue that is going to be--that is going to haunt us, if 
we get it wrong, long after I'm the President. Presidents will be 
dealing with the homeland security for a while. So Congress must make 
sure their Department works and functions well, so this President and 
future Presidents can stand up in Rochester, Minnesota, and say, ``We're 
doing everything in our power to

[[Page 1844]]

protect you. We're doing everything we can.''
    There's over 100 agencies in Washington that have something to do 
with the homeland, so I thought it made sense to put them all under one, 
so that if the number one priority is to protect the homeland, it 
becomes the priorities of all those scattered agencies. That way we're 
able to focus the attention and, if need be, change the culture of 
agencies and people who are--whose job it is to protect you.
    And so the House of Representatives acted, and they passed a good 
bill, a bill I can live with. But it's stuck in the Senate. They can't 
get it out of the Senate, and let me tell you why. They said, ``Well, 
you can have the homeland defense bill, but there is a price.'' They 
wanted to extract a price from me. And I say, ``Well, what is that 
price?'' Let me tell you what it is, and I think you'll share--you'll 
understand the reason I said no.
    Every President since John F. Kennedy has the authority to act in 
the interests of national security. In other words, every President 
since John F. Kennedy has the capacity in the name of national security 
to suspend certain work rules, has the capacity to be able to move the 
right people to the right place at the right time, even though certain 
work rules would prevent that from happening. In the name of national 
security, the President has got to be able to respond quickly. The 
Senate wants to take away that authority. You see--let me tell you 
what--they want me to have that authority when it comes to the 
Agricultural Department but not that authority in the time of war when 
it comes to the Department of Homeland Security. This is a big issue in 
this campaign. There's no question where Norm Coleman will stand. He will stand with making sure that this 
President and future Presidents--[applause].
    Let me give you an example of what I'm talking about, so we can 
clarify this issue, so people understand why I'm being reasonable. The 
Customs Department wanted the customs agents to be able to carry a 
radiological detection device on their belt. Just in case somebody was 
trying to bring some weapon of mass destruction in, it made sense to 
have these people wearing these devices. The union head said, ``Uh-uh, 
that must be voluntary. It can't be mandatory, and therefore we must 
have a collective bargaining session which could take months to resolve 
whether or not our customs agents should be wearing radiological 
detection devices.'' That doesn't make any sense. You cannot allow a 
President to have work rules bind him in a time of national concern. The 
enemy moves fast, and so should we. We need to have the flexibility to 
make this work.
    But the best way to secure our homeland is to chase these killers 
down one person at a time and bring them to justice. I know the enemy, 
and therapy isn't going to work. [Laughter] I don't know what was going 
through their mind when they hit us. They probably thought America was 
so self-absorbed, so materialistic, so incredibly selfish that after 
September 11th, 2001, we'd kind of shudder and maybe file a lawsuit or 
two. [Laughter] They met a different America. They met America--an 
America that understands we have a duty. We have a duty to defend 
freedom. We have a duty to defend our fellow citizens. We have a duty to 
make sure our children grow up in a free and peaceful society.
    We're making progress on this different kind of war. In the old 
days, you could measure progress based upon the amount of tanks you 
destroyed or boats you sunk or airplanes that don't fly for the enemy. 
You could measure progress. You could see lines of infantry going 
across, you know, different countries and say, ``Gosh, we're making 
progress. We're pushing the enemy back.''
    These people that we fight hide in caves, send youngsters to their 
suicidal deaths. They're coldblooded killers. They don't value life like 
we do. See, we believe every

[[Page 1845]]

life matters; every life is precious; everybody has worth. And they 
don't. And I must constantly remind our friends and allies of the 
stakes. And the stakes are high. That's why the doctrine that says, 
``Either you're with us, or you're with the enemy,'' still stands. That 
doctrine that says, ``Either you're joining the United States in our 
quest for freedom and peace, or you're with the other team,'' it's still 
a viable doctrine.
    A lot of people still hear the message, and we're after them. The 
other day a guy named Abu Sayyaf--I mean bin al-Shibh, he popped his head up. He's no longer a threat to 
America and our friends. It is a significant, significant capture 
because he was the person that wanted to be the 20th hijacker. And he 
was still on the loose, and he was still plotting to hurt America. We've 
captured--or hauled in, however you want to put it--a couple of 
thousand. A like number weren't quite so lucky.
    So we're making progress, slowly but surely making--and sometimes 
you'll see the progress on you TVs, and sometimes you won't. You've just 
got to know that we've got a fantastic United States military and a 
strong alliance, a fantastic military and a strong alliance that is on 
course. And when we find them lighting somewhere, we get them on the 
run, and we're going to keep them on the run until we whip terror once 
and for all.
    I asked the Congress for a significant increase in defense spending 
for two reasons. It's important for you to know this. I strongly believe 
that anytime we put one of our troops into harm's way, we owe it to the 
troops and we owe it to their loved ones to make sure they've got the 
best pay, the best training, and the best possible equipment.
    And the second reason is, it's an important message to friend and 
foe alike that when it comes to the defense of our freedom, there is no 
calendar that says, you've got--we're quitting. It doesn't matter how 
long it takes. It just doesn't matter how long it takes. However long it 
takes, this country of ours will stay the course. We will stay the 
course to protect America, and we will stay the course to promote the 
peace.
    You see, the enemy hit us. They didn't know who they were hitting. 
They didn't understand that out of the evil done to America can come 
some incredible good, because we're a great nation. And one of the 
goods--and part of that good, part of that good is to achieve peace. If 
we're tough--and we'll be tough--if we speak plainly about terror--which 
we'll do--if we stay the course and remain strong, I believe that we can 
achieve peace. I truly believe it. I believe peace--we can achieve peace 
for ourselves. I believe we can achieve peace in parts of the world that 
have quit on peace. I believe peace is possible in the Middle East. I 
believe peace is possible in South Asia.
    No, the United States can lead a coalition toward peace. I want you 
to know, that's my vision, and that's my hope, and that's what I believe 
is going to happen.
    And as we work hard, as we work hard with Senator Coleman to make sure the country is stronger and safer, we must 
always remember that we've got to work to make the country better, a 
better place. We can do that through good education policy, good health 
policy.
    But the truth of the matter is, the best way to make sure America 
addresses some of our deepest problems is to remember that if you want 
to do some good in the face of evil, love your neighbor like you'd like 
to be loved yourself. In our country, it's important to remember, 
amongst the plenty, there are people who hurt, people who are addicted, 
people who need love, people who are hopeless. And we can solve that 
problem, too. We can solve that problem.
    You can help solve that problem by putting your arm around somebody 
in need and saying, ``I love you.'' You can solve that problem by 
mentoring a child. I saw

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the Scouts when I walked in. You can solve that problem by running a Boy 
Scout troop or a Girl Scout troop. You can solve that problem by going 
to your church or synagogue or mosque and listen to the call of the 
Almighty and feed the hungry and house the homeless.
    That's how we can solve the problems of America. Government can hand 
out money, but Government can't put hope in people's hearts or a sense 
of purpose in people's lives. That's done when a fellow American 
understands there's a new patriotism in this country. It's more than 
just putting your hand over your heart. The new patriotism calls upon 
each of us to be that one person helping to change America, one heart, 
one soul, one conscience at a time.
    Today when I landed here in Rochester, I met a young fellow at the 
airport named Nick Reichel. Nick, where are 
you? Stand up. Fifteen years old, right? He doesn't look it. [Laughter] 
I'll tell you about Nick. See, he's heard the call. It didn't require 
any law passed. This young fellow has already volunteered 400 hours of 
community service, 400 hours as a part of the army of compassion, to 
help make his community as good a place as it can be.
    No, there's no question in my mind, out of the evil done to America 
is going to come some incredible good. I hope you can sense my optimism 
for our future. I hope you can see I see a brighter day for all of us, a 
day of peace, and a day in which the great promise of America shines its 
light into every corner in this country, the day in which we can proudly 
say that the American Dream is vivid and bright for every person who 
lives in my country. I feel optimistic about it, because I know America. 
I know America to be the greatest country, full of the finest people on 
the face of the Earth.
    Thank you for coming today. May God bless you all, and may God bless 
America.

Note: The President spoke at 1:45 p.m. in the fieldhouse. In his 
remarks, he referred to Don Supalla, president, Rochester Community and 
Technical College; John Kline, Clyde Billington, and Dan Stevens, 
candidates for Minnesota's Second, Fourth, and Seventh Congressional 
Districts, respectively; and President Saddam Hussein of Iraq.