[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book II)]
[October 24, 2002]
[Pages 1883-1889]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks in Columbia, South Carolina
October 24, 2002

    The President. Thank you all very much. Well, thanks for coming out 
today.
    Audience member. I love Bush!
    The President. And I love South Carolina. [Laughter]
    We've got a lot of friends here. I want to thank you all for coming 
today. I want to talk about a couple of things. I want to talk about 
some of the challenges facing our country. We've got some steep hills to 
climb, but there's no doubt in my mind we can climb them. After all, 
we're the finest nation on the face of the Earth.
    I want to talk a little politics with you. You see, there's no 
question in my mind that if you're interested in the State of the South 
Carolina, and if you're interested in the future of this State, you need 
to have Mark Sanford as the next Governor. And 
there's also no question in my mind, one, that you've been really well 
represented by the great Strom Thurmond.
    I'm really proud to be able to serve with the Senator. As a matter of fact, he came by the other day. We were 
talking about an important issue, and he reminded me that early December 
is his 100th birthday. [Laughter] I couldn't tell if he was hinting or 
not, so I took the bait and invited him over to the White House for his 
100th birthday party. [Laughter] So he's coming.
    So you've got to make sure you replace this good man with somebody who can do the job, somebody who will do 
what's right for South Carolina, and somebody who will make the strong 
stands for America. No question in my mind, the right man to take the 
place of Strom Thurmond is soon-to-be United States Senator Lindsey 
Graham.
    I appreciate Jenny Sanford being here, 
your next first lady. She brought those 
four Sanford 
boys with her. [Laughter] Speaking about first 
ladies, you drew the short straw. See, if Graham and Sanford were smart, 
they'd have asked First Lady Laura Bush to come 
instead of me. But I--he said he did. [Laughter] The reason she couldn't 
come, well, it rained in Crawford. [Laughter] And that's where she is, 
and she's

[[Page 1884]]

sweeping the porch because the President of China 
is coming tomorrow. [Laughter]
    But she sends her love. You know, when I asked Laura to marry me, she was a public school librarian. That 
always gets one cheer. [Laughter] But you know what I'm talking about; 
that's a job that requires a good heart and deep care about our 
children. Anyway, when I asked her to marry me, she was that, and she 
didn't particularly like politics--[laughter]--and she didn't like 
politicians. [Laughter] And now here she is, as a fabulous First Lady 
for America.
    I appreciate so very much Members of the United States Congress who 
joined us here. That would be Congressman Henry Brown and Congressman Joe Wilson. Some 
of the statehouse folks are here, and they're doing a fine job on behalf 
of the South Carolinians. That would be Bob Peeler, David Wilkins, and Charlie 
Condon and Jim Miles. 
I'm honored that they're here. You've got a great slate of candidates 
running with--running with Mark.
    Let me tell you why I'm here. I want you all to understand, it's 
important to do your duties as Americans. It's important that you vote. 
It's important that you find good candidates. I've obviously got a few 
suggestions for you here. [Laughter] It's important that you go to your 
coffee shops and houses of worship and your community centers and remind 
your fellow South Carolinians they have a duty: They've got a duty to 
this country; they've got a duty to democracy to participate. It doesn't 
matter whether they're Republican, Democrat--could care less about 
parties. They have a duty, and so you need to go out there and round up 
the vote.
    I want to thank you for what you have done in the political process. 
But as importantly now, I want to thank you for what you're going to do, 
which is to turn out that vote and make sure this good slate of 
candidates win on November the 5th.
    And there's a reason--there's a reason here in South Carolina. You 
need a Governor who's willing to change the tone of this State. You 
know, there's just too much partisan bickering that goes on in the 
statehouse. You need somebody who is going to rise above it all, 
somebody who doesn't need a poll or a focus group to tell him how to 
think, somebody who stands on principle, somebody that's going to be the 
Governor of everybody when he wins. And that person is Mark 
Sanford.
    I appreciate his commitment to education. 
When I was the Governor of Texas, I used to tell them that education is 
to a State what national defense is to the Federal Government. It's by 
far the most important priority of any Governor; that is, educating 
every child. Mark and I share a philosophy. It's a philosophy that's 
going to be good for South Carolina when he wins. It's a philosophy that 
starts with this concept: Every child can learn. You see--and I mean 
every child, not just those who live in nice suburban districts--every 
child. If you believe that, it's historic for educational excellence for 
every single child. We've got to have you, a Governor who's willing to 
challenge the soft bigotry of low expectations. If you lower the bar, if 
you believe certain children can't learn, that's what's going to happen. 
And so you've got to start with a Governor who's optimistic and bold in 
his vision about every child being able to learn. That's how Mark 
thinks. But you've also got to have a Governor who's willing to 
challenge the bureaucracy and trust the local people to chart the path 
to excellence for every child.
    We believe in local control of schools. This year, we're going to be 
sending $600 million of Federal money to help South Carolina run its 
schools. But for the first time, thanks to the work of Lindsey 
Graham in the United States Congress and 
the other Congressmen here, Henry and 
Joe, we're starting to ask this question: What 
are the results? See, if you believe every child can learn, then you 
want to know whether every child is learning. If you believe every child 
can learn to read, then it seems to make sense to ask the

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question, Is it happening? Are the schools in South Carolina meeting the 
objective to teach every single child, not just a few--every child how 
to read? So you're asking the question for the first time.
    You've got to have a Governor who's willing to hold people to 
account, who's willing not to be captured by special interest. The only 
interest Mark cares about are the children. 
That's his special interest. You've got to be willing to have high 
standards, local control of schools, and you've got to know whether or 
not children are learning to read and write and add and subtract. And 
then once you know, you must have a Governor who's willing to praise 
those hardworking teachers for being successful. And for those of you 
who teach, thanks for what you're doing.
    But if you believe every child can learn and you find children 
trapped in schools which will not teach and will not change, for the 
good of South Carolina, you better have a Governor who's willing to 
challenge the status quo, and that Governor is going to be Mark 
Sanford.
    And I look forward to working with Mark 
when we continue to work on welfare reform. Welfare reform is an 
important issue, because if a person gets trapped in the Government's 
cycle, they won't be able to realize their human worth. People can find 
dignity through work. So one of the things I'm going to do when I'm the 
President, if they reauthorize welfare, is to work with Mark Sanford to 
make sure that there's training programs available, so a man or a woman 
can find work, can be able to see the dignity of work. He understands 
that. He understands that, if you're trapped in Government, it will sap 
your soul and drain your spirit.
    Everybody counts in the State of South Carolina. And so when we work 
on important issues that deal with the human condition, we've got to 
work in a way that understands human dignity is found by empowering each 
and every person. Mark Sanford understands that 
clearly.
    No, he's going to make you a good Governor. I urge you to--as 
they're coming down the pike, to support this good candidate and his 
family with your vote, with your energy, with your enthusiasm, and sure 
enough, on election day, you will have Mark Sanford as your Governor.
    And I'm looking forward to working with Lindsey Graham. And I don't need a Senator from South Carolina 
where I've got to worry about where he lights on any issue. [Laughter] 
You don't need a Senator from your State that kind of is for one thing 
one day and the heat gets on and changes his position the next day. 
That's not going to serve your State well. It's certainly going to make 
it harder to get an agenda through that will make America safer, 
stronger, and better. And after all, that's what we need to do, to work 
together to make America a safer country and a stronger country and a 
better country.
    When it comes to making America a stronger country, that starts with 
making sure our economy continues to expand. My attitude is, anytime 
somebody who wants to work and can't find a job--says we've got a 
problem. My attitude is, is that we want to help people put food on the 
table. If people are struggling to get ahead, we've got to do everything 
we can in Washington, DC, to expand the job base.
    And it starts with understanding how our economy works. The page of 
the textbook that we have read says this: If you let a person keep more 
of their own money, they're likely to demand a good or a service. And in 
the marketplace, when somebody demands a good or a service, somebody is 
going to produce the good or a service. And when somebody produces the 
good or a service, somebody is more likely to find work. The tax relief 
plan that Lindsey Graham supported came at 
the right time in American economic history.
    Over the next 10 years, that tax relief plan will put about $14.9 
billion in the pockets of South Carolinian citizens. That's

[[Page 1886]]

your money to begin with, by the way. Listen carefully to the rhetoric 
of these candidates when they start saying, ``Oh, we're going to spend 
the Government's money.'' They seem to forget whose money they're 
spending in Washington, DC. You listen carefully to the rhetoric of the 
candidates. You want you a candidate who understands whose money we've 
got in Washington, DC. And when you have more of your own money, not the 
Government's money but your money, in your pocket, it means it's more 
likely somebody in South Carolina is going to find work.
    But we've got a problem. See, the Senate, on the one hand, giveth, 
and on the other hand, taketh away. And the tax relief we plan--passed 
is not permanent. It's temporary, which means some in Washington, DC, 
want that $15 billion, more or less, of tax relief, of your money, to go 
to the Government coffers. And that would be bad for the economy, and 
that would be bad for South Carolina.
    The death tax is bad. The marriage penalty is bad. The child credit 
is good. Reducing income tax rates helps small business. For the sake of 
economic vitality, you need to have a United States Senator who will 
make the tax cuts permanent, and that's Lindsey Graham.
    He also understands the quality of 
life for our seniors is important. Medicine has changed; Medicare 
hasn't. Medicine is modern, and Medicare is stuck. For the sake of our 
seniors, elect a Senator who will work with me to make sure Medicare is 
modern and our seniors have got a prescription drug plan.
    A stronger America is an America who's got a good Federal bench. One 
of my jobs is to nominate good, solid citizens, good lawyers, good 
jurists to our benches. It's a solemn obligation of the President. Yet, 
the way this Senate is structured, they have done a lousy job. The 
percentage of our judges which have been approved is the lowest in a 
long time. And when my judges have made it to the floor, they have 
been--their records have been distorted because of petty politics, 
special interest politics in Washington, DC.
    I named a good man named Dennis Shedd to 
represent the fourth circuit court. He's a good jurist. For 17 months, 
he's still waiting for a vote. The two Senators from South Carolina 
supported him. Both Republican and Democrat Senators supported him. For 
17 months, he's been able to get--unable to get his hearing in the 
Senate, and we've got a vacancy problem. We've got a vacancy problem 
because the Senate is playing too much politics. We've got a vacancy 
problem because they don't like it that I'm nominating good people who 
are going to strictly interpret the Constitution and not use the bench 
from which to legislate. We've got a vacancy problem on the Federal 
court, and one way to solve that is to put Lindsey Graham into the United States Senate.
    We've got problems with our economy. It's not growing as robust. And 
I can promise you I'm going to work with Senator Graham to do everything to make sure people find work and work 
with Senator Graham to make sure the people have got a good health care 
system, work with Senator Graham to make sure the judiciary is strong. 
And I intend to work with Senator Graham on the most pressing problem 
facing us, and that's our security of our homeland.
    You've just got to understand there's an enemy out there that hates 
America because of what we love. We love freedom. We love the fact that 
people can worship freely in America. We love our free press. We love 
every aspect of our freedom, and we're not changing. We're not backing 
down, and the enemy can't stand that.
    The more we love, the more they hate. So our most important job is 
to protect the American people from further harm, from further attack. 
And they're out there. People in Australia, many of them grieve now 
because they're just not--coldblooded killers hit them in Bali. You may 
remember

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that. That's all part of this campaign to terrorize the free world, to 
try to get us to retreat, forget what we're made out of. They don't 
understand America. They just don't understand us.
    They must have thought after September the 11th, 2001, we'd file a 
lawsuit or two. [Laughter] That's not us. See, when it comes to the 
defense of our freedom, when it comes to the defense of our people, when 
it comes to protecting innocent life, we value innocent life. Every life 
matters in America. To these killers, no life matters.
    When it comes to protecting this country, we'll be plenty tough. 
When it comes to protecting this country, we've also got to be realistic 
about the new world we're in. Prior to September the 11th, 2001, we used 
to think two oceans could protect us from harm. I remember thinking 
about conflicts and realizing our country could pick and choose whether 
or not we wanted to participate in the conflict but never really worried 
about whether or not the conflict would hurt us here at home. For a long 
time, our country felt like oceans could keep us immune from personal 
attack, and people wouldn't suffer here at home. We learned a horrible 
lesson, that in the new wars of the 21st century, we're the 
battleground--we're one of the battlegrounds.
    And that's why I've asked our country to think seriously about 
Saddam Hussein in Iraq. Saddam Hussein is a 
man who said he wouldn't have weapons of mass destruction. He made that 
promise to the world. He's hiding; he's deceiving; he's lying about 
whether he has them or not. Not only does he have them, he used them. He 
used them against people in his neighborhood. He used them against his 
own people. This is a man who has lied about whether or not he possesses 
weapons of mass destruction, a man who uses them, a man who hates 
America, a man who hates our friends. He's a threat to peace.
    The United Nations decided they were going to deal with 
Saddam a while ago. Sixteen resolutions have 
been passed in the United Nations, resolution after resolution after 
resolution, calling him to account. And he's ignored them. So I made a 
decision on behalf of our country that I would go to that body and, for 
the sake of peace, remind them they have an obligation to honor those 
resolutions, to do something about them. I made the case that you have a 
choice, United Nations, to keep the peace by showing some backbone. You 
can be the United Nations or the League of Nations. It's your choice.
    And my message to Saddam Hussein is clear 
as well: You've said you would disarm. For the sake of peace, you said 
you would get rid of the weapons of mass destruction. It's your choice 
to make. And so we're working with the international community, 
reminding Saddam Hussein of his obligations. But I want you all to know, 
for the sake of peace, for the sake of the security of the United States 
and our friends and allies, if the United Nations won't deal with him, 
if he refuses to hear the call for peace, the United States will lead a 
coalition to disarm Saddam Hussein.
    As we're clear-eyed about the threats we face overseas, we must be 
clear-eyed about the threats at home as well. There's a lot of good 
people working hard to protect you. We're now on alert. We understand 
the new reality. There's people at the Federal level and the State level 
and the local level working a lot of long hours to chase down any lead, 
any hint. Anytime we think somebody is thinking about doing something to 
America, we're responding; we're disrupting; we're denying; we're making 
sure we fulfill our solemn obligations to protect you.
    But there's more we can do. And so that's why I went to the United 
States Congress and asked them to pass a Department of Homeland 
Security. You see, there's over 100 agencies involved with securing our 
homeland. They're kind of scattered around up there in Washington. It 
seemed to make sense to me to put them under one umbrella organization, 
so that the priority can

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be set and, if need be, cultures can be changed, so we can get people 
focused on doing the most important job they've got. And we're making 
progress.
    Part of the progress was made because the House of Representatives--
Lindsey Graham was strong on this, and Joe 
and Henry voted with us--was to create a Department of Homeland Security 
that would give an administration the capacity to manage the Department, 
to be able to protect you. It's stuck in the Senate. It's stuck in the 
Senate because the Senate wants to extract a price from the 
administration. Every President since John Kennedy has had the ability 
to act in a national security interest. He had the ability to suspend 
work rules if they got in the way of protecting the homeland or got in 
the way of national security, but the Senate wants to take that away. 
Here we are at war, and all of a sudden they decide I shouldn't have the 
same authority as every President since John F. Kennedy. I'd have that 
authority for the Department of Agriculture--[laughter]--but not for the 
Department of Homeland Security.
    Secondly, I need to be able to put the right people at the right 
place at the right time. We've got a border control issue. We need to 
know who's coming into our country. We need to know who's coming in and 
who's going out. We don't know what they're bringing in. Yet, on the 
border we've got good, hardworking people, fine people, working in three 
different agencies: Border Patrol, INS, and Customs. Some sectors of the 
border they've got different strategies; they wear different uniforms. 
But yet, the work rules prevent us from coordinating them. For the sake 
of the national security, I need a Senator who will join me in making 
sure that we can structure the agency so it works.
    But the best way to secure the homeland is to chase these killers 
down, one person at a time, and bring them to justice. And that's what 
we're going to do. That's what we're--yesterday I signed a defense bill, 
right there in the Rose Garden. It's the largest increase in defense 
spending since Ronald Reagan was the President. The reason why was 
because anytime we put our troops into harm's way, we owe it to our 
troops and we owe it to the loved ones of the troops to make sure 
they've got the best training, the best possible pay, and the best 
equipment. And our troops are good; they're really good.
    And the other message was, to our friend and foe, it doesn't matter 
how long it takes. It doesn't matter how long it takes to win this war 
on terror. There's no calendar on my desk, right there in the great Oval 
Office. There's not a calendar that says, you know, by such-and-such a 
date, we're hauling them home; by such-and-such a date, we're going to 
forget our obligations to our future; by such-and-such a date that we 
say, fine, let them sit out there. That's not the way America thinks.
    It doesn't matter how much it costs. It doesn't matter how long it 
takes. This great country will defend our freedoms and defend our 
people. And we're making some pretty good progress. Remember the 
doctrine that said, ``Either you're with us, or you're with them.'' It 
still stands. And so we've got a lot of people working together to haul 
them in.
    See, this isn't the kind of war that some of the old vets here are 
used to: You destroy a bunch of tanks, and you make progress. That's not 
the kind of war this is. See, we fight these killers who hide in caves 
and send youngsters to their suicidal deaths. It's a new kind of army. 
That's why we've got to do a better job of cutting off their money, of 
sharing intelligence, of finding where they hide, of finding these kind 
of--putting the sunlight on these dark corners of the world where they 
kind of slither around. That's what we got to do.
    But we're making progress. And sometimes you'll see it, and 
sometimes you're just not going to see it. The other day one of them 
popped his head up, bin al-

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Shibh. He's no longer a problem. 
[Laughter] Slowly but surely, we're doing our duty to our country. 
Slowly but surely, we're hunting these killers down, one at a time.
    And that's what we've got to do. But you know how I feel about this, 
that by being tough and strong and clear, by remembering that freedom is 
not American-blessed, it is God-given, it's universal, remembering that 
freedom is a part of what we think about--we remember those values that 
make us a great nation, we will keep the peace--that the mission of this 
administration is to make the world more peaceful, that the reason we do 
what we do is because we believe in freedom and we believe in peace.
    And it's going to happen. See, the enemy hit us. They didn't know 
who they were hitting. They hit the greatest nation on the face of the 
Earth. They gave us a chance, a chance we will seize, to not only 
protect America and keep America peaceful, but because we value all 
life--everybody counts, that we want there to be peace in parts of the 
world where people have quit on peace.
    We have a chance to achieve the peace in the Middle East. We have a 
chance to achieve the peace in South Asia. By being strong and 
determined and resolute in our mission, we can make the peace.
    And here at home, we can make America a better place, too. See, out 
of the evil done to America can come some incredible good--incredible 
good. You just got to know--and I know you know--that there are pockets 
of despair and loneliness in our country. There are people who are hurt, 
people who are addicted, people who wonder when you say ``American 
Dream,'' they don't understand what that means.
    My attitude is, so long as one of us hurts, we all hurt. It's an 
opportunity though, however, for us to deal with these pockets of 
despair. Government can help; we will. We'll worry about education. 
We'll worry about making sure the welfare system works. We have a Faith-
Based Initiative to encourage people of faith to love their neighbor. 
But Government is limited in its capacity. It can hand out money, but it 
cannot put hope in people's hearts or a sense of purpose in people's 
lives. That is done when a fellow American has heard the universal call 
to love a neighbor just like you'd like to be loved yourself; finds 
somebody who hurts, puts their arm around him, and says, ``I love you. 
What can I do to help make your day?''
    Each of us--each of us can help change America, one heart, one 
conscience, one soul at a time. Each of us can make a difference in 
making sure that the enemy hit us, but out of that evil and harm and 
hurt and tears can come a more compassionate and decent society. There's 
no question in my mind, no question in my mind, that this great country 
will lead the world to peace. And there's no question in my mind that 
this great country, the hope of this great country, the great promise of 
America can have--can shine in every neighborhood and every home.
    And do you know why? Because we're the greatest nation, full of the 
finest people on the face of this Earth. Thank you for coming.
    May God bless you all, and may God bless America. Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 12:18 p.m. at the Jimmy Doolittle Flight 
Facility Hangar. In his remarks, he referred to gubernatorial candidate 
Mark Sanford, and his wife, Jenny Sanford, and their children Marshall, 
Landon, Bolton, and Blake; senatorial candidate Lindsey Graham; 
President Jiang Zemin of China; South Carolina Lieutenant Governor Bob 
Peeler; South Carolina Speaker of the House David Wilkins; South 
Carolina Attorney General Charlie Condon; South Carolina Secretary of 
State Jim Miles; President Saddam Hussein of Iraq; and 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.