[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book I)]
[June 20, 2003]
[Pages 668-672]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
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Remarks at a Bush-Cheney Reception in Greensboro, Georgia
June 20, 2003
The President. Thank you all very much. Thanks a lot for coming out
tonight. So I'm walking up on the stage, and Saxby says, ``If you keep
it short, we might be able to get a round of golf in.'' [Laughter]
I want to thank you all for being here. I came without my
wife, unfortunately.
Audience members. Aw-w-w.
The President. I know it. There's a lot of good, discerning people
out here in the crowd who understand who the real star of our family is.
She was in Chattanooga today working. You drew
the short straw. [Laughter] But I can't tell you how proud I am of the
job she is doing. She is a fabulous First Lady for our country, and she
sends her best and her thanks.
Standing up on the stage here with Sonny
and Saxby reminded me about what it means to
offer a hopeful and optimistic vision, because that's precisely what we
did last fall. In this State, we said, ``If you elect these good people,
you'll get good government for everybody.'' And thanks to your hard work
and your efforts, you elected the first Republican Governor in 130
years. And he's doing the job you expect him to do. He's a straight
shooter. He does in office what he said he would do.
And that's the same with Saxby. I've got
no stronger ally in the United States Senate than Saxby Chambliss, and I
want to thank you
And thanks to your help, starting tonight, we're going to build on
what you did last fall and deliver a strong nationwide victory next
fall. And I'm getting loosened up. [Laughter] I'm getting ready, but I'm
going to have to count on you all to energize the grassroots, to make
the phone calls, to put the signs in the yard, and to spread our
message, which is a positive and hopeful message for every single
citizen who lives in this country.
The political season will come in its own time. But right now, I am
focused on the people's business in Washington, DC. We've got a lot on
the agenda. We've got a lot to do before the political season. But I can
assure you that we will keep earning the confidence of Americans by
keeping this Nation secure and strong and prosperous and free.
Along with Sonny, there's a lot of State
officials here, and I want to thank you all for coming.
And along with Saxby came a--members of one of the finest
congressional delegations in Washington, DC: Congressmen Jack
Kingston, Johnny Isakson, Mac Collins, ``Mac''
Charlie Norwood, Max Burns, and John Linder, and I want to
thank you all for coming. I appreciate you being here.
I want to thank my close friend Mercer Reynolds for agreeing to be the national finance chairman of
the Bush-Cheney campaign. I want to thank Jamie--that would be
Jamie Reynolds--for hosting this event
tonight. I want to thank all the cochairmen who have helped. I want to
thank Harold Reynolds. I want to thank my
friend Fred Cooper. But most of all, I want to
thank you all. You put the wind at my back. You give me a lot of
confidence to take on the task ahead. And I appreciate you coming.
In the last 2\1/2\ years, our Nation has acted decisively to
confront great challenges. I came to the office of the Presidency to
solve problems instead of passing them on to other Presidents or other
generations. I came to seize opportunities instead of letting them slip
away.
We are meeting the tests of our time. Terrorists declared war on the
United States of America, and war is what they got. We have captured or
killed many key Al Qaida leaders, and the rest of them know we're on
their trail. In Afghanistan
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and in Iraq, we gave ultimatums to terror regimes. Those regimes chose
defiance, and those regimes are no more. Fifty million people in those
two countries once lived under tyranny, and now they live in freedom.
Two-and-a-half years ago, our military was not receiving the
resources it needed, and morale was beginning to suffer. We've increased
the defense budget to prepare for the threats of a new era. And today,
no one in the world can question the skill and the strength and the
spirit of the United States military.
Two-and-a-half years ago, we inherited an economy in recession. Then
the attacks on our country occurred, and then scandals in corporate
America and war affected the people's confidence. But we acted. We
passed tough new laws to hold corporate criminals to account. And to get
the economy going again, we have twice led the United States Congress to
pass historic tax relief for the American people.
Here's what we believe, and here's what we know: When Americans have
more take-home pay to spend, to save, and to invest, the whole economy
goes, and people can find work.
We understand whose money we spend in Washington, DC. It's not the
Government's money. It is the people's money. And we're returning more
money to people who are trying to raise their families. We're reducing
taxes on dividends and capital gains to encourage investment. We're
giving small businesses incentives to expand and to hire new people.
With all these actions, we are laying the foundation for greater
prosperity and more jobs all across America so every person, every
single person in this country, can have the chance to live the American
Dream.
Two-and-a-half years ago, there was a lot of talk about education
reform, but there wasn't much action. So I called for and Congress
passed the No Child Left Behind Act. With a solid bipartisan majority,
we delivered the most dramatic education reforms in a generation. We're
bringing high standards and strong accountability measures to every
public school in America. Every child can learn the basics of reading
and math. And we believe every school should teach those basics. We are
challenging the soft bigotry of low expectations in American schools.
The days of excuse-making are over. And now we can expect results in
every single classroom so that not one child in America is left behind.
We reorganized the Government and created the Department of Homeland
Security to safeguard the borders and ports and to protect the American
people. We passed trade promotion authority to open up new markets for
America's farmers and ranchers and manufacturers. We passed a budget
agreement that is helping to maintain spending discipline in Washington,
DC.
On issue after issue, this administration has acted on principle,
has kept its word, and has made progress for the American people. And
the United States Congress has shared in these achievements, and I
appreciate the hard work of the Members of the United States Congress.
We will continue to work together. We will continue to work to change
the tone in Washington, DC, by focusing on the people's business, by
focusing on results.
And that's the nature of the people I've asked to serve America in
my administration, people who are willing to set aside all the partisan
bickering, people who are willing to serve the American people. I've put
together a fabulous team. We've had no greater Vice President in the
United States than Richard B. Cheney,
although my mother may have a different view.
[Laughter]
In 2\1/2\ years, we have come far--2\1/2\ years, we've come a long
way. But our work is only beginning. We have great goals worthy of a
great nation. First, America is committed to expanding the realm of
freedom and peace for our own security and for the benefit of the world.
And second, in
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our own country, we must work for a society of prosperity and compassion
so that every citizen has a chance to work and to succeed and to realize
the great promise of America.
It has never been more clear that the future of freedom and peace
depend on the actions of America. This Nation is freedom's home and
freedom's defender. We welcome this charge of history, and we are
keeping it.
On the war on terror, continues--the war on terror continues. The
enemies of freedom are not idle, and neither are we. This country will
not rest; we will not tire; and we will not stop until this danger to
civilization is removed.
Yet our national interest involves more than eliminating aggressive
threats to our safety. Our greatest security comes from the advance of
human liberty, because free nations do not support terror; free nations
do not attack their neighbors; free nations do not threaten the world
with weapons of mass terror. Americans believe that freedom is the
deepest need and hope of every human heart, and we believe that freedom
is the right of every person and the future of every nation.
America also understands that unprecedented influence brings
tremendous responsibilities. We have duties in the world. And when we
see disease and starvation and hopeless poverty, we will not turn away.
On the continent of Africa, America is now committed to bringing the
healing power of medicine to millions of men and women and children now
suffering with AIDS. This great land is leading the world in important
work of human rescue.
I will continue to work on our economy until anybody who wants to
work and is not working today can find a job.
And we have a duty at home to keep our commitment to America's
seniors by strengthening and modernizing Medicare so that they have more
choices and better access to prescription drugs. The time has arrived
for the United States Congress to pass Medicare reform. And that reform
must give our seniors good options that meet their needs. Members of
Congress and their staffs currently get choice of health care plans. And
seniors ought to have the same kind of choices, including the choice to
keep their Medicare coverage the way it is. If choice is good for the
Members of the United States Congress, it is good for America's seniors.
And for the sake of our health care system, we need to cut down on
frivolous lawsuits which increase the cost of medicine. People who have
been harmed by a doctor deserve their day in court. Yet the system
should not reward lawyers who are simply fishing for a rich settlement.
Because frivolous lawsuits drive up the cost of health care, medical
liability is a national problem, and it requires a national solution. No
one has ever been healed by a frivolous lawsuit. We need medical
liability reform now.
I have a responsibility to make sure the judicial system runs well,
and I have met that duty. I have nominated superb men and women to the
Federal courts, people who will interpret the law, not legislate from
the bench. Some Members of the United States Senate are trying to keep
my nominees off the bench by blocking up-or-down votes. Every judicial
nominee deserves a fair hearing and an up-or-down vote on the Senate
floor. It is time for some of the Members of the United States Senate to
stop playing politics with American justice.
The Congress needs to pass a comprehensive energy plan. Our Nation
must promote energy efficiency and conservation, develop cleaner
technology. But we need to produce more energy at home. We need to
produce more natural gas. For the sake of economic security and for the
sake of national security, we must make America less dependent on
foreign sources of energy.
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Our strong and prosperous Nation must also be a compassionate
nation. I will continue to advance our agenda of compassionate
conservatism, applying the best and most innovative ideas to the tasks
of helping our fellow citizens in need. There are still millions of men
and women who want to end their dependency on Government and become
independent through hard work. We must build on the success of welfare
reform to bring work and dignity into the lives of more of our fellow
citizens. Congress should complete the ``Citizen Service Act'' so that
more Americans can serve their communities and their country. And both
Houses should finally reach agreement on my Faith-Based Initiative to
support the armies of compassion that are mentoring children and caring
for the homeless and offering hope to the addicted.
A compassionate society must promote opportunity for all, including
the independence and dignity that come from ownership. This
administration will constantly strive to promote an ownership society in
America. We want more people owning their home. We want people to own
their own retirement accounts. We want more small-business owners in
America. We want people to have control and own their own health care
plan. We understand that when a person owns something, he or she has a
vital stake in the future of this country.
In a compassionate society, people respect one another and take
responsibility for the decisions they make. We're changing the culture
of America from one that has said, ``If it feels good, do it,'' and ``If
you've got a problem, blame somebody else,'' to a culture in which each
of us understand we're responsible for the decisions we make in life--
that each of us are responsible, that if you're fortunate enough to be a
mother or father, you're responsible for the well-being of that child.
And if you're griping about the quality of education in the community in
which you live, you're responsible for doing something about it.
A responsibility society says to CEO America, loud and clear,
``You're responsible to your shareholders, and you're responsible to
your employees.'' And in our responsibility society, each of us are
responsible for loving our neighbor, just like we'd like to be loved
ourselves.
We can see the culture of service and responsibility growing around
us. I started what I call the USA Freedom Corps to encourage Americans
to extend a compassionate hand to a neighbor in need, and the response
has been strong, just like the response is strong in America for faith-
based charities that bring hope and healing to a fellow citizen.
Policemen and firefighters, people who wear our country's uniform,
are reminding us what it means to sacrifice for something greater than
yourself. And once again, the children of America believe in heroes
because they see them every day.
In these challenging times, the world has seen the resolve and
courage of America. And I've been privileged to see the compassion and
character of the American people. All the tests of the last 2\1/2\ years
have come to the right nation. We're a strong country, and we use our
strength to defend the peace. We're an optimistic country, confident in
ourselves and in ideals bigger than ourselves.
Abroad, we seek to lift whole nations by spreading freedom. At home,
we seek to lift up lives by spreading opportunity to every corner of
America. This is the work that history has set before us. We welcome it.
And we know that for our country and for our cause, the best days lie
ahead.
May God bless you all, and may God bless America. Thank you.
Note: The President spoke at 6:33 p.m. at the driving range of the
Oconee Course at the Ritz-Carlton Lodge, Reynolds Plantation. In his
remarks, he referred to Gov. Sonny Perdue of Georgia; Jamie and Harold
Reynolds, co-owners, Reynolds Plantation; and
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Fred Cooper, Georgia State finance chairman, Bush-Cheney '04, Inc.