[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book I)]
[June 27, 2003]
[Pages 703-707]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at a Bush-Cheney Luncheon in San Francisco, California
June 27, 2003

    Thank you all very much. Thanks for the warm welcome. Thanks for 
coming. It's great to be back in the bay area. Bradley, if that is a 
short introduction, I hate to see a long one. [Laughter] But I 
appreciate your friendship, and I appreciate your leadership. I want to 
thank you all very much for supporting our efforts. I want to thank you 
for coming and giving of your hard-earned dollars. You are laying the 
foundation for a nationwide victory next year.
    I'm getting ready. I'm loosening up. [Laughter] And I'm going to 
need your help. I'll need your help not only financially but also to 
pass our positive, inclusive message around the bay area. I want you to 
remind your citizens, fellow citizens, that our vision is one that is 
hopeful and optimistic.
    Listen, there's going to be plenty of time for politics. The 
political season will come in its own time. Right now, I'm focused on 
the people's business in Washington, DC. And we have a lot on the 
agenda. And what I want to tell you is that I will continue to earn the 
confidence of all Americans, regardless of their political

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party, by keeping this Nation secure and strong and prosperous and free.
    I've just come from Washington to here, obviously. I'm going down to 
LA. I wish I came with my wife. I wish she were 
with me. She has done a fabulous job. I will see her tonight in 
Crawford, Texas. Well, she'll be the lump in the bed next to me, since I 
get in at 1:30 in the morning. [Laughter] But you drew the short straw. 
Had she come and spoken, you would have had the long straw. She is a--
she's a remarkable person. She has been calm and steady in the face of 
significant crisis. She can smile; she can listen. She is a fabulous 
First Lady for the United States of America.
    I do want to thank Brad and Gerry 
Parsky and the people that put on this dinner 
and worked hard to raise the money. I'm so honored that--for your help. 
I also appreciate Dennis Miller. Obviously, 
after your one-liners, Brad, he doesn't have anything to fear for his 
job. [Laughter]
    We've been through some remarkable times in America during the last 
2\1/2\ years. This Nation has acted decisively to confront great 
challenges. I came to office to solve problems, not to pass them on to 
future Presidents and future 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, and war is what they 
got. We have captured or killed many of the leaders of Al Qaida. And the 
rest of them know we're hot on their trail. In Afghanistan and 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 increased 
the defense budget to prepare for the threats of a new era. And today, 
no one in the world can question the skill, 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 and scandals in corporate America and war 
affected the confidence of the people. 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 Congress to historic tax relief for 
the American people.
    Here is what we believe and what we know. When Americans have more 
take-home pay to spend, to save, or to invest, the whole economy grows, 
and someone is more likely to find a job. We understand as well whose 
money we spend in Washington, DC. The money we spend in Washington is 
not the Government's money. It is the people's money. And we're 
returning more money to the people to help them raise their families, 
and we're reducing taxes on dividends and capital gains to encourage 
investment. We're giving small businesses incentives to expand and hire 
new people. With all those actions, we are laying the foundation for 
greater prosperity and more jobs across America, so that every single 
person in this country has a chance to realize the American Dream.
    Two-and-a-half years later--2\1/2\ 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. We believe that every child 
can learn the basics of reading and math, and we expect every school in 
America to teach those basics. This administration is challenging the 
soft bigotry of low expectations. The days of excuse-making are over. We 
expect results in every classroom all across America so that not one 
single child is left behind.

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    We reorganized our Government and created the Department of Homeland 
Security to safeguard our borders and ports and to protect the American 
people. We passed trade promotion authority to open up new markets for 
our entrepreneurs and farmers and ranchers. We passed a budget agreement 
to help maintain spending discipline in Washington, DC. On issue after 
issue, this administration has acted on principle, has kept its word, 
and is making progress on behalf of the American people.
    The United States Congress shares in these great achievements, and I 
appreciate the hard work of the Members of Congress. We will continue to 
work together to change the tone in Washington, DC, by focusing on the 
people's business and by focusing on results. And that's the nature of 
the men and women I asked to serve our country in my administration. I 
have put together a really good team of people. And the reason, they 
understand, is our jobs are to represent something greater than 
ourselves, and that is the great country called America.
    And I'm proud of our Vice President. Dick Cheney is the best Vice President this Nation has ever had, 
although my mother may not agree. [Laughter] In 
2\1/2\ years, we have come far. We've come far in 2\1/2\ years. We've 
accomplished a lot. But our work is only beginning. We have great goals 
worthy of this 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 our own country, we must work for a society of prosperity and 
compassion so that every citizen has a chance to work and succeed and 
realize the great promise of this country.
    It is 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. Our 
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 threat 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 hopelessness, we will not turn away. On 
the continent of Africa, a continent I'll be visiting in 10 days, 
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 this incredibly important work of 
human rescue.
    We face challenges at home as well, and our actions will be equal to 
those challenges. I will continue to work on economic prosperity until 
anybody who wants to work and is not working today can find a job.
    And we have a duty to keep our commitment to America's seniors by 
strengthening and modernizing Medicare. Last night--or actually, this 
morning--or last night here; this morning in Washington--[laughter]--the 
Congress took historic action to improve the lives of older Americans. 
For the first time since the creation of Medicare, the House and Senate 
have passed reforms to increase the choices of seniors and provide 
coverage for prescription drugs. The next step is for both Houses to 
come together, iron out some details, and get the bill to my desk. The 
sooner the job is done, the sooner Americans will get the health care 
they deserve.

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    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 bad 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, at the 
Federal level, the medical liability issue is a Federal problem that 
requires a Federal solution. No one has ever been healed by a frivolous 
lawsuit. [Laughter] We need Federal medical liability reform now.
    I also have a responsibility as President to make sure the judicial 
system runs well. And I have met that duty. I've nominated superb men 
and women for 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 Members of the United States Senate to 
stop playing politics with American justice.
    This Nation needs a comprehensive energy plan. We need more natural 
gas for California's electric plants. We need to promote new 
technologies. We need to promote new conservation techniques. We need to 
explore in environmentally friendly ways. For the sake of our national 
security and for the sake of our economic security, we need to become 
less dependent on foreign sources of energy.
    Our strong and compassionate Nation must also be a prosperous and, 
at the same time, compassionate place for all. I will continue to 
advance our agenda of compassionate conservatism, applying the best and 
most innovative ideas to the task of helping our fellow citizens in 
need. There are still millions of men and women who want to end their 
dependence on Government and become independent through 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 reach agreement on my Faith-Based Initiative to support the 
armies of compassion that are mentoring children, that are caring for 
the homeless, that are offering hope to the addicted.
    A compassionate society must promote opportunity for all, including 
the independence and dignity that come from ownership. My administration 
will constantly strive to promote an ownership society in America. We 
want more of our citizens owning their own home. We want people to own 
and manage their own health care plan, their own retirement plan. We 
want more people owning their own small business. We understand that 
when a person owns something, he or she has a vital stake into 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, just go ahead and 
do it,'' and ``If you've got a problem, blame somebody else,'' to one in 
which each of us understands we are responsible for the decisions we 
make in life.
    If you are fortunate enough to be a mother or a father, you are 
responsible for loving your child with all your heart and all your soul. 
If you are a--concerned about the quality of the education in the 
community in which you live, you're responsible for doing something 
about it. If you're a CEO in corporate America, you're responsible for 
telling the truth to your shareholders and your employees. And in the 
new responsibility society, each of us is responsible for loving a 
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 we call the USA Freedom Corps to

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encourage Americans to extend a compassionate hand to neighbors in need, 
and the response has been strong. And our faith-based charities are 
strong and vibrant all across America. Policemen and firemen and people 
who wear our Nation's uniform are reminding us what it means to 
sacrifice for something greater than yourself. 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 the 
courage of America. And I've been privileged to see the compassion and 
the 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 
that 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 in 
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, better days lie 
ahead.
    May God continue to bless America. Thank you very much.

Note: The President spoke at 12:05 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom at the San 
Francisco Airport Marriott. In his remarks, he referred to Brad Freeman, 
California State finance chairman, Bush-Cheney '04, Inc.; Gerald L. 
Parsky, chairman, Team California, California Republican Party Board of 
Directors; and comedian Dennis Miller.