    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book II)]
    [October 15, 2003]
    [Pages 1306-1311]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at a Bush-Cheney Reception in Fresno, California
    October 15, 2003

        Thanks for the warm welcome. It's great to be back in California.
    It's great to be back in Fresno. I was trying to figure out, since I've
    been running for President, this is either my third or fourth time here.
    And every time I come, I'm better off for it. [Laughter] It kind of
    reminds me of where

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    I was raised--good people, except you've got water and trees. [Laughter]
        I know there's been some interesting changes here in the State of
    California. [Laughter] And tomorrow I have the honor of congratulating
    the Governor-elect in Riverside. And
    today I want to thank you all for your contributions and for your
    support. See, what we're doing is, we're laying the groundwork for what
    is going to be a great national victory in 2004.
        I want you to know that your contributions are important, but so is
    your grassroots support. And by that I mean, when you go to the coffee
    shop--and I know there's a lot of farmers here who go to the coffee
    shops--[laughter]--tell everybody, or when you go to your community
    centers or your places of worship, you tell them that this
    administration is dedicating its efforts to making sure our country is
    hopeful for every citizen, that our message is optimistic, because we
    believe in the future of this country. That's what I'm counting on you
    to do.
        And I'll do my part, but the political season is going to come in
    its own time. I'm warming up, and I'm getting ready, but I've got a job
    to do. I've got a job to do for our country, and there's a lot on the
    agenda. And I'm going to continue to work hard to earn the confidence of
    every American, regardless of their political party or where they're
    from, by keeping this Nation strong and secure and prosperous and free.
        I bring greetings from First Lady Laura Bush.
    She is--[applause]--you got the B team. [Laughter] She has been in the
    Dominican Republic recently, meeting with the First Ladies of the
    different countries in our hemisphere. I'll be meeting her tomorrow in
    Riverside as we take off to Tokyo, and I'll be getting some advice from
    her about diplomacy. [Laughter] You may remember the picture of her trip
    to France. [Laughter] I went to France. [Laughter] And they were kind to
    me, but they--I wasn't treated that way by Jacques Chirac. [Laughter] But she is great. I am a lucky man that
    she agreed to marry me, and she's a fabulous First Lady.
        I appreciate my friend Brad Freeman, who is
    the State finance chairman. I appreciate my friend Mercer
    Reynolds from Cincinnati, Ohio, who is the
    national finance chairman. These are two very capable, able business
    people who are taking time out of their lives to make sure this campaign
    is well funded.
        I want to thank Members of the Congress who are here. George
    Radanovich is with us today. He is a
    good friend and a fine Congressman, as is Devin Nunes, and I appreciate Devin being here as well.
        I had the honor of traveling from the airport out to Ruiz Foods, by
    the way, which was a fantastic experience, going out there. I love the
    story of America. I love the fact that people started with nothing and
    have built a fantastic food processing business. The Ruizes are here with us today.
    They were great hosts. They now process 3 million burritos a day. Are
    you having burritos for lunch?
        But on the way out to the facility, Alan Autry was traveling with me, the great mayor of Fresno,
    California. And I appreciate him being here today, and I thank him for
    his friendship. Chuck Poochigian is here,
    the State senator, who's been a longtime friend of mine. And it's great
    to see his wife, Debbie. Bob
    Waterston is the supervisor of the Fresno
    County Board of Supervisors--all politics is local politics, and thank
    you for coming, Bob. My friend Bill Jones is
    here. He's a Fresno lad who has made a name for himself here in the
    great State of California. It's great to see you again, Bill. Thank you
    for coming.
        Gerry Parsky is with us today; he's the
    State campaign chairman. Rosario Marin is with
    us today, the former Treasurer of the State--of the country. I want to
    thank all the cohosts for working so hard to make this event a
    recordbreaking event.

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        I appreciate Lance Corporal Nolan Cochran,
    who gave the Pledge of Allegiance. He's a brave young guy. He served his
    country with distinction. I had the honor of meeting him at the Bethesda
    Naval Hospital as he came back from the battlefields. And I was pleased
    to see his mom and dad. I'm glad to know his spirits are high and that
    he understands that he was making our country more secure in his
    sacrifice.
        And finally, I want to thank JoAnna Dias,
    who sang the national anthem.
        In the last 2\1/2\ years, our Nation has acted decisively to
    confront great challenges. I came to this office to solve problems, not
    to pass them on to future Presidents and future generations. I came to
    seize opportunities and not let them slip away. This administration is
    meeting the tests of our time.
        Terrorists declared war on the United States of America, and war is
    what they got. We've captured or killed many of the key leaders of the
    Al Qaida network, and the rest of them know that we're 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. And so we
    increased the defense budgets 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. And
    then the attacks came on our country, and we had a march to war to
    defend ourselves, and we had scandals in corporate America, all of which
    affected the people's confidence. But this administration acted. We
    passed two tough new laws to hold corporate criminals to account. And to
    get the economy going again, I have twice led the United States Congress
    to pass historic tax relief for the American people.
        Here's what I know. I know that when people have more take-home pay,
    more money in their pocket to save or to spend or invest, the whole
    economy will grow and someone is more likely to find a job. I also know
    this: I understand whose money we spend in Washington. We don't spend
    the people's money--I mean, we don't spend the Government's money; we
    spend the people's money. [Laughter] So we're returning more money to
    families. We've increased the child credit. And we said, ``The check was
    in the mail,'' and it was in the mail. We reduced the taxes on dividends
    and capital gains to encourage investment. We gave small businesses
    incentives to expand and to hire new people.
        With all these actions, by the fact--because we led, we are laying
    the foundation for greater prosperity and more jobs so that every single
    person in this country has a chance to realize 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 acted. I called for and the
    Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act. With a solid bipartisan
    majority, we delivered the most dramatic education reforms in a
    generation. We insisted on high standards for every public school
    because we believe every child can learn.
        Because we believe every child can learn, we're now saying that in
    return for Federal money, you must measure to determine whether every
    child is learning. We're challenging the soft bigotry of low
    expectations. We believe every child can learn the basics of reading and
    math. And we expect every public school in America to teach reading and
    math so that not one single child is left behind.
        We reorganized our Government, the largest reorganization of any
    time in our Government's history since the Defense Department was
    reorganized. We created

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    the Department of Homeland Security to better safeguard America.
        We passed trade promotion authority to open up new markets for
    California farmers and ranchers and entrepreneurs. Listen, I understand
    free trade, and the cornerstone of free trade is not only for us to open
    up our markets but to make sure the playing field is level. We're really
    good at growing things in California. I want California farmers selling
    their crops overseas.
        We passed budget agreements in Washington that is helping to
    maintain spending discipline. On issue after issue, this administration
    has acted on principle; we have kept our word; and we have made progress
    for the American people.
        The Congress deserves credit. We've got a great Speaker in Denny
    Hastert and a great majority leader in
    Bill Frist. I appreciate the Congressmen who are
    here with us today. See, we're working to change the tone in Washington.
    There's too much politics in the Nation's Capital, too much zero-sum
    activity. And the best way to do that is to focus on the people's
    business and to focus on results. And those are the kind of people I've
    attracted to my administration. I think you can judge a President by the
    kind of people that he brings to Washington to serve the people, and I
    have put together a great team to serve the American people. We've had
    no finer Vice President than Dick Cheney.
    Mother may have a second opinion. [Laughter]
        In 2\1/2\ years--in 2\1/2\ years--we have done a lot, and we have
    come far, but our work is only beginning. I 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 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
    to realize the promise of our 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. We
    will not stop until this danger to civilization is removed. And we are
    confronting that danger in Iraq, where Saddam
    holdouts and foreign terrorists are desperately trying to throw Iraq
    into chaos by attacking coalition forces, by attacking international aid
    workers, and by killing innocent Iraqis. They know that the advance of
    freedom will be a major defeat in the cause of terror.
        This collection of killers is trying to shake the will of the United
    States. They're trying to frighten us. They do not understand our
    country. We will not be frightened. We will stay on the offensive. We're
    aggressively striking the terrorists in Iraq, defeating them there so we
    will not have to face them in our own country.
        We're calling other nations to help Iraq to build a free country. A
    free and peaceful Iraq will make the world more secure. And we'll stand
    with the Iraqi people, the long-suffering Iraqi people--they are people
    who put up with torture chambers and rape rooms and mass graves. We will
    help them assume more of their own defense and move as rapidly as
    possible toward self-government. These tasks are not easy, but they are
    essential tasks. And we will finish what we have begun. We will win this
    essential victory in the war on terror.
        But I understand this: 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 I believe that freedom
    is the right of every person. And I believe that freedom is the future
    of every nation.

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        America also understands that unprecedented influence brings
    tremendous responsibilities. We have duties in this world, and when we
    see disease and starvation and hopeless poverty, we will not turn away.
    On the continent of Africa, this great Nation, this strong Nation, is
    committed to bringing the healing power, the healing power of medicine
    to millions of men and women and children now suffering with AIDS. I am
    incredibly proud of the fact that this great land is leading the world
    in the important work of human rescue.
        We've got challenges here at home, and our actions will prove equal
    to those challenges. So long as somebody in our economy--in our country
    is looking for a job, I will continue to try to create the conditions
    for job growth, to foster the entrepreneurial spirit, to make it easier
    for the small businesses who hire most new workers to be able to grow
    and to expand. I want everybody in this country finding a job.
        And we have a duty to keep our commitment to our seniors by
    strengthening and modernizing Medicare. A few weeks ago, the Congress
    finally passed some Medicare reform. The House passed a version, and the
    Senate passed a version. For the first time since the creation of
    Medicare, both Houses have passed reforms to increase the choices for
    seniors and to provide a much needed prescription drug benefit. It is
    time for both bodies to reconcile their differences and to do their
    duty, not only for today's seniors but for those of us who will be
    seniors, to modernize the Medicare system.
        For the sake of our health care system, we need to cut down on the
    frivolous lawsuits which increase the cost of medicine. People who have
    been harmed by a bad doc deserve their day in court. Yet, the system
    should not reward lawyers who are simply fishing for a rich settlement.
    Frivolous lawsuits drive up the cost of health care and, therefore,
    affect the Federal budget: Medicare goes up; Medicaid goes up; veteran
    health care costs go up because of the frivolous lawsuits. Medical
    liability reform is a national issue which requires a national solution.
        And so I proposed a good, strong piece of legislation. The House
    passed it. It is stuck in the Senate. The Senate must act on behalf of
    the American people, and they must hear loud and clear that no one has
    ever been healed by a frivolous lawsuit.
        I have a responsibility as President to make sure the judicial
    system runs well, and I have met that duty. I have nominated superb men
    and women for the Federal courts, people who will interpret the law, not
    legislate from the bench. Some Members of the 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.
        Congress needs to complete work on a comprehensive energy plan. This
    Nation must promote energy efficiency and conservation and develop
    cleaner technology to help us explore for energy in environmentally
    sensitive ways. But for the sake of economic security and for the sake
    of national security, we need to be less dependent on foreign sources of
    energy.
        Our strong and prosperous Nation must also be a compassionate
    nation. I will continue to advance our agenda of compassionate
    conservatism by 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 the Government and become
    independent through hard work. We must build on the successes of the
    welfare reform to bring work and dignity into the lives of more of our
    fellow citizens. Congress should complete the ``Citizen Service Act'' so
    more Americans can serve their communities and their country.

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        And both Houses should reach agreement on my Faith-Based Initiative,
    so we can support the armies of compassion that are mentoring children,
    that are caring for the homeless and offering hope to the addicted. Our
    Government must not fear the influence of faith in our communities. We
    must welcome faith programs to help solve the intractable problems of
    our society.
        A compassionate society promotes 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 homes. Today I discussed the minority
    homeownership gap. I described a plan that we put before Congress to
    close that gap. We want more people to own and manage their own health
    care plans. We want people to own and manage their own retirement
    accounts. We want more people owning their own small business in
    America, because we understand that when a person owns something, he or
    she will have a vital stake in the future of this country.
        In a compassionate society, people respect one another, and they
    take responsibility for the decisions they make. We're changing the
    culture of this country from one that has said, ``If it feels good, do
    it,'' and ``If you've got a problem, blame somebody else,'' to one in
    which each of us understands that we are responsible for the decisions
    we make. If you are fortunate enough to be a mother or father, you're
    responsible for loving your child with all your heart. If you're
    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 America, you have a responsibility to tell the truth to your
    shareholders and your employees. And in this new responsibility society,
    each of us is responsible for loving our neighbor just like we'd like to
    be loved ourselves.
        We see the culture of service and responsibility growing around us.
    Right after September the 11th, I started the USA Freedom Corps to
    encourage Americans to extend a compassionate hand to a neighbor in
    need, and the response has been strong. Our charities are strong. Our
    faith-based organizations are vibrant. Police and firefighters 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 have 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 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.
        Thank you for coming. God bless. Thank you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 1:09 p.m. in Exhibit Hall South at the
    Fresno Convention Center. In his remarks, he referred to Governor-elect
    Arnold Schwarzenegger of California; President Jacques Chirac of France;
    Brad Freeman, California State finance chairman, and Mercer Reynolds,
    national finance chairman, Bush-Cheney '04, Inc.; Bill Jones, former
    California secretary of state; Gerald L. Parsky, chairman, Team
    California, California Republican Party Board of Directors; former U.S.
    Treasurer Rosario Marin; and former President Saddam Hussein of Iraq.