    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book II)]
    [November 1, 2003]
    [Pages 1436-1439]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks in Southaven, Mississippi
    November 1, 2003

        Thank you all. Thanks for coming. I'm honored to be here. I'm
    honored to be here with the next Governor of the State of Mississippi,
    Haley Barbour. It is great to be in northern
    Mississippi. I'm proud to be here with a lot of friends.
        You know, I woke up in Crawford this morning. I said to First Lady
    Bush, I said, ``I don't know if I'm going to be
    able to find the energy to be able to make it through a long day.'' You
    know, I'm kind of getting up in years and--[laughter]--and here I come
    to northern Mississippi, where thousands of our fellow citizens are
    here. You've energized me. I'm thrilled to be here. Thanks for coming.
        I appreciate you coming. I appreciate you coming. Haley and I married above ourselves. I'm thrilled that the
    next first lady of Mississippi is with us today, and that's
    Marsha. And Laura
    sends her love.

    [[Page 1437]]

    I'm sorry she's not with me. She's been a fabulous First Lady for our
    country.
        I've known Haley for quite a while. He
    used to run in high circles. I guess in this part of the world, you say
    he used to pick high cotton. [Laughter] But one thing about him, no
    matter how high the circle he ran in, he always loved to talk about
    Mississippi. He's proud of this State, and that's the kind of Governor
    you need, somebody who will relate to people from all walks of life. One
    of the things about his campaign that I like a lot is, Haley is proud to
    be a Republican, but he also wants to be the Governor of Democrats and
    independents. He's reaching out. He understands his job is to represent
    everybody when he gets to be the Governor in three days.
        I like the fact that he's an optimist.
    He's got a positive view for the great State of Mississippi. He believes
    in the great potential of the great State of Mississippi. That's the
    kind of Governor you want, somebody who sees a positive future for every
    single citizen. That Governor is Haley Barbour.
        I like the fact that Haley Barbour is a
    man of good values. He honors his family. He treasures his relationship
    with the Almighty. He believes in hard work. He believes everybody has
    worth. It's these kind of values that are necessary to have in your
    statehouse here in Mississippi. I'm proud to stand with this man. Haley
    Barbour is the right man to lead the State of Mississippi.
        And in order to have this good man lead
    the State of Mississippi, he needs your help. We're coming down to
    voting time here in Mississippi. It's time to make sure that people get
    the message that you've got a good man in Haley Barbour. That means you
    need to go out and find your neighbors, Republicans, Democrats,
    independents, people who don't care about political parties at all, to
    get to the polls. Remind them they have a duty as a citizen of this free
    country to vote. And once you get them headed to the polls, make sure
    they do what's in the best interests of the State of Mississippi and
    vote for Haley Barbour.
        I'm so thankful that we've got a great United States Senator with us
    today, a man who is a leader on the floor of the United States Senate, a
    strong ally of mine, a great friend of the people of Mississippi, and
    that's Senator Thad Cochran. As well another
    fine Representative for the State of Mississippi in Washington, DC, a
    man who's done a great job in the United States Congress, friend and
    ally, and that would be Congressman Roger Wicker.
        I had the honor of welcoming some Mississippi citizens to Washington
    a while ago, and one of the citizens that came was a courageous
    politician, a leader who didn't do the politically expedient thing but
    decided that she would find a home in a different political party,
    somebody who stood by her convictions, somebody who said, ``Principle
    matters a lot to me,'' and that's the next Lieutenant Governor of the
    State of Mississippi, Amy Tuck.
        I know we've got a lot of other statewide candidates here. When you
    get in that booth for Haley and Amy, make sure you remember Phil Bryant, Julio Del Castillo, Scott
    Newton, Max Phillips,
    Tate Reeves, all fine candidates running for
    statewide office.
        Not only should people vote for Haley
    because he's so pretty to look at--[laughter]--well--[laughter]--he's
    got the right issues. He knows what he's talking about when it comes to
    the issues. He knows when people in Mississippi are looking for work,
    you better have a progrowth policy for the State of Mississippi.
        We share the same philosophy. First of all, we're concerned about
    people looking for work, and secondly, we know that in order to get an
    economy growing, you've got to do two things: You must have fiscal
    discipline in the statehouses around the country. Haley Barbour knows how to manage a budget. Haley Barbour will be
    wise

    [[Page 1438]]

    with the taxpayers' money in the State of Mississippi.
        I know where Haley stands because when I
    stood up in front of the Congress and the country and advocated a
    progrowth policy for our economy, he was strong by my side. I said this,
    I said, ``If people have more money in their pockets, they're more
    likely to demand a good or a service. And when somebody demands a good
    or a service in our economy, somebody will produce a good or a service.
    And when somebody produces the good or a service, it means somebody is
    more likely to find a job.'' The tax cuts we passed came at the right
    time.
        Haley Barbour also understands that in
    order for your economy to grow, you better make sure you've got a legal
    system that is fair, a legal system that isn't dominated by the
    plaintiff's bar, a legal system that doesn't have so many frivolous
    lawsuits that it makes it hard for people to find a job. You better have
    you a Governor who's willing to stand up to the trial attorneys and have
    medical liability reform, so that people can get good health care in the
    State of Mississippi.
        I appreciate the fact that Haley Barbour
    has set as a priority the education of every child in the State of
    Mississippi. I used to like to say when I was in Texas, education is to
    a State what national defense is to the Federal Government, the number
    one priority. Haley Barbour understands that every child must be
    educated in the State of Mississippi. He stands strong with the teachers
    of Mississippi. He stands on the side of the parents of Mississippi. He
    wants to challenge the soft bigotry of low expectations by raising the
    bar for every single child.
        Finally, I appreciate the fact that Haley Barbour not only has supported me on this issue I'm about to
    talk about but is willing to do--have his own version of a faith-based
    initiative here in the State of Mississippi. And he understands what I
    know, that some of the problems in our society are problems of the
    heart, that while Government can hand out money, Government cannot put
    hope in a person's heart or a sense of purpose--[applause]. No, the
    great strength of America lies in the hearts and souls of our fellow
    citizens. And you need a Governor who is willing to rally the armies of
    compassion.
        We should never have the state fund the church, or the church try to
    be the state. But what we should have is States and the Federal
    Government willing to empower those who have heard the universal call to
    love a neighbor just like we'd like to be loved ourselves. We need
    mentors for our children. We need people to help the homeless. We need
    to help the addicted. And faith-based programs work.
        It's also been helpful to have a friend like Haley who supported me and others in Washington, DC, to make
    sure that Mississippi judges get a fair hearing. I've named some good
    people to serve on the Federal bench, people who will use the bench to
    interpret the law and not try to write law. I want to thank Senator
    Cochran and Senator Lott
    and, of course, Haley for standing strong with a nominee I named from
    Mississippi, Charles Pickering. I
    stand strong with Judge Pickering, and it's time for some Members of the
    United States Senate to stop playing politics with American justice.
        I look forward to working with Haley to
    make sure that the State of Mississippi has got what's needed to protect
    the homeland. You've got valuable ports that need to--we need to work on
    to make sure that nobody comes and harms any of our fellow citizens. I
    look forward to working with him to make sure that the resources we're
    spending out of Washington for those on the frontline of homeland
    security are well-coordinated and well-spent. I look forward to making
    sure our police forces and firefighters and emergency-response teams are
    well-coordinated between the Federal Government and the State government
    and the local governments. Haley would be a good

    [[Page 1439]]

    leader when it comes to working on homeland security matters.
        But I want to remind you that the best way to protect the homeland
    is to hunt down the enemy, one by one, and bring them to justice. The
    terrorists declared war on the United States of America, and war is what
    they got. This country will not rest; we will not tire; we will do what
    it takes to remove this danger from civilization and make America
    secure.
        For those of you who have got relatives in the United States
    military, I want to thank you. And you make sure you send word to them
    that their Commander in Chief is incredibly proud of the sacrifices
    they're making on behalf of our Nation.
        And I also want you to know that I understand that the best way to
    secure America is to advance human liberty. Free nations do not attack
    their neighbors. Free nations do not develop weapons of mass terror. The
    United States of America strongly believes that freedom is the right of
    every single person, that freedom is not America's gift to the world,
    that freedom is the Almighty's gift to every person who lives in this
    world. With the advance of human freedom, the world will be more
    peaceful, and America will be more secure.
        We've overcome a lot of challenges in the last 2\1/2\ years, and
    there will be other challenges. And in my judgment, the best way for
    Mississippi to deal with the challenges you face is to make sure you put
    a Governor in place who's optimistic and hopeful, somebody who can unite
    this State to get people pulling in the same direction, somebody who
    firmly believes in his heart of hearts that Mississippi ``can do
    better.'' And that person and that leader is the next Governor of the
    State of Mississippi, Haley Barbour.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:08 a.m. at the DeSoto Civic Center. In
    his remarks, he referred to gubernatorial candidate Haley Barbour and
    his wife, Marsha; Amy Tuck, incumbent candidate for Lieutenant Governor;
    Phil Bryant, incumbent candidate for State auditor of public accounts;
    Julio Del Castillo, candidate for Mississippi secretary of state; Scott
    Newton, candidate for State attorney general; Max Phillips, candidate
    for State commissioner of agriculture and commerce; Tate Reeves,
    candidate for State treasurer; and Charles W. Pickering, Sr., nominee to
    be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Fifth Circuit.