    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book II)]
    [November 1, 2003]
    [Pages 1439-1443]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks in Paducah, Kentucky
    November 1, 2003

        The President. Thank you all.
        Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
        The President. Thank you all very much. It's actually 3 more days--
    [laughter]--3 more days until Ernie Fletcher
    becomes the Governor of Kentucky. Thanks for coming. I appreciate you
    taking some time out of your Saturday afternoon to say hello. I'm
    honored so many people in western Kentucky came out. It's good to be
    back in Paducah. It's not my first time here. The first time here, I was
    knocking on doors asking for the vote, for me. [Laughter] This time I'm
    back, knocking on doors, asking the vote for Ernie Fletcher.
        And the reason why, there's no doubt in my mind he is the best candidate for the job. I like the fact that
    he was a fighter pilot. [Laughter] That says something about him,
    doesn't it? I like the fact that he was a physician. He's a healer. I
    like the fact that he's an engineer. I like the fact that

    [[Page 1440]]

    he's been an effective United States Congressman. I know, I work with
    him closely.
        You should like the fact that when he
    becomes the Governor and he calls up to Washington, the President will
    answer the phone. I appreciate the fact that, like me, he married well.
    [Laughter] Laura sends her love to the people of
    western Kentucky. You drew the short straw; you got me. But I can't wait
    for Glenna to become the first lady of Kentucky. She'll bring a lot of
    class to the Governor's mansion. Glenna, Glenna Fletcher is a good soul.
        I like and support Ernie Fletcher because
    he's a man of integrity. He understands that when you assume an oath of
    office, you have an obligation to bring honor to the office that you
    assume. If you're interested in having somebody set a good example at
    your State capitol, if you want somebody who will send the right signal
    to the youth of Kentucky, the right man is Ernie Fletcher.
        I'm here to embrace his candidacy, but most importantly, I'm here to
    ask you to go out and turn out the vote. When you guys are driving your
    cycles, make sure when you see another cycler that you get them to go
    vote. When you farmers are going to your coffee shops, make sure you
    tell your people that work the land with you to get out the vote.
        See, we have an obligation in the free society to vote. I urge all
    people in this great State to vote. And when you're on the phones urging
    them to vote, make sure you tell them what's in their interest, and
    what's in their interest is to have Ernie Fletcher as the Governor of the State of Kentucky.
        I appreciate the fact that when Ernie
    wins, he's going to be the Governor of everybody. He's not going to say,
    ``I'm the Governor of this particular political party or that political
    party.'' He's going to be the Governor of every single citizen. So when
    you're out canvassing for the vote, when you're knocking on doors,
    you'll find some disgruntled Democrats. Make sure you encourage them to
    vote. You'll find discerning independents. Make sure you encourage them
    to vote. I'm here to ask you to do your duty as a citizen to vote and to
    do extra work to make sure you turn out to vote for this good man, Ernie
    Fletcher.
        And don't forget to put in a good word for Steve Pence. [Laughter] See, he's running for the Lieutenant
    Governor. He's from western Kentucky; he knows how you think. It makes
    sense to put him in as Lieutenant Governor. See, Ernie picked him, but I picked him first. [Laughter] I don't
    know if you recall, but I named him the U.S. Attorney for western
    Kentucky. I did because he's a man of integrity; he's a good, honest
    man, the kind of fellow that when he holds office you can say, ``I'm
    proud of the way he's conducting himself in office.''
        I also want to thank very much the United States Senators who have
    joined us, strong allies, good people, people who will make you proud
    here in the great State of Kentucky, starting with Mitch
    McConnell. I appreciate you coming, Mitch.
    Speaking of somebody who married well--[laughter]--he married so well, I
    picked his wife to be in my Cabinet--[laughter]--the Secretary of Labor,
    Elaine Chao, doing a great job. I appreciate
    you, Elaine.
        When I was a kid, I always hoped to have a Jim Bunning baseball card. [Laughter] Now, I get to call him Senator,
    and so do you. It's vital you send this good man back to the United
    States Senate in 2004.
        Kentucky has sent some fine folks up to Washington in the United
    States Congress, the House of Representatives. Two of them are here with
    us, besides Ernie, and that's Congressman Ed
    Whitfield and Congressman Ron Lewis. [Applause] Thank you all for coming. Hi, Ed. I'll try it
    again. And Congressman Ron Lewis, good to see you, Ron. Thanks for
    coming.
        As well we've got some other good folks who have decided to run for
    office. Trey

    [[Page 1441]]

    Grayson is running for secretary of
    state. Jack Wood is trying to become the
    attorney general; he's running hard. Linda Greenwell is running for State auditor.
        In order to be a good Governor, you'd better be running on a good
    platform, so you've got to run for a reason. You've got to give people a
    reason to vote for you. Ernie Fletcher has
    done that. He mentioned jobs. Let me tell you something: We both share
    the same passion for our fellow citizen who is looking for work. So long
    as one person is looking for work, so long as one person who wants to
    work can't find a job, it says we've got an issue here in America.
        I put forth a strong, progrowth package; that means a package that
    encourages economic growth so people can find work. Ernie
    Fletcher supported that plan. We need a
    pretty good dose of medicine for our economy. Remember, when I first
    came into office, we were in recession. That's three quarters of
    negative growth. We were going backwards, and then the enemy hit us. And
    then we had some of our corporate citizens who forgot to tell the truth.
    By the way, if you notice, some of those who forgot to tell the truth
    are now paying the price for not telling the truth.
        All of that affected the confidence of the American people, so we
    acted. We acted on this theory--and this is important to have a Governor
    who understands how it works--when a person has got more money in their
    pocket, they're going to demand a good or a service. And when they
    demand a good or a service, somebody is going to produce that good or a
    service. And when somebody produces that good or a service, somebody is
    more likely to find a job. The tax cuts we passed came at the right
    time, and they're helping this economy.
        In order to make sure your economy grows, you better make sure
    you've got a Governor who's not going to play politics with the people's
    money, somebody to bring some fiscal discipline to the statehouse. So
    it's not only a combination of progrowth policies, but you better watch
    how the money is spent. Ernie Fletcher is a
    fiscal watchdog. He understands whose money we spend in government.
    We're not spending the government's money. We're spending the people's
    money, and you better have a Governor who knows that.
        In order to make sure that Kentucky is a good place for people to do
    business so people can find work, you need a Governor who's willing to
    stand up to the plaintiff's attorneys. You see, what you don't want is a
    State dominated by plaintiff's attorneys so you've got a bunch of
    frivolous and junk lawsuits that on the one hand deny a person a chance
    to get their day in court, and on the other hand make it awfully costly
    for the State of Kentucky. You need medical liability reform. You need a
    Governor who's willing to stand up and be tough.
        When I was the Governor of Texas, I used to tell our people that
    education is to a State what national defense is to the Federal
    Government, the top priority. One of the reasons I'm proud to stand by
    Ernie is because he understands that we must
    educate every single child in the State of Kentucky. He'll stand with
    the teachers. He'll stand with the parents. He will challenge what I
    call the soft bigotry of low expectations. See, when you lower the bar,
    when you have low expectations, you're going to get lousy results. You
    must have a Governor who's willing to raise the bar, to set high
    standards, to have high hopes for every single child. You must make sure
    you've got a Governor who insists that the curriculum used in public
    schools works, not based upon some fancy theory but actually works.
    You've got to make sure every child can read. You need to use phonics in
    the classroom. Ernie Fletcher understands that.
        And finally, there are a lot of people who hurt around our country.
    You must

    [[Page 1442]]

    have a Governor who understands that government can hand out money--and
    we do a pretty good job of it sometimes--but what government cannot do
    is put hope in a person's heart or a sense of purpose in people's lives.
    That's done when a fellow citizen surrounds a soul with love. It's done
    when people who have heard the universal call to love a neighbor just
    like you'd like to be loved yourself step forward and say, ``I want to
    be a part of the fabric of change in a society. I want to help feed the
    hungry, house the homeless. I want to be there to help the drug addict
    understand that if you change your heart, you can change your
    behavior.'' It is essential.
        I have put forth a Faith-Based Initiative, and I'm talking about all
    faiths, all faiths. And I put out a Faith-Based Initiative because I
    want the great strength of the country, the heart and soul of the
    American people, to rally to the cause of those who hurt. It's important
    to have a Governor who does not fear faith but welcomes faith and to--
    providing help for those who hurt, and that Governor is going to be
    Ernie Fletcher.
        I look forward to working with Ernie Fletcher to make sure that the homeland security initiative is
    done well here in Kentucky. We want to make sure that there's good
    coordination between the Federal, the State, and the local authorities,
    to make sure your good police folks and firefighters and emergency-
    response teams have a coordinated strategy to be able to deal with a
    situation if it were to occur. The thing I appreciate about Ernie
    Fletcher is he understands what I know, that the best way to secure the
    homeland is to hunt the killers down, one by one, and bring them to
    justice, what America will do.
        We must never forget the lessons of September the 11th, 2001. We
    must understand that we can't sit back and hope for the best, that when
    we see danger we must respond. We must respond in a way that is
    responsible. We are responsible for the security of the people of this
    country. We must use every power we have to make sure that another
    attack does not occur. The lessons of September the 11th, 2001, are
    indelibly etched in my mind. I will not forget the responsibility that
    we have to the people, and neither will Ernie.
        For those of you with loved ones in the United States military, you
    get a hold of them either by e-mail or phone or letter, and you tell
    them their Commander in Chief is incredibly proud of the sacrifices they
    are making for this country.
        But I also want you to know that we'll stay on the offensive, but
    we'll also stay on the offensive for the spread of freedom. The greatest
    security America can gain is from the advance of human liberty. Free
    nations do not attack their neighbors. Free nations do not develop
    weapons of mass terror to threaten or blackmail the world. No, the
    greatest security for America will come when America continues to lead
    the world toward a free society. We understand--we understand--that
    freedom is not America's gift to the world; freedom is God Almighty's
    gift to each and every person that lives in the world.
        In this war on terror, I've had no stronger supporter than Ernie
    Fletcher. I'm proud to stand with this man.
    There's no doubt in my mind he'll make a great Governor. There's no
    doubt in my mind he'll be a Governor for every single person that lives
    in this vital and important State. There's no doubt in my mind he's got
    a vision that's clear and hopeful, a vision that will provide the best
    opportunity, so that everybody who lives here can say, ``I've been given
    my chance to succeed. I've been given a good education. The environment
    for finding a job is strong. I can raise my family in peace and
    security.'' There's no doubt in my mind that the right person to lead
    this great State into the 21st century is Ernie Fletcher.
        Thank you all for coming. May God bless. God bless you all. Work
    hard. Thank you all.

    [[Page 1443]]

    Note: The President spoke at 12:44 p.m. at Barkley Regional Airport. In
    his remarks, he referred to Glenna A. Fletcher, wife of gubernatorial
    candidate Ernie Fletcher.