    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book I)]
    [May 13, 2004]
    [Pages 869-875]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at the American Conservative Union 40th Anniversary Gala
    May 13, 2004

        Thank you all very much. Thanks a lot. I'm honored to join you here
    for the 40th anniversary of the American Conservative Union. I bring
    greetings from the A team in my family, Laura Bush. I am a--you got stuck with the junior varsity.
    [Laughter] I'm a lucky man to be married to Laura. She is a fabulous
    person, great mom, great wife, and I think she deserves 4 more years as
    the First Lady.
        I just left a meeting with our fabulous Vice President, and he sends his best. He's still pretty proud of his
    last year in the House, when he received a 100-percent rating from the
    ACU. He didn't mention that one when you gave him a 90. [Laughter] The
    ACU doesn't rate Presidents, but a President can rate you. This is a
    fine group of decent citizens, principled citizens, and tonight I am
    proud to stand with the ACU.
        And I appreciate my friend David Keene, the
    chairman. This is his 20th anniversary. He is the longest serving
    chairman in ACU history. As one of his predecessors said about David's
    long tenure, ``So long as it's not a paying job, he won't have any
    competition.'' [Laughter]
        I met David's daughter, Private 1st Class
    Lisa Keene. And I'm proud that she is
    volunteering in the United States Army, but not nearly as proud as her
    dad.
        I appreciate being up here with some fine Members of Congress.
    Senator Mitch McConnell, the
    dinner cochair, good to see you, Mitch. Thank you. I see Senator Jim
    Bunning is here today. Thank you for cochairing
    this as well. I'm pulling for you in the reelection. I know Chris Cox is
    here as well. Congressman Cox is a fine
    Member of the Congress and a good friend. And of course, former ACU
    chairman--I don't think he was the guy that gave me that quote, by the
    way--and that would be Congressman Phil Crane. Appreciate you being here. I see other Members of the
    Senate and the House who are here. Thanks for coming; good to see you
    all.
        I know members of my administration are here. I see Kay
    James, who's the Director of the Office of
    Personnel Management. I appreciate you being here, Kay. John

    [[Page 870]]

    Bolton, the Under Secretary of State of Arms
    Control and International Security--[applause]. I told you we were going
    to get out of the ABM Treaty--[laughter]--and we did. And I want to
    thank you for your help.
        I appreciate being here with a member of the ex-Governors club--I'm
    a member too--[laughter]--in my friend Jim Gilmore. Good to see you, Jimmy. Thanks for being here.
        I like to be around celebrities. You know, I don't get out much.
    [Laughter] So it's good to rub elbows with Snow. [Laughter] And I appreciate the president of Catholic
    University, Father David O'Connell, for
    coming as well. I'm honored you're here.
        Some here tonight were there for that first meeting of the ACU in
    the fall of 1964. Back then, as David mentioned,
    you weren't feeling too good about the President from Texas. As a matter
    of fact, you stood behind a good man from Arizona, Barry Goldwater. You
    knew that the principles he represented, freedom and limited Government
    and national strength, would eventually carry the day, and you were
    right. And that day came when President Ronald Reagan--I might add, supported by a great Vice President--[laughter]--came to Washington, DC.
    President Reagan taught America the power of an optimistic spirit. He
    also understood the power of ideas to transform our country and to
    change the world.
        The conservative movement has become the dominant intellectual force
    in American politics, on the strength of writers and thinkers like
    Whittaker Chambers and Bill Buckley and
    Russell Kirk. The movement has inspired many hundreds of fine Americans
    to run for office and to serve in government. It's easy to understand
    why. On the fundamental issues of our time, conservatives have been
    right. Conservatives were right that the cold war was a contest of good
    and evil. And behind the Iron Curtain, people did not want containment;
    they awaited for liberation. Conservatives were right that the free
    enterprise system is the path to prosperity and that free enterprise is
    the economic system consistent with human freedom and human dignity.
    Conservatives were right that a free society is sustained by the
    character of its people, which means we must honor the moral and
    religious heritage of our great Nation.
        These convictions, once defended by a few, are now broadly shared by
    Americans. And I am proud to advance these convictions and these
    principles as I stand for reelection in 2004.
        I'm looking forward to the campaign. I'm looking forward to taking
    our message to the American people. And it's going to be a tough
    campaign. I need your help. I'm running for a reason. You're about to
    hear why. I've got a purpose to be your President for 4 more years. I'm
    running against a person who has got a lot of
    experience. He just shares a different philosophy from us.
        When the nonpartisan National Journal did his ratings, they found
    that my opponent had the most liberal record of
    all 100 United States Senators. That's a heck of a feat. [Laughter] It
    isn't very easy to make Ted Kennedy the
    conservative Senator from Massachusetts.
        My opponent has earned more than Senator
    Kennedy's endorsement. You may have heard he claims to have picked up
    some endorsement from foreign leaders as well. [Laughter] He just won't
    give us their names. He did drop a hint the other day on national TV
    when he was asked about the leaders. ``What I said is true,'' is what he
    said--he, my opponent. ``What I said is true. I mean, you can go to New
    York City, and you can be in a restaurant, and you can meet a foreign
    leader.'' [Laughter] I've got a hunch this whole thing might be a case
    of mistaken identity. [Laughter] Just because somebody has an accent--
    [laughter]--a nice suit, and a good table at a fancy restaurant doesn't
    make him a foreign leader. [Laughter]

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        Whoever these mystery men are, they're not going to be deciding the
    election. The American people will be deciding this election. And great
    events will turn on this election. The man who sits in the Oval Office
    will set the course of the war on terror and the direction of our
    economy. The security and prosperity of America are at stake. The voters
    this year are going to have a clear choice. It's an unmistakable choice
    between keeping the tax relief that is moving our economy forward or
    putting the burden of higher taxes back on the American people. It is a
    choice between an America that leads the world with strength and
    confidence or an America that is uncertain in the face of danger.
        The other side hasn't offered much yet in the way of clear
    strategies to win the war or to expand our economy. Thus far, all we've
    heard is old bitterness and outbursts, instead of calm debate. They will
    learn that anger is not an agenda for America's future.
        I look forward to taking on the big issues, setting big goals, with
    optimism and resolve and determination. And I will make it clear to the
    American people, I stand ready to lead this Nation for 4 more years.
        A big issue for every family in America is the Federal tax burden.
    With the largest tax relief since Ronald Reagan was President, we've left more money in the hands that
    earned it. By spending and investing and helping create new jobs, the
    American people have used their money far better than the Federal
    Government would have.
        This economy is strong, and it is getting stronger. Last month,
    America added 288,000 new jobs. Manufacturing jobs have increased for 3
    straight months. Since August, our economy has added more than 1.1
    million new jobs. In the first quarter of 2004, the economy grew at a
    strong rate of 4.2 percent, and over the past year, economic growth has
    been the fastest in nearly two decades. Business investment is up.
    Inflation is low. Mortgage and interest rates are near historic lows.
    The homeownership rate in America is the highest ever. America's economy
    is the fastest growing of any major industrialized nation. The tax
    relief we passed is working.
        There's a difference of taxes in this campaign. My opponent has a different view. When we passed an increase in the
    child credit to help families, he voted no. When we reduced the marriage
    penalty, he voted against it. When we created a lower 10-percent bracket
    for working families, he voted no. When we reduced taxes on dividends
    that helps our senior citizens, he said no. When we gave small
    businesses tax incentive to expand and hire, he voted against it. When
    we phased out the death tax, he voted no. I think we got a trend here.
    [Laughter]
        It's easier to get a ``yes'' vote out of him
    when it comes to raising taxes. That's his record. Senator Kerry has
    voted over 350 times for higher taxes on the American people. He
    supported higher gas taxes 11 times and once favored a tax increase of
    50 cents a gallon. That would cost you another $5 or more every time you
    fill up your tank. With that kind of money, you'd think he'd throw in a
    free car wash. [Laughter]
        My opponent has proposed a lot of new
    spending, and we're counting. At last count, he's proposed $1.9 trillion
    of new spending, and the election is 6 months away. [Laughter] He's
    going to have to pay for that somehow. Of course, you've heard the old,
    tired rhetoric of how he's going to pay for it. He's going to tax the
    rich, but there's not enough money to pay for all those new programs by
    taxing the rich. He's got what we call a tax gap. That gap needs a lot
    of money to pay for all his promises. And given his record, there's no
    doubt where that money is going to come from. It's going to come from
    the working people in America. The good news is, we're not going to give
    him the chance.
        The American people know what you and I know, that higher taxes
    would undermine

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    growth and destroy jobs, just as this economy is getting stronger. No, I
    have a better idea. We should keep taxes low. We will not raise taxes on
    the American people.
        We must do more to keep this economy growing and make sure America
    is the best place to do business in the world. We need to maintain
    spending discipline in our Nation's Capital. I look forward to working
    with Members of the United States Congress to do just that.
        We have a plan to protect small-business owners and employees from
    frivolous and needless lawsuits. We need tort reform out of the United
    States Congress.
        I've developed plans and a strategy to help control the cost of
    health care by giving people better access through association health
    care plans and tax-free health savings accounts. And for the sake of
    affordability and availability of good medicine, we need to pass medical
    liability reform out of the United States Senate.
        As we are learning at our gas pumps, this country needs an energy
    plan. We need an energy strategy, one that encourages conservation, one
    that develops alternative uses for energy, one that modernizes the
    electricity grid. But we need to make sure we use our coal resources,
    our natural gas resources, our nuclear resources. We need to become less
    dependent on foreign sources of energy.
        In order to make sure we grow our economy, we need to reject
    economic isolationism. We've opened our markets, for the sake of
    consumers, to other countries. Rather than walling ourselves off and
    stopping the creation of new jobs, we need to get other countries to
    open up their markets for us. When you're good at something, we ought to
    promote it. We're good at manufacturing things. We're good at growing
    things. Our technology sector is the best in the world. We need to be
    opening up markets so people can find jobs here in America.
        What I'm telling you is, if you're interested in job creation in
    America, you need to reelect a President who's pro-growth, pro-
    entrepreneur, and pro-small-business, and that's George W. Bush.
        I'll tell you something else we understand loud and clear, and that
    is a hopeful society is one that encourages ownership. We want more
    people owning their own home. There's a homeownership gap in America.
    Not enough minorities own their own home. We've got plans to make sure
    people from all walks of life have a chance to say, ``This is my home.
    Welcome to my home.'' We want more people owning their own small
    business. We want people owning and managing their own health care plan.
    We want younger workers to own and manage their own retirement accounts.
    See, we understand, when people have assets to call their own, they gain
    independence and security and dignity. See, I believe in private
    property so much, I want every American to have some.
        On issue after issue, the American people have a clear choice. My
    opponent is against personal retirement accounts,
    against giving patients more control over their medical decisions
    through health savings accounts, against providing parents more choices
    over education for their children, against tax relief for all Americans.
    He seems to be against every idea that gives Americans more authority
    and more choices and more control over our own lives.
        The other side will make a lot of promises over the next 6 months.
    The American people need to listen closely, because there is a theme.
    Every promise will increase the power of politicians and bureaucrats
    over your income, over your retirement, over your health care, over your
    children's education. It's the same old Washington mindset: They'll give
    the orders, and we'll pay the bills. I've got news for him. America has
    gone beyond that way of thinking, and we are not going back.
        Our future also depends on America's leadership in the world. The
    momentum of freedom in our time is strong, but we

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    still face serious dangers. Al Qaida is wounded but not broken.
    Terrorists are testing our will in Afghanistan and Iraq. Regimes in
    North Korea and Iran are challenging the peace. If America shows
    weakness and uncertainty in this decade, the world will drift toward
    tragedy. This will not happen on my watch.
        This Nation is strong and confident in the cause of freedom. We know
    that freedom is not America's gift to the world; freedom is the
    Almighty's gift to every man and woman in this world.
        Because of our principled stand and clear speaking, today, no friend
    or enemy doubts the word of the United States of America. America and
    our allies gave an ultimatum to the terror regime in Afghanistan. The
    Taliban chose defiance, and the Taliban is no longer in power. America
    and our allies gave an ultimatum to the dictator in Iraq. He chose defiance, and now he sits in a
    prison cell.
        September the 11th, 2001, taught a lesson I will never forget and
    America must never forget. America must confront threats before they
    fully materialize. In Iraq, my administration looked at the
    intelligence, and we saw a threat. Members of the United States Congress
    from both political parties looked at the intelligence, and they saw a
    threat. The United Nations Security Council looked at the intelligence,
    and it saw a threat. As a matter of fact, the previous administration
    and Congress looked at the intelligence and made regime change in Iraq
    the policy of the United States.
        In 2002, the U.N. Security Council, yet again, demanded a full
    accounting of Saddam Hussein's weapons
    programs. They remembered what we remembered. They remembered he
    attacked countries in his neighborhood. They remembered that he paid
    suiciders to kill innocent Israelis. They remembered he had ties to
    terrorist organizations. They remembered that he used weapons of mass
    destruction against his own people. As he had for over a decade, Saddam
    Hussein refused to comply with the demands of the free world. So I had a
    choice to make: Either trust the word of a madman, or defend America.
    Given that choice, I will defend America every time. [Applause] Thank
    you.
        My opponent admits that Saddam
    Hussein was a threat. He just didn't support
    my decision to remove Saddam from power. Maybe he was hoping Saddam
    would lose the next Iraqi election. [Laughter]
        We showed the dictator and a watching
    world that America means what it says. Because our coalition acted,
    Saddam's torture chambers are closed. Because we acted, Iraq's weapons
    programs are ended forever. Because we acted, nations like Libya have
    gotten the message and have renounced their own weapons programs.
    Because we acted, an example of democracy is rising at the heart of
    the--at the very heart of the Middle East. Because we acted, the world
    is more free, and America is more secure.
        We face challenges in Iraq, and there's a reason why. Illegal
    militias, remnants of the regime, and foreign terrorists are trying to
    take the power they can never gain by the ballot. They hate free
    societies. They can't stand the thought of freedom arising in a part of
    the world that they want to control. They know that a free Iraq will be
    a major defeat in the war on terror. They find little support amongst
    the Iraqi people. And they will find no success in their attempt to
    shake the will of the United States of America. They don't understand us
    in this country. We will never be intimidated by thugs and assassins.
        We're on the offense in Iraq. We will defeat them there so we do not
    have to face them in our own country. And we're not alone. Other nations
    are helping. They're helping because they understand the historic
    opportunity we have. They understand the stakes. They know that a free
    Iraq will be an agent for change in a part of the world that so
    desperately needs freedom and peace.

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        The Iraqi people want to run themselves. And so, on June 30th, a
    sovereign Iraqi interim government will take office. And there will be
    tough times ahead. These are not easy tasks. They are essential tasks.
    And America will finish what we have begun, and we will win this
    essential victory in the war on terror.
        On national security, Americans have a clear choice. My
    opponent says he approves of bold action in the
    world but only if other countries don't object. I'm for united action. I
    believe in building coalitions. We have built coalitions in Afghanistan.
    We have built coalitions in Iraq. We have built coalitions to stop the
    proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, but I will never turn over
    America's national security decisions to leaders of other countries.
        Some are skeptical that the war on terror is really a war at all. My
    opponent said, ``The war on terror is far less of
    a military operation, and far more of an intelligence gathering, law
    enforcement operation.'' I disagree. Our Nation followed this approach
    after the World Trade Center was bombed in 1993. The matter was handled
    in the courts and thought by some to be settled. And yet, the terrorists
    were still training in Afghanistan. They were still plotting in other
    nations. They were still drawing up more ambitious plans. After the
    chaos and carnage of September the 11th, it is not enough to serve our
    enemies with legal papers. With those attacks, the terrorists and their
    supporters declared war on the United States of America, and war is what
    they got.
        Winning the war requires us to give our troops the best possible
    support. I want to thank the Members of Congress who are here for
    supporting the $87 billion appropriations, called a supplemental, that I
    encouraged them to spend last fall. We owe it to our troops to support
    them. Not everybody voted for the 87 billion, however. When asked why my
    opponent didn't vote for it, here is what he
    said: ``I actually did vote for the 87 billion, before I voted against
    it.'' [Laughter] The American President must speak clearly and mean what
    he says.
        Our men and women in the military are taking great risks on our
    behalf. We've got a fantastic United States military. The conduct of a
    few inside an Iraqi prison was disgraceful. Their conduct does not
    represent the character of the men and women who wear our uniform, nor
    does it represent the character of the United States of America.
        At bases across our country and the world, I've had the privilege of
    meeting with those who defend our country and sacrifice for our
    security. I've seen their great decency and unselfish courage, and I
    assure you, ladies and gentlemen, the cause of freedom is in really good
    hands.
        This Nation is prosperous and strong, yet we need to remember that
    our greatest strength is in the hearts and souls of our citizens. We're
    strong because of the values we try to live by, courage and compassion,
    reverence and integrity. We're strong because of the institutions that
    help give us direction and purpose, our families, our schools, and our
    religious congregations. These values and institutions are fundamental
    to our lives, and they deserve the respect of our Government.
        We stand for the fair treatment of faith-based groups so they can
    receive Federal support for their works of compassion and healing. We
    stand for welfare reforms that require work and strengthen marriage,
    which have helped millions of Americans find independence and dignity.
    We stand for a culture of life in which every person matters and every
    person counts. We stand for institutions like marriage and family, which
    are the foundations of our society.
        And we stand for judges who strictly and faithfully interpret the
    law. I have nominated people from all walks of life to serve on our
    bench, highly qualified, decent Americans, men and women who will not
    undermine democracy by legislating from the bench. Yet, because a small
    group of

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    United States Senators are willfully obstructing the process, many of my
    nominees have been forced to wait months, years, for an up-or-down vote.
    The needless delays in the system are harming the administration of
    justice, and they are deeply unfair to the nominees themselves. It is
    time for liberal Senators to stop playing politics with American
    justice.
        The culture of this country is changing. It is changing 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
    understands we are responsible for the decisions we make in life. 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 worried about the
    quality of the education in the community in which you live, you're
    responsible for doing something about it. If you are a CEO in corporate
    America, you are responsible for telling the truth to your shareholders
    and your employees. And in the responsibility society, each of us is
    responsible for loving our neighbor just like we'd like to be loved
    ourself.
        For all Americans, these years in our history will always stand
    apart. There are quiet times in the life of a nation when little is
    expected of its leaders. These aren't one of those times. You and I are
    living in a period when the stakes are high, the challenges are
    difficult, a time when firm resolve is needed.
        None of us will ever forget that week when one era ended and another
    began. On September the 14th, 2001, I stood in the ruins of the Twin
    Towers. It is a day that I will never forget. There were firefighters
    and policemen in the crowd shouting, ``Whatever it takes.'' A guy in a
    hardhat looked at me and said, ``Don't let me down.'' As we all did that
    day, these men and women searching through the rubble took it
    personally. I took it personally. I have a responsibility that goes on.
    I will never relent in bringing justice to our enemies. I will defend
    the security of America, whatever it takes.
        In these times, I've also been witness to the character of this
    Nation. Not so long ago, some had their doubts about the American
    character, our capacity to meet serious challenges or to serve a cause
    greater than self-interest. But Americans have given their answer. I've
    seen the unselfish courage of our troops. I've seen the heroism of
    Americans in the face of danger. I've seen the spirit of service and
    compassion renewed in our country. And we've all seen our Nation unite
    in common purpose when it mattered most.
        We will need all these qualities for the work ahead. We have a war
    to win, and the world is counting on us to lead the cause of freedom and
    peace. We have a duty to spread opportunity to every corner of this
    country. This is the work that history has set before us. We welcome it,
    and we know that for our blessed land, the best days lie ahead.
        May God bless you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 7:05 p.m. at the J.W. Marriott Hotel. In
    his remarks, he referred to former Gov. James S. Gilmore III of
    Virginia.