    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book I)]
    [March 4, 2004]
    [Pages 318-323]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at a Bush-Cheney Luncheon in Santa Clara, California
    March 4, 2004

        Thanks a lot. Thanks for coming. Thanks for the warm welcome. It is
    great to be back. I appreciate it. Thanks. Be seated, please. Thanks for
    the warm welcome. It is great to be back in Santa Clara. Such a
    beautiful part of our country, isn't it? It's a wonderful day.
        I have had a great trip here to California. I was in Los Angeles
    yesterday and Bakersfield this morning. I don't know if you know that,
    but in 1949 we called that home. I was quick to remind the people in
    Bakersfield I'd called it home. [Laughter]
        Had a chance to spend some quality time with your
    Governor yesterday. I know you were
    a little disappointed, like I was, that ``Terminator 3'' didn't win any
    Oscars. [Laughter] But Arnold has had a pretty good year. By electing
    Governor Schwarzenegger, the voters of California have shown that no
    party can take California for granted.
        The Vice President and I are going to be
    spending some quality time here this coming year. With your continued
    help, California is going to be an important part of a nationwide
    victory in November 2004. Speaking about the Vice President, I made a
    really good pick when I asked Dick Cheney to serve by my side. He is a
    fabulous Vice President for our country. Mother
    may have a second opinion. [Laughter]
        I'm sorry Laura is not with me. She is in
    Texas. She was visiting her mother in Midland,
    Texas, where both of us were raised. She's on her way to Crawford. After
    I give this speech, I'm on my way to Crawford. She sends her best
    greetings to our friends here in the Bay Area. I tell you, Laura is a
    great First Lady. I'm a fortunate man that she is--agreed to marry me,
    and I love her dearly.
        I want to thank Brad for his friendship and
    leadership here in the State of California, and my friend Gerry
    Parsky, who

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    is the State campaign chairman. I too want to thank Katie Boyd and Gregory Slayton for their hard work, and thank my friend Mercer
    Reynolds from Cincinnati, Ohio, who is the
    national finance chairman of Bush-Cheney '04--good people working hard
    to make sure that we're well-funded. And we will be.
        I appreciate Bill Jones, the next United
    States Senator from the State of California, with us today. The next
    United States Senator from the State of South Dakota is with us today,
    Congressman John Thune. Thank you for coming,
    John.
        I want to thank all the grassroots activists who are here, the
    people who are going to make the phone calls and put up the signs and
    turn out the vote. I want to thank you in advance for what you're going
    to do. It's important.
        Last Tuesday night I placed a call to Senator Kerry. I told him I was looking forward to a spirited campaign,
    and I congratulated him on his victory. It's going to be an interesting
    debate on the issues. My opponent has spent two decades in Washington,
    and he's built up quite a record. In fact, Senator Kerry has been in
    Washington long enough to take both sides on just about every issue.
    [Laughter]
        Voters have a clear choice between keeping the tax relief that is
    moving this economy forward or putting the burden of higher taxes back
    on the American people. They have a clear choice between an America that
    leads the world with strength and confidence or an America that is
    uncertain in the face of danger.
        I look forward to setting these alternatives squarely before the
    American people. I look forward to this campaign. We have a great
    record. We've achieved a lot during the last 3 years. And most
    important, we have a positive vision for the years ahead, a positive
    vision for winning the war against terror and extending peace and
    freedom throughout the world, a positive vision for creating jobs and
    promoting opportunity and compassion here at home. I will leave no doubt
    where I stand. We look forward to winning on the 2d of November.
        The last 3 years have brought serious challenges, and we have given
    serious answers. We came to office with the stock market in decline and
    an economy headed into recession, delivered historic tax relief, and now
    our economy is the fastest growing of any major industrialized nation.
        We had to confront corporate crimes that cost people their jobs and
    their savings, so we passed strong corporate reforms and made it
    abundantly clear that we will not tolerate dishonesty in the boardrooms
    of America.
        We saw war and grief arrive on a quiet September morning, so we
    pursued the terrorist enemy across the world, captured or killed many of
    the key leaders of the Al Qaida network. And the rest of them will learn
    there is no cave or hole deep enough to hide from American justice.
        We confronted the dangers of state-sponsored terror and the spread
    of weapons of mass destruction, so we ended two of the most violent and
    dangerous regimes on Earth. We freed over 50 million people. And once
    again, America is proud to lead the armies of liberation.
        When Dick Cheney and I came to Washington,
    we found a military that was underfunded and underappreciated, so we
    gave our military the resources and respect they deserve. And today, no
    one can question the skill and the strength and the spirit of the United
    States military.
        We came to office, and people in Washington were used to gridlock,
    and old problems were used to score points. Old problems were
    politicized and debated and then just passed on from year to year. But
    we came for a purpose. We came to get some things done for the people.
    We passed major reforms to raise the standards in public schools. We
    passed reforms for Medicare to give prescription drugs and choices to
    senior citizens. We chose to lead,

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    and we produced results for the American people.
        It is the President's job to confront problems, not to pass them on
    to future Presidents and future generations. A President needs to step
    up and make the hard decisions and keep his commitments, and that is how
    I will continue to lead our country.
        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. My
    opponent has not offered much in the way of
    strategies to win the war or policies to expand our economy. So far all
    we hear from that side is a lot of old bitterness and partisan anger.
    Anger is not an agenda for the future of America. We're taking on the
    big issues with optimism and resolve and determination. I stand ready to
    lead this Nation for 4 more years.
        The big issue for every family in America is the Federal tax burden.
    With the largest tax relief since Ronald Reagan was President, we have
    left more money in the hands that earned it. By spending and investing
    and helping to create new jobs, the American people have used their
    money far better than the Government would have.
        Because we acted, our economy is growing stronger. The economy grew
    in the second half of 2003 at one of the fastest rates in nearly 20
    years. Productivity is high. Business investment is rising. Interest
    rates and inflation are low. Homeownership is at the highest rate ever.
    Manufacturing is increasing. We've added 366,000 new jobs over the past
    5 months. The tax relief we passed is working.
        My opponent has plans for those tax cuts. He
    wants to take them away. He would use that money to expand the Federal
    Government. I have a better idea: To keep this economy growing and to
    create jobs, the tax cuts must be permanent.
        We must do more to keep the economy growing. We need to maintain
    fiscal discipline in our Nation's Capital. We need to protect
    businessowners and employees from frivolous lawsuits and needless
    regulation. We need to control the health--the cost of health care by
    passing medical liability reform at the national level. We need to open
    up markets for California's entrepreneurs and farmers and ranchers and
    manufacturers. We need to pass sound energy legislation to modernize the
    electricity system and to make America less dependent on foreign sources
    of energy. My opponent has talked about job
    creation, but he's against every one of these job-creating measures.
    Empty talk about jobs and economic isolationism won't get anyone hired.
        This economy of ours is going through a time of change and
    challenge. We're helping people to gain the skills and the security to
    make a good living and to look forward to a good retirement. All skills
    start with education. I worked with Congress to pass a really good piece
    of legislation, the No Child Left Behind Act. This good law is
    challenging the soft bigotry of low expectations. In return for
    increased Federal dollars, particularly for Title I students, we
    demanded that every public school in America show us whether or not each
    child is learning to read and write and add and subtract. We have done
    so because we refuse to accept mediocrity. We expect the best so that
    not one single child is left behind in America.
        We're doing more. We have plans to help high school students who
    fall behind in reading and math. We've got a sound strategy to help our
    community colleges to train workers for the industries that are creating
    the new jobs for our economy. Education is the gateway to a hopeful
    future; this administration understands the gate must be open to all
    Americans.
        We're also working to promote an ownership society in America in
    which more people own their own homes and build their own savings. We
    want more people owning their own small businesses. We want people

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    to own and manage their own health care plans. We want younger workers
    to own and manage their own retirement under Social Security. When
    people have solid assets, this administration understands they gain
    independence and security and dignity. I believe in private property so
    much, I want everybody to have some.
        On issue after issue, the American people have a clear choice. My
    opponent is against personal retirement accounts,
    against putting patients in charge of Medicare, and against tax relief.
    He seems to be against every idea that gives Americans more authority
    and more choices and more control over their own lives. The same old
    Washington mindset: They'll give the orders, and you'll pay the bills.
    I've got news for the Washington crowd. America has gone beyond that way
    of thinking, and we're not going back. The policy that this
    administration is promoting trusts the people of America, to trust the
    people to make the best decisions with their own money, to trust the
    people to manage their own health care and their own retirement and
    their own lives.
        Our future also depends on America's leadership in this world. The
    momentum of freedom in our time is strong, but we still face serious
    challenges. 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. That is not going to happen
    on my watch.
        This Nation is strong and confident in the cause of freedom. No
    friend or enemy today doubts the word of America. America and our allies
    gave an ultimatum to the terror regime in Afghanistan. The Taliban chose
    defiance. The Taliban are no longer in power. America and our allies
    gave an ultimatum to the terror regime in Iraq. The dictator chose defiance. Now the dictator sits in a prison
    cell.
        September the 11th, 2001, taught a lesson I have not forgotten.
    America must confront threats before they fully materialize. In Iraq, my
    administration looked at the intelligence information, and we saw a
    threat. The Congress looked at the intelligence information, and they
    saw a threat. The United Nations Security Council looked at the
    intelligence information, and it saw a threat. The previous
    administration and Congress looked at the intelligence and made regime
    change in Iraq the policy of our country. In 2002, the U.N. Security
    Council yet again demanded a full accounting of Saddam
    Hussein's weapons programs. As he had for
    over a decade, Saddam Hussein refused to comply. So I had a choice to
    make, either to take the word of a madman or take action to defend
    America. Faced with that choice, I will defend our country every time.
        My opponent admits that Saddam
    Hussein was a threat. He just didn't support
    my decision to remove Saddam from power. Perhaps 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 renounced their own weapons programs. Because we acted, an
    example of democracy is rising at the very heart of the Middle East.
    Because we acted, the world is more free, and America is more secure.
        We still face thugs and terrorists in Iraq who would rather go on
    killing the innocent than accept the advance of liberty. They know that
    a free Iraq will be a major defeat in the cause of terror. This
    collection of killers is trying to shake our will. They don't understand
    America. America will never be intimidated by thugs or assassins.
        We're aggressively striking the terrorists in Iraq, defeating them
    there so we won't have to face them in our own country.

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    We're calling on other nations to help Iraq to build a free society,
    which will make the whole world more peaceful and secure. We're standing
    with the Iraqi people as they assume more of their own defense and move
    toward self-government. These aren't easy tasks, but they're essential
    tasks. We'll finish what we have begun. We will win this essential
    victory in the war on terror.
        On national security, Americans have the clearest possible choice.
    My opponent says he approves of bold action in
    the world, but only if other countries don't object. I'm all for united
    action, and so are the 34 coalition partners we have in Iraq right now.
    Yet America must never outsource America's national security decisions
    to leaders of other countries.
        Some are skeptical that the war on terror is really a war at all.
    Here's what my opponent said. He 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. But the terrorists were still training in Afghanistan. They
    were still plotting in other nations. They were drawing up more
    ambitious plans. After the chaos and carnage of September the 11th, it's
    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.
        At bases across our country and the world, I have had the privilege,
    the high privilege of meeting with the men and women of our military who
    are defending our country and sacrificing for our security. I've seen
    their great decency and unselfish courage. I can assure you, ladies and
    gentlemen, the cause of freedom is in good hands.
        The 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, compassion,
    reverence, and integrity. We're strong because of the institutions that
    help give us direction and purpose, families and schools and 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 will not stand for Government
    discrimination against people of faith.
        We stand for welfare reforms that require work and strengthen
    marriage, which have helped millions of Americans find independence and
    dignity. We will not stand for any attempt to weaken those reforms and
    to send people back into lives of dependence. We stand for a culture of
    life in which every person counts and every person matters. We will not
    stand for the treatment of any life as a commodity to be experimented
    upon or exploited or cloned. We stand for the confirmation of judges who
    strictly and faithfully interpret the law. We will not stand for judges
    who undermine democracy by legislating from the bench or try to remake
    the culture of America by court order.
        We stand for a culture of responsibility in America. 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 a
    culture in which each of us understands we're responsible for the
    decisions we make in life. If you're 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're a CEO in corporate America, you have the responsibility to tell
    the truth to your shareholders and your employees. And in the
    responsibility society, each of us is

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    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 the leaders. This is not one of those times. You and I are
    living in a period when the stakes are high, the challenge is difficult,
    and 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. I'll never forget that day. I remember the workers and the
    hardhats who were shouting, ``Whatever it takes.'' I remember the guy
    who pointed his finger 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
    our country, whatever it takes.
        In these times, I've also been a witness to the character of this
    Nation. Not so long ago, some had their doubts about the American
    character, about 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. We've all seen our Nation unite in
    common purpose when it mattered most.
        We'll 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 and hope to every part of
    America. This is the work that history has set before us. We welcome it.
    And we know that for our country, the best days lie ahead.
        May God bless you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 1 p.m. at the Santa Clara Convention
    Center. In his remarks, he referred to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of
    California; Brad Freeman, California State finance chairman, Gerald L.
    Parsky, California State chairman, and Mercer Reynolds, national finance
    chairman, Bush-Cheney '04, Inc.; Bill Jones, senatorial candidate in
    California; and former Representative John R. Thune, senatorial
    candidate in South Dakota.