    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book I)]
    [April 20, 2004]
    [Pages 625-633]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at a Victory 2004 Luncheon in New York City
    April 20, 2004

        Thank you all. Thank you. Please be seated. The faster I speak, the
    quicker you eat. [Laughter] Thanks for coming. Thanks for the support of
    voter turnout efforts. I look forward to carrying the banner. I look
    forward to explaining what I intend to do for the next 4 years, and your
    help will make it easier for us to get people to the polls. That's
    really what we're doing here today, and I want to thank you for that.
        I appreciate my friend Pataki, who is
    doing a great job as the Governor of this great State. If you think the
    President is being hard, try being the Governor of New York--
    [laughter]--or the mayor of New York. Mayor, thank you for coming. I
    appreciate both the fine jobs you're doing. You both are great men.
    Thanks for your friendship. I'm proud to know you, as we say in
    Crawford, Texas.
        Laura is not here, obviously, and so you drew
    the short straw. She is a fabulous woman who is a great First Lady. And
    I got to tell you, it's a lot easier to be President with somebody who
    is--sees the ability to influence people's lives in a positive way, just
    like Laura does. She is making a huge difference, whether it be literacy
    or women's health issues. The most important thing she means to me is
    steadfast love. And I'm proud of her, and I wish she were here today.
        I know Peter King is here. I appreciate
    you coming, Congressman. I'm glad--appreciate your distinguished service
    in the mighty New York congressional delegation. Is Vito here as well? Hey, Vito. Good to see you. Thank you for
    coming. Vito Fossella as well is here--two Members of the Congress.
    They're here for two reasons: one, they like a good meal--[laughter]--

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    two, they want a nice ride back to Washington. [Laughter] Maybe pick up
    a little wisdom, too, right, Peter?
        I appreciate my friend Mercer Reynolds,
    who is the national finance chairman. Mercer is a business guy out of
    Cincinnati, Ohio, and he said, ``Can I help you?'' I said, ``You bet.
    Get to work.'' And he has. And I really want to thank Mercer for his
    leadership.
        Al Hoffman is the RNC finance chairman from
    the great State of Florida. Thank you for being here, Al, and thank you
    for your help. See you Friday. I will be in Naples and Miami Friday. I
    want to thank Lew Eisenberg. I appreciate
    your leadership, Lew. Thanks for helping make sure this dinner went well
    today. Thank you very much.
        I'm looking forward to the campaign. It's--probably somebody looking
    at me like, ``Do you really mean that?'' [Laughter] I am. I like to
    campaign. I'm a competitive kind of person. I've got a lot of
    Mother in me. [Laughter] But most importantly,
    I've got a reason to serve 4 more years. And that's what I want to share
    with you today.
        First, I think it's--in order to say what you're going to do,
    particularly as an incumbent, you've got to remind people what you have
    done. Because by reminding people what you have done, it will help
    people believe that what you're going to do is something that's true.
        We've taken on--first of all, I assembled a great team. I know my
    Chief of Staff, Andy Card, is with us
    somewhere--where are you? Chief Card. I think the measure of a good
    leader is with whom he surrounds himself, and I've got smart, capable
    people with me, people who care deeply about the country, people who
    have got access, people who can walk in and say, ``You know, you're not
    looking so good, Mr. President,'' or, ``Mr. President, you're doing the
    right thing.'' Whether it be Andy or Condoleezza Rice or a great national security team or a wonderful
    Cabinet--I know Elaine Chao's dad is here. I
    appreciate you're coming, Dr. Chao. Elaine
    is the Secretary of Labor on our team. And I think the American people
    should take comfort in the fact that I have put together a good team.
    And it's essential you do so because you never know what's going to come
    on your watch. You've got to have people around, if times get tough,
    that are capable of making good--giving you good advice when the
    pressure is on.
        And we had some things on our watch that I don't think a lot of
    people would have anticipated, starting with the attacks here on
    September the 11th. It was a dramatic moment for our country. It's one
    that I will never forget of course, and it's one that really, after I
    got beyond the tears, lifted my spirits because I saw the incredible
    courage and steadfast resolve of the people of this part of the world.
        There is just something so uplifting to see the courage of the
    firefighters and the police and their loved ones and the citizens of New
    York City and Connecticut and New Jersey, as they rallied to what was a
    horrible moment in our history. It was such an inspiring moment for
    those of us who saw firsthand the response.
        I made a decision then and there that I would do everything we could
    to learn the lessons of September the 11th and respond in a forceful
    way. The lesson of September the 11th, for me, was twofold: one, that
    any time we see a threat materialize we've got to deal with it--we can't
    hope it goes away--that it must be viewed in a serious nature; and
    secondly, it was that we'll keep the terrorists on the run until we
    bring them all to justice, that the best way to protect the homeland was
    to find them before they hurt us again. And that's what we have done.
        And part of the reason I want to be the President is because I want
    to continue that. We're at war. The terrorists declared war on the
    United States, and I want to continue waging that war so that children
    can grow up in a peaceful country.

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        At the same time, the economy wasn't so hot for a while here. As you
    might remember, there was a recession in early 2001. And we dealt with
    it straight up. I told the American people that in order to deal with
    the economy, people need to have more money in their pockets, and went
    to Congress, not once but several times, and convinced Congress--and I
    want to thank the Congressmen who are here that supported us--that tax relief would make a
    difference in terms of economic vitality and growth. And it did. The
    recession was one of the most shallow recessions in our economic
    history. I look forward to reminding people that the reason why was
    because tax relief worked.
        The economy also took a blow because we had some citizens who forgot
    to tell the truth. They held positions of high responsibility, and they
    betrayed their trust. And we responded swiftly to that as well. We
    passed tough laws that made it abundantly clear we expect there to be
    honesty in the boardrooms of America.
        These were issues that the administration had to deal with, and I
    look forward to making the case that we have dealt with them in a way
    that made America a better place. But that's not how--that's just not
    what the American people want to hear. They don't want to see what
    you've done; they see what you're going to do. That's what we've got to
    talk about. I will campaign hard to make it clear that we've got a plan
    to make sure that the prosperity that we have today is lasting
    prosperity.
        I say we have prosperity today--at least the statistics say we have
    prosperity today. The growth last year was strong. The projected growth
    this year is strong--that's growth of our economy. Inflation is low.
    Interest rates are low. The homeownership rate is the highest ever. It's
    an incredibly positive statistic, isn't it, to be able to stand and say,
    people own more homes than ever before. That is what we want in America.
    We want people owning something. They ought to be able to--``This is my
    home. Welcome to my piece of property.'' More people are able to do so.
    More minorities own homes than ever before. We've still got a minority
    homeownership gap, but nevertheless, it's a positive sign that people
    are owning their own homes. Jobs are being created; 308,000 new jobs in
    the month of March was positive, 750,000 jobs since August. In other
    words, the economy is picking up.
        And yet, the fundamental question is, how do we make sure that the
    prosperity lasts, not just lasts through a political cycle, but how do
    we make sure America stays on the leading edge of economic prosperity
    for a decade to come or two decades to come? How do we make sure the
    entrepreneurial spirit is strong and alive and well?
        First, it starts with having the right philosophy. The role of
    Government isn't to create wealth but to create an environment where the
    entrepreneur can flourish and succeed. That's the role of Government.
        We've got some unusual challenges to make sure America is a
    prosperous nation for a long time to come. One, we've got to make sure
    that we've got spending discipline in Washington, and it's a battle
    because appropriators tend to appropriate. And we just got to make sure
    they appropriate in the amounts of money that we can afford these days.
    And I put a pretty tough budget out there that said we're going to fund
    our troops. It said we're going to make sure we fund our homeland
    security challenges, but nondefense discretionary spending needs to be
    at less than one percent, in order to make sure that we don't overcommit
    our budget.
        It's going to be an issue in the campaign, by the way, because the
    tendency is to promise a lot of things when you run for President.
    Already the other side has promised over a trillion dollars of new
    spending, and they haven't figured out how to pay for it yet. You can't
    provide a trillion dollars in new spending by just taxing the rich.
    There's not enough money when it comes to just taxing the rich. That
    means you're

    [[Page 628]]

    going to have to tax everybody, which leads to the second issue, as to
    how to make sure that we're a competitive nation for a long time coming,
    and that's to make sure the Tax Code is simple, easy to understand, and
    the tax relief we passed is permanent.
        I say ``the tax relief we passed is permanent''--certainly, in the
    Tax Code, it's necessary for people who want to invest capital. People
    who invest capital, whether they be large or small businesses, must
    understand the rules of the game. It's a huge mistake for Congress to
    let the tax relief expire, and so I look forward to continuing to making
    the case that tax relief must be permanent.
        It's essential for families that the tax relief be permanent.
    Remember, a key component of the tax relief was raising the child credit
    to $1,000. If they let that lapse, it's a tax increase on working
    families. We lowered the lowest tax bracket to 10 percent and expanded
    who could participate. If they let that aspect lapse, it's a tax on
    working families.
        We tax marriage in America. We got what they call the marriage
    penalty. In my judgment, it's a little backwards. We ought not to be
    taxing marriage. We ought to be encouraging marriage. We reduced the
    penalty on marriage, and yet, if Congress doesn't act, it goes back up,
    sends the wrong signal. It's a bad tax.
        We put the death tax on its way to extinction--that's an important
    tax--in order to encourage the entrepreneurial spirit to be strong.
    After all, we want to encourage people to pass their assets on to
    whoever they want and have the Government only tax it once. And if
    Congress doesn't act, the death tax will come back to life--2010, by the
    way, is going to be an unusual year. [Laughter]
        We cut all taxes, by the way, in the tax relief package. My attitude
    is, if you pay taxes, you ought to get tax relief. If there's going to
    be tax relief, then everybody ought to get tax relief. And so we cut all
    taxes. It's important that those tax rates stay low, particularly for
    small businesses. I look forward to making the case to the American
    people and reminding them that tax relief helped the small-business
    sector immeasurably.
        Most small businesses are Subchapter S corporations or sole
    proprietorships. And so when you cut income-tax rates, you're really
    affecting small-business capital formation, which has been a vital part
    of our recovery. The small-business sector is strong. What I'm telling
    you is, good tax policy is a part of keeping this country competitive.
    Good tax policy relative to our competition is what is necessary to make
    sure that there's economic vitality in the long run.
        To make sure America stays competitive and to make sure jobs stay
    home and jobs are vibrant here, we need an energy policy in America.
    It's hard to project a strong and vital economy if you're not sure if
    you got any energy. If you're worried about a modern electricity
    system--we went through this before, last summer. Remember,
    Mayor? I called George and the mayor. It was a difficult period of time if you're
    in a leadership role. Imagine what it's like if you're a small
    manufacturing company reliant upon electricity in order to manufacture a
    product. If you're competing not only in the American economy but the
    global economy and you're not sure if you're going to get any
    electricity, it's an issue as to whether or not you're going to be able
    to stay in business. And so we need an energy policy that, first of all,
    allows for and encourages the modernization of our electricity grids.
        The other problem we got is that we're dependent on foreign sources
    of energy. It's going to be hard to stay competitive so long as America
    is reliant upon somebody else for our energy supply. Now, I believe
    technology can make a huge difference in terms of consumption by
    encouraging conservation. I think there's great potential for renewables
    and alternative sources of energy. I mean, I'd love to be

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    the President one day to be able to stand up and say, ``We've grown
    enough crops so we're no longer dependent upon a source of energy,'' and
    that's possible. It's just not possible for the short run.
        And so we've got to have a good energy policy that gets us to where
    technology will change our uses of energy and the sources of energy,
    which means we need clean coal technology, which means we need to
    explore for natural gas, which means we need reasonable nuclear energy
    policy. In order for this country to remain competitive, we have got to
    become less dependent on foreign sources of energy.
        Lasting prosperity means that the country must be confident with its
    trade policy. The tendency is to--in the country is to, if you're
    doubtful about our ability to compete, is to promote what I call
    economic isolationism, which means the willingness to either pull back
    from aggressive trade policy or to encourage the creation of tariffs and
    barriers to trade. I think that would be a huge mistake for people
    looking for work. I think it would be a big mistake to kind of lose our
    confidence in the world when it comes to trading. Listen, we're great at
    a lot of things, and when you're good at something, you need to be
    promoting it. We're great at growing things like corn and soybeans and
    cows and hogs. And we ought to be aggressively selling those products
    overseas. We're wonderful at entertainment. We're excellent at high-
    tech. These are our competitive advantages, and rather than losing our
    confidence, we ought to be more confident than ever.
        And trade policy, as far as I'm concerned, really means having other
    nations treat us as we treat them. It's been the policy of many
    administrations, both Republican and Democrat, to open up our markets so
    that our consumers have got choice. They've got competition for their
    dollar, which is good for price and good for quality. The problem we
    face in the world is other nations haven't treated us the same, and so
    it's policy of this administration is, rather than retreat and be
    pessimistic, is to be confident and bold and insist others open up their
    markets. Lasting prosperity means that the country must fight off
    economic isolationism and open up as many markets as possible, so we can
    compete in a fair way.
        Lasting prosperity means we've got to have reasonable medical
    policy. The cost of health care makes it awfully difficult for, starting
    with small businesses, to expand and hire new people. I've spent a lot
    of time with the entrepreneurs of America, and they're saying that the
    cost of medicine is one of the primary factors that prevents aggressive
    expansion of the job base, as far as their individual company is
    concerned.
        We've addressed it this way: First, you've got to understand there's
    the philosophical fight in Washington; there are those who promote
    policies that will make it certain that the Federal Government makes the
    medical decisions for people. I think it's absolutely wrong. I believe
    in the opposite. I believe if you empower consumers and give consumers
    more options from which to choose, medical policy becomes more
    affordable and more available.
        And that's why a key component of our health care vision is what's
    called health savings accounts. They're a new product. They're just
    becoming online. But they will enable individuals and small businesses
    to better afford health care. They will better drive price, and they'll
    better enhance quality.
        And there are some other practical things that need to be done.
    Association health care plans will allow small businesses to pool risk,
    just like big businesses get to do, in order to be able to better afford
    medical care.
        We need to make sure we use our technologies wisely so that we can
    strip out unnecessary costs and enhance quality by promoting an
    aggressive expansion of technology. One of the interesting things is
    most businesses here are very productive because they use the IT
    available; not so

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    for the medical field. I mean, there are vast improvements to be had by
    the expansion of information technologies in the field. And one of the
    roles of the Federal Government is to provide standards so that the
    technology and the information can be shared and exploited in a proper
    way.
        And finally, look, we need medical liability reform in the country.
    If you're interested in making sure health care is available and
    affordable, we've got to have a system that doesn't reward trial lawyers
    simply for filing lawsuits.
        Speaking about trial lawyers, in order that there be lasting
    prosperity--in other words, when I say ``lasting prosperity,'' I mean,
    to create an environment so that the great entrepreneurial spirit
    flourishes--we better rein in the junk and frivolous lawsuits that
    threaten capital formation. That's why I'm strongly for the asbestos
    legislation that's stuck in the Senate. That's why I'm strongly for
    class-action lawsuit reform that's stuck in the Senate--the same place,
    by the way, where medical liability reform is stuck, in the Senate.
        But I will continue to push the issue, not only in the campaign but
    should I be fortunate enough to serve 4 more years, because the idea is
    to create a fair legal environment and, at the same time, encourage
    capital formation, risktaking, and business expansion so that the
    prosperity which we have today will last beyond us, will last beyond
    this administration. I'm going to give a speech on Monday talking about
    the innovation society, the expansion of a broadband technology in a
    market-driven way, and the role of Government is to make sure we don't
    overtax the broadband technology so it gets spread out, and doesn't
    overregulate. And it will take--the market will act, if we create the
    environment for market forces to flourish.
        And so one of the things I'm going to campaign a lot on and talk to
    the American people about is that, listen, we've handled a tough
    recession, and I recognize there needs to be more. It's given me a
    chance to put in place the framework for prosperity which will last for
    a while, so that people can find work and realize their dreams, so
    people who want to start their own business feel comfortable doing so.
        See, one of the wonderful things about the Presidency is I get to
    see success stories. People have had an idea in their head; they went to
    their garage; they started their own business. And now they're creating
    jobs for people. They've got an asset to call their own. It's just--I
    think it's so important that the country elect a President who
    understands the power and the promise of the entrepreneurial spirit. I
    look forward to making the case that I'm the person.
        Abroad, we've got issues as well. I mean, we're at war. I will make
    the case that I'm prepared to continue to lead the country to win the
    war, not just fight the war but win the war.
        An American President must speak clearly, and when he speaks, must
    mean what he says, in order to make the world more peaceful. And that
    requires a clear vision about where you want to lead. I believe strongly
    in the power of freedom, the transforming power of freedom. I know that
    free societies are peaceful societies. I believe the Almighty has--
    believes that every person should be free. It's a gift from the
    Almighty, regardless of their religion or the color of their skin. I
    believe that as the torchbearer of freedom, the United States must lead
    and must never shirk our duty to lead.
        America must lead when it comes to fighting the war on terror. We
    must continue to rally a coalition of the willing to stay tough and
    determined and rout out Al Qaida before they hit us again. That's our
    obligation. That means when we say we're going to lead, we do, without
    hesitation, without fear of a political poll or a focus group. If we say
    we're going to be steadfast and strong, we must be steadfast and strong,
    and I will, as the President.

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        I said very clearly that if you harbor a terrorist, you're just as
    guilty as the terrorist, and I meant every word of that. The action in
    Afghanistan showed the people I meant what I said. The Taliban evidently
    didn't believe us. They do now, and they're no longer in power, and
    Afghanistan is no longer a haven for terrorist training camps.
        We still have a task to do in Afghanistan. Part of winning the war
    on terror is to make sure that countries that we have liberated are free
    and peaceful and prosperous and hopeful. And Afghanistan is turning that
    way. It's hard work there in Afghanistan. After all, they were savaged
    by the Taliban. Remember the--remember what these people were like. It's
    hard for the American citizen to understand the nature of the Taliban.
    These are people who wouldn't let young girls go to school.
        There's a movie called ``Osama.'' I wish you'd look at it. It's an
    interesting movie. It talks about what life was like in Afghanistan. It
    also speaks--when I talk to the American people about what it means to
    liberate people, the movie says it a lot better than I can, about what
    life was like prior to the arrival of a coalition.
        So we're working hard in Afghanistan. There are people still lurking
    around there that we'll find. We're sharing intelligence. We're watching
    money trails, just like we are in other countries as well. But part of
    the war on terror is to fight a different kind of war and win a
    different kind of war. We've got over 10,000 troops there. They're doing
    their job, brave souls, courageous Americans, and other nations are
    helping as well. NATO is involved with provincial reconstruction teams.
    The world is getting better there.
        Karen Hughes reported back the other day
    the difference between what she saw the first time she went and the last
    time she went is just--just an excitement. There's an air of hope;
    there's an air of promise, which is essential for a nation to grow up
    and be peaceful.
        In Iraq, everybody knows the decisionmaking process. If they don't,
    I'll remind them that after 9/11, another lesson is that you've got to
    deal with threats before they become real, which is part of the reality
    of the world we live in today. If we see a threat gathering overseas, we
    can't ignore it anymore. That doesn't mean every threat will be dealt
    with militarily. That's the last option. A Commander in Chief worth his
    salt is somebody who commits troops last, not first, and it was my last
    option.
        That's why I went to the United Nations and said, ``You've looked at
    the intelligence, the same intelligence we've looked at, and you've seen
    him to be a threat. I can understand why you
    think he's a threat. Not only does the intelligence say he's a threat,
    he used weapons of mass destruction. He's a man who was willing to
    murder his own people, the guy who paid suiciders to go to Israel to
    kill. He's a person who declared his hatred for America. He's a threat.
    Now, let's collectively deal with him.'' The United Nations said, ``You
    bet. We will.''
        The Security Council voted unanimously, and the message was loud and
    clear. It said, ``If you do not disarm, you will face serious
    consequences.'' When the American President speaks--and I echoed that
    sentiment--we must mean it, and I meant it. And he didn't disarm. Quite the contrary. Like he had for the
    past decade, he thumbed his nose at the free world. He was given all the
    chances in the world to disarm. He was given the chances not to deceive.
    He was given the chances to leave peacefully. And when he didn't, we
    acted with a coalition of the willing. And the world is better off
    because Saddam Hussein is no longer in power.
        Part of the war on terror is making sure that a free Iraq emerges. I
    want to be in office so I can work toward that moment. It's an historic
    opportunity. We should think about what the world will be like with a
    free and peaceful and democratic Iraq in the heart of the Middle East.

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    It's hard to envision right now because it hasn't been that way.
        There are a lot of people in the world who believe that certain
    societies can't self-govern. That's not what Americans believe. I told
    you, we believe freedom is in the soul of every human being. People long
    for freedom. It's not easy, though, to go from being tortured and maimed
    and a society where there is mass graves to a free society. It's hard
    work. It's really hard work. But Americans are used to hard work when it
    comes to a cause greater than ourself. And that's what we're doing, and
    we'll stay the course.
        As I said in this press conference the other night, it was a tough
    several weeks. I know it was. And a lot of families have suffered as a
    result of the sacrifice of their loved ones. But the sacrifice will make
    America more secure and the world peaceful and free. This is historic
    times.
        The story I shared the other day is one I'll share with you again.
    It's the one about visiting with Prime Minister Koizumi. And we were eating Kobe beef in Tokyo, and we were
    talking about North Korea. It turns out most of the world's problems
    ends up on the desk in the Oval Office, and there's one right there. And
    we were talking about how we could work together to convince the
    dictator in North Korea to disarm, to meet the demands of the free world
    that the Peninsula, Korean Peninsula be nuclear-weapons free. And it
    dawned on me in the course of our conversation that had we not gotten it
    right after World War II, I wouldn't have been having the conversation,
    or it's likely I wouldn't have been having the conversation, with Prime
    Minister Koizumi.
        And it was a refreshing moment when I thought about that. I thank
    the people who have preceded for having the vision necessary to set the
    conditions so that the American President and the Japanese Prime
    Minister could collaborate for world peace.
        And that's what we're doing now. During that dinner, I also thought
    about making sure we fulfill the mission we're on in Iraq so that an
    American President could ultimately sit down with a duly elected Iraqi
    leader and talk about how to make the Middle East more secure or how to
    deal with current security problems that might be affecting the security
    of the American people. These are historic times.
        The killers in Iraq want us to leave, and they do for a reason. They
    hate freedom. Freedom really troubles them. Free societies change the
    habits of men and women. Free societies lift the sights and hopes of
    people, and that scares the terrorists and scares the thug. And that's
    why you're seeing them react the way they are. We're not leaving. We're
    not leaving. When America says something, we've got to mean it. We said
    to the Iraqi people, ``We stand with you. We stand with you as you
    achieve your aspirations as free people. Nothing will shake our will.''
    The American President must mean what he says in order to make the world
    a more peaceful and free place.
        Because we acted in Iraq, there won't be mass graves. Because we
    acted in Iraq, Libya changed her behavior and is now voluntarily getting
    rid of weapons of mass destruction. Because we acted in Iraq, freedom is
    arising in the heart of the Middle East. Because we acted in Iraq,
    America is more secure and will be more secure in the years to come.
        We have great responsibilities as the country, and I look forward to
    explaining to the American people what I mean by that. We have a
    responsibility to lead the world toward peace. We have a responsibility
    to lead a coalition to fight terror. We have a responsibility to help
    those who hurt, and that's why I went before the Congress and asked them
    to join me in supporting a compassionate initiative to help fight HIV/
    AIDS in places like Africa or the Caribbean. With our power comes
    responsibilities to make the world a better place.

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    And I look forward to making my case to the American people that I
    understand that responsibility and look forward to assuming that
    responsibility on behalf of our people.
        Finally, one of the things that convinced me to go into politics in
    the first place is that Government has a chance to help change a
    culture. And the culture that I aspire for America is one that I call
    the responsibility era, where people know clearly that there are certain
    responsibilities that come with citizenship. If you're a mother or a
    father, you are responsible for loving your child with all your heart
    and all your soul. I like to remind people that in a responsibility era,
    that if you're a CEO in corporate America, you're responsible for
    telling the truth. There should be no doubt in your mind--the
    responsibility that it's not acceptable to change the books in a way
    that is illegal. In a responsibility era, education, for example, is
    that people have got to take responsibility for their schools.
    Government has got to be responsible for giving people more options in
    schools, by the way. But there's a responsibility that comes with making
    sure the education systems run well. There's a responsibility to love a
    neighbor just like you'd like to be loved yourself.
        And one of the responsibilities as President is understanding the
    strength of the country lies in the hearts and souls of the citizens.
    It's really not in the halls of our Government. See, that's not where
    the strength of the country is. It's in the souls of the people. And if
    you understand that, then you're able to utilize the great power of the
    Presidency to rally that strength, to call people to a higher calling.
        As I look around the room here, I see people who have done fantastic
    work about making the communities in which they live a better place,
    people who have heard the call to love a neighbor by supporting good
    education programs or good health programs, mentoring programs. Each of
    us has a responsibility, in my judgment, to help feed the hungry and
    house the homeless, love the lonely--part of being an American. And the
    President must understand that, that there's a responsibility to capture
    the American spirit and call people to a higher calling. And I look
    forward to doing that for 4 more years.
        I want to thank you for your help. This is an important election. A
    lot turns on the election. And I've got a reason for wanting to serve 4
    more years, and I appreciate you supporting me in that endeavor.
        God bless.

    Note: The President spoke at 1:40 p.m. at the River Club. In his
    remarks, he referred to Gov. George E. Pataki of New York; Mayor Michael
    R. Bloomberg of New York City; Mercer Reynolds, national finance
    chairman, Bush-Cheney '04, Inc.; Al Hoffman, finance chairman,
    Republican National Committee; Lew Eisenberg, New Jersey cochair, Bush-
    Cheney 2004; James Chao, father of Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao;
    Karen Hughes, former Counselor to the President; former President Saddam
    Hussein of Iraq; Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan; and Chairman
    Kim Chong-il of North Korea.