    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book I)]
    [April 5, 2004]
    [Pages 527-533]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at a Bush-Cheney Luncheon in Charlotte
    April 5, 2004

        Thank you all. Thank you all very much. Thanks for coming. Thank you
    all. Thanks for the warm welcome. Last time I was supposed to be here,
    it wasn't going to be so warm. [Laughter] And I want to thank you for
    your understanding about the mayor
    telling me not to come. [Laughter] He blamed it on the police
    chief. [Laughter] Actually, it was the right
    call. And I want to thank you all for your patience. Thank you for
    letting me come back.
        I generally try to stay on time. I'm running a little late. I met
    with some special people in order for me to--before I came over here, so
    thanks. There's nothing worse than a politician making people wait. I
    think I've got a pretty good excuse. I met with the family of a fellow
    who was killed in Iraq. It's part of my duty; it's part of my
    obligation. It was an uplifting experience to meet with a family that
    loves their country. I told the dad and the
    mom and the wife that
    we'd stay the course, we'd do what's right, and their son would not have died in vain.
        If you're noticing me working my shoulder a little bit, it's because
    after dinner I've got to go out and deliver a hopping fastball to open
    up the baseball season. I can't run very far--just hope I can throw 60
    foot and 6 inches. [Laughter]
        And the Vice President, by the way, is
    venturing out to the mound. He's been warming up. It turns out we don't
    need a radar gun on him either. [Laughter] Speaking about the Vice
    President, he's the finest Vice President our Nation has ever had.
    Mother heard me say that and said, ``Wait a
    minute, boy.'' [Laughter]
        I'm sorry Laura's not here. She's with her
    mother in Midland, Texas. We were both raised in Midland. She's helping
    her mom move out of her--the home she was raised in. Her mom is getting
    up in years, and Laura is doing her duty as a loyal daughter. Let me
    just tell you, this is a lady who's got her life in perspective. Her
    faith and her family come first. And I love her. She is a fabulous First
    Lady for the country. She sends her love. I'm going to see her tonight
    in Crawford. We're going to spend the Easter time in Crawford. I'm going
    to be working out at the Western White House, as we call it--the
    Southwestern White House. But I'll give her--you her best.
        I appreciate Thompson and Hance. Those boys delivered a fine introduction, didn't they?
    They are silver-tongued devils from--[laughter]--Charlotte. But I want
    to thank Ken and Jim for their leadership on this event. I'm proud to
    have you on my team. I appreciate you working so hard to make this
    fundraiser so successful. I appreciate Ed McMahan as well for being one of the event chairmen. Thank you
    for your help.
        I remember campaigning here and saying to the people of North
    Carolina that the best choice they had for the United States Senate was
    Elizabeth Dole, that she'd do a great job for
    the citizens of this State. And she has--really proud of the job
    Elizabeth is doing. She works hard. She's well versed on the issues.
    She's articulate. She's making a big difference, a big difference in a
    short period of time on the floor of

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    the Senate. I don't know about the company you're keeping there with
    Senator Faircloth, but--[laughter].
        I appreciate so very much my friend Congressman Cass
    Ballenger for joining us today. Thank you for
    being here, Cass. Sue Myrick, as well,
    the great Congresslady from this part of the world--thank you, Sue, for
    coming. Congressman Robin Hayes is with us
    today. Robin, I appreciate your friendship.
        And finally, the next United States Senator from the great State of
    North Carolina, Richard Burr. He'll be a good
    one. And I want him to win.
        I appreciate Pat McCrory, the mayor.
    The mayor's doing a fine job. He's a good fellow. I've known him a
    while, and he's doing a really good for the people. I thank all the
    State and local officials who are here.
        I want to thank my friend Jim Culbertson
    for his hard work, and Dr. Aldona Wos. I want to
    thank Ferrell Blount. I want to thank Jim
    Cain. I want to thank all my friends for working so
    hard to make this event a successful event.
        I appreciate Teresa Earnhardt being
    here. Teresa, thank you for coming. It's--going to Daytona 500 is--it's
    a pretty interesting experience, if you've never been there. And
    starting the race is even more interesting. It's--I want to thank the
    Earnhardt family for their--for being such great Americans.
        I want to thank Ric Flair, professional
    wrestler. He's with us today. Big Ric, I'm proud you're here. Thank you
    for coming.
        I want to thank the grassroots activists who are here. We won North
    Carolina last time. We're going to win it this time. And I appreciate
    your help.
        And I'm ready for the contest. I just want you to know I'm looking
    forward to it. I'm looking forward to campaigning. I'm looking forward
    to talking about what I intend to do. I'm looking forward to reminding
    people, in the last 3 years we've achieved great things. But most
    importantly, I'm looking forward to reminding people about our positive
    vision, a positive vision to win the war on terror, a positive vision
    for extending peace and freedom throughout the world, a positive vision
    for creating jobs and promoting opportunity and compassion at home. I'll
    leave no doubt where we stand, and we're going to win 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. We 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 we made it
    abundantly clear that we will not tolerate dishonesty in the boardrooms
    of America.
        We saw grief and war arrive on a quiet September morning, so we have
    pursued the terrorist enemy across the world. We've captured or killed
    many key leaders of the Al Qaida network. And the rest 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. 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.
        It is the President's job to confront problems, not to pass them on
    to future Presidents or future generations. A President needs to step up
    and make the tough decisions and keep his commitments. And that

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    is how I will continue to lead our great Nation.
        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.
        I finally got an opponent. [Laughter] I'm running against an
    experienced Senator who has built up quite a record. In fact, Senator
    Kerry has been in Washington long enough to take
    both sides of just about every issue. [Laughter] He voted for the
    PATRIOT Act, for NAFTA, for the No Child Left Behind Act, and for the
    use of force in Iraq. Now he opposes the PATRIOT Act, NAFTA, the No
    Child Left Behind Act, and the liberation of Iraq. He's been on both
    sides of so many big issues that if he could find a third side, I
    imagine he'd take it. [Laughter]
        Someone recently asked my opponent why he had
    voted against the $87 billion funding bill to help our troops in Iraq.
    Here's what he said--he actually said this, ``I actually did vote for
    the $87 billion, before I voted against it.'' [Laughter] End of quote.
    [Laughter] The President must speak clearly.
        We will have a clear choice in the campaign this year, the choice
    between keeping the tax relief that is moving our economy forward or
    putting the burden of higher taxes back on the American people. We'll
    have a 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 making that choice very clear.
        The other side hasn't offered much in the way of strategies to win
    the war or policies to expand the economy. 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.
        I look forward to taking on the big issues with optimism and
    resolve. I will make it clear that 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 the President, we have left more money in the hands
    that earned it. By spending and investing and to help 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. Economic growth
    is strong. America added 308,000 new jobs in March, the highest monthly
    job growth total in almost 4 years. And since August, our economy has
    added over three-quarter of a million new jobs. The second half of 2003,
    the economy grew at its fastest rate in nearly 20 years. Interest rates
    are low. Mortgage rates are low. Manufacturing activity is on the
    increase. Disposable income is rising. Homeownership is at an alltime
    historic high. The tax relief we passed is working.
        There's a clear difference when it comes to taxes. When we passed
    the tax increase in the child credit to help families, my
    opponent voted against it. When we reduced the
    marriage penalty, he voted against it. When we created a lower 10-
    percent tax rate for working families, he voted against it. When we
    reduced the tax rate on dividends that many seniors depend on, he voted
    no. When we gave small businesses tax incentives to expand and hire, he
    voted against it. When we passed a phase-out of the death tax, he voted
    against it. I think there's a pattern here. [Laughter]
        When tax increases are proposed, it's a lot easier to get a ``yes''
    vote out of him. Over the years, he has voted
    over 350 times for higher taxes on the American people, including the
    biggest tax increase in American history. He's 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.
    For that kind of money, he ought to at least throw in a free car wash.
    [Laughter]

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        My opponent proposes a lot of new Government
    spending, about $1.7 trillion at last count. And the campaign has just
    barely gotten started. He said he's going to pay for it by raising the
    taxes on the rich people. He's got a problem. See, to cover all the new
    spending, Senator Kerry would need to eliminate every single one of the
    tax reductions we've passed, and then he'd still have to raise taxes on
    top of that. The marriage penalty would go up; the child credit would go
    down; taxes on small businesses would rise. It turns out if you have a
    job, a child, or a dollar to spare, Senator Kerry thinks you're rich
    enough to pay more taxes. Fortunately, we're not going to give him that
    chance. Higher taxes now would undermine growth and destroy jobs. To
    help grow the American economy and to create more jobs, I have a better
    idea: We should make all the tax cuts permanent.
        And there is more we can do to make sure we maintain economic
    growth. We need spending discipline in the Nation's Capital. I have a
    plan to protect small-business owners and employees from frivolous and
    junk lawsuits. I have a plan to help control the cost of health care by
    giving people better access to association health plans and tax-free
    health savings accounts. And the Senate must pass medical liability
    reform in order to control the cost of health care.
        Rather than to wall ourselves off from the world, and rather than to
    listen to the economic isolationists, we need to level the playing field
    and open up more markets for North Carolina's farmers and ranchers and
    manufacturers and entrepreneurs.
        In order to make sure this country continues to grow and people can
    find work at home, we need an energy plan that encourages conservation,
    that makes our electricity systems more reliable, that encourages clean
    coal technology, that allows for exploration. This Nation must become
    less dependent on foreign sources of energy.
        These are ways to keep jobs here at home and to make sure the job
    base expands. But my opponent is against every one of these job-creating
    measures. Empty talk about jobs and economic isolationism will not get
    anybody hired. This country needs to reelect a pro-growth, pro-small-
    business, pro-entrepreneur President, George W. Bush.
        Our future also depends on America's leadership in the world. The
    momentum of freedom in our time is strong, but we still face serious
    dangers. Al Qaida is wounded but not broken. Terrorists are testing our
    will in Afghanistan and Iraq. We still face dangers in North Korea and
    Iran. 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, and
    today, no friend or enemy doubts the word of the United States. America
    and our allies gave an ultimatum to the terror regime in Afghanistan.
    The Taliban chose defiance, and the Taliban are no longer in power.
    America and our allies gave an ultimatum to the terror regime in Iraq.
    The dictator chose defiance, and now the
    dictator sits in a prison cell.
        September the 11th, 2001, taught a lesson I will never forget, a
    lesson America must never forget: America must confront threats before
    they fully materialize. In Iraq, my administration looked at the
    intelligence information, and we saw a threat. The United States
    Congress looked at the intelligence, and they saw a threat. The United
    Nations Security Council looked at the intelligence, 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 United Nations 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: either take the word of a madman, take the word of a
    man who had

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    used weapons of mass destruction on his own people, or take action to
    defend America. Given that choice, I will defend America 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. Because we acted,
    America is more secure.
        We still face thugs and terrorists in Iraq who would rather go on
    killing innocent people than accept the advance of liberty. And there's
    a reason why. They know that a free Iraq will be a major defeat in the
    cause of terror. They hate freedom. They can't stand the thought of a
    free society. And what they're trying to do is they're trying to shake
    our will. They're trying to shake the will of America. America will
    never be intimidated by thugs and assassins.
        We are on the offense. We will stay on the offense. We will
    aggressively strike the terrorists in Iraq. We will defeat them there so
    we do not have to face them in our own country. We're calling on other
    nations to help Iraq build a free society. They understand what we know:
    A free Iraq will make the world more peaceful. And we're standing with
    those brave Iraqi citizens who've endured Saddam Hussein and who now long for self-government.
        These aren't easy tasks. I understand that. But they are essential
    tasks. America will finish what we have begun, and 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 do not object. I'm all for united
    action, and so are our 34 coalition partners in Iraq right now. Yet
    America must never allow our national security decisions to be made by
    leaders of other countries.
        Some are skeptical that the war on terror is really a war at all. My
    opponent said this: ``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 plotting in other nations. They were 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.
        Our men and women in the military are taking great risks and doing
    great work. At bases across our country and the world, I have had the
    privilege of meeting 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 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, our
    religious congregations. These values and institutions are fundamental
    to our lives, and they deserve the respect of our Government.

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        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
    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, to be 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 judges who try to remake the values 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 got a problem, blame somebody else,'' to a
    culture in which each of us are responsible for the decisions we make in
    life. If you're fortunate enough to be a mother or father, you are
    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're responsible for telling the truth to your
    shareholders and your employees. And in the new 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 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. I'll never forget the day. There were workers in hardhats
    yelling at me, ``Whatever it takes.'' I remember walking a ropeline, a
    guy said to me, looked me right in the eye and said, ``Don't let me
    down.'' As we all did that day, these men and women who were 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, about our capacity to meet serious challenges or our
    willingness to serve a cause greater than self-interest. Americans gave
    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 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.
        Thank you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 12:32 p.m. at the Charlotte Convention
    Center. In his remarks, he referred to Mayor Pat McCrory of Charlotte,
    NC; Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Darrel Stephens; Ken Thompson and
    Jim Hance, event cochairmen; North Carolina State Representative W.
    Edwin

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    ``Ed'' McMahan; former Senator Lauch Faircloth of North Carolina; Jim
    Culbertson and Aldona Wos, North Carolina State finance chairs, Bush-
    Cheney '04, Inc.; Ferrell Blount, chairman, and Jim Cain, national
    committeeman, North Carolina Republican Party; and Teresa Earnhardt,
    chief executive officer and president, Dale Earnhardt, Inc.