[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book I)]
[May 4, 2004]
[Pages 730-740]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Remarks in Maumee, Ohio
May 4, 2004
The President. Thank you. Thank you all very much. Thanks for
coming. Please be seated.
Audience member. Ohio is Bush-Cheney country!
The President. There you go. [Laughter] Thanks for coming. Nothing
better than having a good pancake for breakfast--except I didn't get
mine. [Laughter]
Audience member. Viva Bush!
The President. Vamos a ganar. That means, we're going to win. Gosh,
it's exciting to be here. I'm here because I want you to know I have a
reason to be your President for 4 more years. I see clearly where we
need to go as a nation. I have a positive vision for our country and the
world. I have a plan to win the war on terror and to spread freedom and
peace. I have a plan to make sure prosperity reaches every corner of
America so our citizens can realize the full promise of our country. I
have a plan to tap into the deep compassion of America so the lonely
will find help, so the children can be mentored, so that the hungry can
be fed. I have a positive, optimistic vision for our country.
I'm here to ask for your help. I'm here to help you--I'm here to ask
you to help me serve for 4 more years in the great country of America.
Here's the agenda. Together we can work together to make sure
America is safer, stronger, and better. And I cannot do it without your
help. And so, first, I want to thank my chairman. Bernie, thanks for
your leadership. Thanks for all the people who put on this fantastic
breakfast. I want to thank the grassroots activists who are here. I want
to thank those who are going to put up the signs. I want to thank those
who are going to go to the community centers, to the religious
congregations. I want to thank those who are going to go to your
neighbors, both Republicans, Democrats. I want you to thank those who
are going to go to the independents, and you remind them that we have a
positive vision that benefits all of America.
I'm sorry Laura is not here. Yes, I know. She
was on the bus trip yesterday but had to go back to Washington because,
like me, she is--she works for the country. She's got something to do.
She's got a scheduling conflict. [Laughter] But I tell you, she sends
her love and her best. She is a fabulous First Lady. One of the main
reasons to put me back in there--[laughter]--is so that Laura has 4 more
years as the First Lady.
I think when you're out there garnering the vote, convincing people
to show up to vote, make sure you remind them that I put together a
fantastic administration--good, solid Americans, people from all walks
of life who have served our country, put their country above self-
interest. I'm running with a fantastic man, a great Vice President in
Dick Cheney.
I one time said to a crowd--and my mother
was in the audience--I said, ``Dick Cheney is
the finest Vice President the country has ever had.'' [Laughter] Mother
yelled out, ``Wait a minute, buster!'' [Laughter]
I want to thank your Governor, who's traveled
with me today, Governor Bob Taft. I'm proud you're here, Governor. Thank
you for coming. I want to thank Congressman Paul Gillmor for being here today. Congressman, I appreciate you
coming. Larry Kaczala is with us, who is
going to be elected to the United States Congress. I'm proud he's here.
I know we got a lot of State and local officials. I'm proud you're here.
I appreciate you being here. I know there's some mayors here. I like to
give advice to mayors. When you're the President, you can take liberties
to give people advice. Fill the potholes. [Laughter]
[[Page 731]]
I appreciate everybody bringing their families. There's some people
bringing their families here. Go ahead and use me as a convenient excuse
to skip school. Just tell them the President said, give you an ``A.''
I'm here seeking the vote. See, I believe you have to ask for the
vote. I believe you've got to ask people for their help, and I believe
you've got to ask for the vote. I've come to this important part of Ohio
to say, ``I need your help, and I want your vote.'' I want your vote
come November the 2d. And with your help and with your vote, Ohio will
be Bush country once again, and I will be the President of the United
States.
I believe we've shown the country that I can put together an
administration that knows how to lead, an administration that can handle
the tough times, an administration that's steady and resolute, an
administration clear of vision. And it's important that we not only talk
about what has happened, but as importantly in a campaign, you talk
about what you intend to do. And that's what I want to share some time
with you today. I want you to tell your friends and neighbors, as we
seek the vote, as we garner support, that this administration has done
things. And the only reason we look past--to the past is to verify what
we're going to do in the future to make this country safer and stronger
and better.
I want you to know it's going to be a tough campaign. I'm under no
illusions, and I look forward to it. My energy level is high. My
enthusiasm for the job is strong. I have a deep desire to serve the
American people for 4 more years, but it's going to be a tough contest.
I'm fully aware of how tough it's going to be. I'm running against an
experienced United States Senator. He's been
there a long time. He's been there so long, he's just about on both
sides of every issue. [Laughter]
Ohio is going to be a contested State. He's
been here seeking endorsements. As you might remember, he claims to have
picked up some important endorsements from foreign leaders. [Laughter]
He just won't give us the names. [Laughter] He did drop a hint the other
day. He insisted--and here's what he said. ``What I said is true''--this
is my opponent speaking. He said, ``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 got a hunch this whole thing might be a
case of mistaken identity. [Laughter] Just because somebody has an
accent--[laughter]--and a nice suit and a good table at a fancy
restaurant in New York doesn't make them a foreign leader. [Laughter]
But whoever these mystery men are, they're not going to be deciding this
election. The American people will be deciding this election.
And the American people are going to have a clear choice in this
election. It's a choice between keeping the tax relief that is moving
this 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. And I look forward to making these choices abundantly clear
to the people of Ohio and the American people.
I know what it takes to win the war on terror. My most important job
is to make America a safer place. That's my most solemn duty, is to
protect us from an enemy that hates what we stand for. On September the
11th, 2001, disaster struck many families in our country and struck our
Nation. It made us realize that we're no longer immune from being a
battlefield in a new kind of war. It was an historic moment in our
country. It's necessary for the President to see clearly the challenges
that we face, to understand clearly the tasks.
My opponent and others believe this matter is
a matter of intelligence and law enforcement. I strongly disagree. See,
that was the attitude we had before September the 11th, after the World
Trade Center
[[Page 732]]
was attacked in 1993. They thought we could solve it with legal
indictments. Some people thought the matter had been solved, but the
enemy was plotting and planning and training. They served notice on us,
and we're now serving notice on them. We're not going to just serve them
with legal papers. We will use every asset at the disposal of the United
States Government to bring these killers to justice.
My most solemn duty, the most solemn duty of our administration is
to do everything in our power to protect the American people. We got
better intelligence sharing now. Our ports and borders are better
guarded. Airports are little harder to fly in. Heck, they're looking at
the shoes--[laughter]--but we want to know. It's our job. We have to be
correct 100 percent of the time to protect you. The enemy only has to be
right one time. So we've got a daunting task. And we're doing everything
we can to button up the homeland, but the best way to win this war on
terror is to stay on the offense, never relent, never yield, and bring
people to justice before they have a chance to harm Americans.
And we're making progress. We're slowly but surely dismantling Al
Qaida. I like to put it this way: There is no cave or hole deep enough
to hide from the justice of the United States of America and our
friends.
It's very important for the President of the United States to speak
clearly and, when he says something, mean what he says. In order to make
the world more peaceful and the world more free, when an American
President speaks he better speak with authority, clarity, and certainty.
And when he does speak, he better mean it. And so when I said to the
world, ``If you harbor a terrorist, if you feed a terrorist, if you hide
a terrorist, you're just as guilty as the terrorist,'' I meant exactly
what I said, and the Taliban found out.
The Taliban no longer exists in power in Afghanistan, and the world
is better off for it. America is more secure as a result of the actions
that we took, not just America but others. America and the world is
better off because the Taliban and their hatred and their barbaric ways
no longer are in power.
Equally as important, the people of Afghanistan are better off as a
result of the Taliban being out of power. I want you to remember--first
of all, see the movie ``Osama.'' It's an interesting portrayal, and it's
a sad portrayal of what life was like for a young girl in Afghanistan
under the Taliban. This child, of course, never had a chance to go to
school, never had a chance to realize her potential, was literally
enslaved by the barbaric behavior and attitude and ideology of these
backward people. Not only did we uphold a doctrine, not only did we make
America more safe and secure, this great, generous, compassionate
country liberated--liberated--people from the clutches of tyranny and
slavery, and I am proud of our Nation for doing so.
A President must understand that things changed on September the
11th and that when we see a threat overseas, it must not be allowed to
materialize. In order to do our duty to make America safer, we must not
take any threat for granted. We must never hope for the best. We must
never hope that somebody might change their attitude and therefore the
world will be more peaceful.
Listen, I saw intelligence, and it told me loud and clear that
Saddam Hussein was a threat. The Congress,
members of both political parties, looked at the same intelligence, and
they saw a threat. The United Nations Security Council looked at the
intelligence, and it saw a threat. The United Nations Security Council
voted unanimously and said to Saddam Hussein, ``Disarm, or face serious
consequences.'' They said that, and I believed it was necessary because
not only did we look at intelligence
[[Page 733]]
and saw a threat, we remembered his behavior. He used weapons of mass
destruction on his own people and on his neighbors. He had terrorist
ties. He was paying suiciders to kill innocent people in Israel. He was
a man who was a destabilizing influence in the world. He's a person who
hated what America stood for.
The United Nations Security Council acted. He defied once again. This wasn't the first time that he
had said to the world, ``I don't care what your demands are,'' and he
defied--my attitude is when you say something, you better mean it. When
you say, ``Disarm, or face serious consequences,'' the world, when it
speaks, better mean what it says in order to make the world more
peaceful. So I had a choice to make: Either to take the word of a
madman, a tyrant, a hater, or to defend America. And given that choice,
I will defend America every time.
Because we acted, torture chambers are closed. Because we acted,
there won't be any more mass graves. Because we acted, because we kept
our word, countries like Libya got the message and voluntarily disarmed.
Because we acted, democracy is beginning to rise in the heart of a
troubled region. Because we acted, the world is more peaceful, and
America is more secure.
There's hard work left to be done in Iraq, and like you, I mourn any
time an American soldier loses his or her life. It's an incredibly sad
moment for our country. I met with many families, and I've assured them
that their loved one will not die in vain, that the mission we're on is
an historic opportunity to make this country safer and the world more
peaceful.
Freedom is an essential part of my vision for the future, because I
know that free countries will be peaceful countries. I know that
freedom, when it takes hold in the Middle East, will change the Middle
East. The doctrine up to now has been for stability in the Middle East,
and look where it's got us. I think we have to have a different
strategy, a different vision, a different future, and that is to promote
freedom and democracy in the part of the world that desperately needs
freedom and democracy. See, freedom is not America's gift to the world;
freedom is the Almighty's gift to each man and woman in this world.
These are historic times. It's an historic opportunity. The Iraqi
people, of course, are watching very carefully. See, most Iraqis, of
course, want to be free. They want to live in a free society. Moms and
dads want to raise their children in peaceful settings so their children
can realize their dreams and fulfill their talents. That's what they
want. And they're watching carefully the United States. They're watching
to see how we react. They're watching to see whether we cut and run or
whether we're good for our word. They don't have to worry about me. I
don't care what the politics are. I don't care what the pressures are.
We will make sure that we fulfill our mission and Iraq is free.
Either Iraq will be a camp for terror and tyranny, or Iraq will be a
model for freedom and democracy. And I believe Iraq will be a model for
freedom and democracy, and the world will be better off.
I love to tell the story about my dinner with Prime Minister
Koizumi. He's the Prime Minister of Japan.
And Laura and I were visiting him in Tokyo, and
we were having Kobe beef, by the way. And we were talking about North
Korea. Amongst many of the topics we discussed, one of them was how to
make sure the Korean Peninsula--what we can do together to make sure the
Korean Peninsula is nuclear-weapons-free. It's a vital mission. There's
a tyrant in North Korea that wants to develop a
nuclear weapon. And I, of course, believe that we ought to work with
other nations to convince him not to have that nuclear weapon, and one
of those nations is Japan.
And it dawned on me in the course of the conversation that here I
was talking to the leader of a former enemy. My dad went to the theater to fight Japan in World
[[Page 734]]
War II. Many of your dads--I'm sure we've got some veterans here who did
the same thing--and here I am talking to the Prime Minister of Japan
about how to keep the peace. And it dawned on me, what happens if we had
gotten it wrong after World War II? Would I have been having this
conversation? And also I realized that when we get it right in Iraq,
some day an American President will be sitting down with a duly elected
leader of Iraq to discuss the threat of that era, about how best to
safeguard America and the world.
These are historic times. This is a time in which the world has an
opportunity to change for the better. America is leading the way.
America won't relent. We'll stay steadfast. We will not let thugs and
assassins shake our will. We will keep our promise to the Iraqi people,
and the world will be better off for it.
There's a different attitude in this race about foreign policy. My
opponent says he approves of bold action in the
world but only if other countries do not object. [Laughter] I believe in
forming alliances and coalitions. I understand how important it is to
share intelligence. I know how important it is to work together to cut
off finances that go to terrorists. I understand how important it is to
share the burden of fulfilling our mission, which we have done. There's
over--about 30 countries in Iraq that share the same vision we do. Now,
I'm for--all for united action, but I will never turn over America's
national security decisions to leaders of other foreign countries.
I have a vision to make sure that America is a strong country, and
that starts with making sure our economy is strong. In order for us to
be a leader in the world, in order for people to be able to realize
their dreams, this economy has got to grow. And I'm optimistic about the
future of this economy because I know what we have been through, and so
do you, in this part of Ohio.
Let me remind you right quick about the short-term history, the
economic history of our country. We've been through a recession. That is
a relatively long word for meaning we were going backwards, that there
was negative growth. Recession is a really tough time for families.
Recession is tough times for small-business owners. Recession is a
period of uncertainty. The stock market also started to decline in March
of 2000. That makes people feel pitiful--not pitiful--it makes them feel
more poor when you see your asset base drop, when you open up your
retirement accounts and all of a sudden, the value is less.
We started to recover from that. Then the enemy hit us, and that
affected our economy. It affected our national psyche, and it affected
the economy. Remember, we had to shut down Wall Street; airplanes didn't
fly. It was a traumatic time for the American economy.
We started to recover from that, and then we had some citizens who
failed us because they didn't tell the truth. They forgot what it meant
to be responsible in their work. There was corporate scandals. That
affected our economy. We passed tough laws. People are now being held to
account. We will not tolerate dishonesty in any boardroom in America.
And then I made the decision, as we just discussed, about securing
America and liberating Iraq. And as you might remember, on the TV
screens for a period of time it said ``March to War.'' That's not a
positive thought. It's a--if you're a small-business owner and you're
thinking about investing and you hear the country is marching to war, it
is a--it's the kind of thing that dampens enthusiasm for capital
investment.
But we've overcome all that. We're now marching to peace. But we've
overcome all that, and the economy is strong. The economy is getting
better. We're in a time of transition as well. The nature of the job
base is beginning to shift, which provides
[[Page 735]]
opportunity. But if you're somebody whose job is being transitioned, it
provides anxiety.
And I know there's a lot of people in this part of the State who are
anxious about their job future. I clearly understand that, but because
of the optimistic outlook of our society, because the entrepreneurial
spirit is strong, because we refuse to relent in the face of hardship,
this country--this economy is strong, and it is getting stronger. And
the people of Ohio are going to feel the economic vitality that's
occurring across the country.
I say that because in the month of March, there were 7,900 new jobs
created in Ohio--7,900 out of the 308,000 new jobs that were created in
the month of March. In other words, 7,900 in March in Ohio, part of the
308,000. In other words, the job picture is improving. It's getting
better. Economic vitality is strong. The first quarter growth rate was
at 4.2 percent. The economic growth rate over the past three quarters
has been nearly the fastest in two decades. Things are getting better.
The unemployment rate here has dropped from 6.3 percent to 5.7
percent. That's across the State of Ohio. I understand there are pockets
of frustration and disappointment. But one thing is clear--and by the
way, homeownership, the rate of homeownership is the highest it's ever
been in our Nation's history. In other words, things are improving. The
pro-growth, pro-entrepreneur agenda that we passed in Congress is
working. Tax relief has made a difference to the economy.
Tax relief means people have got more money in their pocket. Tax
relief means you've got more money to spend or save or invest. Tax
relief means there's an increase in demand for goods and services. And
in our society, when there's an increase of demand, somebody produces a
good or a service to meet that demand, and when that happens, somebody
is more likely to keep a job or find work.
The tax relief has made a huge difference in families, like
Jeff and Katie Seevers' family. Where are Jeff and Katie? There they are. Thank
you for coming. This good family--they've got three children. The tax
relief provided them $2,200 last year and $2,200 this year of additional
money for them to spend. I said--the other day I made a comment--I'll
probably say the same thing tonight in Cincinnati--that the growth in
our economy has shown that the American people are spending their money
far better than the Federal Government would have.
Jeff and Katie
can spend their money better than the Congress, in our opinion. It's the
cornerstone of our economic policy to trust them with their own money.
They said they're going to build a new playroom in their house. That's
good for the economy. In other words, they have made a different
decision than they would have had they not gotten the tax relief.
Somebody has got to build the playroom, unless old Jeff decides to do it
himself. [Laughter] But when he hires somebody to build the playroom,
somebody has got to buy the materials. When somebody buys the materials,
somebody has got to manufacture the materials. In other words, when he
makes a decision, it begins to ripple throughout the economy.
There are million of decisions being made in America as a result of
the tax relief that is encouraging economic growth and economic
vitality. Remember how the tax relief was structured. We said, ``If you
have a child, you're going to have your child credit increased.'' In
other words, we want people to be able to better raise their families.
We said, ``We're going to try to reduce the effects of the marriage
penalty.'' I mean, think about a Tax Code, by the way, that discourages
marriage. It's the wrong signal. We want to encourage families in
America. We want our families to be strong in this country.
We've created a 10-percent tax bracket to help people at the lower
end of the economic ladder. In other words, we expanded opportunities by
decreasing taxes
[[Page 736]]
on the American people, and that, of course, created a huge debate in
Washington. There are some up there that would rather have your money to
increase the size of Government. Our policy, our progrowth policy says
the way to make sure people can find work is to increase your ability to
spend your own money, your ability to make your own decisions with your
own money, and it's a difference in this campaign.
An important point--when you're out there gathering the vote,
explain to them our vision about economic growth. A lot of it has to do
with making sure the small-business sector of our economy is vibrant and
strong. An integral part of creating new jobs is to make sure the small-
business owner and the entrepreneur have gotten more resources to spend.
After all, 70 percent of new jobs in America are created by small-
business owners and entrepreneurs. They're a vital part of any economic
recovery.
So we did a couple of things in the tax relief package, in the
progrowth package to encourage small businesses to grow. First, we've
provided incentive for people to invest. In other words, when you
invest, the Tax Code says you get a little extra tax break because we
want people investing. We want people buying things. When a small
business buys a piece of equipment, somebody has to manufacture that
piece of equipment. And when somebody manufactures it, somebody is
likely to find--to keep a job, and/or, if there's enough orders, they're
going to expand the job base to make the new equipment that the small-
business owner is trying to buy.
The other thing we did--and it's very important for our citizens to
understand this--is that we cut the taxes on everybody who pays taxes.
See, the tendency is to say, ``Well, you're deserving tax relief, and
you're not deserving of tax relief.'' My attitude is, if you're going to
have tax relief, everybody ought to get tax relief, and so we cut all
rates.
Most small businesses are Subchapter S corporations or sole
proprietorships. That's legal terminology for meaning that small
businesses pay tax at the individual income tax rate. So when you hear
us talking about cutting all rates, I want you to connect that with
small-business vitality. If you're a sole proprietorship and a
Subchapter S, and all rates have been cut, it means you got more money
as small-business owner to expand your business. If 70 percent of new
jobs are created by small businesses, it makes eminent sense. It's
logical. It is important that the small-business sector of America
receive benefits from tax relief, which is precisely what we did.
Mike McAlear is with us. He runs a
manufacturing commission in Millbury. Where are you, Mike? There you go.
He is--this has been a family business. There's a lot of family
businesses. There's a lot of people who started their business in a
garage and passed it on from one generation to the next--another reason
we need to get rid of the death tax, by the way, is so he can pass his
assets on to whoever he wants to. Mike hired 13--last year, he hired 13
workers, because he's optimistic about the future. He's going to invest
$200,000 in new equipment. He'll save about $40,000 more because of the
tax relief package we passed. In other words, there was an incentive for
Mike to make the decision to buy $200,000 worth of equipment. He's going
to need workers to run that equipment.
So when you hear that Mike is optimistic
enough to hire 13 people, new workers last year and is thinking about
hiring workers this year, that's a good sign. It means tax relief is
working. It means there's a vitality alive here in the American economy.
The best way for people of this part of the world to find a job is to
make sure the small-business sector, businesses like Mike, are vibrant
and strong and able to compete and willing to hire new workers, and
that's precisely what's happening around America.
[[Page 737]]
This campaign is going to be based upon understanding whose money we
spend in Washington, DC, and how to make sure we're fiscally responsible
enough in Washington so we don't raise your taxes. See, the economy is
beginning to grow. The worst thing to do is to take money out of the
people's pockets. The worst thing to do right now is to raise the taxes
on the American people. I'm steadfast in my support of letting the
people keep more of their own money. I have a question about my
opponent's steadfastness, and I'll tell you why.
Thus far in the campaign, he's proposed over a trillion dollars in new
spending.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. That's a lot of promises, and we're just getting
started. I mean, we're 6 months away; there's no telling how much more
money he'll be putting out on the table.
[Laughter] And he said he's going to pay for it by taxing the rich.
That's an old slogan we've heard before, isn't it? Yes. But guess who
the rich is? That's you. Because there's not enough money when it comes
to taxing the rich to pay for all these promises. So my----
Audience member. Is he going to tax his wife? [Laughter]
The President. Behave yourself. [Laughter]
See, he laid out all these promises, and he
said he's going to do it by taxing the rich, but there's a huge funding
gap. Either he's going to break his promises on spending, which I doubt,
or he's going to raise your taxes, which I believe. And raising your
taxes right now would be an economic disaster for America. We're not
going to give him a chance to raise your taxes.
The job--the vision of this campaign is to make sure America is the
leader in the world when it comes to the economy. That's the vision. The
vision is to make sure we're the best place to do business in the world,
in order for people to find work. The vision is to put practical,
commonsense policies in place to make sure that we're on the leading
edge of change.
I tell you what's important, is to make sure that we've got good
tort reform in America. These frivolous and junk lawsuits make it
awfully hard for small businesses. We're for people being able to have
their day in court, but we fully understand the costs and the effects
and how difficult it is for small businesses and others to be able to
survive on the onslaught of junk and frivolous lawsuits.
Junk and frivolous lawsuits also affect the cost of health care.
When you're a doc and you're afraid you're going to get sued, you
practice defensive medicine, which runs up the cost to your health care.
And in some places, docs just decide to quit practicing medicine. We
need medical liability reform at the Federal level.
In order for people to be able to find work, we've got to make sure
that we have practical policies to control the cost of health care. If
you're a small-business owner, you're concerned about making sure your
employees have got health care. Association health care plans will
enable small businesses to better compete. In other words, what we're
saying is small businesses can pool their risk just like big businesses
can, so they can afford better health care for their employees.
We need health savings accounts so customers are the decisionmakers
in health care, not the Federal Government. The big debate in
Washington, DC, is who best to control the health care. We believe
consumers and patients and Americans ought to be the decisionmakers. Our
opponent believes it's the Federal Government that ought to be making
the health care decisions for America.
We've got to make sure we have an energy policy. Listen, if we want
to be competitive in the 21st century, if we want our workers to be able
to find jobs, we need an energy policy, an energy policy that encourages
conservation, an energy policy that encourages alternative sources
[[Page 738]]
of energy, an energy policy that promotes clean coal technology, an
energy policy that promotes safe nuclear policy, an energy policy that
encourages exploration of natural gas in our own hemisphere and our own
lands, an energy policy that makes us less dependent on foreign sources
of energy.
In order to make sure people are able to find work and America is
the leading country in the world when it comes to economic growth, we
need to promote an innovation society. We need to make sure we're on the
leading edge of innovation. I'm a strong supporter in research and
development. I believe there ought to be broadband technology in every
home by the year 2007. And shortly thereafter, there ought to competing
services so you get a better price and better quality. Broadband
technology is going to be one of the important parts about changing
America and to make sure we're on the leading edge.
But one of the things that's interesting, if you're the most
innovative country in the world and--one of the real challenges we face
is to make sure people are educated. You see, technology can race
through an economy and literally change how we do business and create
fantastic opportunities. But if people are not educated, if they don't
have the skills to fill the jobs of the 21st century, America will not
be the leading nation in the world.
We started by changing the whole way we run our public schools in
America. First, we haven't changed the decisionmaking process. Local
control of schools must be an integral part of any government policy
when it comes to public education. But for the first time, in return for
Federal money, mainly aimed at Title I students, the poorer students,
we're saying, ``Show us, Ohio, or any other State, whether or not the
children can read and write and add and subtract.'' You see, we believe
in high expectations. We believe every child can learn, regardless of
the color of their skin. We expect every child to learn.
We oppose a system which simply shuffles children through. In other
words, there are some places where, if your parent doesn't speak English
as a first language, the school says, ``You're too hard to educate.
Let's move you through.'' There's some school districts where a roomful
of inner-city kids are--``It's too tough to teach you to read. Let's
just move through.'' Those days are ended. We're challenging the soft
bigotry of low expectations. And if the schools don't perform, the
parents ought to have other options. And we're going to get it right
early. We're going to get it right early, before it's too late.
But the economy changes; there's older workers that need help. I've
got a robust plan to make sure that they get the training they need to
fill the jobs of the 21st century. Some manufacturing jobs are going
away. They're being replaced by high-tech jobs or jobs in the health
care field. And the challenge to make sure America is competitive is to
make sure those workers in the industries that are shrinking have an
opportunity to be retrained for the jobs of the 21st century.
It's happening all across America, mainly at community colleges. One
of the greatest assets we have in America and a part of my vision for
making sure we provide productivity training--where we increase the
productivity of our workers through training--is to use the community
college system to match employers who are looking for workers with
willing workers, so they get the skills they need to become a more
productive worker for higher pay and a better standard of living for
their families.
This is going to be a debate about the future of the country and the
future of our economy. A strong America means that we have a strong
economy today and are able to compete tomorrow. That's the whole debate.
It's essential that we reject economic isolationism. It's essential we
be a confident nation. Listen, most trade policy in the past has been to
open up our markets to foreign goods. That's good for
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consumers. You see, when you've got more products from which to choose,
you get better price and better quality. It's a market-oriented approach
to goods coming in. The problem is we haven't been opening up markets
overseas.
Listen, we're really good at things here in America. We're great at
growing things. We're great at manufacturing. We're great at high-tech.
Our policy ought not to be to wall ourselves from--off from the rest of
the world. Our policy is to be optimistic and confident and demand that
other countries open up their markets just like we have done for theirs,
and we can compete with anybody.
This is the way to make sure that our economy is strong and people
can find work. It starts with a philosophy: The role of Government is
not to create wealth; the role of Government is to create an environment
where the entrepreneur--the entrepreneurial spirit is strong, where
small businesses can grow to be big businesses. The role of Government
is to think out in the future. It is important that we reelect this
administration because we're pro-growth, pro-entrepreneur, pro-small-
business, and pro-worker in America.
Finally, let me talk about a better America. It's important to
understand--I think it's important for a President to understand where
the true strength of America lies. If you're the President, you've got
to understand the strengths of the country. And the strength of this
country is not our military, although I intend to keep it strong. And
for those of you who have got a loved one in the military, you tell them
the Commander in Chief is incredibly proud of their service to our
country.
The strength of the country is--``a'' strength of the country but
not ``the'' strength of the country is the fact that we're a wealthy
nation, and that's good. The strength of the country is the hearts and
souls of the American people. That's the strength of this country, when
you think about it.
It's important to have a President who understands that if we're to
have a hopeful future, it's important to understand the strength of
America, because the job of the President is to rally that spirit, is to
call people to serve their Nation by loving their neighbor just like
they'd like to be loved themselves.
Government is not a loving organization. Government is--to me,
Government is law and justice. Love comes from hearts and souls. Love
oftentimes is inspired from above. Love is an essential part of helping
solve some of the problems that seem impossible to solve. Amidst our
plenty, there is loneliness and hunger and people lacking shelter. But
those problems can be solved by rallying the armies of compassion, by
encouraging people to serve their Nation by loving their neighbor.
Scott Dietsch is with us today. Where are
you, Scott? Scott is a Big Brother in the Toledo area. See, he's taking
time out of his life to mentor a child. His ``little brother'' Lance
isn't here. He doesn't know his dad. Lance doesn't know his dad. Lance
has got--now, however, has been surrounded by love because of Scott.
Lance has had something happen in his life that's so incredibly positive
and hopeful and uplifting because Scott has stepped up and said, ``I
want to be a soldier in the army of compassion.'' Scott is taking time
out of his life. Here's what he says: ``It helps fulfill me,''--Scott's
words--``It helps fulfill me to know I'm doing something for the better
good. If I can change the route of one kid, at least I'll have done
something.''
That's the spirit of a compassionate, better America. You see,
together we change America one heart, one soul, one conscience at a
time. That's why I think it's so important for the Government to
encourage community-based and faith-based programs to flourish, to
encourage their creation, to say to the social entrepreneurs of America,
we welcome your works of kindness and compassion. We will not
discriminate against people of faith. We will
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stand side by side with people of faith as they perform their duty as
they see it, to make America a hopeful and compassionate place.
No, one of the key, important parts about this campaign for
President is to make sure that we have a better tomorrow--we not only
have a safer America, a stronger America, but a better America that will
enable each of our citizens to realize the God-given talents that they
have been given. And it is possible to do so because this--America's
strength, true strength, important strength is in the hearts and souls
of our citizens.
On September the 14th, 2001, I stood in the ruins of the Twin
Towers. It was an amazing day for me. I will remember--I remember
clearly a guy in a hardhat as I was walking through the rubble. He said,
``Don't let me down,'' and then people were shouting, ``Whatever it
takes.'' That's what they were shouting. And like we all did that day, I
took it personally, what happened to America. I have a responsibility
that goes on. I will never relent to bringing justice to our enemies. I
will defend America, whatever it takes.
I am here to ask for your help because I understand the task ahead
for the country. I see clearly where we need to go. We have a war to
win, and the world is counting on us to spread freedom and peace. We
have a duty to spread opportunity and hope to every part of this
country. That is the work that history has set before us. We welcome it,
and we know that for our country, the best days lie ahead.
Thank you for coming. May God bless you, and my God bless America.
Thank you all.
Note: The President spoke at 9:30 a.m. at a pancake breakfast at the
Lucas County Recreation Center. In his remarks, he referred to
Bernadette Restivo Noe, chairman, Lucas County Republican Party; Gov.
Bob Taft of Ohio; Larry A. Kaczala, candidate for Congress in Ohio's
Ninth Congressional District; former President Saddam Hussein of Iraq;
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan; and Chairman Kim Chong-il of
North Korea.