    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book II)]
    [September 17, 2004]
    [Pages 2101-2113]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks in a Discussion on Women's Issues in Charlotte, North Carolina
    September 17, 2004

        The President. Thanks for being here. Go ahead and be seated. We've
    got some work to do here. [Laughter] Thanks for such a warm welcome here
    in the great State of North Carolina. It's nice to be back here. I'm
    here asking for the vote, and I'm here to ask for your help.
        Gosh, there's a lot of people back there. Can you hear me back
    there? [Applause] That's good. Thanks for coming.
        The first thing I'd like you to do is ask you to register your
    friends and neighbors to vote. And while you're doing that, don't
    overlook discerning Democrats like Zell Miller.
    And then after we get them registered to vote, when it comes voting
    time, head them to the polls and remind them if they want a safer
    America, a stronger America, a better America, to put me and Dick
    Cheney back in office.
        Listen, we've got an interesting way to talk about some issues
    today. One of the things you've got to know is, I've got a reason to run
    again. I'm asking for the vote because there's more to do to make this
    country a safer place and a better place for everybody, a more hopeful
    place for those of us who live here in America. And so I asked some of
    our fellow citizens here to share some ideas, or to discuss some of the
    ideas I have about a new term. I think you're going to find it
    interesting. I hope you do.
        Before I begin to talk with them about ways to make this country a
    more hopeful place, I do want to tell you that I lucked out when
    Laura said yes. One way to maybe look at this
    race is, you can judge the nature of a fellow by the company he keeps.
    I'm keeping great company when it comes to Laura Bush. I'm proud of her.
    Listen, when I asked her to marry me, she said, ``Fine, just so long as
    I don't have to give any political speeches.'' [Laughter]

    [[Page 2102]]

    I said, ``Okay, you won't have to give any speeches.'' Fortunately, she
    didn't hold me to my word. The other night the country got to see what
    I've seen in Laura for all these years: She's compassionate; she's
    decent; she's strong; she is a great mom, a wonderful wife, and a
    fantastic First Lady for our country.
        I want to thank my friend Elizabeth Dole.
    She's a great United States Senator for the State of North Carolina. I
    want to thank my friend Robin Hayes. I
    appreciate you being here, Congressman. I'm glad you're here. Nice to
    see you, sir. Congresswoman Sue Myrick,
    she's here. Thanks for coming, Sue. It's great to see you. Richard
    Burr, is he here? Where is he? Burr, how are
    you? I'm in town not only to talk about my race; I'm in town to talk
    about his race. He needs to be elected to the United States Senate.
        I want to thank Pat McCrory, the
    great mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina. Mr. Mayor, thank you for
    coming. Cherie Berry is with us today. We got
    some statehouse folks. We got Patrick Ballantine, the next Governor, with us today.
        I want to thank the grassroots activists who are here today. These
    people put up the signs and do the hard work. I want to thank you for
    what you have done and what you're going to do, which is, coming down
    the pike, turn people out to vote. We carried North Carolina last time,
    and with your help, we're going to carry it this time.
        I know Teresa Earnhardt is with us
    today. I'm proud you're here, Teresa. It's good to see you. Thanks for
    coming. There you are. Appreciate you being here. I was going to the
    NASCAR race in New Hampshire on Sunday, but I'm going down to help
    provide as much comfort as I can to the folks whose lives have been
    turned upside down by the hurricane that hit the coast so hard. I know
    it's affecting parts of North Carolina. We send our prayers to the
    people whose lives are being affected in your great State, and we stand
    ready to help when this storm passes through.
        I appreciate you all coming. Let me tell you something about what I
    believe. I believe Government should stand side by side with people, not
    try to tell people how to run their life. I believe the proper role of
    Government is to help people help themselves, not dictate to people.
    There's a fundamental difference in this campaign in philosophy of
    Government. And in the course of the next days coming down the stretch,
    people are going to see a clear difference.
        Today I also want you to understand I understand the world of ours
    is changing, and the fundamental systems of Government must change with
    the changing world. The Government of the--the society of ours has
    changed dramatically. For example, in the old days, women used to stay
    at home. Now they're staying at home and working; they're inside the
    house and outside the house. That's a fundamental shift in our labor
    market. And yet, the labor laws haven't changed. So we're going to talk
    about flex-time and comp-time today, to help women juggle the needs of
    work and family. We want the labor laws to be family-friendly here in
    America. We want them to adjust with the times.
        In the old days, you know, the dad or granddad worked for one
    company and one career, and today, people are now changing jobs and
    careers oftentimes. And yet, the worker training programs haven't
    adjusted with the times. If you've got a workforce where people are
    changing jobs often, you've got to have a worker training program that
    helps train people for the jobs which actually exist. And so we're going
    to talk about how to make sure the worker training programs here in
    America work.
        See, what I'm telling you is many of the systems of Government were
    designed for yesterday. I'm running for President to make sure they're
    designed for tomorrow--our tax system is designed for tomorrow, our
    health care systems are designed for

    [[Page 2103]]

    tomorrow, our pension plans are designed for tomorrow. I want to make
    sure Government helps people be able to realize their dreams here in the
    greatest country on the face of the Earth.

    [At this point, a portion of the President's remarks were missing from
    the transcript made available by the Office of the Press Secretary.]

        I already worked through one mike. [Laughter]
        In order to make sure there's a hopeful society, we've got to make
    sure this economy continues to grow. Now, when you're out gathering the
    vote, remind your friends and neighbors what this economy has been
    through. We've been through a recession. We've been through corporate
    scandals. That meant some people forgot what it meant to be a
    responsible citizen. We passed laws that now make it clear we're not
    going to tolerate dishonesty in the boardrooms of our country. And we
    went through that attack on our country on September the 11th, 2001,
    that cost jobs. It affected our economy.
        We're overcoming these obstacles. These are obstacles in the way for
    economic growth and vitality. We're overcoming them because we've got
    great workers, great farmers and ranchers, great small-business owners,
    and because of tax relief.
        The economy has added 1.7 million jobs since August of last year.
    The national unemployment rate is 5.4 percent, which is lower than the
    average of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. The unemployment rate here in
    North Carolina is 5 percent. The tax relief we--the economic stimulus
    plan we passed is working. And so the fundamental question is, how are
    you going to make sure this recovery is sustained economic growth? I'm
    going to talk a little bit about that, if you don't mind.
        First, we need an energy plan to make sure jobs stay right here in
    America. In order to make sure people can find work, this country must
    have an energy plan. I submitted one to Congress that said: We're going
    to encourage conservation; we'll use renewables like ethanol and
    biodiesel; we'll use clean coal technologies; we'll use technologies to
    explore in environmentally friendly ways for natural gas. But it's a
    plan that understands this: In order to make sure people can find work
    here in America today and tomorrow, we need to be less dependent on
    foreign sources of energy.
        In order to make sure we have jobs here in America, we need to do
    something about these junk lawsuits that are threatening small-business
    owners. In order to do something about making sure we got jobs here in
    America, we got to be wise about our regulatory policy. Many small-
    business owners fill out regulations. I can't guarantee you whether
    anybody in the Federal Government has ever read them. [Laughter] But I
    do know paperwork is costly.
        In order to make sure jobs stay in America, we got to have wise
    trade policy. Now, we've opened up our markets for foreign goods, which
    is good for the American consumers. If you have more choices in the
    marketplace, you're more likely to get the product you want at a better
    quality and a better price. So what I'm saying to other nations is,
    ``You treat us the way we treat you.'' That's why we were the first
    administration to invoke the China Textile Safeguard. That's why we were
    the first administration to file a WTO case against China. The message
    is clear: If you want to trade with us, you treat us fairly, because
    Americans can compete with anybody, anytime, anywhere, if the rules are
    fair.
        Two other things I want to tell you about in order to make sure jobs
    are here. See, I've got a six-point economic plan to make sure the
    recovery that we're witnessing is a lasting recovery, so people can
    realize their dreams here in America. Listen, a hopeful society is one
    not only that changes fundamental systems to help people, but it's one
    in which the economic vitality is strong enough for people to be able to

    [[Page 2104]]

    find work or start their own business or have a chance to realize their
    dreams.
        Now, we got to be wise about how we spend your money in Washington
    if we're going to make sure this economy continues to grow. Here's my
    view of things. We're going to set priorities, and then we're going to
    let you keep as much money as we possibly can. Because once the Federal
    Government meets those priorities, I think you can spend your money
    better than the Federal Government can.
        To make sure this economy grows, we got to keep your taxes low.
    We're going to talk to a small-business owner here in a minute, a woman-
    owned business. One of the most amazing--one of the most important
    changes that has taken place in this changing world is that there are 10
    million women-owned businesses here in America. What a phenomenal change
    in society, isn't it?
        I think tax policy ought to encourage the formation of women-owned
    businesses, and I think tax policy ought not to harm women-owned
    businesses. Do you realize most businesses today--small businesses are
    Subchapter S corporations or limited partnerships, which means they pay
    tax at the individual income-tax level? So when you cut individual
    income taxes, you're really helping small businesses. You're helping
    women-owned small businesses.
        I think raising taxes on small businesses would be a mistake. It
    would hurt our economy. I'm running against a fellow who's promised $2.2 trillion in new Federal spending so
    far, and we haven't even got to the stretch run yet. So they said, ``How
    are you going to pay for it?'' He said, ``Oh, that's simple. We'll just
    tax the rich.'' You run up the top two brackets of the individual income
    taxes, you're taxing about a million small businesses here in America.
    Seventy percent of new jobs in America are created by small businesses,
    and you're taxing the job creators.
        That doesn't make any economic sense. You've heard the talk before,
    haven't you, ``We're just going to tax the rich.'' Yes. The rich hire
    accountants and lawyers, so you get stuck with the bill. You can't tax
    the rich enough to pay for $2.2 trillion of new spending. There's a tax
    gap. And guess who gets stuck with that tax gap? You do. But we're not
    going to let him tax you, because we're going to
    win in November.
        Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
        The President. Okay. Thank you. We've got work to do here.
        Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
        The President. We've got a little work to do. Thanks. I told you one
    of the most amazing statistics is the fact there's 10 million small-
    business owners. I think, in the State of North Carolina, I think 45
    percent of the small businesses are owned by women. That is an
    incredibly hopeful statistic, isn't it? It's a fantastic statistic. See,
    when I talk about a changing world, that's what I'm talking about.
        And so we got one of those entrepreneurs with us today. Stewart
    Gordon is with us, a businessowner, The
    Buttercup, Inc. What do you do?
        Stewart Gordon. We're a gift and
    stationery shop, and we started 29 years ago, five women with an
    investment of $500 each--only in America.
        The President. Wait a minute. You're obviously still in business.
        Ms. Gordon. We are. We're still going
    strong.
        The President. Do you have employees?
        Ms. Gordon. We have 37 talented women
    that work with us. We own our own building, and we have a good time.
    It's a nourishing environment, not only for us, our staff, but also for
    our customers. We are true ``steel magnolias.'' So with determination
    and a little hard work, The Buttercup is strong.
        The President. Good. The Buttercup is a Subchapter S corporation.
    That means they pay tax at the individual income-tax level, and so when
    you hear them coming

    [[Page 2105]]

    out of Washington saying, ``Oh, we're just going to tax the rich,'' keep
    The Buttercup in mind. See, when they run up the top two brackets,
    companies like The Buttercup get affected. And if they start taking
    money out of The Buttercup's coffers, it's less likely the women who
    work there are going to be able to keep their jobs.
        How many people did you hire this year, do you know?
        Ms. Gordon. We hired six.
        The President. Six people. See, that's what's happening in the
    economy. Six people hired by this small business here, six there. This
    economy is growing because the small-business sector is strong. Tax
    policy ought to help women-owned business, not hurt women-owned
    businesses. Let's talk about flex-time, do you want to?

    [Ms. Gordon made further remarks.]

        The President. See, Federal labor law--[applause]--hold on for a
    minute--labor law prevents there to be maximum of flex-time. The labor
    law is stuck in the past. It was written when women stayed at home. The
    world has changed. We've got women now working in the house and out of
    the house, like I said, and that's good for our economy. But the labor
    laws need to adjust to allow moms to be able to juggle the needs of the
    workplace and the family. I'm running again because I want to change
    systems of Government that prevent people from realizing their dreams.
        If you make it easier for a mother--or a father, for that matter--to
    be a good mom or a dad, it's more likely they're going to be a better
    employee and have a higher quality of life.
        Good job. Are you ready? Yes, she's ready. Frances, you're ready. My old buddy Frances. We met before.
        One of the things we've changed is to change this concept of
    Government--getting people dependent upon Government. We changed welfare
    laws in a more compassionate way, as far as I'm concerned. We made the
    system more compassionate so as to help people realize their dreams.
        And Frances Cunningham is with us--my
    old buddy, right?
        Frances Cunningham. I'm here.
        The President. Until I asked her to
    come on the stage. [Laughter] Mother of two.
        Ms. Cunningham. Yes. Can you hear me?
        The President. Oh, yes, they can hear you loud and clear.

    [Ms. Cunningham made brief remarks.]

        The President. You're doing good.
        Ms. Cunningham. Thank you.
        The President. Frances is a great
    story, you know. She was on welfare. They have a great welfare
    department here. They said, ``Let's help--let's help somebody help
    themselves.'' That's what I'm telling you about. We're changing systems
    so people have a chance to realize dreams.
        Now what she's saying, she wants to
    go to the next level. Hopefully, somebody is listening out there in the
    camera that says, ``Wait a minute, maybe Frances could make a''----
        Ms. Cunningham. And I have been
    promoted on my job, and it just opened up a lot of doors for me. And I'm
    sure a lot of women out here understand, you know, when you have to
    depend on the Government to help you, that is fine for a while--to help
    you get your life in order. And it's been great. And I just encourage
    business to just help one another and help people and help us to become
    better citizens out here and mothers and fathers, you know?
        The President. That's good. You're doing great. Listen,
    she has the hardest job in America,
    though. I want you to know she's got the toughest job in America--a
    single mother is the toughest job in America. And we need to help. And I
    appreciate you. You did great.
        I want to talk to Kema Jenkins. We're going
    to talk to Kema right now----
        Ms. Cunningham. Can I say one more
    thing?

    [[Page 2106]]

        The President. Absolutely. You've got the mike, and it's still on.
        Ms. Cunningham. I just want to thank
    my supervisor.
        The President. Where is your supervisor?
        Ms. Cunningham. That's her, right
    there.
        The President. Good job. Thanks for coming.
        Ms. Cunningham. She's been very
    supportive.
        The President. Appreciate you being here.
        Ms. Cunningham. Give her a handshake
    for me.
        The President. Handshake right now? Well, let me finish the thing
    here. [Laughter]
        Ms. Cunningham. Okay. All right.
    Thank you. And Mr. Jacobson, he's not here, Department of Social Service
    director. He's been like a mentor.
        The President. That's good. See, people can make a difference in
    somebody's life. We can change one America one heart and one soul at a
    time if somebody just takes time out of their life to love a neighbor
    like you'd like to be loved yourself.
        Are you ready, Kema? I told you one of the
    real challenges we have is to help people have the skills necessary to
    fill the jobs of the 21st century. We've got a really interesting story
    here in Kema Jenkins. She is a--she's a good soul who--well, tell us.
    You used to work for?
        Kema Jenkins. A textile company. That is
    now----
        The President. Yes. You don't want to say its name? No? Okay.
    Pillowtex--I will. [Laughter]

    [Ms. Jenkins made brief remarks.]

        The President. Let me--if I can help say what you just said. Look,
    the Government needs to help people gain the skills necessary to fill
    jobs. I know what it's like here with the textile industry, and so do
    you. It's been hit hard. But the amazing thing about your economy is
    that it is diversifying. There are health care jobs available. And the
    Government, I think, has a responsibility to help people like
    Kema gain the skills necessary to fill the jobs
    of the 21st century.
        Nobody likes jobs going away. But there's new opportunity. In a
    changing economy like ours, there are new opportunities for people. When
    an economy changes, it certainly creates dislocation, and I understand
    that. And that's not good. But what is good is that jobs are replaced
    with higher paying jobs so long as the people have the skill set
    necessary to fill the jobs. And that's what we're talking about here.
    Women need help. If they get laid off from work, they need help. That's
    why I'm such a big believer in the community college system, in helping
    people go back and gain the skills.
        You can't say--Government can't pass a law that says Kema has got to go back to school. She's got to make up her
    own mind. She said, ``I want to embetter myself,'' and ``Is there a
    place to find help?'' I think it's a legitimate use of your taxpayer--of
    your money, is to help somebody like Kema be able to realize dreams in
    the workplace.
        Now, let me ask you something. One of the interesting things about
    education--I didn't see you all over there; that's the end zone. Okay,
    never mind.
        One of the interesting things about education is that as you
    increase your skill level, you increase your productivity. It means
    you're a more productive worker. And when you become more productive,
    you make more money. One of the interesting things about a changing
    economy is that our workers are more productive than ever before. That
    means instead of using a hoe, you use a backhoe. Or instead of using,
    you know, a regular old standard typewriter, you use a computer. In
    other words, that's an example of becoming more productive.
        But that creates a challenge for us. It creates a challenge for us
    in our society

    [[Page 2107]]

    because the more productive workers become, the faster the economy has
    to grow so people can find work. That's why my six-point plan is
    essential to making sure people in a productive world can find work.
        So you worked there for Pillowtex for a while and--so what's the
    difference in pay? I'm not--maybe not exactly numbers. More, less, same?
        Ms. Jenkins. I'm going to be making more
    this year than I've made the past 21 years at Pillowtex.
        The President. Yes. See, that's the great opportunity for women.
    It's the great opportunity for women in the workplace. If you can help a
    person with the skill set necessary to work, help them become more
    productive, they make more money. She's making
    more money in the beginning of a new career than she made at the end of
    her other career.
        And that's what's happening all around America. That's why it's
    important for us to change fundamental systems to help women--and men,
    for that matter--realize their dreams. And that's what we're talking
    about. It's helping people. It's a difference of philosophy. As opposed
    to saying, you know, ``You will be dependent on Government,'' or, ``You
    will do this, or you will do that,'' my philosophy says, ``Can we help
    you, and can we help you help yourself.'' In a changing world, helping
    people help themselves creates a more hopeful America.
        Let me talk about health care right quick. It's an issue in this
    campaign. There is a fundamental difference between what I believe and
    my opponent believes when it comes to health
    care. I believe the best health care decisions are made by doctors and
    patients. I believe it is essential that the Federal Government does not
    run your health care.
        And I put out some practical plans to help people. Do you know that
    about 50 percent of the working uninsured work for small businesses? And
    the reason why they're uninsured is because small businesses have
    trouble purchasing affordable health care for their employees. And yet,
    most small-business owners want to purchase affordable health care for
    their employees. I see a lot of the women businessowners here nodding.
    They--the best way to help small businesses and their employees and
    their families is to allow small businesses to pool together, to bind
    together across jurisdictional boundaries so they can buy insurance at
    the same discounts that big businesses get to do.
        Those are called association health plans. My opponent is against them. I think they make a lot of sense.
    Government should help people solve problems. The--health savings
    accounts are a very interesting way for people to save money when it
    comes to health care and to help small businesses afford insurance for
    their employees. Health savings accounts are basically catastrophic
    plans with a high deductible and that the employer and employee
    contribute, based upon the contractual arrangement, tax-free money into
    an account. So, in other words, if you've got--say, the insurance
    company will pay for everything over $2,000, you cover from zero to
    2,000 either as a contribution to your employee or the employee puts it
    in, and it's your money. And if you spend the 2,000, you replenish next
    year. If you spend nothing on your health care because you're a good
    exerciser, you make good choices, you've been lucky, things went well,
    that 2,000 is your money. It earns interest tax-free. You carry it over
    from one year to the next, and then you've got a nest egg for the next
    year.
        And basically what it says is, it says that people make decisions on
    health care, not some faceless bureaucrat. It means that you've got a
    chance to control this health care plan. In a changing world, people
    change jobs and careers quite often, which means you take your health
    savings account with you wherever you go.
        To make sure health care is available and affordable, we're going to
    spend some money to make sure that children who are eligible for the
    low-income health programs

    [[Page 2108]]

    at the government level get signed up. See, there's too many of the kids
    not signing up what they call SCHIP. It's a good program, and we ought
    to encourage families to take advantage of the low-income health
    programs for our children.
        I also want to tell you another interesting idea. Actually, we're
    doing it right now. To make sure health care is available for all of us,
    we're going to expand community health centers. Now, community health
    centers are places where the indigent and the poor can get primary care
    and preventative care. It's a good use of your money to expand community
    health centers. It's better that people get this kind of care and get
    this kind of care at a community health center and not in an emergency
    room of a local hospital. And so, in a second term, we will expand
    community health centers to every poor county in America.
        Two other things on health care I want to talk about--want to talk
    about Medicare. I went to Washington to fix problems, not pass them on
    to future Presidents and future generations. We had an issue in
    Medicare. We had an issue in Medicare. A lot of senior women were
    affected by a Medicare system that hadn't modernized. People say, ``What
    are you talking about?'' I say, ``Well, Medicare would pay for the
    $100,000 for the heart surgery but would not pay for the prescription
    drugs that might prevent the heart surgery from being needed in the
    first place.'' That didn't make any sense. It didn't make any sense for
    Medicare recipients. It didn't make any sense for taxpayers.
        And so we're modernizing the system. They've got drug discount cards
    now available for our seniors. I urge our seniors to look at the drug
    discount card. People are having great savings when it comes to
    prescription drug coverage, particularly our poor seniors, because we're
    helping them with the purchase of drugs. In 2005, there will be
    preventative screenings paid for by Medicare for the first time ever in
    the system. It helps us solve problems by diagnosing problems early. And
    in 2006, our seniors will get prescription drug coverage, and the system
    makes sense.
        And finally, we've got a healer with us today, a doc, Andrea
    Torsone. One reason why it's hard for small
    businesses to afford health care, one reason why your health care costs
    are going up, one reason why docs are becoming less available for people
    is because these junk lawsuits are beginning to hurt the health-care
    industry significantly. If you're a doctor and you're getting sued all
    the time or your neighbor is getting sued all the time, you're going to
    practice defensive medicine so that you can defend yourself in a court
    of law. That costs--practicing of defensive medicine, in other words,
    you're prescribing more than you need to do; you're just doing the extra
    X ray here or extra test there--that costs the Federal Government $28
    billion a year, to practice defensive medicine. I mean, there is a
    direct correlation between these lawsuits and the cost of Government.
        We need to do something about it. Too many good docs are leaving
    practice. Too many women are having trouble with keeping their ob-gyn,
    particularly the ob part of the ob-gyn. And they're getting run out of
    business. I've talked to too many women who are pregnant, and they don't
    have their local doc because the local doc had to surrender the practice
    due to the high cost of premiums caused by lawsuits. And that's not
    right. That's not right. Good health care for women and good health care
    for every American depends on having a legal system that is reasonable.
    We need medical liability reform--now.
        And this is an issue in this campaign. This is an issue in this
    campaign. There's a fundamental difference of opinion. See, I don't
    think you can be pro-doctor and pro-patient and pro-hospital and pro-
    trial-lawyer at the same time. I think you have to choose. I think you
    have to choose. My opponent made his choice, and
    he put a trial lawyer on the ticket.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!

    [[Page 2109]]

        The President. I made my choice. I'm standing with the docs and
    patients. We're for medical liability reform in this campaign.
        All right, Doc. You are a--what kind of
    doc?

    [Andrea Torsone made brief remarks.]

        The President. See, this is a problem. Here is a kind, compassionate
    soul who is obviously talented and went to
    school because she wanted to deliver babies. And the cost of doing
    medicine is so high because of lawsuits that she no longer does so. It's
    just one less person to help a woman, and it's--we got a national
    problem with this issue. She said her premiums have gone up 300 percent
    in a very brief period of time. That's because it's like a legal lottery
    out there, and you just keep filing these lawsuits, one after another.
    And it's happening, State after State. Good people are saying, ``I'm
    through. I wish I could practice. I wish I could heal. I wish I could
    help, but I can't afford it anymore.''
        And this is a living example of why we need medical liability reform
    in Washington, DC. Listen, I believe that this is a national issue. I
    believe it is a national problem. And I know it's causing our budgets to
    go up, and that's why I submitted a plan to the House and the Senate. It
    passed the House. It's stuck in the Senate because there's too many
    trial lawyers in the United States Senate.
        I also want to share some thoughts with you about my most important
    duty, which is protect you and your children. That's the most important
    duty I have. Let me share some lessons I've learned from September the
    11th.
        One, we face an enemy that has no conscience. They--it's hard for us
    to understand people that will kill for the sake of an ideology of
    hatred, but they do. And therefore, you cannot negotiate with these
    people. You cannot hope for the best. You cannot sit down and maybe
    think, ``Well, gosh, there's a chance we can rationalize with them.''
    You cannot. And that's why our strategy in this Government is to find
    them in places around the world so we do not have to face them here--is
    to bring them to justice in foreign lands. [Applause] Okay, hold on a
    second. Thank you all, but not yet.
        Secondly--I've got more than one lesson to share with you. Secondly,
    this is a different kind of struggle. It's a different kind of war.
    There are places where these people can hide and wait and plan. And
    therefore, I laid out a doctrine which said, ``If you harbor a
    terrorist, you're just as equally--you're just as guilty as the
    terrorist.'' Now, when the President says something--hold on for a
    second--when the President says something, he better mean what he says
    in order to make this world more peaceful. I meant what I said. I meant
    what I said.
        The Taliban ignored what we said. And thanks to a lot of really
    fine, fine soldiers, the Taliban is no longer in power in Afghanistan.
    And we're better off for it. The world is safer for it, and so is
    America. No longer does Al Qaida have a safe haven. See, these people
    are like parasites, and they try to find a weak host so they can
    eventually kind of become the host. And as a result of removing the
    Taliban from power, we're safer. These Al Qaida no longer have safe
    haven there. There's still some hiding in remote regions of that part of
    the world, and we're after them. Day after day, we're slowly but surely
    dismantling the Al Qaida network. Seventy-five percent of their leaders
    and associates have been brought to justice. Over the next 4 years,
    we'll continue to keep the pressure on. That's our duty to the American
    people.
        But I also want to tell you what else happened in Afghanistan. This
    is a country where many young girls didn't get to go to school. When I
    talk about ideologies of hate, I'm talking about people that would not
    allow girls to be educated. That's part of an ideology of hate. Their
    mothers were taken to the squares of that country and

    [[Page 2110]]

    whipped or killed in some cases, in the sports stadium, because they
    would not toe the line of this dark ideology. That's the way these
    people think. There is no freedom, in their view. As a matter of fact,
    freedom frightens them, freedom of thought, freedom of religion, freedom
    of speech.
        Today, in Afghanistan--this is 3 years ago, which really isn't very
    long, when you think about it--3 years after these people were
    brutalizing much of that society, 10 million citizens, 41 percent of
    whom are women, have registered to vote in the upcoming Presidential
    election. Isn't that fantastic? Think about that. This is a society
    which has gone--which is going from darkness to light because of
    freedom. And we're better off for it. We're better off that Afghanistan
    is a free country. It helps us to have an ally in the war on terror
    there, as opposed to a place where the terrorists can hide.
        Third lesson is that we must take threats seriously before they
    fully materialize. That's one of the lessons of September the 11th. It's
    a harsh lesson, but it's one we must never forget. Prior to September
    the 11th, planners and thinkers in Washington, DC, could see a threat
    and say, ``Well, we don't have to worry about it because it could never
    come and hurt us.'' That's what we thought. It wasn't that way during
    the cold war, admittedly, but we had a plan, mutually assured
    destruction. But after the cold war, we thought we were safe, didn't we?
    If you really think about the time, 3 short years ago, we felt like we
    were protected. And so when we saw threats we could decide to deal with
    it if we wanted to deal with it or not. After that day, every threat
    must be taken seriously.
        In Saddam Hussein, I saw a threat. I saw
    a threat because he was a sworn enemy of the United States of America.
    He was our enemy. As a matter of fact, they were firing missiles--he was
    firing missiles at U.S. aircraft enforcing the world's sanctions. We had
    been to war with Saddam Hussein before. He had been to war in his
    neighborhood. In other words, he was a destabilizing influence. He had
    terrorist ties. Abu Nidal killed Leon Klinghoffer, if you remember.
    Remember that incident? The guy was in Baghdad, as were people in his
    organization. Zarqawi, the beheader,
    was in and out of Baghdad, and he had a poisons network in Iraq. He was
    a terrorist. Saddam Hussein paid the families of suicide bombers.
    Suicide bombing is a terrorist activity. He had terrorist ties. He also
    had the capability of making weapons of mass destruction, and he had
    used weapons of mass destruction. And the intelligence I looked at and
    the intelligence Congress looked at said he actually had them there.
        So I saw a threat. And I went to the United States Congress and
    said, ``We got an issue here that we're going to have to deal with.''
    Members of the Congress of both political parties looked at the very
    same intelligence I looked at--the very same intelligence--and they
    remembered the same history I remembered, and they concluded that Saddam
    Hussein was a threat and authorized the use
    of force. My opponent looked at the same
    intelligence I looked at, and when they said, ``Do you authorize the use
    of force,'' he voted yes.
        Before the Commander in Chief commits troops into harm's way, before
    the Commander in Chief looks a mom or dad in the eye and says, ``I'm
    sending your son or daughter into harm's way,'' we must have tried all
    options--all options. And I was hopeful diplomacy would solve this
    problem. I was hopeful that we could diplomatically deal with the
    threat. And so I went to the United Nations, said, ``We see a problem.''
    They looked at the same intelligence I looked at. They remembered the
    same history I remembered, and with a 15-to-nothing vote in the United
    Nations Security Council, they voted to tell Saddam Hussein, ``You disclose, disarm, or face serious
    consequences.''

    [[Page 2111]]

        Now, I told you when I say something, you better mean it if you're
    the President. I think when international bodies speak, they better mean
    it as well. And they said this. Saddam Hussein, as he had for resolution after resolution after
    resolution after resolution, ignored this one. He wasn't about to
    disclose, disarm. So he didn't believe there would be serious
    consequences, I guess. As a matter of fact, when they sent inspectors
    in, the U.N. sent inspectors in, he systematically deceived them. And I
    knew he was deceiving them. So I have a choice to make at this point in
    time: Do I take the word of a madman and forget the lessons of September
    the 11th, or take action to defend our country? Given that choice, I
    will defend America every time.
        Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
        The President. Okay, hold on.
        Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
        The President. Thank you all. Thank you all.
        A couple of other things I want to share. Let me share some other
    things with you right quick. We didn't find the stockpiles we thought we
    would find, the stockpiles that everybody thought was there. But I do
    know that he had the capability of making those weapons, and he could
    have passed that capability on to an enemy. And that's a risk we could
    not afford to take after September the 11th. Knowing what I know today,
    I would have made the same decision. The world is better off with Saddam
    Hussein sitting in a prison cell, make no
    mistake about it.
        Prime Minister Allawi is coming here next
    week. He's a tough guy who believes that Iraq should be free. And he
    cares about the hopes and aspirations of the Iraqi people. He is--I'm
    looking forward to meeting him. I think he's coming to speak to the
    Congress--I hope I didn't let the cat out of the bag. Everybody knows
    that? Okay, good. [Laughter] Hope he knows it. [Laughter] I'm looking
    forward to the American people hearing him. It's important that we hear
    from someone there on the ground who believes that people want to be
    free, believes that the people of Iraq really want to be free.
        Here's our strategy in both Afghanistan and Iraq. We're going to
    help the Iraqis hold elections. The Afghan people are holding their
    elections soon. There will be free elections in Iraq in January of this
    year. People want to vote. People want to participate. We're going to
    help train Iraqi police and army so they can defend themselves against
    the few who are trying to stop the dreams of the many in that country.
    We'll help them, and we're making progress. We're making progress. It's
    tough. Of course it's tough, because there are killers there who are
    trying to shake our will and shake the will of the Iraqis. It's tough on
    the Iraqi citizens. These people are indiscriminately killing because
    they want to cause us to leave, and they want the Iraqis to grow weary
    of trying to be a free society. Listen to Allawi. He'll talk about what it means to be free.
        Once we get these folks trained and get them on the path to
    stability and democracy, our troops are coming home with the honor they
    earned. And I appreciate those in the United States military. I'm proud
    you all are here.
        Here's the fourth lesson I want to share with you. The fourth lesson
    is, when we put troops in harm's way, they deserve the full support of
    the Federal Government, full support. That's why I went to the Congress
    and asked for $87 billion of support for our troops. And this is
    important funding, really important funding. As a matter of fact, it was
    so important that there was wide bipartisan support in the Senate and in
    the House. As a matter of fact, when I say ``wide bipartisan support,''
    I'm talking only 12 Members of the Senate voted against the funding, 2
    of whom are my opponent and his
    runningmate.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!

    [[Page 2112]]

        The President. When you're out rounding up the vote, when you're
    rounding up the vote, remind people of this fact. Only four Members of
    the Senate voted to authorize the use of force and then voted not to
    fund the troops, two of whom are my opponent and
    his runningmate.
        Now, you might remember, when they asked him,
    they said, ``Why,'' and he said, ``Well, I actually did vote for the $87
    billion, before I voted against it.'' There's not a lot of folks in
    Charlotte, North Carolina who speak that way, I can assure you.
        We've done hard work. We've done hard work. Because of the hard work
    we've done, this world is becoming more peaceful. I believe in the
    transformational power of liberty. That's what I believe. It's the heart
    of much of what I think, is because I believe liberty can change enemies
    to allies and change distressed societies to hopeful societies. I like
    to share with people my feelings about Japan. You know, Prime Minister
    Koizumi is a friend of mine. I like him.
    He's a good guy to talk to. And he is the Prime Minister of a country
    with which we were at war during my dad's
    lifetime. After all, he was there, as was your dads and granddads. Think
    about that. It wasn't all that long ago that Japan was the sworn enemy
    of the United States of America. We were fighting them. Young men went
    off to war, and a lot didn't come back.
        And yet, after World War II, Harry Truman and other American
    citizens believed that if Japan became a democracy, the world would be
    better off. And that was hard work, really hard work. You can imagine
    why. You can imagine the moms here saying, ``What do you mean, working
    with Japan to make a democracy? They just killed--caused great harm.''
    And yet, there was this unshakeable faith that liberty could change
    societies. And as a result of that unshakeable faith of a prior
    President and citizens of this country, I now sit down at the table with
    Prime Minister Koizumi talking about
    keeping the peace. Think about that.
        Someday, an American President, whoever he or she may be, will be
    sitting down with a duly elected leader of Iraq talking about how to
    keep the peace in the greater Middle East. And our children and
    grandchildren will be better off for it.
        Liberty can change societies. Free societies are peaceful societies.
    Free societies help change the world. I believe everybody longs for
    freedom. And I believe this not because freedom is America's gift to the
    world; I believe it because freedom is the Almighty God's gift to each
    man and woman in this world.
        I'm here today to let you know I have a reason to seek the office
    again. I'm running to help transform systems of Government so people can
    realize their dreams. I'm running again to continue to lead so this
    world will be a safer place. I'm running again because I want to help
    spread the peace we all want. I'm running again because I have great
    faith in the American people and have great faith in the values that
    make us a great nation. I know where I want to lead. And I want to thank
    your help--for your help in helping us get there. With your help, we'll
    win a great victory in November of this year.
        God bless. God bless you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 4:01 p.m. at the Charlotte Merchandise
    Mart. In his remarks, he referred to Senator Zell Miller of Georgia, who
    made the keynote address at the 2004 Republican National Convention;
    Representative Richard Burr of North Carolina, senatorial candidate in
    North Carolina; North Carolina Commissioner of Labor Cherie Berry; North
    Carolina gubernatorial candidate Patrick Ballantine; Teresa Earnhardt,
    chief executive officer and president, Dale Earnhardt, Inc.; senior Al
    Qaida associate Abu Musab Al Zarqawi; Prime Minister Ayad Allawi of the
    Iraqi Interim Government; and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan.

    [[Page 2113]]