    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book II)]
    [September 24, 2004]
    [Pages 2200-2212]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks in a Discussion on Education in Janesville, Wisconsin
    September 24, 2004

        The President. Thank you all for coming. Thanks for coming. I'm
    proud you're here. I appreciate you coming. Please be seated. Please be
    seated. We've got a little work to do. I'm here to tell you why I'm
    running for President again. First, I'm here to tell you I'm asking for
    your vote and your support.
        I'm really pleased to be back in the State of Wisconsin. It's a
    fabulous place you got here. What a wonderful State. The people are kind
    and generous and hardworking. It's--Laura and I
    love coming. Speaking about Laura, I wish she were here with me. No, I
    know, she's out campaigning. A lot of times they say, ``Well, I'd rather
    you stay home, President, and let Mrs. Bush come.'' [Laughter] But I can
    understand the logic.
        It's a true story--when I said, ``Laura, will
    you marry me,'' she said, ``Fine, just so long as I never have to give
    any speeches.'' [Laughter] I said, ``Okay.'' Fortunately, she didn't
    hold me to the promise. People in the country got to see her speak in
    New York a while ago. They saw a compassionate, strong, decent woman in
    Laura Bush. I love her dearly, and I'm really proud of her. I like to
    tell people, I'm going to give you some reasons to put me back in for 4
    more years, but perhaps the most important one of all, so that Laura
    will be First Lady for 4 more years.
        I'm proud of my runningmate, Dick Cheney.
    He's working hard. I tell people he doesn't have the curliest hair in
    the race. [Laughter] I didn't pick him because of his hairdo. [Laughter]
    I picked him because of his experience and judgment. I picked him
    because he can get the job done for the American people.
        I'm proud of Paul Ryan. I'm proud of working
    with your Congressman. He's a good, solid man, I'm telling you. He's
    smart, capable. He's a good thinker. He married well in Janna. [Laughter] He keeps bugging me to come to his
    congressional district as often as possible, and now I know why. It's a
    beautiful part of the world.

    [[Page 2201]]

        I know Dave Magnum is with us. I wish him
    best in his run for the United States Congress in the Second
    Congressional District. Good luck. Tim Michels
    was with us. I think he spoke and left to go campaign.
        Listen, I want to thank all the local officials who are here and all
    the grassroots activists. I want to thank you face to face for what
    you're going to do, which is put up the signs and make the phone calls
    and head the people to the polls and register people to vote. And let me
    tell you something, when you're registering people to vote, don't forget
    discerning Democrats like Zell Miller. There's a
    lot of Democrats out there, a lot of independents out there who want
    this country to be safer and stronger and better, and they know that
    Dick Cheney and I can get the job done.
        Today when we landed, I met Tami Doetch.
    Where are you, Tami? Somewhere--oh, there she is. Good. Thanks for
    coming. She was at the base of Air Force One, right there at the steps.
    I'll tell you why she was out there. She is a teacher at Wilson
    Elementary School, right here in Janesville, Wisconsin. She won the
    Department of Education's American Stars of Teaching award. Let me tell
    you, that's a long--those are long--that's a long phrase for saying,
    she's a really good teacher. She's an excellent teacher. She embodies
    the spirit of the education reform we passed. She's willing to challenge
    the soft bigotry of low expectations. She understands, if you have low
    expectations for the children, you'll achieve lousy results. If you
    raise the standard, if you raise the sights, if you have excellence as
    your goal and you believe in using curriculum that works and you're
    willing to measure to determine that which you're using is working, you
    can achieve excellence in the classroom. And that's why Tami Doetch is
    here. I want to thank you for your compassion. I want to thank you for
    teaching.
        We're closing an achievement gap here in America. See, we measured
    and determined that some kids weren't learning, and it just wasn't
    right, when you think about it. Think about a system that just shuffled
    kids through. That's a system that's not hopeful, as far as I was
    concerned. And so we're measuring early; we're solving problems before
    they're too late. And an achievement gap is closing in America, and
    we're not going to turn back to the old days. We're not going to turn
    back to the old days of not expecting the best for every single child in
    America. We're making great progress toward excellence.
        As you can see, I've been joined by some of the citizens from this
    fine community. We're going to talk about education. But before we do
    that, I want to talk about a couple of other things. First, I want you
    to understand, I know that we live in a changing world. And it's
    important for Government systems to change with that changing world.
    When I say ``changing world,'' listen, there are a lot of women who now
    work inside the home and outside the home. But the labor laws were
    designed for yesterday. See, I believe we ought to change labor laws so
    that women and moms can have flex-time and comp-time, so they can
    balance family time with work time and do their job--be able to do both
    jobs.
        In the old days, a person would have one job and one career for
    their entire lifetime. Today, people change jobs often and careers
    often. And yet, the worker training programs don't reflect the changing
    times. We're going to talk about worker training here in a minute. The
    pension plans, for example, were designed for yesterday. Now, look, if
    you're on Social Security, nothing is going to change. I don't care what
    they tell you in the course of this campaign. You're going to get your
    check. You know how it goes every time campaign season comes around. You
    might remember what happened in this State 4 years ago during that
    campaign time. People were--said, ``If Bush gets elected, you're not
    going to get your Social Security check.'' It didn't happen, did it?

    [[Page 2202]]

        Audience members. No-o-o!
        The President. Yes, you're getting your check, and you're going to
    continue to get your check. Now, baby boomers, we're probably going to
    get our checks too. It's the younger kids we've got to worry about. It's
    the children and the grandchildren. We need to be thinking about
    tomorrow, not yesterday. I believe younger workers ought to be able to
    take some of their own money and set up a personal savings account to
    make sure the Social Security system fulfills its promise to a younger
    generation of Americans.
        The health care system needs to change. People are changing jobs. If
    they're changing jobs, the system ought to help them design insurance
    programs they can take job to job and call their own. That's why I'm for
    health savings accounts. Health savings accounts is a tax-free way for
    workers to set aside money, or workers' employee--employers to set aside
    money that they can count--they call their own. So they're the
    decisionmaker.
        There's catastrophic care in there for the worker, as well as a
    savings account. And if they don't spend that money on routine health
    costs, it's theirs. They can carry it from year to year, and generation
    to generation. It makes sense. It's a commonsensical plan, particularly
    if you think the Federal Government should not be running health care.
        And that's where we have a difference in this campaign. It's a big
    difference in this campaign. The fellow I'm
    running against believes that the Federal Government ought to be making
    your decisions. That's what he believes. We just have an honest
    difference of opinion. Everything we're going to do is to make sure the
    decisionmaking is between patients and doctors, not by bureaucrats in
    Washington, DC.
        Several other points I want to make on health care right quick. One,
    we're going to take care of the poor in this country. I believe we have
    an obligation to do so. That's why I'm for community health centers.
    Community health centers are where the poor and indigent can get
    preventative care and primary care, as opposed to emergency rooms in
    local hospitals. We need to have community health centers in every poor
    county in America.
        We're going to make sure our States access the children's health
    care programs for low-income families. We're going to make sure
    technology helps wring out some of the costs in health care. But do you
    realize 50 percent of the working uninsured work for small businesses?
    Now, think about that--50 percent of the working uninsured are employed
    by a small business, which means small businesses are obviously having a
    problem affording health care.
        What I think ought to happen is small businesses ought to be allowed
    to pool risk across jurisdictional boundaries so they can buy health
    care at the same discounts that big companies can buy health care. That
    means the decisionmakers are the health care--the decisionmakers are the
    small-business owners and the employees. My opponent has a different view. He thinks we ought to be expanding
    Government programs. I just fundamentally disagree. We've got a
    practical, commonsense way to deal with health care cost and
    availability. And one practical, commonsense way is to get rid of these
    frivolous lawsuits that are running good docs out of business.
        You can't be pro-doctor, pro-patient, pro-hospital, and pro-trial-
    lawyer at the same time. [Laughter] I think you have to choose. My
    opponent made his choice, and he put a trial
    lawyer on the ticket. I made my choice. I am
    for medical liability reform--now.
        At the heart of many of my programs is the concept of owning
    something. I think you can get a--you know, younger workers can own
    their own part of the Social Security system, an account they call their
    own; people can own their own health care plan they can take from job to
    job. One of the most hopeful statistics in a changing world is the fact
    that more and more people own

    [[Page 2203]]

    their own home. Think about that. The homeownership rate is at an
    alltime high under my administration. I love the idea that more and more
    people are opening up their front door where they live, saying,
    ``Welcome to my home. Come in to my piece of property.'' A part of a
    hopeful society is to encourage ownership, and we will continue to do so
    over the next 4 years.
        Part of a hopeful society is also--is to making sure the economy
    grows. Now, when you're out rounding up the vote, remind people what we
    have been through, and we've been through a lot. First of all, the stock
    market started to go down prior to my arrival in Washington, DC. It was
    the beginning of signs to come, because right after Dick Cheney and I got sworn in, we headed into a recession, three
    quarters of negative growth. And those were tough times for people. I
    know they were tough times. I know it's a tough time for small-business
    owners and workers. It's tough times when people are wondering whether
    or not there's stability in their lives.
        We started to get--we really started to get our feet back on the
    ground, and then we ran into another problem. Some of the CEOs in
    America forgot what it meant to be a responsible American. See, a
    responsibility society says, you'll tell the truth. They didn't tell the
    truth. We passed tough laws. It's now abundantly clear, we're not going
    to tolerate dishonesty in the boardrooms of America.
        And then we got hit. Then we got attacked. And those attacks cost us
    jobs. It hurt. It hurt in a lot of ways. I'm going to talk about what
    the attacks meant a little later on in terms of keeping the peace, too,
    and defending ourselves. But they hurt, and we're overcoming those
    obstacles. Our economy is strong. It's getting stronger. It's strong and
    getting stronger because we've got great workers in America. We've got
    fantastic entrepreneurs and small-business owners. We've got great
    farmers, many of whom live right here in the great State of Wisconsin.
    We created 1.7 million new jobs since August of '03. Things are getting
    better. We're overcoming the obstacles. The national unemployment rate
    is 5.4 percent. That's lower than the average of the 1970s, 1980s, and
    1990s. The unemployment rate in your State is 4.8 percent. People are
    working, and that's a good sign.
        So the fundamental question is, how do we keep this prosperity
    going? We've recovered. We've recovered not only because we're good
    workers, good, hard people--good hard-working people, and we've got
    great entrepreneurial spirit, we've recovered, as well, because of tax
    cuts. Those tax cuts helped.
        And so here's how we keep the prosperity going: One, we reduce the
    regulations and the cost of lawsuits on the people of this country that
    are employing people. The more lawsuits there are, the harder it is for
    people to be able to find a job. That's just the way it is. The more
    regulations there are, meaningless regulations, the harder it is for
    people to find work in America.
        In order to make sure jobs stay right here in this country and
    people can find work, we need an energy policy that encourages
    conservation; that renews--uses renewable sources of energy like corn
    through ethanol, and biodiesel as a result of soybeans; that uses
    technology to use coal in an environmentally friendly way; that allows
    us to explore for environmentally friendly ways for natural gas by use
    of technology. What I'm telling you is this: I've submitted a plan to
    the United States Congress--it is stuck--that will make us less
    dependent on foreign sources of energy and, in return, means people will
    be able to find work here at home.
        There's another way to keep jobs here, is to encourage trade, is to
    reject economic isolationism. I know it sounds easy to say, well, jobs
    will stay here if we just wall ourself off from the rest of the world. I
    disagree. I strongly disagree. See, I think what we ought to be doing is
    opening up

    [[Page 2204]]

    markets for U.S. products. We open up our markets for other people, and
    that's good for you as a consumer. See, if you've got more products to
    choose from, you're likely to get that which you want at a better price
    and higher quality. That's how the marketplace works. That's why
    Presidents of both political parties said, we're going to open up our
    markets for the sake of consumers. What I'm saying to places like China
    is that you treat us the way we treat you. You open up your markets so
    that we have a chance to compete. Because the American farmer, worker,
    entrepreneur can compete with anybody, anytime, anywhere, if the rules
    are fair.
        Finally, one other point I want to make is that if you expect jobs
    to stay here at home, we've got to be wise about how we spend your money
    in Washington, DC. We got to be fiscally sound about using your money,
    and we've got to keep your taxes low. Running up your taxes right now
    will hurt this economic recovery, make no mistake about it.
        We have a difference of opinion on taxes in this campaign, and I
    want you to remind your friends and neighbors about the difference. It
    starts with this: My opponent has promised over $2.2 trillion in new
    Federal spending--so far. [Laughter] And that's a lot of money for a
    fellow from Massachusetts. [Laughter] So they
    said, how are you going to pay for it? And his answer is this: He said,
    ``We're going to tax the rich.'' Now, you've heard that before, haven't
    you?
        We're about to talk to the so-called rich here in a minute, because
    about a million small businesses will have their taxes raised because
    they're Subchapter S and limited partnership. See, many small businesses
    pay tax at the individual income-tax levels. As a matter of fact, 90
    percent of all small businesses pay tax at the individual income-tax
    level. So when you talk about running up the taxes on individuals,
    you're running up the tax on job creators, because 70 percent of the new
    jobs in America are created by small businesses. That's bad economic
    policy to tax the job creators, real bad.
        Secondly, you can't raise the top two brackets and raise enough to
    pay for $2.2 trillion worth of new spending. Now, maybe this is the
    first campaign in the history where a campaign promise is broken before
    the election. [Laughter] Or there's a tax gap. There's a tax gap. Given
    my opponent's record, I suspect he wants to spend
    the money. And there's a tax gap. And guess who always gets to fill the
    tax gap? You do.
        Finally, you've heard the rhetoric before, as well, and you know
    that the so-called rich hire lawyers and accountants for a reason--
    that's to stick you with the bill. That's what happens every single
    time, isn't it? We're not going to let him tax
    you. We're going to carry Wisconsin, and we're going to carry this
    country next November. [Applause]
        Okay, no, no, we got work to do here. Hold on. I'm still telling you
    why I'm running. [Laughter] See, I think you've got to tell the people
    what you're going to do. I think you've got to come to the people and
    say, here's my vision, here's what I intend to do for the country. You
    can't decide to run for the sake of holding the office. You've got to
    tell the people what you intend to do. That's what I did the last time I
    ran. I did what I said I was going to do, and now I'm telling you what
    I'm going to do the next 4 years. [Applause]
        Hold on for a minute, please, please, please. Thanks. Everybody
    likes to be cheered, but wait a minute; I got something to tell you.
    [Laughter] A changing world means that the nature of the job--the jobs
    change. That's what we're talking about here. Think about that. Jobs
    change in a changing world, and therefore, one of the fundamental
    challenges we have is to make sure that people have the skills necessary
    to fill the jobs of the 21st century.
        One idea of what I'm talking about is this: In North Carolina there
    was a healthy

    [[Page 2205]]

    textile industry for years. The textile industry became uneconomic.
    There was better competition. They got beat, and jobs started to get
    lost. At the same time, however, the health care industry started to
    grow; that was strong and viable. And there was a lot of health care
    jobs available, really good-paying health care jobs. As a matter of
    fact, better paying jobs in the health care field than there were in
    the--in some of the earlier North Carolina industries. And yet, there
    was a skills gap. And what we're here to talk about today is how to make
    sure people have access to good education and good worker training
    programs so people can match their desire to work with the skills
    necessary to hold the jobs of the 21st century.
        So here are some ideas. Here are some ideas. First, we're going to
    double the number of workers who are trained through the Worker
    Investment Act. We've got a great--a wonderful concept coming out of
    Washington, but we're not training enough workers with the money we
    spend. Therefore, we need to consolidate programs, strip away
    bureaucratic rules, get more money to States and community colleges.
        Secondly, we're going to utilize our community colleges to make sure
    people have the skills necessary to fill the jobs of the 21st century.
    I've laid out a quarter-billion-dollar initiative for my '05 budget to
    help good community colleges develop the curriculum and recruit the
    students necessary so people can find work.
        Third, we're going to talk about dual-enrollment programs here
    today. I think we ought to spend money at Washington, DC, to encourage
    high school students to go to both community college and high school at
    the same time. It's good for the student. It's good for the workforce.
    Third, I think we need to expand Pell grants. We've done so, so long as
    I've been the President. We've expanded Pell grants by a million
    students, since I've been the President of the United States, from 4.3
    million to 5.3 million students. We upped the grant level of Pell
    grants.
        But here's two new ideas. One is to reward students who take
    vigorous high school courses, with an extra $1,000 on their Pell grant.
    We ought to say, look, if you qualify for Pell grants, go ahead and take
    tougher courses in high school, math and sciences, which will be needed
    to fill the jobs of the 21st century, and we'll pay you extra money. It
    seems to make sense to me. I don't know if you know this, but Pell
    grants aren't for year-round schooling. That doesn't make any sense. If
    a student wants to go year round to school, the Pell grant ought to stay
    with the student. We ought to fund year-round schooling for Pell grant
    students. So there's some ideas to help people be able to go to college.
        New loans--we ought to provide loans for workers for short-term
    training. You can't get loans, student loans today unless you meet
    certain criteria, and the criteria prevents short-term worker training.
    I think we ought to provide loans for people who want to go back to
    school to get retrained. And I know we need to increase access to higher
    education in rural and urban areas by eliminating financial aid rules
    that discourage distance learning.
        What I'm telling you is this: Listen, the world we live in is
    changing. Jobs are changing. People are learning more over the Internet.
    We've got to be wise about how we spend your money, to reflect the
    changing times. The workforce rules ought to reflect tomorrow, not
    yesterday. Our community college systems ought to be supportive because
    they're good for helping the students get the skills for the jobs of
    today, not yesterday. What I'm telling you is that I've got a vision
    that recognizes we're living in a changing world and we're going to use
    our assets in wise ways to make sure America is a hopeful place for
    everybody.
        So here's who--our first guest, Dr. Eric Larson. Welcome.

    [[Page 2206]]

        Eric A. Larson. Thank you, Mr. President.
        The President. Yes. So, what do you do?
        Dr. Larson.  I'm the president of
    Blackhawk Technical College here in Rock County and also in Green
    County.
        The President. Good. Everybody heard about it? [Applause] It's a
    good sign, everybody's heard about it. [Laughter]
        Dr. Larson.  They have. We know that one
    in nine people in our counties has had a contact from our college.
        The President. Oh, good. That's good. So, tell us--listen, you've
    got some great programs. Tell them what the programs are.

    [At this point, Dr. Larson made brief remarks.]

        The President. Yes, listen. Let me--just listen real quick. This is
    why I'm such a big believer in community colleges. Some places of higher
    education have a little trouble changing their curriculum. [Laughter]
    Not to say their curriculum is bad, it's just they don't change.
    Eric just said that, our curriculum changes
    with demand. If a business needs help training workers for a job
    expansion program, they design the curriculum along with the business,
    as I understand it.
        Dr. Larson.  That's correct. We work with
    the business. They will sit at the table with us as we develop that
    curriculum.
        The President. It's pretty good for the community, by the way, to be
    able to say, we've got a community college. If you've got a--if you're
    bringing jobs here and you're worried about your workers being trained,
    bring them here, because our community college is a great place to have
    your workers trained. We're adjustable. We're flexible. We're
    affordable, and we are available when it comes to community college
    education.
        What else? Give me some other--give us some other things. You've got
    dual enrollment?
        Dr. Larson.  We do. We have a dual-
    enrollment program where we have high school students coming to us from
    the Janesville public schools, and Blackhawk Technical College is
    offering the instruction. And one of our major health care operators
    here in town offers a facility for them. Obviously, this isn't a health
    care area. We train certified nurse assistants while they're in high
    school. When they graduate from high school, they have their college
    certificate to take a job as a CNA.
        The President. Right, they've got an opportunity to find a job
    immediately or an opportunity to move on to a more advanced degree. But
    it happens while they're in high school. It seems to make a lot of sense
    to me, doesn't it? I mean, you ought to be giving everybody ample
    opportunity to be able to take advantage of education as it exists. And
    that's what's happening here at Blackhawk.
        Jessica Palmer is with us.
        Jessica Palmer.  Hi. [Laughter]
        The President. You ready to go?
        Ms. Palmer.  Yes.
        The President. Okay, so you are how old?
        Ms. Palmer.  I am 19 years old.
        The President. Good. Went to high school where?
        Ms. Palmer.  Craig High School in
    Janesville.
        The President. You also went to----
        Ms. Palmer.  Blackhawk Technical College.
        The President. When? [Laughter]
        Ms. Palmer.  In my senior year of high
    school.
        The President. How about it? Amazing, isn't it? First, you've got to
    understand, you can't pass a law in Washington that says,
    Jessica, you will be an ambitious person--
    [laughter]--or you will take advantage of opportunities available to
    you. The role of Government is to make opportunity available, not to
    dictate to people, not to tell them how to live their lives, but to say,
    here's your chance so you can realize your dream. That's the fundamental
    difference of philosophy we have, by the way.

    [[Page 2207]]

        Okay, so you went to Blackhawk at the same time you're going to high
    school. Now, what was that like?
        Ms. Palmer.  It was pretty hard, but the
    school district let me get out of school early in order to do my
    schedule. I went to school at Blackhawk three nights a week.
        The President. Three nights a week. Good. Less TV, more study.
    That's good. [Laughter] So you were studying to be what?
        Ms. Palmer. Ultimately, a registered
    nurse.
        The President. Ultimately, a registered nurse. Listen, there's great
    opportunities in the health care field, I'm telling you. Remember I told
    you about the North Carolina story? You know, we wept for the textile
    workers down there, and then we were joyous when we saw them get jobs in
    the health care field. The health care field is expanding, and it
    requires a certain skill set. And Jessica is
    learning the skill set early.
        So what were you--so what did you get? What did you get? What kind
    of degree did you get out of the community college here?
        Ms. Palmer.  I have a certified nursing
    assistant certificate.
        The President. And that means you can show up at the hospital and
    get after it.
        Ms. Palmer. Yes. [Laughter]
        The President. Take my pulse? No. [Laughter] Never mind, okay. So
    you are--so what are you doing now? You're working, going back to
    school? Tell us.
        Ms. Palmer. Yes, I'm a full-time student
    at Blackhawk, and I work in a local health facility here in Janesville.
        The President. So you're headed to be a registered nurse.
        Ms. Palmer. Yes.
        The President. And how much longer will that take, do you know?
        Ms. Palmer. My clinical starts in the
    year 2006, and it's 2 years after that.
        The President. Right. And the local hospital is helping you, as I
    understand, with the training.
        Ms. Palmer.  Yes, while I was in high school, they helped me out.
        The President. With the curriculum, right. Explain it, will you.
    [Laughter]
        Dr. Larson.  Let me try to help her.
        The President. Help me and her, will you? [Laughter]

    [Dr. Larson made further remarks.]

        The President. It is. We ought to expand these around the country.
    That's what I'm here to talk about, is to how to make sure job training
    opportunities are available for older workers and younger workers.
        Steve Scaccia is with us, president of
    Freedom Plastics. Let me, first, before we get into job training and how
    compassionate this guy is and how wonderful their company is, is to tell
    you something about taxes. He runs a Subchapter S corporation. That
    means they pay tax at the individual income-tax rate. When you hear the
    talk about taxing the rich or raising the top two brackets, he gets
    taxed. That's what we're talking about in terms of taxing the rich. It
    doesn't make any sense the tax job creators like Steve. You listen to
    what he is doing for his workers, and you ask yourself, does it make
    sense to leave money inside his coffers or to send it up to Washington,
    DC. After hearing his story, I'd rather he'd spend the money, not the
    Government.
        And so you tell us what you're doing with those workers in there.

    [Stephen D. Scaccia, president, Freedom Plastics, Inc., made brief
    remarks.]

        The President. It's an amazing story, isn't it? See, I hear stories
    like this--I hear entrepreneurial stories like this all over the
    country. It's why I believe that the role of Government is to create an
    environment for the entrepreneur to flourish, not to try to create
    wealth, not to tell people how to run their lives, it's to provide
    opportunity

    [[Page 2208]]

    so people can not only realize dreams, but people can help others
    realize their dreams.
        I love the small-business sector of this country. The
    entrepreneurial spirit is strong, thanks to people like Steve. And here's an interesting way to make sure the
    community college system is useful. Employers can use the community
    college system to make themselves more productive and, therefore,
    increase the wages of their employees. And young people coming up can
    use the community college system to realize their dreams.
        So I want to thank you three for coming. You did a
    great job.
        A couple of other things I want to talk about. First of all, in
    changing times, things don't change--the values we try to live by,
    courage and compassion, reverence and integrity; institutions we hold
    dear, our families, our schools, our religious congregations. I stand
    for a culture of life in which every person matters and every being
    counts. We stand for marriage and family, which are the foundations of
    our society. I stand for judges who know the difference between personal
    opinion and the strict interpretation of the law. And I stand for
    encouraging a responsibility society in America, where each of us
    understands we're responsible for the decisions we make in life.
        I also know that--I also know my most important duty is to protect
    the American people. We show uncertainty or weakness in this decade, the
    world will drift toward tragedy. This isn't going to happen on my watch.
        Let me tell you some of the lessons I learned as your President,
    some of the lessons I learned about September the 11th. Lesson one is
    that we face an enemy that's coldblooded, and they are haters. They
    believe in an ideology of hate. They stand for the exact opposite we
    stand for in America. We believe in freedom of religion. We believe you
    should worship any way you want. If you choose to worship, or not
    worship, you're equally an American. If you choose to worship and you're
    a Muslim, Jew, or Christian, you're equally an American. That's what we
    believe. These people believe the exact opposite of that.
        We believe you can speak your mind in America. We believe the press
    should be allowed to flourish. We believe in a lot of freedoms, and they
    don't. And they're willing to use terror as a tool. Therefore, lesson
    one is, you can never negotiate with these people; you can never hope
    for the best; you can't hope that somehow showing weakness will end up
    currying favor with them. The best way to protect the homeland is to
    stay on the offense, is to find these people and bring them to justice
    before they hurt America again.
        Second lesson--this is a different kind of war. First of all, you've
    got to understand, one, I never dreamt I'd be talking about war as your
    President when I ran for President. And, two, I wish I wasn't talking
    about it. I wish this hadn't happened to our country, but it did. And
    therefore, we must deal with it in a way that leads to a more peaceful
    America, in a way in which we can look back over time and say our
    children and grandchildren have a better chance to grow up in a peaceful
    world--which means we've got to be realistic.
        And in a different kind of war, we've got to send signals--say
    things and mean them, let me put it to you that way. If you say
    something as the President, you better mean what you say. In order to
    make this world a more--[applause]. In recognizing this is a different
    kind of war, I said to the Taliban, ``Get rid of Al Qaida in
    Afghanistan.'' I meant what I said. And they didn't, and so the United
    States military did get rid of Al Qaida as well as Taliban in
    Afghanistan.
        In other words, the Taliban was providing safe haven for these
    people, and we got rid of the Taliban as a government in Afghanistan
    and, therefore, denied Al Qaida the chance to train. Al Qaida still
    exists. About 75 percent of their known leaders

    [[Page 2209]]

    have been brought to justice. They're still there, but they no longer
    have safe haven. And we're safer for it. See, the way these people think
    is--they're parasitical. They want to be a parasite, and they kind of
    burrow into weak societies in hopes that they can have--be able to plot
    and plan. It's the nature of the world we live in. It's different from
    the past, but nevertheless, it's one that requires clear sight and
    strong will. And so by removing the Taliban, we're safer. By putting Al
    Qaida on the run out of Afghanistan, we're safer. We're also safer
    because Afghanistan is becoming free.
        Let me remind you about what life was like there about 3\1/2\ short
    years ago. Young girls couldn't go to school in Afghanistan. Think about
    that. It's hard for anybody in this country to imagine a group of
    barbarians that wouldn't let young girls go to school. But that's the
    way it was. When I'm telling you the ideology of hate, that's what I
    mean. That's a hateful society, isn't it, where young girls aren't
    allowed to realize their dreams. Their moms would be pulled out in the
    public square and whipped if they didn't toe the line. That's the way
    the Taliban felt.
        Today--today, as a result of these people being free, as a result of
    America acting in its self-interest and freeing the people from the
    Taliban, 10 million citizens, 41 percent of whom are women, have
    registered to vote in the upcoming Presidential elections. Powerful
    statistic, isn't it? It's such an uplifting statistic. The society is
    going from darkness to light because of freedom. And we're better off
    for it. We now have an ally in the war on terror. We now have a free
    society in a part of the world where there needs to be free societies.
        These are historic times, and the world is changing. The third
    lesson is that when we see a threat, we must take it seriously before it
    fully materializes. You know, prior to September the 11th, we could see
    a threat overseas and say, well, we could deal with it if we felt like
    it, or maybe we're not going to deal with it because it can't possibly
    come to hurt us. Sure enough, there was a large-scale attack on the
    United States of America on September the 11th, 2001, that has caused me
    and many in our country to change our attitude about threats overseas.
        Audience member. We're praying for you, George!
        The President. Thank you, sir. And it's really important--it's
    important we never forget the lesson. In Iraq, I saw a threat. Saddam
    Hussein was a threat. He was a threat because
    he was a sworn enemy of the United States of America. He was a threat
    because there was terrorist organizations in his country. Abu Nidal, Abu
    Abbas, Zarqawi--they were in his
    country. He was a threat because he had used weapons of mass
    destruction; is a threat because he had created instability in a
    volatile part of the world; is a threat because he was firing at our
    pilots who were enforcing sanctions. He was a threat.
        And so I went to the Congress and I said, ``I see a threat. My
    administration sees a threat.'' And they looked at the same intelligence
    I did and came to the same conclusion. I know some of them are trying to
    rewrite history, but they looked at the same intelligence, and they
    voted the authorization of force to get rid of Saddam Hussein.
        The last option of the President is to use force. It's the last
    option. So I went to the United Nations in the hopes that diplomacy
    would work. I was hoping that the free world would convince Saddam
    Hussein to give up his weapons programs or
    weapons. And whatever the intelligence said, we wanted him to get rid of
    it. And so they passed a resolution 15 to nothing, after some
    deliberation, that said, ``Disclose, disarm, or face serious
    consequences.'' If you're an international organization and you want to
    be effective, you better mean what you say. So they said ``serious
    consequences.''

    [[Page 2210]]

        Now, Saddam Hussein, as he had done for
    over a decade, ignored the demands of the free world. That's just the
    way it was. He was hoping we would look the other way again. He had no
    intention of disclosing or disarming because he didn't believe the free
    world would impose serious consequences. As a matter of fact, when they
    sent inspectors in, he deceived the inspectors. I have a choice to make
    at this point. Do I take his word as a madman, do I forget the lessons
    of September the 11th, or take action to defend our country? Given that
    choice, I will defend America every time. [Applause]
        Thank you all. Thank you all. A couple of other things--thanks.
    Thank you all.
        Audience member. We love you, George!
        The President. Thanks. [Laughter] Thank you--hold on for a minute.
    [Laughter] I've got something else to tell you. A couple of other points
    before people start dropping out because of the heat. [Laughter]
        The lesson is, is that when you put our troops in harm's way, you
    give them all the support they need. That's why I went to Congress last
    September, a year ago, and said, we need $87 billion to support our
    troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. It's important funding, really important
    funding. It provided for fuel and ammunition, spare parts, body armor,
    hazard pay, health benefits. That's important. Fortunately, most Members
    of the United States Senate and the United States House of
    Representatives knew how important it was. As a matter of fact, so--the
    funding was so important, only 12 Senators voted against it--that's 12
    out of 100--2 of whom are my opponent and his
    runningmate.
        When you're out rounding the vote--when you're out asking for the
    vote, remind people of this fact, this fact, that only four United
    States Senators voted to authorize the use of force and then didn't
    fund--did not vote yes to fund our troops. Four voted to authorize force
    and then voted no when it came to the supplemental funding. Two of those
    four were my opponent and his
    runningmate.
        So they asked him. They said, ``Why?'' And he
    said, ``Well, I actually did vote for the $87 billion, before I voted
    against it.'' [Laughter] Then they went on and pressed him. He said,
    he's proud of his vote. And finally, he said, ``It was just a
    complicated matter.'' [Laughter] There's nothing complicated about
    supporting our troops in combat.
        We've got hard work to do in Iraq. The enemy in Iraq cannot beat our
    military, cannot defeat our military. The main tool they've got is the
    ability to shake our conscience, to affect our will. You know, we weep
    when we see a person be beheaded on our TV screens, and we weep for his
    families. That's what we do, because we've got a conscience in America.
    We care deeply about every human life. We value human dignity in our
    society, and the enemy knows that. They know that they can shake our
    will and break our confidence in the mission. That's why it's very
    important for us to not send mixed signals to the world, not embolden
    these people, but remind them that when America gives its word, America
    will keep its word, that we will stand with the people of Iraq.
        I met with the Prime Minister of Iraq
    yesterday. He's willing to do the hard work too. He came to our country
    to thank the American people. He came to our country to thank the moms
    and dads and husbands and wives of those who have sacrificed for his
    freedom and America's security. That's what he came to do. He gave a
    strong speech. He's a strong man. The fellow--he woke up one night in
    London, England--he'd been in exile. And there was two people by his bed
    with axes, sent by Saddam Hussein--
    seriously--to chop him up. And he survived. And now he's the Prime
    Minister of that country. He is going to lead this country--no matter
    how hard it gets--he will lead this country to a better day. He believes
    in the people of Iraq.

    [[Page 2211]]

        He spoke to the Congress. He gave a great
    speech to the Congress. He talked about his strategy of defeating the
    insurgents, of holding the elections in January. This country is going
    to have elections in January. Afghanistan is going to have them in
    October, and they'll be held in January. And my opponent chose to
    criticize the Prime Minister of Iraq. This great man came to our country
    to talk about how he's risking his life for a free Iraq, which helps
    America, and Senator Kerry held a press
    conference and questioned Prime Minister Allawi's credibility. You can't
    lead this country if your ally in Iraq feels like you question his
    credibility. The message ought to be to the Iraqi people, we support
    you. The message ought to be loud and clear: We'll stand with you if you
    do the hard work.
        Earlier this week, my opponent said he would
    prefer the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein to
    the situation in Iraq today. You know, I just strongly disagree. It's
    tough work, no question about it. We've done tough work before. But if
    Saddam Hussein were in power, our security would be threatened. If
    Saddam Hussein--in power, there'd still would be mass graves and torture
    chambers in Iraq. If Saddam Hussein were in power, the world would be
    better off, not--the world would be worse off, not better off. And so I
    strongly disagree with the assessment of my opponent. I believe in
    liberty, and I believe in freedom, and I believe liberty can change
    lives.
        Two other points I want to make now that you got me going.
    [Laughter] We've got great alliances. I talked to Prime Minister Tony
    Blair this morning, had a great talk with him.
    He's a good, strong leader. He sees what's happening around the world.
    He knows, like I know, that Iraq is a central front in the war on
    terror. We must whip the terrorists in Iraq so we don't have to face
    them here at home. That's exactly what we're seeing.
        Prime Minister Allawi says that; Tony
    Blair says that; I say that because I understand
    the stakes for America. And Tony understands the stakes for Great
    Britain and the free world. We're challenged--being challenged now, and
    we will rise to the challenge. I will continue to work with allies and
    friends. You know, I, again, disagree with my opponent who called our alliance the alliance of the coerced and
    the bribed. You can't build alliances if you criticize the efforts of
    those who are working side by side with you. So we'll build alliances.
    But I assure you, I will never turn over America's national security
    decision to leaders of other countries. [Applause]
        Okay, one more--a couple more points. First, I want to thank all the
    veterans who are here. I see we've got some great vets. I want to thank
    the VFW. Thank you all for your service. Thanks for setting a great
    example.
        So here's one of the things I tell the people that I firmly believe:
    I believe in the transformational power of liberty. See, I believe
    liberty can change societies. I believe everybody wants to be free too--
    10 million people showed up to register to vote after having been
    brutalized by the Taliban. It's a strong statement. This, by the way, in
    the face of violence. Those voters are saying, ``You're not going to
    stop me from exercising my right as a free individual.''
        I visit with Prime Minister Koizumi a
    lot. I did recently in New York, as a matter of fact, at the U.N.
    General Assembly. I said, ``Do you mind if I talk about you?'' He said,
    ``Fine, tell people about me.'' I said, ``Okay.'' His favorite singer is
    Elvis. [Laughter] Not exactly what I want to tell you about. [Laughter]
    He was--he's the head of Japan, and we were at war with Japan 60 years
    ago. They were our sworn enemy. My dad
    fought against the Japanese. I guarantee you, your dads and granddads,
    husbands, fathers fought against the Japanese as well. And it was a
    tough war. It was a brutal war.
        And after we won, a lot of people were wondering whether or not we
    should even

    [[Page 2212]]

    care about what Japan looked like. Harry S. Truman--the last guy to
    visit Janesville, Wisconsin--said yes, we should care. Let's work for a
    democracy in Japan. You can imagine the skepticism that abounded as a
    result of trying to work with an enemy. Families' lives have been turned
    upside down as a result of the brutal war, the tough war. And here was
    the President of the United States enforcing--a lot of fellow Americans
    saying no--we're going to help them become a democracy. And as a result
    of believing that liberty can transform societies, that liberty can take
    an enemy to a friend, I now sit down at the table with Prime Minister
    Koizumi, talking about how to keep the
    peace that we all want. Think about that. Think about the power of
    liberty.
        And that's what's going to happen when we get it right in Iraq.
    We're going to help the Iraqis have their elections. We'll help them
    self-govern. We'll help them as much as we can to become a stable nation
    by training their folks so they can do the hard work of defending
    themselves against the few--and I say, the few; there are 25 million
    people in that country, the vast majority of whom want to be free--to
    defend themselves against those who would stop the march of freedom. And
    we'll succeed if we do not lose our will, if we do not wilt in the face
    of hard times. And when we succeed, a duly elected leader of Iraq will
    be sitting down with the American President, talking about how to keep
    the peace. And our children and our grandchildren will be better off for
    it.
        I've come to Janesville to tell you I want your vote, I want your
    help. I know exactly where I want to lead this country. I have the
    energy and drive to do so. And with your help, we'll carry this great
    State of Wisconsin and win a great victory in November.
        Thank you for coming. May God bless. Thanks for coming.

    Note: The President spoke at 12:42 p.m. at the Janesville Conference
    Center. In his remarks, he referred to Janna Ryan, wife of
    Representative Ryan; Dave Magnum, candidate for Wisconsin's Second
    Congressional District; Tim Michels, senatorial candidate in Wisconsin;
    senior Al Qaida associate Abu Musab Al Zarqawi; Prime Minister Ayad
    Allawi of the Iraqi Interim Government; and Prime Minister Junichiro
    Koizumi of Japan.