[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book II)]
[July 20, 2004]
[Pages 1368-1382]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Remarks in a Discussion at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids,
Iowa
July 20, 2004
The President. Thank you all very much. Please be seated.
Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
The President. Thank you all. Thanks for coming. Thank you all for
coming. Thanks for being here. That's what I'm here to tell you: I'm
ready to serve this Nation for 4 more years. And I've got a reason. I've
got a reason. I want to continue to make this a safer and stronger and
better place for every citizen.
We've got a little different format today. It's an opportunity for
me to interface with some of your citizens about why I've done some of
the policies that I've done, give them a chance to explain to you how
these policies might have helped. Oh, I know, you're probably here
thinking I'm going to spend most of the time attacking my
opponent. I've got too much good to talk about.
It's very important for the people of this important State to know
that we're going to carry the State of Iowa. And I need your help.
Listen, there's a place you can go on the web page--I mean, on the
Internet called georgewbush.com. And you need to get on there if you
want to figure out how to help. So you can get on there, and you can
register to vote, or you can figure out ways to help people register to
vote, or you can sign up to work in your neighborhood. And that's what
I'm here to ask you to do, because we've got a plan to make sure this
country is a better place. And I want your help to convincing people
from all walks of life, Republicans and discerning Democrats and wise
independents.
I am sorry that Laura is not with us.
Audience members. Aw-w-w!
The President. That's generally the reaction. [Laughter] It's kind
of like, ``I wish she'd come and you'd have
stayed at home.'' [Laughter] Fortunately, however, our two daughters came today, and
I'm proud--I'm really glad they're on the campaign trail with me. It's
makes the days a little shorter and the trips a lot more fun.
I want to thank the good people here at this wonderful community
college. Norm, I want to thank you. Thanks for
having me, Norm, here at Kirkwood. I'm going to talk a little bit about
community colleges. They're an integral part of making sure America's
future is hopeful, as we want it to be. Thanks for opening it up. It's
not easy to host the President. [Laughter]
I appreciate the mayor; Mayor Paul Pate
from Cedar Rapids is with us today. Thanks for coming, Mayor. I know
Chuck Gipp is here. I want to thank Chuck for
coming as well, the majority leader of the house of representatives. I
want to thank all the other State and local officials. Most of all, I
want to thank you all. I want to thank you all.
It's very important--it's very important for the people of this
country to understand the stakes that we're confronted with, to
understand the challenges we face. The enemy declared war on us, and
you've just got to know, nobody wants to be the war President. I want to
be the peace President. I want to be the President that after 4 years, 4
more in this office, I want people to look back and say, ``The world is
a more peaceful place. America is a safer country.'' Four more years,
and America will be safer and the world will be more peaceful.
But in this world, you just can't hope for the best; you have to
lead. You have to make the hard decisions to make sure America is a
safer place and the world is a more peaceful place.
It's very important never to forget the lessons of that fateful day
which changed
[[Page 1369]]
American history. Let me tell you some of the lessons that I have
learned and will continue to apply as your President. First, the
terrorists, these radicals who use terror to scare us and frighten us
and shake our will, are nothing but a bunch of coldblooded killers. You
cannot talk sense to them. You cannot negotiate with them. They must be
brought to justice, in order to make the country more secure. This
country is a peaceful country. This country is a country that yearns for
freedom and peace. But when the enemy hit us, we resolved--we as a
nation resolved--to stay firm and diligent, to do whatever it takes to
defend our security.
The second lesson I learned and America must always remember is that
when the country says something, we better mean it. In order to make
this world a more peaceful place, when we say something, we better act
on what we say. And so I said, ``If you harbor a terrorist, you're just
as guilty as the terrorists, themselves.'' That's a part of making sure
America is more secure. It's one thing to resolve to bring the
terrorists to justice--and we are. Al Qaida is slowly but surely being
dismantled because of our brave troops and because of our allies. But I
also recognized that you cannot allow these radicals, these people who
have hijacked a religion, nonreligious people who have hijacked a great
religion, to find safe haven.
And so we said to the Taliban that was running Afghanistan, ``Get
rid of them. Join our side.'' They refused, of course, and so I had the
tough decision to make--and that is to enforce our word in order to make
the world a better place. And we did, and we removed the Taliban. And
there are no longer Al Qaida training camps. As a matter of fact,
Afghanistan is going to hold Presidential elections. And you need to be
proud of the fact that your Nation liberated a country so that many
young girls now go to school for the first time in their lives.
A second lesson of September the 11th is this very important lesson
that I will always remember and I hope the country will always remember,
that when we see a threat, we must deal with it before it fully
materializes; that we can no longer, when we see a threat, we can no
longer hope for the best. We used to think we could hope for the best,
until September the 11th changed it all. And now we must deal with it.
The military will always be our last option--the last option. But we
must deal with threats.
And so I just want to step back and remind you all of the facts.
Saddam Hussein was a sworn enemy of the
United States of America. He is a person who had used weapons of mass
destruction on his own people. He is a person that was allowing
terrorists to exit and enter his country, and he provided safe haven for
terrorist organizations like that of Abu Nidal or Zarqawi. In other words, he was a danger. Everybody knew he
was a danger. After all, the United Nations Security Council had said he
was a danger in resolution after resolution after resolution.
I looked at the intelligence--I looked at the intelligence, and it
said Saddam Hussein was a threat to the
United States. Members of the United States Congress of both political
parties looked at the same intelligence, and they came to the same
conclusion I came to. Then the U.N. Security Council, yet again, looked
at the intelligence and said, ``The man is a threat.'' They also said,
``Disclose, disarm, or face serious consequences.'' That's what was said
by the free world. The world came together and said that. And so we
said, ``Okay, fine, we'll give him one last chance. It's his choice to
make; he gets to make the choice.'' And he deceived the inspectors.
These people who have been over there studying what went on have made it
clear. I saw that happening. And then--at least we thought it was
happening; it's been verified that it was happening. ``What did he have
to hide,'' the free world was saying to themselves. ``Why would he not
allow inspectors in?'' See, he was a threat. He
[[Page 1370]]
made the choice, not the United States of America. He defied the world.
And I had a choice to make: Do I forget the lessons of September the
11th and hope for the best? Do I trust the word of a madman? Or do we
take action to defend this country? Given that choice, I will defend
America every time.
For a while, we were marching to war; now, we're marching to peace.
The world is becoming more peaceful. I told you about Afghanistan; it's
a free society. No one would have thought 3 years ago--remember what the
world was like 3 years ago? Three years ago, Afghanistan was a troubled
area run by the Taliban. Three years ago, Iraq was run by a sworn
enemy of the country who was torturing his
own people; he had mass graves by the thousands for the people in his
country. And today, Iraq is run by a person who believes in the hopes
and aspirations of the Iraqi people, a strong leader named Prime
Minister Allawi, a person who wants there to be
a free society in Iraq.
And I'm going to tell you something, this is an historic moment. A
free Iraq will change the world. A free Iraq will not only make
America's short-term security interests better; it will make our long-
term security interests better, because the way to defeat the radicals
who promote terrorist activity to frighten us and drive us out of the
world is to spread freedom. Free societies are peaceful societies.
Because we have led--because we have led, 50 million people that once
lived in tyranny are now free, and the world is better for it.
Three years ago, Pakistan recognized the Taliban, and Al Qaida was
able to transit their country without worry. Today, Pakistan is an ally
in the war on terror. They're chasing down Al Qaida leadership in the
remote regions of that country, and America is safer for it. Three years
ago, Saudi Arabia wasn't that worried about Al Qaida. Today, Saudi
Arabia is chasing down the Al Qaida leadership. They are bringing them
to justice. America is safer for it. Three years ago--3 years ago,
Libya--Libya was a friend of the terrorists. Libya had weapons of mass
destruction programs. Libya was a danger. Today, Libya has dismantled
her programs, and America is safer for it. In three short years, because
America has led with friends and allies, the world is changing for the
better. The world is becoming a more free place, and therefore, the
world is becoming a more peaceful place.
I want to make a couple of more points about our foreign policy and
what I intend to do over 4 years. First, let me share an interesting
story with you. It's one that has touched my heart deeply. Seven men
walked into the Oval Office from Iraq. First of all, coming to the Oval
Office is a--it's a pretty powerful experience, American or Iraqi.
[Laughter] It's the kind of place where people stand outside the door,
and they say, ``I can't wait to get in there and tell him what for.''
[Laughter] And they walk in, and they get overwhelmed by the Oval Office
and say, ``Man, you're looking pretty, Mr. President.'' [Laughter]
So these seven come in; all of them had their right hands cut off by
Saddam Hussein. You know why? Because his
currency had devalued and he needed somebody to blame. This story was
picked up and put on TV, and a fellow in Houston, Texas, saw it, a guy
named Marvin Zindler. He flew them down, at
his--I guess at the expense of a foundation he's put together, and they
got new hands. And now they're coming to the United States to see me. I
can't tell you what a powerful moment that was. A guy grabbed a pen, and
he wrote ``God bless America'' in Arabic. What a stark contrast between
the brutality of a dictator and the great compassion of a free country.
He told me, he said--one of those men said, ``Thank you, Mr.
President.'' I said, ``You don't thank me.'' I said, ``You thank the men
and women who wear the uniform of the United States and their loved
ones.''
[[Page 1371]]
We have done the hard work, and there's more hard work to do. But
this world is a more peaceful world. And when you give me 4 more years,
it's going to be even more peaceful than it is today. We're making
progress. We're making progress.
By the way, to whom much has been given, much is owed. Not only are
we leading the world in terms of encouraging freedom and peace, we're
feeding the hungry; we're taking care of, as best as we possibly can,
the victims of HIV/AIDS. No, this is a strong nation, but we are a
compassionate nation. And this country ought to be proud of the great
heart, the collective heart of the American people. I sure am.
One other point I want to make; then I want to talk about our
economy and how to make sure America is a stronger place. We will--we've
got great allies. Listen, Great Britain is leading, Poland, Italy. There
are 60 countries working on the Proliferation Security Initiative. There
are 30 countries in Iraq, 40 countries--nearly 40 in Afghanistan. We've
got people working well together. But you need to know something about
me: I will never turn over America's national security decisions to
leaders of other countries.
We need to make sure the country is a stronger country. That starts
by making sure the economy continues to grow. Right quick, we've been
through a recession. We've been through an emergency. We've been through
a war. We have been through corporate scandals, and we're growing--and
we're growing. The economy is strong, and it's getting stronger. And I
think one of the reasons why is because I understand the role of
Government is not to try to create wealth but an environment in which
the entrepreneur, the small-business person, the farmer can thrive. And
we have done just that.
The unemployment rate here is 4.3 percent. That's good. The people
of this State are working. Our economy is growing at nearly the fastest
rate in 20 years. Homeownership rate is at the highest ever. That's what
we want in America, isn't it? We want people owning their own home. We
want people owning their own piece of property. Manufacturing is up. And
I believe one of the main reasons why is because we cut the taxes on the
working people here in the country. We let people keep more of their own
money. I like to say, when the American people invest, save, they help
create new jobs, which shows they can spend their money far better than
the Federal Government can.
So the question is, what are you going to do over the next 4 years
to make sure the job growth continues? Here's what we're going to do.
We're going to make sure tax policy is fair and consistent. We're not
going to let them raise the taxes on you. And I'm going to talk to a
couple--we're about to talk to a couple from Cedar Rapids that will help
me make my point. By the way, we're about to talk to a small-business
owner. You'll find that much of the progrowth program that I promoted in
Congress is aimed right at the small-business sector of America. Do you
know why? Seventy percent of new jobs in America are created by the
small-business owners. We've got to make sure the small-business sector
is healthy in this country.
In order to make sure we continue to grow, we need sensible energy
policy in America. You know something? Driving in this--through this
part of the world, which I have done before, I might add, quite a few
times--I'm better for it--[laughter]--it just reminded me once again,
wouldn't it be wonderful for somebody to walk up and say, ``Mr.
President, the corn crop is up, and we're less dependent on foreign
sources of energy.'' So any reasonable energy policy is to encourage
research and development to make sure we can use ethanol better and
biodiesel better. It makes sense. It makes sense.
We've got to make sure that we conserve energy better. But listen,
we can do things in environmentally friendly ways that we couldn't do 20
years ago. For the sake of
[[Page 1372]]
national security and economic security, we need to be developing the
resources we have here at home to become less dependent on foreign
sources of energy.
You can't have a healthy economy if everybody is getting sued. We
need legal reform in this country. We need to make sure people aren't
constantly--you ask these small-business owners what it's like to fear a
lawsuit, and they're going to tell you, it makes their future uncertain.
And with an uncertain future, it makes it more difficult to risk
capital.
We need good trade policy. I came to the people of this State and
said, ``I will work to open up markets for Iowa farmers.'' I said two
things during the campaign. I said, one, we'll promote ethanol,
alternative sources of energy. We have done that. And the second thing I
said is, we will work to open up markets for Iowa farmers. When you're
good at something, we ought to be encouraging it. We're good at growing
soybeans. We're good at growing corn, and we're now selling it all
around the world.
The temptation is to say, well, you know, we better shut her down;
we better have economic isolationism. That would be bad for Iowa. To
make sure that we got jobs in the future, we need to be confident. Now
look, we've opened up our markets for foreign goods. That's good for
consumers. It just wasn't me. It was Presidents before me that made that
decision. See, if you have more goods coming in, you have more choices.
And when you have more choices as a consumer, you're going to get better
quality at better price. That's how the marketplace works. What we need
to do is make sure other countries treat us like we treat them. We've
got to make sure we have a level playing field for Iowa's entrepreneurs
and farmers.
Two other quick points: One, we've got to have reasonable health
care, affordable health care. That's why I support association health
plans, health savings accounts, and medical liability reform. Listen, no
one has ever been healed by a frivolous lawsuit. Ask your docs what it's
like to have the legal system look like a lottery. It doesn't do the
consumers any good; it doesn't do the providers any good; it doesn't do
small-business owners any good to have a legal system that is not fair
and balanced. We need medical liability reform.
So last night on the Truman Balcony, guess who was up there? Chuck
Grassley. He said, ``Would you mind
mentioning my name?'' [Laughter] I said, ``Okay.'' [Laughter] I just
did. [Laughter] He said, ``When you go to Iowa, remind them of a promise
you made and I made and we kept, and that was to reform Medicare.'' We
reformed Medicare not only to help our seniors--and it's a good bill,
and it's going to make a big difference in the lives of the senior
citizens of this country--we also reformed Medicare to make sure that
Iowa's rural hospitals are treated fairly. So when you see the Senator,
you tell him I mentioned his name.
Finally, I want to work hard for 4 more years to make sure the
country is a better country. There's two ways to do--there's a lot of
ways to do that; let me talk about two. One, we must continue on
education reform. We must make sure that every child--every child--can
learn to read and write and add and subtract. And we're making great
progress; we really are. We've raised the standard. We've raised the
standard. And in return for increased Federal money, we're now asking
this question, ``Can you read?'' That's not an unreasonable question to
ask, is it? No. We want every child reading at the third-grade level.
And it starts by asking, ``Show us whether you can.''
See, the system oftentimes quit on people. They just shuffled them
through. It's what I call the soft bigotry of low expectations. And
guess who got left behind oftentimes? Families--kids of families who
don't speak English as a first language--that's pretty easy to quit on
them, isn't it? You walk into a classroom--``Oh, these are the
[[Page 1373]]
hard-to-educate; just move them through.'' And that doesn't work. Or how
about inner-city, African American kids, oftentimes they're just moved
through. We've stopped that practice in Washington, DC. We said, ``We'll
increase the money, but we're raising the bar, because we know every
child can learn to read and write and add and subtract. And now, we want
you to show us.''
And not only do we want to make sure people are literate in the
fourth grade, we're going to make sure people are able to have access to
community colleges and to make sure that community colleges continue to
teach subjects which are relevant. We're about to talk to a fellow Iowan
who went back to school at a community college, and as result of
continuing education, now makes more money than she did in her previous
job. I mean, education is crucial to make sure the economy continues to
grow, and it's crucial to make sure we're a better America.
Now finally, one of the most important initiatives that--I think one
of the most important initiatives that we put forth was the Faith-Based
and Community-Based Initiative. I'll tell you why. You see, some of the
problems that people face are really problems of the heart. And
Government can't change hearts, but hearts can be changed by loving
individuals who are inspired by something greater than Government.
Take, for example, alcohol and drug abuse. We want to save people's
lives in America, and sometimes it requires a higher power to help
change somebody's life. You change their heart; they change their
habits. And Government, therefore, ought not to fear welcoming and
opening up grants to programs whose sole being is based upon faith.
In the past it wasn't that way. In the past, they'd say, we can't
have an interface with Government and faith. And, by the way, many in
the faith community say, ``Why do I want to interface with Government?
Bureaucracies cause me to lose my mission.'' We've changed that attitude
in Washington. Over the next 4 years, I will continue to promote this
Faith- and Community-Based Initiative so that we help save more lives
and provide more hope for the American people.
I'm running because I want to make sure America is a safer and
stronger and better place. And that's why I'm here, to ask for your
help.
Now, let me tell you something. I met John today, John
Bloomhall. There he is. Stand up, John.
[Applause] Yes, that's kind of nice, scattered round of applause for
him. I've asked John to come because he is the president and chief
executive officer of Diamond V Mills. Accurate?
John Bloomhall. Yes, correct.
The President. Let me say one thing about how his company is structured, to put this in context. His company
is what's called a Subchapter S corporation. As a matter of fact, 90
percent of small businesses--about 90 percent--are either called
Subchapter S corporations or sole proprietorships. And what that means
is they pay tax at the individual income-tax level. So part of our tax
policy, as you might recall, was to reduce income taxes at the
individual income-tax level, including all income tax rates--not just
some, not just the politically favored. But the view was, if you pay
tax, you get relief.
So what does your company do?
Mr. Bloomhall. We--it's yeast
fermentation; we manufacture a animal feed ingredient for animal feeds.
The President. Good. Are the animals eating it this year?
Mr. Bloomhall. A lot of it. [Laughter]
The President. That's good. [Laughter] Are they eating enough of it
to--like, have you hired anybody?
Mr. Bloomhall. Yes, we've added five
net new jobs this year.
The President. Yes. See, let me stop you there. Most new jobs are
created--started by small businesses. John
just stood up and
[[Page 1374]]
said, ``Five net new jobs.'' Now, that's not a lot, when you think about
it. It's a lot for the person who got the job. [Laughter] And by the
way, there are a lot of Johns in this country who have their own
business. There's a huge number of small businesses. They're adding five
employees here, five there.
Keep going.
Mr. Bloomhall. Well, we've got 124
employees worldwide. They're the best and the brightest, because as we
can save taxes and reinvest it in our business--in capital, in the
equipment to automate our manufacturing lines, in science--we hire
Ph.D.'s, real good-paying jobs. And we can grow jobs and investment in
our country better than the Government can by collecting taxes.
The President. I didn't tell him to
say that. But I couldn't have said it any better myself. John said,
``Investment.'' One of the things in the tax relief plan that we passed,
it says to small businesses, ``We'll encourage you to invest by allowing
you what they call bonus depreciation.'' These are fancy tax words; I'm
trying to simplify it. It says, ``You invest in planned equipment; you
get a tax break for doing so.''
Are you going to invest, do you think, this year?
Mr. Bloomhall. Yes, we're investing
about 1.3 million this year.
The President. Yes. What do you--when you say ``invest,'' what does
that mean? Are you buying things?
Mr. Bloomhall. Primarily capital
investment in our plant and equipment.
The President. Like what kind of plant and equipment?
Mr. Bloomhall. Automation equipment so
that our employees are not doing the manual jobs; they're doing the
thinking jobs. They create greater value to us; we can pay them more;
and everybody wins.
The President. Okay. Now, listen, this is a very interesting lesson
here, because I think it will explain why we insisted on tax relief and
why part of the tax relief was aimed at small businesses. He just said, he's going to invest a million dollars in
new plant and equipment. And so when he buys new equipment with that
million dollars, that the tax relief has encouraged him to do, somebody
has got to make the equipment, see. So he has made a decision that
affects an employee--not only his own company, because they have become
more productive and he can pay them more, he just said--but an employee
in somebody else's business who is making the equipment that John has
said, ``I want to purchase.''
It's these--all these decisions by small-business owners have the
cumulative effect of encouraging economic vitality and growth. That's
what we're here to understand. And therefore, if we raise the taxes on
John, he's not going to make these
decisions. It will change his decisionmaking thought process--I presume.
Now, I'm not a lawyer, you'll be happy to hear. That's the other team.
This is the pro-small-business team.
So anyway, raising taxes--and so let me say something to you so you
hear--in the campaign, you'll hear, ``We're going only to tax the
rich.'' That's what you'll hear. Now, this is from a fellow who has promised about $2 trillion of new spending thus
far. And only taxing the rich, first of all, creates a huge tax gap,
which means buyer beware. You see, if you can't raise enough by taxing
the rich, guess who gets to pay next? Yes, the not-rich. [Laughter]
That's all of us.
On the other hand, when you say you're going to raise those rates
at, say, $200,000 or more, that's who he's talking about right there.
When you're talking about raising those individual rates, I want our
fellow citizens to remember, he's raising taxes on small businesses like
John's. Now is not the time to be raising
taxes on the small-business owners of America. Thanks, John.
We got the Schlotterbacks with us--Mike and Kathie. Hi, Mike,
what do you do?
[[Page 1375]]
Mike Schlotterback. I'm a
photographer. I have a photo studio here in town called Fisheye.
The President. Anybody needs some photos developed, take it right
over to Mike. [Laughter] And
Kathie, a mom?
Kathie Schlotterback. Yes.
The President. How many kids you got?
Mrs. Schlotterback. Two girls--two
daughters.
The President. Oh, yes. [Laughter]
Mrs. Schlotterback. Lindsie and
Cora.
The President. Good to see you all.
Let me tell you something about the tax relief. Some people look at
it, and they say, ``Oh, tax relief, what's it mean?'' I'm going to tell
you what it means. Let me tell you what it meant to Mike and Kathie. They saved
$1,700.
Mrs. Schlotterback. Correct.
The President. The tax relief we passed--remember, we raised the
child credit. So if you got kids, you get a little tax relief, because
we want to make it easier for people to raise kids. We reduced the
penalty on marriage. What kind of system is it--I don't think it's a
very wise Tax Code to penalize marriage. We're trying to encourage
marriage in America. And we reduced all rates, and they saved $1,700.
That may not seem like a lot to some of the big shots in Washington, but
ask them if it's a lot to them.
Mr. Schlotterback. Yes, we were able
to take that money which you sent us----
The President. No, no, no, I didn't send it to you. It's your money
to begin with.
Mr. Schlotterback. That's right,
absolutely.
The President. You just got to keep--you just got to keep more of
your own money.
Mr. Schlotterback. Right, right. But
these two girls are our top priority, and so we took that money, bought
a computer, set up a home office. It allows me to work a little more
from home and spend time with these girls.
The President. Yes, that's interesting, isn't it? One of the ways we
got to make sure this economy continues to grow is to make sure there is
broadband technology throughout the entire country, so people like this
good man, people like Mike, can work out
of home if they want to or can bring educational information into their
home. I mean, this is a tale of the changing economy we're in. Here's a
fellow who owns his own business, and he can work out of his home, doing
his duty, just like Kathie is, to love their children with all their
heart and soul.
Now, let me say something about this. They saved $1,700 in '03,
$1,700 in '04. But some of this tax relief is getting ready to expire,
see, which means his taxes go up. That's what that means. So when you
hear all this stuff about the tax cuts are going to expire, you need to
think tax increase--because this couple isn't going to save $1,700 the
next time. As a matter of fact, they're going to save something
substantially less than that. That will mean they have less money in
their pockets, less after-tax disposable income, which is their money to
begin with. Congress needs to make the tax relief permanent and not
raise taxes.
Where's Dawn? Dawn, where are you? Cayton.
Oh, there she is, yes. You were trying to hide.
Dawn Cayton. I'm in red.
The President. Oh, yes, you're in red. This is an interesting story.
I feel like--kind of like a talk show host here. [Laughter] So I met
Dawn, and I said, ``What do you do?'' And she said----
Ms. Cayton. I'm a registered respiratory
therapist with St. Luke's Home Care Services here in Cedar Rapids.
The President. Very good. She is in health
care. What did you do before?
Ms. Cayton. I was a mom, but I always worked
part-time to help out. I taught gymnastics at Twisters, and I also
worked in a hotel a couple nights a week doing night audit.
[[Page 1376]]
The President. Okay. And then what happened? You decided to----
Ms. Cayton. Go back to school.
The President. Okay, let me stop you. Actually, right here at
Kirkwood, she came back to school. Why? Why did
you decide to go back to school?
Ms. Cayton. What motivated me was, my oldest
daughter was going into eighth grade, and all of a sudden I realized we
had 5 years before she was going to college. And I had always helped out
here and there, but I needed to really retrain myself so I could go out
and make a lot more money.
The President. Yes. This is a really interesting story. First of
all, Government can't make somebody, say, go back to school. That has to
come from inside a person's soul. And she said, ``I want to go back to
school.'' Government can help, through Federal loans, in this case, I
think. But this is something people need to hear, because in order to
make sure the economy continues to grow, there's a constant kind of--
people have to constantly be educated to meet--to have the skills for
the new jobs that are being created.
Health care is a field that is growing all across America, and
they're looking for workers. We have a shortage of health care workers,
and these workers need to be retrained. Community colleges are a
fantastic place for people to be retrained for the jobs of the 21st
century. Give me 4 more years, and we will continue to invigorate our
community colleges, to help people like Dawn gain the skills necessary
to fill the jobs that are being created.
Was it hard to go back to school? I want people listening out there
to listen to this story. Because I know somebody's going to say, ``I
don't want to go back to school. I don't have the energy to go back to
school. I kind of think I need to go back to school so I can make more
money.'' Was it hard to go back to school? Tell the truth.
Ms. Cayton. Seriously----
The President. Yes, seriously. [Laughter]
Ms. Cayton. I thought about it for one year
before I actually did it----
The President. So it was a little hard, otherwise you would have dug
right into it.
Ms. Cayton. Right--but, no, I had the
support of my family. My husband, Marlin, did all the laundry.
[Laughter]
The President. Marlin, if we stay in this
room any longer, you're going to have a lot to do.
Ms. Cayton. And I have two girls, and they
understood; you know, it was a sacrifice for them too, because sometimes
I couldn't go to their things, because when you're in the medical field
you are in clinical practice as well, so I was at different hospitals,
basically getting my schooling.
The President. There are jobs available all across the country.
Sometimes people need to be--to gain new skills. There is money
available and help available for people to go to community colleges. And
when you get new skills, you make more money; you become a more
productive employee. That's the kind of economy we're in. I really thank
you for sharing that with us. Congratulations.
Ms. Cayton. Thank you.
The President. Okay. I want to talk about--before we all start
falling out here--[laughter]--I want to talk about one more interesting
story. Listen, we've got a lot of strength to this country. Our military
is a strength. We'll keep it strong. I will keep it strong. I will work
with Congress to do that--which means, by the way, we're going to make
sure the people who wear the uniform have got all they need. We owe it
to the families, don't we, to say, your son or daughter or husband or
wife are getting all you need. That's why that vote on the supplemental
last fall was an interesting vote. It kind of explained a different
philosophy.
I called it up. I said, ``Congress, support these troops. We've put
them in harm's way; support them.'' And the Congress did. We had a good
vote. Twelve Senators voted
[[Page 1377]]
no on the 87 billion, 2 of whom I'm running against. [Laughter] And my view is, is
that when you put people in harm's way, they deserve the best. No
excuses, by the way.
Secondly, the economy is strong, but the true strength of the county
is the hearts and souls of our citizens. That's the strength of America,
and I recognize that. I recognize that the role of Government is to
promote and to foster this strength.
Today I met Dr. Jim Bell. This is an
interesting story. He's what I call a social entrepreneur. He is--he is
cofounder of His Hands Ministries. He is a doctor who operates a free
clinic in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, that provides help to people who need
medical help.
Why did you do this?
Jim Bell. It was because we're just answering
the call.
The President. Yes. It's a faith-based ministry.
Dr. Bell. We're a Christ-centered ministry. And
we understand that even as our economy improves--and it is in Cedar
Rapids--that there's always going to people who fall between the cracks
and that are going to need help. And not only are they going to need
help physically, but we believe that our greatest measure of success is
seeing a changed life for Christ. I've never been called a social
entrepreneur before. I've been called a lot of things.
The President. Do what now?
Dr. Bell. I've never been called a social
entrepreneur before.
The President. Well, you are now. Yes, well, it's kind of--you are.
First of all, the reason why is entrepreneurs are self-starters. They're
motivated by something other than Government law, for example. You don't
start your business--you can't pass a law that says, you will start your
own business. You decide to start your own--you decided to start your
own faith ministry to heal people because you heard a call, you see. And
you stepped out, and said, ``I've got the courage necessary,'' you and
your cofounders. I presume there's somebody else?
Dr. Bell. Yes.
The President. Yes, okay, the two of you said, ``What can we do?''
And they started this ministry. It's a fabulous ministry, isn't it?
There's Jim Bells all over America. He's not
alone. There's hundreds of thousands of people who have asked
themselves, ``What can I do to save a life?'' And if we had more Jim
Bells in the world saving lives, America would be a more hopeful place,
wouldn't it? Think of this issue--and I'll get back to you in a minute.
You know there are about a million children whose mothers and
fathers--who have a mother and father in prison. Those are kids who
wonder whether or not America's promise belongs to them. They think
that. Imagine if we could find a mentor for each one of those children.
That's the mission. That's one of the goals we're on, is to encourage
programs, community-based--you don't have to be a faith-based program,
although it turns out faith-based programs are pretty good places to
find people who want to love a neighbor just like they'd like to be
loved themselves.
Government can help. We're not a competitor of Jim. We complement Jim with what's called community health
centers. We've been expanding them. I think this is a really good role
for Federal taxpayers' money, is to put primary care facilities for the
indigent and the uninsured available to keep them out of emergency
rooms.
But I really appreciate Jim's program. Anything
you need from us--like better liability law? Are you protected under
liability law?
Dr. Bell. We are, and we could sure----
The President. Yes.
Dr. Bell. I almost wanted to start talking
about medical liability when you were talking about that earlier.
The President. Good.
Dr. Bell. But the partnership that you
mentioned is one of the best things that
[[Page 1378]]
we found in working with Government. And they're going to start a
community--they're working on starting a community health center here in
Cedar Rapids too, with Federal funding.
The President. Yes.
Dr. Bell. Not only that, we also have found
great friends in partnering with our Government organizations here in
Cedar Rapids. And I think the most important thing for us is that we
know that we have an administration behind us, is very sentimental
towards what we do.
The President. I am sentimental. You know why? Thank you, buddy.
I'll tell you why: Because we can change America, one heart and one soul
at a time. And Jim recognizes he can't save every soul and help every
life, but he can help 1,000, which is what he's done.
The true strength of this country is found in the hearts of people
like Jim Bell. Now, he's not going to like hearing
me say that, see. He just wants to be anonymous and go about his
business. I can look at him in his eyes and tell that. [Laughter] But
that's what makes him such a great steward.
We got some time for questions, maybe? Unless everybody is about
ready to fall out--it's up to you. [Laughter] You want me to answer some
questions for a while? Yes, what you got? You got a question right
there.
The Presidency/Freedom
Q. Do you like being President?
The President. Do I like being the President? So much so that I want
to do it for 4 more years.
Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
The President. I'll tell you why--I'll tell why. This is a job where
you have a chance, working with others, by the way, and working with our
country, to say the world is a better place; to use the influence of the
United States of America to spread freedom and peace not only for our
own sake but for the sake of others.
And I mentioned to you, little fellow, I think--we're just
beginning. I talked about five countries that have changed over the past
3 years, that have made a difference, and your life is going to be
better for it. Your life is going to be better because somebody your age
can live in a free society in a part of the world that doesn't know
freedom.
See, Americans have this great faith in our ideals. And it stems
from this: We don't think freedom is America's gift to the world; we
know that freedom is the Almighty God's gift to every man and woman in
this world.
Anybody got a question? How about here in the end zone? Yes.
HIV/AIDS Initiative
Q. [Inaudible]--HIV will work here?
The President. Right. Very good question. Obviously, you're a
knowledgeable person. ABC method is the method to--used in Uganda to
reduce the number of HIV--incidence of HIV/AIDS, and it's worked.
There's three components to it: Abstinence--which, by the way, works
every time--[laughter]--be faithful, and use condoms. Now, those are--
that's what ABC stands for. And it is a method that says that countries
must seize the initiative and educate their people about the dangers of
HIV/AIDS as part of a prevention program. And it's working. And it's--
it's applied everywhere, including the United States; I mean, it makes
sense. We do it a little differently in the United States, but
nevertheless, it is a strategy that is working.
The second aspect, by the way, of the HIV/AIDS Initiative is to make
sure that we get antiretroviral drugs to those poor souls who are
suffering from this devastating disease. What's interesting when you
talk to the experts, there's something called the Lazarus effect. In
other words, people who have had no hope all of a sudden see their
neighbor take an antiretroviral drug, and their lives begin to improve,
and then they start asking the question, ``Gosh,
[[Page 1379]]
maybe I ought to do this for myself.'' Now, we don't have the cure for
AIDS, but antiretrovirals surely improve the quality of life.
And the third aspect of our strategy is to help the orphans of
those--you see, what's happening in our lifetime on the continent of
Africa, there is a pandemic. We're losing an entire generation of
people. We have 14-year-old young girls raising their brothers and
sisters.
And I made the decision--and fortunately, a lot of Members of
Congress joined--that we can afford to help, and we should be doing
more. And we are. We've got a 15 billion, 5-year program to help save
lives. I believe it is in--I know it's in our interests to do so, and I
know it's in our heart. In other words, we've got to work here at home
too. Don't ever get me wrong, when I talk about foreign initiatives;
we're not neglecting the homefront. But with this pandemic raging, I
believe we have a duty and an obligation.
Thanks for asking the question. It was a great question. We're
making a difference. The United States is leading.
Yes, sir.
Q. [Inaudible]
The President. Thank you, sir. Yes, I'm for that.
Yes, sir. Man with the baby--how old is that baby?
Q. Twelve days.
The President. Twelve days? Baby probably think it's in an
incubator. [Laughter]
Q. [Inaudible]
The President. Yes, I'll get a picture. Is that the question--can I?
Iraqi Reconstruction
Q. How do we get our friends in the media back there to report the
positive, good things there are going on in Iraq?
The President. You know history--the question was, how do we get
friends in the media to promote the good things in Iraq? Well, that's up
to them to do that. One thing we will always honor is a free press here
in America. It makes us a better country for it.
History will judge. Let me tell you something interesting about Iraq
and history. I read a lot of history. I love history, and I'm reading
about--I'm getting clips from the post-World War II period. And there
was a lot of discussion right after World War II as to whether or not
Germany could be free, whether or not the reconstruction effort was
worth it, whether or not the plans and strategies we had in place were
working, whether or not they really--had a well thought out strategy to
help rebuild Germany. Same in Japan. There was a lot of wondering
whether or not Japan could conceivably self-govern, whether or not the
reconstruction efforts were working--a lot of doubters, by the way,
during that period of time.
And fortunately, my predecessors--predecessor--was optimistic and
believed that people yearned to be free and that no matter how hard the
work is, that people would eventually become self-governing--it's in
their interest--this understanding that no matter the culture in which
people live, moms and dads want their children to grow up in a peaceful
world and have the very best for their children. And they were diligent
and optimistic, and now I can sit at a table with somebody like Prime
Minister Koizumi--the leader of a country
against whom my dad fought and many of your
dads fought as well--and talk about peace. See, he is a partner in
peace. He is a friend because a predecessor didn't give up on
understanding the power of liberty to change the habits of men and women
for the better.
Some day an American President will be sitting down with a duly
elected Iraqi official, talking about how to keep the peace, and America
will be better off for it.
Yes, little fellow. All right--yes, I'll sign it. I'll be there in a
minute. He wants a card signed.
Yes, ma'am. Yes, what you got?
[[Page 1380]]
President's Pets
Q. What kind of pets do you have in the White House?
The President. I can't stand these tough questions. [Laughter]
``What kind of pets have we got in the White House?'' [Laughter] Thank
you for asking that question. We have got two. We had three, and
unfortunately little Spot has passed on. It was a sad moment. She is--
interestingly enough, Spot was born in the White House, when
Mother and Dad
were there. And curiously enough, Spot passed away in the White House, a
happy dog. [Laughter] She was happy. We were sad. We loved her dearly--
15 years old, I want you to know.
Now we have--we got two left: The cat--the cat's got about nine
lives and nine names. [Laughter] I just call it Willie. Is that all
right? Yes. The girls love Willie. And then the alltime great dog,
Barney. [Laughter] Barney--Barney is a near-4-year-old Scottish terrier.
Gosh, I'm glad you asked. [Laughter] He's a fabulous little guy.
Yes, sir, and then you're next.
Former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV
Q. Did Ambassador Wilson lie?
The President. Did Ambassador Wilson lie, is that what you asked?
Well, you need to ask the press that question. [Laughter]
Yes.
2004 Presidential Election
Q. Do you think you can beat John Kerry?
The President. Do I think I can beat John Kerry? I do. I do. I need
your help, though. I know you're not old enough to vote, but you can put
a sign in the yard. And you can go to your neighbor, who may not have
made up their mind, and say, ``I'll pick up your newspaper for a week--
if.'' [Laughter]
Yes, sir, what have you got?
Immigration Reform
Q. [Inaudible]
The President. That's okay, I get the drift. You're trying to figure
out how you can get a permanent residence card? Yes. Well, we have a
system that I know--first of all, I hope you think it is interesting
that you get to come, as a person newly arrived, and ask the President a
question. That's our system. It's an open system. I think it's a great
thing about America. I love that aspect of the country. And we've got to
be a welcoming country, but we've got rules, of course. A nation must
have rules.
There is a system that determines whether or not you qualify for
asylum. And there's a system that then says that if you're here, if
you've got a job, you can stay here for a period of time. But we have
rules, and we've got to honor those rules. And it's very important for
those who have been here legally not to have somebody who hasn't been to
jump ahead of them in line for citizenship purposes. But you're welcome
here, and we hope you--you know, good luck. I mean, I think that was
your question.
Yes, ma'am.
Faith-Based and Community Initiative
Q. [Inaudible]--missionary. How can we get more--[inaudible]--all
the paperwork is so hard.
The President. Great question. The question is, is that she is a
inner-city missionary program that gets overwhelmed by the paperwork.
Well, I think there are--there are groups involved that help people with
papers. In other words, there's kind of a--a better way to put it, a
centralized overhead group that will help you with your paperwork. You
need to call our faith-based shop in Washington, DC--seriously--and ask,
because there are programs that help people such as yourself become
unburdened by the paperwork and legal and accounting requirements.
Okay, a couple more and then we'll get out of here. Yes, ma'am.
[[Page 1381]]
Freedom of Religion/Prayer
Q. I just got back from Mexico----
The President. Hablo Espanol?
Q. Si, yo hablo poquito Espanol.
The President. Okay, I can hear that. That means, ``I speak a little
Spanish.'' [Laughter]
Q. It made me realize how truly blessed this country is. I think
that a lot of people don't understand how truly blessed we are until we
see the poverty. But we spent about 10 days praying for this country.
But I guess my question to you, Mr. President, is, do you find the
importance of actually dedicating a moment in time on your knees in
prayer for this country and for the next coming-up election?
The President. That's a great question. Let me just talk about
religion and politics. First--first--first, it is essential that this
country never abandon the principle that people can worship the way they
want to, that you can worship, that you can choose to worship or not
worship and be equally patriotic. That's important for people to know.
The second principle is that if you choose to worship, you're
equally American if you're a Christian, Jew, Muslim, Hindu. That's an
important part of our society. It's essential that we always honor that.
That's called freedom of religion. It's an integral part of the American
past, present, and future. The state should never be the church, and the
church should never be the state.
Now, having said that, I am inspired, uplifted, and comforted by the
fact that millions of our fellow citizens whom I will never know
actually take time to pray for me and Laura and our family, for which I
am eternally grateful. It's an amazing country, when you think about a
country that prays for its leaders, regardless of their political party.
It's an amazing----
Q. Love you----
The President. Thank you. It's an amazing country, and I can't tell
you how grateful I am and touched I am and humbled I am by this--the
outpouring of prayer by fellow citizens.
A couple more questions, then we've got to--yes, sir.
Q. [Inaudible]
The President. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Thanks for saying that.
Q. [Inaudible]
The President. Okay. If you can't hear it, I'll translate it. And if
it's a lousy question, I'll just ask myself a question. [Laughter]
Significance of September 11, 2001, Attacks
Q. It appears that some people are forgetting 9/11--[inaudible]--
remember 9/11 and those who are fighting for our freedom----[inaudible].
The President. Interesting question. He says it appears to him,
there's an effort to forget about 9/11. We'll never forget 9/11. I mean,
it is a--I appreciate that question. I think that there is a tendency
for people to want to hope that there is normalcy. I remember talking to
the country and saying, this is going to be a different kind of
experience we're going through and that there will be--people want to
live in normalcy.
And his question is, is there a concerted effort to kind of try to
push 9/11 out of our memories. No, I don't think so. I don't think so;
as a matter of fact, quite the contrary. I think it is one of those
events that is a defining moment. Like, 30 years from now when you and I
are kind of creaking around and we run into each other, we'll say,
``Gosh, you remember where you were on 9/11?'' You will, and I will.
The key thing about September the 11th, 2001, is never to forget the
lessons that we learned that day. That is the most important aspect of
that tragedy, and never forget the lives lost, either. But I think it's
going to be--this will be one of those monuments in our history. I mean,
it's one of those moments that we just will never forget. And they'll
analyze--there will be a lot of history written about it. But my
[[Page 1382]]
job, and my call to the country, is to never forget--never forget: we've
got to take threats seriously, before they materialize; when we say
something, mean it; and that we have an obligation to remember there are
still people out there that are so evil in their hearts, they will be
willing to try to kill again.
And you've got to know something about the homeland. This is--it's
hard to defend our homeland. Do you know why? Because we're free. And
that's the way we intend to keep it. It's hard to defend a free country.
And so the best way to do so is, we've reorganized the Government. We're
sharing intelligence like we've never shared intelligence before. And
there are really a lot of good people working hard on your behalf, at
the Federal level, the State level, and right here in Cedar Rapids,
Iowa. And I know you'll join me in thanking the local police and
firefighters and EMS teams for their work.
You know what? So I'm looking around the room trying to figure out
who is going to be the first to fall out. [Laughter] I remember
campaigning here with Chuck Grassley in
the caucuses, and it was the dead of winter. [Laughter] And we went to
an elementary school, and it was like really hot inside the elementary
school. And I was speaking, and to my left, boom, he hit the deck. And
then pretty soon, somebody over here hit the deck. It was a lesson I
learned, and that is that I stop speaking before people hit the deck.
[Laughter]
So I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to give everybody
an oxygen break. But before I do, I can't thank you enough for coming.
We have a fabulous country. We have got a fabulous country. Together we
have been through some hard times. Together we've done some hard things.
The spirit of this country is strong and vibrant and real. It's a great
country because the people who are fortunate enough to be called
Americans are great people.
And there will be--there's lessons we have learned, and the hard
work we have done is paying off. The next 4 years will be peaceful
years, prosperous years, and hopeful years for everybody fortunate
enough to be a citizen of this great country.
I can't tell you how grateful I am you have come. May God bless you
all, and may God continue to bless America. Thank you all.
Note: The President spoke at 12:42 p.m. in the recreation center. In his
remarks, he referred to Norm Nielsen, president, Kirkwood Community
College; Palestinian terrorist Abu Nidal, who was found dead in his
apartment in Baghdad, Iraq, on August 19, 2002; senior Al Qaida
associate Abu Musab Al Zarqawi; Prime Minister Ayad Allawi of the Iraqi
Interim Government; and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan.