[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book III)]
[October 12, 2004]
[Pages 2475-2479]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks in Paradise Valley, Arizona
October 12, 2004

    The President. Thank you all for coming. Thank you all for being 
here. I want to thank my friends Jon Kyl and John 
McCain for their leadership. They're good, 
honest people, and they're good to work with, and they do a great job 
representing Arizona. I presume you want me to sign the water bill. 
[Laughter] No wonder you're here.
    Anyway, I finally made it to Arizona--back to Arizona. You know, 
we're kind of warming up for these debates. I'm looking forward to 
tomorrow night. It's a chance to point out major differences. For 
example, if the Senator has his way, this is 
the way every house will feel, because he doesn't have an energy policy. 
But it's going to be a lot of fun. I want to thank Arizona State for 
hosting the debate, and thank the good city of Phoenix and Tempe for 
being such gracious hosts.
    I'm--will be teaming up here in a minute with Laura. She's been working her way from east to west. She and 
little Barbara are campaigning New Mexico 
today, and Jenna introduced me in Colorado 
Springs. And I was sitting there watching that gracious young lady 
introduce me in front of 10,000 people, saying, ``My, does time fly,'' 
you know. [Laughter] It's an unbelievable feeling, really. I told the 
girls when they were young, I said, ``Oh, don't worry, we'll go on the 
famous father-daughter camping trip,'' come to the Grand Canyon, maybe 
ride down the Colorado River. This is the grand camping trip we never 
took them on, campaigning for President. [Laughter] But it's a lot of 
fun to have your family out there.

    I tell people--and this is true--I think it's true; it's got some 
truth to it, at least--that either when I asked her or shortly 
thereafter, Laura said, you know, ``I never want 
to have to give a political speech. I'll marry you, but I don't want to 
give a speech.'' I said, ``Okay, you got a deal.'' And--but fortunately, 
she didn't hold me to the deal. The American people have gotten to see 
her as a warm, compassionate, great First Lady.

    It's such an honor to serve the people. You know, people say, 
``Well, gosh, that's interesting. What's it like on your marriage, you 
know, being the President and First Lady?'' I say, ``It strengthened our 
marriage. After all, I've only got a 45-second commute.'' [Laughter] But 
we're representing the country together, and Laura has come to know what I know, that we have a chance to 
really do some good things for people. And I remember when she gave the 
radio address to the--and spoke to the women of Afghanistan, made it 
very clear that the American people were standing with them as they went 
from tyranny to freedom. And the feedback was fantastic, and she 
realized what I know as well, that just simple gestures and kind--
moments of kindness can really make a difference in people's lives and 
can help lift spirits and make a valuable contribution to the future of 
the country.

[[Page 2476]]

    I tell people that I'm going to give you some reasons why to put me 
back in. Tomorrow night, that's part of the purpose, but perhaps the 
most important one of all is so that Laura is the 
First Lady for 4 more years. [Laughter]
    And my runningmate is doing just fine. I 
talk to him quite frequently. I think I'm going to see him tomorrow on a 
video--on a SVTS, we call it, which is a secure two-way conversation via 
video. We talk about national security needs. And he's doing great. He's 
holding his own. He did a wonderful job in the debate. I tell people he 
doesn't have the--I tell people plainly the fact, and that is, he 
doesn't have the waviest hair there amongst the candidates. But I didn't 
pick him for his hairdo. [Laughter] I picked him because he's a man of 
sound judgment and great experience, and he's getting the job done. And 
I'm real proud of Dick Cheney and proud to serve with him.
    I want to thank Members of the Congress who are here. Trent and Josie Franks are with 
us. It's great to see you all. Thanks for coming. You're doing a fine 
job, and I'm proud you're here. Shadegg is 
with us. Where is John? Somewhere, anyway. Either that or he's outside 
trying to find some cool air. [Laughter] I want to thank J.D. and Mary Hayworth. They're 
with us today. Big J.D., appreciate you coming. Jeff and Cheryl Flake--there he is. 
Thanks for coming. I'm glad to see you all.
    The mayor is with us, Ron Clarke, of the town 
of Paradise, Arizona. What a fantastic name, Paradise. What a great 
name. You know who is here? I'm a member of the ex-Governors club, and 
my old buddy, the ex-Governor of the State of Arizona is with us, Fife 
Symington. I appreciate you coming. You look 
great, for an older guy--no. [Laughter]
    I want to thank my friend Jim Click. 
I appreciate his leadership. Several people came through the line and 
said, ``I'm Click's friend.'' I said, well, ``I'm sorry.'' [Laughter] 
But thanks for coming. [Laughter]
    I want to thank my--longtime friend of Mother and Dad's and mine, Jim 
Simmons. I appreciate Jim, and thank you 
for being here. I don't know if many people know this, but he used to 
live in Midland, Texas. And that's where Laura is 
from. That's where I'm from. Mother and Dad were living out there, and 
they became fast friends. You can't make it in this line of work unless 
your friends stay with you. That's just the way it is, and I appreciate 
Jim.
    Bob Castellini and 
Susie are here. They've helped on this 
event. I want to thank my longtime friend Bob Castellini. I want to 
thank Dave Thompson. I want to thank the chairman of the Republican 
Party of Arizona, Bob Fannin, and his wife, 
Lisa.
    Let's see here--21 days from today, the people will be going to the 
polls.
    Audience member. You've got my vote!
    The President. That's good. [Laughter] I certainly hope so. 
[Laughter] I don't know who is counting the days. I guess--but my 
spirits are high. I feel great. I really feel like the people--I got a 
good record to run on. I went to Washington to do some things.
    You might remind people about what this economy has been through. 
The stock market was declining 6 months before I arrived in Washington, 
DC. We had one of the most significant stock market corrections in our 
history, and it foretold a recession. And then we got attacked, which 
cost us a million jobs. But we acted. I acted. I led the Congress. We 
cut the taxes in order to create consumption and investment, and this 
recession was one of the shallowest in American history.
    We're on the move. Jobs are being created. There's a sense of 
optimism everywhere I go. Do you realize that there are more homeowners 
today than ever before? More minorities own their home than ever

[[Page 2477]]

before in the history of the United States. What a fantastic, fantastic 
statistic.
    The entrepreneurial spirit is strong. I mean, I meet small-business 
owners all over who feel like tomorrow will be a better day, in part 
because of the policies we have put in place. Listen, farmers are doing 
well, and that's good. When you got a good ag economy, you got a good 
economy. Think about that. The agricultural sector is doing well, which 
means rural America is doing well. There are bright spots all over this 
country.
    And what I'm going to tell the people tomorrow night is we're not 
going to go back to the days of tax and spend. We're not going to go 
back to the days where--kind of the vision of economic policy is, 
``We're going to take your money, and we'll decide what to do with it.'' 
Running up the taxes on the American people right now would be bad for 
our economy, and we're not going to let him tax you. We're going to win 
in Arizona, and we're going to win in November.
    So it's--you can't run on your record, see, you got to run on--the 
only reason you look at your record is to say, ``I did what I said I was 
going to do, and now here's what I'm going to do.'' And the best way to 
make sure jobs stay here is to make sure America is the best place in 
the world to do business. That means less regulations. That means legal 
reform. That means a commonsense energy policy that will make us less 
dependent on foreign sources of energy. That means opening up markets 
for U.S. goods.
    One of the interesting debates in this campaign is about trade. I go 
around telling the people, ``Look, we open up our markets for foreign 
goods, and that's good for you.'' I explain to them that when you have 
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 market works. So 
rather than preventing you from having more choices, I think what we 
ought to do is to say to countries, ``You treat us the way we treat 
you.'' Let's open up markets for U.S. products and U.S. goods and U.S. 
services. And that's how you keep jobs here in America.
    And you keep jobs here in America by being wise about how we spend 
your money. I look forward to working with Senators McCain and Kyl about--to bring some fiscal 
sanity to Washington, DC. But you're not going to have fiscal sanity 
with John Kerry as the President. He's been 
the most liberal Member of the United States Senate, which means he 
likes to spend your money. That's what that means. Now, he can try to 
run from his record, but I'm not going to let him hide.
    A couple of other quick points before people start to fall out 
here--[laughter]--including me. [Laughter] I can't wait for the health 
care debate. It's clear in this campaign; there's a difference of 
opinion. He said the other day, the Government 
doesn't have anything to do with his plan. When he said that I could 
barely contain myself. [Laughter] Of course, the Government has 
something to do with his plan. It's the cornerstone of his plan. It's 
the crux of his health care policy, to expand the Federal Government.
    I have a different view. I mean, we've got to address costs with 
medical liability reform. We got to address costs with structural 
reforms by giving consumers more choice in the marketplace. That's how 
you begin to control costs. And that's why I'm such a big believer in 
health savings accounts. I could give you the whole litany, but what I'm 
telling you is, is that there is a vast difference of opinion about 
health care. And I'm absolutely confident our view is the way to help 
make sure health care is available and affordable.
    I'm looking forward to talking about education. This is a subject 
about which I've got great passion. We reformed our--the way the Federal 
Government looks at schools. We measure now, in return for extra Federal 
money. You've got to measure if you want to save people's lives.

[[Page 2478]]

You've got to measure if you want to educate every child. If you don't 
diagnose the problem, you can't solve it.
    Listen, I'm looking forward to debating tomorrow night on domestic 
issues that will make a difference. I'm looking forward to probably 
spending a little time, hopefully, on the war on terror because there's 
a big difference of opinion on the war on terror.
    Let me tell you a couple of things, and we'll all go home and find 
some air-conditioning. First, you got to understand the nature of the 
enemy. They are coldblooded. They have no conscience, and you can't 
negotiate with them, and you can't hope for the best with these people. 
We must find them overseas so we don't have to face them here, and 
that's exactly what we're doing.
    A couple of other things. Secondly is that in this different kind of 
war, it is important to send clear and understandable messages, such as, 
``If you harbor a terrorist, you're just as guilty as the terrorist.'' 
See, it's one thing to go after the terrorist networks, which we'll 
continue to do, but we also got to go after those people who harbor them 
and support them. And that's what I meant when I told the Taliban to get 
rid of Al Qaida or face serious consequences. They didn't listen, and 
they're no longer in power.
    And I want you to remind your friends and neighbors about what took 
place this weekend. It is a phenomenal statement about democracy and 
freedom. Do you realize the first person that voted in the Presidential 
election was a 19-year-old girl? That's 
unbelievable. It's an unbelievable thought. Imagine what is happening in 
that society because of freedom. And it's in our Nation's interest that 
we promote freedom in places like Afghanistan and elsewhere, because 
Afghanistan is now an ally in the war on terror and such a bright 
example of what is possible in parts of the world that are desperate for 
free societies.
    The third lesson is that we've got to deal with threats before they 
come to hurt us. That's the reality of September the 11th. 
Saddam was a threat. We didn't find the 
stockpiles we thought were there, but remember what the report last week 
said. It said he was gaming the Oil for Food Programme to convince 
governments to get rid of--weaken or get rid of the sanction program for 
one reason, to use his expertise to rebuild his weapons. And what could 
he do with the weapons? He could share them with a terrorist enemy, 
which would make the harm done on September the 11th mild in comparison 
to what they could do. That's the true threat we face. And therefore, 
it's incumbent upon a President to face those threats before they come 
to hurt us. And that's exactly what we did in Iraq. Getting rid of 
Saddam Hussein was the right thing to do, and the world is safer for it.
    And we'll succeed in Iraq. We've got a plan, and we're moving toward 
elections. Think about a--they're going to have elections in January. 
It's dangerous there, and there's a reason. These terrorists want to 
stop us. They want us to quit. They can't stand the thought of a free 
society in their midst. They understand how powerful Iraq will be as an 
example of people being able to live in a free society.
    I believe everybody wants to be free. I believe women in the Middle 
East want to live in a free world. I know mothers from all walks of life 
and all religions want to raise their children in a free society. I know 
that, and at the core of my belief is that people want to be free 
because freedom is the Almighty God's gift to each man and woman in this 
world. That's what I believe.
    Let me tell you one story--one story, and then we'll all go home 
here. [Laughter] There's already enough hot air in here to begin with. 
[Laughter] I tell people I believe in the transformational power of 
liberty. And I put it--I try to put it in terms so everybody can 
understand what I'm saying. And I use my friend Koizumi as an example about what I mean. Now, he's the

[[Page 2479]]

Prime Minister of Japan. Laura and I are very 
fond of him. He's an interesting, interesting man. His favorite singer 
is Elvis--[laughter]--one of his favorite--pretty unusual. And one of 
his favorite movies is ``High Noon.'' [Laughter]
    And I sit down with him and talk to 
him quite frequently. And what I find amazing is that I am talking to 
him at all, because it wasn't all that long ago in the march of history 
that we were at war with Japan. Japan was the sworn enemy. My dad fought the Japanese. McCain's dad fought the Japanese. Your dads, granddads were at war 
with the Japanese.
    And after we won, Harry S. Truman, President of the United States, 
believed in the power of liberty to transform an enemy into an ally. 
Think about what that must have been like for the President, to stand up 
to the American people and say, ``We're going to help our enemy become a 
democracy. We'll help Japan, not hurt Japan, the enemy, but we'll help 
lift up Japan as a free nation.''
    And there were great doubters and skeptics, and you can understand 
why. Many lives had been turned up-side-down. ``Who wants to help an 
enemy,'' some probably asked. But Truman and other Americans stood true 
to the belief that liberty is a powerful, powerful concept.
    And so today, as a result of their belief, I sit down with Prime 
Minister Koizumi, talking about the peace 
that we all want. We talk about how to keep the peace on the Korean 
Peninsula. We're talking about how to spread democracy and freedom. We 
talk about how to help the people of Afghanistan and Iraq realize their 
dreams to live in a free society. He knows what I know: Free societies 
will yield a more peaceful world. And I'm talking to a former enemy 
about peace.
    Someday, an American President will be sitting down with a leader 
from Iraq, elected by the people, talking about how to keep the peace in 
a troubled part of the world, talking about how to spread liberty to 
corners of the world that need liberty, talking about how to make sure 
the example of a free society shines brightly for all. And our children 
and our grandchildren will be better off for it.
    The stakes are high. The stakes are high in this campaign. We have a 
competing different--competing visions on Government, and we have a 
different view of the war on terror. It's not just to be reduced as a 
``nuisance.'' It is to be defeated by using all the might of the United 
States and spreading freedom as an alternative. And make no mistake 
about it, with the firm resolve and clear vision, we will prevail.
    And I want to thank you for your help. God bless you. Thank you all.

Note: The President spoke at 12:46 p.m. at the Sanctuary on Camelback 
Mountain. In his remarks, he referred to Josephine Franks, wife of 
Representative Trent Franks; Mary Hayworth, wife of Representative J.D. 
Hayworth; Cheryl Flake, wife of Representative Jeff Flake; Mayor Ron 
Clarke of Paradise Valley, AZ; and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of 
Japan. He also referred to the ``Comprehensive Report of the Special 
Advisor to the DCI on Iraq's WMD,'' issued September 30.