    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2005, Book II)]
    [November 30, 2005]
    [Pages 1790-1794]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at a Reception for Senatorial Candidate Michael S.
    Steele in Baltimore, Maryland
    November 30, 2005

        The President. Thank you. As Maryland builds the bridge, you might
    as well make it a ``Steele'' bridge. I'm proud to be here to say to the
    good folks of this important State, Michael Steele is the right man for
    the United States Senate.
        He's a decent man. He's an honorable man. He's a family man. Those
    are the kind of traits you want when you elect somebody to the United
    States Senate. And there's no doubt in my mind he's going to win. People
    from both political parties are going to realize this man is capable of
    doing the job, that he'll bring dignity to the office, that he'll help
    heal racial wounds, that he'll show there's a future for everybody in
    the State of Maryland.
        Michael has got a record. He's served--you know, one of the things
    people look at when they're looking at people running for office, do
    they know anything about the economy. The truth of the matter is

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    a lot of people are wondering whether or not they're going to have a
    job. And under the Ehrlich-Steele administration, the unemployment rate
    here in Maryland is 4.1 percent. That's a record. It means people are
    working. You can forget all the politics rhetoric. People need to look
    at the bottom line. People of this State are working; they're able to
    make a living.
        I've got some good economic news for our Nation. The latest economic
    growth is at 4.3 percent. America's workers and businesses have overcome
    the challenges of two hurricanes and high energy prices, so the third
    quarter growth is at the 4.3 percent. It's the fastest rate in nearly 2
    years.
        Just goes to show that when Government unleashes the power and
    potential of the American worker, the small-business owner, the
    entrepreneurs, when America promotes free markets, lower taxes, and less
    regulations, the country will continue to prosper and maintain our
    economic leadership in the world. You need to put Michael Steele in the
    United States Senate because he understands that small businesses create
    the jobs.
        I appreciate Andrea Steele. I appreciate
    her standing by her man during this campaign. She's going to be a
    great--a great Senator's wife. Michael married well, and so did I.
    [Laughter] And Laura sends all her best.
        Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele of Maryland. Thank you very much.
        The President. I want to thank you all for being here. I want to
    thank you for contributing to this good man. You see, when you're out
    there running for office, sometimes it may feel a little lonely, until
    you walk into a room just like this. [Laughter] It's hard to feel lonely
    when you've got this kind of support, Michael.
        Lt. Gov. Steele. Yes, it is.
        The President. It's important that you contribute to his campaign
    the way you have, and I want to thank you for doing that. It's also
    important that you contribute by talking to your neighbors and when the
    time comes, to pick up the telephone and encourage people to vote. And
    when you're doing so, make sure you not only include Republicans but
    Democrats and independents as well. You see, people in this country want
    there to be honest Government. No matter what party they're from, they
    want a decent, honorable man to represent them. And in Michael Steele,
    you've got such a person.
        I like his attitude about education, and I hope the people of
    Maryland do as well. Listen to what he said. He said, ``We need to
    replace the systems that trap poor kids in failing schools.'' In other
    words, his vision is to focus on the children, not the system, but the
    children. He agrees with me; no child should be left behind in America.
    And when we find success, we'll praise success. But when we find
    failure, we've got to have the courage to challenge the status quo, to
    insist upon high standards and excellence for every single child, not
    only in Maryland but around the country. He'll be a great United States
    Senator when it comes to education.
        I appreciate Michael Steele helping to launch the Governor's Office
    of Community Initiatives here in Maryland. It's part of the Faith-Based
    Initiative. The Faith-Based Initiative recognizes there's a limitation
    to the capabilities of Government to cause people to love one another.
    Government is about law and justice--that's what Government is. But love
    comes from a higher calling. And there are thousands of our fellow
    citizens who have heard that call to love a neighbor just like they'd
    like to be loved themselves and are willing to serve in some of the
    darkest communities and areas of our country, where people don't have
    hope, where the light doesn't shine in. But the light can shine in if we
    unleash the vast potential of America, the great compassion. And Michael
    Steele understands that.
        Michael will come to Washington, DC--and he's coming, by the way,
    with a nation that is at war. I wish I could report to

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    you that we're not at war, but we are. And we need Members of the United
    States Senate who understand the reality of the world in which we live.
        There's an enemy out there that still wants to do us harm. And they
    want to because their vision of the future is completely opposite from
    ours. We believe in freedom. We believe in the right for people to
    worship freely, to speak their mind freely, to print their editorials
    freely. That's what we believe. They believe in the opposite. They
    resent freedom. They have a totalitarian view of the world that says,
    ``You either believe it my way, or you're going to be in trouble.'' And
    they want to spread that vision around the world. How do I know? They've
    told us, and we've got to take their words seriously.
        We should never forget the lessons of September the 11th, 2001, that
    there's an enemy out there willing to inflict great harm on the American
    people. And because we're not going to change in our beliefs about
    freedom, they're not going to change in their beliefs about causing us
    harm. And therefore, there's only one thing we need to do, and that is
    to stay on the offensive, bring these people to justice for hurting
    American people.
        And a Senator Michael Steele will understand that. The people of
    Maryland will send somebody to the United States Senate who understands
    the high stakes of the world in which we live, the need to stay firm in
    our--and have strong resolve in doing our duty, which is to protect the
    American people. The enemy has declared that Iraq is the central front
    in the war on terror, and we got to take them for their word.
        Today I gave a speech in Annapolis. I made it abundantly clear to
    the American people we have one objective in Iraq, and that is victory,
    to make sure that we secure the American homeland by defeating the enemy
    in Iraq. And we got a strategy to do that. On the one hand, we're
    helping Iraq develop a democracy. Think of what's happened in that
    country in 2\1/2\ years, and compare it to other democracies such as our
    own.
        In 2\1/2\ years, they've gone from brutal dictator, enemy of America, was on a state sponsored list for
    terror, at the very minimum had the capability of developing weapons of
    mass destruction if the world looked the other way, a dictator who had
    been sent in front of the United Nations 15 or 16 different times with
    resolutions--the whole world recognized the evil nature of this person.
    And then they were liberated, and then they had elections, and then they
    ratified the Constitution. And now they're going to have elections on
    December the 15th, all in 2\1/2\ years. Democracy is on the move. A free
    society is emerging.
        And people say, ``Why is that important?'' Well, free societies
    yield the peace. History has proven that democracies are peaceful--yield
    the peaceful countries. And we need allies in the war against these
    terrorists, and we're going to have one when we succeed in Iraq.
        The other part of our strategy is to have the Iraqis defend their
    own country, is to train them so they can take the fight, is to prepare
    them to defeat the terrorists who want to use Iraq as a safe haven.
    These terrorists have no philosophy; they got no ideology that says the
    world will be better. The only thing they've got is the capacity and the
    willingness to kill innocent people. That's the only weapon they have.
        What they're trying to do is to get on our TV screens and shake our
    will and cause us to leave before we have completed the mission so they
    can have Iraq as a safe haven to plot, plan, and to spread their
    totalitarian vision. They don't understand America. Our will will not be
    shaken. We will complete the mission and free Iraq.
        And it's going to be important for this important State to have a
    United States Senator who understands the stakes. And Michael Steele
    understands the duty of

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    protecting the American people. He understands the importance of
    supporting our troops in harm's way. Anytime we've got a man or woman in
    uniform in harm's way, he or she deserves the full support of the United
    States Government, and Michael Steele as a Senator will do that.
        I also look forward to working with Senator Steele when it comes the
    advancing democracy around the world. You know, I just came back from
    the Far East, where I went to South Korea, Japan, China, and Mongolia.
    As an aside, it is a huge honor to represent the United States overseas.
    I mean, we are such a compassionate, decent nation it is an honor to
    stand up in other parts of the world and say--talk to people about the
    values we believe in. And during my visit there, I spent time with Prime
    Minister Koizumi of Japan. That's nothing
    unusual about the U.S. President sitting down with the Prime Minister
    from Japan. But it is when you put it in historical context.
        And we were talking about the peace. The Prime Minister and I were talking about how to help Iraq become a
    democracy, understanding that a democracy in the heart of the Middle
    East will defy the terrorists' ambitions for spreading a totalitarian
    regime, that democracy is the only system that allows people to have
    hope for the long run, and that helps defeat resentment and the
    bitterness that they use to recruit their suiciders. We talked about
    North Korea, how to make the Korean Peninsula nuclear-free so that the
    world is more peaceful.
        In other words, we're talking about laying the foundation for peace,
    and yet it was only 60 years ago that my dad and many of your relatives fought the Japanese. They
    were the sworn enemy of the United States of America. And here it is, 60
    years later, that the son of a Navy bomber pilot who fought in Japan was
    sitting down with the Prime Minister of
    our former enemy, talking of peace.
        So what happened? What historical lesson can we draw from that?
    Well, the lesson is, is that Japan adopted a Japanese-style democracy.
    See, democracies are peaceful societies. History has proven democracy
    yields the peace. And what you're seeing unfolding in the hard work
    we're doing today is laying the foundation for peace. Someday an
    American President and a United States Senator is going to look back at
    this generation's call and say, ``Thank goodness they stood true to the
    values America believes in--freedom; freedom to worship; human rights
    and human dignity--and helped spread that to parts of the world.''
    Someday an American President is going to be sitting down, talking to a
    leader from an Islamic country, working on keeping the peace. We're
    laying the foundation of peace for generations to come.
        And I look forward to working with United States Senator Michael
    Steele to lay that foundation of peace for generations to come.
        Michael's mother is named Maebell. Mine
    was named Barbara. [Laughter] She says she made
    their home, growing up, rich in character. That's what she said. She
    worked in a Laundromat for 45 years. She understood the true definition
    of wealth and richness. She said she made her home rich in character,
    rich in turning hope into action. That's the kind of fellow you want in
    the United States Senate representing you, somebody raised in that kind
    of way, somebody who was taught character matters more than anything
    else. Character is the basis for leadership.
        Michael Steele is a man who loves his family, loves his country, and
    loves his God. Michael Steele will make a United States Senator that
    will bring pride to the great State of Maryland. And I'm proud to stand
    with him.
        Thank you all for coming. May God bless you.

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    Note: The President spoke at 11:49 a.m. in the North Club Area Lounge at
    M&T Bank Stadium. In his remarks, he referred to Lt. Gov. Steele's wife,
    Andrea, and his mother, Maebell Steele. A tape was not available for
    verification of the content of these remarks.