    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book I)]
    [February 17, 2006]
    [Pages 283-289]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at a Republican Party of Florida Dinner in Lake Buena Vista,
    Florida
    February 17, 2006

        Thank you all. Thanks for the warm welcome. Please be seated.
    Florida is a Republican State because Jeb Bush has
    done in office what he promised the citizens of Florida he would do. He
    has been a great Governor because he doesn't waver in the face of
    criticism, because he doesn't rely upon polls and focus groups to tell
    him what to think, and because he has a clear vision for a better future
    for the people of this State.
        And on top of all that, he married well. I'm proud to be here with
    my sister-in-law, Columba Bush. I married well
    too. And Laura sends her love to Columba and
    Jeb and to our friends here in Florida.
        It is so wonderful to be here to be able to thank the many people
    that helped me get to where I got and helped Jeb
    get to where he got. And, you know, you just can't take anything for
    granted in the political business. You can't say thanks enough, and
    particularly when I look around the room and see so many people that I
    know I can't thank enough. I'll try: Thank you from the bottom of our
    hearts for being here. Thank you for helping the party.
        I'm proud to be here with Mel Martinez
    and Kitty--the United States
    Senator from the State of Florida. I want to thank Mel for standing
    strong with the administration and with me when it came time to ratify
    and confirm judges who would strictly interpret the Constitution, judges
    like Judge Roberts and Judge
    Alito. And it would sure be nice to
    have two United States Senators who would confirm conservative judges.
        To that end, I welcome Congresswoman Katherine Harris. Thank you for coming. Congressman Ric
    Keller, Congressman Mike
    Bilirakis and
    Evelyn--where's Michael? There he is. Michael, good to see--flew down on
    Air Force One--kind of wanted a little comfortable ride back home.
    [Laughter] John Mica is with us, and Pat. John, thank you for being here. Ginny Brown-
    Waite and
    Harvey--where's Ginny Brown? Thank you for coming. I appreciate Toni
    Jennings, the Lieutenant Governor. The
    attorney general, Charlie Crist--thank you for
    coming, Charlie; the chief financial officer, Tommy
    Gallagher.
        I guess I shouldn't feel too uncomfortable reading the names back to
    back, you know? [Laughter] Thanks for running. Good luck. [Laughter]
        I appreciate Charlie Bronson, the
    commissioner of agriculture. Thanks for being here, Charlie. Members of
    the statehouse--

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    Senator Tom Lee, the president of the senate, as
    well as Allan Bense, the speaker of the
    house. It's good to see you, Allan. Thank you. Look, my only advice to
    the speaker and the president, just do what the Governor tells you. It's real easy. [Laughter] That's all it
    takes. [Laughter] Not exactly the way they do it in Washington.
    [Laughter]
        I want to thank Carole Jean Jordan,
    the chairman of the Florida Republican Party. You'd have thought they
    gave you a better seat than that, you know, after all the hard work. I
    want to thank Al Austin, who is the finance
    chairman, and his wife, Beverly. They're
    great friends of Jeb and mine. Thank you, Al. Jim
    Blosser, finance cochairman--thank you, Jim. And
    Jim MacDougald--I appreciate you all being
    here. Thanks for coming.
        Finally, I've got to say something about Rich Crotty. Now, you might remember, Rich raised a little
    fellow named Tyler. [Laughter] I don't know if
    you remember the moment or not, but I got up there to give what I
    thought was going to be a stemwinder of a speech, and Tyler went flat
    asleep. [Laughter] So I asked Rich, where is Tyler? He said, ``Well, Mr.
    President, he's taking a nap in anticipation of this address.''
    [Laughter] Crotty, give him my best.
        I am amazed by this number: The unemployment rate in Florida is 3.3
    percent. It's an amazing statistic. It's a tribute to people in office
    who understand the role of government is not to try to create wealth,
    but the role of government is to create an environment in which people
    are willing to risk capital, in which small businesses grow to be big
    businesses, in which people can realize their dreams.
        Feeney, I forgot to mention you. [Laughter] I
    was thinking about entrepreneurship and looked right at you. [Laughter]
    This Florida economy is strong, and so is the economy around the United
    States. We've overcome a lot. We've overcome attacks and corporate
    scandals and stock market collapses. And yet we're growing--amazing
    growth last year, over 3 percent growth, in spite of the fact we had
    high energy prices and a devastating hurricane.
        And the reason why is because people feel there's an incentive to
    work in America. The tax relief we passed is working, and the United
    States Congress needs to make that tax relief permanent.
        You'll hear them say in Washington, ``Well, we need to balance the
    budget.'' And they're right. But then they say, ``We're going to raise
    the taxes to balance the budget.'' I just want to warn you that that's
    not the way Washington works. It may sound good in the newspapers, but
    Washington works this way: If you give them more money, they will spend
    it. A tax increase, raising your taxes will mean there is more money to
    spend in Washington, and this economy isn't going to grow as strong. No,
    the way to balance the budget is keep progrowth economic policies in
    place and be wise about how we spend your money.
        There's uncertainty in our economy today. It's an interesting
    phenomenon, isn't it? You get unbelievable economic growth, and yet
    people are worried. They're worried about changing jobs and not having a
    health care plan they can take with them. They're worried about having
    the skill set necessary to find the jobs of the 21st century. People are
    worried about China and India. And any time people worry about an
    economy, the reaction sometimes in our country is to wall ourselves off
    from the world, is to be protectionist. That's the wrong attitude for
    the United States of America. America needs to be confident about the
    future because we intend to shape the future.
        And that's what this Republican Party stands for. This Republican
    Party stands for leadership based upon sound principles. And let me
    share some ideas with you.

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        To keep this economy the leader in the world, we got to make sure we
    do something about all these frivolous and junk lawsuits that are making
    it hard to risk capital. And I applaud your Governor, and I urge the
    Florida Legislature to join him in enacting meaningful, real tort
    reform.
        We can become independent from oil from the Middle East. In order to
    remain a competitive nation, in order to remain a world leader, this
    country has got to use technology to get us off being hooked on oil. I
    know that may sound strange from a guy from Texas. [Laughter] But I sit
    there and think about the world on a daily basis. I see what happens
    when there's instability in parts of the world from which we get our
    oil. Listen, we're close to some amazing technological breakthroughs
    that will enable us to drive automobiles fueled by ethanol or have a
    plug-in hybrid battery that will make it much easier for you to use
    electricity when it comes to driving your cars.
        Our party stands for innovation. Our party stands for change. And
    our party is going to stand for economic and national security by doing
    something about our dependence on Middle Eastern oil.
        We're getting some things done. One of the commitments this Federal
    Government has made is to take care of the elderly. And when we go to
    Washington, DC, and the commitment is to take care of the elderly, it
    seems like to me, we want to make sure we do it in a way that is modern.
    So I saw an old, tired, stale Medicare system there. You know, this
    Government of ours would pay thousands of dollars for ulcer surgery but
    not one dime for the prescription drugs that would prevent the ulcer
    surgery from being needed in the first place. That's a waste of your
    money, and it wasn't that--we weren't fulfilling a promise to our
    seniors. So we reformed Medicare. And today, seniors are getting modern
    medicine, thanks to the Republican Party.
        And I want to tell you something. We've signed up 25 million people
    since January 1st for this new, reformed system. And sure, there's some
    glitches. But we're also the party that knows how to solve problems. And
    you mark my words: When seniors get settled in and realize what we have
    done for them, they will realize the Republican Party has delivered good
    medicine.
        But we also know something else, that the best practice of medicine
    is in the private sector, and the most important relationship is between
    doctor and patient. And so we're going to continue to promote HSAs,
    health savings accounts, which puts patients in charge of their health
    care, and it helps small business afford insurance.
        I want to say something about Jeb and
    education. This guy understands, and so does our party, that we must
    challenge the soft bigotry of low expectations if we want the United
    States to be the leader in the world's economy. You cannot allow a
    system to develop in education that just simply shuffles kids through
    and hopes for the best. It doesn't work. It just doesn't work.
        I remember when I was Governor of Texas, and we saw these statistics
    about kids coming out of high school not able to read. I decided--I
    dedicated myself then, just like Jeb has dedicated
    himself as Governor of Florida, to stop this business of socially
    promoting kids. You know who suffers? Inner-city African American kids
    suffer; families who don't speak English as a first language suffer.
    Ours is a party that believes in high standards and excellence when it
    comes to education.
        And so we've said something pretty easy for people to understand. We
    said, ``We're going to spend your money, but we're going to insist that
    schools measure, because you can't solve problems unless you diagnose
    the problem.'' Ours is the party that says no child will left behind--be
    left behind, and we're delivering on the results.
        And so we're going to take this attitude of high standards and
    accountability and apply it to math, particularly in junior high grades.
    If our kids do not have the skills of the 21st century, jobs are going
    to go

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    somewhere else. In order for this country to remain competitive and the
    world leader, we must lead the world in research and development, and we
    must make sure we're educating the young scientists and engineers for
    the 21st century. And that's exactly what we're going to do.
        I am always amazed to hear some talk about, well, you know, maybe
    the best days are behind us when it comes to our economy. You just got
    to know something about me. I think this country can do anything we put
    our mind to. I think we've got such a strong entrepreneurial spirit,
    such wonderful people, that we're a land of doers and accomplishers and
    risk takers, that just given the right impetus and the right leadership,
    this country will still remain the preeminent economic leader in the
    world. And that's good for our people, and that means a higher living--
    standard of living.
        I said in my State of the Union, we must reject isolationism. You
    see, when you get nervous about things or get a little despondent, the
    tendency is not only to wall yourself off but to withdraw from the
    world. And in the 21st century, we can't afford to do that. We can't
    afford to do it because there's an enemy that still lurks, an enemy that
    wants to attack the American people.
        Today in Tampa, I was trying to explain to people how I make
    decisions, and I said, 9/11 affected my way of thinking, because I made
    the determination that so long as I'm the President of the United
    States, I will use everything at my disposal to protect the American
    people. That is our most solemn duty. I knew the further we got away
    from 9/11, the more likely it is people would kind of get comfortable
    and forget the challenges. And that's good, actually. It's hard to have
    economic growth if you walk around wondering when the next attack is
    going to occur. My job and the job of those of us in Washington is to
    constantly worry on behalf of the American people and to act on behalf
    of the American people so the American people can go about their
    business.
        In order to be able to defeat an enemy, you've got to understand the
    nature of the enemy. I will tell you, these people are fierce
    ideologues. They have a totalitarian view of the world. In other words,
    they want to decide how people think and act and how they worship the
    Almighty. It's their judgment that matters, not an individual's
    judgment. And they are nothing but coldblooded killers that kill
    innocent life at the drop of a hat in order to achieve their objectives.
        They have clearly stated their objectives, and I hope you appreciate
    a President who listens carefully to the words of the enemy. See, my job
    is to see the world the way it is, not the way some would like it to be.
    And this enemy--[applause]. They have openly stated, it's just a matter
    of time for the United States to lose its nerve. To what end? They want
    to find safe haven in which to plan, plot, and strike the United States.
    They look forward to having safe haven in which they can develop weapons
    of mass destruction to use against our people. This is what the enemy
    has said.
        They made a big mistake, however, when they attacked the United
    States. They roused a mighty nation that understands the stakes in this
    war on terror. And we will not relent, and we will not tire until we win
    the war on terror. So we're on the offense, and we will stay on the
    offense so long as I'm the President of the United States.
        One of the lessons of September the 11th is, we've got to prevent
    attacks before they occur. There are some old enough out here to
    remember the era when oceans protected America, and if we saw a threat
    overseas, we could decide to deal with it if we wanted to, or not. But
    we no longer have that luxury. And so part of my thinking and part of my
    rationale for our policy is my clear understanding that we must defeat
    the enemy overseas so we do not face them here at home.

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        And that's what we're doing. We got a lot of good people on the hunt
    right now. It's hard to plot and plan if you're trying to hide from
    Special Forces of the United States military.
        I also made it clear that if anybody harbors a terrorist, they're
    equally as guilty of murder; that if you provide safe haven for a
    terrorist organization, you're equally as guilty as the terrorist. And
    when the United States--and when the President of the United States says
    something, for the sake of peace and stability, he better mean it. And I
    meant it when I told the Taliban to kick Al Qaida out. They refused to
    listen, and the United States military and our coalition rid Afghanistan
    of one of the most barbaric regimes in the history of mankind, and
    America is safer for it.
        The whole world thought Saddam Hussein
    had weapons of mass destruction. The United Nations Security Council
    voted resolution after resolution after resolution because they felt he
    had weapons of mass destruction. Members of the United States Senate,
    both Republicans and Democrats, felt he had weapons of mass destruction.
    Members of the United States Congress, both Republicans and Democrats,
    in voting to give me the right to use force to remove Saddam Hussein,
    felt he had weapons of mass destruction. So did I. And he didn't. But he
    had the capacity to make weapons of mass destruction. He was a state
    sponsor of terror. He was shooting at American airplanes. The decision I
    made was the right decision, and America is safer for it. [Applause]
        Thank you all. And now we're implementing a strategy for victory,
    where Iran--I mean, Iraq becomes a ally in the war on terror, where this
    young democracy can sustain itself and defend itself, where this
    democracy becomes an example of hope for people in Iran and Syria, where
    this country can be an example for others who demand the natural rights
    of men and women.
        I want to assure you this--that we have one goal in mind, and that's
    victory, and we're going to achieve it. And the Iraqi people are
    helping. Think about what happened in one year. We live in a world
    where, I guess, there's too many television stations or something--
    [laughter]--but there's a lot of opinion; that's for sure. [Laughter]
    But in one year's time, these people who were threatened by brutal
    terrorists went to the polls three time, every time in increasing
    numbers, with more and more people voting from different religious
    groups, saying loud and clear to the world, we love our freedom; we want
    to be free. The political part of our strategy is working.
        And now you'll watch the formation of a government, and we're
    helping to make sure there's a unity government. But isn't it fun to
    watch a government being formed by people who had just finished living
    under the thumb of one of the most brutal tyrants in the history of
    mankind, Saddam Hussein?
        Secondly, we'll help this country grow its economy by being wise
    about reconstruction money. We understand that in order for people to
    accept democracy, there has to be tangible benefits in their lives. But
    the good folks in Iraq are entrepreneurial, and businesses are beginning
    to flourish. Oh, I know sometimes it's hard to tell it, but it's
    happening.
        And the final part of our strategy is, not only chase the terrorists
    down inside of Iraq but to train the Iraqis so they can take the fight
    to the enemy. And there are about 235,000 Iraqis now taking more and
    more control over their country. You know, one of the interesting
    measurements early on was when the enemy started bombing recruiting
    stations. I don't know if you remember that, but they'd drive by with a
    suicider or an IED and destroy people standing in line trying to serve
    their nation.
        So one of the first questions I asked our commanders was, are you
    having any trouble finding anybody to sign up? The answer

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    was, absolutely not. The people of Iraq want their freedom, and they're
    willing to stand up and defend their freedom. And the United States of
    America is proud to help them do so.
        The enemy has got one weapon; they've got one weapon: their
    willingness to kill innocent life and have those images on the TV
    screen. The only way we can possibly lose is if we lose our nerve, and
    we're not going to lose our nerve so long as I am the Commander in
    Chief.
        And the stakes are high, because not only are we defending ourself,
    not only are we preventing Iraq from becoming a safe haven for Al Qaida
    and their killers, we're helping spread freedom, which is an incredibly
    important part of achieving peace. I want the youngsters here to go back
    and think about the history of Europe over the last 100 years. Americans
    lost--America lost thousands of lives in World War I and World War II
    because of war on the European Continent. Today, there are no wars on
    the European Continent because of democracy. Democracies do not fight.
        You can't imagine somebody saying, ``Vote for me; I promise you
    war.'' [Laughter] Generally, the person doesn't get elected. [Laughter]
    People tend to run and say, ``Vote for me; I'll promise to fight
    corruption,'' or, ``Vote for me; I'll help your child get educated,''
    or, ``Vote for me; I'll help your health care system be modern.'' I
    believe that everybody in the world desires to be free. I believe there
    is an Almighty, and I believe the greatest gift of the Almighty, besides
    salvation, is freedom. And if you believe that--if you believe that,
    then you shouldn't be surprised that 11 million Iraqis have gone to the
    polls. And you shouldn't be surprised that Lebanon wants to be free. And
    you shouldn't be surprised that people are demanding their freedom in
    Afghanistan. Freedom is on the march, and we're laying the foundation of
    peace for generations to come.
        I'm excited. I am excited to be your President. It has been a
    fantastic experience. I can't tell you how great it is to represent the
    United States of America around the world. We're a land of entrepreneurs
    and doers and dreamers. And when we find people that hurt, we help lead
    the world. One reason you don't become isolationists in this world is
    because--let me just say, to whom much has been given, much is required.
    And a lot has been given in the United States of America.
        And the world requires our help in helping defeat HIV/AIDS on the
    continent of Africa, to feed the hungry, to provide relief in the
    outreaches of Pakistan, to help those who suffer from tsunami. No, ours
    is not only a nation laying the groundwork for peace, ours is a nation
    that's leading the world in compassionate help for people who suffer.
    We've got a great country. We've got a great country, and we're going to
    keep it great by making strong decisions that rally and play to the
    great strength of America, which is the hearts and souls of the American
    people.
        Thanks for letting me be your President. Thanks for supporting
    Jeb. God bless. God bless America.

    Note: The President spoke at 5:50 p.m. at Disney's Contemporary Resort.
    In his remarks, he referred to Kitty Martinez, wife of Senator Mel R.
    Martinez of Florida; Evelyn Bilirakis, wife of Representative Michael
    Bilirakis of Florida; Patricia Mica, wife of Representative John L. Mica
    of Florida; Harvey Waite, husband of Representative Ginny Brown-Waite of
    Florida; Jim MacDougald, finance cochairman, Florida Victory 2006; and
    Mayor Richard T. Crotty of Orange County, FL.

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