    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book I)]
    [March 24, 2006]
    [Pages 563-570]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at a Reception for Congressional Candidate Michael E.
    Sodrel in Indianapolis, Indiana
    March 24, 2006

        Thank you all for coming. Please be seated. Michael, thanks for
    having me here. Let me start off by telling you it's great to be back in
    Indiana, the great city of Indianapolis. I'm here because I strongly
    believe it's in Indiana's interest to send Mike Sodrel back to the
    United States Congress.
        And I want to thank you all for supporting him. Some of you are from
    his district; some of you aren't, but all of you are wise enough to know
    a good candidate when you see one.
        I'm traveling without the better half of my family. Laura sends her best to the Sodrels; she sends her best to
    the Governor; she sends her best to the
    good people of Indiana. I'm a lucky man to be married to Laura Bush, and
    Mike Sodrel is a lucky man to be married to Keta Sodrel. I'm glad to be here with the Sodrels and the Sodrel
    family. I like a man in Congress who has his priorities straight, and
    Michael Sodrel prioritizes his family as a central part of his life.
        Governor, I'm proud you're here. I knew Mitch was going to be a fine Governor because, first of all,
    he's a fine man. He's got a wonderful sense of humor. I like a fellow
    who doesn't take a--run a poll to tell him what to think. I like
    somebody who stands up and does what he thinks is right. Give the first
    lady my best and the four daughters.
        I want to thank Congressman Steve Buyer for being here. Buyer, it's good to see you.
    Thanks for your service in the United States Congress. And Congressman
    Michael Pence--thanks for coming, Mike. I
    appreciate you being here. It's a good sign when other Members of
    Congress come out to support one of their brothers. So thanks for
    supporting Mike.
        You know what I know about him. He's an effective person. He can get
    things done. He's a reasonable guy. That's what you want in the United
    States Congress.

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    In a land of lawyers, it's good to have somebody who is an entrepreneur
    and started their own business.
        I thank the attorney general, Steve Carter,
    for being here. General, I'm proud you're here; the secretary of State,
    Todd Rokita--thank you both for coming, and
    thanks for serving your State. I thank everybody else for coming,
    particularly those who have worked hard to raise the money. For those of
    you who are interested in following up on your contributions, get over
    to Mike's district and help turn out the vote.
        And that's why I want to recognize Murray Clark, who's the chairman of the Indiana Republican Party,
    and his wife, Janet. Get those grassroots
    moving at the proper time, and we'll send this guy back to the United
    States Congress.
        And finally, I understand the former mayor of Indianapolis, my
    longtime friend, Steve Goldsmith, is with
    us today. Stephen, if you're here, thanks for being here; thanks for
    your service; and thanks for your friendship. He was on the leading edge
    of the compassionate conservative agenda, which has made an enormous
    difference in the lives of people, not only here in Indianapolis but
    around the country.
        Let me give you a Mike Sodrel quote. He said, ``The first role of
    the Federal Government is to provide for the defense of the country.''
    It's important to have people in the United States Congress who
    understand this is a nation at war. I wish I could tell you otherwise. I
    wish I could say that an enemy which attacked us on September the 11th,
    2001, has quit. That is not the reality of the world in which we live.
    The reality in the world in which we live is there's an enemy which
    hates those of us who embrace freedom and would like to strike us again.
    And therefore, it's important to have Members of the United States
    Congress who understand the stakes in the global war on terror. And Mike
    Sodrel understands the stakes.
        My most important job is to lead our Nation and to protect you. And
    so I have--want to share with you some of the lessons I learned after
    September the 11th, 2001, lessons that Members of the United States
    Congress must have in order for us to do our job. Lesson one is that we
    must defeat the enemy overseas so we do not have to face them here at
    home.
        Ours is an enemy which has embraced an ideology--an ideology of
    hatred, an ideology that is totalitarian in nature. They decide if you
    can worship and how you worship; they decide whether or not your
    children can go to school; they decide this; they decide that. They
    stand exactly the opposite of the United States of America. They have
    expressed their tactics for the world to see. They believe that those of
    us living in democracies are weak, flaccid. It's just a matter of time,
    they believe, if they continue to exert pressure, that we will retreat
    from the world. That's what they want.
        It's important to have Members of the United States Congress who
    understand the stakes and understand the nature of the enemy. They
    cannot exist without safe haven. And so one of the doctrines and one of
    the lessons learned after September the 11th is that we must hold people
    to account for harboring terrorists. If you harbor a terrorist, if you
    feed a terrorist, if you house a terrorist, you're equally guilty as the
    terrorists.
        Michael Sodrel understands that. He also understands that when the
    President speaks, he better mean what he says. And I meant what I said
    when I said that, and that's why I told the Taliban--I said, ``Get rid
    of Al Qaida.'' They refused. We sent a liberation force into Afghanistan
    to uphold doctrine, to protect ourselves and, in so doing, liberated 25
    million people from the clutches of a barbaric regime.
        A lesson of September the 11th is that not only are we facing a
    brutal enemy that's willing to take innocent life, an enemy which thinks
    we're soft, an enemy which

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    tries to find safe haven--but a vital lesson of September the 11th that
    our Nation must not forget is that when we see a threat, we must take it
    seriously, before it comes to hurt us. You see, before September the
    11th, it was assumed by policymakers and people in office that we were
    safe, that oceans protected us, that we're in good shape when it came to
    threats. We could see a threat overseas, and we could deal with it if we
    wanted to, or not.
        That changed on September the 11th. From now on, the United States
    of America, in order to protect our citizens, must deal with threats,
    must take them seriously to do our most fundamental job, which is to
    protect the American people. I saw threats in Saddam Hussein. Members of the United States Congress--both
    Republicans and Democrats--saw a threat in Saddam Hussein. Members of
    the United Nations Security Council saw threats in Saddam Hussein. The
    world spoke. They said, ``Disarm, disclose, or face serious
    consequences.'' The choice was Saddam Hussein's, and removing Saddam
    Hussein has made this Nation and the world a safer place.
        I need Members of Congress who support a plan for victory in Iraq.
    We've committed brave men and women, volunteers, people who said, ``I
    volunteer to serve the United States of America.'' And they're in harm's
    way, and we must have Members of the United States Congress who will not
    weaken and who will make sure our troops have all the necessary support
    to achieve the mission. And Mike Sodrel understands that and is a strong
    supporter of the United States military.
        Our strategy is to help rebuild the country. Our strategy is to
    encourage democracy. I know it's troubled times. I understand the enemy
    is capable of affecting how we think about the war in Iraq because
    they're willing to take innocent life. And this turbulence on your TV
    screens affects the conscious of Americans--I know that, and so does the
    enemy. But amidst all the turmoil, I want you to remember that progress
    towards democracy is being made. It wasn't all that long ago--4 months
    ago--that 11 million Iraqis defied the killers, defied the terrorists,
    and said loud and clear, ``We want democracy.'' Democracy is on the
    march in Iraq, and our job as a government is to help them form a unity
    government, a government around which the country can rally.
        The other part of our strategy is to train the Iraqis so they can
    take the fight to the enemy. The enemy cannot defeat us on the
    battlefield. They just can't beat us. So what they tried to do is
    they're trying to create a civil war; that's why they blew up the
    mosque. But amidst the turmoil and the pictures and the devastation and
    the reprisal, I want you to know that the Iraqi forces performed. The
    Iraqi forces we trained were able to bring some sense of stability
    throughout the country of Iraq. The mission is to train the Iraqis so
    they can take the fight. The mission is to encourage democracy. As Iraqi
    troops stand up, we'll stand down.
        But I'm going to tell you something about me. I'm not going to make
    up my mind about Iraq based upon polls and focus groups. I will make up
    my mind about troops based upon the recommendations of the United States
    military, not politicians in Washington, DC. [Applause] Thank you all.
        The only way that we can lose is if we lose our will. It's the only
    way we can lose. The stakes in Iraq are high. Remember, this is a global
    war on terror. Iraq is a part of the war on terror. And they're high
    because the enemy has stated they would like to have a safe haven from
    which to launch attacks against America again.
        I fully understand some in the United States don't believe what the
    enemy has said. I think you better have a President and Members of
    Congress who take the enemy seriously. You better have people in
    Washington, DC, who see the world the way it is, not the way we would
    like it

    [[Page 566]]

    to be. If our most important job is to protect the American people, we
    must be diligent and steadfast and never ending in our desire to protect
    you. Mike understands that, and so do I. Ultimately, the way to defeat
    the enemy, the way to defeat an ideology of darkness, a totalitarian
    ideology of darkness, is to defeat it with a philosophy of light. And
    that philosophy is liberty.
        As I make my decisions as to how to protect you, I want you to know
    I'm guided by this principle: I believe there's an Almighty, and I
    believe the Almighty's great gift to every man and woman--every man and
    woman--on the face of the Earth is freedom. Freedom is universal. It is
    non-negotiable. And as freedom takes hold, the world becomes more
    peaceful. Democracies don't war.
        As you explain what we're trying to do in Iraq--and will do in
    Iraq--to your friends and neighbors, remind them about the history of
    Europe. America lost hundreds of thousands of soldiers on the continent
    of Europe in two world wars. And yet today, Europe is whole, free, and
    at peace. And the reason why is, democracies don't war.
        My dad, as an 18-year-old kid, when the
    country called, said, ``I'm going in to fight the Japanese.'' I'm sure
    there's--you've got some relatives of others who went to war with the
    Japanese in World War II. They were the sworn enemy. They attacked us.
    They attacked the United States of America. Less people, by the way,
    died in the Pearl Harbor attack than died on September the 11th, 2001,
    on our soil.
        And yet today, interestingly enough, I sit at a table with the Prime
    Minister of Japan working on how to keep the peace. Isn't that
    interesting? Sixty years ago or so, 18-year-old George H.W. Bush volunteered to fight the Japanese as his sworn
    enemy. And now his son sits at the table to keep the peace with the
    Japanese.
        What happened? What happened was the Japanese adopted a Japanese-
    style democracy. If we don't lose our nerve, if we stay the course,
    someday down the road, an American President will be working with
    democratically-elected leaders in the broader Middle East at the table
    to keep the peace.
        I like working with Mike Sodrel because he understands the role of
    government is not to create wealth but an environment in which the
    entrepreneurial spirit can flourish, in which people can realize their
    dreams, in which people can start with nothing in America and, through
    hard work and imagination, build assets they call their own.
        Mike understands that. By the way, that environment was challenged
    during my Presidency. We've had a recession; we had a stock market
    collapse; we had an attack on our country; we have been a nation at war;
    we've had major natural disasters. But because our party, because
    Members of the Congress here, people like Mike Sodrel, understand that
    if people have more of their own money to save and spend and invest, we
    can recover from difficult economic times.
        Oh, I remember the tax debates there in Washington, DC. I remember
    those Democratic critics who spoke loud and clear. I remember one of
    them saying, ``It's reckless, irresponsible plan that will undermine
    opportunity in our country.'' You remember those debates, the loud
    noises they made about cutting taxes.
        Well, let me read to you the statistics. Our economy grew last year
    at 3.5 percent. The unemployment rate across America is 4.8 percent. In
    the last 2\1/2\ years, we've added nearly 5 million new jobs. The
    unemployment rate in Indiana is 4.7 percent. Productivity is up. Small
    businesses are flourishing. More people own a home than ever before in
    our Nation's history. Cutting taxes for the American people was the
    right thing to do.
        We've got a record to stand on. We've got a record of dealing with
    some serious economic times. There's a debate, of

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    course, in Washington, DC, about tax cutting, and I want the people of
    the Ninth Congressional District and districts all across America to
    understand the difference in our record. Our party and Members of the
    United States Congress stood squarely for tax relief for everybody who
    pays taxes.
        And the Democratic Party has a clear record. In 2001, more than 90
    percent of the congressional Democrats voted against cutting income tax
    rates. More than 90 percent of the Democrats voted against the bill that
    provided tax relief for married couples. More than 90 percent of the
    Democrats voted for [against]* a bill that would have put the death tax
    on the road to extinction. More than 90 percent of the Democrats voted
    against a bill that doubled the child credit. More than 95 percent of
    the congressional Democrats voted against cutting taxes on capital
    gains.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        *White House correction.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        And recently, during the budget debate, Democrats used the occasion
    to call for $173 billion in tax hikes and fee increases. The difference
    is clear: If you want the Government in your pocket, vote Democrat; if
    you want to keep more of your hard-earned money, vote Republican.
        And so the fundamental question confronting us in Washington is, how
    do we keep this economic recovery going? That's what people ought to be
    talking about. And we've got some good ideas as to how to keep it going.
    And the first thing is, make the tax cuts permanent. Oh, I know you've
    heard the same talk I've heard in Washington, ``We've got a problem with
    the deficit.'' We do, and we're going to deal with it. But the Democrats
    have got a good idea, they think, and that's to run up your taxes to
    make sure the deficit--folks, that's not the way Washington works.
        Here's the way Washington works. They'll increase your taxes, and
    they'll figure out new ways to spend your money. The best way to make
    sure that we reduce the deficit is to keep progrowth economic policies
    in place and be wise about how we spend your money. That's why we need
    people like Mike Sodrel in the United States Congress.
        It's important to set priorities when it comes to our budget. So
    long as we've got men and women in harm's way, we will make sure they
    have got that which is necessary to do their job. And I want to thank
    Mike and the Members of the United States Congress who are here who have
    prioritized supporting the United States military when it comes into our
    budget--comes to budget matters.
        I don't know if you realize this, but over the past--the last budget
    cycle, thanks to the good work of Members of the United States Congress,
    we actually cut nonsecurity discretionary spending. We not only have
    slowed the growth of nonsecurity discretionary spending every year that
    I have been the President, last year we cut nonsecurity discretionary
    spending. And I submitted a budget to the United States Congress to do
    it again. And the Members in this crowd are supportive of a good,
    prioritizing, lean budget. And I want to thank you for your support.
        The problem we have is that we've got people who want to spend more
    money in Washington. That's why we need fiscally sound people like Mike
    Sodrel in the United States Congress. And we also must show some
    political courage when it comes to the budget. The main reason the
    budget goes up is because of mandatory spending increases. Those would
    be your increases in Social Security and Medicare.
        And we've got a problem, folks, when it comes to Social Security and
    Medicare. We've got a whole bunch of us getting ready to retire--that
    would be baby boomers like me. As a matter of fact--Mitch, you probably don't know this--but I turn 62,
    which qualifies me for Social Security, in 2008. That's a convenient
    year to become eligible for retirement. [Laughter]

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        And there's a lot of us, a lot of us baby boomers. I'm kind of
    scanning out there, and I see quite a few of us. [Laughter] And we've
    been promised greater benefits than the previous generation, and we're
    living longer. I don't know about you all; I plan on just kind of
    stretching it out a little bit. [Laughter] And there are fewer people
    paying in the system, and the system is going broke.
        I need people in the United States Congress like Michael, who's
    willing to work with me to reform and modernize these mandatory programs
    so that a future generation of kids can come up and say, ``Thank God for
    that Congress. Thank God they're willing to do the hard work. Thank God
    they're willing to take on problems and not pass them on to future
    Presidents and future generations.''
        It's a tough issue, but that's why you sent us to Washington, DC, to
    deal with tough issues. If it were an easy issue, other people would
    have taken care of it. And I'm looking forward to working with both
    Republicans and Democrats to modernize both Social Security and Medicare
    so a young generation will say, ``Job well done.''
        In order to make sure that we're--this economy keeps growing,
    listen, we can't fear the future. We've got to shape the future. We've
    got to be confident as a nation. We lead the world today, and I intend
    to work with Congress to put policies in place so that we can lead the
    world tomorrow.
        And let me share some ideas with you. First of all, in order to
    lead--be the economic leader of the world, we've got to do something
    about these frivolous and junk lawsuits that are making it hard to risk
    capital. You know, it's fine, one thing to be--to have a legitimate
    lawsuit. It's these frivolous lawsuits and the junk lawsuits--and people
    are filing lawsuits right and left that are hurting the capacity of this
    country to realize our full potential. I look forward to working with
    Congress for meaningful and real tort reform.
        I look forward to working with Congress to do something about our
    energy situation. I know it came as a surprise to you that a fellow from
    Texas would stand up and say, ``We've got a problem; we're addicted to
    oil.'' [Laughter] But I meant it. It's an economic problem. It's an
    economic problem because as other economies begin to grow and use more
    fossil fuels, it affects our price.
        It's a national security problem. We're dealing with some countries
    that don't particularly like us, and they've got a lot of oil. It gives
    us a national security problem when people threaten to hold oil off the
    market for geopolitical reasons.
        This country needs to come together, do some smart things--
    particularly when it comes to research and development--smart things
    about how we change our driving habits. I want people driving with corn
    extract, ethanol grown right here in the State of Indiana, in order to
    keep these cars moving. One of these days, they're going to walk in with
    a crop report to the President and say, ``The harvest down there in
    Indiana is great. We've got us a lot of corn, that means we're less
    dependent on foreign sources of oil.''
        We've got to make sure that we continue to invest in battery
    technologies. Right around the corner is a technology that will enable
    you to plug in your pickup truck and drive the first 40 miles on
    electricity. That's not going to help you in parts of rural Indiana, but
    if you're an urban person--in Indianapolis or Houston, Texas, or
    anywhere else in America--that first 40 miles means a lot when it comes
    to your driving. Imagine people being able to drive on electricity, not
    on gasoline, for the first 40 miles. It will make us less dependent on
    foreign sources of oil. When it comes to electricity, we've got to be
    wise about how we use our resources.
        We'll continue to invest in clean coal technologies so this abundant
    resource can be used without fear of polluting our air. We need safe
    nuclear power if we intend

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    to be an energy dependent and an environmentally conscious country. No,
    in order to help us remain competitive in the world, we've got to be
    wise about our energy policy, and I look forward to leading the Congress
    toward a new day when it comes to consuming, particularly Middle
    Eastern, oil.
        In order to make sure that we're a competitive nation, we shouldn't
    fear the future; we ought to lead it. And the best way to lead it is to
    make sure our kids are educated for the jobs of the 21st century. I
    appreciate what these Governors, like Mitch Daniels, are doing--setting high standards and holding the
    people to account. I think it makes sense if you're spending a lot of
    money to say to the school districts, ``Why don't you show us whether or
    not a child can read and write?'' It seems like a legitimate question to
    me.
        It doesn't make any sense for the Federal Government to tell you how
    to teach. We believe in local control of schools. But when you're
    spending as much money as we do, it seems like we ought to be able to
    say, ``Show us whether or not a child is reading.'' And if not, correct
    the problems early, before it's too late. You can't solve a problem
    unless you diagnose the problem.
        And the No Child Left Behind Act believes every child can learn,
    believes in setting high standards, and says to the local districts,
    ``All we want to know is, can the child learn to read and write and add
    and subtract? And if not, here's a little extra money to bring them up
    to speed.''
        Now, we've got to apply that same rigor and same standards to math
    and science and at the same time increase Government investment in
    research and development--and at the same time say to the private
    sector, ``There's certainty when it comes to your budgets.'' The
    research and development tax credit should be a permanent part of the
    Tax Code. In order for the United States of America to be the leader of
    the world, we must have a job--a set of skills available for youngsters
    that will able to fill the jobs of the 21st century, and we must be the
    leader in research and technology.
        Mike Sodrel understands that. Mike Sodrel doesn't fear the future
    because he intends to work with President George W. Bush to shape the
    future. By being the economic leader in the world, our people will
    realize a better standard of living. By being the economic leader of the
    world, we will continue to be able to bring prosperity to corners of our
    country.
        You know, one thing Mike told me, he said, ``Just remember one
    thing, when you're talking about my district, is that we've got a lot of
    farmers there.'' All right, I'm going to talk to the farmers in Mike's
    district. You better have somebody elected to the United States Congress
    who works to make sure there's markets for you to sell your products. If
    you're good at something, you want to be able to sell your products in
    new markets. And Indiana's farmers are very good at a lot of things.
    They're good at growing. They're good at harvesting, and the United
    States Government ought to help them sell those products overseas at
    good prices.
        Secondly, if you're a farmer, you better have a Member of the United
    States Congress who understands the effects of the death tax on the
    American family farmer. We've got a system today where you farm all your
    life; you're paying your taxes; and then you pass on--and your heirs get
    to pay taxes again. And sometimes those inheritance taxes mean you have
    to liquidate your farm. For the sake of stability in the farm community,
    we need to get rid of the death tax once and for all.
        Most of all, I'm here for Mike Sodrel because he's a good, honest
    man. He's a decent man. He's a problem-solver. He's a practical fellow.
    He likes to get things done. He's a patriotic man. He's done a real fine
    job in the United States Congress, and I look forward to working with
    him in my last 2 years as President of the United States.

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        I want to thank you all for coming to support Michael Sodrel. Thanks
    for your interest. Thanks for your concern about our future. May God
    bless Indiana. May God continue to bless the United States of America.

    Note: The President spoke at 2:10 p.m. in the Murat Centre. In his
    remarks, he referred to Gov. Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr., of Indiana, and
    his wife, Cheri; and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan.