    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book I)]
    [May 31, 2006]
    [Pages 1050-1056]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at a Reception for Gubernatorial Candidate Robert L. Ehrlich,
    Jr., in Baltimore, Maryland
    May 31, 2006

        Thanks for coming tonight. Thank you all. So he just gave my speech.
    [Laughter] You know, when you have somebody who accomplishes positive
    things--he's got a record of accomplishment for everybody--not just a
    handful, but everybody--you need to send him back as the Governor of the
    State of Maryland.
        So in our line of work, there's a lot of big talkers. [Laughter] And
    sometimes you find a doer, somebody who knows how to set an agenda and
    lead people to accomplish that agenda. Bob Ehrlich is a doer; he's a
    great leader; and he needs to be reelected Governor of the State of
    Maryland.
        So the one thing he didn't take credit for was--I think he should
    have--was the Maryland women's basketball team. He can't even touch the
    net. [Laughter] Well, that's not true.
        We both married really well. [Laughter] He married a fabulous woman;
    the first lady of Maryland is doing a
    wonderful job. Laura and I are very fond of
    Kendel and Bob. We consider them friends. We invited them to come to
    Camp David once, which is, after all, in the State of Maryland. So he
    arrived--as did about 10 feet of snow. [Laughter] So I said, ``Come on
    back in the summer.'' [Laughter] But Laura sends her love to the
    Ehrlichs.
        And just a word on Laura. She's down in New
    Orleans today. She is a fabulous First Lady. She is really--I'm really
    proud of the job she does for our country.
        I'm also proud to be here with Bob's parents, Bob and Nancy. Thank you all for
    coming. I'm sure Nancy--[applause]--I'm sure one of the reasons why your
    son is so successful as the Governor is because you keep telling him
    what to do. [Laughter] And obviously, he's wise enough to listen.
    [Laughter] I've got the same problem in my family. [Laughter]
        Mr. Chairman, thank you for your
    leadership. I want to thank you all for supporting the Victory
    Committee. I want to thank you for giving of your money to help this
    good man and the party succeed. And I want to thank you in advance for
    what you're going to do when we come down the stretch in October/
    November, and that is, turn out the vote.
        So I want to thank all the grassroots activists who are here.
    There's a couple of

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    you out there, you know, stuffing the envelopes, making the phone calls,
    putting up the signs. That's how you win. When you've got somebody as
    good as Governor Ehrlich, you need to get on the streets and go to the
    coffee shops and houses of worship and tell the people, you've got a
    good man; you've got a good man who has done a fabulous job for the
    people of Maryland. By the way, when you're getting him in as Governor,
    make sure you put Michael Steele into the
    United States Senate.
        One of the things it's important to have in a chief executive
    officer, whether it be at the State level or the Federal level, is
    somebody who's willing to take on problems, to confront problems. You
    know, a lot of times in the political arena, it's easy just to shuffle
    them along. You know, you see a problem and say, ``Well, let's just not
    deal with it; let's let somebody else take care of it.'' I like Bob
    Ehrlich because he's not afraid to take on problems. He understands that
    our jobs are to solve problems. Bob Ehrlich is a problem-solver. He sets
    agendas; he makes decisions based upon principles; he doesn't worry
    about polls and focus groups; and he leads. And he's the right guy to be
    reelected to the State of Maryland.
        We're living in historic times. These are times that require
    steadfast conviction. I just want to share some thoughts with you about
    the war on terror. First of all, I want to thank the Governor for his
    strong support for the men and women who wear the uniform of the United
    States. As the Commander in Chief of a military full of incredibly fine
    people, it is important to have people in elected office like the
    Governor who know what it means to have--to be able to say strong words
    of support. These kids need our support. They're doing hard work on our
    behalf.
        My most important job and the most important job of the Governor is
    to protect the American people. And that job came home, became very
    clear to us on September the 11th of 2001. It's a day that I'll never
    forget. Many of the decisions that I have made as your President are
    based upon the lessons I learned on that day. The first lesson I learned
    on that day is, there are evil people in the world who want to do harm
    to the American citizens. I learned that you can't negotiate with these
    people; you can't rationalize with them; you can't hope for the best.
    That we must--in order to protect the country, we must bring them to
    justice before they do harm again.
        I learned that when a President speaks, he better mean what he says.
    I understand to protect this country that we must deny safe haven to
    these terrorists who'd like to do us harm. And so I said, ``If you
    harbor a terrorist, you're equally as guilty as the terrorists.'' I
    meant what I said. I gave the Taliban an opportunity to hand over Al
    Qaida. They refused to do so. And because of the bravery of our troops
    and coalition troops, Afghanistan is liberated and free and is no longer
    a threat to the United States of America.
        I learned on September the 11th a lesson I'm never going to forget,
    that we've got to take threats seriously before they come home to hurt
    us. It's really important, if you think our duty is to protect the
    folks, to take every threat seriously. You see, when we grew up, or some
    of us grew up, baby boomers grew up, we felt pretty confident that
    America could be secure from a foreign attack, except maybe by missile.
    And then that attitude changed dramatically when we realized oceans
    couldn't protect us. And so when we see a threat, we've got to take them
    seriously.
        I saw a threat. As a matter of fact, the world saw a threat with
    Saddam Hussein. See, he was a state sponsor
    of terror; he had used weapons of mass destruction; he had the capacity
    to make weapons of mass destruction; he invaded his neighbors; he was
    shooting at U.S. pilots. He was given a lot of United Nations Security
    Council resolutions, to change. He refused to change. He chose war, and
    the world is

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    better off without Saddam Hussein in power.
        And now we're doing the hard work of helping people who were
    suppressed by a tyrant, to understand the blessings of liberty. But we
    shouldn't be discouraged when you see the car bombings and killings. It
    saddens us. But remember that last December, 12 million Iraqis went to
    the polls in defiance of car bombers and killers and terrorists, and
    said, ``We want to be free. We want to be free.'' We understand that
    freedom is a universal principle. It is universal--I believe in an
    Almighty, and I believe one of the great gifts of the Almighty is
    freedom. Freedom isn't just, you know, for Methodists or Texans or
    Americans; freedom is for everybody. And it shouldn't surprise us when
    12 million people are free.
        And it shouldn't surprise us that there are killers and terrorists
    who are trying to stop democracy. See, their ideology is the exact
    opposite of a free society. They don't believe in dissent. They don't
    believe in the freedom to worship. They don't believe women should have
    rights. Their ideology is dark and backwards. And yet freedom brings
    light and hope. What you're seeing is an historic--is history being made
    as societies are--as two societies, Afghanistan and Iraq, have found the
    beauty of freedom, and they're establishing constitutional Governments
    of and by and for the people.
        We're going to succeed in Iraq. We will succeed because we've got a
    great military, full of decent and honorable people. We will succeed
    because the Iraqi people want us to succeed. And we will succeed because
    the terrorists and killers offer no hope, whatsoever.
        I want to tell you something about what's going on. I just talked
    today to my buddy Prime Minister Koizumi,
    on the phone. And we were talking about peace. And every time I meet
    with him, we sit down at the table and talk about peace. We talk about
    North Korea. He's got a thousand troops in Iraq because he understands
    the power of democracy to make the world a better place. Yet that wasn't
    necessarily going to happen after World War II. My dad fought the Japanese--I'm sure relatives of yours fought
    the Japanese. They were the sworn enemy of the United States. I think
    it's amazing--don't you--that the President of the United States sits at
    the table talking about peace with the leader of an enemy, former enemy.
    You know what happened? Japan adopted a Japanese-style democracy after
    World War II. Fortunately, one of my predecessors, Harry S. Truman,
    believed in the power of freedom to transform an enemy into an ally.
        Someday, an American President will be sitting down with duly
    elected leaders of Iraq, keeping the peace. Freedom causes people to
    reach for hope. Freedom brings light into society. Democracies don't
    war. What you're seeing today is the hard work of changing a society
    that was under the brutal thumb of a dictator into one that is free. And
    we're laying the foundation of peace for generations to come.
        At home, if you're looking for work, you can find a job. Bob Ehrlich
    and I believe that the role of Government is not to create wealth but to
    create an environment in which the entrepreneurial spirit flourishes.
    That's the principle by which we make decisions. And you might remember,
    we've been through some pretty difficult times in this country when it
    came to our economy. We've been through a recession and a stock market
    correction, an attack on our country; we've been to war to defend
    ourselves; we had some terrible natural disasters; energy prices are up.
    Yet our economy is strong, and it's getting stronger.
        And the reason why our economy grew at 3.5 percent last year--it
    grew at 5.3 percent in the first quarter of this year--the reason why
    the national unemployment rate is 4.7 percent and we've added 5.2
    million new jobs since August of 2003, is because we cut the taxes. We
    believe that when someone has more money to save, spend, or invest, the
    economy grows.

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        Bob Ehrlich and I understand this fact: 70 percent of new jobs in
    America are created by the small-business owners--70 percent. And so if
    you can stimulate small-business growth, you stimulate job growth. And
    by cutting the taxes, individual tax rates, we cut taxes on subchapter
    S's and limited partnerships and sole proprietorships. The tax cuts we
    passed have helped make our small-business sectors strong and robust,
    and America is better off for it.
        Ehrlich is going to fight to keep taxes low. It's not just low on
    some; it's low on everybody. See, we're not these kind of people who
    say, ``Let's have selective tax cuts.'' We believe if you're going to
    cut taxes, you cut taxes on everybody who pays taxes. Tax cuts are good,
    strong economic policy.
        And then there's the other thing in Washington, which Bob knows only
    too well, that says, ``Well, look, you got to raise the taxes to balance
    the budget.'' But that's not the way Washington works. I suspect it's
    not the way Annapolis works. They're going to raise your taxes, but
    they're going to figure out new ways to spend your money. [Laughter]
    That's the way Washington works. I bet that's the way the statehouse
    works too. That's why you've got to have a fiscally sound Governor as
    the Governor of the State of Maryland.
        And so the best way to cut the deficit, at least in Washington, is
    to keep your taxes low so the economy grows. When the economy grows, it
    generates more tax revenues for the treasury--and then be wise about how
    we spend your money.
        We're going to cut the deficit in half by 2009. I told the Congress,
    I said, ``Look, if you bust the supplemental we've got coming up there,
    if you're greater than 92.2 billion and--plus some for the pandemic flu,
    I'm going to veto the bill.'' I'm serious about it, you know. They've
    got to understand that we're going to cut this deficit in half by 2009
    by being wise about how we spend your money and keeping progrowth
    economic policies in place.
        Bob Ehrlich steps into office, as he told you--you took some of my
    speech away from me--[laughter]--but the people of Maryland have got to
    understand, he shows up in office, and they have a $4 billion deficit,
    see. When he shows up, you're in the hole $4 billion. Now he's standing
    up here asking for reelection, and he's able to say to the people of
    Maryland, ``We've got us a $2 billion surplus.'' Don't you want that
    kind of guy back in office?
        Sometimes the temptation, when you get into government, is to grow
    it. And a good place to look is at the office of the Governor; see,
    that's a good place to start to determine whether or not you've got
    yourself a Governor who knows how to manage. See, the chief executive
    officer not only has got to set an agenda and call people to achieve the
    agenda; he's also got to be a manager. He's got to be able to do a lot
    with less, if you're dealing with the taxpayers' money.
        Interestingly enough, he's decreased the size of Maryland's
    executive branch by 7 percent. See, he's in charge of the executive
    branch. And so the voters of Maryland--I don't care whether you're
    Republican or Democrat or independent--need to say to yourself, ``Who
    best to manage the executive branch of the State of Maryland?'' Bob
    Ehrlich has got a strong record.
        The other thing that's interesting that probably doesn't get
    discussed a lot here in Maryland, but should, is what could have
    happened had he not been the Governor. See, we've discussed what he did
    as the Governor. We know what happened since he's the Governor. The
    question is, what would have happened? Well, I'll tell you what would
    have happened. The legislature would have raised $7.5 billion in tax
    increases had you not had this man as the Governor of the State of
    Maryland.
        I'll talk about three things real quick: one, education. I used to
    say when I was the Governor of Texas, education is to a State what
    national defense is to the Federal Government. I think it's by far the

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    most important--should be the most important priority of any Governor. I
    know it's a really important priority of Governor Bob Ehrlich. You know
    why? I've been to schools here in Maryland. I've seen him firsthand come
    into classrooms and talk to teachers and parents. And he generally cares
    about making sure the public school system--the public school system
    does what it's supposed to do, and that's educate everybody.
        We had--when I came to Washington, I was very concerned about a
    system that just kind of shuffled people through--social promotion. You
    know we'd say, oh, you're supposed to be--you're X age; you're supposed
    to be here. You know what happened under that system? Impoverished kids,
    inner-city black kids, or kids whose parents don't speak English as a
    first language just got moved through. That's the easiest thing to do.
    And so we changed the attitude. And I'm proud to have a partner in Bob
    Ehrlich who understands, one, you've got to set high standards, see;
    you've got to believe every child can learn; and secondly, in return for
    money, we expect people to measure.
        Now, I believe in local control of schools, and so does Bob. I'm a
    strong believer in local control of schools. But I said, in return for
    increasing Federal money, particularly for poor students, I want to
    know. I want to know whether a child can read and write and add and
    subtract. And I want to know early.
        And so we worked with Governor Ehrlich. He put in a very strong
    accountability system--that's uncomfortable for some people. Oh, I've
    heard every excuse--you know, teaching the test, or you're testing too
    much. I don't accept that and neither does Governor Ehrlich. You can't
    have a good education system unless you determine early whether a child
    can read by grade level, and whether or not, if you find a child not
    reading by grade level, you've got courage enough to change the
    curriculum and make sure that child gets extra help. No Child Left
    Behind Act is working in the State of Maryland because you've got a
    strong education leader in Bob Ehrlich.
        And how do we know? We're measuring. You know, there's an
    achievement gap. So you've got a Governor like Governor Ehrlich, who
    recognizes what I recognize: You can't have an achievement gap in
    America and have America be a hopeful place. You can't have certain kids
    reading at the fourth grade level and other kids not, and you have a
    bright future for your country. You just can't. And he understands that,
    and so do I. And so he said, ``The achievement gap is narrowing.'' Do
    you know why? Do you know? Because we're measuring. High standards,
    strong accountability, local control of schools, demanding change where
    you find the status quo is unsatisfactory is the key to success, and
    Maryland has an education Governor in Bob Ehrlich.
        Why are charter schools important? They're important because if the
    status quo is unacceptable, you need to give parents alternatives. And
    that's what the charter school movement is all about. It says, ``You
    don't trust government to make decisions for people when it comes to
    education; you trust the parents to make the decisions for the
    children.'' And if parents are not happy with the status quo, they ought
    to be given other options. The charter school movement is going to put
    Maryland on the leading edge of educational excellence, and Governor Bob
    Ehrlich gets a lot of credit for being the pioneer of the charter school
    movement in this State.
        Our party is one that has proven that you can have economic growth
    and sound environmental policy at the same time. Environmental policy
    and economic growth are not zero-sum. As a matter of fact, I happen to
    believe that in order to have a good environment, you've got to have a
    strong economy so you can afford that which is necessary to protect the
    environment. Bob Ehrlich has got a very, very strong record of
    conservation.

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        He signed the most important legislation to clean up the Chesapeake
    Bay--ever. That's leadership. Some of them talk a good game--I'm sure
    they're spouting all kinds of stuff about how--[laughter]. This man has
    delivered. The Chesapeake Bay Restoration Act--the Bob Ehrlich ``I'm
    going to protect the Chesapeake Bay'' Act--upgrades the State's 66
    largest waste water treatment plants, upgrades sewage systems to
    increase nitrogen removal.
        The Ehrlich-Steele administration has
    preserved nearly 60,000 acres of fields, forests, and open space and
    farmland. This man has got a record to run on. And if you care about the
    environment here in the State of Maryland, you need to put Bob Ehrlich
    back in as the Governor.
        Finally, I proudly wear the label of compassionate conservative, and
    so does Bob Ehrlich. Let me tell you what I think that means. I think it
    means that government has got to recognize its limits in providing
    compassionate care. See, Government can hand out money, but it can't put
    hope in a person's heart or a sense of purpose in a person's life.
        If you find somebody who hurts in society, it's best to rally a
    person who's heard a universal call to love a neighbor like you'd like
    to be loved yourself. There's nothing better than somebody putting their
    arm around a lonely person and saying, ``How can I help you, brother or
    sister?'' There's nothing better than having a church or a synagogue or
    a mosque take up the cause of feeding the hungry and finding shelter for
    the homeless. Government should not fear the involvement of faith in our
    society; we ought to welcome faith in order to help solve some of
    society's most intractable problems.
        Ehrlich's got the Office of Community Initiatives. He's got a way to
    make sure that bureaucracy gets out of the way of helping people who
    have heard a universal call to help. I oftentimes remind the American
    people that--who look at our country and say, ``Well, our strengths are
    our military''--and it's part of our strength, but that's not the
    greatest strength for America. The size of our wallets, that's
    important. We're a wealthy nation, and we can do a lot with our wealth--
    which we're doing, by the way. We're leading the world when it comes to
    feeding the hungry. We're helping fight HIV/AIDS on the continent of
    Africa. This is a generous nation. We believe to whom much is given,
    much is required. But the greatest strength of this country lies in the
    hearts and souls of our citizens.
        Alexis De Tocqueville recognized that when he came to America in
    1832. He recognized that one of the really unusual things about our
    society, characteristics of our society, was the voluntary organizations
    all aimed at helping someone who is down and out. That's what he
    recognized. Our job is--my job as President and Bob's job as the
    Governor is to recognize that strength and to rally that strength and to
    call people to serve; is to help those who need help, by calling on a
    fellow citizen to love a neighbor like they'd like to be loved
    themselves.
        You've got a good man as your Governor in the State of Maryland, and
    you need to put him back in office, for the good of the people. Thanks
    for coming. God bless.

    Note: The President spoke at 6:25 p.m. at the BWI Airport Marriott. In
    his remarks, he referred to John M. Kane, chairman, Maryland Republican
    Party; Michael S. Steele, Lieutenant Governor of Maryland and former
    Senatorial candidate; former President Saddam Hussein of Iraq; and Prime
    Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan.

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