    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book II)]
    [October 4, 2006]
    [Pages 1776-1782]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at a Reception for Gubernatorial Candidate Bob
    Beauprez and the Colorado Republican Party in
    Englewood, Colorado
    October 4, 2006

        Thanks for coming. I appreciate those kind words, Governor. I'm
    proud to be here with Bob Beauprez. I've gotten to know him quite well.
    See, we both served in Washington, DC, together. [Laughter] He is a
    straight thinker. He is a clear thinker. He's a person who understands
    that as the chief executive officer of a State, that you have to have a
    vision and the capacity to make decisions necessary to achieve that
    vision. There's no doubt in my mind he'll make a great Governor for the
    State of Colorado, and I thank you for supporting him.
        And there's no doubt in my mind Claudia
    will make a fine first lady for the State of Colorado. I know something
    about first ladies. [Laughter] I'm a fortunate man that Laura said yes when I asked her to marry me. We're both west
    Texans. At the time, I can promise you, neither of us dreamt that I'd be
    President and she'd be First Lady. As a matter of fact, if she thought
    at that time--[laughter]. Thankfully, she is our First Lady, and I know
    I'm not objective, but I feel like she's doing a fabulous job on behalf
    of the American people.
        It's important to have--to be able to follow somebody in office
    who's done a good job. See, Beauprez is going to be a fine Governor, and
    one of the reasons he's going to be a fine Governor is, he's following
    another fine Governor, and that's Bill Owens. I
    appreciate Bill's leadership; I appreciate his steadfast adherence to
    principles. I'm proud to be with Bill and my friend Frances today, and I want to thank you both for serving
    your State.
        I appreciate Lieutenant Governor Jane Norton and Mike Norton for joining
    us. Thank you all for coming. I am proud to be here with a fine United
    States Senator in Wayne Allard, and his
    wife, Joan. Thank you all for serving, and
    thanks for joining us.
        Colorado is going to lose a really fine Congressman in Joel
    Hefley. I'm proud to call Joel friend. He
    brought honor and dignity to the office of United States Congressman. He
    represents the folks of Colorado Springs and the area with a lot of
    class. I appreciate him coming today, and

    [[Page 1777]]

    I'm honored also to be here with Lynn. Thank you
    both for coming.
        I want to thank the State attorney general, John Suthers, and Janet for joining us
    today. Thank you for serving. I thank State treasurer Mike
    Coffman and Cynthia
    for joining us today; proud you both are here. By the way, just in case
    you might forget, Mike is running for Colorado secretary of state. And
    in case the people of Colorado forget, he is a United States marine who,
    when this Nation called, served with distinction in this battle against
    these terrorists. Mike, I want to thank you very much. Proud to have
    been able to call you commander in chief--[laughter]--for me to call--as
    Commander in Chief, call you proud marine. [Laughter]
        I want to thank Commissioner Janet
    Rowland--Mesa County--and Lance, candidate for
    Lieutenant Governor. Thanks for coming, Janet. Bill Armstrong is with us. Bob Martinez
    is with us. John Elway is with us. Bruce
    Benson is with us. I'm proud everybody is
    here. Thanks for contributing.
        I do want to remind you, however, that campaigns are more than just
    raising money. It helps; don't get me wrong. [Laughter] But the next
    Governor is going to need your help turning out the vote. I know what it
    means to have a grassroots organization in Colorado working on one's
    behalf. Many in this room worked on my behalf to help me become the
    President. I want to thank you for what you've done and encourage you to
    support Bob Beauprez and turn out that vote come November. And while
    you're doing it, make sure we get these congressional candidates back in
    office too.
        Before I talk about some of the issues, I do want to talk about an
    event that just recently occurred here in Colorado, in Bailey, Colorado.
    A lot of Americans, and I know a lot of folks in Colorado, express our
    deepest sympathy to the folks in that good community about the tragic
    loss of Emily Keyes. She died one week ago of an
    unspeakable act of violence. It wasn't necessary. We join her family in
    prayer. We extend our deepest sympathies to those good people.
        This next week, I have asked Attorney General Al Gonzales and Secretary of Education Margaret
    Spellings to convene a meeting of leading
    experts and officials to determine how the Federal Government can help
    State and local folks deal with these shootings and the tragedies. Look,
    we wanted to make us certain around the country that the schoolhouse is
    a safe place for children to learn. And so I'm looking forward to the
    results of that meeting, how we can facilitate help, and how we can help
    these communities heal and recover from the tragic events like those
    that have taken place in three States over the past couple of weeks. May
    God bless Emily's family.
        Speaking about education, when I was the Governor of Texas, I used
    to say this: I said, education is to a State what national defense is to
    the Federal Government. Education is by far the most important priority
    for State government, as far as I'm concerned. And I know the next
    Governor feels the same way. I appreciate Bill
    Owens's approach to education, and I'm looking forward to continuing to
    work with Bob Beauprez. And here's the approach: We're setting high
    standards. We believe every child can learn to read and write and add
    and subtract. And we're willing to measure to determine whether or not
    each school is educating each child. And we measure early so we can
    correct problems early, so that the people of Colorado will be able to
    say no child is being left behind in the State of Colorado when it comes
    to public education.
        I know that a Governor can set the tone for a State. Your Governor
    has set the tone for the State, and your next Governor must set the
    tone. And the tone for a State is, one, it's a safe place to live; two,
    the schools are worthy of the dollars being spent; and three, this is a
    good place for

    [[Page 1778]]

    people to invest so people can find work. A Governor has the capacity to
    say loud and clear to risk takers and people looking at your State,
    ``Please come and invest in the State of Colorado. Please come to this
    State of entrepreneurial dreams.'' I know that Bob Beauprez will be able
    to do this because I worked with him to help overcome a recession and a
    corporate scandal and a terrorist attack on the United States, war, two
    hurricanes, and high energy prices. And yet our economy is the envy of
    the industrialized world.
        Our people are working. The unemployment rate is low in the State of
    Colorado. Productivity is up, small businesses are on the rise. I've
    always felt it's important for the State and the Nation to be able to
    say, entrepreneurs welcome here. The role of government is not to create
    wealth but to create an environment in which the entrepreneurial spirit
    can flourish. And so when it came time to overcome the economic
    obstacles we faced, I went to the United States Congress, spoke directly
    to people like Bob Beauprez and said, ``Why don't we cut the taxes on
    everybody who is paying taxes. Why don't we let the people have more of
    their own money in their pocket so they can save, invest, and spend.''
        Progrowth economic policies work. This economy is on the run--on the
    rise. And this is an issue in this national campaign. It really is. The
    issue is, the Democrats get control of the Congress, they're going to
    have their hands on your wallet. [Laughter] They'll be running up your
    taxes; make no mistake about it. The best way to keep this economy
    growing is to make the tax cuts we passed permanent and to make sure
    Republicans control the House and the Senate.
        The most important job of government in this day and age is to
    protect you. It is a vital call for those of us who serve in Washington
    or in State government. The reason I say that is because we're at war
    with an enemy that still wants to inflict harm. I wish I could report
    differently to you, but that's not my job. See, my job isn't to paint a
    picture of the way we'd like it to be; my job, in order to protect you,
    is to travel this country and explain to people exactly what's at stake.
    And what is at stake is your security and our freedoms, because there's
    a group of coldblooded killers bound together by a common ideology that
    wants to strike us again.
        I think about this every day, as your President. I resolved after 9/
    11 that we would use all assets at our disposal to do the most important
    job for a Federal Government, and that's to protect the American people.
    And the best way to do that is to stay on the offense against these
    people and defeat them overseas so we do not have to face them here.
        And that's exactly what we're doing. There's some incredibly brave
    people working on your behalf: great intelligence officers, people in
    diplomatic corps, and people who have volunteered to wear the uniform of
    the United States of America. And the job of us in Washington, DC--of
    those of us in Washington is to make sure that these brave men and women
    have all that is necessary to do the job we have asked them to do. And
    we will continue to do just that.
        This offense against these terrorists is waged in different fronts
    and in different ways. And the current front, the most visible front
    against the killers who would do harm in the United States, is in Iraq.
    And there's a difference of opinion. I believe that we must achieve
    victory in Iraq to make sure America is secure. Democrats in Washington
    believe Iraq is a distraction from the war on terror. These are decent
    people, and they're patriotic people; they just happen to be wrong
    people. [Laughter]
        If you don't believe me, if people in Colorado are doubtful about
    whether Iraq is important to the security of the United States, I would
    hope they would listen to the words of Usama bin Laden or the number-two man in Al Qaida, Zawahiri, both of whom have proclaimed loud and clear

    [[Page 1779]]

    that Iraq is essential to their plans. See, they believe America is
    weak, and if they can kill enough innocent people, we'll retreat. That's
    precisely what they want. They want us to leave the Middle East so they
    can establish safe haven from which to plot, plan, and attack again.
    They want to get their hands on oil reserves so that when they demand
    the free world to capitulate and there is resistance, they can wreak
    economic havoc. And into this mix of hatred comes a country that wants
    to have a nuclear weapon that has made their ambitions clear.
        This is the world we face today. If America were to retreat, if we
    were to cut and run, if we were to abandon our friends and allies, 30
    years from now, historians will look back, the country will look back,
    and say, ``What happened to them? What happened to the people in charge
    of providing security for the United States of America? How come they
    couldn't see the threat to future generations of Americans?'' I want you
    to know I clearly see the threat we face today, and I clearly see the
    threat we face in years to come. The United States of America will stand
    with those who long to live in freedom. We will support those moderates
    who stand in opposition to the extremists. We will keep the pressure on
    the enemies of freedom. We will help Iraq become a democracy that can
    sustain itself, defend itself, and govern itself, which will be yet
    another blow to Al Qaida and the haters. The United States of America
    will not retreat. We will achieve victory in Iraq. We will have done our
    duty for a generation of Americans to come.
        After 9/11, I recognized this fact that we must be right 100 percent
    of the time to protect you, and the enemy only has to be right one time.
    And that's the challenge we face. It really is. It's a daunting
    challenge. The challenge is made easier, by the way, by keeping these
    folks on the run. It's a lot harder to plot and plan if you're hiding in
    a cave or you're moving around the world. And that's why a chief part of
    our strategy is to keep the pressure on them. But I also recognized that
    I needed to call upon Congress to help us develop tools so that those on
    the frontline of protecting you could do so.
        One of the tools was given to folks through the PATRIOT Act. There
    was an extensive debate on the PATRIOT Act, and it's an important
    debate. But it's important for you to know that prior to the PATRIOT
    Act, intelligence officials and law enforcement officials could not
    exchange information. Now, this is a different kind of war. In the old
    days, you could measure success based upon the number of aircraft that
    were flying or the number of ships that were sailing, but no longer.
    See, in this war, we have to find people--find their intentions and
    bring them to justice before they come and hurt us again. In other
    words, we're not isolated or immune from the attacks. That's the lesson
    we learned on September 11th.
        And so I decided to work with Congress to tear down these barriers.
    And right after 9/11, everything went fine. As a matter of fact, in the
    United States Senate, the vote was 98 to 1. And then something happened,
    because when it came time to renew the act, Senate Democrats
    filibustered; that's Washington, DC-speak for talking until the bill
    dies. As a matter of fact, the Senate minority leader openly bragged in the press that ``We killed the
    PATRIOT Act,'' as if that's some kind of noble gesture in the middle of
    a war against killers and terrorists. He was asked by a
    reporter whether killing the PATRIOT Act was
    really something to celebrate, and he answered loud and clear, ``Of
    course it is.''
        Eventually we overcame the filibuster, and I signed the renewal of
    the PATRIOT Act. But the reason I bring this story up, as people are
    getting ready to go to the polls, people from both political parties and
    people not affiliated with a political party, they must understand there
    is a different attitude in Washington, a different mindset between the
    two political parties about the

    [[Page 1780]]

    threats we face. I strongly believe that we've got to give our folks the
    tools necessary to protect you. In this case, Senate Democrats, key
    members of the Democrat Party, tried to kill a bill that would have
    given people the tools necessary to protect you.
        I think it's important for us to understand the intentions of the
    enemy, understand what they're thinking and what they're saying. And
    that's why I instructed the National Security Agency to establish what
    is called the terrorist surveillance program to track communications
    between someone overseas making a phone call into the United States,
    someone we know is Al Qaida and/or Al Qaida affiliate. People say,
    ``Well, how do you know?'' Well, sometimes in the--pick people up on the
    battlefield that we know is Al Qaida or an Al Qaida affiliate, they
    might have some information in their possession. Take, for example, if
    they had a phone number in the United States; I think it makes sense for
    us to understand why somebody might be calling that phone number--if the
    most important job is to protect you, which it is. See, let me put it in
    plain talk: If Al Qaida is making a phone call into the United States,
    we want to know why they're making the call, where they're making the
    call, and what they intend to do.
        People talk good in Washington, see. They say, we're going to do
    everything we can to protect you. Then, all of a sudden, the vote comes
    along which helps clarify the difference of opinion. And so when it came
    time for legislation to provide additional authority for the terrorist
    surveillance program, 177 Members of the--Democrat Members of the House
    of Representatives voted against listening in on terrorist
    communications. We just have a different point of view. And this is an
    issue in this campaign. It's an issue on how best to protect the United
    States. Our most important job is to get information so we can protect
    you before an attack comes. It is no longer acceptable to respond to an
    attack after it happens. The lesson of 9/11 is we must take threats
    seriously now and deal with them, in order to protect the men and women
    of the United States.
        I felt it was very important that we have the capacity to
    interrogate people once we have captured them on this battlefield in the
    war on terror. And we've captured a lot of key operatives, people that
    we think were intimately involved in the planning, people we suspect was
    involved in the planning of these attacks--a man named Khalid Sheikh
    Mohammed, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, Abu Zubaydah--these are
    people that we believe, we suspect were involved with planning the 9/11
    attacks, and we captured them. And I thought it made sense to have a
    program that enabled our professionals in the CIA to see whether or not
    we could learn information about what they knew. If you're at war and
    you capture somebody--one of the key commanders--it's in the interests
    of the country that we find out what they're thinking.
        And I'm going to tell you point-blank, this program worked. Let me
    give you some of the data that we learned, some of the information. As a
    result of the information from the interrogations, the CIA helped break
    up--we helped break up a cell of Southeast Asian terrorist operatives
    that had been groomed for attacks inside the United States. Information
    gained meant we were able to act to protect you. The program helped stop
    an Al Qaida cell from developing anthrax for attacks against the United
    States. The program helped stop a planned strike on a U.S. Marine camp
    in Djibouti. It helped prevent a planned attack on the U.S. consulate in
    Karachi. It helped foil a plot to hijack passenger planes and fly them
    into Heathrow and London's Canary Wharf. In other words, we gained
    information that enabled us to do the job you expect us to do.
        Were it not for the information gained from the terrorists
    questioned by the CIA, our intelligence community believes that Al Qaida
    and its allies would have succeeded

    [[Page 1781]]

    in launching another attack against the United States. That's the
    measured judgment of those professionals that we call upon to protect
    you.
        The program is a vital program to protect the United States. And
    last week, Congress held a vote on the future of this program. Again, it
    was another clarifying moment. It was a chance for the American people
    to see which party would take the means necessary to protect the
    American people. In the House of Representatives, 160 Democrats,
    including the entire Democrat leadership, voted against continuing this
    program.
        I want our fellow citizens in Colorado--of both political parties
    and those not affiliated with a political party--to think about that
    vote. Nearly 80 percent of the House Democrats want to stop a program
    that has provided invaluable intelligence that has saved American lives.
    There is a fundamental difference of opinion on how to best defeat the
    terrorists and to protect the American people. The good news is, for
    Colorado, you don't have to doubt where Bob Beauprez stands.
        By the way, it just wasn't the House Democrats that voted against
    the bill, so did the Senate Democrats; 32 Democrats, including every
    member of their Senate leadership save one, voted to kill this vital
    program.
        I'm going to continue to campaign as hard as I possibly can and
    remind people about the facts because I understand the threats we face.
    This isn't a political issue; this is an issue of national security, to
    make sure that we give those on the frontline of fighting the war on
    terror all the tools, all the support, all that is necessary to protect
    the American people.
        You know, those votes and the comments that you hear out of
    Washington really reflect a different attitude and mindset about how to
    protect you. Democrats take a law enforcement approach to terrorism.
    That means America will wait until we're attacked before we respond.
    That is a pre-September the 11th, 2001, mindset. That won't work. It's
    just not going to work. The best way to do our duty is to stay on the
    offense, is to respond to intelligence and information, is to bring
    people to justice so they can't attack in the first place. And the best
    way to protect a generation of Americans that are counting on us, that
    are counting on this generation to do the hard work--like many
    generations before us were called to do--is to stay on the offense and,
    at the same time, spread liberty.
        You know, recently I had an amazing experience. I went to Elvis's
    place with Prime Minister Koizumi. You
    should have been there. [Laughter] I went because I'd never been there.
    I went because Prime Minister Koizumi wanted to go there. [Laughter] And
    I went because I wanted to tell you a story. I find it ironic that I was
    traveling to Elvis's place, particularly since my dad and many of your relatives--my dad, as an 18-year-old
    Navy fighter pilot--fought the enemy, Japan. They were the sworn enemy,
    and it was a bloody war. A lot of people lost their lives. It was a war
    ended by a horrific bombing--one tough decision for a President to have
    to make. And yet here we were 60 years later, old George W. and Prime
    Minister Koizumi, flying down to Elvis's place. [Laughter]
        But let me tell you what made the story even more amazing, was that
    on the way down, we were talking about keeping the peace. We were
    talking about North Korea. We were talking about the fact that Prime
    Minister Koizumi had committed 1,000 of
    his troops to help a young democracy in the heart of the Middle East
    succeed. He knows what I know: We're in the middle of an ideological
    struggle between good and evil, between moderation and extremism,
    between those who just want to live in peace and those who want to kill
    in the name of an ideology of hatred. He understands that.

    [[Page 1782]]

        We talked about how nations must respond to pandemic like HIV/AIDS,
    and I assured him the United States of America will continue to take the
    lead to help alleviate suffering. We talked about helping the young
    democracy in Afghanistan. I thought it was amazing, when I thought back
    about the same experience my dad, as a
    young man, had with the Japanese. Something happened between 41's time
    in the Navy and 43's time in the Presidency. And what happened was,
    Japan adopted a Japanese-style democracy, and the lesson is, liberty can
    convert enemies into allies. Someday an American President will be
    sitting down with duly elected leaders in the Middle East talking about
    how to keep the peace, and a young generation of Americans will be
    better off.
        Those are the stakes. Thanks for helping. God bless.

    Note: The President spoke at 1:27 p.m. at the Inverness Hotel and
    Conference Center. In his remarks, he referred to Frances W. Owens, wife
    of Gov. William F. Owens of Colorado; Lynn Hefley, wife of Rep. Joel
    Hefley; Janet Suthers, wife of Colorado State Attorney General John W.
    Suthers; Cynthia Coffman, wife of Colorado State Treasurer Mike Coffman;
    Lance Rowland, husband of Mesa County Commissioner and candidate for
    Colorado Lieutenant Governor Janet Rowland; former Sen. William L.
    Armstrong; Bob Martinez, State chair, Colorado Republican Party; pro
    football Hall of Famer John Elway; Bruce Benson, chair and president,
    Benson Mineral Group, Inc.; and former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi
    of Japan.