    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book II)]
    [October 12, 2006]
    [Pages 1840-1846]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at a Reception for Congressional Candidates Peter Roskam and David McSweeney and the
    Illinois Congressional Victory Committee in Chicago, Illinois
    October 12, 2006

        The President. Thank you very much. Thanks for coming. I'm proud
    you're here. Before I liberate the Speaker, so he doesn't have to stand up here for this long
    speech--[laughter]--I want to say this to you: I am proud to be standing
    with the current Speaker of the House who is going to be the future
    Speaker of the House.
        Speaker Denny Hastert has a long
    record of accomplishment. You know, he's not one of these Washington
    politicians who spews a lot of hot air. He just gets the job done. I
    have worked with him up close. I know what it's like to work with a
    Speaker who is determined to protect the United States of America, and a
    Speaker who wants to make sure that everybody who wants a job in America
    can find one. He has delivered results for the people. This country is
    better off with Denny Hastert as the Speaker, and it will be better off
    when he's the Speaker, the next legislative session.
        The Speaker has heard me give a lot of
    talks, so he wants to make sure if there's a chair nearby--[laughter]--
    but I want to thank you all for coming. Your support means a lot.
        Audience member. We will win.
        The President. Yes, sir. I am also proud to be with two fine
    candidates, Peter Roskam, David McSweeney. And I want to thank you for
    helping them. I have a sense of what it's like to run for office.
    [Laughter] I've done it before, and I know how important it is for two
    candidates who are out, day in and day out, campaigning to be able to
    look at an audience this size and realize they're getting fine support.
    Your support means a lot not only to their campaigns, in the sense that
    you're helping to fill the hat, but it means a lot to their spirits to
    realize there's a lot of people pulling for them.
        And there's nobody better to pull for a candidate than his family--
    in this case, Peter's family, Elizabeth
    and his
    children, and in
    David's case, his wife, Margaret. And
    it's been my honor to be able to see both those families, and I want to
    thank the families for supporting these good men for running for office
    as well.
        Speaking about wives--[laughter]--I was--I happened to have my
    picture taken a while ago with a group of citizens that came through,
    and one fellow--I guess I would define him as blunt--said, ``You know, I
    was hoping to have my picture taken with Laura.''
    [Laughter] I said, ``It's not hurting my feelings, man. You got good
    taste.'' [Laughter] She sends her best to the Speaker and to the candidates; she sends her best to you all.
    I am a lucky man to have Laura Bush as my wife. And our country--in my
    nonobjective opinion--is lucky to have her as the First Lady.
        I wish Kevin White all the very best in
    his run for the Fifth Congressional Delegation. Thanks for coming,
    Kevin; give Geraldine a hug for me.
        Audience member. Right in front of you; right here. [Laughter]
        Audience member. I'll do it for you.
        The President. Yes, thank you. [Laughter]

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        Audience member. Give her a hug for me. [Laughter]
        Audience member. Okay.
        The President. That's your responsibility. [Laughter]
        I am proud to be here with Congressman Don Manzullo from the great State of Illinois. My thanks to State
    Representative Tom Cross, who is the minority
    leader of the Illinois House. I want to thank all the State and local
    officials who've joined us. But most of all, thank you all for being
    here.
        I thank my friend Pat Ryan. It's not
    easy to raise this much money, and I know how much organization it
    takes, and therefore, it takes a strong leader up top, and that's
    exactly what Pat Ryan is. He's a strong leader and a great American, and
    I'm proud to be with you, Pat.
        I want to thank my friend Andy McKenna, who
    is the chairman of the Illinois Republican Party. The reason I mention
    grassroots activists is that you win campaigns by having candidates who
    can carry a strong message, and we have those candidates. You win a
    campaign because people are generous with their hard-earned money, and
    you have been so tonight. And you win campaigns when people get out and
    put up the signs and make the phone calls, go to the community centers
    and houses of worship and say, ``Support these candidates.'' So I want
    to thank you for what you have done, and I encourage you to continue to
    work to turn out the vote come this November.
        We've got a lot to do to make sure this country is prosperous and
    safe. I'm looking forward to working with these two new Congressmen as
    we work to diversify our energy supply. I'm going to tell you why we
    need to. I'm a little concerned at the price--the drop in gasoline
    prices, which I welcome, and I know you do too. [Laughter] However,
    masks the fact that it is not in our national interest to be dependent
    on foreign sources of oil. And so I look forward to working with these
    Congressmen to promote alternative energy sources, such as ethanol, and
    new research and development into new battery technologies that will
    enable you to drive the first 40 miles on electricity, and your car
    won't have to look like a golf cart. [Laughter]
        We've got an aggressive agenda to diversify our energy sources so
    that we're not dependent on Middle Eastern oil. It's in our national
    security interests.
        I'm looking forward to working with these Members to make sure
    health care is available and affordable. We don't need the Federal
    Government telling doctors how to practice and telling patients who they
    got to go see. But we do need the Federal Government to do something
    about these junk and frivolous lawsuits that are running good doctors
    out of practice.
        A big issue always facing the Congress is how to make sure that the
    entrepreneurial spirit remains strong in the United States. And we got a
    strong record. This administration has got a strong record on the
    economy, and so does Speaker Denny Hastert.
        You might remember the facts. This country has been through a
    recession, a stock market correction. We've been through a terrorist
    attack on our Nation. We've been at war to defend this country. We've
    had major hurricanes. For a while, we had high energy prices. And yet
    America is the envy of the industrialized world when it comes to
    economic growth.
        Our national unemployment rate is 4.6 percent. People are working;
    we've added 6.6 million new jobs since August of 2003. Our farm economy
    is strong. Productivity is up. Small businesses are on the rise. This
    economy is in good shape, and we need to keep Denny Hastert and the Republicans in charge of the United States
    Congress to keep it that way.
        And we're in good shape because we cut the taxes on everybody who
    paid income taxes. We have a philosophy of government that says, if you
    have more of your own money in your pocket to save, spend, or

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    invest, this economy will do well. That stands in stark contrast to our
    opponents, who believe that they can spend your money better than you
    can spend your money. And so we cut the taxes, not once, but twice. We
    cut the taxes on families with children; we cut the taxes on people who
    were married; we put the death tax on the road to extinction; we cut the
    taxes on small-business people. As a result of good fiscal policy in
    Washington, DC, this economy is strong. And the best way to keep it
    there is to make the tax cuts we passed permanent.
        That's the opposite view of the Democrats. You might remember the
    debate about the deficit--they go around the country saying, ``Well, we
    got to solve the deficit, and we need to raise taxes.'' That's not the
    way Washington works. If they were to get in charge of the House of
    Representatives, they would raise your taxes and figure out new ways to
    spend your money. The best way to balance this budget--by the way, a
    couple of years ago, I stood up and said, we can cut the deficit in half
    by 2009. It's amazing what happens when you cut taxes; the economy
    grows; you end up with more tax revenues. When you couple that with
    fiscal discipline in Washington, DC, which we have exhibited, the
    deficit gets cut. As a matter of fact, we cut the deficit in half not by
    2009, but by 3 years prior to that.
        The best way to keep this economy growing, the best way to make sure
    we've got a fiscal situation that makes sure the economic growth
    continues is to keep taxes low and prioritize how we spend your money.
    And the number-one priority has got to be to protect America and make
    sure those who wear the uniform have all the support they need to do
    their job.
        Our record on taxes is clear. The Democrats in Washington have a
    clear record of their own. The trouble is, they don't want you to know
    about it. Recently the top Democrat leader in the House made an interesting declaration. Here's what she said:
    ``We love tax cuts.'' Given her record, she must be a secret admirer.
    [Laughter]
        It's not just the so-called tax cuts for the rich she opposes, when we cut taxes for everybody who pays
    income taxes, she voted against it. When we reduced the marriage
    penalty, she voted against it. When we cut taxes on small businesses,
    she voted against it. When we lowered the taxes for families with
    children, she voted against it. When we cut the taxes on dividends and
    capital gains to stimulate investment, she voted against it. When we put
    the death tax on the road to extinction, she voted against it. Time and
    again, when she had an opportunity to show her love for tax cuts, she
    voted, no. If this is the Democrats' idea of love--[laughter]--I don't
    want to see what hate looks like. [Laughter]
        A big issue in this campaign across the United States and here in
    Illinois with these two Congressmen is, who is going to keep your taxes
    low? When we win, we will keep your taxes low. And make no mistake about
    it, the Democrats will raise your taxes. It's a fundamental difference
    in this campaign. And I'm looking forward to leading us to victory to
    make sure the taxes on the people of the United States remain low and
    reasonable.
        No, there's a lot of big domestic issues--and I'm sure our
    candidates are out there telling people what's on their mind--but the
    biggest issue facing this country is, who best to protect you? We are a
    nation at war. You know, I wish I didn't have to say that. I wish I
    could say everything is fine, but that's not the reality of the world in
    which we live. The most fundamental job of those of us in government is
    to protect you and to do everything in our power to protect the American
    people.
        There's an enemy that lurks and plots and plans because they cannot
    stand--they can't stand our values and what we believe. They don't
    believe in the freedoms that we believe in. They're bound by an
    ideology, and they're willing to use murder

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    as a tool to achieve that ideology. It's a different kind of war, but
    it's real, as we learned on that fateful day of September the 11th,
    2001.
        On that day, I vowed that I would use all of my powers and national
    assets to protect the American people, and so did the Speaker. These are folks you can't negotiate with. These are
    ideologues who have stated clearly, their objective is to drive the
    United States out of the Middle East so they can establish a caliphate
    based upon their ideology of hate. They have made their plans clear, and
    it's essential that the President and the United States Congress listen
    carefully to the words of the enemy.
        My view is, is that the best way to defeat this enemy is to stay on
    the offense and defeat them overseas so we do not have to face them here
    at home. And so we're keeping steady pressure on a group of people who
    would want to do America harm. It's hard to plan and plot when you're on
    the run. It's hard to plan and plot when you're in a cave. You just got
    to know, there's some incredibly brave Americans, working with allies,
    that are keeping the pressure on this enemy to keep you safe.
        One of the terrible lessons of September the 11th is that oceans can
    no longer protect us, and therefore, it is essential that the United
    States treat threats seriously before they come home to hurt us, before
    they fully materialize. I saw a threat. Members of both parties in the
    United States Congress saw a threat. The United Nations saw a threat in
    Iraq. Removing Saddam Hussein from power was
    the right decision, and the world is better off for it.
        Iraq is a central front in this war on terror. Oh, I know the
    Democrats say it's a diversion from the war on terror; some of them say
    that. But I would ask them to listen to the words of Usama bin Laden or Zawahiri, who
    is the number two of Al Qaida, who have said clearly, their ambitions
    are to drive us out of Iraq so they can establish a safe haven from
    which to launch further attacks; to drive us out of Iraq so they can
    have resources to use to fund their ambitions; to drive us out of Iraq
    so they can topple moderate governments.
        Imagine a world in which there are violent forms of extremists
    who've crushed the hopes of moderate, decent people because they have
    this ideology that is so foreign to us. Imagine a world in which they
    could use oil to blackmail the free world. Imagine that world, as well,
    with a group of people that don't care for America, with a nuclear
    weapon. If that were to happen, a generation of Americans would look and
    say: ``What happened? What happened to the leaders? How come they
    couldn't see the threat?''
        I see the threat. The Speaker sees the
    threat. We've got a plan for victory in this war on terror, and that
    includes helping those 12 million people who are desperate for freedom
    to achieve their dreams of democracy. We've got a goal, a clear goal,
    which is an Iraq that can defend itself and sustain itself, an Iraq that
    will be an ally in the war on terror.
        We're constantly changing our tactics to meet those of the enemy.
    We're constantly adjusting. But make no mistake about it, our plan is
    victory. We will stay in Iraq, we will fight in Iraq, and we will win in
    Iraq for the security of the United States.
        We have to be right 100 percent of the time to protect the country.
    The enemy has to be right one time. And therefore, it is incumbent upon
    those of us in government to make sure the professionals on the
    frontlines of protecting America have all the tools necessary to protect
    you. The Speaker understands that. These
    candidates running for office understand that.
        And that is why I worked with the Congress to pass what's called the
    PATRIOT Act. It was an act that tore down walls that prevented the
    intelligence community and the criminal justice community from talking.
    I know that probably sounds strange that that happened, but it's the
    reality. You can't defend America unless all

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    elements of government are capable of sharing information so that we can
    prevent the attack from happening in the first place. I also believed it
    was essential--and by the way, the Speaker
    led the charge in making sure the House passed the PATRIOT Act the first
    time and then reauthorized it.
        Secondly, I believe strongly that if an Al Qaida or Al Qaida
    affiliate was making a phone call into the United States from outside
    the country, we need to know why. If the most important job of
    government is to protect you, we need to understand what the enemy is
    thinking and what they're planning. I thank the Congress for getting the
    House of Representatives to endorse the terrorist surveillance program.
    I thought it was very important that when we captured a leader of the
    enemy on the battlefield that we detain and question that enemy. I
    thought it was essential to protect you, that we gain information from
    the leadership of those who would do us harm.
        One of the people we captured was Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who our intelligence officers believe was the
    mastermind of the 9/11 attacks. I thought it was important for this
    country to gain information from this mastermind in order to be able to
    say we're doing everything we can to protect you. And we learned a lot
    of information from those who we have captured, information that our
    intelligence service believes strongly has prevented attacks on the
    homeland. And yet we've had a debate on this issue, and the Speaker of
    the House led the House of Representatives
    to endorse this vision.
        In other words, we've been giving people the tools necessary to
    protect the homeland, and our Democrat colleagues back in Washington
    have taken a very different approach to the war on terror. There is a
    difference of opinion. I'm not questioning anybody's patriotism or love
    for America, but I am questioning their view of how best to protect you.
    And this is an issue in this campaign. If the security of the United
    States is the most important issue, then part of this issue is which
    party has been willing to step up and give those charged with protecting
    you the tools necessary to do so.
        In each vote, a clear pattern has emerged on which party can best
    protect the American people. More than 75 percent of the House Democrats
    voted to block the renewal of the PATRIOT Act. Almost 80 percent of the
    House Democrats voted against allowing the CIA to continue the
    interrogation program. Almost 90 percent of the House Democrats voted
    against continuing to monitor terrorist communications through the
    terrorist surveillance program. Rarely has a single series of votes
    summed up the difference between the two political parties so clearly.
    If the Democrats' Congress had their way, we wouldn't have had the
    PATRIOT Act or the interrogation program or the terrorist surveillance
    program. They can run from this record, but we're not going to let them
    hide.
        You know, I was--recently read where the Democrat leader said this.
    She said, ``The midterm elections should not be about national
    security.'' I strongly disagree. I want those discerning Democrats and
    independents and Republicans to hear loud and clear that the person who
    wants to be Speaker of the House has said that the midterm elections
    shouldn't be about national security.
        I know this election ought to be about national security. I'm
    briefed every day on the threats this country faces. The United States
    of America cannot afford to wait and respond to an attack. The United
    States of America must be on the offense to make sure the attacks don't
    happen in the first place.
        We've got one great asset at our disposal as well, and it's called
    liberty. I believe in the universality of liberty. I believe there is an
    Almighty, and I believe one of the great gifts of that Almighty is the
    desire for people to be free. I believe that. I believe that Muslim moms
    want to be free.

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    I believe that people all across the globe have this great desire and
    yearning to live in freedom. And I believe that freedom will help us
    yield the peace we want for our children and grandchildren.
        The way to defeat--the way I like to put it is, we're in an
    ideological struggle. It's a struggle between extremists, radicals, and
    reasonable people who simply want to have a better life. And I believe
    it's incumbent upon the United States of America to stand with those who
    are reasonable and moderate against the extremists and radicals.
        I believe it's our call to do so, and I have great faith in the
    power of liberty to transform regions of hate to regions of hope and to
    transform enemies to allies. And the reason I say that to you, I've had
    some amazing experience as your President, and perhaps one of the most
    unusual is my relationship with the Prime Minister of Japan. I must have told this story hundreds of times
    because it is so ironic that my relationship is so close, and yet my
    dad, when he was a young man, volunteered
    to fight the Japanese as a sworn enemy.
        You know, recently I invited my friend, the former Prime Minister--he just left office--to go to Elvis's
    place. [Laughter] I'd never been there. [Laughter] He wanted to go
    there. See, he's an Elvis fan. But I also wanted to tell a story to the
    American people about ideological struggles and the faith we should have
    in liberty--because on Air Force One, going down to Memphis, Tennessee,
    the Prime Minister and I talked about keeping the peace. Isn't that
    interesting? My dad fought the enemy,
    fought the Japanese as the enemy, and now his son is talking about the
    peace.
        We're talking about North Korea and how it's important for there to
    be more than one voice at the table when it comes to convincing the
    leader of North Korea. By the way, it's much
    better to have China at the table with the United States. It's much
    better to have Japan and South Korea--[applause].
        We talked about the fact that Japan had deployed 1,000 troops in
    Iraq, because he understands what I know,
    the advent of democracy is a huge defeat to the extremists. That's why
    they're fighting so hard. That's why this is such a brutal battle. And I
    understand it affects the American people, because the enemy has got a
    weapon, and they use it, and that's the murder of innocent people. And
    it gets on our TV screens, and we're a nation of compassionate, decent
    people who care about human life in all its forms. And yet Prime
    Minister Koizumi knows what I know, that we will succeed as liberty
    progresses, and we will succeed by helping people who yearn for a better
    life, and we will succeed by marginalizing those extremists and radicals
    and, if need be, bring them to justice before they hurt us again.
        Something happened between World War II and when I became the
    President, talking with this Japanese Prime Minister. And what happened was, Japan adopted a Japanese-
    style democracy. Liberty has got the capacity to transform an enemy into
    an ally. And someday, an American President will be sitting down with
    elected leaders in the Middle East talking about how to keep the peace,
    and a generation of Americans will be better off for it.
        God bless.

    Note: The President spoke at 5:25 p.m. at the Hilton Chicago. In his
    remarks, he referred to Patrick G. Ryan, executive chairman and founder,
    Aon Corp.; former President Saddam Hussein of Iraq; Usama bin Laden,
    leader of the Al Qaida terrorist organization; former Prime Minister
    Junichiro Koizumi of Japan; and Chairman Kim Jong Il of North Korea.

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