    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book II)]
    [October 19, 2006]
    [Pages 1878-1883]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at a Reception for Senatorial Candidate George Allen in Richmond, Virginia
    October 19, 2006

        Thank you all. Thank you for coming. Thanks for the warm welcome,
    and thank you for supporting George Allen to be reelected United States
    Senator of the great State of Virginia.
        I'm proud to be here with him. He's a man who has earned the
    confidence of the people of this State as a delegate, as the Governor--
    and a very successful Governor--as a United States Senator. He's the
    kind of fellow who says he's going to--what he tells you on the campaign
    trail, he does in office. He doesn't need a poll or a focus group to
    tell him what to think or what to say. George Allen is a man of strong
    principle; he is a leader; he is the right man to be the United States
    Senator from the State of Virginia.
        And he married well, and so did I. See, we got something in common.
    We're both named George, and we both married smart, beautiful women. Laura is very fond of the
    Allens. She understands that they are honorable, decent people--honest,
    good folks. We're proud to call them friends, and I know the people of
    Virginia are proud to call George Allen United States Senator.
        I appreciate the Lieutenant Governor--Lieutenant Governor Bill
    Bolling and his wife, Jean Ann, and the family are with us today. Governor, thanks for
    coming. Speaker Bill Howell is with us.
    Appreciate you being here, Mr. Speaker.
        I had the honor of meeting an interesting fellow at the airport today--as a matter of fact, he was at
    the steps there when I got off of Air Force One, and we traveled
    throughout his senatorial district a little bit because we went and
    bought some pumpkins. [Laughter] His name is State Senator Benny
    Lambert. See, the Allen campaign understands that you reach across party
    line. He did that as the Governor of the State of Virginia; he has done
    that as the United States Senator. There's no doubt in my mind this good
    man will win by getting the votes of Republicans, discerning Democrats,
    and wise independents.
        I really want to thank you all for coming. I appreciate you
    contributing to his campaign, and I want to thank the grassroots
    activists who are here for what you're fixing to do. See, we're getting
    close to voting time. We're coming down the stretch. And for those of
    you who are going to be putting up the signs and making the phone calls
    and going to your houses of worship or community centers urging people
    to do their duty as an American citizen and voting for George Allen, I
    want to thank you. A lot of times the grassroots folks don't get the
    thanks that you deserve. I'm here giving you thanks; I know the Senator
    gives you thanks. Work hard. We need him in the United States Senate,
    for the good of the United States of America.
        I'm looking forward to continue to working with Senator Allen to
    diversify our energy. I'm looking forward to promoting ethanol and new
    technologies so that we can change our habits and become less dependent
    on foreign sources of oil. For the economic security of the United
    States and for the national security of the United States, we need to
    get off oil.
        I'm looking forward to continue to work with Senator Allen to make
    sure that patients and doctors make the decisions for health care, not
    for people in Washington, DC. Now, there's a lot of domestic issues that
    I look forward to working with Senator Allen on, but there's no bigger
    issue than what we do with the people's money--no bigger issue.
        There's a lot of rhetoric in these campaigns, a lot of needless
    noise in a campaign. A lot of time it's to obscure the

    [[Page 1879]]

    fundamental issues facing the people of Virginia and the people all
    across our Nation. And the two biggest issues in this campaign, in any
    campaign across the country, is which party will take the steps
    necessary to protect the American people and win the war on terror, and
    which party is going to keep your taxes low to keep this economy
    growing.
        George Allen and I have made our position very plain. Nobody has to
    guess where we stand. We got a clear record on taxes, and our philosophy
    is easy to understand. It says: We trust the people. See, we understand
    it's your money, not the government's money. We think the best people to
    spend the hard-earned dollars that you make is you. We understand the
    economy grows when you have more money in your pocket to save, spend, or
    invest.
        And therefore, we worked together to deliver the greatest tax cuts
    since Ronald Reagan was the President of the United States. We said, if
    you're going to have tax relief, then everybody who pays taxes ought to
    get relief. So we reduced the marriage penalty as well. We doubled the
    child tax credit. We understand that an economy grows when the small-
    business owners are growing. And so we cut taxes on small businesses; we
    cut taxes on capital gains and dividends to promote investment and jobs.
    And to reward family businesses and farmers right here in the great
    State of Virginia for a lifetime of hard work and savings, we put the
    death tax on the road to extinction.
        Our record on cutting taxes is clear, and the Democrats in
    Washington, DC, have a record of their own. The trouble is, they don't
    want you to know about it. [Laughter] It's interesting that recently the
    top Democrat leader in the House of Representatives made an interesting declaration. She said, ``We love
    tax cuts.'' Given her record, she must be a secret admirer. [Laughter]
    It's just not 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 put the death tax on the road to extinction, she
    voted against it. Time and time again, she and her party voted against
    tax cuts. Time and time 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 wouldn't want to see what hate looks like.
    [Laughter]
        But, by the way, this view of taxes extends beyond the House of
    Representatives. Democrats in the United States Senate had the same
    point of view. I remember when we cut the taxes in 2003. See, we were
    coming out of a recession, and we were dealing with the effects of a
    terrorist attack, and we were dealing with the effects of corporate
    scandal. And we knew that in order to recover, we had to let the people
    have more of their own money.
        And one Democrat in the Senate said these tax cuts would do nothing
    to create jobs. One of his colleagues called the tax cuts the wrong
    prescription for our economy. Those were the predictions, and here are
    the results: The tax cuts we passed have put more than a trillion
    dollars in the hands of American workers and families and small
    businesses, including millions of families living right here in
    Virginia. And the amazing thing is, the people did a much better job
    with your money than the Government did or could have done.
        Since August 2003, our economy has had 37 straight months of job
    growth. Since August of 2003, we added 6.6 million new jobs. Small
    businesses are flourishing. Homeownership is up. This economy is strong,
    and we intend to keep it that way.
        You know, I'm sure you've heard the line that the Democrats are just
    going to raise taxes on the rich. They say it every time. But I want the
    people here in Virginia who

    [[Page 1880]]

    are listening to the debate on taxes to remember what happened back in
    1992, after the Democrats campaigned on cutting the taxes for the middle
    class. Well, they won, and they came to power, and the middle class tax
    cut they promised turned out to be one of the largest tax increases in
    American history.
        We just have a different view of the world when it comes to taxes.
    We believe you can spend your money well. The Democrats want the
    Government to spend your money. No, the best way to make sure that this
    economy stays strong is to make the tax cuts we passed permanent. And
    the best thing the Virginia citizens can do to make sure taxes stay low
    is to send George Allen back to the United States Senate.
        It's interesting, if you look at the history of tax cuts, the
    Democrat Party always--didn't always feel the way they feel today. Back
    in the sixties, the Democrats understood that our economy grows when
    Americans keep more of what they earn, when Americans make their own
    decisions about how to save, spend, or invest. You might remember, when
    President John F. Kennedy became President, he proposed across-the-board
    tax cuts for American families and small businesses, including tax cuts
    on capital gains.
        In his message to the Congress in 1963, he explained that cutting
    taxes across the board, in his words, ``would help strengthen every
    segment of the American economy and bring us closer to every basic
    objective of American economic policy.'' John F. Kennedy was right in
    1963, and George Allen and I are right in 2006.
        Next month, the people of this State and people all across the
    United States have a basic choice to make: Do we keep taxes low so we
    can keep the economy growing, or do we let the Democrats in Washington
    raise taxes, which will hurt our economic growth? And I'm convinced,
    when people sift through all the noise and listen carefully to the
    debate, the people of this State and the people across the United States
    will choose low taxes and strong economy policy and growth, and that
    means reelecting George Allen to the United States Senate.
        The biggest issue we face is protecting the American people. It's
    the most important job of government. I learned that lesson on September
    the 11th, 2001, and so did George Allen and a lot of other good folks.
    And we learned that fateful day that our most important responsibility
    is to protect you, and this is a fundamental issue in this campaign:
    What candidate or what party has got the right policies to protect the
    American people from further attack?
        We face a brutal enemy, an enemy that uses murder to achieve
    political objectives. You can't negotiate with these people. There's no
    such thing as a peace treaty with these kind of killers. The best way to
    protect the American people is to stay on the offense and bring them to
    justice before they hurt America again.
        And the best way to protect America is to give our professionals the
    tools they need to protect you from attack. We recently had a debate--a
    series of debates in the House and the Senate that clarified the two
    political parties' position on the war on terror on how best to protect
    the American people.
        I believe strongly that our CIA professionals should have
    authorization to question people we pick up on the battlefield, to
    determine whether or not they have information that is necessary to
    protect you. We're at war with a group of killers. We pick people up off
    the battlefield, and I believe that it's necessary to learn what they
    know so that we can anticipate attacks before they occur.
        This bill came up before the--in front of the United States Senate,
    and one of the strongest advocates for making sure our professionals had
    the tools necessary to protect you was Senator George Allen of the State
    of Virginia.

    [[Page 1881]]

        The same cannot be said for his Democratic Senate colleagues. More
    than 70 percent of the United States Senators from the Democrat Party
    voted to take away this vital tool in the war on terror. We just have a
    different point of view, a different look at the world.
        You know, another clear example of the difference of opinion came
    when we voted for and reauthorized what we call the PATRIOT Act. There
    was a wall that existed between law enforcement and intelligence
    gathering in the United States. I know that's hard to conceive, but it's
    true. In other words, intelligence officers could not speak with law
    enforcement officers. In this new war on terror against these
    extremists, we have to have good intelligence. And that good
    intelligence must be shared with professionals all throughout
    government, in order to be able to protect you.
        Right after September the 11th, when people were deeply concerned
    about attacks and future attacks, George Allen voted yes on the PATRIOT
    Act, as did 97 of his colleagues in the Senate. And yet the bill needed
    to be reauthorized years later. And so I called upon the Senate. I said,
    ``There's still a threat; we still face a threat.'' And yet Senate
    Democrats filibustered the bill, the reauthorization of a bill that
    would tear down the walls between intelligence and law enforcement.
    Filibuster means they don't want it to pass, so they talk a lot.
    [Laughter] It happens quite a bit in Washington. [Laughter] The Senate
    Democratic leader bragged, ``We have killed the
    PATRIOT Act.'' Think about that. The main Democrat in the United States
    Senate said, ``We killed the PATRIOT Act.'' He was asked later by a
    reporter whether killing the PATRIOT Act was
    really something to celebrate, and he answered, ``Of course it is.''
        There's a fundamental difference of opinion between Democrats and
    Republicans on this issue. They voted for it right after 9/11; they
    tried to kill it 5 years later. Kind of sounds familiar, doesn't it?
    [Laughter] They voted for it right before they voted against it.
    [Laughter] You don't have to worry about George Allen being steadfast
    and making sure our folks have the tools necessary to protect you. A
    fundamental issue in this campaign is--who best to protect the United
    States of America. Our record is clear, and you need to send George
    Allen back to the United States Senate so we can do our duty, so we can
    assume the responsibilities of this era and protect you from further
    attack.
        A big issue in this campaign, of course, is Iraq. Iraq is a central
    front in the war on terror. Iraq is a part of defeating an enemy that
    would like to hurt us again. Oh, I know, I've heard all the rhetoric;
    I'm sure you've heard it too, that people say Iraq is just a distraction
    from the war on terror. That's what a lot of Democrats believe. Well, if
    you're out there listening and you're worried about who to vote for and
    worried about which party has the clearest vision about how to protect
    the American people, don't take my word for whether Iraq is part of the
    war on terror, listen to Usama bin Laden--or
    Mr. Zawahiri, he's the number-two man in
    Al Qaida.
        These two killers have made it clear that Iraq is an important part
    of their campaign to establish a totalitarian form of government across
    the Middle East. They have made it clear in their words that they
    believe America is weak, that it's just a matter of time; if they murder
    enough people, that we will withdraw.
        And they want us to withdraw. They want us to withdraw so that they
    can establish safe haven from which to launch attacks. They want us to
    withdraw so they can topple moderate governments. They want us to
    withdraw because they got designs on energy. They would like nothing
    more than to blackmail the free world with the fear of running up the
    price of energy; blackmail the free world to abandon our alliance with
    Israel; blackmail the free world to continue to force the West to

    [[Page 1882]]

    cater to their needs and their dark vision of the world.
        When you couple all that with the possibility of Iran having a
    nuclear weapon, you begin to understand the stakes in the war on terror.
    You begin to think about how important it is that when we confront the
    enemy, we defeat the enemy.
        I fully understand--[applause]--we have a fundamental disagreement
    in Washington, DC, on this central front in the war on terror. Most
    Democrats--most leading Democrats argue we should pull our troops out of
    Iraq--some, ``right away''; others, ``in just a few months,'' even if
    the terrorists have not been defeated. Others recommend moving our
    troops to an island 5,000 miles away. Nineteen House Democrats
    introduced legislation that would cut off funds for our troops in Iraq.
    All these programs have one thing in common: They would have our country
    quit in Iraq before the job is done. That's why they are the party of
    cut-and-run.
        The United States of America will support our allies in Iraq. We
    will stand with the 12 million people who demanded freedom at the ballot
    box. Our goal of Iraq that can defend itself and govern itself and
    sustain itself and an ally in the war on terror is an important goal. We
    will give our commanders the flexibility they need to continue to change
    the tactics to achieve that goal. We will fight, we will stay, and we
    will win in Iraq.
        And I want to thank Senator Allen's stand. This is tough; this is a
    tough fight. It's a tough fight when we see carnage on our television
    screens. It's a tough fight when somebody you know has volunteered to
    serve the United States and doesn't come home. It's tough, but it's
    tough for a reason: Because the enemy understands the stakes in Iraq.
    They have ambitions. And it's up to this generation to stand with our
    troops, to put forth a strategy for victory, to not abandon those voices
    in the Middle East, the millions of people who simply want to live in
    peace. This is the calling of our time.
        You know, the Democrat Party made a clear statement about the nature
    of their party when it came to how they dealt with Senator Joe
    Lieberman. He's a three-term Democrat
    from Connecticut who supports completing the mission in Iraq. He took a
    strong, principled stand, and he was purged from the Democrat Party.
    Think about what it means. Six years ago, the Democrats thought that Joe
    Lieberman was a good enough man and a good enough politician to run as
    the Vice Presidential candidate. Now, because he supports victory in
    Iraq for the sake of security in the United States, they don't think
    he's fit to be in their party. There's only one position in the
    Democratic Party that everybody seems to agree on: If you want to be a
    Democrat these days, you can be for almost anything, but victory in Iraq
    is not an option.
        These are serious times. It requires steadfast leadership, strong
    determination. People like George Allen need to be reelected, to stand
    strongly with our troops, the voices that desire peace. We'll stay on
    the offense; we will keep the enemy on the run. We will do the hard
    fight now so a generation of Americans can grow up in peace. We've got
    fantastic assets on our side. We've got a military that will get all the
    support and training they need to defend the American people.
        We also have the power of liberty. Freedom is a powerful force. You
    know, I like to tell people about an interesting experience I had.
    That's when I went to Elvis's place--[laughter]--with the then sitting
    Prime Minister of Japan. I went down
    there. I'd never been to Elvis's place. I thought it would be
    interesting to go there. [Laughter] Prime Minister Koizumi wanted to go
    to Elvis's place because he loves Elvis. [Laughter]
        But I wanted to tell a story, and I'm going to tell it to you right
    quick, the reason I went. You might remember, my dad,

    [[Page 1883]]

    and I know some of your relatives, fought the Japanese as a sworn enemy.
    There was a lot of kids in the early forties that signed up to fight the
    Japanese. They had attacked us, and this country was going to defend
    ourselves.
        I find it amazing, and I hope you do too, that the son of Navy pilot
    George H.W. Bush, the sitting President of
    the United States, is on Air Force One, flying down with the Prime
    Minister of the former enemy talking about
    the peace. We're talking about North Korea and how we can work together
    to convince the leader in North Korea to give up
    his nuclear weapons ambitions. We're talking about the fact that Japan
    had 1,000 troops in Iraq because Prime Minister Koizumi and I know that
    freedom is how you defeat an ideology of hatred; that we understand that
    when you encourage liberty to flourish where it hadn't flourished, it
    provides hope; it helps defeat those who prey on hopelessness.
        It's an amazing conversation--I've had several with him. But every
    time I have sat down with him, I find it interesting fact of history
    that my dad fought the Japanese, and today,
    his son is working to keep the peace. Something happened. Japan adopted
    a Japanese-style democracy. It's--the example is, liberty has the
    capacity to change an enemy into an ally. Liberty has the capacity to
    turn a region of hate into a region of compassion. Someday, an American
    President will be sitting down talking about the peace with duly elected
    leaders from the Middle East, and a generation of Americans will be
    better off.
        God bless.

    Note: The President spoke at 5:33 p.m. at the Science Museum of
    Virginia. In his remarks, he referred to Susan Allen, wife of Sen.
    George Allen; 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.