[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book II)]
[November 14, 2006]
[Pages 2082-2083]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks Following a Meeting With the New Leaders of the Republican 
National Committee
November 14, 2006

    I have just been meeting with the new team that's going to run the 
Republican
National Committee. I am so proud my friend Mel Martinez, Senator from Florida,

[[Page 2083]]

is going to be the honorary [general]* chairman. My friend Mike 
Duncan from Kentucky is going to 
be the chairman. And Jo Ann Davidson is 
going to be the cochairman.
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    *White House correction.
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    I want to thank you all very much for agreeing to serve our party. I 
do want to say that Ken Mehlman did a 
whale of a job as the chairman of the Republican Party. It's been a joy 
working with you. I appreciate the fact that you went to neighborhoods 
where Republicans have never been to talk to people about our message of 
ownership and hope. And I wish you all the very best.
    One of the things I like to tell my friends about the Republican 
Party is that we're a party that really believes in entrepreneurship and 
small businesses and good-quality education and accountability. And Mel 
Martinez represents what I 
believe our party stands for, and that is, his parents put him on a 
plane to come to the United States from Cuba because they love freedom. 
That was Mel's first taste for the beauty of liberty and freedom. And he 
worked hard, started with little, and ended up being here, the United 
States Senator from Florida and the honorary chairman of our party. He's 
going to be an excellent spokesman for the Republican Party. He'll be a 
person who'll be able to carry our message as we go into an important 
year in 2008.
    And Duncan has been involved 
with grassroots politics for a long period of time. He comes from a 
Democrat State that is now a Republican State because he understands 
that you win votes by organizing and turning out the vote. And of 
course, Jo Ann has been around our party for 
years. And she brings a lot of stability and a lot of common sense.
    And so I do want to thank you three. I'm looking forward to working with you. I'm looking 
forward to reminding the people that we've got plans to keep the country 
secure and keep our prosperity strong. And once again, I want to thank 
you for your service.

Note: The President spoke at 3:17 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White 
House. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish 
language transcript of these remarks. A tape was not available for 
verification of the content of these remarks.