[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book II)]
[August 30, 2006]
[Pages 1573-1574]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at Cotham's in the City and an Exchange With Reporters in Little 
Rock, Arkansas
August 30, 2006

    The President. Asa recommended I come in 
and get some fried chocolate chip pie, so I did. I'm looking forward to 
eating it. It's a pleasure to be here with you. I've known Asa for a 
long time. He's the kind of fellow who can set an agenda and then 
achieve the results necessary to get the job done. I've seen him first 
hand in Washington. He's a fellow I called upon to help us get the 
Homeland Security Department up and running. And so I want to thank you 
for having me come here.
    Asa Hutchinson. Thank you, Mr. President.
    The President. I'm proud to call you friend, and thanks for the 
advice.
    Mr. Hutchinson. You can't beat the fried 
pie here at Cotham's in Little Rock.
    The President. Well, I'm looking forward to eating it. When you get 
to 60, you've got to be a little careful about what you eat. But 
nevertheless, I'm going to give it a shot, on the recommendation of my 
friends. Anyway, it's good to be back here in Little Rock. This is a 
good town. I've come here a lot, as candidate and as President. I 
appreciate my friends here; I appreciate the values of the people that 
live in this State. I hope to be back soon. Anyway----
    Mr. Hutchinson. Mr. President, we're glad 
to have you. It's been a great visit. Thanks for helping us out. And we 
welcome you back anytime. And thank you for your leadership.
    The President. Thank you, sir. We'll see you all in Tennessee.

President's Upcoming Speeches/War on Terror

    Q. Sir, do you think your new series of speeches are going to have 
an impact on midterm elections?
    The President. My series of speeches, they're not political 
speeches. They're speeches about the future of this country, and they're 
speeches to make it clear that if we retreat before the job is done, 
this Nation would become even more in jeopardy.
    These are important times, and I seriously hope people wouldn't 
politicize these issues that I'm going to talk about. We have a duty in 
this country to defeat terrorists. That's why we'll stay on the offense 
and bring them to justice before they hurt us, and that's why we'll work 
to spread liberty in order to spread the peace.
    Anyway, thank you all.

Note: The President spoke at 2 p.m. Participating in the event was 
gubernatorial candidate Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas. A tape was not 
available for verification of the content of these remarks.

[[Page 1574]]