[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book II)]
[October 28, 2006]
[Pages 1936-1943]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at an Indiana Victory 2006 Rally in Sellersburg, Indiana
October 28, 2006

    The President. Thank you all. Thank you for your warm welcome. I 
appreciate being here. You know, recently the First Lady was here. She told me there's no finer day to spend a 
Saturday than in southern Indiana. She also told me there's no finer 
Congressman for the people of this district than Mike Sodrel. As usual, Laura is right. Mike Sodrel needs to be 
sent back to the United States Congress.
    As a member of the Indiana National Guard, he has served our country in uniform, and as a Congressman, 
he is a strong supporter of the United States military. Mike Sodrel 
supports the veterans.
    I think it's good to have a man representing you who knows what it 
means to build a company from the bottom up, somebody who knows what it 
means to meet a payroll, somebody who brings fiscal discipline to the 
Nation's Capital. As a father and a grandfather, Mike Sodrel understands Indiana values, and he's standing up 
for those values in Washington, DC.
    The stakes are high in this election. Your vote will have an impact 
not only on your lives here but a impact that will help determine the 
course of this Nation. I want to thank you for supporting this good 
man. The election of Mike Sodrel is 
important for the United States of America.
    Laura sends her love. Sodrel told me coming over, he said, ``The event with Laura was 
so great, we felt like asking you to stay at home and bring her back.'' 
[Laughter] I appreciate being with Keta--Keta Sodrel. I appreciate being with all the Sodrel children and the 
grandchildren. These are people who put family first, and that's 
important.
    I want to thank all the statewide elected officials who are here 
today. Thank you for coming.
    Audience members. U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!
    The President. I want to thank all the grassroots activists who are 
here today. I thank you for putting up the signs. I thank you for making 
the phone calls. I thank you do the work--I thank you for, in advance, 
what you're going to do in the next week, and that's send this good man 
back to the United States Congress.
    Election day is 10 days away, and we're going to sprint to the 
finish line. I understand you've probably been paying attention

[[Page 1937]]

to the pundits in Washington, DC. They think the election is already 
over. As a matter of fact, some of them in Washington are already 
measuring the drapes for their new offices.
    Audience members. Boo!
    The President. In other words, they're taking your vote for granted.
    Audience members. Boo!
    The President. This isn't the first time that's happened. You might 
remember, back in 2004, they were picking out new offices in the West 
Wing. [Laughter] Things turned out a little differently on election day. 
The movers never got the phone call. This November 7th, voters are going 
to defy all the pundits in Washington, DC, and send this good 
man back to the United States Congress. We 
will control the House of Representatives, and we will control the 
United States Senate. We will win this election because we've got good, 
strong candidates like Mike Sodrel, and we will win this election 
because we got a record to run on.
    For decades, our public schools failed too many students. We passed 
the No Child Left Behind Act. We demanded high standards and strong 
accountability, and we are bringing America closer to the day when every 
single child in this country gets a good education.
    For decades, we've been growing dependent on foreign oil. So we took 
the lead. We passed an energy bill that supports conservation and 
expands domestic production. But we're also spending money to make sure 
that Indiana farmers produce the fuel for our cars in the future. 
Mike and I understand this: When the 
agricultural economy is strong, that's good for the United States of 
America.
    For decades, Medicare was outdated. It wasn't serving our seniors as 
well as it could. So we passed landmark legislation to modernize the 
Medicare system. Now 33 million seniors have more choices and access to 
affordable goods, and the days of our poor seniors having to choose 
between food and medicine are over.
    For decades, we have not had complete control over our southern 
border, and illegal immigration has been on the rise. So we have acted. 
I sent National Guard troops down there to help our Border Patrol. We're 
adding thousands of new Border Patrol. We will reform our immigration 
system, and we will uphold the immigration laws of the United States.
    Activist judges try to define America by court order. Just this week 
in New Jersey----
    Audience members. Boo!
    The President. ----another activist court issued a ruling that 
raises doubt about the institution of marriage. We believe that marriage 
is the union between a man and a woman, and should be defended. I will 
continue to appoint judges who strictly interpret the law and not 
legislate from the bench. America is better off because John 
Roberts and Sam Alito are serving on the Supreme Court of the United States.
    We have a record to run on. And I appreciate Mike Sodrel's support on these important issues. There are big 
differences in Washington, DC, between Republicans and Democrats, and 
when it comes--and perhaps the biggest differences can be seen in two 
issues: Which party will keep your taxes low and keep this economy 
growing, and which party will take the necessary steps to protect you 
from the terrorists?
    Let me start with taxes. We have a clear philosophy. We believe that 
you know how to spend your money far better than the Federal Government 
does. We believe that when you have more money in your pocket to save, 
invest, or spend, the economy benefits. The Democrats believe they 
should raise your taxes so they can spend your money.
    Audience members. Boo!
    The President. We not only have a philosophy, we acted on that 
philosophy. We passed the largest tax relief since Ronald Reagan was the 
President of the United

[[Page 1938]]

States. We cut the taxes on everyone who pays income taxes. We doubled 
the child tax credit. We reduced the marriage penalty. We cut taxes on 
small businesses. We cut taxes on capital gains and dividends to 
encourage investment. And to reward hard work and small-business owners 
and farmers for a lifetime of work, we put the death tax on the road to 
extinction.
    You might remember the debate. The Democrats in Washington predicted 
the tax cuts wouldn't create jobs, would not create wages, and would 
cause the Federal deficit to explode. Truth is, the facts are in. The 
tax cuts have led to a growing economy that has added 6.6 million new 
jobs since August of 2003. Real wages have risen 2.2 percent over the 
past 12 months. We have cut the deficit in half 3 years ahead of 
schedule.
    And now the Democrats in Washington have another prediction--they're 
telling you they're going win on election day. If their electoral 
predictions are as reliable as their economic predictions, November 7th 
is going to be a great day for the Republican Party.
    They don't really want you to know their position when it comes to 
taxes. They really don't want you to know that they're going to raise up 
your taxes. As a matter of fact, the Member from California, the ranking leader, the minority leader in the House, 
who wants to be the Speaker----
    Audience members. Boo!
    The President. Here's what she said the 
other day. She said, ``We love tax cuts.'' That's what she said. Given 
her record, she must be a secret admirer. [Laughter] She and her party 
voted against reducing the marriage penalty, voted against cutting taxes 
on small businesses, voting against lowering taxes on families with 
children, voted against getting rid of the death tax. Time and time 
again, when she and the Democrat Party had an opportunity to show their 
love for tax cuts, they voted no. If this is the Democrats' idea of 
love, I wouldn't want to see what hate looks like. [Laughter]
    See, here's the way it's going to work. If we don't make permanent 
the tax cuts or if the tax cuts are not extended, you're going to get a 
tax increase. And so they asked the man 
who would be head of the Ways and Means Committee if we don't win--we 
will win--he said he can't think of one of the tax cuts he would extend. 
See, in other words, he's going to let them all expire. Now, think about 
what that means if you are a small-business owner--and we've got a lot 
of small-business owners here in southern Indiana. If you're a small-
business owner who pays taxes at the individual rate, the Democrats are 
going to raise your taxes. If you're a small-business owner who wants to 
expand and invest in new equipment, the Democrats are going to raise 
your taxes.
    Audience members. Boo!
    The President. If you're a small-business owner who wants to pass on 
your life's work to your children and grandchildren, the Democrats want 
to raise your taxes. If you're a small-business owner, you better vote 
for Mike Sodrel to make sure your taxes 
stay low.
    When a Democrat can't--say they can't think of one of the tax cuts 
they would extend, I want you to think about what it means for our 
families. The child tax credit would be cut in half from $1,000 to $500. 
So when you're sitting around the dinner table this evening, and if 
you've got one child sitting there, you can rest assured that your 
taxes, if the Democrats take over, will go up by 500. If you happen to 
have two children, that's $1,000 tax increase. If you have four 
children, that's a $2,000 tax increase. That may not seem like a lot to 
the Democrats in Washington, DC, but we understand it's a lot for you, 
and we're going to keep your taxes low.
    They want to get in your pocketbook, and we're not going to let 
them. A big

[[Page 1939]]

issue in this campaign is taxes. The Democrats will raise your taxes, 
and the Republicans will keep your taxes low.
    This election is taking place in an historic time for our country. 
When people look back at this period of time, the question will be, did 
we do everything in our power to protect the American people and win the 
war on terror? And we are in a war. It came to our shores on September 
the 11th, 2001. And on that day, I vowed to use every element of 
national power to defend the American people and to defeat the 
terrorists.
    Audience members. U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!
    The President. We face an enemy that--which is brutal. There is no 
negotiation with these people. These are ideologues who have a backward 
and hateful vision of the world. They do not believe in freedom. They 
hate America because we do believe in freedom. For those who say, 
``Bring them at the table to discuss our differences,'' they do not 
understand the nature of these people. The best way to protect the 
American people is to bring them to justice before they hurt us again.
    We have been implementing a strategy to protect you. You know, the 
enemy can be right one time, and we must be right 100 percent of the 
time to protect the American people. And that is why I said that we must 
break down walls that prevent the intelligence community and enforcement 
community from sharing information. And so, working with Members in 
Congress like Mike Sodrel, we passed the 
PATRIOT Act.
    I understand this is a different kind of war. For you World War II 
vets here, this is not a war that can be determined by how many 
airplanes we shoot down or what kind of territory we take. It's a 
different kind of war. And it means good intelligence. In order to be 
able to protect you, we must know what the enemy is thinking and getting 
ready to do. That's why when Al Qaida or an Al Qaida affiliate is making 
a phone call from outside the United States to inside the United States, 
we want to know why.
    In this new kind of war, we must be willing to question the enemy 
when we pick them up on the battlefield. We have captured people like 
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who our 
intelligence community thinks was the mastermind of the September the 
11th attacks. When we captured him, I said to the Central Intelligence 
Agency, ``Why don't we find out what he knows in order to be able to 
protect America from another attack.''
    In the past year, Congress has voted on each of these critical tools 
in the fight against terror, and these votes have revealed a clear 
pattern and a clear difference of opinion. When it came time to renew 
the PATRIOT Act, more than 75 percent of the House Democrats voted 
against it.
    Audience members. Boo!
    The President. When it came time on whether to allow the Central 
Intelligence Agency to continue to detain and question terrorists, 
almost 80 percent of the House Democrats voted against it.
    Audience members. Boo!
    The President. When it came time to vote on whether the NSA should 
continue to monitor terrorist communications through the terrorist 
surveillance program, almost 90 percent of House Democrats voted against 
it.
    Audience members. Boo!
    The President. In all these vital measures for fighting the war on 
terror, the Democrats in Washington follow a simple philosophy: Just say 
no. When it comes to listening in on the terrorists, what's the 
Democratic answer? Just say no. When it comes to detaining terrorists, 
what's the Democrat answer?
    Audience members. Just say no!
    The President. When it comes to questioning terrorists, what's the 
Democrat answer?
    Audience members. Just say no!

[[Page 1940]]

    The President. When it comes to trying terrorists, what's the 
Democrats' answer?
    Audience members. Just say no!
    The President. So when the Democrats ask for your vote on November 
the 7th, what are you going to say?
    Audience members. Just say no!
    The President. Here are some questions we're asking all around the 
country: Do you want your Government to listen in on the terrorists?
    Audience members. Yes!
    The President. Do you want your Government to detain the terrorists?
    Audience members. Yes!
    The President. Do you want your Government to question the 
terrorists?
    Audience members. Yes!
    The President. Do you want your Government to do whatever it takes 
to bring justice to the terrorists?
    Audience members. Yes!
    The President. And so when Republicans ask for your vote on November 
7, what's your answer?
    Audience members. Yes!
    The President. We will continue to make sure our professionals have 
the tools necessary to protect you. And I want to thank Mike 
Sodrel for his strong support for our 
professionals on the frontline of protecting the American people. But 
the best way to protect you is to go on the offense and defeat the enemy 
overseas so we do not have to face them here.
    One of the lessons of September the 11th is that when we see a 
threat, we must take it seriously before that threat comes home to hurt 
us. I saw a threat in Saddam Hussein; members 
of both political parties in Congress saw a threat in Saddam Hussein; 
the United Nations saw the threat in Saddam Hussein. Getting rid of 
Saddam Hussein was the right policy; the world is better off for it.
    And now Iraq is a central front in this war against the terrorists. 
You know, in Washington, DC----
    Audience member. You're the man, George!
    The President. I want you to listen to the words of a senior 
Democrat in the House of Representatives. The 
person went on to say, ``The President says that fighting them there 
makes it less likely we will have to fight them here. The opposite is 
true''--the person went on to say--``Because we're fighting them there, 
it may become more likely we will have to fight them here.''
    Here's what that person does not understand: You do not create 
terrorism by fighting the terrorists, and Iraq is not the reason the 
terrorists are at war against us. I would remind that Democrat that our 
troops were not in Iraq when the terrorists first attacked the World 
Trade Center in 1993. We were not in Iraq when they blew up our 
Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. We were not in Iraq when they blew up 
the USS Cole. And we were not in Iraq when they killed nearly 3,000 of 
our citizens on September the 11th.
    Five years after September the 11th, too many Democrats still do not 
get it. The best way to protect this homeland is to find the enemy and 
defeat them overseas. Oh, I know you've heard all the discussion about 
Iraq. They say--in Washington, the Democrats say, it's not a part of the 
war against the terrorists; it's a distraction. Well, don't take my word 
for it, listen to Usama bin Laden. He has 
made it clear that Iraq is a central part of this war on terror. He and 
his number-two man, Zawahiri, have made 
it abundantly clear that their goal is to inflict enough damage on 
innocent life and damage on our own troops so that we leave before the 
job is done. And why do they want to do that? They want to establish 
safe haven, like the safe haven they had in Afghanistan, from which to 
launch further attacks on the United States of America. They want to 
have a base from which to topple moderate governments.
    Imagine a world in which violent radicals have seized power in the 
Middle East and they've toppled moderate governments and

[[Page 1941]]

they use oil to extract blackmail from the West. And couple that with an 
armed, nuclear Iran, and 30 years from now people are going to look back 
and say, ``What happened to them in 2006? How come they couldn't see the 
danger?'' And that is why we will defeat the enemy in Iraq.
    We have a plan for victory. Our goal is a country that can sustain 
itself, govern itself, and defend itself and will be an ally in the war 
on terror. The enemy's goal is to get us to retreat before the job is 
done. I'm in close contact with our commanders. I tell them, ``Whatever 
it takes to achieve victory, I support.'' They tell me that they're 
constantly adjusting their tactics to meet an enemy which is changing 
its tactics. Oh, the fighting is tough; I understand that. And it is 
brutal. The enemy has an advantage because they're willing to kill 
innocent people, and that gets on our TV screens. It's hard to measure 
the progress of a new hospital or new schools or people willing to be 
brave and tough. The enemy understands that it's a matter of time, in 
their mind, before we retreat. But they don't understand the American 
people, and they don't understand this administration. We will put a 
plan in place.
    I can't tell you how proud I am to be the Commander in Chief of such 
incredibly brave men and women who have volunteered to wear the uniform 
of the United States.
    Audience members. U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!
    The President. And when it comes time--and when they send those 
bills up there to support our men and women in uniform, I don't have any 
doubt where Mike Sodrel is going to land. 
He is a strong supporter of the military. He knows what I know: Any time 
you have an American in harm's way, he or she deserves the full support 
of the American Government.
    We've got a strong asset in our military. We've got something else 
going for us in Iraq, brave Iraqis. They have suffered unbelievable 
violence. But they remember the 12 million people that voted. They want 
to succeed. We've got a security track so that these Iraqis can defend 
themselves. We've got a political track so that the Government is of and 
by and for the people. We've got an economic track to help them realize 
the vast potential of that country. We'll succeed. The only way we will 
not succeed is if we leave before the job is done.
    And all the people listening here, I want you to think about the 
Democrat plan for success: There isn't one. [Laughter] Iraq is the 
central front in this war, and yet leading Democrats argue we should 
pull out right now.
    Audience members. Boo!
    The President. Others suggest we should draw--withdraw on a specific 
date, even if we have not accomplished the mission.
    Audience members. Noo!
    The President. Others recommend moving our troops to an island some 
5,000 miles away.
    Audience members. Boo!
    The President. Nineteen House Democrats introduced legislation that 
would cut off funds for our troops in Iraq.
    Audience members. Boo!
    The President. This week, one Democrat Senator explained her party's position this way: ``We haven't 
coalesced around a single plan, but we're in general agreement on the 
basic principles.'' She's right. They are in agreement on one thing: 
They will leave before the job is done. And we will not let them.
    I'm not saying these people are unpatriotic; I'm saying they're 
wrong. You cannot win a war if you're unwilling to fight the war. 
Retreat before the job was done would embolden the enemy. It would 
provide new safe haven. It would enable the enemy to recruit. It would 
dash the hope of millions who want to simply live in peace. It would 
dishonor the sacrifice of the men and women who have worn the uniform of 
the United States of America.

[[Page 1942]]

    This is a different kind of war, and it's important for Republicans 
and Democrats and independents to understand this fact: If we were to 
leave before the job was done, the enemy would follow us to the United 
States. And that is why victory is our goal, and that is why we will 
achieve victory. A victory will be a blow to the terrorists. A victory 
will say to those in the Middle East--``Do you believe in freedom?''--
that we do. A victory will make Iraq an ally on the war on terror. A 
victory in Iraq will make generations of young Americans more secure. 
And that is why we will stay, we will fight, and we will win.
    I want to share a story with you. I want to share--if you can stand 
it, I want to share a story with you. I want to talk about something 
really powerful that we've got at our disposal. It's called liberty. I 
don't know if you remember, but recently I flew down to Elvis's place 
with the then-sitting Prime Minister of Japan. People said, ``Why did you go down there?'' And I 
said, ``Well, one, I've never been there.'' [Laughter] Secondly, he 
wanted to go there. [Laughter]
    But I also want to tell a story about the power of liberty, and here 
it is. In the late 1940s, we got attacked. And by the way, more people 
died on September the 11th than died at Pearl Harbor. And a lot of young 
Americans--many of them probably your relatives--volunteered to fight 
the sworn enemy, the Japanese. One of them was Navy fighter pilot George 
H.W. Bush, who at the age--[applause]. And 
he fought them with all he had, just like a lot of other brave 
Americans. Thousands and thousands didn't come home from that war.
    And yet on Air Force One was the Prime Minister of the former enemy and this Navy fighter 
pilot's son talking about peace. We were 
talking about the fact that 1,000 Japanese troops were in Iraq helping 
this young democracy. See, the Prime Minister knows what I know: that 
the radicals and extremists want to overturn democracy; they want to 
spread their vision across what's called a caliphate, a vision opposite 
of what we believe. That's their ambitions. That's their goals. And yet 
when we find young democracies, those of us who live in freedom have a 
duty to support that democracy because democracies yield the peace.
    We talked about North Korea, how we could work together to convince 
the leader of North Korea to give up his nuclear 
weapons ambitions. We talked about HIV/AIDS on the continent of Africa, 
and how ``to whom much is given, much is required'' ought to apply to 
the United States and Japan, and how we must end the suffering of those 
poor people on the continent of Africa. We talked about a lot of big 
issues.
    But I find it interesting that my dad 
fought the Japanese, and his son is talking about the peace with the 
Japanese. Something happened, and what happened is, Japan adopted a 
Japanese-style democracy. And the lesson for our fellow citizens is, 
liberty has got the capacity to transform enemies into allies. Liberty 
has got the capacity to transform regions of hate to regions of hope. I 
firmly believe that someday an American President will be sitting down 
with duly elected leaders in the Middle East talking about the peace, 
and a generation of Americans will be better off.
    These are historic times. These are challenging times. It is such an 
honor to represent the United States of America during these historic 
times. I ask you to go from here and to call up your friends and 
neighbors, find our fellow Republicans, discerning Democrats--
[laughter]--intelligence independents--[laughter]--and remind them of 
the stakes, remind them that the outcome of this election will determine 
how much money you have in your pocket. And remind them the outcome of 
this election will determine whether this Government does its most 
fundamental job, and that is to protect the American people.

[[Page 1943]]

    No doubt in my mind, with your help, we will win. Thanks for coming. 
God bless.

Note: The President spoke at 1 p.m. at Silver Creek High School. In his 
remarks, he referred to Keta Sodrel, wife of Rep. Michael E. Sodrel; 
former President Saddam Hussein of Iraq; Usama bin Laden, leader of the 
Al Qaida terrorist organization; Ayman Al-Zawahiri, founder of the 
Egyptian Islamic Jihad and senior Al Qaida associate; former Prime 
Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan; and Chairman Kim Jong Il of North 
Korea.