[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book II)]
[November 6, 2006]
[Pages 2039-2046]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at an Arkansas Victory 2006 Rally in Bentonville, Arkansas
November 6, 2006

    The President. Thank you all for coming. You know, Asa, I remember landing at this airport in 2000, on the next 
to last event of my quest for the Presidency. I was then here to ask for 
your vote for me. I'm coming back, asking for you to vote and work for 
Asa Hutchinson.
    I want to thank you for the interest in his campaign. I appreciate 
those of you who are putting up the signs and making the phone calls and 
turning out the vote.

[[Page 2040]]

With your help, he'll become the next Governor of Arkansas. And by the 
way, when you get people going into the polls, make sure they send a 
great United States Congressman back to Washington, John 
Boozman.
    Laura and I are pleased to be here to support 
the Hutchinsons. 
We got to know them in Washington. One thing you have to understand is 
he spent time in Washington, but he never lost his Arkansas values. I 
guess that's because he grew up on a farm near Gra-vette--Gra-vette. No 
one has ever accused me of being the best English speaker in America. 
[Laughter] But I try to talk plain so people know where I'm coming from. 
And here's where I'm coming from: Asa Hutchinson is the right man to be 
your Governor.
    I liked the fact that he and 
Susan have been married for 33 years. As a 
matter of fact, Laura and I celebrated our 29th 
wedding anniversary. She was in Crawford, and I was campaigning. 
[Laughter] We've had quite a week there. She celebrated a birthday; we 
celebrated the 29th anniversary; and on November the 7th, we're going to 
celebrate a great victory.
    I like the fact that when Asa was called 
by his Government to come and serve, he did. See, he understands that 
it's important to put service ahead of self. And I gave him some hard 
jobs. I didn't ask him to come to Washington just to push paper; I asked 
him to come to Washington to fight drugs, which he did a fine job of--
and to help us organize the Homeland Security Department so we can 
better protect you.
    I like the fact that Asa is running on a 
good platform. See, when I was running for Governor of Texas, I said, 
``Education is to a State what national defense is to the Federal 
Government.'' That's what Asa thinks. The top priority of your 
government is to make sure every single child gets a good education. He 
also understands, you need a Governor who is going to be strong about 
eradicating methamphetamines. You need a Governor who is going to help 
small businesses flourish. You need a Governor that's going to keep your 
taxes low. And that Governor is Asa Hutchinson.
    I'm sure glad to be here with John and 
Cathy. I appreciate them being up here on the 
stage. I appreciate your service. Boozman is well-respected in 
Washington. People like him up there because they understand he's 
consistent, and he tells everybody where he stands. And the most 
important thing he tells me is, ``You make sure you remember northwest 
Arkansas, Mr. President.''
    I want to thank State Senator Jim Holt, who's 
the candidate for Lieutenant Governor, joining us today. Johnny Key is with us; he's the minority leader of the Arkansas 
House of Representatives. Johnny, thanks for being here. I want to 
thank--welcome Gunner DeLay, running for 
attorney general. Gunner, you're just going to win on your first name 
alone. [Laughter] I want to thank Jim Lagrone, 
who's running for the secretary of state. Chris Morris is running for treasurer.
    I want to thank all the grassroots activists who are here. I want to 
thank you for what you're going to do here over the next 24 hours. I 
appreciate the members of the Shiloh Christian Saints Band that's been 
with us. I want to thank the Pine Bluff Drum Line that's with us. I 
don't know if you noticed, but I had quite a step coming in from Air 
Force One, thanks to you all. I want to thank everybody else who's 
performed here. But I want to really thank you all. Laura and I are so pleased you came out.
    See, this election is coming soon, but you've probably been reading 
about the fact that some of the prognosticators have already decided the 
outcome of the election.
    Audience members. Boo!
    The President. That's not the first time that's ever happened. 
[Laughter] Oh, you might remember 2004. As a matter of fact, some of 
them had already started to pick out their offices in the West Wing in 
2004. [Laughter] But then the people of Arkansas

[[Page 2041]]

voted, and people voted all around the country, and the movers were not 
needed. Same thing is going to happen this year. They can prognosticate 
all they want; then the people get to decide. And the people of Arkansas 
are going to send John back to Congress and 
Asa to the statehouse, and we're going to 
control the House and the Senate.
    And there's a reason why. Over the past 5 years, we have 
accomplished great things together. We've taken the economy from 
recession to one that is strong and growing. We have risen to the test 
of September the 11th and have taken the fight to the terrorists all 
around the world. In other words, we've led. We've done what the people 
expected us to do. There's another reason we're going to win, is because 
we understand the values and the principles of the American people. We 
don't need polls and focus groups to tell us where we stand. Our 
principles are the principles of the majority of the people in this 
country. We're going to win this election because we're right on the big 
issues.
    You know, I knew we were going to finish strong. I knew that we were 
going to come roaring into election day because we got the right 
position on taxes, and we got the right position on what it takes to 
protect you from attack.
    Let me first start talking about taxes. It's a big issue in this 
campaign. We believe that you can spend your money better than the 
Federal Government can spend your money. We believe when you have more 
of your own money in your pocket to save, spend, or invest, the economy 
benefits. The Democrats believe they can spend your money better than 
you can, and that's why they want more of it.
    Audience members. Boo!
    The President. We have a philosophy, but you'll be happy to hear we 
did more than philosophize. [Laughter] We acted. I signed the largest 
tax cut since Ronald Reagan was President of the United States.
    Oh, you might remember the debate in Washington when the Democrats 
said the tax cuts aren't going to cause any people to find jobs; the tax 
cuts aren't going to help wages; and the tax cuts will cause the deficit 
to explode. Well, when you're out rounding up the people to vote, remind 
them of the facts. Our economy is strong, and it's getting better. We 
found out last week that the national unemployment rate is 4.4 percent. 
These tax cuts are working. Real wages are on the rise, and we cut the 
deficit in half 3 years ahead of schedule.
    Whether it's here in Arkansas or around the country, there's a 
difference in this campaign about taxes. And one of the interesting 
things about these national Democrats is they're not going to tell you 
that they're going to raise your taxes. Let me just give you one example 
of what I'm talking about. They asked the lady 
who thinks she's going to be the Speaker--but she's not--about tax cuts. 
And she said on TV, ``We love tax cuts.'' Well, given her record, she 
must be a secret admirer, because when it came time to reduce the 
marriage penalty or cut taxes on small businesses, when it came time to 
lower taxes on families with children, when it came time to reducing 
taxes on capital gains and dividends, and when it came time to getting 
rid of the death tax, she and her party voted no.
    Audience members. Boo!
    The President. If that is their definition of love--[laughter]--I'd 
sure hate to see what hate looks like. [Laughter]
    Now here's the problem we've got if the tax cuts we passed are 
allowed to expire or are not made permanent--you're paying more taxes, 
see. Now, they're going to go around the country, and they say, ``Oh, 
we're just going to let the tax cuts expire.'' That means your taxes are 
going up. Don't take my word for it. Take the word of the person who thinks he is going to be the head of the Ways 
and Means Committee, which he's not. [Laughter] And so

[[Page 2042]]

they asked him, ``Could you think of any of the tax cuts that you would 
extend,'' in other words, keep in place--he said, ``I can't think of a 
one.''
    Well, let me give you an example of what that means for you. Anybody 
here got four kids, three kids? You got four? Four. Three, okay. 
[Applause] Shhh. All right, wait, wait. [Laughter] I don't know why I 
asked that? [Laughter] Oh, I know why I asked it. When you're at dinner 
tonight--and, say, you got four kids--if the tax cuts are not extended, 
the child tax credit goes from $1,000 per child to 500, see. And so then 
you can start counting heads to determine how much the Democrats are 
going to raise your taxes. If you've got four children, at dinner, you 
can just go, one child, two, three, four, times 500. That's a $2,000 tax 
increase. Now that may not seem like a lot to the Democrats in 
Washington, but it seems like a lot to me, to Asa, and to John. And that's why you 
need to vote Republican to keep your taxes low. And we're closing strong 
in this election because the American people have finally figured out 
our tax cuts work, and the Democrats are going to raise your taxes.
    This election is taking place at a historic time for our country. 
And when our children look back at this period, they're going to have 
one question: Did we do everything in our power to protect America and 
win the war on terror? That's the fundamental question facing this 
country, and it's a fundamental question in this campaign. I wish I 
could report to you here in northwest Arkansas that we were not at war, 
but we are. And we're at war because of what we believe and what the 
enemy believes. And we're at war because we stand in the way of their 
ambitions to spread their ideology throughout the world.
    Their ideology is the exact opposite of what we believe. We believe 
in the right for people to worship freely. We believe in the right for 
people to dissent. We believe in the right for people to participate in 
politics. We believe in government of, by, and for the people. They 
don't. There is--these are coldblooded killers. You cannot negotiate 
with them. You cannot hope for the best. Therapy won't work. The best 
way to protect you is to defeat them overseas so we do not have to face 
them here at home.
    And so that is part of our strategy. And the other part of our 
strategy is to protect this homeland. I've told you Asa was a part of an 
important reorganization to make sure that we can respond better. Right 
after September the 11th, I analyzed the laws to determine whether or 
not our professionals had what they need to protect you. And let me talk 
about three examples. First, there was a wall that prevented the 
intelligence folks from sharing information with law enforcement. It 
doesn't make any sense. I understand that, but nevertheless, that was 
reality. You can't protect you if our folks who know what the enemy may 
be doing can't tell the folks on the frontline of protecting you--with 
that information. And so I said to Congress, ``Pass the PATRIOT Act, to 
make sure that we can share information across jurisdictions within 
government.'' And they passed the PATRIOT Act. But I want you to 
remember, when this important piece of legislation--legislation 
necessary to protect the American people--came up for reauthorization in 
the United States House and in the United States Senate, the vast 
majority of Democrats voted no.
    Audience members. Boo!
    The President. You see, there's a different mindset in Washington, 
DC. They must think it--one, we're not at war, or it's okay to respond 
after we're attacked. Our view is, let's make sure we're not attacked in 
the first place.
    I believe if Al Qaida or an Al Qaida affiliate is making a phone 
call into the United States of America from outside our country, we 
better understand why. We better make sure that we understand the 
intentions of the enemy. When this piece of legislation came up on the 
floor of the

[[Page 2043]]

House of Representatives--the terrorist surveillance program, it's 
called--the vast majority of Democrats voted no.
    Audience members. Boo!
    The President. Your Congressman voted yes. 
We picked up Khalid Sheikh Mohammed--
if you haven't heard that name, he's the person our intelligence 
officers believe masterminded the September the 11th attacks. And my 
attitude is, in order to protect you, we've got to be in a position to 
question him. And so I authorized the Central Intelligence Agency, the 
professionals in the Central Intelligence Agency, to question Khalid 
Sheikh Mohammed. I'll tell you why. If he knew about one attack, it's 
conceivable he might know about another attack.
    And so when it came time to vote on this valuable program that has 
prevented attacks on the homeland, the vast majority of Democrats voted 
no. And so when people go to the polls, they have got to understand that 
we're at war, and if you want to make sure our professionals have the 
tools necessary to do our most important job, which is to protect the 
American people, you need to vote Republican.
    This is a global war fought on a variety of fronts. Where we find 
the enemy, we will confront them. One of the lessons of September the 
11th is that when this Nation sees a threat, it must take those threats 
seriously, before they come home to hurt us. I saw a threat in Saddam 
Hussein; the United States Congress--people 
in both parties--saw the same threat; the United Nations saw the threat. 
The decision I made to get rid of Saddam Hussein was the right decision, 
and the world is better off for it.
    On Sunday, we witnessed a landmark event in the history of Iraq: 
Saddam Hussein was convicted of heinous 
crimes on his people. This is a country which is going from the rule of 
a tyrant to rule of law, and we congratulate the Iraqi people. And as we 
do, we remember that this never would have happened without the 
sacrifices of the United States military.
    And Iraq is the central front in this war to protect you. Oh, I've 
heard them in Washington. I know you have as well. They say, ``Well, 
Iraq is just a distraction; Iraq is not a part of the war.'' Well, I 
don't believe that, our troops don't believe that, and Usama bin 
Laden doesn't believe that. [Laughter] He 
has called the fight in Iraq the third world war. He has said that 
victory for the terrorists in Iraq will mean America's defeat and 
disgrace forever. We need to take his words seriously. It doesn't matter 
what party you're in, you need to listen to the enemy.
    There's people in Washington who believe that when we fight for 
Iraqi democracy and when we fight to adhere to the policy, ``defeat them 
there so we don't have to face them here,'' it creates terrorists. In 
other words, it makes the world more dangerous. But I want to remind you 
that the reason we're at war with the terrorists is not because of Iraq. 
See, we weren't in Iraq when they bombed the World Trade Center in 1993. 
We weren't in Iraq when they bombed our Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. 
We weren't in Iraq when they bombed the USS Cole. And we were not in 
Iraq on September the 11th, 2001, when they killed nearly 3,000 of our 
citizens.
    They just think different; the Democrats have a different view of 
the world. It's an important part of this election. I'm going to remind 
our citizens, you do not create terrorists by fighting the terrorists. 
The best way to protect this country is to stay on the offense and bring 
them to justice before they can hurt us again.
    Our goal in Iraq is victory, and victory means a country which can 
govern itself, sustain itself, and defend itself and be an ally in the 
war on terror. And it's hard work. It is really hard work because the 
enemy understands the stakes of a democracy in the midst of a region 
that desires for liberty. They understand that success

[[Page 2044]]

in Iraq will be a major blow to their desires. They also are willing to 
use weapons that disturb the American people, and those weapons kill 
innocent men, women, and children. And the reason they do so is they 
have no conscience, and they are convinced it's just a matter of time 
before the United States loses its will.
    What they don't understand is--they don't understand this 
administration; they don't understand the American people. We're not 
going to run from thugs and assassins. We've got a strategy for victory 
where the goal is the same but the tactics constantly change. I have 
told our commanders, whatever it takes to get the job done you can have 
from Washington, DC. Our tactics are flexible. We've got great assets at 
our disposal, starting with the finest United States military ever 
assembled.
    And Boozman and I understand this fact: 
When you have anybody in harm's way representing the United States of 
America, our Government must give them everything they need in order to 
get the job done. And I'd like to share one other thought with you. 
Whether or not you agreed with my decision or not to remove Saddam 
Hussein, you owe it to support our troops.
    We got something else going for us, and those are Iraqis that want 
to live in a free society. These folks are suffering unspeakable 
violence, yet they are determined to set up a government that will 
reflect the will of the nearly 12 million people who voted. Let me say 
something. I was pleased by the vote, but I wasn't surprised. I'll tell 
you why I wasn't surprised. I believe that an Almighty's gift to each 
man, woman, and child is the desire to be free. I believe in the 
universality of freedom. And so we'll help this Government unify the 
country, we'll help their economy grow, and we will train Iraqis so they 
can take the fight to defend their country.
    I want you to know that if you have a loved one in harm's way, that 
I wouldn't have your son or daughter there if I didn't believe the cause 
was noble and just and if I didn't believe we could win. As a matter of 
fact, the only way we cannot win is if we leave before the job is done.
    This is a serious issue, and yet if you listen to the debate, if you 
listen for the plan of the Democrats, they don't have one. It's the 
central front in the war on terror, and they have yet to describe to the 
American people what they intend to do. Oh, they're beginning to give us 
glimpses. Some of them have said, ``Just get out now.'' Others have 
said, ``Let's just set a date, and then get out before the job is 
done.'' One of the leaders in the House, one of the Democrat leaders, 
said, ``Why don't we move our troops to an island 5,000 miles away?'' 
Nineteen of them up there, of the Democrats, introduced legislation that 
would cut off the funds for their troops. They don't have a plan, but 
they have--they're united on principle, and that is, get out before the 
job is done.
    No, I'm not saying these folks are unpatriotic; I'm just saying 
they're wrong. You can't win a war unless you're willing to fight the 
war. They've taken a calculated gamble. They believe the only way they 
can win this election is to criticize and not offer a plan. You know, 
there's 24 hours left; they still have an opportunity to step up and 
tell the American people what they intend to do to prevail in this war 
against these terrorists.
    If you happen to run into a Democrat candidate, you might ask him 
these questions. If they say they want to protect the homeland but 
oppose the PATRIOT Act, just ask them this question: What's your plan? 
If they say they want to uncover terrorist plots but oppose listening in 
on the terrorist conversation, ask them this question: What's your plan? 
If they say they want to stop new attacks on our country but oppose 
letting the CIA detain and question the terrorists who might know about 
those plots, ask them this question: What's your plan?
    Audience members. What's your plan?

[[Page 2045]]

    The President. Yes. If they say they want to win the war on terror 
but call for America to pull out from what Al Qaida says is the central 
front in this war on terror, ask them a simple question----
    Audience members. What's your plan?
    The President. They can't answer it. Harsh criticism is not a plan 
for victory. Second-guessing is not a strategy. We have a plan for 
victory. We've got a strategy to win. And part of that is to elect 
Republicans to the Congress and to the Senate.
    Retreat from Iraq before the job is done would embolden the enemy 
and make this country less secure. In this war, if we were to leave 
before the job is done, the enemy would follow us here. These radicals 
and extremists would be able to recruit better. Just imagine their 
propaganda, when they say, ``We caused the mighty United States to 
retreat.'' It would dash the hopes of millions of people in the Middle 
East who want to live a peaceful life. If we were to leave before the 
job is done, it would dishonor the sacrifice of the men and women who 
have worn our uniform.
    This issue on the war on terror, this issue about Iraq is a vital 
issue. And the victory there or retreat from Iraq would be felt for 
generations. And that's why we want to make sure that we understand that 
we're not only talking about this generation but generations of 
Americans coming up. And I'll tell you why. The enemy has made it 
abundantly clear that they want us to retreat so they can have, one, 
safe haven from which to launch further attacks, safe havens similar to 
that safe haven they had in Afghanistan. Secondly, they want us to 
retreat so they can topple moderate governments. They want to be able to 
spread their ideology as far and wide as possible, and they understand 
our presence prevents them from doing so. Thirdly, they would like to 
control energy resources.
    Imagine a world in which these extremists and radicals, bound 
together by a hateful ideology, was able to say to the West, to the 
United States, for example, ``If you do not abandon your alliances, if 
you do not withdraw, we will run the price of oil up to the point that 
it chokes your economy.'' You can imagine somebody saying, ``Abandon 
Israel, or we will bring you to your knees,'' or, ``Get out of our way, 
or we'll bring you to your knees.'' And couple that with a country which 
doesn't like us with a nuclear weapon, and people will look back at this 
period of time and say, ``What happened to them in 2006? How come they 
couldn't see the danger? What clouded their vision?'' Well, I want you 
to know I clearly see the danger. That is why we will fight in Iraq and 
win in Iraq.
    I want to share a story with you about the power of liberty. 
Recently Laura and I had the honor of taking our 
friend the former Prime Minister--he was 
the sitting Prime Minister at the time--of Japan--to Elvis's place. They 
said, ``Why did you go?'' Well, we hadn't been on a vacation lately. 
[Laughter] We also went because Prime Minister Koizumi liked Elvis. But 
I also wanted to tell a story, a tale about history and the power of 
liberty.
    Right after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, thousands and 
thousands of our citizens--I'm sure your relatives--volunteered to fight 
the enemy. See, Japan was the sworn enemy of the United States, and we 
fought them in a bloody war, and thousands lost their lives. And here I 
am on Air Force One with the Prime Minister of the former enemy talking about the peace. See, 
we were talking about how do we make sure the Korean Peninsula doesn't 
have a nuclear weapon. We were talking about the fact that Japan had 
1,000 troops in Iraq, helping this young democracy. The Prime Minister 
knows what I know: In this ideological struggle, with extremism on one 
hand and reasonable folks on the other, anytime you can help a young 
democracy survive, you're making the world more peaceful. You're 
marginalizing the extremists.
    We talked about this concept, that whom much is given, much is 
required--that's

[[Page 2046]]

what I believe. And we talked about how we can work together, for 
example, to get rid of the pandemic of HIV/AIDS on the continent of 
Africa. In other words, we were talking about our duties as responsible 
citizens of the world to lay the foundation for peace. Isn't it 
interesting? My dad fought the Japanese, 
and his son is sitting down talking about the peace with the Prime 
Minister of the very same country. What 
happened was, Japan adopted a Japanese-style democracy.
    The lesson is that liberty has got the capacity to change an enemy 
into an ally. And liberty has got the capacity to change a region of 
resentment, a region that needs hope, into a place where people can 
realize the benefits of a rational life, where people can realize the 
benefits of a free society. Someday American Presidents will be sitting 
down with elected leaders from the Middle East talking about keeping the 
peace, and a generation of Americans will be better off for it.
    And these are the stakes in this election. And I thank you for your 
interest. I ask you to go forth and find fellow Republicans, discerning 
Democrats, and openminded independents and convince them, if you want a 
good Governor, vote for Asa Hutchinson. 
Remind them that if they want more money in their pocket, remind them if 
they want government that trusts you to make the right decisions with 
your money, you vote Republican. And remind them that we're in a tough 
fight against an enemy that wants to do us harm. And if you want 
government that responds with all assets, a government that will do 
everything in our capability to protect you and, at the same time, lay 
the foundation for peace for generations to come, vote Republican.
    Thanks for coming. God bless you, and God bless America.

Note: The President spoke at 4:23 p.m. at the Northwest Arkansas 
Regional Airport. In his remarks, he referred to Cathy Boozman, wife of 
Rep. John Boozman; Usama bin Laden, leader of the Al Qaida terrorist 
organization; and former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan.