    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book II)]
    [November 2, 2007]
    [Pages 1414-1416]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on Arrival in Columbia, South Carolina
    November 2, 2007

        The President. I want to thank the Governor
    and the Senators and Members of Congress for joining me.
        I first do want to say how concerned Laura
    and I are for the families who lost loved ones at the fire in Ocean Isle
    Beach, North Carolina. I know people are hurting when they think about
    the seven youngsters who had so much hope in their lives and had their
    life taken during that fire. I hope the families and loved ones can take
    comfort that in this great State and around the Nation, there's a lot of
    people praying for them.

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        I'm proud to stand with Senator Lindsey Graham. I've gotten to know him well. He deserves to be reelected
    to the United States Senate in--from South Carolina. He's tough; he is
    smart; he bases his votes on conservative principles. And Senator
    Graham, I'm proud to call you friend.
        Senator Lindsey O. Graham. Thank you, sir.
        The President. And I believe the people of South Carolina benefit
    from your leadership as the Senator from this important State.
        Lindsey Graham understands that low
    taxes work when it comes to growing this economy. Earlier this week, we
    had the reports that progrowth economic policies that Senator Graham
    supports are making a difference for America. After all, the third
    quarter numbers were strong. Today we had further good news, that
    keeping taxes low works. This economy added 166,000 new jobs during the
    month of October, which is now our 50th consecutive month of
    uninterrupted job growth, the longest in the Nation's history. I
    appreciate your strong support for keeping taxes low on the working
    people in South Carolina, Senator.
        Lindsey Graham is no better friend to
    the United States military and to our veterans. I'm looking forward to
    going to Fort Jackson today. It is fitting that I'm going with Senator
    Lindsey Graham. He cares deeply about those who volunteered to serve our
    Nation, and he's a strong supporter of the Nation's veterans.
        And finally, I appreciate his work on the Judiciary Committee in the
    United States Senate. I told the people of South Carolina if I became
    the President of the United States that I would put people on the bench
    who would strictly interpret the Constitution and not legislate from the
    bench. I've kept that pledge. And I've had no stronger supporter in the
    United States Senate than Lindsey Graham
    for putting good judges on the bench. The people of this State have got
    to understand that when I nominated John Roberts and Sam Alito, there was
    no better ally than Lindsey Graham to see to it that these two good men
    were confirmed.
        There's going to be another fight on the Senate floor coming next
    week. The Senate Judiciary Committee has agreed to vote on the
    nomination of Michael Mukasey to be the
    Attorney General. And Senator Graham, I
    appreciate your strong support for Mike Mukasey. He's a good man, he's a
    fair man, he's an independent man, and he's plenty qualified to be the
    Attorney General. And I strongly urge the United States Senate to
    confirm this man, so that I can have an Attorney General to work with to
    protect the United States of America from further attack.
        Proud to be with you, Senator. I
    strongly believe the people of South Carolina should send you back to
    the United States Senate.
        Sen. Graham. Thank you very much, Mr.
    President.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:39 a.m. at the Columbia Metropolitan
    Airport. In his remarks, he referred to Gov. Mark C. Sanford, Jr., of
    South Carolina.

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