[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 33 (Monday, August 20, 2001)]
[Pages 1161-1163]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a YMCA Picnic in Rocky Mountain National Park

August 14, 2001

    Thank you all very much. Tessa, thanks--a pretty tough act to 
follow. [Laughter]
    First, I want to thank the Marich family for their patience working 
me through the food line. I'd worked up quite an appetite up top of the 
mountain, and I'm glad I got a little of that barbecue.
    Thank you for your hospitality. I want to thank the directors of the 
Y for welcoming me to this little slice of heaven. You know, when I was 
growing up in Texas, a lot of people say, ``You know, I spent my summer 
in Estes Park,'' and now I know why. It's a beautiful spot, and thanks 
for having me.
    I'm traveling with some folks that you might want to at least say 
hello to. I picked somebody from--to head the Department of the Interior 
who would understand the thinking of the West, who would understand that 
we can have good, sound environmental policy, that conservation is 
important.
    And so when I named Gale Norton from the State of Colorado to be the 
head of the Department of Interior, a lot of folks came to realize this 
is an administration that's going to be wise, full of common sense when 
it comes to preserving the natural beauty of our country. And I'm so 
thankful Gale Norton is here. Where are you, Gale? Thank you for coming.
    I also needed to find somebody to run our National Park Service, 
somebody who was bright and wise, as well, somebody who shared our 
commitment to making sure that at the very minimum, the maintenance 
backlog in these parks ought to be taken care of; that the parks are for 
the people; that when we just talk about a national park system that is 
an incredibly important part of our Nation's heritage and tradition, 
that the parks be accessible for the people who pay the bills; that they 
be well maintained.
    We've got $5 billion in the budget, for the next 5 years, to end 
this maintenance backlog, and the person who is going to work with us to 
do so is the National Park Service Director, Fran Mainella. Thank you, 
Fran. And I want to thank all the Park Service employees who are here. 
You've got a tough job and an important job, and we probably don't thank 
you enough for the work you do. But I want to thank you.
    It's great to travel up on the trail and see the wise public policy 
being deployed here: public policy to make sure that we reduce the 
hazards of forest fires; smart management of our lands; wise, 
commonsense approach to how we thin out our forests, prevent the hazards 
of forest fire; and the Park employees were up there working, along with 
the volunteers from the Y camp. I also loved meeting the folks making 
the trails so that the American people can access this beautiful part of 
the world. So on behalf of the taxpayers of our country and the 
administration,

[[Page 1162]]

I want to thank all the Park Service employees for your good work.
    Also traveling with me today is the Governor of this great State, a 
man who has fulfilled every promise he made, and that's my friend Bill 
Owens. Thank you for coming, Bill. And the Lieutenant Governor is 
somewhere--hey, Joe, thank you--Lieutenant Governor Rogers is here, as 
well. Thank you for being here. Two fine United States Senators, Wayne 
Allard and Ben Nighthorse Campbell, are here; the Congressman from this 
district, Bob Schaffer, is here. Bob, where are you? There he is. 
[Laughter] And Tom Tancredo, the other Congressman--thank you all for 
coming.
    We are making some progress in Washington, starting with changing 
the tone of the Nation's Capital. Like a lot of citizens around our 
country, I was deeply concerned about the bitterness that seemed to be 
in every other voice in the Nation's Capital. And one of the things I 
pledged to do was to at least try to change the tone, try to say if you 
don't happen to agree with somebody, you can disagree in an agreeable 
way, that party is important, but it's not paramount--what's more 
important is the country.
    And I believe we're making good progress. We've come together and 
have done some smart things on behalf of the American people. I think 
one of the smartest things we did was cut the taxes, to get people their 
money back. I appreciate all the signs I saw coming in, where people 
said, thanks for the $600. [Laughter] But guess what? It wasn't mine to 
give out; it was theirs to begin with.
    So it's important. We've got a wise budget; we've got a good budget, 
a good, sound fiscal policy. We're working hard on getting an education 
bill out that makes sense.
    We're sending a clear message overseas, that ours is a proud nation 
that will promote the peace. But we're not going to sign on to every 
single agreement that somebody thought might have been good. We're going 
to stand tall for freedom and America, that what's good for America is 
going to be paramount to my way of thinking.
    I think we're making good progress explaining to our allies that 
we'll be loyal friends, but we can't be all things to all people. I hope 
we're breaking new ground when it comes to Mr. Putin, welcoming him to 
the West, saying to him that the old days of mistrust, aiming missiles 
at each other have got to end. The cold war is over. It's finally over, 
and now it's time to have a new strategic thinking about how to keep the 
peace. So we're making good progress.
    But there's a role bigger than just initiatives and legislation for 
a President in an administration. And it's really to herald, to capture 
the spirit of the country. That's why I'm so thankful that Dave Thomas 
has invited me here, to let me come, and the staff, because the spirit 
of the country is reflected, in my judgment, right here in this 
beautiful setting.
    The spirit of America is found in the character of our citizens, the 
value base that makes America, I think, such a different kind of place--
a place that--a country that values family and friendship, a place where 
people learn values and character. One of the things that--when I try to 
describe America to somebody who has never been here I say, ``We're a 
country stitched together by communities of character.''
    This is a community of character, as far as I'm concerned. Not only 
does it exist in a beautiful setting--and I can see why families have 
wanted to come back year after year after year--but there's also a grand 
vision embodied in these mountains. And the vision is that we can teach 
our children right from wrong. And we can teach them good, sound values, 
so that when they get older they'll make the right choices in their 
life.
    We can teach our children values that will make an enormous 
difference for our country as a whole, the values of respect: respect 
the land; respect somebody with whom you may not agree; respect your 
neighbor, regardless of where they were raised or where they were born; 
respect somebody else's religious views; be willing to listen. It's an 
important value to make our country so different and so unique, a 
country that's been able to absorb people from all walks of life under 
the great umbrella of freedom and opportunity.
    There is also a respect out here, respect for family. I was up there 
when I was helping clear the trail, somebody said they were from 
Fredericksburg, Texas, which reminded me of a story, a true story that 
happened to me.

[[Page 1163]]

    I was there, as Governor of Texas, for the 50th anniversary at the 
end of the war in the Pacific Theater. And my mother and dad were there, 
as was Laura, my wife. And I got up to speak, to welcome everybody as 
the Governor, and I said, ``Welcome.'' And I said, ``Dad, welcome back 
to central Texas,'' and people cheered. And I said, ``Mother,'' and 
before I could say another word, everybody was screaming at the top of 
their lungs. And I said, ``Mother,''--and still--``everybody here loves 
you in Texas and so do I, but you are still telling me what to do after 
50 years.'' [Laughter] And a guy in a big cowboy hat steps out in the 
middle of Main Street, Fredericksburg, and screams, ``You better listen 
to her, too, boy.'' [Laughter]
    Part of respect is to respect your mom and dad. So to the campers 
here, my advice is, listen to your mother. [Laughter] In my case, I 
don't have any choice. [Laughter]
    You also teach the sense of responsibility, that each of us must be 
responsible for the decisions we make in life. And that's a really 
important character and core value for our country. That we must have a 
responsible society, that Government can't do everything in a society. 
We've got to be responsible for loving a neighbor like we'd like to be 
loved ourselves.
    One of the things that I'm hoping to get through the Congress is the 
faith-based initiative, faith and community based initiative which will 
capture and stand side by side the programs all around America that rely 
upon faith to help change people's lives.
    I recognize there is a role for Government-sponsored programs, but 
our society must recognize there is also a role for faith-based 
initiatives and faith-based programs, programs that exist to help people 
change their heart and, therefore, change their behavior. We shouldn't 
fear faith in America; we ought to welcome the faith-based programs that 
help define our country as a unique land. And so, responsible society is 
one that we all must aim for.
    Now, this is a nation of character and values, and I'm so honored to 
be in a place that teaches values, that heralds character, that's not 
afraid to say there are right choices in life to make and wrong choices 
in life to make; a community of conscious and a community of character 
that aims to say to our young, this American experience is a fantastic 
experience. Work hard, study hard, respect your family, and respect your 
friends, and our Nation will be even greater than it is today.
    So thank you for giving me a chance to come and herald a wonderful 
program in an unbelievably beautiful setting. It's a great honor to be 
the President of this country. And the main reason why is because our 
country is the greatest there is. And the reason why we are is because 
the people of America are so fantastic and so loving and so decent.
    May God bless you all.

Note: The President spoke at 1:25 p.m. In his remarks, he referred to 
Tessa Murphy, camp counselor, Estes Park Center YMCA, who introduced the 
President; President Vladimir Putin of Russia; and David G. Thomas, 
executive director, YMCA of the Rockies.