    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 3 (Monday, January 21, 2002)]
    [Pages 70-74]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Remarks in New Orleans, Louisiana

    January 15, 2002

        The President. Thank you all very much. It's great to be back in
    what they call the Big Easy. As you might remember, I grew up in Texas
    and spent some quality time here in New Orleans. I forgot how good the
    food is. I'm going to have to spend about a week working off that baked
    Alaska that I had at Antoine's. [Laughter]
        I didn't have any pretzels last night for dinner. [Laughter] I
    learned my lesson: Always listen to your mother, who told me, ``Chew
    your pretzels before you swallow.'' [Laughter]
        But thank you all for coming. It is a beautiful day in a great city
    and an important part of our economy, and that is the Port of New
    Orleans. I want to thank Gary LaGrange, who is the executive director of
    this facility. I want to thank the Secretary of Commerce Don Evans, who
    is traveling with me. I want to thank the chairman of the Port of New
    Orleans Board of Commissioners. I want to thank Dave Wagner. I want to
    thank Jim Campbell, who is the president of the International
    Longshoremen's Association Number 3000. I want to thank all the
    hardworking longshoremen who are here to help make America grow.
        I want to thank my friend the Governor of the great State of
    Louisiana. What a piece of work that guy is. That's why they love you,
    Mike. [Laughter] He knows how to tell the truth; he speaks plainly, and
    he's doing a heck of a good job for the people of Louisiana.
        I want to thank Congressman David Vitter, who's here today. I want
    to thank Congressman John Cooksey, who is with us, as well. Thank you
    both for coming.
        And I want to thank you all for coming out to say hello. It's a
    great way to end my trip throughout America's heartland. I started
    yesterday in Moline, Illinois, at a factory that makes harvesting
    equipment for John Deere. I told them I was coming down to New Orleans,
    and I said, ``I'm going to come to the place where much of the equipment
    you manufacture is shipped out when you sell overseas.''
        And then I went to see some farmers in Missouri. And I told them
    that I was coming down to New Orleans in Louisiana, which ships out a
    lot of the product that they grow. The reason I'm here is because I want
    America to understand how our economy works. We're worried about jobs in
    our country. We want everybody who wants to find work to be able to have
    work; everybody who wants a job should be able to provide for their
    family. I'm worried about the loss of jobs.
        Our economy is interconnected. What happens in Moline, Illinois, and
    in Missouri affects the people who work here in New Orleans, in the
    port. And therefore, good public policy recognizes that. And good public
    policy asks the questions, how do we make sure that what affects one
    affects the other in a positive way? How do we make sure people can find
    jobs as we head into the year 2000?
        The best way to make sure that our economy recovers from the
    attack--I think one of the most important things I can do is to make
    sure that they don't hit us again. We suffered a lot on September the
    11th, and one of the things that we suffered was the lack of confidence
    in the future. But as every day goes by, the American people are getting
    more and more confident in our ability to protect ourselves and the
    ability for our Government to respond in a positive way to make sure
    that families are safe in America.
        I fully understand the enemy still lurks out there, and the enemy
    still would like to hit

    [[Page 71]]

    us. But America has changed since September the 11th. We're now more
    alert. We've got a Coast Guard that's now actively patrolling our
    coasts, trying to make sure nobody comes in to hurt us. We've got an
    FBI--major function now is to prevent further attack. We've got better
    intelligence-sharing around the world to make sure that we find people
    before they come to our country. We're on full alert. I'm so proud of
    the law enforcement officials all across America who are working
    endlessly--who are working endlessly to make sure that we're safe.
        This is a strong country. It's an alert country, and it's a patient
    country when it comes to achieving the ultimate objective, which is
    keeping America safe by finding terrorists where they live and bringing
    them to justice. And that's exactly what's happening in the first
    theater in the war against terror. I have unleashed a mighty military,
    and the mighty military of America is making us proud.
        For those of you who wear our uniform, I want to thank you. For
    those of you who have got families--family members of those who wear the
    uniform, I hope you're as proud of them as I am.
        We set a clear objective--several clear objectives. One of them was
    is that if you harbor a terrorist, if you hide a terrorist, if you feed
    a terrorist, you're guilty. That's the doctrine. The objective was to
    make sure that the Taliban no longer harbored Al Qaida. The Taliban no
    longer rules in Afghanistan. We met that objective, and in so doing, we
    liberated a group of people that had been terrorized--we liberated women
    and children. I'm so proud of the United States military.
        It brings me such joy--such joy--to know that not only are we
    pursuing the objective--and that is to bring the murderers to justice--
    but this great Nation is liberating people and feeding people. We're not
    only a tough nation, but we're a compassionate nation. And the world has
    seen the greatness of America as we pursue our objective.
        And we're making some progress against Al Qaida. We're hunting them
    down, one man at a time. I just want to tell you that I'm patient, and
    our military is patient; that I don't care how long it takes. I don't
    care where they hide; we're after them. And we're after them and will
    remain after them until they're brought to justice.
        Oh, I know there are some who are saying, ``Gosh, I wish this ended
    yesterday.'' But that's not how this is going to work. You see, we've
    got people who send youngsters to suicide missions, and they,
    themselves, hide in caves. Those are the kind of people we're dealing
    with, but there's not going to be enough caves in the world to hide
    them.
        Some may tire--some in our coalition may get tired of this effort,
    or some in our country may tire. But I can assure you, I'm not, because
    I view this as a moment--a defining moment in history, a moment when we
    must defend freedom, a moment when we must defend civilization, itself,
    a moment when this great Nation--in which this great Nation must lead
    the world--must lead the world--to make sure our children and
    grandchildren can grow up in a peaceful and secure society.
        In order to make sure people can find work, we better make sure we
    educate the people of our country. I had the real privilege last week of
    traveling the country, touting a good education bill, a bill that is
    going to make sure every child gets educated and no children get left
    behind.
        One of the things that I really, really appreciate about Governor
    Foster is that he understands that we better hold people accountable in
    education. Otherwise, some are going to get left behind. I'm real proud
    of the education reforms that Mike Foster has put in place.
        I believe strongly, every child in America can learn. I believe
    that, and I believe our public school systems can teach every child in
    America how to read and write and add and subtract. And I took that
    message up to Washington and worked with both Republicans and Democrats
    to get a good bill out that sets high standards, that says, ``If you
    take money, you need to show us whether or not children can read and
    write and add and subtract,'' a good bill that focuses on making sure
    every child is literate, a bill that helps teachers teach reading using
    a curriculum that works, and a bill that says the good folks of
    Louisiana can run their schools better than bureaucrats in Washington,
    DC.
        And one of my traveling mates was Ted Kennedy, the Senator from
    Massachusetts.

    [[Page 72]]

    I've said good things about him. [Laughter] He nearly fell out.
    [Laughter] So did the boys at the Crawford coffee shop. [Laughter] But I
    said it because he worked hard to get a good bill; he worked with a
    Republican administration to get a good piece of education reform. We
    showed what can happen in Washington when you put your political parties
    aside and focus on what's best for the United States of America.
        And that's what's got to happen on this issue of trade. One of the
    reasons I'm traveling down the spine of America and on the mighty
    Mississippi is because I want to remind our fellow citizens how
    important trade is. It's important to these workers that we trade. The
    people who are loading these ships load them because we're trading
    around the world. The farmers who are selling product can sell more if
    we trade. And if the farmers sell more of their product, we can sell
    more of the machines made in Moline, Illinois, so the good folks up
    there, the UAW workers, can work.
        I'm worried about jobs. And I believe if you trade more, there are
    more jobs available for hardworking Americans. There are some who play
    politics with the trade issue; they want to shut down trade. I like to
    remind people, those who shut down trade aren't confident. They're not
    confident in the American worker; they're not confident in the American
    entrepreneur; they're not confident in American products.
        I'm just the opposite. I know we got the best workers in the world;
    I know we can make the best products in the world. And therefore, we
    ought to have free and fair trade around the world. I'm not the only one
    that feels that way. Some of the longshoremen that I met coming in said,
    ``We need trade so I can keep working.'' I got a nice letter from your
    mayor. He said, you know, he's sorry he couldn't see me because he's on
    a trade mission to Mexico City, ``however, I want you to know that I
    fully support your efforts to pass legislation giving your
    administration fast-track authority to negotiate trade agreements.''
        This isn't a Republican issue; this isn't a Democrat issue. Trade is
    a jobs issue. And the United States Senate needs to hear the voices of
    the working people and get me a bill I can sign.
        And you know what else the United States Senate needs to do? They
    need to pass an energy bill. One of the great things about our
    agriculture sector is, we grow enough food to feed America. And
    therefore, we're secure when it comes to food. Gosh, I would hate to be
    the President of a country that has to import a lot of food. It would
    mean you're beholden to somebody else's farmers to feed your people.
        We grow a lot of food. We can feed our people. We grow enough that
    we can put it on the ships here and send it around the world, and we
    ought to be feeding the world, as well. But that's not the case for
    energy. We receive a lot of our energy, over 50 percent of it, from
    other parts of the world. Sometimes they like us; sometimes they don't.
    [Laughter] And it's those times when they don't like us that makes me
    nervous as the President of the country. [Laughter] It's in our national
    interest to have a national energy plan. It's in Louisiana's interest to
    have a national energy plan. It's in America's interest to have a
    national energy plan.
        A national energy plan will help us conserve more and produce more.
    It will make us less reliant upon foreign sources of energy, and it will
    help us create more jobs. The people of Louisiana understand that energy
    equals jobs. So do a lot of other people in America. This bill is
    bottled up in the United States Senate. It's about time they focused on
    creating jobs in America and get me a trade bill and an energy bill for
    the good of the American people.
        The good news is, I think we got a United States Senator--I know
    we've got one from Louisiana who understands that; John Breaux
    understands. He understands jobs, and I appreciated him supporting me on
    the tax cut.
        And that's another good piece of legislation that passed out of
    Washington, and it came just at the right time--just at the right time.
    You see, our economy started slowing down significantly in March of
    2001. And when the economy begins to slow down, one of the best remedies
    is to let people keep more of their own money, is to take less of the
    money from the working people.

    [[Page 73]]

        When a longshoreman is able to keep more of his own money, his
    family has more money to spend. And as they spend that money, somebody,
    obviously, has to produce the product for them to buy. And as they
    produce the product, it creates jobs. And in order to stimulate the
    economy, one of the good ways to do so is to have tax relief. We passed
    meaningful, real tax relief that says, finally, our Government trusts
    people with more of their own money so that people can make the right
    decisions for their families.
        You know, there are some in Washington, however, who seem to be
    indicating that in order to come out of a recession, you should raise
    taxes.
        Audience members. No-o-o!
        The President. I don't know what economic textbook they've been
    reading--[laughter]--but it's not the one that most Americans have read.
    They understand tax relief is the best way to encourage an economic
    recovery in America.
        Now, we can help and should help those workers who lost their jobs
    as a result of the September the 11th attacks. We should work together
    to extend unemployment--insurance employment benefits. We ought to help
    pay for health care for workers that have been laid off; that's
    something we ought to do. But most Americans don't want an unemployment
    check. They want a paycheck, and we ought to figure out ways to increase
    jobs.
        An energy plan will help create jobs; a trade bill will create jobs.
    And we need a stimulus plan that says, ``Let's be smart. Let's encourage
    entrepreneurs and people who buy equipment, and let's accelerate the tax
    relief so that this economy will grow, so that people who want to work
    can find work.'' There is no reason why we can't work together to get a
    good bill done for the American people.
        I like my job a lot. It's a huge honor to live in the White House,
    and I want to report that Laura is doing a fabulous job. What a great,
    great First Lady. She's happy, and that's really important. [Laughter]
    And it's an honor to represent you in Washington, but I really enjoy
    traveling our country, as well. I like to get out. I like to move
    around, because it is--one, it reminds me of the true strength of
    America. And the true strength of our country is not in our Capital.
    We've got a great system; no question about it. We've got a fantastic
    Constitution. But the true strength of America really are the American
    people--is the American people. That's the true strength. The true
    strength is the American citizens, people of good heart.
        The enemy didn't understand our country. You know, they thought we
    were so materialistic that we were soft. They thought we cared more
    about ourselves than we cared about something greater than ourselves.
    But they were wrong. They didn't understand the character of America.
    They don't know how tough we can be--they didn't realize how tough we
    could be if we decided to be tough. They thought we would be impatient,
    and they're wrong. They thought we'd get tired early. They don't
    understand us.
        A lot of people say, ``Well, what can I do to help fight the war on
    terror?'' Well, one, be alert. If you see something happening that's
    unusual, report to the local law enforcement. Let them know. But the
    other thing is, is that in order to fight evil, I think one way you do
    it is to fight it with good--acts of kindness and decency. In order to
    fight the evil ones and not let their way of life stand, one thing
    Americans can do is to love a neighbor.
        I want to not only unleash our military and the might of our
    military; I also want to help unleash the compassion of the American
    people. A soldier in the war on terror is somebody who mentors a child
    or somebody who walks across the street to a shut-in neighbor and says,
    ``How can I brighten your day? What can I do to love you?'' A soldier in
    the war on terror is a mom or a dad who surrounds--who hugs their
    children on a daily basis and says to a child, ``I love you more than
    anything in life.'' Somebody who wants to fight evil with goodness is
    somebody who wants to get involved in their school system and praises
    the teacher or helps the education, somebody who goes to a church or a
    synagogue or mosques and says, ``What can we--how can we form a faith-
    based program to help change people's lives by changing their hearts?''
        The enemy has awakened a mighty nation. They made us angry, but
    they've also made us hopeful because we fully understand the

    [[Page 74]]

    true strength of our country lies in the hearts and souls of a
    wonderful, fantastic group of people.
        It is my honor to be your President. It's my honor to be here in New
    Orleans. May God bless you all, and may God bless America. Thank you
    very much. Thank you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 9:23 a.m. on the Nashville Avenue Wharf at
    the Port of New Orleans. In his remarks, he referred to Gary P.
    LaGrange, executive director, and Dave A. Wagner, chief operating
    officer, Port of New Orleans; Francis E. ``Hank'' Lauricella, chairman,
    Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans; Gov. M.J. ``Mike''
    Foster of Louisiana; and Mayor Marc H. Morial of New Orleans. The Office
    of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of
    these remarks.