[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 10 (Monday, March 11, 2002)]
[Pages 344-348]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a Fundraiser for Senatorial Candidate Norm Coleman in 
Minneapolis, Minnesota

March 4, 2002

    Thank you very much. Thank you for that warm welcome. Tonight I'm 
here for one simple reason: I want Norm Coleman to become the next 
United States Senator from Minnesota. And so do a lot of other people in 
Minnesota, as witnessed by this crowd. Thank you all for coming, and 
thank you for supporting this really good man.
    I want to thank Gene for his kind comments. And Pat, thank you very 
much. I want to thank members of the United States congressional 
delegation who are here tonight, Gil Gutknecht and Mark Kennedy and Jim 
Ramstad, three fine Members of the House of Representatives. Your 
dollars will not only help Ron but will help these three Members get 
reelected, as well.
    I want to thank those of you who work in the grassroots of the 
Republican Party, defending values that make America stronger. And I 
want to thank my fellow Americans for your support and your kind 
prayers.
    I really want to thank Laurie Coleman as well. She is obviously 
going to be a strong asset in the Coleman campaign. And like Norm, I 
married above myself, too. [Laughter]
    I'm really proud of Laura. You know, when I married Laura, she was a 
public school librarian. She really wasn't fond of politicians or 
political speeches. Man, what a great First Lady she has become. She's a 
fabulous wife, a great mother of our 20-year-old twin daughters, and has 
been such a calm and positive influence on Americans all across our 
country. I'm grateful for her sacrifice, and I love her.
    I'm really impressed by Norm. You know, in this line of work we're 
in, you've got the good talkers, and then you've got the doers. In this 
case, obviously, he's a good talker and a doer. [Laughter] He's an 
independent thinker, and that's important for the State of Minnesota. 
But he's a person who tries

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to figure out how to get things done, and he has done so in St. Paul, 
Minnesota. He's a man of accomplishment. He knows what it takes to 
succeed. He's a proven leader. He's a practical guy that focuses on 
results, and that's the kind of United States Senator you need in the 
State of Minnesota.
    The record speaks for itself. It's a record of accomplishment. It's 
a record that understands the role of the private sector in the 
revitalization of community. But what I love is Norm's passion for 
education. I love a person who understands that the power of education 
can make America a much more hopeful place. I appreciate a man who 
stands tall for making sure every child is educated and no child is left 
behind. I hope the people of Minnesota, from all parties, understand 
what a good and decent, honorable man Norm Coleman is and to send him to 
the United States Senate.
    We've got some big things ahead of us in this Nation. We have got a 
war to win. My biggest job, the most important job I have, is to defend 
this Nation and our people, and defend this Nation and our people is 
exactly what I intend to do. [Applause] Thank you.
    The enemy really misunderstood America. When they attacked us, they 
must have thought we were soft, that we were so materialistic that we 
wouldn't understand sacrifice and duty and honor. They thought we would 
blink, and they made a huge mistake.
    In the course of this conflict, I made it clear that either you're 
with us, either you stood with the United States and our defense for 
freedom across the world, or you were against us. And a lot of nations 
heard that call, and they stand with us. And for that, we're grateful.
    I also made it clear that if you harbor a terrorist, if you try to 
hide a terrorist, if you feed a terrorist, you're just as guilty as 
those who murdered thousands of innocent lives, and you will be held 
accountable, too. And thanks to our fabulous men and women who wear the 
uniform, that doctrine in the first theater in the war against terror 
has been upheld.
    We went to Afghanistan not as conquerors but as liberators. Not only 
did we uphold the doctrine of harboring a terrorist; we freed women and 
children from the clutches of one of the most barbaric regimes history 
has ever seen. I can't tell you how proud I am of the U.S. military.
    I am proud of our military, and I'm so very proud of the American 
people. The American people are patient and calm in the face of danger. 
The American people understand that history has called this Nation into 
action. The American people understand that the struggle we face is 
going to be long and arduous, but a united Nation has sent a loud 
message to the rest of the world: We will defend freedom; we will defend 
the values we hold dear, no matter what the price.
    I have submitted a budget to the United States Congress that has got 
the largest increase in defense spending in a generation, for this 
reason: Any time the United States sends our men and women who wear our 
uniform into harm's way, they must have the best equipment, the best 
training, and another pay raise. And I ask the Congress to pass that 
budget. It is important for the United States Congress to understand 
that the price of freedom is high, but the price of freedom is never too 
high.
    It is important for the world to understand that we struggle not 
just for freedom but for civilization itself. If the United States were 
to blink, the rest of the world will be lulled to sleep. And this 
country, so long as I am the President, will be steadfast in our 
leadership and in our resolve to lead the world to more freedom and more 
liberty and more opportunity for everybody on the face of the Earth.
    Every morning I wake up and read what they call a threat assessment. 
I get to walk into the grand Oval Office. It's such a fabulous office, 
by the way. It's such an honor to be working in that shrine. I'm an 
early morning kind of guy. I get there generally around 7 o'clock. Spot, 
the dog, goes with me. [Laughter] Spot was born at the White House, when 
Mother and Dad were there, so she's quite comfortable with the 
surroundings. [Laughter] Barney, the one-year-old Scottish terrier, does 
not get to go. I just got a brand new rug in the Oval Office. [Laughter]
    But I sit at this grand desk where the Roosevelts have sat, other 
Presidents, and I read threats to the United States of America. I

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realize that there is a barbaric enemy that hates what we stand for, 
hates our freedoms, hates our openness, people who cannot stand the fact 
that we're able to worship freely in America, that we're able to express 
our opinions in America, that America is a place where we have spirited 
elections, but we're a sound and solid democracy.
    I recognize that I will--have got to do everything I can to make 
sure that we respond to these threats. And so we've put together a 
homeland defense strategy that coordinates activities with the Federal 
law enforcement level, State law enforcement level, and the local law 
enforcement level. We're running down every hint, every threat, every 
possible threat. I can't tell you how proud I am of the FBI and the men 
and women who wear the uniform of the police in Minnesota and all around 
the country. These folks are working overtime to secure America.
    We've got a first-responders initiative that will make it more 
likely that, if there's an attack, the good police and emergency folks 
and fire folks of Minneapolis or St. Paul can respond. We've got a 
bioterrorism initiative that, after it's all said and done, may end up 
actually providing incentive for--be able to provide an impetus to find 
cures for diseases that will plague us. We've got a better border 
security initiative going on. We're going to do a better job of 
understanding who's coming into our country and who's leaving their 
country and why they're here in the first place.
    We're buttoning up America. And I want to thank my fellow citizens 
for being on alert and for those who are working overtime to protect 
you. But I want to remind my countrypeople, my fellow countrymen, that 
the surest way to secure the country, the best way to make sure our 
children and grandchildren can grow up in a peaceful and hopeful world, 
is to hunt down the terrorists wherever they try to hide and bring them 
to justice. And that's precisely what we will do.
    It's obvious, the news has shown that we're still active in 
Afghanistan. We have found a significant Al Qaida group of killers, and 
the Afghans, along with our Special Forces, along with other coalition 
members, are hunting them down. America must realize this is a dangerous 
phase of this war. And we lost life today. And I know all of us mourn 
for the family members who have lost their life, but I can assure them 
that the cause is just. Defending freedom and defending the homeland is 
a noble and just cause. And I hope they're as proud of them as I am.
    Our efforts go beyond Afghanistan, as you're beginning to realize. 
We'll team up with any friendly government that's interested in bringing 
Al Qaida and terrorists to justice. We've arrested over 1,000 people 
outside the Afghan theater and bringing them to justice.
    But I also laid down another dictum, and it's this: In order for our 
children to be free, we must never allow transparent dictators--
nontransparent dictators to develop weapons of mass destruction, thereby 
enabling them to mate up with terrorist organizations. We will not allow 
the world's worst regimes to develop the world's worst weapons and hold 
America and our friends and our allies hostage.
    I know this is going to be a long and difficult time for America. 
But we are up for the task. America will lead this world to a more 
secure and a more hopeful future.
    And we've got a job to do at home, as well. You know, when I was 
campaigning in Chicago, I'll never forget, one of the reporters said, 
``Would you ever allow any deficit spending?'' I said, ``Only if we had 
a recession or an emergency or a war.'' [Laughter] Thankfully, the 
Nation is resolved to fight the war. Thankfully, we had thousands of 
citizens rise to deal with the emergency. And thankfully, we cut the 
taxes on the American people to deal with the recession.
    The best thing we did to deal with the recession is to allow people 
to keep more of their own money, so they can spend it and provide more 
demand and, therefore, the corresponding supply. The best way to deal 
with a recession is to trust the American people with their own money.
    For a while you heard some of them talking in Washington that they 
were going to stop the tax relief plan. I do not know what economic 
textbook they were reading, but one thing you don't do is raise the 
taxes on the people in the midst of a recession. What you do is trust 
the private sector. What you do is incent people to create more jobs. 
What

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you do is understand the best economic recovery plan has got one word, 
and that is ``jobs''. How do we create jobs for the working people in 
the United States of America?
    And there are some things we can do to create jobs, besides 
providing tax incentives. One, we can have an energy plan that makes 
sense. I came to Minnesota to lay out my vision for an energy plan that 
says: We can conserve better; we must modernize our electricity; but for 
the sake of our national security, we need to develop more oil and gas 
here at home. The less dependent we are on foreign sources of crude oil, 
the more secure America will be in the long run.
    And we've got to get a good farm bill out, one that encourages--one 
that does not encourage overproduction, one that recognizes, however, 
that our farmers hurt, that there needs to be a reasonable safety net, 
and one that recognizes this fact: Minnesota's farmers, along with the 
rest of the farmers in America, are the best at what they do in the 
world. And if you're the best at what you do in the world, we ought to 
open up more markets for you to sell into the world.
    And we must understand the power of value-added processing. When I 
campaigned for President, I said I supported ethanol. And as President 
of the United States, I support ethanol as a way to reduce our 
dependency on foreign sources of crude oil and as a way to clean the air 
in the United States of America.
    And we're making good progress on other fronts. Today I went to Eden 
Prairie High School, and I've got to tell you, if you've got kids there, 
I was really proud of the student body. They actually listened. 
[Laughter] But it was a chance to tout a really good piece of 
legislation that we got passed. You know, I am passionate about making 
sure that we do not leave any child behind in America. I am passionate 
on challenging systems that simply shuffle children through the school 
system without understanding whether they can read or write or add and 
subtract.
    The bill I signed says a couple of key points. One, if you receive 
Federal money, show us whether or not children are learning. If you 
receive a dime of Federal money, we expect every child in America to be 
learning how to read and write and add and subtract.
    Lest you think I forgot where I came from, however, I understand all 
wisdom does not exist in Washington, DC, that the people who know best 
how to run the school systems are the local folks, that we've got to 
pass power out of Washington, DC, to provide maximum flexibility to the 
local districts, local schools, local--the States. Listen, the more 
flexibility there is at the local level, the more likely it is every 
single child in America will learn. This is a great piece of 
legislation, and it took both Republicans and Democrats to get it 
passed.
    I don't know if you remember, but right after I signed that bill, I 
had the honor of traveling the country with two Democrat sponsors and 
two Republican sponsors. It probably shocked you--I know it shocked the 
folks in Crawford, Texas--[laughter]--that I actually said kind things 
about Ted Kennedy. But he got it out of the United States Senate. He 
made it happen. This good piece of legislation would not have happened 
without the work of both Republicans and Democrats. It shows what is 
possible when we put our political differences aside and focus on the 
children in America.
    And it's that attitude--that point of view is why I'm so strongly 
supporting Norm Coleman. That's what we need in Washington. We need 
people who go up there not to represent, you know, a narrow interest but 
to work to change the tone of Washington, DC, to make Washington the 
kind of place where people look at and say, ``I'm proud of my 
Government, that Government can actually get things done in a positive 
way.'' And that's what we need to continue to work on. It's so important 
in order to rally the country.
    You know, I'm asked all the time, what can--people say, ``Well, what 
can I do to help in the war against terror? What is it that I can do?'' 
Well, my answer is pretty straightforward. If you want to fight evil, do 
some good. If you want to show the world the true side of America, our 
heart, our decency, our compassion, love a neighbor just like you'd like 
to be loved yourself. Mentor a child. Find a child who wonders whether 
or not America is meant for them, and put your arm around that child and 
say, ``I love you.'' That's how you can fight evil. Walk into the house 
of a shut-in and say, ``Neighbor, what can

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I do to help you?'' Support your teachers. Get involved in a faith-based 
program, understanding that faith can change people's hearts, and by 
changing people's hearts, we can change their lives. The way to fight 
evil is through the gathering momentum of millions of acts of kindness, 
is to show the world the true face of the American people.
    I am so optimistic about this country because I understand our 
resolve and our unity. I understand our courage. You know, probably the 
most meaningful event that took place, as far as I'm concerned, right 
after September--or during the September 11th and afterwards--was Flight 
93, when Americans were on a telephone to their wives. They said the 
Lord's Prayer. They then said to their wives, ``I love you,'' and drove 
an airplane in the ground to save other people's lives. This notion 
about us being a shallow, materialistic society went down the tubes with 
the courageous people on Flight 93.
    It leads me to believe that out of these acts of incredible evil 
will come some great good. If we remain strong, the world will be more 
peaceful. And here at home, I think we have an opportunity to help 
change a culture--one that has said, if it feels good, go ahead and do 
it, and if you've got a problem, blame somebody else. I see a different 
culture, one in which we understand we're all responsible for the 
actions we take in life, that we're responsible--that part of a 
responsibility era means that each mom and dad in America must love 
their children with all their heart and all their soul. A responsibility 
era calls us all to help neighbors in need. A responsibility era 
recognizes the worth in serving a cause greater than self. A 
responsibility era understands that sacrifice for the good of your 
fellow human beings is worth it.
    Listen, this is a fabulous nation. It's a fabulous nation not 
because of our Government. It is a fabulous nation because of the hearts 
and souls of the American people. And it is such a huge honor to be the 
President of the United States, of such a great land.
    Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 6:25 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom at the 
Minneapolis Hilton and Towers. In his remarks, he referred to Gene Frey, 
who introduced the President; Patricia A. Harvey, superintendent, Saint 
Paul Public Schools; Ron Eibensteiner, chair, Republican Party of 
Minnesota; and Laurie Coleman, wife of former Mayor Coleman of St. Paul.