[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 14 (Monday, April 8, 2002)]
[Pages 555-559]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a Fundraiser for Gubernatorial Candidate Mike Fisher in 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

April 2, 2002

    Thank you very much. Well, ``Governor,'' thank you for those kind 
words. I want to thank you all for coming, and thanks for that warm 
welcome. It's good to see so many friends. I want to thank you all for 
supporting the next Governor from Pennsylvania. I've been here quite a 
bit since I've been President, but I learned a new fact recently that 
made me a little nervous. I didn't realize this, but Pennsylvania has 
more pretzel bakeries--[laughter]--than any State in the Union. 
[Laughter] So I decided to take a risk. [Laughter]
    I love coming to Philadelphia. I love the history of Philadelphia. I 
love the fact that Philadelphia is the cradle of freedom; that's what I 
love.
    Mike mentioned Tom Ridge. You know, my biggest job is to defend 
freedom, is to protect our homeland. And you know better than anybody, I 
picked a really good man to lead the homeland defense of the United 
States. I want to thank you for letting Tom cut his eyeteeth here. 
[Laughter] He did a great job as Governor. He's doing a really good job 
in Washington.
    And I want to thank Mark Schweiker as well. He's doing a fantastic 
job as Governor. Thank you, Mark. Pennsylvania has had two fine 
Governors. It's time to make three Governors in a row. I'm proud to be 
here on stage with Mike and the future Lieutenant Governor. There's no 
doubt in my mind they will both do a fine job, an excellent job, for the 
people of Pennsylvania. I'm also honored to be here with your senior 
Senator, Arlen Specter. Thank you very much, Arlen, for coming. I had 
the privilege of traveling from the University of Pennsylvania, in 
Delaware County, to the hotel with Jane Earll. She's solid on the 
issues. She knows what she's talking about.
    I'm also honored to be here with David Girard-diCarlo and Manny 
Stamatakis. These guys were my friends before I was somebody--
[laughter]--and I'm proud to call them friend. I want to thank them for 
their hard work, and I want to thank you all for contributing your hard-
earned dollars to this good candidate. I also want to thank the leaders 
of the political party here, the chairman and the national committeeman 
and national committeewoman, all of whom are willing to provide the 
grassroots support necessary for candidates like me and Mike to succeed.
    You know, fundraising is an integral part of politics but so is 
getting out the vote--so is those who are willing to spend a lot of time 
putting out the yard signs, dialing the phones, and doing all the hard 
work necessary to make candidates viable. On behalf of a grateful 
President, and a soon-to-be-grateful Governor, thank you for the 
grassroots politics here in Pennsylvania.
    I also want to thank Carol Fisher, Mike's wife, for her willingness 
to make a huge sacrifice on behalf of a good man running for Governor. I 
know something about good wives. I'm very fortunate to have a good wife, 
myself. Laura is doing a great job as our First Lady. She is a steady 
hand. She was a public school librarian when I married her and really 
wasn't all that keen on politics. And if the truth be known, she wasn't 
all that thrilled about knowing politicians, either. [Laughter] But she 
is where she is, thank goodness. Thank goodness for my family, and thank 
goodness for the country. The American people have gotten to see why I 
asked Laura to marry me. There's still a lot of doubts in people's minds 
as to why she said yes. [Laughter] But I'm proud of her, and I want

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you to know she's doing great, and so is my family.
    I think there's a lot of reasons for the people of Pennsylvania to 
support Mike. First, he's done a good job as the attorney general. He's 
been given a huge responsibility, and he performed. He's one of these 
fellows that does in office what he said he would do, and that's 
refreshing.
    Mike has led the fight against drugs, and he's made a difference. As 
I understand it, there's been over 6,000 arrests made to make sure 
Pennsylvania streets are safe from those who would sell drugs. But he 
also knows what I knew, that we've also got to work on demand. We've got 
to make sure our youngsters understand that drugs will destroy their 
lives and ruin their hopes. Mike can take this to the Governor's office 
and make a huge difference for the citizens of Pennsylvania.
    He also has been making sure Pennsylvania stays safe. He's a tough 
crimefighter. He makes it clear that there are consequences for bad 
behavior in the State of Pennsylvania. And that will stand him in good 
stead when he becomes the Governor as well.
    We had a chance to talk about education today in the car. I was 
promoting an early childhood reading initiative here in the Philadelphia 
area. Mike knows what I know, that we must set high standards for every 
child, that we must expect the best from every single child, and that we 
must hold people accountable for results. It's fine for States and the 
Federal Government to spend money, but for that money we expect our 
children to learn how to read and write and add and subtract. And if the 
status quo is unacceptable, if children are not learning to read and 
write and add and subtract, it's important to have somebody in the 
Governor's office who is willing to say, ``That is not good enough. The 
fact that children can't read and write and add and subtract is not 
satisfactory to me, because every child counts in America, and no child 
should be left behind.''
    It is important to have a Governor who sets high standards and 
expects the best and a Governor who is willing to challenge a system 
that simply shuffles children through. During the campaign, I called 
that the soft bigotry of low expectations. Mike understands that we must 
hold people accountable, that we must insist upon basic education. We 
must challenge failure wherever we find it, in order for the American 
Dream to reach every neighborhood in every community in every State of 
our Nation. And I want to thank Mike for that.
    I had the honor of working on and signing a substantial piece of 
education legislation, a significant reform. I was able to work with 
Senator Kennedy and Senator Gregg and Congressmen Boehner and Miller to 
get this done. The Federal Government spends a lot of money on 
education, and finally we're beginning to say, ``What are the results? 
Can our children actually do what we expect them to do?''
    In that bill not only do we insist upon strong accountability to 
show us whether or not we're achieving standards, but we pass a lot of 
power back to the States, where power belongs. I fully recognize one 
size does not fit all when it comes to public education all across 
America. It's important for Governors to be empowered to meet high 
standards. And therefore, it's important to have good Governors, who 
understand high standards and accountability, in the Governors' offices 
all across America. Mike Fisher will be such a Governor.
    And as Mike said, he understands the importance of empowering the 
private sector in order to create jobs. Governments don't create wealth; 
governments must create an environment in which the entrepreneurial 
spirit flourishes.
     Mike believes in lower taxes, and so do I. You might remember, I 
came to Pennsylvania a lot, saying, ``If you give me a chance to be your 
President, I will work with Congress to cut the taxes on the people who 
work in America.'' And that's exactly what we did. And not only did we 
do that, we did it at the right time in Washington, DC.
    You see, when the economy slows down, like it had, it's important to 
let people have more of their own money, so they can spend it. When 
people have more of their own money, it creates demand. And when people 
demand more goods and services, somebody will produce the goods and 
services. And when somebody produces the goods and services, somebody 
can find work. The best

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way to make sure America goes back to work is to trust the American 
people with their own money.
    Now, there are some in Washington who don't understand that, but 
they read a different textbook than Mike and I do. There are some who 
say, the more money the Federal Government has, the better off America 
will be. That's not the way I think. That's not the way Mike thinks. And 
history will prove us right. By cutting taxes, we saved the country from 
a significant recession.
    I remember campaigning in Chicago one time, and the guy said, 
``Would you ever deficit spend?'' I said, ``Well, only if we were at war 
or the country was in recession or there was a national emergency.'' 
[Laughter] I didn't realize we were going to get the trifecta. 
[Laughter] We're dealing with the issue of our economy, and I want you 
to know that we're dealing with the issue of war and our national 
emergency as well.
    I mentioned Tom. Our job is to make sure that if anybody hits us 
again, the Nation can respond. We've got a great first-responders 
initiative. I had the honor of meeting the fire chief of Philadelphia 
and leaders of the Philadelphia police force, those who lead the brave 
men and women who are on the frontline of dealing not only with crime 
but with any emergency that may come.
    We've got a significant amount of money in our budget to protect the 
American people. Not only are we going to bolster our first-responders, 
to provide them more training and more equipment in order to respond; 
we're going to make sure our border security is better. We want to know 
who's coming into the United States and why they're coming in and if 
they're leaving when they're supposed to be leaving. We've got a 
bioterrorism initiative to put in place a response mechanism if the 
enemy were to use a biological weapon or a chemical weapon on America. 
In other words, we're buttoning up the homeland security of the country.
    You also need to know that any time we get any kind of hint that 
somebody may try to harm Americans, we will respond. We've got much 
better dialog between our Federal and State and local law enforcement 
officials. Our intelligence gathering is better than it's ever been. Our 
information sharing is very sound.
    I wake up every morning, and I get into the great, beautiful Oval 
Office, and I read a threat assessment. It reminds me that we're still 
threatened. But I'm here to tell you, our country is responding. We're 
diligent. We're alert. We know our mission, and we know our priority. 
But the best way to defend the homeland, the best way to make sure our 
little ones can grow up in a peaceful world, is to find the enemy 
wherever they try to hide and bring them to justice.
    When our--when the enemy hit us, I couldn't understand what was 
going through their mind. They must have thought our Nation was so self-
absorbed and so materialistic that all we would do would be to file a 
lawsuit. [Laughter] They sure were wrong.
    I said some things, and I meant them. I said to those nations around 
the world, if you think you can hide one of those terrorists or feed 
them or harbor them, you're just as guilty as the terrorists. And thanks 
to the United States military and a vast coalition of freedom-loving 
nations, the Taliban found out exactly what I meant.
    Every chance I get, I try to stress, particularly to the young in 
America, that ours is a nation that doesn't seek revenge; we seek 
justice. And that we went into a country like Afghanistan not as 
conquerors but as liberators. I want to remind you all that, as a result 
of our military action in Afghanistan, we saved thousands of people from 
starvation. And as importantly, schools opened up to young girls. For 
the first time, many young girls got to go to school. I'm so proud of 
the compassion of America. I'm proud of our strength, but I'm equally as 
proud of the compassion of this great nation.
    But we're just starting in Afghanistan, and there's still a lot of 
work to be done there. Afghanistan is still a dangerous place, and 
wherever we find them bunched-up or wherever we find their leaders, 
we're in hot pursuit. We're teaching these people--treating these people 
the way they need to be treated.
     You need to understand: These are cold-blooded killers. These are 
people who hijacked a religion so they can kill for means which freedom-
loving people can't understand. They hate America. They hate what

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we stand for. They cannot stand the thought that we worship freely in 
America. They hate the thought that there's viable political discourse. 
They can't stand the thought that we're a free country, that everybody 
has got an equal chance in America. And so they want to harm us.
    We're going to treat them as international crooks, and we're going 
to get them on the run. And like you read in the newspapers or saw on 
your TV screens, we're hunting them down one by one. Our Nation is 
resolved. Our Nation is united. Our Nation understands that we're in 
this for the long haul. History has called us into action. History has 
said to America, ``Are you going to defend freedom or not?'' And the 
answer clearly is, you bet we're going to defend freedom.
    And that's why I've submitted a budget to the United States Congress 
that significantly increases our defense spending. It's the largest 
increase in 20 years. And here's why. First, this is a long struggle, 
and it's not an easy struggle. And secondly, any time the United States 
commits our troops into harm's way, they must have the best equipment, 
the best training, the best possible pay. The price of freedom is high, 
no question about it. But it is not too high, as far as I'm concerned.
    The world watches America very closely. They want to know: Are we 
serious; are we determined; will we tire and grow weary? Because if we 
do grow tired and grow weary, others will as well. They're going to find 
a determined administration who leads a determined country to defend 
freedom.
    And I believe, as a result of being steadfast and strong and 
determined, we can achieve the peace. I long for peace, but I understand 
the road to peace can be really hard. But if America is strong and 
determined and we constantly keep the pressure on terrorist activities 
and terrorism, we can bring peace to places in the world that never 
thought they could have peace.
    I've got a vision for the Middle East that says that Israel must be 
allowed to exist and be at peace with its neighbors. I appreciate the 
fact that Saudi Arabia spoke clearly about the need for Israel to be 
able to have normal relations with its neighbors, so that Israeli boys 
and girls can grow up in a peaceful society. I feel the same thing about 
the Palestinians. I hope that they can have their own peaceful state, at 
peace with their neighbor, Israel, a self-governing country, a country 
in which there is economic prosperity to end the hopelessness of many of 
the citizens who live there.
    But there are those who want to destroy that vision. There are those 
who want to murder to make sure that vision never comes to be. The 
United States of America will stand strong and continue to insist that 
those who yearn for peace in the Middle East and other regions around 
the world must do everything they can to stop the terrorist activities 
all aimed at making sure that peace does not exist.
    Now, out of this evil is going to come some good. A strong America 
will lead to a more peaceful world. And at home, we can fight evil as 
well. People say to me, ``What can I do? What is it that I can do to 
help?'' Well, you can love a neighbor like you'd like to be loved 
yourself. You see, in order to fight evil, this country can gather 
millions of acts of kindness and put a compassionate, kind face on our 
country. In order to fight evil, in order to stand squarely in the face 
of evil, we can let our hearts flow.
    It doesn't take much; it really doesn't. Mentoring a child, teaching 
a child to read or telling a child you love them, a big brother or a big 
sister, a Boys and Girls Club member, is all part of defining the true 
face of America. You know, if you want to fight against--the war on 
terror, if you walk across the street to a shut-in and simply say, ``Can 
I talk with you today,'' that in itself, is part of defining the true 
character of our country.
    The way to fight evil is to help build character in our children. 
The way to fight evil is to tell your children you love them every 
single day, is to remember the most important job you'll ever have, if 
you happen to be a mom or a dad, is to love your son or your daughter 
with all your heart and all your soul. This country is going to win the 
war against evil, because not only are we militarily strong and 
determined, but because we're a nation that is so compassionate and so 
kind and so loving.
    There is a new culture evolving in America. It's a culture that is 
shifting away from ``if it feels good, do it,'' and ``if you've got

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a problem, blame somebody else,'' to a culture in which each of us 
understand that we are responsible for something greater than ourself. 
That was clearly defined on an airplane that crashed in Pennsylvania, 
when several people on that plane told their loved ones goodbye. They 
told them they loved them. They said a prayer. They said, ``Let's 
roll,'' and drove an airplane into the ground to save other people's 
lives. It is a symbol of what is possible in America. It is a sign that 
there are people in this Nation willing to make a sacrifice to help a 
neighbor in need, willing to make a sacrifice to make their community a 
better place.
    That's how you win the war on terror. You understand that there is a 
responsibility that comes with living in the greatest country on the 
face of the Earth. The great news is, America is rallying to the cause. 
I can't tell you what an honor it is to be the President of a nation 
full of such great and decent and compassionate and tough and firm and 
freedom-loving human beings.
    I want to thank you all for coming. I want to thank you for 
supporting Mike Fisher. May God bless you all, and may God bless 
America.

Note: The President spoke at 6:03 p.m. in the Ballroom at the Four 
Seasons Hotel. In his remarks, he referred to Jane M. Earll, candidate 
for Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania; David Girard-diCarlo, 
cochairman, chief executive officer, and managing partner, Blank Rome 
Comisky & McCauley LLP; Manuel N. Stamatakis, president and chief 
executive officer, Capital Management Enterprises; Alan Novak, chairman, 
Robert Asher, national committeeman, and Christine J. Toretti, national 
committeewoman, Republican State Committee of Pennsylvania; and Harold 
B. Hairston, commissioner, Philadelphia Fire Department.