[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 18 (Monday, May 6, 2002)]
[Pages 720-724]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a Luncheon for Gubernatorial Candidate Bill Simon in Santa 
Clara, California

April 30, 2002

    Thank you all very much. Well, thanks for that warm California 
welcome. It's great to be back in this majestic State, and it's great to 
see so many friends. I want to thank you all for coming. We're here for 
the same reason: It is important for California to have a new Governor, 
and Bill Simon is that man.
    I'm honored to have been invited here to campaign, and I really 
appreciate the chance to get to know Bill a little better. He flew on 
Air Force One from Albuquerque over to Los Angeles yesterday, and one of 
the best parts of the flight is, I got to meet the future first lady of 
the State of California. We both married above ourselves. [Laughter]
    Many of you have gotten to know Laura. What you didn't know is that 
when I asked her to marry me, she was a--didn't care for politics, 
didn't care for politicians. And here she is as the First Lady of the 
United States--thank goodness. She's doing a fabulous job. I'm really 
proud of her, and I love her dearly. Today she couldn't be with me here 
in California because she's in Arkansas, talking about the need to make 
sure that we have early childhood education in every neighborhood, in 
every State, all across the country.
    I want to thank Richard Pombo, who's here. He's a Member of the 
United States House of Representatives from the great State of 
California. Richard, thank you for coming. I want to thank all the State 
and local officials who are here. I want to thank all of you all for 
helping this good man.
    There are some people in this audience who are the grassroots 
activists here in California. I want to thank you for your hard work. I 
want to thank you for dialing phones. I want to thank you for stuffing 
envelopes. I want to thank you for being foot soldiers so people like me 
and Bill can run and win and do our jobs.
    In our audience today, we've got a brave soul named Dorothy Garcia. 
Her husband was on Flight 93. His name was Andy. The reason I bring that 
up is that Flight 93 really, in many ways, epitomized the best of 
America: Average citizens just doing their job, who heard that America 
was under attack; they told their loved ones goodbye; they said a 
prayer; and they made the ultimate sacrifice so others could live. And 
for that, our Nation is incredibly grateful--grateful for the sacrifice 
and grateful for the example that Andy and others set for future 
generations. Dorothy, I'm so honored you're here, and thank you for 
coming.
    I appreciate so very much Bill and Cindy's values. They love their 
family, and that's good. They love their State, and they love their 
country.
    I've been somewhat amazed about--reading some of the clips on the 
way out here about what Bill's--the supporters of Bill's opponent are 
saying. It kind of runs this way: He's never held elective office--
[laughter]--he's only been a successful businessman; how could he 
possibly be the Governor of a big and diverse State? It sounds like to 
me that Governor Davis is getting his advice from Ann Richards. 
[Laughter] In '94, I showed up, and I laid out a positive vision of 
where I wanted to lead my State. I rejected the old-style politics, and 
that's exactly what Bill Simon is going to do here in California.
    I am proud to support this new face in American politics. I'm proud 
to support somebody who doesn't need to take a poll or to have a focus 
group to tell him what he believes. And I want to thank you all for 
joining us to effect a positive change, not just for Republicans but for 
everybody who lives in the State of California.
    I appreciate so very much Bill's emphasis on issues that matter to 
everybody, starting with education. I gave a speech a little earlier 
here in the Silicon Valley, and I talked about the hope and promise of 
public education. It is so important that we get our public education 
right in America. The public education system in America is one of the 
most important foundations of our democracy. After all, it is where 
children from all over America learn to be responsible citizens and 
learn to have the skills necessary to take advantage of our fantastic, 
opportunistic society. And yet, we have failed in our public school 
system for too many children.
    As Bill mentioned, I had the honor of signing historic education 
reform that set high

[[Page 721]]

standards for every child in America, not just a few, not just people 
from suburban California or suburban Texas, but every single child. We 
believe every child can learn in America. And in that bill we 
incorporate a uniquely Republican principle that says, we trust the 
local people to chart the path for excellence for the citizens and 
children of California. I understand and Bill understands, all wisdom 
does not reside in Washington, DC, that if you're interested in 
achieving educational excellence, we've got to trust the people of 
California to chart the path for educational excellence. That's why it's 
important this man become your Governor.
    But in this bill as well--and what makes it different from the past 
is, we're now saying, if you receive any Federal help--and there's 
Federal help, particularly for Title I students--you'd better teach 
them. In return for help, you show us whether or not the children can 
read and write and add and subtract. You administer tests to show us, 
and you put the tests on the Internet for everybody to see. And when we 
find success, we will praise success. But when we find failure, we need 
to challenge failure. When we find children in schools that will not 
teach and will not change, you better have you a Governor that is 
willing to challenge the status quo. It is essential that we educate 
every child in America and that not one child be left behind.
    I appreciate Bill's commonsense view of energy. This Nation needs an 
energy policy. We haven't had an energy policy for a long period of 
time. Finally, they got one bill passed out of the House, and they've 
got one coming out of the Senate. Now they need to get together and get 
the bill to my desk. And here's what it basically says. It says, we can 
use technology to develop renewable sources of energy, which we will. It 
says, we must do a better job of conserving energy, which we must. But 
it also says, in an environmentally friendly way, we can find more 
energy in our country. And that's important. It's important not only for 
the economic security of people looking for work; it is important for 
the national security of the United States of America. We import over 50 
percent of our oil from overseas, and a lot of those countries don't 
particularly care for us. And you need to have a Governor who's got a 
vision about energy, if you expect this State to grow and if people want 
to find work.
    And I appreciate Bill's view of taxing and--the taxes and budget. I 
remember campaigning in the Silicon Valley, and I said, ``If you give me 
a chance, I'm going to cut the--work to cut the taxes.'' And thankfully, 
we did. And we did so right at the right time.
    There's a difference of opinion in our political system, and that's 
good. It basically boils down to an understanding of whose money we're 
talking about when we talk about budgeting and spending money. See Bill 
and I understand, when we're talking about taxpayers' money, it's not 
the Government's money; it's the people's money. When you let people 
keep more of their own money, it is not only good for our economy; it is 
good to help people realize their dreams.
    There are so many fantastic stories of the entrepreneurial spirit 
here in California. I've been impressed by some amazing statistics, like 
the number of Hispanic-owned small businesses. When you cut the taxes, 
when you reduce the tax burden, you encourage the growth of small 
businesses. Most small businesses are sole proprietorships or limited 
partnerships. They pay taxes on the individual--through the individual 
system, and by cutting tax rates, we encourage entrepreneurial growth 
and ownership in California and in America.
    And we need to hold the line on spending. Bill understands that in 
California, and we need to hold the line on spending in Washington, DC. 
We've got a temporary deficit, and there's a reason. We had a recession 
and a national emergency. But the best way to make sure the deficit is 
small and temporary is for the United States Congress not to spend 
excessively. That's why the President has been given a veto.
    I remember in Chicago they said to me, ``Would you ever have deficit 
spending?'' I said, ``Only if there was a war or a national emergency or 
a recession.'' Never did I realize we'd get the trifecta. [Laughter] But 
this country is ready to handle--we're ready to handle the slowdown in 
the economy. And I understand people are hurting here in the Silicon 
Valley. I've seen the statistics that the

[[Page 722]]

economy grew at over 5 percent in the first quarter. That's fine. We'll 
let the number crunchers talk about numbers like that. So long as people 
can't find work, I'm worried. So long as somebody who wants to work 
can't find a job, it's got my attention. And so the best way to make 
sure our economy grows is to make our tax cuts permanent, so there's 
certainty in the Tax Code; is to promote free and fair trade all around 
the world; and is to have an energy plan that makes sense for America. 
And we're making progress on the economy, and we're making progress on 
making sure our homeland is more secure.
    Cindy asked me to tell this story, which I told last night, so I 
will. It is--well, first of all, it's an unimaginable honor to be able 
to go to work in the Oval Office. It is a beautiful place. It is a 
powerful reminder of the greatness of our country. I treat it like a 
shrine.
    My job is to take the dogs downstairs first thing in the morning. 
We've got kind of an early morning White House. I try to show up right 
before 7 o'clock every morning. And so Spot, who is--not a very 
imaginative name, I admit it, but nevertheless--[laughter]--was born in 
the White House, by the way. She's 13 years old. She's quite familiar 
with the grounds. She walks out, as does Barney. Barney's the 1\1/2\-
year-old terrier. Now Barney, he doesn't get to go in the Oval Office 
first thing in the morning, because the rug is new. [Laughter] But Spot 
and I walk in. Barney goes off with the gardeners, chasing squirrels or 
something.
    And I sit there at this fantastic desk, called the H.M.S. Resolute. 
Perhaps you remember the picture of John-John Kennedy putting his head 
out of the door of that desk with his dad. I think his dad was making a 
phone call or gazing out to the beautiful South Grounds. I remember 
Edmund Morris, who wrote ``Theodore Rex,'' walked in to give me a copy 
of his book. And he said, ``Teddy Roosevelt used that desk.'' The door 
that John-John Kennedy put his head out of the desk is there because 
Franklin Roosevelt had put that door on his desk to cover his 
infirmities. It's been used by a lot of Presidents.
    And I sit at this majestic piece of furniture and read a threat 
assessment every morning, that the killers still want to hurt America. 
It's a daily reminder that my most important job is to protect the 
American people. We're still vulnerable, because we're a huge nation, 
big borders. But we're less vulnerable.
    You need to know that we share information like never before. 
Anytime we get any kind of hint, any evidence whatsoever that somebody 
may try to do something to America, we're reacting. We're following 
every single lead. We've got better coordination with our intelligence 
gathering and the FBI and law enforcement at home. We're buttoning up 
America the way you'd want us to, within the confines of the United 
States Constitution. We're doing a better job of coordinating efforts 
with our brave police and firefighters and EMS; they're called first-
responders. We're going to do a better job of reforming the INS so that 
we've got better border security in the United States. We've got an 
initiative and a strategy to deal with bioterrorism, should it come. 
We're working hard, and a lot of good folks are working endless hours to 
protect the American citizens. But the surest way to protect America is 
to hunt the killers down one by one and bring them to justice, and that 
is what we're going to do.
    I have submitted a budget that makes our defense a priority, and I 
expect the United States Congress to pass the defense appropriations 
bill early, rather than late, and not play politics with defense 
appropriations. It is a big increase, because anytime we put our 
soldiers in harm's way, they deserve the best equipment, the best 
training, and the best pay possible.
    And it's also a big increase because it is indicative of the fact 
that we're in this for the long pull. There is no calendar on my desk 
that says, ``By such-and-such a date, you will quit.'' There is no 
timeframe, artificial timeframe. When it comes to defending the freedom 
of the United States, America, we will do whatever it takes, no matter 
how long it takes. Others may grow tired, but I'm not.
    I am so honored by our hard work of our Secretary of State and my 
national security team--by the way, one of whom is doing great, named 
Condoleezza Rice, came right out of this part of the world. Thank 
goodness she's there and not at Stanford. [Laughter] Nothing wrong with 
Stanford, but America

[[Page 723]]

is better off with her leading our National Security Council.
    We've got this coalition together because we said loud and clear, 
``Either you're with us, or you're with the terrorists.'' And I meant 
it. I meant that. I also said that if you harbor a terrorist and feed 
one, you're just as guilty as the killers. And the Taliban found out 
exactly what the United States of America meant.
    As we talk about this war, it's really important to remind young 
Americans--and all Americans, for that matter--that this country does 
not seek revenge; we seek justice; and that we've got to be proud not 
only of the fact that we're defending our freedoms, but we went into 
Afghanistan not as conquerors but as liberators. And for the first time, 
many young girls were able to go to school, thanks to the United States 
of America.
    You just need to know, it's still a dangerous period in Afghanistan. 
There's still a lot of killers roaming around, and they hate America. 
Listen, they hate us because we're free. They cannot stand the thought 
that we have freedom of religion in America, that we respect each other 
based upon our personal religious beliefs. They cannot stand the thought 
that there's honest political discourse. There's free press--I'm 
confident they hate that. They hate us. And so, wherever they try to 
hide, we're going to get them. There's no cave dark enough or deep 
enough from the United States of America. We are a patient country; we 
are a united country; we're plenty tough when we have to be tough. You 
know, I can't imagine what went through their minds. They must have 
thought--they must have fallen prey to this notion that America was so 
self-absorbed, so materialistic, so selfish, so essentially weak, that 
all we were going to do when they attacked was file a lawsuit. 
[Laughter] They found out we think differently.
    Not only are we going to make sure we help secure Afghanistan; we 
will help rebuild Afghanistan. We not only want the world to be more 
secure; we want the world to be better. The second phase of the war is 
to deny sanctuary and training grounds to any Al Qaida organization, and 
we're doing a pretty good job of that. Yemen, for example, is a country 
with which we work to make sure that they don't get to bunch up in Yemen 
and start over. In other words, by denying sanctuary, we're treating 
them as they need to be treated, as international criminals, as 
coldblooded killers.
    But this war is more than just one person; it's more than about one 
organization. You see, there are regimes that--governments, not just 
organizations, that can't stand what we believe in, who develop and 
harbor and hold some of the worst weapons in the world. And for the sake 
of our children and for the sake of our children's children and for the 
sake of our friends and allies, we must--and we will--not allow the 
world's most dangerous regimes to possess and threaten us and blackmail 
us with the world's most dangerous weapons.
    I'm proud of our military. I'm proud of our country. We send such a 
strong signal to the world when we're united and resolved and 
determined. See, if we blink, everybody else goes to sleep. History has 
called us into action. History has laid the mantle of responsibility for 
peace squarely on our shoulders. I accept that responsibility, and so 
does the American people.
    I'm an optimistic person. I truly believe that out of this evil will 
come some incredible good. I believe by being firm and tough and routing 
out terror, the world will be more peaceful. I long for peace. I want 
our children to grow up in a peaceful world. I want there to be hope 
where hope has been diminished around the world, and we must not, and we 
will not, let terrorism rule the world. No, by being tough and strong 
and diligent, this world, thanks to the leadership of the United States 
of America, is going to be a more peaceful place, and I think at home, 
we can be a more compassionate place as well.
    People say to me, ``You know, Mr. President, what can I do in the 
war against terror?'' My answer is, love your neighbor like you'd like 
to be loved yourself; that if you want to fight evil, do some good. It 
doesn't take much. I talked about the ultimate sacrifice of serving 
something greater than yourself. But you can serve something greater 
than yourself by mentoring a child. You can serve something greater than 
yourself by

[[Page 724]]

feeding the homeless. You can serve something greater than yourself by 
just walking across the street to a shut-in and saying, ``I love you. Is 
there anything I can do to make your day better?'' If you want to fight 
evil, do some good.
    And there's all kinds of opportunities. We've got the USA Freedom 
Corps for old and young alike who want to volunteer. We've got a Peace 
Corps that we're going to expand and send around--double the size of the 
Peace Corps. There's all kinds of opportunities. In my State--in my 
State--my speech in front of the Congress, I said, ``Why don't--if you 
want to help, dedicate 4,000 hours of your life from this point forward 
to help a neighbor in need.'' And it's happening.
    I truly believe out of the evil will come a new culture of personal 
responsibility, one that says--that stands in contrast, by the way, to a 
period of time that said, ``If it feels good, do it,'' and ``If you've 
got a problem, blame somebody else.'' There's a new culture that's 
coming around that says, ``I'm responsible for the decisions I make in 
life. I'm responsible for loving my family. I'm responsible for loving 
my neighbor.'' And to make that responsibility era full, if you're 
running a company in America, you have responsibility to be honest and 
open with your shareholders and your employees as well. It's happening, 
and it's happening in this country because the strength of America is 
not in the halls of our governments; the strength of this country is in 
the hearts and souls of incredibly decent and kind and compassionate 
Americans.
    No, out of evil will come incredible good. The world will not only 
be more peaceful, but this world will show the true face--this country 
will show the world the true face of America, a welcoming society, a 
society that says that the American Dream belongs to all, a society 
that's willing to tackle the pockets of despair and hopelessness with 
love and compassion and decency. Out of the evil done on September the 
11th, we will show the world the true nature of the greatest country on 
the face of the Earth.
    I want to thank you all for coming to support this good man, and 
thank you for giving me the honor of being the President of the United 
States of America.

Note: The President spoke at 2:25 p.m. in Exhibit Hall B at the Santa 
Clara Convention Center. In his remarks, he referred to Cindy Simon, 
wife of gubernatorial candidate William ``Bill'' Simon; Gov. Gray Davis 
of California; and former Gov. Ann Richards of Texas.