[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 19 (Monday, May 13, 2002)]
[Pages 795-800]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a Luncheon for Governor Bob Taft in Columbus

May 10, 2002

    Thank you very much. Gosh, it's a great Ohio welcome. I'm honored to 
be back. It's good to be back near the family plot. [Laughter] As you 
may recall, Prescott S. Bush, my grandfather, was raised right here in 
Columbus, Ohio. Last time I did that, my mother was watching on C-SPAN. 
She said, ``What about my father?'' [Laughter] I said, ``Oh, yes, he was 
raised in Dayton, Ohio.'' [Laughter] So, Mother, I mentioned him. 
[Laughter]

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    But it's great to be back in this great State. I'm here to talk 
about welfare reform, but I'm also here to make sure that the good 
people of Ohio send this good man back to the Governor's Mansion. 
There's a lot of reasons to send him back, but none greater than the 
fact that he married well. [Laughter] Hope is doing a great job as the 
first lady of the State of Ohio.
    When we were walking in, Bob was telling me how proud he is of Hope 
and the job she does, particularly to promote literacy. And I told him, 
``I'm real proud of my wife, too.'' I can't tell you how--what a great 
job Laura is doing. She has brought a lot of calm and a steady hand. You 
know, when I asked her to marry me, she was a public school librarian 
who didn't like politics and really didn't like politicians. [Laughter] 
A lot of people are now beginning to realize why I asked her to marry 
me. She's got a lot of class. A lot of people, however, are wondering 
why she said yes. [Laughter] But I wish she were here. She loves the 
Tafts. She really appreciates Hope and Bob, and she sends her best to 
you all.
    I'm also traveling with some pretty good company today. I had the 
honor of flying down on Air Force One with a fabulous United States 
Senator, George Voinovich. I like George; he's the kind of fellow that 
tells you what's on his mind. [Laughter] There's no doubt what he 
believes in. One of the things he believes in is Ohio. He loves the 
State of Ohio.
    I'm also honored to be traveling today with members of a great 
congressional delegation, Deborah Pryce, Dave Hobson, Pat Tiberi, Bob 
Ney, and Rob Portman. These people not only represent Ohio well; they're 
friends. And they're people with whom it's a real pleasure to work. They 
bring a lot of class to the United States Congress.
    And earlier today, I had the honor of meeting a fellow named Mike 
Turner, who won a primary in Dayton, Ohio, who a lot of people think, 
when he continues to work hard, he's going to be the next Congressman 
from Dayton. Welcome, Mike.
    I also want to thank Jennette Bradley for willingness to run and to 
join the ticket. I appreciate you, Jennette. It's going to be a historic 
moment when you become the Lieutenant Governor of the State of Ohio.
    It seems like ever since I was--been coming to Ohio to campaign for 
one Bush or another, Bennett has been around. It's great to see you, Mr. 
Chairman. I appreciate it.
    I want to thank Tim and all the folks who organized this event. I 
want to thank you all for coming to help--to help Bob. You know, when 
you find a good, honest, decent, honorable person in politics, you need 
to back him, and this guy is just that. Plus, he's got a great record. 
He has his priorities straight. His most fundamental priority is to make 
sure that every child in the State of Ohio gets a good education, and 
the record is impressive. The record is impressive. Not only has he 
focused on making the Ohio schools a funding priority; he's focused on 
insisting that there be excellence in every single schoolroom in Ohio. I 
appreciate your--Bob, I appreciate your leadership. The people of Ohio 
have got to understand that he has led on this issue.
    And not only that, he and Hope understand that if a child cannot 
read, a child cannot learn. And it's important to have a Governor set a 
priority. Not only is public schools a priority, public education a 
priority, but teaching every child to read is the first priority of 
making sure there's excellence in every public school in the State of 
Ohio.
    We have just passed historic reform in Washington, DC, education 
reform. It may be hard for you to believe, but there are, at moments, 
when Republicans and Democrats come together for the good of the Nation. 
And this is one of the cases. People from both parties came together and 
worked on education reform which says that we believe every child can 
learn in America, not some, not a few, but every child. We set the 
highest of high standards.
    We also say that in return for Federal money--we're going to spend 
money; Washington is good about spending money--and in return for 
Federal money, we expect there to be results. In return for Federal 
money, you, the local folks, must show us whether or not children are 
learning to read and write and add and subtract. And if they are, we 
will sing your praises, as a society. But if not, we expect there to be 
change. It is not right

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for there to be children trapped in schools that will not teach and will 
not change.
    High standards, strict accountability, coupled with local control of 
schools--I believe that the people who care more about the children of 
Ohio are the citizens of Ohio. And we passed power and flexibility out 
of Washington, DC, so that good Governors like Bob Taft can chart the 
path of excellence for every single child who lives in your great State.
    Earlier today I had the opportunity to talk about welfare reform. 
We're getting ready to reauthorize the welfare bill. First of all, it is 
important for Americans to understand that the welfare reforms of 1996 
have been a huge success, a success because the welfare roles are down 
dramatically, but more importantly, a success because more and more 
citizens as a result of finding a job now have dignity in their lives.
    Knowing that there are Governors like Bob Taft, I can safely say, 
the best way to make sure we continue with welfare reform is to trust 
Governors and local authorities to match up programs and needs with 
people. In other words, the Federal Government must get out of the way, 
must provide maximum flexibility at the local level, which is precisely 
what I intend to do.
    It is good to know that you have a Governor who's willing to rally 
the social entrepreneurs all across the State of Ohio to make sure that 
people are able to get the help we want them to get. Ohio is on the 
leading edge of welfare reform, thanks to Governor Voinovich and now 
thanks to Governor Taft.
    And I appreciate Bob Taft's understanding the role of Government is 
not to create wealth. That's not the role of Government. The role of 
Government is to create an environment in which small-business owners 
and entrepreneurs have a chance to flourish. His initiative of the Third 
Frontier Project for the State of Ohio understands that jobs and job 
creation best take place in the private sector. Governor, you're right 
on track, and I appreciate your vision for economic vitality. And 
thankfully to the United States Congress, our economy is better on 
track.
    You may remember when I came to the State of Ohio to campaign, I 
said, ``If you give me a chance to be the President, I'm going to make 
sure that people get to keep more of their hard-earned dollars.'' And 
thankfully, we passed tax relief right at the right time.
    Here's what Bob and I know, that if you let people keep their own 
money--and, by the way, it's not the Government's money. I love to read 
these stories about, ``Well, the Government's money--we can't send the 
Government's money back.'' It's not the Government's money; it's the 
people's money. It's the taxpayers' money. When they have more of their 
own money, they demand goods and services. And when they demand goods 
and services, somebody will produce the goods and services. And when 
somebody produces the goods and services to meet demand, somebody is 
going to be able to find work. The best way to stimulate our economy was 
to let the American people keep their own money, so they get to decide 
what to do with it.
    George Voinovich has been a leader in Congress, as have the other 
members from the congressional delegation, about joining me and the Vice 
President to make sure this Nation finally wakes up and has a balanced 
energy policy. You know, we import over 50 percent of our energy, and 
sometimes the people we import from don't like us. [Laughter] For the 
sake of economic security and for the sake of national security, this 
Nation needs a comprehensive energy plan that encourages conservation, 
promotes new technologies that will save energy and enhance renewable 
sources of energy, but at the same time, a energy plan that has the 
wisdom to promote clean coal technology, so that we're less dependent on 
foreign sources of energy.
    Oh, there's a lot of issues we face. And you know, we've got issues 
related to trade. I'm pleased that the Senate looks like they've got an 
agreement on a trade bill. This Nation ought to be confident. We ought 
to be opening up markets all around the world to trade. It'll be good 
for our Ohio farmers to trade; it's good for Ohio small-business people 
to trade. I hope Congress finally gets a trade promotion authority bill 
to my desk. Confident nations open up markets; they don't build walls 
around themselves. I'm confident that we're the best producers and 
innovators

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in many products, and therefore we ought to be selling our products 
around the world.
    I'm also working on issues like terrorism insurance, to encourage 
construction projects. I know the Senate will join me on that. We've 
just got to make sure that when we do so, we don't provide a gravy train 
for personal injury lawyers in America.
    Obviously, we've got budget matters. You know, when I was running 
for President, in Chicago, somebody said, ``Would you ever have deficit 
spending?'' I said, ``Only if we were at war, or only if we had a 
recession, only if we had a national emergency.'' Never did I dream we'd 
get the trifecta. [Laughter] But that's what we got, and we're going to 
deal with it. And we're going to deal with it in a way that understands 
that each individual American matters, in a way that promotes jobs not 
Government. And we're going to deal with it in a way that makes a 
priority the defense of the United States of America.
    I've got a routine that I really enjoy there at the White House. It 
starts off early in the morning where, like I did at the Governor's 
Mansion in Texas, I bring Laura her coffee. [Laughter] My next job is to 
take Spot and Barney out for a walk on the South Lawn. Spot was born 
there at the White House when Mother and Dad were there, so she's used 
to the accommodations and understands the decorum necessary to go into 
the Oval Office. [Laughter] Barney, on the other hand, is only a year 
and a half. In that we've got a brand new rug, he's not allowed in. 
[Laughter] So Barney goes off with the gardener, and I go in the Oval 
Office with the dog, Spot, and sit.
    First thing there, sit behind a fantastic desk that many of you may 
have seen. It's a desk used by Teddy Roosevelt and Franklin Roosevelt 
and John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, some of the great names that have 
preceded me to the Presidency. And the first thing I do is I open up a 
threat assessment. I read about the fact that the coldblooded killers 
are still after us. And by the way, that's all they are. They're nothing 
but a bunch of coldblooded killers, and they still want to hurt America.
    It's hard for a lot of young to understand why they would want to do 
so. And the answer is, because we believe in freedom, and they don't. 
We're a beacon for freedom, and they can't stand that. They cannot stand 
the thought that America worships freely, that we welcome people of all 
faiths, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu; you name it; we welcome. We 
understand a lot of Americans have no faith at all, and that's okay. 
They're proud Americans. We know that. They can't stand the thought that 
there's free and open discourse in America. They hate the thought of a 
free press. No, they hate our freedoms, and therefore, they're going to 
continue to try to strike us.
    We're doing everything we can. You need to know that our law 
enforcement officials are communicating a lot better than ever before 
between the Federal and State and local governments. Any time we get any 
kind of hint, we're moving. And we're sharing intelligence all around 
the world. Our coalition is more than just a coalition of military; it's 
a coalition of our respective treasuries to shut down money. It's a 
coalition of our intelligence gathering to share information. I mean, we 
are--we're on full alert in Washington, DC, about anything that might 
happen. But the best way to make sure that we protect the homeland, the 
best way for me to do my job is to hunt them down, one by one, and bring 
them to justice, and that's precisely what the United States of America 
is going to do.
    I have submitted a significant increase in our defense budget for 
two basic reasons. One, any time we commit our troops into action, they 
deserve the best equipment and the best training, best possible pay. And 
by the way, for those of you who have got relatives in the United States 
military, you can tell them, this Commander in Chief is incredibly proud 
of how they've conducted themselves. And the second reason why is 
because we're in this for the long run. There are no calendars, no dates 
certain as to when this is going to be over, because we're defending 
freedom. That's what we're defending. No matter how long it takes, we 
will defend our freedoms and civilization, itself.
    Oh, I know there are some saying, ``Well, it's got to end by such-
and-such,'' or ``What happened here? What happened there?'' That's what 
the enemy wants. What makes them really nervous is when they hear the

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fact that our Nation is united and focused and disciplined and patient.
    I've traveled the country a lot, and I'm proud to report that's 
exactly the way Americans think. You see, I'm amazed of what--I try to 
speculate what went on in the minds of these people when they attacked 
us. They must have thought we were weak. You know, they must have 
thought that--this kind of false image of materialism affected their 
thinking. They thought we were so materialistic, we wouldn't react. They 
probably thought all we were going to do is maybe file a couple of 
lawsuits. [Laughter] They were watching the wrong TV show. [Laughter] 
They found out that this Nation, when it comes to the defense of our 
freedom, is plenty tough.
    When it comes to the values we hold dear, we will be strong, and 
we'll be steadfast. And when it comes to enforcing doctrine, when I 
said, ``Either you're with us or against us,'' they understand. And when 
I said, ``If you're going to harbor one of those terrorists, you're just 
as guilty as the terrorists,'' thanks to the United States military, 
thanks to our coalition, the world now knows what we mean.
    The Taliban Government now knows what we mean. We have totally 
destroyed their training camps. We've disrupted their chain of command. 
We've got them on the run. And once you get them on the run, the key is 
to make sure that there's no place to run to. And so our second strategy 
is to make sure there is no safe haven for these killers. There is no 
place for them to light. Either you're with us, or you're against us.
    And there's going to be a lot of action left. I mean, when you're 
hunting them down one by one or in small bunches, it's going to take a 
while. It's just going to take a while, and that's the resolve of my 
Government and our Government. It doesn't matter how long it takes. See, 
that's the thing that people have got to understand about America. It 
just doesn't matter how long it takes, because we love our freedom.
    It also matters that there are potential threats that we recognize. 
This threat bothers me: the idea of a terrorist organization teaming up 
with a nation that develops and harbors weapons of mass destruction. It 
bothers me. We cannot let the world's most dangerous regimes threaten us 
with the world's most dangerous weapons. For the good of our children, 
for the good of freedom, for the good of civilization itself, this 
Nation will be deliberate; we'll be patient. But we're not going to 
allow the world's most dangerous regimes to hold the United States 
blackmail with the world's most dangerous weapons.
    I believe that by being firm and tough and strong, we can achieve 
peace. It's very important for the moms and dads to tell their children 
that your Government is interested in peace and freedom. If there's any 
doubt in your children's mind about what we're doing, remind them that 
when we sent our troops into Afghanistan, we liberated a country. And 
for the first time in a long time, young girls got to go to school. 
While we're chasing down the killers, we're also helping the nation 
rebuild herself, with medical care and food. This is a compassionate 
nation, a nation that longs for peace. And I believe by being firm and 
strong and leading the world, we can achieve peace.
    I was pleased to see today that the standoff at the Church of the 
Nativity in Bethlehem was resolved peacefully. That's positive news in a 
troubled region. But you just need to know, in that region and around 
the world, I visualize a peace so people can live side by side in peace. 
And our country will continue to work in that direction.
    Out of the evil will come good. Out of the evil will come good, not 
only around the world but here at home as well. People ask me, they say, 
``Well, Mr. President, what can I do to help in the war against 
terror?'' And my answer is, if you're interested in fighting evil, do 
some good by loving your neighbor like you'd like to be loved yourself. 
If you want to help this country, go across the street to a shut-in's 
house and say, ``What can I do to help you?'' If you want to be a part 
of a movement in America that's taking place, mentor a child; go into 
your church or your synagogue or mosque and rally the good people that 
show up to worship, to help people in need.
    There are pockets of despair in America; there are pockets of 
hopelessness which can and will be overcome because loving citizens have 
decided to do something about it. The

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great strength of this country is really not our military. It's not the 
fact that we're, you know, great and rich. It's the fact that our Nation 
is full of people with decent hearts and loving souls, people who are 
willing to take time out of their day to help a neighbor in need.
    I believe that as a result of the evil done to America, many are 
taking a hard look at the values in their life. Moms and dads recognize 
that their most important job is to love their children with all their 
hearts and all their souls. Many citizens around our country are 
realizing that, while it's important to make a living, it's also 
important to serve something greater than yourself, your community. And 
it's happening. That's why I'm so optimistic that not only will we 
achieve peace, but we'll show the world the true face of America, a 
decent face, a hopeful face, a compassionate face.
    It is an unimaginable honor to be the President of the greatest 
country on the face of the Earth. And I'm the man with that honor.
    Thank you for coming, and God bless you all.

Note: The President spoke at 12:15 p.m. in the Regency Ballroom at the 
Hyatt Regency Hotel. In his remarks, he referred to Hope Taft, wife of 
Governor Taft; Robert T. Bennett, chairman, Ohio Republican Party; and 
Tim Timken, finance chairman, Taft-Bradley Campaign. Mike Turner is a 
candidate for Congress in Ohio's Third Congressional District.