[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 27 (Monday, July 8, 2002)]
[Pages 1115-1121]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
 Remarks at a Rally on Inner-City Compassion in Cleveland, Ohio

 July 1, 2002

     Thank you very much for that warm welcome. I'm feeling great, by 
the way. [Laughter] And I'm glad I'm here. And thank you all for coming.
     We've just come from a discussion of community leaders all involved 
with trying to make Cleveland a compassionate, decent place for every 
citizen. Some were Democrats; some were Republicans; all of them 
Americans, all of them Americans who understand that out of the evil 
done to America can come some incredible good, that by loving a neighbor 
just like you'd like to be loved yourself, you can do some good in our 
country. You can fight evil by being a decent, honorable, compassionate 
citizen. And that's what I want to talk about today. I want to talk 
about the soul of America.
     First, I appreciate my traveling party and the folks who showed up 
here today. I want to thank Rod Paige for being the Secretary of 
Education. I like to remind people that when I was--came time to pick a 
Secretary of Education, that I wanted somebody who had actually been on 
the frontlines of education. I didn't need a theorist. I needed somebody 
who was a practical person, somebody--and I knew Rod when I was the 
Governor of Texas and he was the superintendent of our State's largest 
school district, Houston Independent School District. And our test 
scores soared when he was leading that district. And so I--fortunately, 
he came to Washington, DC. He's made a huge sacrifice to be there, and 
he's doing a fine job. And I want to appreciate Rod, and I appreciate 
his leadership. I appreciate his being a straightforward fellow. It's 
easy to understand where he's coming from. He's coming from this 
perspective: Every child must be educated in America--every child.
     I also brought another man along with me, Alphonso Jackson, who is 
the Deputy Secretary of HUD. Alphonso's job is to make sure we work 
tirelessly to promote homeownership in America. And I appreciate 
Alphonso coming. I'm going to talk a little bit about that later on.
     Of course, I appreciate so very much the elected officials who have 
joined: My friend the Governor of the great State of Ohio, Bob Taft, is 
with us; your senior Senator, a fine friend and a good man, George 
Voinovich, is with us. I think you're--are you the senior Senator? He's 
the junior--he's the oldest junior Senator. [Laughter] He's a junior 
Senator who happens to be a senior citizen, he said. [Laughter] But a 
young--he thinks young. He's a great man.

[[Page 1116]]

     I appreciate members of the congressional delegation, both 
Republicans and Democrats alike: Ralph Regula, Steve LaTourette, 
Stephanie Tubbs Jones, and Dennis Kucinich. I appreciate you all coming. 
Thanks for being here. I appreciate you're here.
     I appreciate the attorney general, Betty Montgomery, from the great 
State of Ohio. I'm honored that the mayor of the great city of Cleveland 
would come; Mayor Campbell, thank you for being here. I'm honored you're 
here--appreciate you. I had the honor of listening to a elected--a local 
elected official, Ms. Fannie Lewis, who had some things to say. Thank 
you, Fannie, for coming.
     Today, as I landed at the airport, I had the honor of meeting a 
gentleman named Eugene Brudno, and Eugene is a Cleveland resident who 
has spent a lot of time of volunteering in the community. The reason I 
mention Eugene is, one of the true strengths of this country is the fact 
that we've got so many citizens who have heard the call to help somebody 
in need, and they don't need a Government telling them to do it. They 
just do it because they love their community. And Gene has been loving 
his community for a long time. Gene, would you stand up and please wave? 
Thank you for coming.
     I want to thank Alex Machaskee for having sponsored the discussion 
we had today. I want to thank the United Way leadership for being here. 
I want to thank you all for coming. I am honored that you're here.
     I've got some things to say--it's really how great America--I mean, 
what a fabulous country we have. We are lucky to be Americans. And as 
Americans, we have responsibilities. We have responsibilities. If you 
live in this country and you want to be a patriotic soul, you have a 
responsibility. And I think one of those most important responsibilities 
is to help a neighbor in need. I do.
     And I've got a responsibility too. Perhaps my biggest 
responsibility is to keep our homeland secure. I want to give you a 
brief update about our attempts to keep the homeland secure. At home, 
we're doing everything we can do. I want to thank all those on the 
frontline, the first time--the first-responders, the police and fire and 
EMS teams, for being prepared and ready and working long hours.
     In Washington, DC, we've got a lot of good folks who are spending a 
lot of time chasing down any hint or any lead, any idea that somebody 
might have to hurt us. We're on it. And you just need to know, we are 
actively focusing our attention and efforts to keep the homeland secure.
     We're fighting an enemy that hates what we stand for. They don't 
value human life. The death of innocent people doesn't bother them in 
the least. They've hijacked a great religion. They kill in the name of 
the religion when, in fact, they're nothing but a bunch of coldblooded 
fanatics and killers.
     I've asked the Congress to take all the agencies involved with the 
homeland defense--there's about 100 of them scattered all over 
Washington, DC. You can imagine what that is like, trying to hold 
somebody accountable. I said, ``We should put it all under one umbrella 
called the Cabinet officer, and give us a chance to align authority and 
responsibility. Give us a chance to change the culture of these 
agencies. Give us a chance to say, protecting the homeland is now the 
single most important priority of the Federal Government.''
     And I appreciate the response from both Republicans and Democrats 
alike to the initiative I laid out. It's tough for some. I recognize 
that. I mean, there's some turf in Washington. [Laughter] And people 
like to protect the turf. But by far, most Members understand that it's 
more important to protect the American people than the turf.
     So we're making progress at home. But the surest way to protect the 
homeland is to hunt the killers down one by one and bring them to 
justice. And that's what we're going to do. And we're making progress.
     This isn't a--the type of war we're all used to. It's not the kind 
of war where there's tanks moving across, you know, some plain, and 
everybody gets to see the progress of the tanks. This isn't the kind of 
war where planes are in formation. This is a war that we fight against 
these shadowy terrorists that hide in caves or hide in big cities and 
send young souls to their death through suicide. That's the kind of 
people we're after. But we've hauled in over 2,400 people so far. I

[[Page 1117]]

say ``we;'' I'm talking about not only the United States but a vast 
coalition of freedom-loving countries. And so we're after them one by 
one. I guess the best way to describe the strategy is to treat them for 
what they are, international criminals; get them on the run; and when we 
find them, bring them in and get them.
     And that's what this mighty country is going to do, because, you 
see, we love our freedom. We stand for freedom. We love freedom of 
religion. We love freedom of the press. We love to speak freely. We love 
politics. We love what we're doing in this country. And anybody who 
threatens our freedoms will face the ire of the mighty United States of 
America.
     And we're in this deal for the long haul. There is not a calendar 
on my desk that says, by such and such a date, we quit. That's not how I 
think, and I don't believe that's how the American people think either. 
The American people understand that we need to be patient and resolved 
and determined to do what is right. History has called us into action. 
And for the sake of our young, for the sake of our children and our 
grandchildren, we must be strong enough and resolved enough to defend 
freedom to the core, to not waver or tire in the face of an enemy that 
hopes that we relinquish our love for freedom and the values we hold 
dear in America.
     You know, I can't imagine what was going through their mind when 
they attacked us. They must have thought America was so materialistic 
and so selfish and so self-absorbed that we might just file a lawsuit or 
two. [Laughter] They learned differently. They learned that we love our 
country and love our freedoms.
     But I want the youngsters here to understand, this great country 
doesn't seek revenge; we seek justice. And this great country, when we 
go somewhere, we don't go as conquerors; we go as liberators. I want our 
country to keep in mind what happened in Afghanistan. Afghanistan was a 
country that had been hijacked by these Al Qaida killers, with a 
complacent Government. We said, ``If you harbor a terrorist, you're just 
like the terrorist. We're going to treat you just like the terrorist.'' 
And we upheld that doctrine by removing the Taliban, but more 
importantly, we liberated people. For the first time, young girls go to 
school in Afghanistan, thanks to the United States and our coalition.
     And that's--and that's going to be our posture for a long time 
coming too. We believe in freedom for all. We believe in the value of 
individual life. We're a compassionate, strong nation, a nation that 
through our determination will bring peace.
     Oh, I know that in the midst of this war, there is a lot of warlike 
talk, and I'm as guilty as--I'm guilty. [Laughter] I talk that way. But 
I want you to know, I love peace. I want the world to be at peace. I 
believe out of the evil done to America can come some good. And one of 
the goods is going to be a peaceful world, peace in places where we 
haven't seen peace in a long time and peace at home for our children and 
our grandchildren. I long--I long for a peaceful world for every citizen 
on the face of the globe. And I believe that the United States can lead 
to peace if we're strong and resolved and unified.
     And I also believe that as we make the world more peaceful and 
America more secure, we can make America a better place, a better place 
for all of us, not a better place for some, not a better place for a 
few, but a better place for all. I think that means that our Government, 
Federal Government, must be active to promote self-government and self-
reliance and independence. It means that we must encourage individuals 
and communities and families to take more responsibility for themselves 
and their neighbors and our Nation.
     Our aim isn't to make Government bigger by spending more money. Our 
aim isn't to focus on finance, large or small. Our aim must be to mean 
that when we spend money, we spend it on what works to create a better 
society. I call this compassionate conservatism.
     It is conservative to trust the local folks to chart the path to 
excellence in education. It's conservative to liberate parents. It's 
conservative to pass power out of Washington, DC, when it comes to 
public schools. It is compassionate to make sure not one child gets left 
behind in America.

[[Page 1118]]

     It is conservative to promote private property and ownership of 
homes. It is compassionate to understand there is an ownership gap in 
America, and we must use our resources to close that ownership gap by 
encouraging minority ownership of homes in America.
     It's conservative to reform welfare and reduce dependence on 
Government. It is compassionate to encourage work and family and values 
of personal responsibility. It is conservative to understand Government 
can hand out money, but it cannot put hope in people's hearts, and 
therefore, we should promote the good works of faith-based and 
community-based programs.
     It is compassionate to understand, in the land of plenty, there are 
pockets of despair and hopelessness. There are people who, when you say 
``the American Dream,'' say, ``I don't know what that means.'' And it's 
compassionate to understand, all of us, no matter what your political 
party is, must do something about it. We must work to make the American 
Dream reach into every single neighborhood all across America.
     I believe that starts with making sure everybody gets a good 
education. Rod talked about the No Child Left Behind legislation. Let me 
tell you what I think the bill says. I believe it says that our society 
must believe every child can learn, and that means we've set high 
standards. If you set low standards, guess what's going to happen? If 
you have low expectations, you know what's going to happen? We'll just 
give up on kids--see?
     It's so much harder to, by the way, educate inner-city--some inner-
city children. It's easy to walk into a classroom full of inner-city 
African Americans, for example, and say, ``You can't learn. We'll move 
you through.'' Or how about classrooms full of children whose parents 
don't speak English as a first language? It's easy to quit on those 
kids. ``Heck, it's hard to educate a child whose parents don't speak 
English. Why don't we just shuffle them through the system?'' That means 
you have low hopes, low standards, low expectations. We start with a 
different premise: Every child can learn, regardless of their 
circumstances. And we expect every single child to learn in America.
     We said, ``Yes, there's a role for funding,'' and we increased 
funding for Title I programs here in Cleveland by 23 percent. And that's 
good, and that's important. We want to help the disadvantaged through 
funding. But Washington shouldn't be telling Cleveland how to run its 
school system. See, that's up to you all to figure out how to run your 
school system.
     But we've instituted a new reform, and it's an important reform. It 
says, if you do receive the money, if you decide to take Federal money, 
show us whether or not the children are learning, see. Show us whether 
or not expectations are being met.
     I've heard it all: ``We can't test''; ``We test too much''; ``We 
test too much''; ``We shouldn't test children whether they can read''; 
``See, all you do is teach the test.'' Listen, if you can teach a child 
to read, they can pass a test. You teach them to read; don't worry about 
the tests.
     We need to know in America whether or not our children can read and 
write and add and subtract. That's what an accountability system is for. 
Not only do we need to know, but more importantly, the parents need to 
know whether or not the children can read and write and add and 
subtract. And if we find they can't, something else has to happen. We 
cannot allow our children to be trapped in schools that won't teach and 
won't change.
     Starting this September, as many as 3.5 million students across 
America who attend failing schools will have different options, of 
transferring to another public school. It's part of being an accountable 
society. It's part of strengthening public education.
     Listen, I think public education is one of the most important parts 
of democracy. In order to make sure the American Dream reaches every 
neighborhood, we've got to have good public schools all across America. 
We must. So we've got to strengthen the public education system by 
encouraging different opportunities if there's failure.
     Low-income students, as a result of the new bill, in chronically 
failing schools will now have access to after-school tutoring. The money 
follows the child, and the parent can decide who provides the after-
school tutoring.

[[Page 1119]]

     There is not a single avenue to success. In order to achieve 
educational excellence for every child, there's got to be a multiplicity 
of approaches. That's why I believe so strongly in local control of 
schools. The people of Cleveland and the State of Ohio decided that one 
of the approaches they wanted to take was to encourage a voucher system 
to be implemented. That was a local decision, and the Supreme Court of 
the United States gave a great victory to parents and students 
throughout the Nation by upholding the decisions made by local folks 
here in the city of Cleveland, Ohio. It is a constructive approach to 
improving public education. We're interested in aiming toward excellence 
for every child. And the voucher system is a part of the strategy to 
achieve that here in Cleveland.
     One of my jobs is to make sure that we continue to insist upon 
reform, to take this court decision and encourage others to make the 
same decision at the local level. One way to do so is through tax 
credits, which is now in my budget. I urge Congress, when we debate how 
to improve public education, to pass the tax credit so parents will have 
more flexibility and more choices when it comes to the education of 
their children, particularly K-through-12.
     I also--the Supreme Court in 1954 declared that our Nation cannot 
have two education systems. And that was the right decision--can't have 
two systems, one for African Americans and one for Whites. Last week, 
what's notable and important is that the Court declared that our Nation 
will not accept one education system for those who can afford to send 
their children to a school of their choice and for those who can't. And 
that's just as historic.
     I think by continuing to focus on high standards and results and 
local control of schools, we can all work together to make sure no child 
is left behind.
     And by the way, I had the honor of meeting Roberta Kitchen today. 
She should be giving the speech, not me. Where's Roberta? Hi, Roberta. 
Roberta is a mom of five children, and her passion is a passion which is 
shared by moms all across America. Her passion is pretty simple: ``I 
want my children to go to a safe school where he or she can realize 
their full potential.'' Roberta, thank you for your love for your 
children. I appreciate you.
     We also have got to do a better job of bringing the American Dream 
to all Americans by encouraging homeownership. There is a--we've got a 
homeownership gap in America. Let's face it. Over 75 percent of White 
Americans own their home, and less than 50 percent of Hispanos and 
African Americans don't own their home. And that's a gap. That's a 
homeownership gap, and we've got to do something about it.
     One of the barriers to homeownership is the cost of downpayment. 
And I'm working with Congress right now to have a downpayment assistance 
program to help the homeowner be able to afford the downpayment.
     I also believe that a barrier to entry is education. There's a lot 
of folks who, when they look at the fine print in the contract, don't 
quite understand what it means. Not only do we need to simplify the 
contracts, we've got to make sure that there's an outreach program to 
educate first-time homebuyers on what it means to own a home and how you 
do it, not to get nervous about the fine print, but to realize what's in 
the fine print so that the people can make good decisions. We've got 
money in the budget to do that. We want to work with the faith-based 
community to encourage the education of people to understand what it 
means to own a home.
     I'm also working with the private sector to make sure they do their 
part. It's in the national realtors' interests, or the national 
homebuilders' interests that we encourage minority ownership of homes. 
We're trying to increase the demand for homes. One way to do that is to 
work with Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to encourage capital, so that 
there's more money in the private sector for first-time homebuyers. We 
need billions of more dollars available for those who want to realize 
the dream. They have made the commitment to do so.
     And finally, we need legislation, tax credit legislation that will 
increase the supply of homes, affordable homes all across the country, 
affordable homes in inner-city Cleveland, where people are able to find 
a home and realize their dreams.

[[Page 1120]]

     The goal for this country is that by 2010 we have 5.5 million new 
minority homeowners. And when that happens--you watch what happens when 
these neighborhoods will become revitalized. It'll help the public 
school systems; it'll create such a sense of hope. This is a noble goal 
and one that I fervently believe we can achieve and must achieve to make 
America a better place.
     We've got work to do. The Senate has got work to do, in passing a 
reauthorization of the welfare reform bill. One of the great success 
stories in recent past has been to reform welfare so as we reduce 
dependency upon Government. And that's important. See, we believe in the 
worth of each individual and believe if we help people, they can realize 
their full potential.
     And it starts with finding work. It starts with a job. If somebody 
works, they're more likely to be able to realize dreams, to realize 
their God-given potential. And so we've got to continue to employ the 
resources and the vision to helping people find work. I believe work 
ought to be an incredibly important part, ought to be the standard by 
which welfare reform has been judged. And our society must work with 
local folks to implement strategies that will help people find work.
     Listen, the Government is willing to pay for re-education. The 
Government is willing to pay for job training. But we need people at--
the local people, just right like you do out here in Cleveland, to take 
the hand of somebody in need and say, ``How can we help you? How can we 
help you realize the independence of finding--and the dignity, by the 
way--of finding work?''
     I want to thank the employers in Cleveland for showing 
responsibility by helping on the welfare-to-work initiative. And I want 
to thank the faith-based programs for taking the resources available and 
to help people find work. We've got to continue--we've got to continue 
to promote work as part of a independent--independent--to encourage 
independence. And at the same time we do so, we've got to teach people 
the values of marriage and family.
     And speaking about responsible society, one of the key things we've 
got to do here in America is make sure that all of us are responsible 
for the decisions we make, especially in this day and age, the CEOs of 
corporate America. We need to make sure that when the people put out 
their balance sheets, when people put out the facts and figures, there's 
no question about their veracity. There's no question that they're true 
numbers.
     You see, in order to keep the job base increasing in America, there 
must be trust. And some have violated the trust. They haven't assumed 
their responsibility. I expect there to be responsibility at all levels 
in our society. And I intend to fully enforce the law when people cheat 
on the balance sheets of corporate America. We laid out an initiative in 
March to provide better information to investors, to make corporate 
officers accountable and responsible, to make sure that there's an 
independent auditing system, make sure this business about conflict of 
interest is eradicated. We need to rebuild the confidence in our job-
creating system.
     Now, you need to know that by far the vast majority, by far, of 
corporate America are above board and doing their jobs just the way 
you'd expect them to do, that they treat their investors, their 
shareholders, and employees the way you'd want them to. And that's 
important for America to know. It's also important to know we're going 
after those who aren't and hold them accountable.
     Our economy, the foundation of our economy is strong. We've got 
good fiscal policy, good monetary policy. We just now got to get this--
get trust built back in the country's leadership, which we will. We 
will. And one way to do it is to bring some of these folks to justice 
who have violated their trust. And we'll do that too.
     I also want you to know that my philosophy really does trust the 
American people. I trust people when it comes to--the parents when it 
comes to educating their children. I trust people when it comes to 
making right decisions about whether to own a home. I trust people when 
it comes to helping find work. The strength of this country is really 
not in our halls of Government; it's in the hearts and souls of the 
American people. That's really why America is so strong a nation as we 
are today.

[[Page 1121]]

     I also believe that--in the power of faith in people's lives, and 
that when we find people who have lost hope, maybe as a result of 
addiction or despair, that one way to help change America is to 
encourage those who have heard the call to love a neighbor to go love 
their fellow citizen. See, I've got great faith in America because I 
know our society can change one heart, one person at a time. And I know 
there are millions of soldiers in the armies of compassion who are 
willing to do just that. The Faith-Based Initiative that you've probably 
read about means this: Our Government should not fear programs which 
exist because of--a church or a synagogue or a mosque has decided to 
start one; we should not discriminate against programs based upon faith 
in America; we should enable them to access Federal money, because 
faith-based programs can change peoples lives, and America will be 
better off for it.
     I urge the Congress to get the bill on my desk that does two 
things: One, allows for faith-based programs to compete for taxpayers' 
money to help change people's lives; and secondly, allows nonitemizers 
to receive a deduction on their income taxes when they give money to a 
charity. We need to do everything we can to encourage the strength of 
America, to help change America for the better.
     Now, out of the evil done to America is going to come some 
incredible good here. I believe it. I believe that our citizens, many 
citizens are now hearing the call that a true patriot is somebody who 
serves something greater than themselves. A true patriot is somebody who 
asks a neighbor in need, ``What can I do to help?'' A patriot is 
somebody who understands that life is more--that life is complete when 
you make a sacrifice for somebody else.
     That certainly came home to a lot of Americans when Flight 93 was 
driven into the ground by citizens, normal, everyday citizens, who 
realized the plane they were on would be a weapon. And I want to remind 
you of what happened on that flight. They told their loved ones goodbye. 
They said a prayer, and they made the ultimate sacrifice for somebody 
else. That's the American spirit, as far as I'm concerned, the notion 
that in order--[applause].
    And it is that spirit which is exhibited every day in our country 
when people say, ``I think I want to mentor a child,'' and do so, and 
when people help an elderly shut-in, when people deliver food. It's the 
millions of acts of kindness and decency which define America, which 
show the true face of this great country. And I mean a great country.
     It's a great honor to be the President of the greatest nation on 
the face of the Earth. Thank you for coming today, and God bless.

  Note:  The President spoke at 11:29 a.m. at the Playhouse Square 
Center. In his remarks, he referred to Mayor Jane L. Campbell of 
Cleveland; Fannie M. Lewis, Cleveland City councilwoman, ward 7; and 
Alex Machaskee, board chairman, United Way of Greater Cleveland. The 
President also referred to Title I of the Improving America's Schools 
Act of 1994 (Public Law No. 103-382), which amended Title I of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (Public Law No. 89-10). 
The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language 
transcript of these remarks.