[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 28 (Monday, July 15, 2002)]
[Pages 1177-1182]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a Dinner for Senatorial Candidate Norm Coleman and 
Congressional Candidate John Kline in Minneapolis

July 11, 2002

    Thank you very much. Thanks for that warm welcome. It's great to be 
back in Minnesota. I've had some opportunity to welcome some fine 
Minnesota folks to the White House. Last May, a couple of Minnesota 
teams came by to say hello that happened to be national champs in 
women's and men's hockey. They felt pretty good about things, and they 
said they thought they're going to be back next year. [Laughter] Next 
year when they come back, Norm Coleman and John Kline are going to be 
with me to greet them.
    I want to thank you for supporting these fine candidates. I want to 
thank you for being here tonight, and I want to thank you for

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what you're going to do, which is to man the phones and put up the signs 
and convince your neighbors that these two men need your support for the 
good of the country and for the good of your great State.
    I'm proud to be here with not only Norm but, as importantly, his 
wife, Laurie. It's important to have a--[applause]. And I appreciate 
Vicky Kline as well, being here with John tonight.
    I know something about marrying well. [Laughter] We--I'm really 
proud of Laura. Someday she needs to come and campaign for these 
candidates, if they want to win. I don't know if you've heard me say 
this before, but when I married Laura, she was a public school 
librarian. And the truth of the matter is, she didn't particularly care 
about politics or politicians. [Laughter] And now, here she is, the 
First Lady of the greatest country in the world, and what a fabulous, 
fabulous job she's doing. She sends her best.
    You know, one of the things about a President--people come by, and 
they say, ``We appreciate the job you're doing.'' And one of my first 
responses is that if you've got a good team, the job is a lot easier 
than it might look. And I want you to know, I put together a fabulous 
team. And one of my team members is here tonight, the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services, the former Governor of the State of 
Wisconsin, my close friend, a guy doing a great job, Tommy Thompson. I 
appreciate you, Tommy.
    I want to thank those who are--who hold office now. The speaker is 
here, and the Senate minority leader is here. The secretary of state is 
here. Thank you all for coming. And I'm honored also to be sharing the 
stage with the next Governor of the State of Minnesota, Tim Pawlenty.
    There's no doubt in my mind that these great candidates can win. 
There's no doubt, because they bring a lot of qualities to the ticket 
that the people of Minnesota will respect. Norm Coleman: First, he loves 
his family; he's a man of faith; he loves his country; he's an 
independent kind of fellow--nothing wrong with that. [Laughter]
    The thing I like about Norm is, he focuses on results. As the mayor 
of St. Paul--I'm told, a pretty Democratic city; at least that's what 
the numbers looked like to me the last time I ran--[laughter]--he wins 
as a Republican because he brought a compassionate conservative agenda 
to the people. He focused on things that matter, like jobs and making 
sure children got a quality education.
    He agrees with me that when it comes to educating our children, it 
is important to have high standards and high expectations. You see, if 
you don't think some kids can learn, the system will just shuffle them 
through; the system will quit on them. That is not good enough for 
America. He understands that to make sure that every single child gets 
educated, we must understand whether they're learning to read and write 
and add and subtract. And if they are, we will praise the teachers. But 
if we find out that our children can't read, write, and add and 
subtract, we better do something about it early, before it's too late. 
No child should be left behind in America.
    Norm's got a record of prosecution--prosecuting white-collar crime. 
Our Nation must have confidence in our institutions. I oftentimes talk 
about the need for each of us to be responsible for our behavior. 
Corporate America must be responsible for its behavior as well. We 
expect balance sheets to be fair and open. We expect transparency, and 
we expect those in charge of corporate America to treat the shareholders 
and employees with the utmost respect.
    I need Norm in the Senate to help me on Medicare. Today I had the 
honor of going to the University of Minnesota Medical Center, and what a 
fabulous place that is. It is first-class. And we saw some of the new--
heard about some of the new drug therapies being developed to save lives 
and extend life and to enhance the quality of life. And what we need is 
a Medicare plan that not only encourages innovation but gives seniors 
choices, all of which will include prescription drugs.
    I need a man in the Senate who will join me in nominating judges to 
our courts who will not use the bench from which to legislate but will 
strictly interpret the Constitution of the United States.
    And we need a voice in the United States Senate who will focus on 
the people's business, not the needless partisanship, the bickering, the 
name-calling that too often--too

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often fills that great Chamber. We need somebody who can work with both 
sides of the aisle, somebody who's focused on what's right for Minnesota 
and what's right for America. And there's no doubt in my mind that the 
right person to handle that important responsibility is Norman Coleman.
    And I'm here to campaign for John Kline for the United States House 
of Representatives. If the good folks in his district are wise, they'll 
send him to Washington. John served the United States with distinction 
as a member of the Marine Corps. He understands the need to support our 
military, and we need people who will support our military in the United 
States Congress.
    The thing I like about this good man is, he actually worked on a 
farm. He knows if you own the land and make a living on the land, every 
day is Earth Day. He understands how important farming is not only to 
his district but to his State and to the Nation. And he understands what 
I know: When you're good at something, you need to promote it. Our 
farmers and ranchers are the best in the world, and we need to be 
selling our farm products and ranch products all over the world.
    I look forward to having John in the United States Congress to work 
on the homeland defense and on the defense of our Nation. And when you 
put him there, he'll bring honor to that office.
    I'm also here--I'm pleased to urge you to work hard for your next 
Governor, Tim Pawlenty. He understands what I know: If you let people 
keep more of their own money, it invigorates the economy. And he knows 
the best way to bring fiscal discipline to any body of government is to 
resist unnecessary spending. Tim Pawlenty will be a fine and great 
Governor for the State of Minnesota, and I'm proud to lend my support.
    I'm pleased to talk about tax relief and trade because it is 
necessary to--those are necessary items to make sure our economy 
recovers. You know, in Washington, they talk a lot about statistics, and 
that's fine--``This number's up, or that number's down.'' What I worry 
about is, anytime anybody is looking for work and can't find it, we've 
got a problem. So therefore, I ask the question, how do we make sure we 
continue to expand our job base? What does it take to make sure that the 
entrepreneurial spirit of America is strong and vibrant so that there 
are more jobs for people who want to work? And that means making sure 
Congress doesn't overspend, doesn't overcommit, and making sure we have 
fiscal sanity in Washington, DC.
    We cut taxes at the right time. You see, I read the textbook that 
says, when people have more money, they're going to demand a good or a 
service. And if they demand a good or a service, somebody's going to 
produce the good and service. And if somebody produces that good and 
service, it means somebody's going to find work. For the good of long-
term economic growth and for the good of long-term economic vitality, we 
need to make the tax cuts permanent. And I want a Senator and Members of 
the House to do so.
    One of the worst taxes in America is what they call the death tax. 
It's a tax that taxes people's assets more than once. It's a tax that 
hurts farmers and ranchers. It says you cannot leave your business, if 
you're a small-business owner, to your relative. It says to some in 
America that if your loved one passes away, that you might have to 
liquidate your family farm in order to pay inheritance taxes. The 
Congress did the right thing in eliminating the tax, but it only lasts, 
because of a quirk in the Senate rules, for 10 years. We need people in 
the United States Congress who understand how bad the death tax is to 
small-business owners, ranchers, and farmers in America and make the 
repeal of the death tax permanent.
    So I spend a lot of time on economic security and will continue to 
do so until I'm confident people can find work.
    I also spend a lot of time on our homeland security. You need to 
know that we fight an enemy that is not only ruthless, a group of people 
who don't value human life, but they're--they hide, and they're patient, 
and they're determined to hurt America. People--I'm sure some of the 
young hear, ``Well, why would you want to hurt our country? Why would 
they care?'' And the answer is, because we're a beacon for freedom. We 
stand for things they don't stand for.
    See, we believe people should be able to worship the Almighty God 
any way they see

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fit. They don't. We believe people should be able to speak their mind. 
We believe in a free press. We believe in open elections. What we stand 
for is freedom, and they hate freedom. And therefore, they hate us. But 
they may be patient. We're more patient. They may be determined. We are 
more determined. They may think they have hit a country which is soft 
and weak. They have found out the United States of America will defend 
our freedoms at all costs. We're going to hunt them down one by one and 
bring them to justice.
    We are--we're making progress in a different kind of war. You know, 
you watch the old war films, you'd see tanks moving across a battlefield 
or formations of airplanes. That's not the kind of war we're in. We're 
after international killers, coldblooded killers. That's all they are. 
They--and, therefore, we've got to make sure at home we're secure.
    The other day, I made a far-reaching proposal that urges Congress to 
join me in reorganizing our Government so we can do as good a job as 
possible about protecting the homeland. Listen, I didn't run by saying, 
``Vote for me. I'm for bigger Government.'' That wasn't my platform. 
[Laughter] But I did run and say, ``Give us a chance to produce 
results.''
    Now, you need to know that when it comes to homeland security, there 
are over 100 agencies involved with homeland security, which means it's 
hard to align authority and responsibility. We've got 100 of them 
scattered all over Washington. I think those agencies, for the good of 
the country, need to be under one Cabinet officer. We need to have as 
a--the priority of these agencies the protection of the American people. 
Now, some of the agencies do other things, no question about it. But in 
order to effect a new culture and to set new priorities, it makes sense 
to me to have authority and responsibility aligned.
    And this new agency will have several functions. One is to make sure 
we understand who's coming into our country and why they're coming in 
and whether they're leaving when they say they're going to leave. This 
new agency will be charged with working with some of America's finest 
citizens, our first-responders, the police and firefighters and EMS 
teams all across the country, to make sure that we respond to an 
emergency if it ever were to occur. This new agency is in charge of 
working to deal with the threat of bio--a bioterrorist attack, so 
they've got the immunizations available and our health care systems are 
prepared to respond. This new agency will analyze data, intelligence 
that has been gathered from around the world, and analyze it in one 
place to determine our vulnerabilities and then the response necessary 
to button up the American homeland.
    I'm proud of those who work for our Government. We've got a lot of 
fine folks working a lot of hours, running down any kind of hint there 
is. Any kind of suggestion that somebody is going to do something to 
America, we're responding as quickly as we possibly can. And we're 
making good progress. But you just need to know, the best way to secure 
the homeland is to do what we're doing, and that's to hunt these killers 
down one person at a time.
    In my speech to the country outlining my vision for a Department of 
Homeland Security, I told the folks that we've--we and our friends have 
hauled in over 2,400 of these killers. Sometimes you'll know about it, 
and sometimes you won't. But what you need to know is that wherever they 
try to light, we're going to get them on the run, and we're going to 
keep them moving. And we're going to keep them moving until our military 
and our coalition brings them to justice.
    You've got to know how proud I am of the United States military. 
What a great group. I asked the United States Congress for a significant 
increase in defense spending. And I know the two gentlemen up here, if 
they were in the Halls of the Congress, would be strongly supporting 
what I'm about to tell you. The reason I asked for the biggest increase 
since President Ronald Reagan was the President is because I believe 
this: Anytime you commit an American youth into harm's way, they must 
have the best equipment, the best training, the best pay possible.
    And the increase also sends this signal to our friends and allies, 
as well as the enemy: We're in it for the long haul. We're talking about 
freedom. We're talking about civilization itself. History has called our 
country into

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action. There's a big spotlight on America, and our country will lead. 
We will lead this vast coalition.
    I want you to know, the doctrine that says, ``Either you're with us, 
or you're with the terrorists,'' it still stands, and we enforce it 
every single day. If you harbor a terrorist, if you feed a terrorist, if 
you finance a terrorist, you're just as guilty as the killers who struck 
America on September the 11th, and we'll hold you accountable as well.
    Our task is bigger than any single individual. We chase down a 
network. And at the same time, I have tried to speak as plainly as I 
possibly can about those nations with--who harbor weapons of mass 
destruction, who would dare try to blackmail the United States and other 
freedom-loving countries. We cannot and we must not allow the world's 
worst leaders to develop and deploy the world's worst weapons. We owe it 
to our children and we owe it to our children's children to be tough and 
firm.
    We're making progress. We've got a lot of work to do, a lot of work. 
And I appreciate so very much the resolve of the American people. My, 
what a fantastic country we have. We are so strong and so courageous and 
so compassionate, it leads me to declare this, that out of the evil done 
to America will come incredible good. Out of the evil done to our 
country will be some--some positive developments, starting with this. I 
believe that as the United States continues to lead with resolution and 
determination, that we can achieve peace. We can achieve peace not only 
here at home, but we can achieve peace in places around the world that 
haven't dreamt of peace or dreamt that peace is possible. I believe it.
    I believe that the terrorists--I don't know what went through their 
mind. They must have thought we were so self-absorbed and materialistic 
that all we would do after 9/11 was file a lawsuit or two. [Laughter] 
What they didn't realize is that this is a great nation, a great nation 
full of determined people, people not only to work for peace but people 
who here at home will seize the moment to make our communities a more 
decent and positive place for everybody to live.
    We live in a fabulous nation, a rich nation, but we must always 
remember that in our wealth, there are pockets of despair. There's 
loneliness. There's addiction. There are children who wonder whether the 
American Dream is meant for them. And I believe out of the evil done to 
America will come the good of addressing those problems, because a lot 
of Americans have stepped back and said, ``What is the value of life? 
How do I have a complete life?'' And many of our fellow citizens 
understand that to have a complete life, you love a neighbor just like 
you'd like to be loved yourself. There are thousands of our citizens, on 
a daily basis, responding to the evil done to America by mentoring a 
child or helping a shut-in or delivering food to the hungry, providing 
shelter for the homeless.
    And that's the true strength of our country. We're a decent country, 
a compassionate country. We understand that each of us can't do 
everything, but each of us can do something to help make a difference in 
changing America, one soul, one conscience, one heart at a time.
    And that is why I feel so strongly that our Government must not fear 
the compassionate programs that emanate out of the faith-based 
institutions. We must not discriminate against faith. We must welcome 
faith in America in order to change lives.
    And that's part of the spirit that is evolving in the country. We 
are ushering in a new period of personal responsibility, where each of 
us understands we're responsible for the decisions we make in life. 
We're responsible for loving our children. If you're a mom or a dad--if 
you're lucky enough to be a mom or a dad, you're responsible for loving 
your children with all your heart and all your soul. If you live in 
Minneapolis, Minnesota, and you're aware of a friend in need, you're 
responsible for helping that friend in need. If you're running a 
corporation, you're responsible for open books and treating your 
employees well.
    That message came home loud and clear in Flight 93, the concept of 
serving something greater than yourself in life, the concept of 
understanding that patriotism is more than saying the pledge or saluting 
the flag; patriotism is serving your Nation by helping a neighbor in 
need. We had citizens traveling

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across the country. They realized their airplane was going to be used as 
a weapon. They told their loved ones they loved them. They said a 
prayer. One guy said, ``Let's roll.'' And they drove the plane in the 
ground to save other people's lives. It's the new spirit of the 21st 
century.
    And so, tonight I urge you not only to work hard for these good 
candidates but work hard to be a part of making America a complete 
country for everybody. And it's happening--it's happening. You see, I 
can confidently predict, out of the evil done to America will come great 
good, because I'm the President of the greatest nation in the face of 
the Earth.
    It is my honor to be here. May God bless you all, and may God bless 
America.

Note: The President spoke at 6:10 p.m. at the Target Center Arena. In 
his remarks, he referred to Steve Sviggum, speaker, and gubernatorial 
candidate Tim Pawlenty, majority leader, Minnesota House of 
Representatives; Dick Day, minority leader, Minnesota Senate; and 
Minnesota Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer. John Kline is a candidate 
for Congress in Minnesota's First Congressional District.