[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 40 (Monday, October 7, 2002)]
[Pages 1650-1656]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a Dinner for Gubernatorial Candidate Matt Salmon in Phoenix, 
Arizona

September 27, 2002

    Thanks for that kind introduction, ``Governor.'' First, I want to 
thank the host of the dinner for organizing an early dinner. [Laughter] 
It's good for Colangelo's ballpark. [Laughter] I guess tonight's the 
night for the D-backs.
    I know this for certain, that this will be the only candidate I ever 
campaigned for who rides a Harley, speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese, and 
fronts an Elvis cover band. [Laughter] He's the candidate I'm 
campaigning for who's going to win. Matt's a breath of fresh air. See, 
he told the voters of his congressional district he'd only serve three 
terms. And when the third term finished, he didn't run again. He's the 
kind of person who does in office what he says he is going to do, which 
is vital for the statehouse and Arizona.
    The State faces real challenges, but with him you're going to get a 
straightforward fellow, somebody who will tell you the truth, somebody 
who will give it his all to make Arizona the best State for everybody 
who lives here. It's my honor to be here. I'm proud to support him, and 
I thank you all for coming as well.
    I had the privilege of meeting Nancy. Both of us married above 
ourselves. [Laughter] Nancy and Matt are the proud parents of

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four kids, and they place their family above all else. And it gives me 
great comfort to know I'm working for somebody who has got his 
priorities straight.
    And I appreciate you mentioning Laura, Matt. She sends her best. She 
sends her best to our friends who are here. She sends her best to you 
and Nancy. She's over there in Crawford, waiting for me. One of the good 
things about coming out West is, I get to spend the night in Crawford 
and remember there are values other than Washington values that count in 
the Nation. It's good to come out West where the spirit of individualism 
still remains strong, to come out West where you can see a long way, to 
come out West where people understand helping neighbors is an important 
part of building a good State. So thanks for having me. I'm sorry 
Laura's not here. She's doing great. And by the way, I'm really, really 
proud of the job she's doing as our First Lady.
    We went up to Flagstaff where we were working on the drought relief 
program. It was raining. [Laughter] But I was up there to help a fellow 
named Rick Renzi, who is going to be the next Congressman from northern 
Arizona. I want to thank Rick for putting his hat in the ring, and I 
want to thank you all for helping him.
    I'm also honored to be with two great United States Senators, a 
great patriot, a man who is speaking clearly about the need to defend 
America and defend our freedoms, and that's John McCain. And by the way, 
he married above himself too. [Laughter] And today I was traveling with 
Jon Kyl.
    One of the jobs of the President is to pick good judges, is to put 
people of sound judgment and great talent on our Federal benches. And 
the United States Senate has been, in some cases, not treating my 
nominees fairly. I named a great lady named Priscilla Owen to the bench. 
She'd run statewide in our State, had overwhelming votes, one of the top 
graduates of her law school. The lawyer group rated her one of the best, 
the highest ratings they could give. And yet the Senate distorted her 
record because she wouldn't be willing to legislate from the bench. Jon 
Kyl has remained strong on the Judiciary Committee to make sure my 
nominees get a fair hearing. We need to change the United States Senate 
so we can change the United States course.
    I want to thank Congressman Hayworth--he's not here, but I'm going 
to thank him anyway--and Shadegg and Flake and Kolbe for their support. 
Arizona has got a fine congressional delegation, and I'm proud to be 
able to work with these Members. I want to thank your Governor for 
coming today, my friend Jane Dee Hull. I want to thank the mayor of 
Phoenix for being here, Mayor Rimsza. And I also want to appreciate 
those of you who helped organize this dinner. I want to thank Chairman 
Fannin.
    But most of all, I want to thank the grassroot activists who are 
here, the people who put the signs in the yards, the people who do the 
phone calling, the people who do the mailers, those tireless souls who 
never get thanked. I want to thank you for what you have done, and as 
importantly, I thank you for what you're going to do, which is to turn 
out a big vote come November the 5th.
    I appreciate your next Governor's agenda. It starts with making sure 
that the State doesn't raise the taxes on the working people. I 
appreciate that promise. He's a man who keeps his word. It's one of 
these issues that will distinguish him from his opponent. If he says 
he's not going to raise your taxes, he means he's not going to raise 
your taxes. And that will be good for the economy of Arizona.
    He's focused on jobs. He briefed me on his WorkFair 2010 program. 
See, he and I understand the role of Government is not to create wealth 
but to create an environment in which the entrepreneur can flourish, in 
which small businesses can grow to be big businesses. I appreciate his 
vision for job creation.
    I also appreciate his brand of compassionate conservatism, which 
says, we're going to help people help themselves, that when it comes to 
welfare, that job training is essential to help people find work. We 
understand that in work you find dignity, in work you find the chance to 
put food on the table, in work you have a chance to realize your own 
self-worth. And so when it comes to helping people, your next Governor 
will make sure that work is an essential part of your welfare system 
here in the State of Arizona.

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    I also appreciate his commonsense views on our forests. You've got a 
lot of vital land here. We're mismanaging our forests. We're doing a 
lousy job of protecting an important treasure for the country. We ought 
to be thinning our forests. We ought to be taking the burnt timber and 
making use of it. We ought to be clearing the timber out from underneath 
our trees. We ought to be saving our forests with commonsense forest 
policy. And I want to work with a Governor who understands that.
    No, I appreciate Matt. I appreciate him working hard to make this 
State a safer and stronger and better place. And that's what we've got 
to do for our country as well. A strong America is a country that works 
to make sure people can find work. I'm worried about the fact that some 
of our fellow Americans who want to work can't find a job. And we've got 
to do everything we can to increase our job base, to do everything we 
can to make sure our economy continues to grow.
    That's why it's absolutely essential, in my judgment, that we make 
the tax cuts we passed permanent, that we don't let them be temporary, 
that we get rid of that Senate rule that says, we're going to give--on 
the one hand we giveth, on the other hand we taketh away. See, we give 
you tax cuts, but because of a--kind of a weird rule in the Senate, 
those go away after 10 years. For the sake of planning, for the sake of 
job creation, for the sake of growth, for the sake of small businesses, 
the tax cuts need to be permanent. And that includes getting rid of the 
death tax forever.
    We need an energy bill out of Washington, DC. For the sake of job 
security and for the sake of national security, we need an energy bill. 
They've been talking too long up there. We need a bill which encourages 
conservation, promotes new technologies, promotes renewables, but a bill 
which will encourage increase of supply here in America. Listen, we're 
too dependent on foreign sources of crude oil. And unfortunately, some 
of those people don't like us. For the sake of job security and national 
security, I need an energy bill, and I need it soon.
    There are some big projects that have been put on hold because 
construction folks can't get terrorism insurance. They estimate over 
300,000 of our fellow citizens aren't working, 300,000 hardhats aren't 
working because people can't get insured because of the terrorist 
attacks. Congress needs to act. They need to get a terrorism insurance 
bill to my desk. For the sake of job creation, for the sake of helping 
people find work, for the sake of the 300,000 hardhats who would be 
working, I need a terrorism insurance bill, a bill that does not reward 
the trial lawyers, but a bill that encourages construction workers to 
get back to work.
    There's a lot of things Congress can do to help, and I look forward 
to working with them to create the jobs. And I know the two Senators 
here and the Members of Congress are anxious to help to expand our 
economy. But one thing Congress must not do is overspend. See, one thing 
Congress has got to do is hold the line on spending if we want our 
economy to grow. Interest rates are low. Inflation is low. Productivity 
is some of the best in the world. The foundation for growth is there.
    But to make sure people can find work, it's important for Congress 
not to overspend. And there's a danger. See, every program in Washington 
sounds good. Everybody's idea is a brilliant idea. The problem is, is 
those brilliant ideas cost in the billions. Plus, the Senate doesn't 
have a budget. Senator McCain wants it to have a budget. Senator Kyl 
wants it to have a budget. It doesn't have a budget. The other side 
hasn't been able to get a budget. And when you don't have a budget, 
guess what the danger is--that there's no fiscal responsibility with 
your money. There's no fiscal restraint. For the sake of job creation, 
the Congress must fund our priorities and hold the line on additional 
spending.
    And we'll work together, and we'll work hard together to make sure 
this country is a stronger country, to make sure people can find work. 
We've also got to make sure it's a safer country. I think our biggest 
job is to protect the homeland, and the reason we need to do so, there 
is still an enemy out there which hates America. They hate us because of 
what we love. We love freedom. We love the fact that people can worship 
an almighty God any way they see fit here in America. We love the fact 
that people can

[[Page 1653]]

have honest discourse and political debate. We love a free press. We 
love everything about freedom, and we refuse to relinquish that love. 
And so long as we love freedom, there are people that want to hurt us. 
See, that's the problem we face.
    And the other difference is, we value life in America. Every life 
matters. Everybody counts. Everybody is precious--not to the enemy. They 
have hijacked a great religion, and murdered--murdered innocent people 
and could care less. And that's who we're fighting, and they're out 
there. So we've got to do everything we can to protect the homeland.
    You've got to know, there's a lot of good people working hard to 
protect you: Conversations taking place that never took place before in 
Washington; a lot of information sharing; a lot of folks running down 
every hint, every lead, every idea that somebody might be thinking about 
doing something to America. We're moving on it, within the confines of 
the United States Constitution, I might add. We're pursuing leads. We're 
disrupting. We're making sure, as best as we possibly can, that the 
enemy doesn't hit us again.
    And that's why I went to the United States Congress and asked the 
Congress to join me in the creation of a Homeland Security Department. I 
did so because there's over 100 agencies in Washington, DC, that have 
something to do with securing the homeland. They're everywhere, and it 
seems like to me that if the number one priority of the Government is to 
defend the homeland, they ought to be under one agency, so we can change 
the culture of these agencies, so we can insist on priority.
    And the House moved, and the Senate is stuck. And the Senate is 
stuck because they want to micromanage the process, not all Senators but 
some Senators. They want to have a thick book of rules that will tell 
the executive branch and this administration and future administrations 
how to deal with the--securing our homeland. I appreciate these two 
Senators here, standing strong for doing what's right, for leaving a 
legacy behind so future Presidents can more likely deal with an enemy 
who could care less about rules and regulations, an enemy which is 
willing to move fast.
    Now, let me just tell you what I'm talking about, so you'll 
understand. After September the 11th, the Customs Service wanted to 
require its inspectors at our Nation's 301 ports of entry to wear 
radiation detection devices so they could--these guys would have them on 
their belts, and if there was--somebody was trying to smuggle a weapon 
of mass destruction into our country, we'd know about it, somebody was 
trying to bring something in illegally, across the border, we would know 
about it, through the radiation detection device. The union that 
represents the Customs workers objected to this commonsense action. They 
didn't like it. They sought to invoke collective bargaining, which would 
have taken a year to resolve.
    See, it's those kind of rules which bind the capacity of the 
executive branch to do the job you want us to do. In order to locate 
employees in cases of emergency, the Customs Service sought to have 
employees provide their home addresses and their telephone numbers to 
the Customs Service. That makes sense. If you've got somebody you think 
may be getting ready to hit us and you need to move one of your Custom 
employees into a spot of action, you need his phone number. The union 
objected to listing the phone numbers and said such a request would 
violate the privacy rights of workers. The union actually filed a 
grievance and sought to negotiate something as sensible as this request.
    We do not need rules and bureaucracy to entangle us in the job you 
want us to do. Protection of the homeland of the United States is more 
important than special interests in Washington, DC.
    In this State, you don't need to write your Senators. In this State, 
they've been strong in leaving a legacy behind, an important legacy, 
because this enemy isn't going away. And the best way, however, to 
secure the homeland, short term and long term, is to hunt the killers 
down, one person at a time, one at a time, and bring them to justice, 
which is what the United States of America is going to do.
    And we're making progress. We're making progress against the 
killers. That's all they

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are, by the way, nothing but a bunch of coldblooded killers. And that's 
the way we're treating them. Sometimes it's hard to tell the progress; 
this is a different kind of war, as you all know. I mean, in the old 
days you'd count the number of tanks you destroyed or the number of 
airplanes you destroyed and say, `` We're making progress.'' These folks 
don't have tanks. They don't have airplanes. They hide in caves. They 
send youngsters to their suicidal death. That's the kind of people 
fighting. And they're resourceful, and they're determined, but they're 
not as resourceful and determined as the United States of America.
    I put out a doctrine that said, ``Either you're with us, or you're 
with the enemy.'' That doctrine still stands today. And a lot of nations 
have joined us in rounding up these killers. We've captured over a 
couple thousand of them. We got one the other day in Karachi. He popped 
his head up, and he's no longer a threat to the United States or our 
friends.
    That's the kind of war we fight. It's not a glamorous war according 
to the old TV shows and stuff. It's just one person at a time, and we're 
relentless. And we're absolutely determined because we love freedom, and 
we owe it to our children to be relentless and determined.
    And that's why I asked the Congress to pass a defense bill that's 
the largest increase in defense spending since Ronald Reagan was the 
President. It sends two signals, as far as I'm concerned. One, anytime 
our youngsters are sent into harm's way, they deserve the best pay, the 
best training, and the best possible equipment. We owe that to them, and 
we owe it to their loved ones. For those of you in the audience who have 
got a loved one in the military, I'm proud of them; I've got great 
confidence in them; and I want to thank you for your sacrifice as well.
    Secondly, the reason I requested the defense bill that I did is 
because I wanted to send a message to friend and foe alike that we're 
not quitting. There is no calendar on my desk that says, by such-and-
such a date, we're leaving, that we're going to quit when--by an 
artificial time. That's not the way we think in America. No matter how 
long it takes, we will defend our freedom. That's the message we sent.
    Now, the House passed the bill, and the Senate passed the bill, and 
it hasn't gotten to my desk yet. We're at war, and the defense bill 
hasn't made it. I'm calling upon the leaders of the Senate and the 
leaders of the House to reconcile any differences they have quickly and 
get the defense bill to my desk before you go home. Quit playing 
politics with the defense bill.
    In order to defend our freedoms, there's going to be some steep 
hills to climb, and we're going to have to climb them and climb them 
together. We've still got work to do against Al Qaida in Afghanistan. I 
want you to tell your children, if they ask you about all this war 
rhetoric, that your great country went into Afghanistan not to conquer 
anybody but to free people. We went in and freed people from the 
clutches--[applause]. It's really important for you to tell them that we 
value each life, no matter where that life lives.
    And we cried when we heard the stories about the Taliban not letting 
young girls go to school. It broke our heart, but it also made us joyous 
when we realized upholding the doctrine that said, ``If you harbor a 
terrorists, you're just as guilty as the terrorists'' not only allowed 
the United States to keep its word, but we freed people. We freed people 
from the clutches of the barbaric Taliban regime.
    We've got work to do in Afghanistan, and we will continue to do the 
work in Afghanistan. You know, they're kind of sliding around the border 
regions, and we've got people looking for them. Sometimes they try to 
get into Pakistan, and we're teamed up with the Pakistan Government to 
find them. Sometimes we get them on the run, and then they think they 
can light in other countries. And so we're pressuring them in other 
countries. It doesn't matter where they think they can light; we're 
after them.
    We've also got a big chore to make sure the world's worst leaders 
never threaten, blackmail, or harm America with the world's worst 
weapons. I went to the United Nations the other day. I did so because I 
wanted to make the case against a madman, a case against a man who has 
lied to the world, the case in front of this august body that for 11

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long years he has stood in defiance of resolution after resolution, and 
at the same time built up his cache of chemical and biological weapons.
    This is a man who continues to murder his own people, a man who has 
gassed--used gas on his own citizens, a man who has used chemical 
weapons on his neighbors, a man who has invaded two countries, a man 
which hates--who hates America, a man who loves to link up with Al 
Qaida, a man who is a true threat to America, to Israel, to anybody in 
the neighborhood.
    And so I went to the United Nations, and I said to the United 
Nations, ``You need to deal with him. You, a collective body of freedom-
loving countries, need to deal with him. For 11 years he's made fun of 
you. You can either be the United Nations and be effective, or you can 
be the League of Nations. Your choice.'' I hope they're the United 
Nations. I hope they're a robust United Nations. I hope they're capable 
of helping to keep the peace. That's their choice.
    Saddam Hussein has got a choice, and that is, he can disarm. There's 
no negotiations, by the way. There's nothing to negotiate with him. He 
told the world he would disarm 11 years ago, and he's lied to the world. 
It's their choice to make. He must disarm, just like he said he would 
do. And the United Nations, in order to be effective, must disarm him. 
But for the sake of our freedom, for the sake of our future, if nothing 
happens, the United States will lead a coalition to hold him to account 
and to disarm Saddam Hussein. We owe it to the world to do so.
    I want to thank members of both political parties in the Congress 
for working on a strong statement of resolve that the world will see. 
Members of both political parties have worked together with the--with 
members of my staff, to develop a statement that shows our determination 
and our desire to keep the peace, to make the world a more peaceful 
place. I think you're going to see that our Government will be, shortly, 
speaking with one voice, and the world will take notice.
    History has called us into action, my fellow Americans; it just has. 
We have a chance to blink, or we have a chance to lead. I intend to 
lead.
    As we make sure that we're a safer and stronger place, we've also 
got to work to make America a better place for all of us. I mean all of 
us. It starts with making sure the education systems work. I appreciate 
the idea of having a Governor who is willing to work to challenge the 
soft bigotry of low expectations, somebody who is willing to raise the 
standards, somebody who believes, like I believe, every child can learn, 
and somebody who is willing to measure to determine if every child is 
learning.
    You see, it's really important to measure. If you believe children 
can learn, then you want to know. And if you find children trapped in 
schools which won't teach and won't change, you'd better have you a 
Governor who won't stand for the status quo. There's no second-rate 
children in Arizona. There's no second-rate children in America.
    But a better America also understands that the true strength of our 
country is not our Government, but the true strength of the country is 
the people, the hearts and souls of the American people. See, that's 
what I think the strength of the country is. And we can change this 
country. You've got to understand that amongst the plenty, there are 
pockets of despair and hopelessness in this country. There just are. 
There are people who are addicted. There are people who are lonely. 
There are people who are lost. When you say ``American Dream'' to some 
of our fellow Americans, they go blank. And that's not right, and we 
need to deal with that. We need to address that part of our--because 
when one of us hurts, all of us should hurt.
    And we can change that part of the American scene. And we've got to 
understand, as we do, the limitations of Government. Listen, Government 
can hand out money, and we do a pretty good job of it sometimes. But 
what Government can never do is put love in somebody's life, can't put 
hope in a person's heart. That's going to happen because our fellow 
Americans decide to fight evil by doing some good. That will happen when 
our fellow Americans understand being a patriot is more than just 
putting your hand over your heart. Being a patriot is serving something 
greater than yourself. Being a patriot is somebody who mentors a child. 
Being a patriot is somebody who feeds the hungry. Being a

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patriot is somebody who starts a Boy or--Boys or Girls Club. Being a 
patriot--who does everything he or she can do to make the quality of 
life in your neighborhood as good as it can be.
    I don't know what's going through the mind of the enemy when they 
hit us. Oh, they probably thought after September the 11th, we might 
file a lawsuit or two. [Laughter] But they learned differently. They 
learned that this great country is plenty tough, and we'll defend our 
freedoms. They also learned that we're plenty compassionate and that 
we'll respond to their evil with decency. One person can't do everything 
in America, but one person can do something. And as you do that 
something, I want you to remember that you can change this country, one 
heart, one soul, one conscience at a time.
    I believe that we're in the midst of a cultural change in America; I 
believe it. I believe we're shifting our culture from one which had 
said, ``If it feels good, just go ahead and do it, and if you've got a 
problem, blame somebody else.'' I believe that since the terrible attack 
on America took place, that we're ushering in a period of personal 
responsibility, where each of us must understand, if you're lucky enough 
to be a mom or a dad, your most important job is to love your child with 
all your heart and all your soul. The culture of responsibility says, 
``If you live in Phoenix, Arizona, you must do everything you can to 
support the quality of life in that community. Don't hope for some 
distant Government to do it.'' The culture of responsibility says, ``If 
you run a corporation in America, you're responsible to be honest with 
the books and treat your employees and shareholders with respect.''
    I believe it's happening. And perhaps the most vivid example about 
what I'm talking about, about serving something greater than yourself, 
took place on Flight 93. America must remember that tragic story, 
because it speaks volumes about the great spirit of the country--people 
flying across the plane, 40 passengers and I think four crew members, I 
believe it was. They learned from their loved ones that something was 
taking place on the ground that no one could possibly imagine in 
America. They realized the plane they were on was going to be used as a 
weapon. They talked to their loved ones. They said the word ``love'' a 
lot. They said a prayer. They prayed for strength. One guy said, ``Let's 
roll.'' They took the plane into the ground. They served something 
greater than themselves. That's a powerful story, because to me, it 
speaks to the soul of our country, our worth.
    There is no question in my mind that if we remain strong and focused 
and tough, we can achieve peace. We can achieve peace for our country. 
We can achieve peace in the Middle East, peace in South Asia. There's no 
doubt we can do that, if we're tough and strong and determined to speak 
clearly and always defend freedom. And at home, we can eliminate those 
pockets of despair. We can help people with love.
    And the reason I'm optimistic is because I know America. America is 
full of the finest people on the face of the Earth. America is the 
greatest nation on the face of the Earth. Thank you for coming. May God 
bless, and God bless America.

Note: The President spoke at 4:38 p.m. in the Ballroom at the Phoenix 
Civic Plaza. In his remarks, he referred to Jerry Colangelo, managing 
general partner, Arizona Diamondbacks; Nancy Salmon, wife of candidate 
Matt Salmon; Rick Renzi, candidate for Arizona's First Congressional 
District; Mayor Anton E. ``Skip'' Rimsza of Phoenix; P. Robert Fannin, 
chairman, Arizona Republican Party; Ramzi bin al-Shibh, an Al Qaida 
operative suspected of helping to plan the September 11, 2001, terrorist 
attacks; and President Saddam Hussein of Iraq. This item was not 
received in time for publication in the appropriate issue.