[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 40 (Monday, October 7, 2002)]
[Pages 1671-1677]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a Reception for Gubernatorial Candidate Robert L. Ehrlich, 
Jr., in Baltimore, Maryland

October 2, 2002

    The President. Thank you all very much. Thanks. The reason this is 
such a successful event is because people know that Bob Ehrlich will 
make a great Governor for Maryland. I believe it, and that's why I'm 
here. I believe that's the reason why Democrats and Republicans support 
this good man--because he's honest, he's hard-working, and he's got a 
positive vision for everybody who lives in the State of Maryland.
    I'm here because this man is somebody who wants to unite this State, 
not divide it. And I'm here because he married well. I appreciate 
Kendel, and I know Bob does as well. And I want you to know, I 
appreciate Laura too. She's sorry she can't be here tonight. She is--you 
know, when I married her, she was a public school librarian. She was 
living in Texas, and so was I. The truth of the matter is she didn't 
like politics then. [Laughter] And she wasn't too fond of politicians 
either. [Laughter] And here she is, married to me. [Laughter]
    But people, as they've gotten to know Laura, now know the reason why 
I asked her to marry me. She's really a fine, fine lady. A lot of her 
buddies are wondering why she said yes. [Laughter] But she does send her 
best and sends all her support to the Ehrlichs and wishes them all the 
best and joins me in urging the people of Maryland to give this good man 
a chance to be the Governor of this important State.
    I have known the next Lieutenant Governor for a while. He's a good, 
solid citizen of the State of Maryland. He'll work well with Bob. It is 
an honor to be on the podium with the next Lieutenant Governor of the 
State of Maryland, Michael Steele. And I had the honor of meeting his 
good wife, Andrea, and I appreciate Andrea standing by her man during 
this tough campaign here. Campaigns are hard. They're not easy on a 
family. But I appreciate--I appreciate her joining Michael in this race.
    I'm honored to be back with former Congressman, soon-to-be 
Congresswoman Helen Bentley. I figure that when she wins, she'll be 
telling me what to do. [Laughter] And those of you know, who know Helen, 
know that I'd better listen. [Laughter] It's great to see Helen. I love 
her spirit. I know she's going to win.
    I'm also proud to be here with Ellen Sauerbrey, who's the national 
committeewoman. I want to thank Chairman Louis Pope of the Republican 
Party. I want to thank all the grassroots activists who are here. I want 
to thank you for----
    Audience member. [Inaudible] [Laughter]
    The President. I didn't ask for any speeches; I just said--
[laughter]. Okay, let me tell you what you're going to have to do then. 
[Laughter] I want to thank you for what you're going to do, which is to 
turn out the vote.
    Listen, a lot of you never get thanked enough. I'm thanking you. I'm 
thanking you for dialing the phones and putting up the signs and for 
mailing the letters. I'm thanking you for going to your community 
centers and your coffee shops. I'm thanking you for supporting this 
ticket ahead of time, because they need your help, and they want your 
work. You've got to talk it up between now and election day. And you've 
got to find those Ehrlich voters and make sure they go to the polls, and 
this man will be your next Governor.
    And there's some reasons why. You need somebody who can manage your 
government, somebody who knows how to balance

[[Page 1672]]

the books without raising the taxes on the taxpayers. That's what you 
need. You need somebody who can make a tough decision who doesn't need a 
poll or a focus group to tell him how to think, somebody who stands on 
principle, somebody who will do in office what he says he will do. And 
when he says he won't raise your taxes, he won't raise your taxes.
    I appreciate the fact that Governor Ehrlich will set education as 
the number one priority for this State. The way I used to put it when I 
was a Governor, I said, ``Education is to a State what national defense 
is to the Federal Government.'' Education has got to be the number one 
priority of your Governor, and it will be Bob's number one priority. We 
share the same philosophy. It says, ``Every child can learn.'' That's 
what we believe. See, that's important to have in your Governor's 
office, somebody who's willing to challenge the soft bigotry of low 
expectations.
    You see, if you lower standards, if you lower the bar, you're going 
go get lousy results. And that's not fair for the children. Governor 
Ehrlich will raise the standards. He'll trust the local people to manage 
their way to excellence. But he and I agree on this, and that is, we've 
got to know. See, as a society, we've got to measure to determine 
whether or not our children are learning to read and write and add and 
subtract. It is essential that you have a Governor who is strong on 
accountability.
    You see, if you believe every child can learn, then you're willing 
to measure. If you believe certain children can't learn, then you don't 
care, and you don't measure. But in order to make sure no child gets 
left behind in the State of Maryland, you must have a Governor who uses 
the accountability system to praise those teachers and principals who 
succeed on behalf of the children but also someone who is willing to 
challenge the schools which will not teach and will not change. Bob 
Ehrlich will be a Governor who will make sure that no child is left 
behind in the State of Maryland.
    The job of a Governor is to create an environment in which people 
can find work and the economy grows. That's why he is insistent upon 
infrastructure, to be wise about the use of taxpayers' money, to expand 
the asset base which will encourage private sector growth. I love his 
vision about the Port of Baltimore and the Baltimore/Washington 
International Airport. He understands job creation. See, that's what he 
knows. And it's important to have somebody in the Governor's office who 
understands how jobs are created.
    The role of Government isn't to create wealth. The role of 
Government is to create an environment in which the entrepreneur can 
realize his or her dreams, in which small businesses can grow to be big 
businesses. That's the kind of Governor you need.
    He'll be effective. He's smart. He's compassionate, and his record 
speaks to his compassion. He worked for tax credits for parents who 
adopt children. He worked hard to make sure there's equal health 
insurance benefits for the mentally ill. He works to have increased 
access to individuals in the workplace who may be disabled. See, that's 
the kind of Governor you want. You want somebody who's tough when it 
comes to the budget, making sure that it's balanced but compassionate 
when it comes to helping people who need help.
    There's no question in my mind that this man, when elected, will 
make Maryland a safer and stronger and better place for every citizen 
who lives in this State. And my job as the President is to make sure 
America is a safer and stronger and better country. A strong country is 
one in which people can find work. Anytime somebody is looking for work 
and they can't find work in America, I think we have a problem. And 
we've got to do everything we can at the Federal level to make sure our 
economy grows.
    I worry about people who have lost value in their 401(k)s. I worry 
about people looking for work who can't find work. I worry about 
uncertainty.
    We're beginning to make progress because the foundations for growth 
are strong. Interest rates are low. Inflation is down. The productivity 
of the American worker is the highest and best in the world. We've got a 
lot of strong things going for us.
    For a while there was a kind of an overhang in our economy because 
we had some of our citizens who thought they could fudge the books, who 
forgot what it means to be a responsible citizen, who got caught up in

[[Page 1673]]

money, not in responsibility. I had the honor of signing, and Bob voted 
for, the most significant corporate reform since Franklin Roosevelt was 
the President. Our message to corporate America, to those citizens who 
think they can cheat, is, ``Those days are over with.''
    When I first came in, I was aware that the economy was dragging. And 
that's why I worked with Congressman Ehrlich and others to pass a 
significant tax cut, because I took a page out of this economic 
textbook. The page said if you let a person keep more of their own 
money--and notice I said more of their own money; it's not the 
Government's money, it's your money--if you keep more of your own money, 
if you have more money in your pocket, you're going to demand a good or 
a service. And when you demand a good or a service, in this marketplace 
economy, somebody's going to produce the good or a service. And when 
somebody produces the good or a service, somebody is more likely to find 
work. If you're interested in creating more jobs, you let people keep 
more of their own money. The tax cuts came at the exact right time in 
American economic history.
    We slashed the marriage penalty. We believe that the Tax Code ought 
to encourage families and encourage marriage, not discourage families 
and marriage. And we did something else to help the entrepreneur and the 
farmer and the rancher, and that is we put the death tax on the way to 
extinction.
    But here's the problem. Here's the problem--this is kind of hard to 
explain. The rules in the Senate are such that that tax relief plan that 
we all worked so hard to enact goes away after 10 years. So the Senate 
giveth, and the Senate taketh away. [Laughter] For the sake of job 
creation, for the sake of economic expansion, for the sake of those who 
want to find work, the Congress needs to make the tax cuts permanent.
    I worry about hardhats trying to find work. I worry about that. And 
so--I met, I guess it was yesterday--time flies up there--[laughter]--
but I met yesterday with Members of the House and Senate, both parties, 
to urge them to pass a terrorism insurance bill.
    There's over $15 billion worth of projects, construction projects, 
which are not going forward because people can't get terrorism 
insurance. And for the sake of economic vitality, for the sake of job 
creation, for the sake of hardhats, they need to get together and get a 
bill--a bill, by the way, which does not reward trial lawyers and does 
reward working people in America. I want to assure you, we will not rest 
until people can find work. And I look forward to working with ways to 
create the environment for economic expansion. I want to work to make 
America more confident about our future.
    One way to make sure that Americans are more confident about the 
future and availability of capital is to make sure Congress does not 
overspend. And we have a problem in Washington, right around the corner 
from here. Every idea sounds like a brilliant idea. [Laughter] The 
problem is, they've all got billions of dollars attached to them as 
price tags. There is no budget in the United States Senate. They 
couldn't pass a budget. You can imagine what that means. It means that 
there is the tendency to overspend.
    For the sake of economic vitality, for the sake of making sure 
people can find work, the Congress must fund our priorities and not 
overspend the people's money. We must be fiscally sound in Washington, 
DC, if we want our economy to grow.
    A stronger America is one in which people can find work. And while 
I'm optimistic about our future, while I understand the spirit of the--
the entrepreneurial spirit is strong, we've got work to do. We've got 
work to do on the economy. And we've also got work to do to make sure 
America is a safer place.
    Economic vitality and growth are a really important part of my job 
and what's on my mind, but nothing more on my mind than protecting the 
American people. That's my most important job now, is to make sure that 
the enemy doesn't hit us again. And they're still out there. They're out 
there because of what we love and what they hate. They're out there 
because we love freedom. We love the fact that our fellow citizens can 
worship an almighty God any way he or she sees fit. We love that, and 
we're never going to relinquish that freedom.

[[Page 1674]]

    We love our diversity. We love the fact that people can realize 
their dreams in America, regardless of where their mom or dad was born. 
That's what we love. We love the fact that this great country--in this 
great country you can speak your mind freely. We love a free press. We 
love everything about our freedoms. And yet we face an enemy which hates 
freedom. They hate us because of what we love.
    We also value life in America. Everybody's precious. Everybody 
counts. Everybody has worth in this country. And the enemy is nothing 
but a bunch of coldblooded killers who are willing to take innocent life 
in the name of a hijacked religion. And that's who we fight.
    It's a new reality we face. It just is. This is the first war of the 
21st century, but it's a different kind of war. And therefore, I've 
spent a lot of time explaining to the American people how best we can 
keep the peace and what we must do to win this new war. It starts with 
making sure we do everything here at home to organize the agencies 
involved with the defense of the homeland.
    There's over 100 different agencies in Washington, DC, involved with 
your protection. Before September the 11th, none of them really had as 
their number one priority the protection of the homeland. Now they 
should. In order to make sure that we change culture and set priority, 
I've asked Congress to join me in the creation of a Department of 
Homeland Security. Listen, I readily concede my slogan wasn't, ``Vote 
for George. He wants your Government to be bigger.'' That wasn't my 
slogan. My slogan--[laughter]--what I want to have happen is, I want the 
Government to work. I want to be able to better do the job you expect me 
to do. And therefore--and therefore, I call upon the Senate to join the 
House in creating a Department of Homeland Security which enables this 
President and future Presidents to be able to move people to the right 
place at the right time in order to protect America.
    I need the ability to manage the process. I don't need rules and 
regulations. I don't need micromanagment by the legislative branch. The 
House passed a good bill, and now the Senate must do so. They must get 
after it before they go home. I need a good bill, and I won't accept 
anything less. See, this is a chance to leave--for the Congress to leave 
a legacy for future people, future Presidents, future administrations, 
to deal with this real threat we face.
    But I want you to know, and you need to know, there are a lot of 
good folks working hard here in America to protect you. There really 
are. And we're doing a better job. We've got great police and fire, lots 
of FBI agents and CIA agents working hard. Anytime we get any hint about 
something might happen, a scintilla of evidence, we're moving on it. We 
are. We're more responsive. We're more alert. We're disrupting. We're 
making progress, all within the confines of the United States 
Constitution.
    But the best way to protect the homeland, short term and long term, 
is to chase the killers down, one at a time, and bring them to justice. 
This is the kind of war--we don't face people who have got tanks and 
destroyers and bombers. That's a different kind of war. Those are wars 
of the past. This is a war in which we're fighting resourceful, 
determined people who hide in caves or the dark recesses of certain 
cities, and then send youngsters to their suicidal deaths. That's the 
kind of people we fight.
    They are--they are haters, is what they are. And therefore, we're on 
an international manhunt. And we're making progress. That's just what 
you've got to know. Sometimes it's hard to tell; it's hard to measure 
progress. If you're not destroying equipment, it's hard to tell. But we 
have captured over a couple of thousand of them. I say ``we''--the 
doctrine that says, ``Either you're with us, or you're with the enemy,'' 
still stands. That doctrine is still a part of American foreign policy. 
And so there's a lot of countries working with us. We're sharing 
intelligence. We're disrupting their finances, and we're hauling them 
in. The other day we got the fellow--I forgot the guy's name--bin al-
Shibh, or whatever his name was. He thought he was going to be the 20th 
hijacker.
    Audience member. Moussaoui.
    The President. No, that wasn't Moussaoui. Bin al-Shibh is the guy's 
name. [Laughter] And he popped his head up, and now he's no longer a 
problem. [Laughter] We're making progress. We're making

[[Page 1675]]

progress. We're working with our friends. We've got a vast coalition of 
people who understand the stakes and understand the nature of the war. I 
said we hauled in a couple of thousand; a like number weren't as lucky. 
Slowly but surely, we're dismantling this particular terrorist network.
    I want to thank those of you who have got loved ones in the United 
States military. I am proud of our military. They're making a huge 
difference. They're brave, brave troops. I sent the largest increase in 
defense spending to Capitol Hill since Ronald Reagan was the President 
up to Congress, because I wanted to send two messages: One, anytime our 
troops go into harm's way, they deserve the best pay, the best training, 
and the best possible equipment; and secondly, the defense spending 
should send a clear message to friend and foe alike that the United 
States of America is in this deal for the long haul, that when it comes 
to the defense of our freedom, when it comes to defending this country, 
there's no timeline until we get it right, that we are--that we will 
stay the course, we will stay--we owe that to our children. We owe it to 
our children and our children's children to defend freedom and to 
protect the homeland.
    It's a new era. We have new responsibilities in many ways--the same 
responsibilities, I guess, but new challenges to uphold those 
responsibilities, because we learned a tough lesson, and that is, oceans 
no longer protect us. It's a different war, with a different 
battlefield. And therefore, we must deal with threats as we see them, 
threats which may in the past have not been so frightening, but now in 
the new era we've got to deal with them, it seems like to me. In order 
to do our duty as Americans and leaders, we've got to defend our country 
and our friends and allies against the real threats that we face.
    And there's a grave threat in Iraq. There just is. This is a man who 
has gassed his own people, used weapons of mass destruction on his own 
citizens. Imagine what his intentions will be about a country that loves 
freedom like we do. This is a man who has attacked--and by the way, he 
used weapons of mass destruction in his own neighborhood too, against 
countries on his border. This is a man who has attacked two countries in 
22 years. This is a man who kills political dissenters in cold blood. 
This is a man who, 11 years ago, told the world that he would get rid of 
weapons of mass destruction, and yet, for 11 long years, he has defied 
resolution after resolution after resolution after resolution out of the 
United Nations. This is a man who would like nothing more than to team 
up with a terrorist network, a man who could use a terrorist network 
perhaps to use the weapons of mass destruction he's developed--and lies 
about--to harm countries that he can't stand, America, Israel, countries 
in his own--immediately around him.
    And therefore, I thought it was time for us to deal with him, for 
the sake of freedom. So I went to the United Nations. And my message to 
the United Nations was this: We want you to succeed as a international 
body. The world is different. The threats are real. We can do a better 
job if we work together through the United Nations, and here's your 
chance to succeed. You have a choice, and the choice is whether you'll 
be an effective peacekeeping organization or whether you'll be like the 
League of Nations--your choice.
    I also said to Mr. Saddam Hussein, ``You said you would disarm--your 
choice to disarm.'' Military option is my last choice. It's not my first 
choice. This man should disarm, like he said. He should do what he said 
he would do. The United Nations should insist that he does what he said 
he would do. But for the sake of freedom and for the sake of peace, for 
the sake of a world that doesn't fear the world's worst leaders with the 
first world's weapons--with the world's worst weapons, this country will 
be deliberate, we'll work with others, but we will lead a coalition to 
disarm Saddam Hussein.
    And today I was joined on the steps of the Rose Garden with Members 
of the House and Members of the Senate, Republicans and Democrats alike, 
who have joined with us to pass--the desire to pass a strong statement 
to the world about the resolve and determination of the United States. 
We're going to have a very constructive debate in Congress, and there 
should be. I told them today, I thought the debate that was going on is 
going to be one of the most historic debates ever in the Hall of 
Congress.

[[Page 1676]]

    That sentiment was echoed by not only the Speaker but Richard 
Gephardt, who was there, not only Trent Lott but Joe Lieberman was 
there, not only John McCain but Democrat Evan Bayh was there. Democrat 
and Republican alike joined hand-in-hand to send a clear message to the 
world: We love our peace; we want the world to be a better and more 
peaceful place. If the United States remains strong and tough and 
focused, we can achieve peace. We can achieve peace here at home. If we 
speak clearly and renounce terrorism and fight terrorism, we can achieve 
peace in the Middle East; we can achieve peace in South Asia.
    No, the enemy hit us. The enemy hit us. But they didn't realize who 
they hit. Oh, they probably thought we'd file a lawsuit or two. 
[Laughter] But they hit a country which loves freedom, a country based 
upon solid values, a country which, when we need to be strong, is 
strong. And we need to be compassionate. We can be compassionate. I 
believe, sincerely believe that out of the evil done to America can come 
incredible good, starting with peace.
    And I know we can be a better country. I know we can be a better 
country. We can work hard to make sure every child is educated. We can 
make sure to work--work hard to make sure our seniors get quality health 
care. Listen, medicine has changed; Medicare hasn't. Medicare is--
medicine is modern; Medicare is ancient. For the sake of our seniors, 
let's modernize Medicare with prescription drugs.
    But we must remember, here in America, in spite of our plenty, there 
are pockets of despair. There just are. And there's pockets of 
hopelessness. There's places people are addicted; they're lonely. They 
wonder whether or not the American Dream means anything to them. And my 
attitude is--and I know it's Bob's attitude--so long as one hurt, we all 
hurt. And as a society, we must do everything we can to eradicate those 
pockets of despair.
    Now, listen--Government can hand out money. We're pretty good at it 
at times. [Laughter] But what Government cannot do is put hope in 
people's hearts or love in people's hearts or a sense of purpose in 
people's lives. Government can't do that. That is done when our fellow 
Americans have heard the universal call to love a neighbor just like 
you'd like to be loved yourself.
    If you want to fight evil, do some good. If you want to fight evil, 
if you want to join in the war against terror, if you want to show the 
world what we're made out of, help somebody in need. See, our society 
will change, one heart, one conscience, one soul at a time, when a 
neighbor loves a neighbor in need.
    I look forward to working with Governor Ehrlich to unleash the true 
compassion of each society. I'm a strong proponent of the Faith-Based 
Initiative. I want to unleash the power of love. I want people who go to 
church and synagogue and mosque, if they want to help a person in need, 
to be empowered by the Government to do so. Our Governments must not 
fear faith. We must welcome faith in our society.
    No, the enemy hit us, but they--in doing so, they have awakened a 
great spirit, an American spirit. And I want you all to help move that 
spirit forward. I know many of you already do this, but mentor a child, 
or help somebody in need. Continue doing the charitable works you do to 
help the communities in which you live. It will be a better place for 
all of us.
    One of the reasons I first ran for office is because I wanted to 
challenge the culture of our country, which has said, ``If it feels 
good, just go ahead and do it, and if you've got a problem, blame 
somebody else.'' My dream was to usher in a period of personal 
responsibility, to be a part of a cultural shift in which each of 
understands we are responsible for the decisions we make in life.
    If you are a mom or a dad, your most important responsibility is to 
love your child with all your heart. You're responsible for helping a 
neighbor in need. You're responsible for the quality of education in the 
community in which you live. If you're running corporate America, you're 
responsible to your employees and shareholders to tell the truth. And 
it's happening.
    The responsibility era is happening in America, probably most 
vividly displayed on Flight 93, when average citizens were flying across 
the country. They learned their plane was going to be used as a weapon--
imagine.

[[Page 1677]]

They got on the phone with their loved ones; they used the word ``love'' 
a lot. They said goodbye. They said a prayer. One guy said, ``Let's 
roll.'' They took the plane in the ground to serve something greater 
than themselves in life. I believe that is an important lesson for all 
of us to learn.
    Patriotism is more than putting your hand over your heart. 
Patriotism is serving your Nation. Patriotism is helping people in need. 
Patriotism is loving somebody just like you'd like to be loved yourself.
    No, the enemy hit us. But they didn't know who they were hitting. 
They hit the greatest nation on the face of the Earth, and out of the 
evil done to America is going to come a peaceful world. And out of the 
evil done to America is going to continue to be a hopeful, 
compassionate, decent country.
    I'm optimistic about our future, because I know America. We're the 
finest nation on the face of the Earth, because we're full of the finest 
people.
    May God bless you all, and may God bless America.

Note: The President spoke at 5:39 p.m. in the Constellation Ballroom at 
the Hyatt Regency Baltimore. In his remarks, he referred to Kendel 
Ehrlich, wife of Representative Ehrlich; Ellen R. Sauerbrey, national 
committeewoman, and Louis Pope, chairman, Maryland Republican Party; 
President Saddam Hussein of Iraq; Ramzi bin al-Shibh, an Al Qaida 
operative suspected of helping to plan the September 11, 2001, terrorist 
attacks, who was captured in Karachi, Pakistan; and Zacarias Moussaoui, 
an Al Qaida operative who is under indictment in Alexandria, VA, for 
helping to plan the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.