[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 45 (Monday, November 11, 2002)]
[Pages 1962-1966]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks in St. Paul, Minnesota

November 3, 2002

    The President. Thank you all. Glad I came. Norm said, ``If you come 
back, we might have a few of my friends over to say hello.'' [Laughter]
    I want you to know I understand that Minnesota is going through a 
traumatic time. After all, just 9 days ago, you lost a principled 
Senator, along with his wife and daughter and five other fellow 
Americans. Paul Wellstone was respected by all who worked with him. 
He'll be missed by all who knew him.
    Now a vote is coming on, in the middle of a State that is mourning. 
And even though your State is still in mourning, I'm here to remind 
people from all political parties that you have a duty to vote. In spite 
of the fact that people still mourn, Republicans and Democrats, 
independents, people who could care less about political parties, have 
an obligation in the land of the free to go to the polls and exercise 
your right as an American.
    Now, once you get in that voting booth, I've got a suggestion. 
[Laughter] The best candidate for the future of Minnesota is your next 
United States Senator, Norm Coleman.
    The best choice for Governor of Minnesota, the best choice for the 
taxpayers and the schoolchildren, is Tim Pawlenty. And the best choice 
in a contested race in this part of the world, the best choice for 
United States Congress, is Mr. John Kline.
    It's great for--great to be able to see Laurie Coleman today. She is 
working hard, along with Norm and their entire family. Proud to meet Mr. 
and Mrs. Coleman, too. Ms. Coleman said she's a little nervous. 
[Laughter] I said, ``Well, you watch and see what happens next 
Tuesday.''
    Norm married above himself, and so did I. [Laughter] Yesterday Laura 
was here. I want to thank you for such a warm reception she received. I 
don't blame Norman for bringing her in coming down the stretch. After 
all, she's done a fabulous job as our country's First Lady.
    I'm proud to be up here with three fine Members of the United States 
Congress: Gil Gutknecht, Mark Kennedy, and Jim Ramstad. I appreciate 
their service to our country. I appreciate the fact that they're 
friends. I appreciate the fact they're willing to run.
    Most of all, I'm here to thank you all for what you have done and 
what you're going to do. Many of you have been working hard over the 
last months, weeks, and days to support the Coleman candidacy. You've 
been putting up signs. You've been dialing the phones. You've been 
sending the brochures in the mail. Don't stop. I will promise you this, 
when you go to your coffee shops or your community centers and urge your 
fellow Minnesota citizens to go to the polls, you can make a huge impact 
on this election. You can decide who your next United States Senator and 
Governor and Members of Congress will be.
    And when you go to those coffee shops and community centers, make 
sure you reach out to discerning Democrats and independent voters. There 
are a lot of good people who may not call themselves Republicans, who've 
been impressed, like I have, with the nature of the campaign that Norm 
Coleman has run. There's a lot of people who may not be Republicans, 
who've been impressed by the quality of service he gave to the citizens 
of St. Paul as the mayor of St. Paul.
    They know him like I know him, somebody who's willing to get rid of 
the stale, old, tired name-calling in politics, somebody who's not 
interested in pitting one group of people against another to get ahead, 
somebody who's willing to work hard to bring people together for the 
common good. That's the Norm Coleman I know.
    When he held office, he showed what he could do. He performed. He's 
the kind of fellow who does in office what he says he's going to do. 
That's refreshing. After all, we are in the house that Norm built.
    He kept taxes down. He brought more than $3 billion of new 
development into St. Paul. He performed in office. He did so with class. 
He did so with the one thing in mind: how to benefit all the people of 
St. Paul. He

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understands that in order to create opportunity for all the citizens of 
this State, that the small-business owner and the entrepreneurs, the 
backbone of creativity and job growth, no matter where they are in this 
country--[applause].
    Pat Boemer owns McGovern's Pub and Restaurant just down the street 
from here. He knows firsthand how Norm worked with small-business owners 
to cut the regulations that oftentimes make it hard for people to expand 
and/or exist. Norm understands the role of small businesses. Because of 
Norm's help, Pat was able to expand his restaurant, a project that 
employed 30 people during the expansion and added 35 new permanent jobs. 
Pat--let me tell you what Pat said about Norm Coleman. I want you to 
hear what one of your citizens said about this man. He said, ``He's a 
breath of fresh air.'' And that's the kind of fresh air we need in the 
United States Senate.
    Believe me when I say, we need fresh air in the United States 
Senate. The future of Minnesota rests with Norm Coleman. Not only do I 
like to promote somebody who is a good, honorable person; I'm looking 
for an ally. [Laughter] I want somebody from this great State with whom 
I can work, somebody with whom we can work to help all the people.
    We've got some problems here in this country. See, our economy is 
kind of bumping along. It's not as strong as it should be. Anytime 
somebody is looking for a job and they can't find work means we've got a 
problem. And I'm not going to rest until people can find work, until 
people who want to put food on the table are able to do so.
    But it's important to have somebody from this State who understands 
the role of Government is not to create wealth, but the role of 
Government is to create an environment in which small businesses can 
grow to be big businesses, in which this entrepreneurial spirit is 
strong.
    There's a fundamental difference of attitudes in this race. See, 
Norm and I understand this, that when a person has more money in their 
pocket, they're likely to demand an additional good or a service. And 
when they demand a good or a service in the marketplace, somebody is 
likely to produce the good or a service. And when somebody produces the 
good or a service, somebody is more likely to be able to find work.
    I need the United States Senator from Minnesota who not only 
supports tax relief, but is willing to stand with me to make tax relief 
permanent.
    Norm and I understand in Washington, when you hear them talking 
about the Government's money, they don't understand. See, we're not 
talking about the Government's money in Washington. It's important to 
have a Senator understand whose money it is. It's your money. It's the 
people's money.
    I look forward to working with Norm on a lot of issues. We need to 
get a terrorism insurance bill out that gets our hardhats working again. 
The terrorists hit us, and as a result, a lot of projects aren't going 
forward because they can't find insurance. And therefore, a lot of 
hardhats aren't working. We need to get somebody in the Senate with whom 
I can work to make sure we get us a terrorism insurance bill that 
rewards the hardhats of America, not the trial lawyers of America.
    I look forward to working with a Norm Coleman to make sure that 
Medicare works. See, we made a solemn promise to our seniors. The 
problem is, medicine has changed. It's becoming modern. Medicare is 
stuck in the past. There's a lot of new technologies that have helped 
health care become modern, new discoveries that have changed the nature 
of health care. But Medicare hasn't changed. I look forward to working 
with Senator Norm Coleman to modernize Medicare, which means 
prescription drugs for our seniors.
    And let me give you another reason I need to work with him in the 
Senate. One of my most solemn obligations is to name good people to 
Federal benches. The Senate has done a lousy job. There are too many of 
my nominees that have been stalled, and therefore, we have a vacancy 
crisis on the Federal benches in America. And that hurts you. It hurts 
our citizens who need to have access to justice.
    You see, they don't like my judges. They don't like the fact that I 
named good, honorable people who will not use the bench from

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which to legislate but will use the bench to strictly interpret the 
Constitution. Norm and I understand we've got too many legislators in 
Washington. Let me say to you, we've got enough legislators in 
Washington. We need good, sound judges. I know I can count on his 
support when it comes to making sure the judiciary is strong and capable 
and not have any vacancies.
    The biggest issue that Senator Coleman and I will be working on over 
the years is to protect you, is to protect the homeland, is to keep 
America safe from an enemy which still lurks out there, an enemy which 
hates because of what we love. We love freedom. We love the idea that 
people can worship freely in America. We love the idea that people can 
speak their minds. We love a free press, and we're not going to change.
    Audience members. U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!
    The President. It's important to be cold-eyed realists about the 
world in which we live. We're on alert now in America. We understand the 
battlefield has come home. There's a lot of good people working on your 
behalf to deny the enemy. Anytime we get a hint, a scintilla of 
evidence, we're moving on it. That's our most important obligation.
    We're doing it within the confines of the United States 
Constitution, but we're moving. We're disrupting. We're making sure 
people cannot get to the American people. We're doing everything we can. 
But I went to Congress because I think we can do more. And I asked them 
to join me in the creation of a Department of Homeland Security. I want 
a Department where I've got the ability to be able to turn to the 
American people and say, ``I've got the tools necessary to protect 
you.''
    There's over 100 agencies involved with homeland security. It seemed 
like to me they need to be coordinated better. They need to be under one 
umbrella so we can set priority and, if need be, change culture. And the 
House of Representatives, thanks to the Members up here, passed a good 
bill.
    It takes two Chambers to get the bill to my desk, however. The bill 
is stuck in the Senate. I want to explain to you why it's stuck in the 
Senate. It's stuck in the Senate because some Senators are trying to 
extract too high a price from the President. For 40 years, ever since 
John Kennedy has been the President, the President has had the ability 
to suspend collective bargaining rules in any Department of the Federal 
Government when the national security is at stake.
    Let me tell you what that means. If a rule stands in the way of 
being able to better protect the homeland, I should be able to suspend 
that rule for national security purposes. The Senate, because of special 
interests in Washington, DC, refuses to--or are trying to strip me of 
that power. And if they were able to do so, I would have the ability to 
suspend some rules in, say, the Agricultural Department but not the 
Department of Homeland Security.
    We're threat--we're under threats from an enemy which hates us, and 
yet they're trying to prevent me and future Presidents from being able 
to do the job. I need a Senator who will support me on homeland 
security. I refuse to accept a lousy bill from the U.S. Senate.
    But the fact is--the fact of the matter is, we're going to do 
everything we can at home. But the best way to assure your freedom is to 
hunt these killers down, one person at a time, and bring them to 
justice. We're making progress.
    First, I want to thank the Senate and the House for passing the 
largest increase in defense spending since Ronald Reagan was the 
President. I asked for that increase because I believe strongly, just 
like Norm Coleman believes strongly, that anytime we put our troops into 
harm's way, they deserve the best pay, the best training, and the best 
possible equipment.
    And the other reason I asked for that increase is because I wanted 
to send a signal to friend and foe alike, that when it comes to the 
defense of our freedom and the defense of our homeland, we're in this 
deal for the long haul.
    There's not a calendar on my desk that says by such-and-such a date, 
we're quitting. That's not how I think. That's not how I know you think. 
You see, we understand our obligations to future generations. That's why 
I'm continuing to insist to people around the world: Either you're with 
us, or you're with the enemy.

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    And we're making progress. We're making progress, slowly but surely. 
We're finding them. We're hunting them down. It's a different kind of 
war, and it's important for you to know that. In the old days, you'd 
knock out a couple of tanks or shoot down an airplane or two, you're 
making progress. See, these folks, that's not the way they are. They 
hide in caves or in dark corners of the world and send youngsters to 
their suicidal deaths.
    And so it's a different kind of war. It requires this network of 
people moving around, getting them on the run. Fortunately, we've got 
the finest military in the history of the world, and we've got them on 
the run, and we're going to keep them on the run.
    Norm knows what I know: It doesn't matter how long it takes; we have 
an obligation. It's important for us to be cold-eyed realists about the 
world. It's important to have a Senator and a President and people in 
Washington, DC, who see the world really the way it is, not the way we 
wish it would be.
    And the world is changed after September the 11th. It's changed 
because we're no longer safe from potential threats overseas. It used to 
be that oceans could protect us. It used to be that we could sit back 
and say, ``Well, we're a protected continent because of two vast 
oceans.'' We learned a tough lesson on September the 11th. We've got to 
remember that lesson as we go down the road. We must take every threat 
to the United States seriously. We must take threats to our friends 
seriously.
    And there's a threat which looms in the form of Saddam Hussein. I 
want to remind you all that this is a man who for 11 years has said he 
wouldn't have any weapons of mass destruction, and for 11 years, he's 
deceived the world.
    Audience member. Liar!
    The President. And we found out that--a while ago that he was close 
to having a nuclear weapon. We don't know how close he is today. This is 
a man who not only has got chemical weapons; I want you to remind your 
friends and neighbors that he has used chemical weapons. He has used 
them in his neighborhood, and incredibly enough, he has used them on his 
own people.
    This is a man who can't stand America. He can't stand what we 
believe in. This is a man who hates some of our closest friends in the 
Middle East.
    This is a man who has had contacts with Al Qaida. This is a man who 
poses a serious threat in many forms, but catch this form: He's the kind 
of guy that would love nothing more than to train terrorists and provide 
arms to terrorists so they could attack his worst enemy and leave no 
fingerprints. This guy is a threat to the world.
    I went to the United Nations because I wanted to tell this body, 
this august body, that I expect you to do your duty. For 16 resolutions, 
he's defied you. I went and said, ``In the name of peace, show yourself 
to be effective. We want you to be an effective United Nations, not an 
ineffective organization like the League of Nations.''
    My message was to that body, I said, ``Show some backbone. Disarm 
Saddam Hussein, just like he said he would do.'' But for the sake of 
peace and for the sake of freedom, the sake of fulfilling our 
obligations to future generations, if the United Nations can't act and 
won't act and if Saddam Hussein won't do what he said he would do, which 
is disarm, we will lead a coalition of nations to disarm Saddam Hussein.
    I appreciate Norm Coleman's position. I appreciate the fact that 
he's a cold-eyed realist. I appreciate the fact that he sees the world 
the way it is, not the way we would hope it would be. I want you to know 
this about America, that if we stay tough, we stay strong, we can 
achieve peace. We can achieve peace, not only for ourselves, but we can 
achieve peace in parts of the world which have quit on peace. We're 
determined. We speak clearly. If we remember our values and remember 
that freedom is not an America's gift to the world, it is a God gift to 
the world, we can achieve peace.
    I don't know what was going through the mind of the enemy. They must 
have thought the national religion of America was materialism. 
Therefore, we're selfish and self-absorbed. We'd take a couple of steps 
back after September the 11th, 2001. * They probably said, ``Oh, they'd 
file a lawsuit or two.'' [Laughter] They don't understand the nature of 
America. They don't understand the

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American spirit. They don't understand American spirit. They don't 
understand our soul.
    * White House correction.
    You see, out of the evil done to America is going to come some good. 
And part of that good is peace overseas, and part of that good here at 
home is a better tomorrow, a better America.
    We must remember--and Norm understands this; that's why I'm 
passionate on his candidacy--he knows what I know, that amongst our 
plenty are people who hurt. There are people who are lonely, people 
addicted, people, when you say, ``American Dream,'' they say, ``What 
does that mean? I have no idea what the American Dream means,'' they 
say. Our attitude is, so long as any of us hurt, we all hurt, and 
therefore, Government must do everything it can to help. But Government 
is limited. See, it can hand out money, but it can't put hope in 
people's hearts or a sense of purpose in people's lives. That help--that 
happens when a fellow American puts their arm around somebody who's 
crying and says, ``I love you, brother. I love you, sister. What can I 
do to make your life a better life?''
    I met a guy today named John Ernston. He's volunteered 13,000 hours 
for the Hennepin County sheriff. He's been on what they call water 
patrol. He is a person trying to make a difference in somebody's life. 
He's volunteering his time to make his community a better place.
    Talk about the American spirit, the American spirit says we'll be 
tough when it comes to the defense of our freedom. But the American 
spirit also says the new patriotism for our country means we'll serve 
something greater than ourself. The call to you so far as I'm concerned 
is: Help somebody in need; mentor a child; feed the hungry; love the 
homeless. And you watch what happens when the great compassion of 
America comes forth.
    We can change this country one heart, one soul, one conscience at a 
time. No, the American spirit is alive and well in this country. The 
enemy hit us; they didn't know who they were hitting.
    I'm reminded of the story of Flight 93. Flight 93 was--on that 
fateful day, we had citizens flying across the country. They learned the 
plane they were on was going to be used as a weapon. They said goodbye 
to their loved ones. History will show they said a prayer. A guy said, 
``Let's roll.'' They took the plane into the ground to serve something 
greater than themselves. The spirit of this country is alive and well 
and strong.
    Audience members. U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!
    The President. I believe--I believe firmly that out of the evil done 
to America is going to come some great good. I will boldly predict that 
we can achieve the peace, and we can achieve a more hopeful tomorrow for 
every citizen who lives in this country, because I understand America. 
We're the finest nation, full of the greatest people on the face of this 
entire Earth.
    I'm honored you're here. Work hard for Norm. May God bless you, and 
may God bless America.

Note: The President spoke at 3:32 p.m. at the Xcel Energy Center. In his 
remarks, he referred to senatorial candidate Norm Coleman, his wife, 
Laurie, and his parents, Norm Sr. and Beverly Coleman; gubernatorial 
candidate Tim Pawlenty; John Kline, candidate for Minnesota's Second 
Congressional District; and President Saddam Hussein of Iraq. The 
President also referred to Senator Paul Wellstone of Minnesota, who died 
in the October 25 crash of a twin engine King Air aircraft in Eveleth, 
MN.