[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 34 (Monday, August 25, 2003)]
[Pages 1072-1076]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a Bush-Cheney Luncheon in Irvine, California

August 15, 2003

    Thank you very much. Thanks for the warm welcome. Thanks for the 
friendship. It's great to be back in the great State of California, and 
it's wonderful to see so many friends from Orange County. I'm honored 
you all are here. I appreciate the strong financial support you've 
given.
    I want to thank those who have worked so hard to make this a major 
success. Really what we're doing is, we're laying the foundation for 
next year's campaign, putting the process in place and the foundation in 
place for what's going to be a great victory in November of '04.
    And I need to count on you, particularly when it comes to energizing 
the vote, to making sure the grassroots gets our message. I want you to 
remind your Republican friends, your Democrat friends, your independent 
friends that this administration is one that is serving all the people 
of the United States of America.
    I'm getting ready--[laughter]--and I'm loosening up. [Laughter] But 
the political

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season will come in its own time. See, I've got a job to do, and right 
now I'm focused on the people's business. We'll continue to work hard to 
earn the confidence of the American people by keeping this Nation strong 
and secure and prosperous and free.
    I regret that our First Lady is not with us. I just talked to Laura. 
She's in Midland visiting her mother, and I'm going to see her tonight 
for dinner. But she sends her love, and I tell you, I love her a lot. 
She is a great lady.
    I appreciate my friends Brad Freeman and Gerry Parsky and Mercer 
Reynolds for working so hard to organize what is going to be a great 
nationwide effort in terms of collecting the resources necessary to run 
a viable campaign.
    I want to thank Duf Sundheim, the party chairman of the State of 
California, for his leadership. I'm honored that members of the mighty 
California congressional delegation are with us, friends of mine, people 
who work hard on behalf of the citizens of California: Congressmen David 
Dreier and Ed Royce and Ken Calvert and Congressman Chris Cox. I want to 
thank them for coming.
    I appreciate John Campbell and Bob Pacheco, State reps, people who 
represented their districts well and who were strong supporters of mine 
in 2000.
    But most of all, I thank you all for coming.
    In the last 2\1/2\ years, our Nation has acted decisively to 
confront great challenges. I came to this office to solve problems, not 
to pass them on to future presidents or future generations. I came to 
seize opportunities instead of letting them slip away. We are meeting 
the test of our time.
    Terrorists declared war on the United States of America, and war is 
what they got. We have captured or killed many key leaders of Al Qaida, 
and the rest of them know we're on their trail. In Afghanistan and Iraq, 
we gave ultimatums to terror regimes. Those regimes chose defiance, and 
those regimes are no more. Fifty million people in those two countries 
once lived under tyranny, and now they live in freedom.
    Two-and-a-half years ago, our military was not receiving the 
resources it needed, and morale was beginning to suffer. We increased 
the defense budget to prepare for the threats of a new era. And today, 
no one in the world can question the skill and the strength and the 
spirit of the United States military.
    Two-and-a-half years ago, we inherited an economy in recession. And 
then our country was attacked, and we found out that there were some 
CEOs in America who forgot to tell the truth. We had corporate scandals. 
War affected the people's confidence. But we acted. We passed tough new 
laws to hold corporate criminals to account. And to get the economy 
going again, I have twice led the United States Congress to pass 
historic tax relief for the American people.
    I believe that when Americans have more take-home pay to spend, to 
save, or invest, the whole economy grows, and someone is more likely to 
find a job. And I understand whose money we spend in Washington. It is 
not the Government's money; it is the people's money. We're returning 
more money to people to help them raise their families. We're reducing 
taxes on dividends and capital gains to encourage investment. We're 
providing small businesses with incentives to expand so they can hire 
people. With all these actions, we are laying the foundation for greater 
prosperity and more jobs across America so that every single citizen in 
this country can realize the great promise of America.
    Two-and-a-half years ago, there was a lot of talk about education 
reform, but there wasn't much action. So I called for and the Congress 
passed the No Child Left Behind Act. With a solid bipartisan majority, 
we delivered the most dramatic education reform in a generation. We're 
bringing high standards and strong accountability measures to every 
public school in America. We believe every child can learn the basics of 
reading and math, and we expect every school in America to teach the 
basics of reading and math. This administration is challenging the soft 
bigotry of low expectations. The days of excuse-making are over. We 
expect results in return for Federal money in every classroom in America 
so that not one child is left behind.
    We reorganized our Government to create the Department of Homeland 
Security to better safeguard our borders and ports and to protect the 
American people. We passed

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trade promotion authority to open up new markets for California 
manufacturers and farmers and ranchers and entrepreneurs. We passed 
budget agreements to help maintain much-needed spending discipline in 
Washington, DC.
    On issue after issue, this administration has acted on principle, 
has kept its word, and has made progress for the American people.
    The United States Congress has shared in these great achievements, 
and I appreciate their hard work. I've got a great relationship with 
Speaker Hastert and Leader Frist. I'll continue to work with them to 
change the tone in Washington, DC, and to focus on results as opposed to 
process and politics.
    And those are the kind of people I've assembled in my 
administration. I have put together a great administration on behalf of 
the American people. We have no finer Vice President in our Nation's 
history than Dick Cheney. Mother might have a second opinion. [Laughter]
    In 2\1/2\ years, we've come far, but our work is only beginning. 
I've set great goals worthy of this great Nation. First, America is 
committed to expanding the realm of freedom and peace for our own 
security and for the benefit of the world. And second, in our own 
country, we must work for a society of prosperity and compassion so that 
every single citizen, regardless of their background, regardless of 
their religion, regardless of their status, has a chance to work and to 
succeed and realize the great promise of our land.
    It is clear that the future of freedom and peace depend on the 
actions of America. This Nation is freedom's home and freedom's 
defender. We welcome this charge of history, and we're keeping it.
    Our war on terror continues. The enemies of freedom are not idle, 
and neither are we. This country will not rest; we will not tire; we 
will not stop until this danger to civilization is removed.
    Yet, our national interest involves more than eliminating aggressive 
threats to our security. Our greatest security comes from the advance of 
human liberty. Free nations do not support terror. Free nations do not 
attack their neighbors. And free nations do not threaten the world with 
weapons of mass terror. Americans believe that freedom is the deepest 
need and hope of every human heart. And we believe that freedom is the 
right of every person. And we believe that freedom is the future of 
every nation.
    America also understands that unprecedented influence brings 
tremendous responsibilities. We have duties in the world. And when we 
see disease and starvation and hopeless poverty, we will not turn away. 
On the continent of Africa, America is now committed to bringing the 
healing power of medicine to millions of men and women and children now 
suffering with AIDS. I'm so proud of our great land. We're leading the 
world in this incredibly important work of human rescue.
    We face challenges at home, and our actions are equal to those 
challenges. I will continue to work to lay the foundation for economic 
growth, to make sure the entrepreneurial spirit is strong, to encourage 
job creation so that anybody who wants to work today and can't find a 
job will be able to do so.
    And we have a duty to keep our commitment to America's seniors by 
strengthening and modernizing Medicare. A few weeks ago, the Congress 
took historic action to improve the lives of older Americans. For the 
first time--the first time--since the creation of Medicare, the House 
and Senate have passed reforms to increase the choices for our seniors 
and to provide coverage for prescription drugs. The next step is for 
both bodies to get together and iron out some details and get a bill to 
my desk. The sooner they finish the job, the sooner Americans will get a 
modernized Medicare system.
    And for the sake of our health care system, we need to cut down on 
the frivolous lawsuits which increase the cost of medicine. People who 
have been harmed by a bad doc deserve their day in court. Yet, the 
system should not reward lawyers who are simply fishing for a rich 
settlement. Because frivolous lawsuits drive up the cost of health care, 
they affect the Federal budget; they affect the Medicare budget, the 
Medicaid budget, the veterans health care budget. Medical liability 
reform is a national issue that requires a national solution. The House 
of Representatives passed a good bill to reform the Senate--the system. 
It is stuck in the Senate. It is now time for

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the United States Senate to act on behalf of the patients of America. No 
one has ever been healed by a frivolous lawsuit.
    I have a responsibility as President to make sure the judicial 
system runs well, and I have met that duty. I have nominated superb men 
and women for the Federal courts, people who will interpret the law, not 
legislate from the bench.
    In California, I nominated Carolyn Kuhl to the Ninth Circuit Court 
of Appeals. She is a--tremendous bipartisan support. She's respected as 
a State judge. Yet, some Senators are distorting her record; they're 
threatening to block an up-or-down vote. Unfortunately, she's not alone. 
They're doing that to too many of my nominees, and that is wrong. All 
judicial nominees deserve a fair hearing and an up-or-down vote on the 
Senate floor. It is time for some Members of the United States Senate to 
stop playing politics with American justice.
    The Congress needs to complete work on a comprehensive energy plan 
that, among other things, will help us modernize our infrastructure 
around America. We must promote energy efficiency and conservation, 
develop cleaner--develop technology to help us explore for energy in 
environmentally sensitive ways. But for the sake of economic security 
and for the sake of national security, we need to become less dependent 
on foreign sources of energy.
    Our strong and prosperous Nation must also be a compassionate 
nation. I will continue to advance our agenda of compassionate 
conservatism. We will apply the best and most innovative and effective 
ideas to the task of helping our fellow citizens in need. There are 
still millions of men and women who want to end their dependence on 
Government and become independent through hard work. We must build on 
the success of welfare reform to bring work and dignity into the lives 
of more of our fellow citizens.
    Congress should complete the ``Citizen Service Act'' to encourage 
more Americans to serve their communities and their country. And both 
Houses should reach agreement on my Faith-Based Initiative so that we 
can support the armies of compassion which are mentoring children, 
caring for the homeless, and offering hope to the addicted.
    A compassionate society must promote opportunity for every citizen, 
including the independence and dignity that come from ownership. This 
administration will constantly strive to promote an ownership society in 
America. We want more people owning their own home. We have a minority 
homeownership gap in America, and I've got a plan to close that gap. We 
want people owning their own retirement systems and managing their own 
retirement systems. We want people controlling their own health care 
systems. We want more people owning and operating their own small 
business in America, because we understand that when somebody owns 
something, he or she has a vital stake in the future in the United 
States of America.
    In a compassionate society, people respect one another and take 
responsibility for the decisions they make. We're changing the culture 
of America from one that has said, ``If it feels good, do it,'' and ``If 
you've got a problem, blame somebody else,'' to a culture in which each 
of us understands we are responsible for the decisions we make in life.
    If you're fortunate enough to be a mother or a father, you're 
responsible for loving your child with all your heart and all your soul. 
If you're concerned about the quality of education in your community, 
you're responsible for doing something about it. If you're a CEO in 
America, you have the responsibility to tell the truth to your 
shareholders and your employees.
    And in the responsibility society, each of us is responsible for 
loving our neighbor just like we'd like to be loved ourself. And we can 
see the culture of responsibility and service growing around us here in 
America. I started what's called the USA Freedom Corps to encourage 
Americans to extend a compassionate hand to a neighbor in need, and the 
response has been strong. People from all walks of life are signing up 
to figure out how to help and do their duty as an American citizen.
    Charities are strong and the faith-based organizations are vibrant, 
bringing hope and healing to citizens who hurt. Policemen and

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firefighters and people who wear our Nation's uniform are reminding us 
what it means to sacrifice for something greater than yourself in life. 
Once again the children believe in heroes, because they see them every 
day in America.
    In these challenging times, the world has seen the resolve and the 
courage of America. And I've been privileged to see the compassion and 
the character of the American people. All the tests of the last 2\1/2\ 
years have come to the right nation. We are a strong country, and we use 
that strength to defend the peace. We're an optimistic country, 
confident in ourselves and in ideals bigger than ourselves.
    Abroad, we seek to lift whole nations by spreading freedom. At home, 
we seek to lift up lives by spreading opportunity to every corner of 
America. This is the work that history has set before us. We welcome it. 
And we know that for our country and for our cause, the best days lie 
ahead.
    May God bless America.

Note: The President spoke at 12:57 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency Irvine 
Hotel. In his remarks, he referred to Brad Freeman, California State 
finance chairman, and Mercer Reynolds, national finance chairman, Bush-
Cheney '04, Inc.; and Gerald Parsky, Team California chairman, and Duf 
Sundheim, party chairman, California Republican Party. A portion of 
these remarks could not be verified because the tape was incomplete. 
This item was not received in time for publication in the appropriate 
issue.