[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 45 (Monday, November 10, 2003)]
[Pages 1519-1522]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks in London, Kentucky

November 1, 2003

    The President. Thank you all for coming. Thank you for being here. 
I'm honored to be here. Thanks for so many people showing up today. It's 
a beautiful day to talk about the next Governor of the State of 
Kentucky.
    My only regret is I wasn't here a month ago for the fried chicken 
festival. [Laughter] I appreciate so many folks showing up. It's a good 
sign, Ernie. It's a good sign people care about their government. It's a 
good sign that people know they have got a responsibility to vote. I'm 
here to say as clearly I can, the right person to become the next 
Governor of the State of Kentucky is Ernie Fletcher.
    I want to thank you all for bringing your families. I also want to 
thank the Bush Volunteer Fire Department for coming. That's a heck of a 
name you chose. [Laughter] I'm proud to share it with you, and thanks 
for what you do.
    I can say without any uncertainty at all that Ernie is the right man 
to be the Governor. Listen to this: He's a fighter pilot. That says 
something. And he's a healer. He's a doctor. He's an engineer. He did a 
fine job in the United States Congress. He's had good experience. He 
married well--[laughter]--just

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like me. I appreciate Glenna. I appreciate the sacrifices she's making 
for the people of this great State.
    The people of this State must be assured that when they elect 
somebody to high office, that person will uphold the dignity of that 
office. You want your kids looking at somebody who--for whom you can be 
proud. Ernie Fletcher values his faith. He values his family. He 
understands the responsibilities that you must assume when you get 
elected to high office. The right man for the job is Ernie Fletcher.
    It's one thing to be listening to the speeches; it's another thing 
to be doing the work. I'm asking you to go out and turn out the vote. 
I'm asking you to go to your coffee shops, your farm implement dealers, 
your community centers, your houses of worship and remind people they 
have a duty to vote. In this free land you have a duty to exercise your 
responsibility. And you might also remind them when they're heading to 
the polls, he's the right man for the job.
    And don't overlook those disgruntled Democrats, either. [Laughter] 
They want good, clean government in Frankfort. There's plenty of 
independents you can encourage to go vote. This is voter turnout time 
now. The good people of this part of the State understand what I'm 
talking about. You go find your neighbors and get them to the polls, and 
you'll be proud of the job he does on behalf of everybody in this State.
    Make sure that you also get them to vote for the Lieutenant 
Governor. [Laughter] It's kind of natural, isn't it? I'm proud of the 
fact that Ernie picked Steve Pence. He's a good, solid man. See, I 
picked him first. I don't know if you know this or not, but I named him 
to be the U.S. Attorney for western Kentucky. I looked long and hard to 
get the right person to do this important job. Steve Pence was the man. 
He's not only the man to be the U.S. Attorney; he's the man to become 
your Lieutenant Governor.
    Laura sends her love to the people of eastern Kentucky. She's a 
fabulous First Lady. I'm really proud of her. You drew the short straw. 
You got me. [Laughter]
    I'm so proud to be on the same platform with two great United States 
Senators. First, Senator Mitch McConnell--he represents Kentucky really 
well. He also married well. [Laughter] He married so well, I put Elaine, 
his wife, into the Cabinet. [Laughter] I'm proud of the job she's doing 
for the working people of this country. I'm also proud to be here with 
Jim and Mary Bunning, two great citizens of this State. It is really 
important you send him back to the United States Senate in '04.
    The truth of the matter is, I'm here because a great friend of my 
family's said, ``Listen, if you want to help Ernie, you make sure you 
come to London.'' He said, ``If you really want to do some good for this 
good man, you make sure you come to the heart of my district.'' I think 
you know who I'm talking about.
    Audience members. [Applause]
    The President. Yes. A great American, a great friend, a wonderful 
Congressman from this part of the world, one of the real powers in the 
Halls of Congress, a man who thinks constantly about the people in this 
district, and that would be Hal Rogers. It's been a real pleasure to get 
to know Cynthia as well. I like a man who married a younger woman. 
[Laughter]
    I'm also proud to be here with the former Governor, Governor Louie 
Nunn. I appreciate Governor Nunn being here today as well. Thank you, 
Louie. Adam Koenig is with us. He's running for the State treasurer, and 
he wants your vote. You talk about a man who picked a good name running 
for the commissioner of agriculture--[laughter]--Richie Farmer is 
throwing his hat in the ring, and he wants your help.
    I'm proud to be here with my friend David Williams, the president of 
the State senate. Ellen Williams runs the party here, and Mike Duncan is 
the national committeeman. And all of you all involved in the 
grassroots--that means fixing to turn out the vote; that's what that 
means to me--thanks for coming. It's been a real joy to be here.
    I also want to thank Rebecca Lynn Howard for singing so beautifully 
for you all.
    What's important for a Governor candidate is to have a good agenda, 
a good platform; you've got to run for a reason. And Ernie is running 
for the right reason. First of all, he and I share a concern: Anytime 
any of our citizens who wants to work and

[[Page 1521]]

can't find a job, it says we've got a problem, and you better get you a 
Governor here in Kentucky who understands what it means to create the 
environment so jobs can grow.
    You know, when I came into office, the country was in a recession. 
And then the enemy hit us. And then we found out some of our citizens 
forgot what it means to be responsible. They didn't tell the truth to 
their shareholders and their employees. By the way, some of them are 
finding out what it means to be held accountable.
      
    So I went to the Congress and said, ``We've got to be concerned 
about the fact that people aren't working.'' But I went with this 
principle--and Ernie understands this; that's why I'm bringing it up; 
it's important you have a Governor who understands how to create that 
environment for job growth and job creation--when a person has more 
money in his or her pocket, he or she is likely to demand a good or a 
service. And when you demand a good or a service, somebody is going to 
produce that good or a service. And when somebody produces that good or 
a service, somebody is more likely to find a job. The tax relief that 
Ernie supported strongly came at the right time for the American economy 
and the American people. When you have more money in your pockets, 
somebody is more likely to find a job.
    In order to make sure that you've got an economy that's strong here 
in Kentucky, you better make sure you've got a Governor who is wise with 
the people's money. And that starts with understanding this principle: 
In government, we don't spend the government's money; that's your money. 
We spend the people's money. And Ernie is not going to play politics 
with your money. He's going to set priorities. He's going to be wise 
about how to spend the taxpayers' money.
    In order to make sure you've got an economy that grows, you better 
have a legal system that is fair and balanced. Junk lawsuits make it 
hard to have a State that creates jobs. You need a Governor who's 
willing to stand up to the plaintiff's bar, somebody who will stand 
strong and say, ``If you need your day in court, you'll have a day in 
court, but frivolous and junk lawsuits make it hard for people to find 
work.'' And frivolous and junk lawsuits make it hard for people to get 
good, affordable health care. You need medical liability reform in this 
State.
    I used to say in Texas that education is to a State what national 
defense is to the Federal Government. The top priority of any State is 
to make sure every child gets a good education. And that's Ernie 
Fletcher's top priority. Ernie is going to stand with the teachers. 
Ernie is going to stand with the parents. Most importantly, Ernie is 
going to stand with the children. He'll challenge what I call the soft 
bigotry of low expectations. He believes every child can learn. He'll 
raise the standards and insist that our children learn to read and write 
and add and subtract. You need a Governor who will make sure no child is 
left behind in the State of Kentucky.
      
    He's right on a lot of the issues. He's running on a good, solid 
platform. This is a platform, by the way, that's good for Republicans 
and Democrats and independents. This is a Kentucky platform.
    One of the things I like most about his platform is his 
understanding of the role of faith in our society. The state should 
never fund the church, and the church should never try to be the state. 
But in order to heal broken hearts, in order to address some of the 
deepest needs of our fellow citizens, whether they be the homeless or 
the addict or the child who needs special love, we must welcome faith in 
our society. We must rally the armies of compassion.
      
    I look forward to working with Ernie to make sure the Federal 
efforts and the State efforts and the local efforts here in Kentucky are 
well-coordinated when it comes to protecting the homeland. I look 
forward to working with him to make sure that our first-responders, the 
brave police and firefighters and emergency management teams, get 
resources necessary to do the job you expect them to do.
    But I also want you to know, and he understands this, that the best 
way to protect the homeland is to chase the killers down, one at a time, 
and bring them to justice. We must

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never forget the lessons of September the 11th, 2001. We must understand 
we have a duty and responsibility to provide security for the people of 
this country. Therapy is not going to work with that bunch. [Laughter] 
We must be smart. We must be tough. We will not tire. We will not rest 
until this danger to civilization is removed.
      
    When I came into office, morale in the U.S. military was beginning 
to suffer, so we increased the defense budget. Ernie Fletcher stood 
right by my side, making sure our troops, our brave troops, got the best 
training, the best pay, and the best possible equipment.

    But I want you to know, the best way to safeguard America is to work 
to spread freedom, is to make sure that freedom can take hold around the 
world. See, free societies don't attack their neighbors. Free societies 
do not develop weapons of mass terror to blackmail or threaten the 
world. We understand this--it's very important--that freedom is not 
America's gift to the world; freedom is the Lord Almighty's gift to each 
person in the world.

    I'm proud that Ernie stood strong on these tough issues. I'm proud I 
could count on him. And you can count on him when he's your Governor. 
He's a good, honest man. He's a decent man. He's an honorable man. And 
I'm here to ask you to turn out the vote here, in this important part of 
the State, and send this man to the statehouse, who will do you a great 
job.

    Thanks for coming. May God bless, and may God bless America.

Note: The President spoke at 5 p.m. at London-Corbin Airport. In his 
remarks, he referred to Glenna A. Fletcher, wife of gubernatorial 
candidate Ernie Fletcher; Cynthia Rogers, wife of Representative Harold 
``Hal'' Rogers; Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao; and country music 
entertainer Rebecca Lynn Howard.