[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 9 (Monday, March 1, 2004)]
[Pages 271-276]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks to the Republican Governors Association

February 23, 2004

    Thank you all very much. It is always an honor to welcome fellow 
Governors to Washington, DC. I'm a proud former member of the RGA. And 
tonight we're proud to welcome the newest members of this growing 
organization, Olene, Ernie, Haley, and Arnold. The Governor of 
California is new to politics, so he's still getting used to all the 
cameras and lights. [Laughter] I used to think the coolest Governor was 
from Florida. [Laughter]
    The most distinguished former member of the RGA is a predecessor of 
Governor Schwarzenegger and a predecessor of mine. President Ronald 
Reagan had his 93d birthday this month, and tonight we want Nancy and 
his family to know we are thinking of

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this great American. Ronald Reagan's leadership revived America's 
economy, renewed America's strength, and lifted America's confidence. 
And that spirit of optimism and faith in fundamental American values is 
the spirit we will carry to victory in November of 2004.
    I married really well. [Laughter] I am so honored--I appreciate you 
coming tonight, Laura. She's a great First Lady for our country. I'm 
really proud of the job she's doing.
    I want to thank my friend Bob Taft for being the chairman of this 
august group. I appreciate Kenny Guinn from Nevada for being the vice 
chairman. I thank Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts for hosting this 
reception. I want to thank all the other Republican Governors who are 
here. I'm proud to call you friend.
    I want to thank all of you who are here to support these Governors. 
They're making a significant difference in their States. They bring such 
optimism and hope. I appreciate the members of my Cabinet who are here.
    I also want to acknowledge a man who is not here. Vice President 
Dick Cheney spent the day campaigning in Minneapolis and Wichita, but 
he's recently completed another important assignment. Once again I put 
him in charge of my Vice Presidential search committee. [Laughter] He 
tells me he's reviewed all the candidates, and he's come back with the 
same recommendation as last time. [Laughter] In fact, I made the choice 
myself, after I had taken the measure of this man. They don't come any 
better, and I am proud to have Dick Cheney by my side.
    We meet during the Presidential primary season. We're witnessing a 
clear trend. It looks like we have a winner in the Republican primaries. 
[Laughter] The other party's nomination battle is still playing out. The 
candidates are an interesting group with diverse opinions: For tax cuts 
and against them; for NAFTA and against NAFTA; for the PATRIOT Act and 
against the PATRIOT Act; in favor of liberating Iraq and opposed to it. 
And that's just one Senator from Massachusetts.
    The other party is still not finished selecting its nominee. Yet 
this much is already certain: Come November, the voters are going to 
have a very clear choice. It's a choice between keeping the tax relief 
that is moving the economy forward or putting the burden of higher taxes 
back on the American people. It is a choice between an America that 
leads the world with strength and confidence or an America that is 
uncertain in the face of danger. The American people will decide between 
two visions of Government, a Government that encourages ownership and 
opportunity and responsibility or a Government that takes your money and 
makes your choices. I will set these alternatives squarely before the 
American people in a spirited campaign. I look forward to the contest.
    We have a record of historic achievement. And most important, we 
have a positive vision for the years ahead, for winning the war against 
terror, for extending peace and freedom and creating jobs and 
opportunity here at home. We'll leave no doubt where we stand, and we 
will win our second term in November.
    The last 3 years have brought serious challenges. We've given 
serious answers and the strong leadership these times of extraordinary 
change demand. We came to office with an economy heading into recession. 
We delivered historic tax relief, and the consumer spending and 
investment that resulted helped lift our economy back to growth so that 
people are getting hired again. At a time when competition is not just 
across town but across borders and continents, America's productive 
workers have made this economy the fastest growing of any major 
industrialized nation.
    We had to confront corporate crimes that cost people jobs and 
savings. So we passed the strongest corporate reforms since Franklin 
Roosevelt and made it clear that we will not tolerate dishonesty in the 
boardrooms of America.
    We saw war and grief arrive on a quiet September morning, and from 
that day to this, we have pursued terrorists across the world. We've 
captured or killed many of the key leaders of the Al Qaida network, and 
the rest of them know we're on their trail. There is no cave or hole 
deep enough to hide them.
    We confronted the dangers of state-sponsored terror and the spread 
of weapons of mass destruction. We have used the power of this country 
to end forever two of the most violent and dangerous regimes on Earth.

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More than 50 million people in Afghanistan and Iraq are reclaiming the 
rights and dignity of free men and women, and America has been proud, 
once again, to lead the armies of liberation.
    When Dick Cheney and I came to Washington, we found a military that 
was underfunded and underappreciated. So we increased the defense budget 
to give our men and women the tools and training they need to win the 
war on terror. And today, no one in the world can question the skill, 
the strength, and the spirit of the United States military.
    We learned that on September the 11th, our homeland is no longer 
protected by vast oceans. So we reorganized our Government and created 
the Department of Homeland Security to safeguard the ports and borders 
and to better protect the American people.
    When we came to office, people in this city had gotten used to 
gridlock. Old problems were used to score points. Old problems were 
politicized, debated, and just passed on from year to year. We didn't 
come here to this Nation's Capital to do things the Washington way. We 
chose to lead and to get things done. We passed major reforms to raise 
the standards of public schools. We passed reforms in Medicare to give 
prescription drugs and choice to our seniors. We're showing that with 
big goals and clear principles, you can get past old differences and 
make progress for all of the American citizens.
    It's the President's job to confront problems, not to pass them on 
to future Presidents and future generations. It's the President's job to 
seize opportunities and not let them slip away. A President needs to 
step up and make the hard decisions and keep his commitments, and that 
is how I will continue to lead our country.
    Great events will turn on this election. The man who sits in the 
Oval Office will set the course of the war on terror and the direction 
of our economy. The security and prosperity of America are at stake. Our 
course is clear.
    In the next 4 years, we'll keep our enemies on the run and extend 
the frontiers of liberty. In the next 4 years, we'll help more Americans 
to find that there are opportunities in a changing economy. In the next 
4 years, we will stand for the values that make us a good and decent 
country.
    Our opponents have not offered much in the way of strategies to win 
the war or policies to expand our economy. So far, all we hear is a lot 
of old bitterness and partisan anger. Anger is not an agenda for the 
future of America. We're taking on the big issues with strength and 
resolve and determination, and we stand ready to lead this Nation for 
the next 4 years.
    A big issue for every family in America is the Federal tax burden. 
With the largest tax relief since Ronald Reagan was President, we have 
left more money in the hands of those who earned it. By saving and 
spending and investing and to help create new jobs, the American people 
have used their money far better than the Federal Government would have.
    Our opponents have their own plan for these tax cuts. They plan to 
take them away. They will use that money to expand the Federal 
Government. I have a better idea. To keep this economy growing, we will 
have fiscal discipline in Washington, DC. To keep this economy going, 
the tax cuts must be permanent.
    We must do more to keep this economy growing. We need to protect 
small-business owners and employees from frivolous lawsuits and needless 
regulation. We need to control the costs of health care by passing 
medical liability reform. No one has ever been healed by a frivolous 
lawsuit. We need to pass sound energy legislation to modernize our 
electricity system and to make America less dependent on foreign sources 
of oil.
    Our opponents talk about job creation, but they're against every one 
of these job-creating measures. Empty talk about jobs won't get anybody 
hired. The way to create jobs is our pro-growth, pro-entrepreneur, pro-
small-business owner agenda.
    This economy of ours is going through a time of challenge and 
change. In the new economy, many workers change jobs several times or 
start their own businesses or work out of their homes as contractors. 
They often don't have pensions or health care through their jobs. Many 
have had to learn new skills. It's our responsibility to help people 
gain the

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skills and security to make a good living and to look forward to their 
retirement.
    All skills start with education. My administration has put education 
at the top of the agenda. We passed the No Child Left Behind Act, a good 
law that is bringing higher standards and accountability to every public 
school in America. We have a plan to help high school students who fall 
behind in reading and math. We have a plan to help community colleges 
train workers for the industries that are creating the most new jobs. We 
are strongly committed to education because we believe everyone in 
America should have a chance to learn and to succeed and to realize the 
great promise of our country.
    My administration understands the importance of ownership in our 
society. We've set a great goal: We want every worker in America to 
become a saver and an owner. And we have an agenda to meet this goal. 
We'll help more people of every background to own their homes and build 
their own savings. We'll encourage more people to own their own small 
businesses. We'll help more people to own their own health care plans. 
We want younger workers to own and manage their own retirement under 
Social Security, so that one day every worker can have the security of a 
personal account. When people have solid assets to call their own, they 
gain independence and security and dignity and more control over their 
future. I believe in private property so much, I want everyone in 
America to have some.
    On issue after issue, the American people have a clear choice. Our 
opponents are against personal retirement accounts, against putting 
patients in charge of Medicare, against tax relief. They seem to be 
against every idea that gives Americans more authority and more choices 
and more control over their own lives. We'll hear them make a lot of 
promises over the next eight months, and listen closely, because there's 
a theme. Every promise will increase the power of politicians and 
bureaucrats over your income, over your retirement, over your health 
care, and over your life. It's the same old Washington mindset. They'll 
give the orders, and you'll pay the bills. I've got news for them. 
America has gone beyond that way of thinking, and we're not going back. 
I trust the people, not Washington politicians, to make the best 
decisions for their own money, their own health, their own retirement, 
and their own lives.
    Our future also depends on America's leadership in this world. The 
momentum of freedom in our time is strong, but we still face serious 
challenges. Al Qaida is wounded but not broken. Terrorists are testing 
our will in Afghanistan and Iraq. Regimes in North Korea and Iran are 
challenging the peace. The actions we take and the decisions we make in 
this decade will have consequences far into this century. If America 
shows weakness and uncertainty, the world will drift toward tragedy. 
That will not happen on my watch. This Nation is strong and confident in 
the cause of freedom, and no friend or enemy today doubts the word of 
the United States.
    America and our allies gave an ultimatum to the terror regime in 
Afghanistan. The Taliban chose defiance, and the Taliban are no longer 
in power. America and our allies gave an ultimatum to the terror regime 
in Iraq. The dictator chose defiance, and now the dictator sits in a 
prison cell.
    September the 11th, 2001, taught a lesson I have not forgotten. 
America must confront threats before they fully materialize. In Iraq, my 
administration looked at the intelligence and saw a danger. Members of 
Congress looked at the intelligence, and they saw a danger. The United 
Nations Security Council looked at the intelligence, and it saw a 
danger. The previous administration and Congress looked at the 
intelligence and made regime change in Iraq the policy of our country. 
We all knew Saddam's history well. He waged aggressive wars against 
neighboring countries and aspired to dominate the Middle East. He 
cultivated ties to terrorists. He built weapons of mass destruction. He 
hid those weapons. He used chemical weapons against thousands of Iraqis 
and Iranians.
    In 2002, the United Nations Security Council yet again demanded a 
full accounting of Saddam Hussein's weapons programs. As he had for over 
a decade, Saddam Hussein refused to comply. So we had a choice to make: 
Either take the word of a madman or take action to defend America and 
the world.

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Faced with that choice, I will defend America every time.
    Others would have chosen differently. They now agree that the world 
is better off with Saddam out of power. They just didn't support 
removing Saddam from power. [Laughter] Maybe they were hoping he'd lose 
the next Iraqi election. [Laughter] We showed the dictator and a 
watching world that we mean what we say. Because our coalition acted, 
Saddam's torture chambers are closed. Because we acted, the Middle East 
is more peaceful. Because we acted, Iraq's weapons programs are ended 
forever. Because we acted, nations like Libya have gotten the message 
and renounced their weapons programs. Because we acted, an example of 
democracy is rising at the heart of the Middle East. Because we acted, 
the world is more free, and America is more secure.
    We still face thugs and terrorists in Iraq who would rather go on 
killing the innocent than accept the advance of liberty. They know that 
a free Iraq would be a major defeat in the cause of terror. This 
collection of killers is trying to shake the will of America and the 
civilized world. They don't know us very well. America will never be 
intimidated by thugs and assassins.
    We're aggressively striking the terrorists in Iraq, defeating them 
there so we do not have to face them in our own country. We're calling 
other nations to help Iraq build a free society, which will make us all 
safer. We're standing with the Iraqi people as they assume more of their 
own defense and move toward self-government. These aren't easy tasks, 
but they're essential tasks. We will finish what we have begun, and 
we'll win this important victory in the war on terror.
    On national security, Americans have the clearest possible choice. 
Our opponents say they approve of bold action in the world but only if 
no other government disagrees. I'm all for united action, and so are the 
34 coalition partners we have in Iraq right now. But America must never 
outsource America's national security decisions to the leaders of other 
governments.
    Some of our opponents are skeptical that the war on terror is really 
a war at all. They view terrorism more as a crime, a problem to be 
solved with law enforcement and indictments. Our Nation followed that 
approach after the World Trade Center was bombed in 1993. The matter was 
handled in the courts and thought to be settled. But the terrorists were 
still training in Afghanistan, plotting in other nations, and drawing up 
more ambitious plans. After the chaos and carnage of September the 11th, 
it is not enough to serve our enemies with legal papers. With those 
attacks, the terrorists and their supporters declared war on the United 
States, and war is what they got.
    The men and women who are fighting this war and who have seen the 
enemy understand the stakes. Last year, in a letter home from the Iraqi 
theater, a Navy Corpsman named Lonnie Lewis wrote this: ``We have to 
remind ourselves of what this country stands for, life, liberty, and 
justice for all. In order to maintain those rights, we have to stop the 
threat of terrorism.'' Corpsman Lewis' letter concludes, ``My family is 
first. My country is where they live. I will defend it.''
    This is the caliber of the people who are defending America. We are 
counting on them. The people of Iraq and people across the Middle East 
are depending on them. And I assure you, ladies and gentlemen, the cause 
of freedom is in good hands.
    This Nation is prosperous and strong, yet we need to remember the 
sources of America's greatness. We're strong because we love freedom. 
America has a special charge to keep, because we are freedom's home and 
defender. We believe that freedom is the deepest need and hope of every 
human heart. We believe that freedom is the future of every nation, and 
we know that freedom is not America's gift to the world. It is the 
Almighty God's gift to every man and woman in this world.
    We also know that the greatest strength of this country lies in the 
hearts and souls of our citizens. We're strong because of the values we 
try to live by, courage and compassion, reverence and integrity. We're 
strong because of the institutions that help to give us direction and 
purpose, families and schools and religious congregations. These values 
and institutions are fundamental to our lives, and they deserve the 
respect of our Government.

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    We stand for the fair treatment of faith-based groups, so they can 
receive Federal support for their works of compassion and healing. We 
will not stand for Government discrimination against people of faith.
    We stand for welfare reforms that require work and strengthen 
marriage, which have helped millions of Americans find independence and 
dignity. We will not stand for any attempt to weaken those reforms and 
send people back into lives of dependence.
    We stand for a culture of life in which every person counts and 
every person matters. We will not stand for the treatment of any life as 
a commodity to be experimented upon or exploited or cloned.
    We stand for the confirmation of judges who strictly and faithfully 
interpret the law. We will not stand for judges who undermine democracy 
by legislating from the bench and try to remake the culture by court 
order.
    And we stand for a culture of responsibility in America. 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're responsible for the 
decisions we make. If you're fortunate enough to be a mother or a 
father, you're responsible for loving your child with all your heart. If 
you're concerned about the quality of the education in the community in 
which you live, you're responsible for doing something about it. If 
you're a CEO in America, you're responsible for telling the truth to 
your shareholders and your employees. And in this new responsibility 
society, each of us is responsible for loving our neighbor just like 
we'd like to be loved ourself.
    For all Americans, these years in our history will always stand 
apart. There are quiet times in the life of a nation when little is 
expected of leaders. This is not one of those times. You and I are 
living in a period when the stakes are high and the challenges are 
difficult, the choices are clear, and resolve is needed.
    None of us will ever forget that week when one era ended and another 
began. On September the 14th, 2001, I stood in the ruins of the Twin 
Towers. I remember a lot that day. Workers in hardhats were shouting, 
``Whatever it takes.'' One fellow pointed at me and said, ``Don't let me 
down.'' As we all did that day, these men and women searching through 
the rubble took it personally. I took it personally. I've a 
responsibility that goes on. I will never relent in bringing justice to 
our enemies. I will defend America, whatever it takes.
    In these times I've also been witness to the character of this 
Nation. Not so long ago, some had their doubts about the American 
character, our capacity to meet serious challenges, to serve a cause 
greater than self-interest. But Americans have given their answer. I've 
seen the unselfish courage of our troops. I've seen the heroism of 
Americans in the face of danger. I've seen the spirit of service and 
compassion renewed in our country. We've all seen our Nation unite in 
common purpose when it mattered most.
    We will need all of these qualities for the work ahead. We have a 
war to win, and the world is counting on us to lead the cause of 
freedom. We have a duty to spread compassion and opportunity to every 
part of America.
    This is the work that history has set before us. We welcome it. And 
we know that for the United States of America, the best days lie ahead.
    God bless. Thank you all.

Note: The President spoke at 7:18 p.m. at the Washington Convention 
Center. In his remarks, he referred to Gov. Olene S. Walker of Utah; 
Gov. Ernie Fletcher of Kentucky; Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi; Gov. 
Arnold Schwarzenegger of California; Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida; Gov. Bob 
Taft of Ohio; Gov. Kenny C. Guinn of Nevada; and former President Saddam 
Hussein of Iraq. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a 
Spanish language transcript of these remarks.