[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 34 (Monday, August 23, 2004)]
[Pages 1624-1630]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks to Boeing Company Employees in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania

August 17, 2004

    The President. Thank you all very much. Gosh, it's good to be here.
    Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
    The President. Listen, thank you all for coming. I am honored to be 
here. Weldon is right, I'm here to thank the employees of this important 
plant for giving our troops what is necessary to keep the country safe.
    I appreciate the tour I just had. I want to thank Mark Madden. I 
appreciate Johnny D. If you don't know who Johnny D is, he's the 
president of Local 1069. He kindly came off vacation to say hi to the 
President. [Laughter] I was proud he did.
    I'm equally as proud of the men and women who work here, working day 
and night to put out a good product on behalf of our country. This is a 
great plant because we've got great workers.
    You know, this is my 32d visit to your State since I've been 
President. A lot of people are wondering why I'm coming so much. It 
ought to be obvious to you. I like my cheesesteak ``whiz with.'' I also 
want to win Pennsylvania. I'm coming to this State and asking people for 
the vote. I've got more to do to work with our country to keep us safer, 
stronger, and better.
    We've done a lot. We've been through a lot together, but there's 
more work to do to realize the great promise of this country and to keep 
our country as secure as it possibly can be. With your help, we'll carry 
Pennsylvania. With your help, we're going to win in November of 2004.
    Laura sends her best. She's terrific. She's heading out to Colorado. 
She's campaigning, which is good news for me. [Laughter] She's a great 
mom, a wonderful wife. Let's put me back in there so she can have 4 more 
years as the First Lady. I love her dearly.
    I'm running with a good man in Dick Cheney. I admit he's not the 
prettiest face in the race. [Laughter] Yes. I didn't pick him because of 
his looks. I picked him because of his judgment, his ability to get the 
job done.
    I appreciate my friend Curt Weldon. He's right, he wasn't 
exaggerating. We were campaigning somewhere in this part of the world, 
and he said, ``We need to go over there and thank the workers.'' I said, 
``Fine. Set it up.'' He said, ``Your schedule is harder to get through 
than mine.'' But here I am. And I want to thank Curt for setting up this 
visit. I appreciate his leadership and his friendship. He's doing a fine 
job for the people of Pennsylvania.
    I want to thank the president and the CEO of Boeing Company, Harry 
Stonecipher, for being here. I'm honored you're here, Harry. I want to 
thank Bill Hunt. He's a senior manager of the Chinook 47 operations. I 
want to thank all of the employees and families who are here. Thanks for 
coming by to say hello. I'm honored to be here. I appreciate you taking 
interest in the political process.
    You know, we all have a duty to do in our democratic system. We all 
have the obligation to vote. Obviously, when people start heading to the 
polls, I've got a preference. [Laughter] But I do want everybody in this 
country to vote. And for those of you who are involved in grassroots 
politics, I want to thank you for encouraging your fellow citizens to go 
to the polls.
    I'm on the ticket with Arlen Specter. He's a fine United States 
Senator. I'm proud to have his support and friendship. I appreciate my 
friend Jim Greenwood. Jim has served this part of the State with great 
skill, and we're going to miss him in the House of Representatives. I 
appreciate you coming, Jim. I'm honored you're here. I appreciate Mike 
Castle. He snuck across the border from

[[Page 1625]]

Delaware. [Applause] Either others snuck across the border with you, or 
they know you here. [Laughter] Castle is a good man, a good, honest 
fellow. I appreciate working with him. I know the statehouse speaker is 
with us, a lot of local officials. Thank you all for coming.
    I first want to thank the veterans who are here. I know a lot of 
veterans work in this facility and are in this crowd. I'm honored you're 
here. I want to tell you what I told the VFW yesterday is, thanks for 
setting such a good example for the folks who wear the uniform today. I 
appreciate the high standards our veterans have set.
    I also reminded them that just like the wars of the past, we have 
got to stay dedicated, focused, and resolved. We're once again fighting 
deadly enemies, and we're depending on the people here at Ridley Park. I 
just came out of a sophisticated Chinook chopper that some brave soldier 
is going to be flying soon. And I can tell him and I can tell his loved 
ones that chopper has got the best equipment, the best hydraulics, made 
by the best hands in America.
    We're equipping our troops, as we should. Boeing company is not only 
making good choppers; they're working on unmanned vehicles, advanced 
satellites, modern communication systems, the Army's future combat 
systems, all of which will help defend our country. In other words, this 
administration is thinking about today; we're also thinking about 
tomorrow. We're going to secure the country today, and we're going to 
prepare this country to be able to secure us down the road.
    Another thing that's interesting that's happening at Boeing that 
probably you aren't aware of, but you should be, is that Boeing 
engineers lowered the first ballistic missile interceptor into its silo 
at Fort Greely, Alaska. It's the beginning of a missile defense system 
that was envisioned by Ronald Reagan, a system necessary to protect us 
against the threats of the 21st century. We want to continue to perfect 
this system, so we say to those tyrants who believe they can blackmail 
America and the free world, ``You fire. We're going to shoot it down.''
    I think those who oppose this ballistic missile system really don't 
understand the threats of the 21st century. They're living in the past. 
We're living in the future. We're going to do what's necessary to 
protect this country.
    Boeing is not only important for the defenses of America, Boeing is 
important because we've got great workers. And the great workers of 
America helped us overcome some economic obstacles that were pretty 
significant. You might remember, during the last 3\1/2\ years, we've 
been through a recession; we went through some corporate scandals; we 
went through a terrorist attack, all of which affected our economy. Yet 
we've overcome it. Our economy is strong and getting stronger. The 
reason we've overcome it is because we've got great workers in America. 
We've overcome it because we've got great small-business owners in 
America. We've got great farmers and ranchers in America. We've got a 
great spirit in America.
    I'll argue vehemently, we've overcome it because of well-timed tax 
cuts. [Applause] Yes. It helped when we put more money in the people's 
pockets. It helped when we said, ``You know, we hear your cries, and you 
need more money if you've got a child in your family.'' It helped the 
families of America to raise the child credit. It helped to lessen the 
marriage penalty. I don't know what kind of tax--I know what kind of Tax 
Code it is that penalizes marriage. It's a code that needs to change. We 
ought to be rewarding marriage in America, not penalizing it.
    We helped our small businesses today. The national unemployment rate 
is 5.5 percent, well below the national averages of the seventies, 
eighties, and nineties. I understand there's still people looking for 
work here in America. So long as anybody wants to work and can't find a 
job, I know we've got more work to do in Washington, DC. It starts with 
making sure your taxes are low. Be careful of these folks who travel 
around the country making all these big promises and say, ``Oh, don't 
worry. We'll pay for it by taxing the rich.'' You know how that goes. 
The rich hires accountants and lawyers, and you get stuck with the bill. 
But we're not going to let him raise your taxes. For the sake of 
economic growth, for the sake of job creation, we will keep America's 
taxes low.

[[Page 1626]]

    We've got more work to do to keep jobs here in America. We've got to 
make sure this is the best place for people to expand the job base in 
the world. And therefore, we're going to make sure trade is free and 
fair. I was out at the Boeing plant in Seattle. I said a clear statement 
about fair trade to the folks out in that part of the world. I said 
we're going to work to get rid of the subsidies of Airbus that makes it 
difficult for Boeing to compete on a fair and level playing field in the 
world. We want there to be trade. We want there to be fair trade, 
because American workers can compete with anybody, anytime, anywhere, so 
long as the rules are fair.
    We're going to make sure the health care system of America is 
accessible and affordable. You know, there's been a lot of talk about 
Medicare. For those of you with elderly parents, you've heard all this 
talk about Medicare reform. We got the job done. There's been a lot of 
politics with Medicare, but finally, an administration came along that 
could work with the Congress and strengthen Medicare so the seniors of 
America now have got prescription drug coverage in Medicare.
    We need health savings accounts for American families. We need 
association health care plans for small businesses. You know what else 
we need in Pennsylvania and around the country? We need medical 
liability reform. These lawsuits are running up the cost of your health 
care, and they're running good docs out of practice right here in your 
State and in other States around the country. See, I don't think you can 
be pro-patient and pro-doctor and pro-plaintiff-attorney at the same 
time. I think you have to choose. My opponent made his choice, and he 
put him on the ticket. I made my choice. I'm for medical liability 
reform now.
    We've got to make sure we have an energy policy in this country that 
makes us less dependent on foreign sources of energy. You can't build 
these choppers without good energy supplies at affordable costs. I've 
submitted a plan to the United States Congress that encourages 
conservation, renewable sources of energy, ways to use coal in a clean 
way, ways to explore in environmentally friendly ways. The Congress 
needs to get an energy policy to my desk now in order to keep jobs here 
in America.
    Finally, to make sure we keep jobs here, our education system has to 
be the best in the world. We're making pretty good progress when it 
comes to our public schools. You remember, when I came into office, we 
had a system that just moved our kids through grade after grade, year 
after year, without learning the basics. So we've increased Federal 
funding, but we've also, for the first time, asked the question, ``Can 
you read and write?'' It seems like a legitimate question for Government 
to ask on behalf of the taxpayers and families of America. And if you 
can read and write, we'll thank you; but if you can't, change before 
it's too late, so that no child gets left behind in this country.
    We've done a lot of hard work, but there's more to do to move 
America forward. And there's more to do to protect this country from the 
threats of the 21st century. If America shows uncertainty or weakness in 
this decade, the world will drift toward tragedy. This is not going to 
happen on my watch. Since September the 11th, America has led the world, 
and the world has changed for the better.
    There are some serious lessons that we must remember about September 
the 11th. I would like to share some of those with you today. First, 
we're fighting an enemy that is so coldblooded it's hard for many 
Americans to fathom. These people will cut off your head like that, 
trying to shake our will and shake our conscience. That's why I remind 
our fellow citizens we must be resolute, and we must be steadfast in the 
face of these coldblooded killers. You cannot negotiate with these 
people. You cannot hope for the best when it comes to these people. 
Therapy is not going to work. [Laughter] The only way to deal with them 
is to bring them to justice.
    And we're making progress. Slowly but surely, we're bringing them to 
justice. It's a different kind of war. See, this is the kind of war 
where these killers will hide in a cave and use terror to shake our 
will. America's will will not be shaken. America will show strength and 
resolve for the sake of freedom and peace. We will continue to find 
these killers and defeat them overseas so we do not have to face them 
here at home.

[[Page 1627]]

    In this different kind of war, we had to send a message to the world 
that we wanted others to join us, and they have. We've got a vast 
coalition of nations sharing intelligence, cutting off money. There's 
some 40 nations involved in Afghanistan, some 30 nations involved in 
Iraq. I appreciate their service. As a matter of fact, this morning I 
talked to Tony Blair, Silvio Berlusconi--the Prime Ministers of Great 
Britain and Italy. Once again, I thanked them for the sacrifices of 
their citizens to provide help in places like Afghanistan and Iraq so 
that the world would be more free and peaceful. I will continue to work 
with coalitions, but I will never turn over America's national security 
decisions to leaders of other countries.
    Another lesson of September the 11th is that it's just not enough to 
go after the killers who killed thousands of Americans, but that if 
there's a country which harbors them or feeds them, they must be held 
equally to account. And so I said to the Taliban in Afghanistan, ``Cough 
up Al Qaida, or face serious consequences.''
    Now, let me say something to you. When the American President 
speaks, it better be clear for everybody to understand and he better 
mean it. And I meant it. And as a result of some brave Americans and 
coalition troops, the Taliban no longer exists in Afghanistan. And 
America and the world are safer for it. And these Chinook choppers 
helped free Afghanistan from the Taliban.
    It's an amazing--think about this in Afghanistan. You remember when 
the four women were drug off the bus. They were voter registration 
people, and they got drug off the bus by some remnants of the Taliban 
and were killed because they were trying to register voters. And I 
remember some people saying, ``Well, gosh, it just goes to show how 
terrible it is there in Afghanistan, and they're not going to have much 
of an election.'' Do you realize that there's now about 9.5 million 
people who have registered to vote in Afghanistan? It's an amazing 
statistic. Think about the world 3\1/2\ years ago. These thugs were 
running the country and providing training bases for Al Qaida. And the 
world was dangerous. We didn't realize it at the time, but think about 
how dangerous the world was then. And now, because we took action and 
upheld doctrine--we did what we said we were going to do--Afghanistan is 
free. The people are registering to vote.
    I was in Cleveland, Ohio, recently and welcomed children to the 
International Children's Game, and there right to my right was the 
Afghan girls soccer team. They would not have been here without the 
United States of America having freed the people of that country.
    And a free Afghanistan is not only an ally in the war on terror, and 
a free Afghanistan is not only a place where many young girls go to 
school for the first time, but a free Afghanistan makes America more 
secure and the world more peaceful.
    Another important lesson of September the 11th that all Americans 
must realize is we must take threats seriously before they fully 
materialize, that you cannot hope for the best when you see a threat. In 
the old days, we could because we never thought anybody would attack us 
here at home. But that all changed on that day.
    And so when I looked at Saddam Hussein, I saw a threat. And the 
reason I did is because he had used weapons of mass destruction against 
his own people, and he was a sworn enemy of America. He had provided 
safe haven for terrorists. He had paid money to the families of 
suiciders. He was an unstable--he was a source of instability in a 
volatile part of the world. He was firing at our pilots who were 
enforcing the world's sanctions. He was a threat.
    And I recognized that I needed to go to the United States Congress 
to get support. I wanted the Congress involved, and I took it to the 
Congress. They looked at the same intelligence I looked at, and they 
remembered the history of Saddam Hussein that I remembered. And so 
members of both political parties, including my opponent, supported our 
position in Iraq. They saw a threat.
    The United Nations Security Council saw a threat. Remember, I went 
to the U.N. I believe diplomacy must be tried, and we must exhaust all 
options in the diplomatic front. See, war is the last resort for a 
President. It's the toughest decision a President will make. It's the 
hardest call a Commander in Chief can possibly decide. So I went to

[[Page 1628]]

the U.N. I said, ``Look, why don't we, as the world, finally get 
together, when we say something, mean it, and let's disarm this guy. 
Take a look, and you decide if he needs to be disarmed.'' Remember, they 
had had resolution after resolution after resolution after resolution. 
And they passed another one, 15 to nothing, in the United Nations 
Security Council. It said, ``Disclose, disarm, or face serious 
consequences.'' That's what the free world said, in a 15 to nothing 
vote.
    Saddam Hussein defied the free world, just as he had for year after 
year after year. He didn't give a hoot about what they said. He wasn't 
interested in complying to the demands of the free world. As a matter of 
fact, when we sent the inspectors in, he systematically deceived them. 
So I had a choice to make. And the choice was, do I trust a madman? Do I 
forget the lessons of September the 11th and hope for the best in this 
new era, or do I take action necessary to defend our country? Given that 
choice, I will defend America every time.
    No, I realize we didn't find the stockpiles we thought we would 
find. But I want you to remember, Saddam had the capability of making 
weapons, and he could have shared that capability with our enemies. And 
in the post-9/11 environment, that's a risk America could not afford to 
take. Knowing what I know today, I would have made the same decision. 
And America and the world are better off with Saddam Hussein sitting in 
a prison cell.
    We have a mission in Afghanistan and Iraq, and that is to help them 
achieve freedom. They've got leaders there now who believe in the future 
of their countries and want their countries to be free. As I told you, 
Afghanistan is headed toward elections; Iraq will be too. That's what we 
believe in. We believe in systems empowering the people. So we'll help 
them. We'll be there to help train their troops so they can stand up and 
take responsibility for their own societies. And we will complete the 
mission. It's in our national interest that these countries be free. 
They're going to be such powerful examples in neighborhoods that are 
desperate for freedom. You see, the way you defeat terror in the long 
run is to defeat hopelessness and poverty. And the best way to do that 
is to spread freedom. Free societies are peaceful societies.
    By adhering to a--our beliefs in liberty, we're helping others and, 
at the same time, helping ourself. By standing strong for liberty, we're 
remembering lessons of the past. You know, I was talking to Prime 
Minister Koizumi--I do quite a bit--and my last dinner with him--I think 
my last dinner, one of my last dinners with him--it dawned on me how 
amazing it was that here I was talking to the leader of a country that 
my dad had fought against in World War II and your dads had fought 
against. And you know what we were talking about? We were talking about 
the peace. We were talking about how to make the world a more peaceful 
place. And I was having that conversation in part because our country 
understood that liberty could transform the habits of former enemies. 
And as Japan was rebuilt after World War II, we stood strong to our 
belief in freedom for all people. See, we believe that freedom is not 
America's gift to the world; freedom is the Almighty God's gift to every 
man and woman in this world.
    These are historic times. These are historic times. We've done a lot 
of hard work, I know that. But we're headed toward a freer world and a 
more peaceful world. My dream for this country is that when your kids 
grow up, the world is more--America is more secure, and they look out 
and see a peaceful horizon, not only for ourselves but for people all 
around the world. It's important we complete our mission in Iraq and 
Afghanistan.
    I was disappointed the other day when my opponent said after he gets 
elected that he believes he'll substantially reduce the troops in Iraq 
in 6 months. See, I think that sets a terrible signal. I mean, after 
all, the enemy has got to wait for 6 months and 1 day. It sends a bad 
signal to our troops over there, who every day are doing their best to 
help that country rebuild and bring peace. It sends a bad signal to the 
Iraqis, doesn't it? They're wondering whether or not America is going to 
cut and run. They're wondering whether or not--you see, before they take 
risks for freedom, they're wondering or not whether we'll be there to 
help stabilize the country. So long as I'm the President of the

[[Page 1629]]

United States, America will keep its word to the people around the 
world.
    I'll tell you another commitment I have made and one I'll keep. Our 
troops are going to have the best training, the best pay, the best 
possible equipment. When we put these folks in harm's way, the Federal 
Government must stand squarely by their side. I've increased the defense 
budgets--strongly increased the defense budgets--because I want these 
folks to have the best, and I know you do too. As a matter of fact, the 
defense budgets have increased as great as they ever had since Ronald 
Reagan was the President of the United States.
    That's why I went to the United States Congress last September and 
said, ``We need supplemental funding to support our troops in combat in 
both Afghanistan and Iraq.'' That was for body armor and fuel and spare 
parts, just all the things necessary to help these people complete their 
mission. And I--we got great bipartisan support. That means people from 
both parties realized the funding was important--so strong that only 12 
people voted against it in the United States Senate, 2 of whom are my 
opponent and his runningmate. I think when you put people into harm's 
way, you ought to make sure they're well-equipped.
    And so they asked him--they started pressing him. You know how it is 
in politics. And so he said, ``Fine, well, I actually did vote for the 
$87 billion, before I voted against it.'' [Laughter] I can assure you 
people don't talk like that on the floor of this factory. They'll tell 
you what's on their mind. And then he got pressed further, and he went 
on to say, well, he's proud of it, and then, ``It's a complicated 
matter.'' There's nothing complicated about supporting our troops in 
combat.
    We've done a lot of hard work, a lot of hard work, and there's more 
work to be done to do our duty, which is to secure our country, to 
protect our homeland, and to help the world become more free and more 
peaceful.
    You know, this is a changing world of ours, and there are some 
things that won't change, however. The values we try to live by will not 
change, courage and compassion, and reverence and integrity, hard work 
and duty. The institutions that give us direction will not change, our 
families, our schools, our religious congregations. This is important to 
our country, that these values be strong.
    That's why I stand for institutions like marriage and family, which 
are the foundations of our society. We stand for a culture of life in 
which every person matters and every person counts. We stand for judges 
who faithfully interpret the law instead of legislating from the bench.
    We stand for a culture of responsibility here in America. You know, 
the culture is changing 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 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. You know, if you're worried about the quality of the 
education in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, you're responsible for doing 
something about it. A responsibility society is one in which every CEO 
in corporate America understands he or she is responsible for telling 
the truth to the shareholders and employees. And a responsibility 
society is one in which each of us understands we're responsible for 
loving our neighbor just like we'd like to be loved ourself.
    I'm running again because I want to continue to rally the armies of 
compassion all around our country. See, Government can hand out money, 
but Government cannot put hope in a person's heart or a sense of purpose 
in a person's life. That happens when a loving soul puts their arms 
around somebody, says, ``I love you,'' and ``How can I help you?'' We 
must continue to rally those compassionate folks who are willing to 
volunteer their time so America can change one heart and one soul and 
one conscience at a time.
    Tom Shaffer is a Boeing employee. He's up here. He runs the Race 
Against Drugs. He volunteers time to help convince kids to get off 
drugs. He's making a difference. All he's got to do is convince one 
soul, and he's helped that life and helped change America. Volunteers 
come--they do all kinds of things around our country.

[[Page 1630]]

    Paula Zimmerman is with us. She started what's called Touch of Home. 
Her son, Private First Class Kevin Zimmerman, is a member of the Army's 
Crazy Horse Company, 1st Battalion. He's in Sadr City, Iraq. He's doing 
his duty for his country, and his mom has sent 160 care packages to 
Crazy Horse Company. She took time out of her life to volunteer, to lift 
somebody's spirit, to help some soul understand that a lot of people 
back home appreciate what they're doing. Government didn't make her do 
it. She decided to do it because she cares about her son and her 
country.
    I realize one person can't do everything, but a person can do 
something to help change this country for the better. I want to thank 
our two examples for volunteers. I want to thank you all for loving your 
neighbor just like you'd like to be loved yourself. You're helping your 
country when you do so.
    You know, for all of us, these years in our history will stand 
apart. There are quiet times in the life of a nation when little is 
expected of its leaders. This isn't one of those times. This is a time 
that requires firm resolve, clear vision, a strong belief in the values 
that make us a great nation.
    None of us will ever forget that week when one era ended and another 
began. September the 14th, 2001, I stood in the ruins of the Twin 
Towers. It's a day I will never forget. There were hardhats there, 
yelling at me, ``Whatever it takes, Mr. President.'' I can remember 
walking down the line, shaking hands and thanking people. A guy looked 
me in the eye--he had just come out of the rubble--and he said, ``Do not 
let me down.''
    See, he took that day personally. Everybody on that site took it 
personally. I know you took it personally, and so did I. I have a duty 
that goes on. I wake up daily trying to best figure out how to protect 
our country. I will never relent in bringing justice to our enemies and 
secure the homeland, whatever it takes.
    When I traveled your great State and our country 4 years ago, I 
said, if you would give me the honor of holding this office, I would 
uphold the dignity and the honor of the office to which I had been 
elected. With your help, I will do so for the next 4 years.
    Thank you for coming. God bless. Thank you all.

Note: The President spoke at 2:20 p.m. at the Boeing Co. In his remarks, 
he referred to Mark Madden, employee, Boeing Co.; John DeFrancisco, 
president, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement 
Workers of America Local 1069; John M. Perzel, speaker, Pennsylvania 
House of Representatives; former President Saddam Hussein of Iraq; Prime 
Minister Tony Blair of the United Kingdom; Prime Minister Silvio 
Berlusconi of Italy; and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan.