[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 42 (Monday, October 18, 2004)]
[Pages 2359-2363]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks in Paradise Valley, Arizona

October 12, 2004

    The President. Thank you all for coming. Thank you all for being 
here. I want to thank my friends Jon Kyl and John McCain for their 
leadership. They're good, honest people, and they're good to work with, 
and they do a great job representing Arizona. I presume you want me to 
sign the water bill. [Laughter] No wonder you're here.
    Anyway, I finally made it to Arizona--back to Arizona. You know, 
we're kind of warming up for these debates. I'm looking forward to 
tomorrow night. It's a chance to point out major differences. For 
example, if the Senator has his way, this is the way every house will 
feel, because he doesn't have an energy policy. But it's going to be a 
lot of fun. I want to thank Arizona State for hosting the debate, and 
thank the good city of Phoenix and Tempe for being such gracious hosts.
    I'm--will be teaming up here in a minute with Laura. She's been 
working her way from east to west. She and little Barbara are 
campaigning New Mexico today, and Jenna introduced me in Colorado 
Springs. And I was sitting there watching that gracious young lady 
introduce me in front of 10,000 people, saying, ``My, does time fly,'' 
you know. [Laughter] It's an unbelievable feeling, really. I told the 
girls when they were young, I said, ``Oh, don't worry, we'll go on the 
famous father-daughter camping trip,'' come to the Grand Canyon, maybe 
ride down the Colorado River. This is the grand camping

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trip we never took them on, campaigning for President. [Laughter] But 
it's a lot of fun to have your family out there.
    I tell people--and this is true--I think it's true; it's got some 
truth to it, at least--that either when I asked her or shortly 
thereafter, Laura said, you know, ``I never want to have to give a 
political speech. I'll marry you, but I don't want to give a speech.'' I 
said, ``Okay, you got a deal.'' And--but fortunately, she didn't hold me 
to the deal. The American people have gotten to see her as a warm, 
compassionate, great First Lady.
    It's such an honor to serve the people. You know, people say, 
``Well, gosh, that's interesting. What's it like on your marriage, you 
know, being the President and First Lady?'' I say, ``It strengthened our 
marriage. After all, I've only got a 45-second commute.'' [Laughter] But 
we're representing the country together, and Laura has come to know what 
I know, that we have a chance to really do some good things for people. 
And I remember when she gave the radio address to the--and spoke to the 
women of Afghanistan, made it very clear that the American people were 
standing with them as they went from tyranny to freedom. And the 
feedback was fantastic, and she realized what I know as well, that just 
simple gestures and kind--moments of kindness can really make a 
difference in people's lives and can help lift spirits and make a 
valuable contribution to the future of the country.
    I tell people that I'm going to give you some reasons why to put me 
back in. Tomorrow night, that's part of the purpose, but perhaps the 
most important one of all is so that Laura is the First Lady for 4 more 
years. [Laughter]
    And my runningmate is doing just fine. I talk to him quite 
frequently. I think I'm going to see him tomorrow on a video--on a SVTS, 
we call it, which is a secure two-way conversation via video. We talk 
about national security needs. And he's doing great. He's holding his 
own. He did a wonderful job in the debate. I tell people he doesn't have 
the--I tell people plainly the fact, and that is, he doesn't have the 
waviest hair there amongst the candidates. But I didn't pick him for his 
hairdo. [Laughter] I picked him because he's a man of sound judgment and 
great experience, and he's getting the job done. And I'm real proud of 
Dick Cheney and proud to serve with him.
    I want to thank Members of the Congress who are here. Trent and 
Josie Franks are with us. It's great to see you all. Thanks for coming. 
You're doing a fine job, and I'm proud you're here. Shadegg is with us. 
Where is John? Somewhere, anyway. Either that or he's outside trying to 
find some cool air. [Laughter] I want to thank J.D. and Mary Hayworth. 
They're with us today. Big J.D., appreciate you coming. Jeff and Cheryl 
Flake--there he is. Thanks for coming. I'm glad to see you all.
    The mayor is with us, Ron Clarke, of the town of Paradise, Arizona. 
What a fantastic name, Paradise. What a great name. You know who is 
here? I'm a member of the ex-Governors club, and my old buddy, the ex-
Governor of the State of Arizona is with us, Fife Symington. I 
appreciate you coming. You look great, for an older guy--no. [Laughter]
    I want to thank my friend Jim Click. I appreciate his leadership. 
Several people came through the line and said, ``I'm Click's friend.'' I 
said, well, ``I'm sorry.'' [Laughter] But thanks for coming. [Laughter]
    I want to thank my--longtime friend of Mother and Dad's and mine, 
Jim Simmons. I appreciate Jim, and thank you for being here. I don't 
know if many people know this, but he used to live in Midland, Texas. 
And that's where Laura is from. That's where I'm from. Mother and Dad 
were living out there, and they became fast friends. You can't make it 
in this line of work unless your friends stay with you. That's just the 
way it is, and I appreciate Jim.
    Bob Castellini and Susie are here. They've helped on this event. I 
want to thank my longtime friend Bob Castellini. I want to thank Dave 
Thompson. I want to thank the chairman of the Republican Party of 
Arizona, Bob Fannin, and his wife, Lisa.
    Let's see here--21 days from today, the people will be going to the 
polls.
    Audience member. You've got my vote!
    The President. That's good. [Laughter] I certainly hope so. 
[Laughter] I don't know who is counting the days. I guess--but my 
spirits are high. I feel great. I really feel like

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the people--I got a good record to run on. I went to Washington to do 
some things.
    You might remind people about what this economy has been through. 
The stock market was declining 6 months before I arrived in Washington, 
DC. We had one of the most significant stock market corrections in our 
history, and it foretold a recession. And then we got attacked, which 
cost us a million jobs. But we acted. I acted. I led the Congress. We 
cut the taxes in order to create consumption and investment, and this 
recession was one of the shallowest in American history.
    We're on the move. Jobs are being created. There's a sense of 
optimism everywhere I go. Do you realize that there are more homeowners 
today than ever before? More minorities own their home than ever before 
in the history of the United States. What a fantastic, fantastic 
statistic.
    The entrepreneurial spirit is strong. I mean, I meet small-business 
owners all over who feel like tomorrow will be a better day, in part 
because of the policies we have put in place. Listen, farmers are doing 
well, and that's good. When you got a good ag economy, you got a good 
economy. Think about that. The agricultural sector is doing well, which 
means rural America is doing well. There are bright spots all over this 
country.
    And what I'm going to tell the people tomorrow night is we're not 
going to go back to the days of tax and spend. We're not going to go 
back to the days where--kind of the vision of economic policy is, 
``We're going to take your money, and we'll decide what to do with it.'' 
Running up the taxes on the American people right now would be bad for 
our economy, and we're not going to let him tax you. We're going to win 
in Arizona, and we're going to win in November.
    So it's--you can't run on your record, see, you got to run on--the 
only reason you look at your record is to say, ``I did what I said I was 
going to do, and now here's what I'm going to do.'' And the best way to 
make sure jobs stay here is to make sure America is the best place in 
the world to do business. That means less regulations. That means legal 
reform. That means a commonsense energy policy that will make us less 
dependent on foreign sources of energy. That means opening up markets 
for U.S. goods.
    One of the interesting debates in this campaign is about trade. I go 
around telling the people, ``Look, we open up our markets for foreign 
goods, and that's good for you.'' I explain to them that when you have 
more products to choose from, you're likely to get that which you want 
at a better price and higher quality. That's how the market works. So 
rather than preventing you from having more choices, I think what we 
ought to do is to say to countries, ``You treat us the way we treat 
you.'' Let's open up markets for U.S. products and U.S. goods and U.S. 
services. And that's how you keep jobs here in America.
    And you keep jobs here in America by being wise about how we spend 
your money. I look forward to working with Senators McCain and Kyl 
about--to bring some fiscal sanity to Washington, DC. But you're not 
going to have fiscal sanity with John Kerry as the President. He's been 
the most liberal Member of the United States Senate, which means he 
likes to spend your money. That's what that means. Now, he can try to 
run from his record, but I'm not going to let him hide.
    A couple of other quick points before people start to fall out 
here--[laughter]--including me. [Laughter] I can't wait for the health 
care debate. It's clear in this campaign; there's a difference of 
opinion. He said the other day, the Government doesn't have anything to 
do with his plan. When he said that I could barely contain myself. 
[Laughter] Of course, the Government has something to do with his plan. 
It's the cornerstone of his plan. It's the crux of his health care 
policy, to expand the Federal Government.
    I have a different view. I mean, we've got to address costs with 
medical liability reform. We got to address costs with structural 
reforms by giving consumers more choice in the marketplace. That's how 
you begin to control costs. And that's why I'm such a big believer in 
health savings accounts. I could give you the whole litany, but what I'm 
telling you is, is that there is a vast difference of opinion about 
health care. And I'm absolutely confident our view is the way to help 
make sure health care is available and affordable.
    I'm looking forward to talking about education. This is a subject 
about which I've got

[[Page 2362]]

great passion. We reformed our--the way the Federal Government looks at 
schools. We measure now, in return for extra Federal money. You've got 
to measure if you want to save people's lives. You've got to measure if 
you want to educate every child. If you don't diagnose the problem, you 
can't solve it.
    Listen, I'm looking forward to debating tomorrow night on domestic 
issues that will make a difference. I'm looking forward to probably 
spending a little time, hopefully, on the war on terror because there's 
a big difference of opinion on the war on terror.
    Let me tell you a couple of things, and we'll all go home and find 
some air-conditioning. First, you got to understand the nature of the 
enemy. They are coldblooded. They have no conscience, and you can't 
negotiate with them, and you can't hope for the best with these people. 
We must find them overseas so we don't have to face them here, and 
that's exactly what we're doing.
    A couple of other things. Secondly is that in this different kind of 
war, it is important to send clear and understandable messages, such as, 
``If you harbor a terrorist, you're just as guilty as the terrorist.'' 
See, it's one thing to go after the terrorist networks, which we'll 
continue to do, but we also got to go after those people who harbor them 
and support them. And that's what I meant when I told the Taliban to get 
rid of Al Qaida or face serious consequences. They didn't listen, and 
they're no longer in power.
    And I want you to remind your friends and neighbors about what took 
place this weekend. It is a phenomenal statement about democracy and 
freedom. Do you realize the first person that voted in the Presidential 
election was a 19-year-old girl? That's unbelievable. It's an 
unbelievable thought. Imagine what is happening in that society because 
of freedom. And it's in our Nation's interest that we promote freedom in 
places like Afghanistan and elsewhere, because Afghanistan is now an 
ally in the war on terror and such a bright example of what is possible 
in parts of the world that are desperate for free societies.
    The third lesson is that we've got to deal with threats before they 
come to hurt us. That's the reality of September the 11th. Saddam was a 
threat. We didn't find the stockpiles we thought were there, but 
remember what the report last week said. It said he was gaming the Oil 
for Food Programme to convince governments to get rid of--weaken or get 
rid of the sanction program for one reason, to use his expertise to 
rebuild his weapons. And what could he do with the weapons? He could 
share them with a terrorist enemy, which would make the harm done on 
September the 11th mild in comparison to what they could do. That's the 
true threat we face. And therefore, it's incumbent upon a President to 
face those threats before they come to hurt us. And that's exactly what 
we did in Iraq. Getting rid of Saddam Hussein was the right thing to do, 
and the world is safer for it.
    And we'll succeed in Iraq. We've got a plan, and we're moving toward 
elections. Think about a--they're going to have elections in January. 
It's dangerous there, and there's a reason. These terrorists want to 
stop us. They want us to quit. They can't stand the thought of a free 
society in their midst. They understand how powerful Iraq will be as an 
example of people being able to live in a free society.
    I believe everybody wants to be free. I believe women in the Middle 
East want to live in a free world. I know mothers from all walks of life 
and all religions want to raise their children in a free society. I know 
that, and at the core of my belief is that people want to be free 
because freedom is the Almighty God's gift to each man and woman in this 
world. That's what I believe.
    Let me tell you one story--one story, and then we'll all go home 
here. [Laughter] There's already enough hot air in here to begin with. 
[Laughter] I tell people I believe in the transformational power of 
liberty. And I put it--I try to put it in terms so everybody can 
understand what I'm saying. And I use my friend Koizumi as an example 
about what I mean. Now, he's the Prime Minister of Japan. Laura and I 
are very fond of him. He's an interesting, interesting man. His favorite 
singer is Elvis--[laughter]--one of his favorite--pretty unusual. And 
one of his favorite movies is ``High Noon.'' [Laughter]
    And I sit down with him and talk to him quite frequently. And what I 
find amazing

[[Page 2363]]

is that I am talking to him at all, because it wasn't all that long ago 
in the march of history that we were at war with Japan. Japan was the 
sworn enemy. My dad fought the Japanese. McCain's dad fought the 
Japanese. Your dads, granddads were at war with the Japanese.
    And after we won, Harry S. Truman, President of the United States, 
believed in the power of liberty to transform an enemy into an ally. 
Think about what that must have been like for the President, to stand up 
to the American people and say, ``We're going to help our enemy become a 
democracy. We'll help Japan, not hurt Japan, the enemy, but we'll help 
lift up Japan as a free nation.''
    And there were great doubters and skeptics, and you can understand 
why. Many lives had been turned up-side-down. ``Who wants to help an 
enemy,'' some probably asked. But Truman and other Americans stood true 
to the belief that liberty is a powerful, powerful concept.
    And so today, as a result of their belief, I sit down with Prime 
Minister Koizumi, talking about the peace that we all want. We talk 
about how to keep the peace on the Korean Peninsula. We're talking about 
how to spread democracy and freedom. We talk about how to help the 
people of Afghanistan and Iraq realize their dreams to live in a free 
society. He knows what I know: Free societies will yield a more peaceful 
world. And I'm talking to a former enemy about peace.
    Someday, an American President will be sitting down with a leader 
from Iraq, elected by the people, talking about how to keep the peace in 
a troubled part of the world, talking about how to spread liberty to 
corners of the world that need liberty, talking about how to make sure 
the example of a free society shines brightly for all. And our children 
and our grandchildren will be better off for it.
    The stakes are high. The stakes are high in this campaign. We have a 
competing different--competing visions on Government, and we have a 
different view of the war on terror. It's not just to be reduced as a 
``nuisance.'' It is to be defeated by using all the might of the United 
States and spreading freedom as an alternative. And make no mistake 
about it, with the firm resolve and clear vision, we will prevail.
    And I want to thank you for your help. God bless you. Thank you all.

Note: The President spoke at 12:46 p.m. at the Sanctuary on Camelback 
Mountain. In his remarks, he referred to Josephine Franks, wife of 
Representative Trent Franks; Mary Hayworth, wife of Representative J.D. 
Hayworth; Cheryl Flake, wife of Representative Jeff Flake; Mayor Ron 
Clarke of Paradise Valley, AZ; and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of 
Japan. He also referred to the ``Comprehensive Report of the Special 
Advisor to the DCI on Iraq's WMD,'' issued September 30.