[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 9 (Monday, March 6, 2006)]
[Pages 358-362]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a Republican Governors Association Reception

February 27, 2006

    The President. Thanks for the warm welcome. Be seated--unless you 
don't have a seat. [Laughter]
    Mitt, thank you for that wonderful introduction. That columnist is 
pretty much alone in your State of Massachusetts--[laughter]--but I 
appreciate it. Appreciate your leadership of the RGA. I want to thank 
Sonny. I call him ``Big Buddy Perdue.'' [Laughter] He is a big buddy. 
And I want to thank Matt Blunt as well and Melanie and Ann Romney. Thank 
you all very much for taking a strong leadership role.
    One of the things you find out about successful Governors is they 
marry well. Same thing happens for Presidents. [Laughter] And I am 
married really well.
    I want to thank you all for supporting people who know how to get 
things done. You know, in our line of work there's a lot of talkers--
sometimes there's not many doers; a lot of people who have got opinions, 
but oftentimes people can't roll up their sleeves and achieve agendas. 
And the folks you're supporting here today are people who know how to 
set agendas, make decisions based upon principle, and get things done on 
behalf of our country by running their State. Thank you for supporting 
them, and thank the Governors for being such strong leaders.

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    I enjoy working with the Governors. I know how these folks think. 
And they know what I know, that we are a nation at war. They are the 
commanders in chief of their respective National Guard units, many of 
which have been deployed overseas. And I want to thank our Governors and 
the first ladies for understanding the task ahead for our country, for 
supporting those who wear the uniform, and for reaching out to the 
families who worry about their loved ones. Our Governors, these 
Governors are on the frontline in the war against terror, and I thank 
you for your steadfast support.
    They, like me, will never forget the lessons of September the 11th. 
Our Nation must never forget the lessons of September the 11th, for the 
greatest duty of our respective governments--Federal Government and 
State government--is to protect the American people. The security of our 
citizens is of paramount importance to my administration, to many in the 
Congress, as well as our Governors.
    The way to win the war on terror is to stay on the offense, is to 
defeat the killers overseas so we do not have to face them here in 
America, is to be relentless in our pursuit--never give in, never give 
up, and keep the enemy on the run, which is precisely what we're doing.
    In order to win the war on terror, it is really important for the 
President to speak clearly, and when he says something, means what he 
says. And so when I said to the world, if you harbor a terrorist, you're 
equally as guilty as the terrorist, I meant what I said, and the Taliban 
found out exactly that the United States of America keeps its word. And 
today, because we upheld that doctrine, America is a safer place. Al 
Qaida no longer has a safe haven in which to plan and plot an attack, 
and 25 million people are enjoying the fruits of liberty.
    A lesson of September the 11th is that when we see a threat, we must 
take the threat seriously. When a lot of us were growing up, oceans--we 
felt oceans could protect us from harm; that if we saw a threat 
overseas, we could deal with it if we wanted to or not, because we were 
safe. September the 11th changed that forever. September the 11th taught 
us that when we see threats brewing or materializing, we must take them 
seriously. I saw a threat; the world saw a threat; people of both 
political parties in the United States Congress saw a threat--and that 
was Saddam Hussein. The world is better off without Saddam Hussein in 
power.
    Many of our Governors have been to Iraq, and I thank them for 
supporting our troops in harm's way. We've got a strategy for victory in 
Iraq. Our strategy--our goal is to make sure that Iraq can govern itself 
and sustain itself and defend itself, will become an ally in the war on 
terror and not be a safe haven for Al Qaida, which wants to plan and 
plot and use the oil wealth to strike America again.
    Our strategy is threefold. One, we'll help rebuild that country so 
people see the fruits of democracy. Two, we'll encourage a political 
system that will take into account the voices of the people. You saw 
what I saw: 11 million Iraqis made their voices abundantly clear: ``We 
want to be free''--in the face of terror. They decided to vote in 
overwhelming numbers.
    The leaders of Iraq rejected this notion that a suicider and a thug 
and a terrorist can create civil war. They're interested in a unified 
government that will allow the people to express their will, a unified 
government that will give young mothers and fathers the hope that their 
children can grow up in a peaceful society.
    The third part of our strategy is to train the Iraqis so they can 
take the fight to the enemy, and that's exactly what's happening. The 
Iraqis are standing up, and as they do, we will stand down. I know many 
of you are concerned about the troop levels. I know our Governors are 
worried about the troop levels in Iraq. Here's my response: I will 
determine the troop levels in Iraq, one, necessary to achieve victory, 
based upon the recommendations of our commanders, not based upon 
politics in Washington, DC.
    Ours is an enemy that has no conscience, but they do have a 
philosophy. They're totalitarian in nature. They're fascist in their 
tactics. They will spare no life in order to achieve their objective. 
Their aims are clear. They believe the United States is weak and 
flaccid; it's only a matter of time before we withdraw and create 
vacuums into which

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their awful ideology can flow and in which they can achieve their 
objectives. They do not understand the United States of America. We will 
not flinch in the face of their terror. We will not let thugs and 
assassins determine the foreign policy of the United States. We will 
stay in the fight and we will the fight for the security of the United 
States of America.
    In the long run, the way to defeat an ideology of darkness is with 
an ideology of hope and light. And that ideology is based upon liberty, 
the fundamental rights of men and women to live in a free society. I 
believe--I believe that deep within everybody's soul is the desire to be 
free. So I wasn't surprised when 11 million people voted. I wasn't 
surprised when the Afghans fought off the terrorists. I'm not surprised 
when people take to streets in Lebanon demanding their freedom. Freedom 
is on the march. And by having freedom on the march, we're laying the 
foundation of peace for generations to come.
    It's not easy work. It's hard work. But this nation has done that 
kind of work before. I want to remind you that after World War II, 
America didn't abandon the world; we helped our enemies rebuild to 
become democracies. World War II and World War I cost our country dearly 
in the number of lives lost. But today, because we stuck with the 
principle that liberty is universal and democracies yield the peace, 
Europe is whole, free, and at peace.
    And in Japan--you know, my dad went, many of your relatives have 
fought the Japanese; they were the sworn enemy of the United States of 
America. And yet today, some 60 years after World War II ended, I can 
sit down at the table with one of my close friends in the international 
arena, the Prime Minister of Japan, talking about keeping the peace. And 
what happened, Japan took on a Japanese-style democracy, and democracies 
and liberty convert enemies into allies. In order to lay the foundation 
of peace for generations to come, this country of ours must never forget 
the lessons of history and be confident in the universal values that can 
change the world to be a peaceful world.
    And my fellow Governors understand that, and I appreciate your 
courage, and I appreciate your strong support. And I appreciate your 
steadfast will in the face of--in the face of the enemy.
    And here at home we've got a strong agenda as well. Mitt was right--
this economy of ours has overcome a lot. It's overcome recession and war 
and terrorist attacks and corporate scandals and hurricanes and high 
energy prices. Yet, we're strong and we're getting stronger. And one of 
the reasons why is, we understand that when you let people keep more of 
their own money, they will save and spend and invest and cause this 
economy to get going. Our economy grew at 3\1/2\ percent last year. 
Unemployment is 4.7 percent. We've added 4.7 million new jobs since 
August of 2003. Productivity is on the rise. Homeownership is at an 
alltime high. More minorities own a home today than ever before in our 
Nation's history.
    And yet, these are times of uncertainty. There's competition in the 
global economy. People are changing jobs quite often. There's kind of an 
unsettling feeling here in the United States of America. And the 
fundamental question is, what do we do as we head into the future? Some 
say let us retreat; let's isolate ourselves from the world--or let's 
protect ourselves with artificial walls. That's not the attitude of me 
or our Governors. We're confident about the future because we intend to 
shape the future and keep the United States of America as the leading 
economy in the world.
    To keep this economy growing, we've got to keep progrowth economic 
policies in place not only at the Federal level but at the State level. 
You know, there's a lot of talk here in Washington about the deficit. 
I'm concerned about the deficit too. But don't fall prey to those who 
say all you've got to do is raise the taxes and balance the budget--
that's not how Washington works. Here's the way Washington works: 
They're going to run up your taxes, and they're going to figure out new 
ways to spend the money. The best way to deal with the deficit is keep 
taxes low. Congress needs to make the tax relief permanent.
    On the one hand, you have progrowth economic policies that create 
economic wealth and generate new revenues for the Treasury. On the other 
hand, we've got to be wise about how we spend your money. I'm looking

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forward to working with Congress on yet another lean budget that focuses 
on priority, a budget that doesn't try to be all things to all people, a 
budget that recognizes we can cut our deficit in half by 2009 if we're 
fiscally sound with your money. And the Governors understand fiscal 
sanity. And I appreciate the surpluses you have. Don't be calling on us 
for any more money. [Laughter]
    To keep this economy strong, we've got to make sure we have a 
flexible economy. And to make this economy stay the most competitive 
economy in the world, we've got to be smart about legal policy. We've 
got too many lawsuits in the United States of America, junk lawsuits 
that are driving capital away from job creation. We strongly believe in 
legal reform in order to make sure this economy remains the best economy 
in the world. I thank our Governors for tort reform.
    We've got a problem: We're hooked on oil. I know that might surprise 
some of you to hear a Texan say that, but if we want to be the leading 
economy in the world, we have got to spend money on research and 
development to get us off of oil. Oil creates an economic problem for 
us. Because of rising demand in places like China and India relative to 
the supply of oil, we're finding it causes your price of gasoline to go 
up at the pump. That hurts our economy. Dependency upon oil also creates 
a national security issue.
    Let me put it bluntly: Sometimes we rely upon oil from people that 
don't like us. And therefore, in order to make sure we're not only 
competitive but to make sure we're nationally secure, we have got to 
figure out new ways to power our automobiles, ways like ethanol and 
plug-in hybrid battery vehicles. And to make sure that we're less 
dependent on oil, we've got to have clean coal technology, nuclear 
power, as well as solar and wind power. This administration looks 
forward to working with the Governors to get us unhooked from foreign 
sources of energy.
    Man, I've got a lot to say tonight, except Laura said, ``Keep it 
short.'' [Laughter] I'm a wise man; I always listen to my wife. 
[Laughter]
    But I do want to share another concern of mine, and that is, unless 
our children have got--are well grounded in math and science, the jobs 
of the 21st century are going to go elsewhere. And our Governors 
understand that. Our Governors also understand that it's important for 
the Federal Government, as well as private companies, to invest in 
research and development so that we're always on the leading edge of 
technological change. And so I'm proposing to Congress that we double 
the Federal funding for basic research in the physical sciences. And I'm 
saying to Congress as clearly as I can, let's make the research and 
development tax credit a permanent part of the Tax Code so our 
corporations can accurately plan for investment that is necessary to 
make sure America is the most competitive nation in the world.
    Finally, I look forward to working with our Governors to make sure 
the No Child Left Behind Act is fully implemented. The No Child Left 
Behind Act says, first of all, these guys know what to do when it comes 
to running the schools. We believe in local control of schools. But it 
does say, in return for Federal money, we expect there to be high 
standards and measurement to make sure every child learns how to read 
and write and add and subtract. And if we find a child who cannot read 
and write early on, we'll correct those problems early, before it's too 
late. We strongly believe every child in America should learn, and we 
expect every single school to teach.
    And I look forward to working with our Governors to apply that same 
rigor of accountability, particularly in our junior high grades, for 
math and science. Because we believe and we know that not only can every 
child learn but that when we ground our students in the skills necessary 
to be good engineers and good physicists and good chemists and good 
scientists, the United States of America will continue to be the 
preeminent economy in the world in the 21st century.
    So ours is an agenda that is optimistic and hopeful. We believe in 
America. We believe in the ingenuity of the American people. We 
understand the power of this country lies in our people, not in our 
halls of Government. And we also understand the true strength of America 
lies in the hearts and souls of our citizens. And so I want to thank our 
Governors for setting up faith-based and community-based offices to help 
rally the vast numbers in the armies of compassion that help

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heal broken hearts, that surround people with love who are lonely.
    See, we recognize that Government is not an agent of love; 
Government is law and justice. Government can hand out money, but it 
cannot put hope in a person's heart or sense of purpose in a person's 
life. That's done when a kind, decent soul who has heard the universal 
call to love a neighbor just like you'd like to be loved yourself opens 
his or her arms and helps mentor a child, helps somebody to read, helps 
somebody find food if they're hungry and shelter if they're homeless. 
Our Governors are on the forefront of a conservative and compassionate 
agenda, and I'm proud to stand with you.
    So I've come to thank our Governors. And I've come to thank you all 
for helping our Governors. These are good, decent, honorable men and 
women who deserve your support, and you've given it. So thanks for doing 
it. I'm looking forward to working with our Governors to make this 
country to continue to be the greatest land on the face of the Earth. I 
love my job. They love their jobs. And collectively, we love 
representing the people of the United States of America. Thanks for 
coming, and God bless.

Note: The President spoke at 6:48 p.m. at the National Building Museum. 
In his remarks, he referred to Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and his 
wife, Ann; Gov. Sonny Perdue of Georgia; Gov. Matt Blunt of Missouri and 
his wife, Melanie; and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan.