[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 27 (Monday, July 10, 2006)]
[Pages 1291-1296]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a Lunch for Gubernatorial Candidate Judy Baar Topinka in 
Chicago

July 7, 2006

    Thank you all. Go ahead; please be seated. Thanks for coming. I am 
honored to be here. I proudly stand with Judy Baar Topinka as the next 
Governor of the State of Illinois.
    Laura sends her best. Like Judy says, ``Sorry Laura didn't come.'' I 
say, ``Yes, most candidates say that.'' [Laughter] I'm really lucky that 
Laura said yes when I asked her to marry me. And I think the country is 
lucky to have her as the First Lady. And she sends her very best to 
Judy. She, like me, hopes that Judy will win. And she, like me, knows 
that when Judy does win, she's going to be a fabulous Governor for the 
people of Illinois.
    I'm glad to be here with the Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm proud you're 
here. Thanks for coming. Somebody said, ``What is it like dealing with 
Hastert?'' I said, ``Solid as a rock.'' [Laughter] He's predictable. You 
can count on him. He's doing a fine job as the Speaker of the House of 
Representatives. I love working with you. We're getting a lot done. And 
I want to thank you for being here.
    Jim Edgar, what a good man. Thanks for coming, Governor. I 
appreciate you being here. We're members of the ex-Governors club. 
[Laughter] And we got to know Jim and Brenda well during his time as 
Governor of Illinois, and he was a dandy. All you got to do is aspire to 
be as good as Jim Edgar, and you'll do a great job, Governor Topinka. He 
is--he set the standard, didn't he, for Governors here in Illinois. And 
I'm proud you're here, and thanks for helping Judy Baar.
    I want to thank all the candidates who are here. There's a lot here, 
so I'm not going to try to rip them all off, but I do want to thank you 
for running statewide--Lieutenant Governor candidate, attorney general 
candidate, treasurer candidate, comptroller candidate. Maybe I ought to 
say it just to see if I can get some ink for you: Joe Birkett, running 
for Lieutenant Governor. [Applause] Yes, let's do it that way--Christine 
Radogno running for State treasurer. Senator, thanks for coming. Senator 
Dan Rutherford running for secretary of state--there he is. Senator Bill 
Brady, he's not running for anything statewide, but he's here. Senator, 
thank you.
    It's a good sign to see all the senators. When senators and members 
start to swarm around, it means they're smelling victory. [Laughter] 
They want to be close to the next Governor. Judy Baar, it's a good sign 
when you've got people like Tom Cross, the Illinois house minority 
leader. He's from your district, right, Speaker? Yes. Stu Umholtz is 
running for attorney general. Thanks for coming, Stu. Yes.
    I want to thank Andy McKenna and all the grassroots activists who 
are here. This has been an incredibly successful fundraiser. And I thank 
you for your hard work in supporting Judy Baar. It's hard to do a big 
fundraiser like this, and it takes a lot of good organizers and people 
willing to go out and pick up the phone and call and ask. And you've 
done a fantastic job. It's a good sign. People don't want to back 
somebody who can't win. And you're here to back Judy Baar because, one, 
you like her; two, you trust her; and, three, you know she can win and 
become the Governor of the State.
    So I thank you all for contributing mightily to her campaign, and I 
urge those of you who are involved in grassroots politics to kind of 
warm up and get ready to turn out the vote come November. She's going to 
need people putting up the signs and stuffing the letters and making the 
phone calls and urging the good people of this State--Republican, 
Democrat, and independent--to show up to the polls and do their duty and 
to vote for Judy Baar. She's going to do a fine job as you're Governor. 
She's a good, fine, honest person who knows what she's doing. She's got 
a track record. She can get the job done.
    Having been a Governor, I know what it means to be a Governor. You 
got to have somebody who can set an agenda; somebody that doesn't try to 
be all things to all people; somebody that says, ``Here's what I'm 
running for, and here is what I intend to do,'' and then is going to do 
it. That's what the people of Illinois want. They don't want a bunch of 
fancy footwork and empty slogans. They want a practical person to say, 
let's make this State, for example, the best State in the country to be 
an entrepreneur. Let's

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make sure this is a progrowth economic policy in the State of Illinois.
    We share a philosophy: The role of government is not to create 
wealth; the role of government is to create an environment in which the 
entrepreneurial spirit flourishes. And Judy Baar wants to make sure 
Illinois is entrepreneurial heaven for people here.
    And so, how do you do that? How do you do it? Well, the first thing 
you do is make sure you keep the people's taxes low. And it works. It 
works. We have been--in Washington, the Speaker and I and others, 
working together, have proven that low taxes can increase economic 
vitality. We believe that when a person has more money in his or her own 
pocket to save, spend, and invest the way she or he feels fit, the 
economy grows.
    Remember what's happened in the last 5 years. We have faced a 
recession, a stock market correction, corporate scandals, an attack on 
the United States of America, two major military operations to defend 
ourselves, national disasters, high energy prices. And yet this 
economy--first quarter of 2006, grew at 5.6 percent. Today we found out 
we added another 121,000 new jobs. The national unemployment rate is 4.6 
percent. The unemployment rate in Chicago is 4.3 percent. Productivity 
is high. More people own a home than ever before. Small businesses are 
being created. This economy is strong, and the reason it's strong is 
because we cut the taxes on the American people.
    And the fundamental question is, can we keep them low to make sure 
the economy grows? Here's the interesting debate in Washington--and I'm 
proud that Dave McSweeney is here, because he gets it. He's running for 
the United States Congress. He understands what I'm about to say. Here's 
the trap: In Washington they say, ``Oh, all we got to do is raise taxes 
to balance the budget.'' That's not the way Washington, DC, works. Yes, 
they'll raise your taxes, but they will figure out new ways to spend 
your money. The best way to balance the budget--and Judy Baar 
understands this--is to keep progrowth economic policies in place 
through low taxes and be wise about how we spend the people's money.
    Our progrowth policies are working. Pretty soon we're going to 
announce the new deficit projections. I told the people that if we're 
wise about spending the money and keep progrowth policies in place, 
we'll be able to cut the deficit in half by 2009. What's really 
interesting is that when you cut the taxes and your economy grows, guess 
what happens. You yield more tax revenues. It's working. And, Speaker, I 
think we're going to have a pretty good projection here in a couple of 
weeks that will remind the American people that it's good policy to let 
you keep more of your own money, that we got to set priorities with your 
money in Washington, DC, and we can grow our way out of our deficits.
    You know, the country has got some tough decisions to make. And that 
is, do we fear the future and try to wall ourselves off from the world, 
or do we welcome the competition the world provides and shape the 
future? And Judy Baar Topinka understands that we shouldn't fear the 
future. We ought to put good policies in place to keep us the most 
innovative, technologically advanced country in the world.
    And you start with making sure you've got a good education system. 
When I was Governor of Texas, I used to say, education is to a State 
what national defense is to the Federal Government. In other words, it's 
got to be the number-one priority of your Governor. And you got to have 
a Governor that's willing to set high standards and willing to challenge 
the status quo if you find mediocrity and failure.
    We've got too much stateism in public education, too much excuse-
making, too much process. See, it's so simple to give up on an inner-
city kid and say, ``Well, you're this age; you're supposed to be here,'' 
or just kind of shuffling children through. It is inexcusable behavior. 
And therefore, we passed the No Child Left Behind Act, which says, we'll 
have high standards. And we expect people, in return for Federal money, 
to measure.
    And the reason we want people to measure is because we want to know. 
We want to know if the curriculum may need to be corrected; we want to 
know if a school is failing to meet standards; we want to know if 
children are simply being shuffled through the school system without 
regard to their capacity to read and write and add and subtract.

[[Page 1293]]

    And, Judy Baar, you're going to hear all the excuses for no 
measuring. You know, it's too much State interference, this; you're 
teaching to test. If we hold people to account, we will make sure 
children are not left behind.
    You know what's happening here in the city of Chicago? You're 
reading scores are up. And the reason why is because you measure and you 
correct problems early, before it's too late. I look forward to working 
with Governor Judy Baar Topinka to make sure we institute the No Child 
Left Behind Act so the great State of Illinois is on the leading edge of 
education reform.
    If you want to be a good State, in which people risk capital, and a 
competitive State, you got to make sure you use your community college 
system wisely. The community college system is a vital part of making 
sure America is able to compete in the global economy because the 
community colleges have the capacity to work with employers to help 
train people for the jobs which actually exist. And I know Judy Baar 
Topinka is going to be--wisely use the community college system here in 
Illinois to make sure this State remains competitive and a good place 
for the entrepreneurial spirit to flourish.
    I look forward to working with her to get rid of our dependence on 
oil, foreign sources of oil. We got a problem. When the demand for oil 
goes up in China or in India, it causes the price of crude oil to go up, 
which causes the price of gasoline to go up in Illinois. And we need 
people who have got good commonsense policies in place, and one 
commonsense policy is to make sure that we have the opportunity to grow 
ourselves out of dependence on oil.
    I love ethanol, and I intend to work with the Governor here to make 
sure that is widespread, not only throughout Illinois but throughout the 
United States of America. Thank you for your understanding that we need 
alternative sources of energy.
    One of the toughest jobs she's going to have is--fight off all the 
lawsuits. I don't know if the trial lawyers are that tough here in 
Illinois. I suspect they are. [Laughter] They're real tough in 
Washington, DC, too. You know, I met an ob-gyn coming through the line 
here. First of all, I can't think of a more noble profession than being 
an ob-gyn. But there's a problem in the United States of America. We got 
these junk lawsuits running good doctors out of practice. You know, 
there's over 1,500 counties in America that don't have an ob-gyn because 
of all these junk lawsuits. And that's not right, and it's not fair, and 
it's inexcusable. And you better have yourself a Governor who's willing 
to look those trial lawyers right in the face and say, ``We need tort 
reform to make sure Illinois holds up the promise for all its 
citizens.''
    And by the way, I want to thank the Speaker. I think not one time 
but two times, he's passed medical liability reform out of the House of 
Representatives. When I first went to Washington, I thought it was a 
mistake for there to be a Federal medical liability bill. See, I thought 
the States can handle it. Then it was explained to me that all these 
lawsuits are costing the Federal Government--and you--an additional $28 
billion a year.
    So we got some pretty big health programs. We got Medicare and 
Medicaid and veterans' benefits. And so when you get all these junk 
lawsuits out there, it's not only causing premiums to rise, which you 
pay for, it's also causing doctors to practice defensive medicine, which 
you pay for.
    And so they estimate the tab to the Federal Government is about $28 
billion a year. So medical liability reform is not just a State issue, 
it's a national issue. And I appreciate the Speaker's leadership on 
getting a good bill out of the House. It's time for the Senate to stop 
playing politics and pass good medical liability reform for the sake of 
the patients in the United States of America, for the sake of good 
quality health care.
    These are historic times we're living in, and this country can make 
the decision to be confident about the future or to retreat from the 
future. And I believe we ought to be confident. Our entrepreneurial 
spirit is strong; this economy is good; and we can put good policies in 
place--good educational policies, good research and technology policies. 
The Speaker passed a good bill, by the way, that will double the amount 
of Federal research--Federal monies that go into research for basic 
science. It's a smart thing to do. It's a way to make sure America stays

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on the leading edge of change and technology.
    In order to make sure that this country is competitive, you've got 
to have Governors who understand the proper role of Government and how 
to properly stimulate the entrepreneurial spirit. And I firmly believe 
Judy Baar Topinka is that right person, and I want to thank you for 
supporting her.
    Before the Speaker and I get on the helicopter and go see one of the 
incredibly advanced plants, I do want to talk about the war on terror. 
Before I do so, I do want to say a really cool place--if you're 
wondering where a good place is to celebrate your 60th birthday--
[laughter]--yes, you ought to try--yes, okay, thank you. Thank you. I'm 
saying, come to Chicago. It's a good place to celebrate your birthday. 
That's all I'm trying to say. Had a fabulous night last night with the 
mayor. They asked me at a press conference about the mayor. I said, the 
mayor is a man of his word. He said, ``You're going to get clobbered in 
Chicago in 2000, and he kept is word.'' [Laughter]
    By the way, if you go to the Science Museum, take your kids. It is a 
special place. I know there are some members of the board who are here--
it is really great. And I'm looking forward to shedding my entourage one 
of these days and spending a little quality time there at the museum. 
[Laughter]
    But at my press conference, they spent a lot of time talking about 
the world. And I told them today, like I'm going to tell you now, that 
my biggest job is to protect--is to work to protect the American people. 
And I think about it all the time. They ask, what's the job like, to be 
President. And the answer to that--job is, you make a lot of decisions. 
It's a decisionmarking experience. Governor, you'll find it to be a 
decisionmaking experience.
    Rule one on decisionmaking is you make decisions based upon 
principle, not based upon polls and focus groups. You can't make good 
decisions if you're chasing a poll. You can't make the hard decision 
necessary to secure this country and to yield peace if you're worried 
about whether somebody thinks you're popular. You got to stand for what 
you believe and do what you think is right. And after September the 
11th, I vowed that I would use our national assets to protect the 
American people. I think about it; I talk about it; I act on it every 
day of my Presidency.
    The enemy we face are a bunch of totalitarians. They have a 
philosophy. They believe that if you don't adhere to their view, that 
you ought to be punished. They don't believe in freedom of worship; they 
don't believe in freedom of speech. They're willing to kill innocent 
people in order to achieve their objectives. They have clearly stated 
their objectives, which are to drive the United States out of parts of 
the world so they can develop safe haven from which to launch further 
attacks.
    There are some people who want to see the world the way they'd like 
it to be, and I can understand that. My job is to see the world the way 
it really is. And therefore, so long as I'm the President, we will stay 
on the offense and bring these people to justice before they hurt the 
American people again.
    We must keep the pressure on all the time. And one of the central 
fronts in the war on terror, one of the theaters of the war--not the 
sole theater but a theater in the war on terror--is Iraq. And I know 
it's on your minds. It's on my mind. We're facing a group of killers 
there that can't stand the advance of freedom. It should say something 
about the nature of the people we face when they see a young democracy 
beginning to grow and they're willing to kill innocent people in order 
to try to stop the march of freedom. That's one way to describe the 
enemy.
    What is it about a free society that bothers these people? What's 
troubling about a society in which people are able to worship an 
Almighty freely if they choose to do so? How come you can't stand 
dissent in the public square? The reason why is because they have a 
vision that is opposite of that. And that's why they're doing--taking 
desperate measures to stop the advance of a democratic society.
    And the enemy has got the capacity to kill on a daily basis, which 
clouds our TV screens. And therefore, some Americans are wondering 
whether or not we can win. And to those Americans, I say, not only can 
we win, we are winning. I want them to remember that 12 million people 
went to the polls in

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the face of incredible threat; 12 million people stood up and said, ``We 
want to be free.'' There's now a unity Government. Victory will be 
achieved when Iraq, a free Iraq, can sustain itself and govern itself 
and defend itself. And the mission of the United States of America is to 
help that Government succeed. It's in our national interests there be a 
free Iraq.
    People have often asked me, ``Would I have made the same decision I 
made before, knowing what I know today?'' And the answer is, I didn't 
have that luxury, but getting rid of Saddam Hussein has made America and 
the world a better and safer place.
    And now the question is, does this country have the will and the 
patience to stand by a new democracy so they can realize the benefits of 
liberty? And when I flew over to Baghdad to see Prime Minister Maliki, 
one of my missions was to determine whether or not he had the capacity 
to lead and to make the tough decisions. I came to the conclusion he 
does. And my other part of the mission was to tell the Iraqi people, 
when America gives her word, America will keep her word.
    You know, there's a lot of talk about troop levels. Let me just tell 
you this--and I spoke to a reporter today who asked about Illinois 
National Guard troops going overseas, and my answer to him was this--it 
was a long answer, but this is part of the answer: I'm going to make my 
mind up based upon the measured judgment of the commanders on the 
ground, and they will make their mind up about what is necessary to 
achieve victory in Iraq. We will not be set--determining troop levels 
based upon politics. I will be making the troop level decisions based 
upon what General George Casey recommends. We owe that to our troops; we 
owe that to their families; we owe that to the Iraqi.
    I do not want the enemy to think that we will withdraw because of 
politics. The enemy should not think that when they hear talk about 
artificial timetables for withdrawal, that's what the American people 
think, nor that's what the Congress will do. This United States Congress 
and this President will stand squarely behind our troops and stand 
squarely behind a strategy for victory.
    So our short-term strategy is to defeat the enemy overseas so we 
don't have to face them here at home. And we're keeping the pressure on 
them. And I appreciate the Speaker's steadfast support. The long-term 
strategy, we will defeat the ideology of hatred with an ideology that's 
hopeful and light. And that's the ideology of freedom. And it's worked. 
It's worked in the past. Freedom has been able to convert enemies into 
allies.
    I--one of my alltime favorite stories is to talk about my 
relationship with Koizumi. It was enriched, by the way--my relationship 
reached a new level of friendship when we went to Graceland. [Laughter] 
Isn't that interesting? It should be, when you really put that visit in 
the context of--in historical context.
    After all, my dad and his dad were both old enough to be 
participants in--observers of World World II. They were enemies. And 
yet, here his son is getting on the airplane--the son of the Japanese 
fellow getting on the airplane with George H.W. Bush's son, on Air Force 
One, to fly down to go to Graceland. And we were talking about the 
peace. That's what we were talking about. We were talking about the 
issue of North Korea and the need for Japan and the United States, as 
well as South Korea and China and Russia, to send a clear message to the 
leader of North Korea: Your behavior is unacceptable.
    I was thanking him for the thousand troops he had in Iraq. It's 
pretty remarkable, when you think about it, that the Japanese Self-
Defense Forces were sent to Iraq to help secure liberty for a new 
democracy. We talked about how to help people in Afghanistan. We talked 
about HIV/AIDS on the continent of Africa. We're talking about how to 
make the world a better place, yet 60 years ago we were at war.
    You've got to ask yourself what happened. How can that possibly be? 
Is it just circumstance? My answer is, no. One of my predecessors, Harry 
S. Truman, believed in the power of liberty to transform an enemy to an 
ally, and so he worked to see to it that the Japanese were able to adopt 
a Japanese-style democracy.
    Liberty has got the capacity to change the world. We shouldn't be 
surprised when 12

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million people vote in Iraq, because I believe--and I hope you do too--
that the concept of liberty is universal; that it's not just a concept 
for Americans or Methodists, it's a concept that rests in the soul of 
everybody. That's what we believe in America. That's the basis of our 
founding.
    And so the idea of our enemy becoming a friend shouldn't be a 
surprise. The lessons of World War II and the aftermath should be 
lessons applied today in helping us chart our path to victory in the war 
against these terrorists. Someday, an elected leader of Iraq, a free 
Iraq in the heart of the Middle East, will be sitting down with an 
American President talking about keeping the peace. And generations of 
children will be better off for it.
    Thanks for helping Judy Baar. God bless.

Note: The President spoke at 12:27 p.m. at the Drake Hotel. In his 
remarks, he referred to Andy McKenna, chairman, Illinois Republican 
Party; Mayor Richard M. Daley of Chicago, IL; former President Saddam 
Hussein and Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki of Iraq; Gen. George W. Casey, 
Jr., USA, commanding general, Multi-National Force--Iraq; Prime Minister 
Junichiro Koizumi of Japan; and Chairman Kim Jong Il of North Korea.