Administration of George W. Bush, 2003 / Oct. 9

Remarks at a Reception for Gubernatorial Candidate Ernie Fletcher in Lexington, October 9, 2003

Thanks for coming. It’s great to be back I’m proud that he served as a lieutenant in this beautiful State. It’s good to see a colonel in the Army Reserves. And I’m lot of friends. I know something about the proud to be standing on this stage with culture of Kentucky. I know the priorities the next Lieutenant Governor of the State of this State. I promise you I’ll keep my of Kentucky. speech short so you can get to the football Ernie and I both married above our- game. [Laughter] All I can say is, thank selves. [Laughter] I’m proud to be with goodness it wasn’t basketball season, be- Glenna and the Fletcher family. I want to cause nobody would be here. [Laughter] thank you for your sacrifice and service. I appreciate the warm welcome to this Glenna, you’ll make a great first lady for former Governor, and I’m proud to be here this State, just like Laura has made a great with the next Governor, Ernie Fletcher. First Lady for our country. I’m really proud For me, politics will come in time. I’ve of Laura. She recently went on a high- got a job to do, and it’s my honor to lead level diplomatic mission. She went to Rus- this country. But politics is upon the people sia to help promote a book festival with of Kentucky, and I’m here because I want Lyudmila Putin—by the way, came back to make it as clear as I possibly can: In right after that in Russia and hosted a na- the interests of every person who lives in tional book festival. She loves books. She this State, whether they’re Republican, loves reading. She wants every child to read Democrat, or independent, the best man in America. to be the is Ernie Fletcher. And then she—before she went to Rus- I know him well. I’ve worked with him sia, she stopped off in France. [Laughter] as a Congressman. The first Now, you may have seen the picture. I thing I found out about Ernie is he loves went to France. [Laughter] I had a nice his family, and he loves this State. I finally reception, but I wasn’t treated like that. had to tell him to quit saying the word [Laughter] No, she’s great. I’m proud of ‘‘Kentucky’’ every time he lobbied me on her. I can’t tell you how thankful I am an issue. [Laughter] He cares a lot about that when I got on bended knee and said, people. He believes in personal responsi- ‘‘Will you marry me,’’ she said yes. [Laugh- bility, the dignity that comes from hard ter] She sends her love and her best to work, and the importance of a good edu- all her friends here in the great Common- cation for every child. There’s no question wealth of Kentucky. in my mind this man has the right values I also thank Ruth Ann Pence and the to lead this great State. Pence family for working hard to get the And I appreciate the fact that Ernie next Lieutenant Governor in office. It’s a picked a good man named to sacrifice for families when somebody makes be the Lieutenant Governor of this State. the decision to run. It’s a team effort, and I picked him first. [Laughter] He was the I thank the families for what you’re doing. U.S. Attorney for Western District of Ken- In our midst is a man who you must tucky, appointed by President George W. send back as the United States Senator Bush. I looked at a lot of candidates. This from this great State, and that is Mr. Jim man was the best candidate for the job. Bunning. He’s strong. He’s capable. He’s I’m proud that he served as U.S. Attorney. the absolute right man for the job.

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Speaking about Senators, Mitch’s wife is the State finance chair, by the way, for in my Cabinet. That would be Mitch the Bush-Cheney 2004 campaign, is with McConnell, and I’m speaking about Elaine us tonight. Chao. She’s done a fabulous job as the But my message to the grassroots folks Secretary of Labor. Hi, Elaine. Need a ride is it’s one thing to come to a fundraiser— back? [Laughter] Not much air rage on Air and that’s important, don’t get me wrong— Force One, by the way. [Laughter] but you need to go to your coffee shops. Two Members of the United States Con- You need to go to community centers and gress are with us today. A great Member, your houses of worship, and you need to a fellow I remember campaigning with for say to people who haven’t made up their my dad at his house, a person who has mind, ‘‘You’ve got a good man in Ernie done a really good job for Kentucky—he Fletcher.’’ You need to spread the word. is a person who is a leader in the House You need to energize those folks. Find of Representatives, and that’s Congressman those folks that say, ‘‘My vote doesn’t mat- . As well we’ve got another fine ter,’’ and look them in the eye and says, Member from the House of Representa- ‘‘It does matter to have the right kind of tives with us, a good stalwart, a good ally, Governor in the statehouse.’’ and that’s Congressman . I know I appreciate Ernie’s priorities. The num- the current Congressman, soon to be Gov- ber one priority of any Governor ought to ernor, is really appreciative of the Members be the education of the children of the of the Congress for coming tonight. You State in which he’s the Governor. That know him as well as anybody. ought to be the priority. It’s Ernie’s pri- I appreciate the members of the state- ority. See, if you can’t get education right, house who are here. It’s in your interest there’s a dismal future for the State. It’s you’re here, because you’re going to be essential that you have a Governor who working with a fine man as Governor. stands tall for every child. And that starts We’ve got the senator, Dan Kelly, who’s with having a Governor who understands the majority leader. You’re fixing to have the dire need to challenge the soft bigotry a great Governor to work with, Senator. of low expectations. You’ve got to have a You’ve got State Representative Jeff Hoo- Governor that believes that every child can ver, minority leader of the statehouse. And learn and is willing to raise the standards, I want to thank the other members of the a Governor who believes in the worth and senate and the house who are here tonight potential of every single child in his State. as well. Help is on the way. And that’s Ernie Fletcher. I know there’s a lot of other candidates You see, if you do not believe that every running for statewide office, too numerous child can learn, then you’re willing to ac- to name, but I wish you all the best. I cept a system which simply shuffles chil- thank your families for making the sacrifice. dren through the schools. And that’s unsat- I also want to thank all the grassroots activ- isfactory. It should be unsatisfactory to ev- ists who are here, people who are putting erybody who lives in the State of Kentucky. up the signs and dialing the phones and It’s important to know whether or not the licking the envelopes. You can’t win a race children are learning to read and write and unless you energize the grassroots. add and subtract. It’s important to hold And we’ve got some fantastic leaders of public schools accountable. That way, Gov- the Republican Party who are with us to- ernor Fletcher can praise the teachers and night. Ellen Williams, my good friend, is principals and parents in succeeding the chairwoman of the Republican Party schools. And that way, Governor Fletcher of the State of Kentucky. My friend Cathy can take the accountability measures and Bailey, the national committeewoman and say, ‘‘We’re not doing it right here.’’ For

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the sake of Kentucky, put a Governor in We had some corporate scandals. And by who’s willing to work hard to make sure the way, there’s no excuse for that. They not one single child is left behind. will be held to account. We expect cor- Ernie talked about health care. Health porate CEOs to be responsible citizens in care is an issue. It makes sense to have America. somebody who knows something about We vigorously waged the war on terror, health care as the Governor. He does. I’ve and the battles of Afghanistan and Iraq af- worked with him closely on key issues. We fected the confidence of the American peo- worked on the Medicare bill together. See, ple. We had an issue with our economy. we want to make sure the Medicare system I went to the Congress. I said, ‘‘The best is modern, so seniors have got choices. I’m way to get the economy growing again, the not only talking about the seniors today; best way to make sure people can find a I’m talking about those of us who are fixing job is to return the people’s money.’’ I pro- to be seniors. You’ve got to have a system posed historic tax relief. We increased the that works. Let’s make sure we have pre- child credit from $600 to $1,000. We re- scription drugs available for our seniors. duced the marriage penalty. The code Ernie has been a leader on this issue. He ought to encourage marriage, not discour- knows what he’s talking about. age marriage. And he and I know this, that for the We cut the taxes on everybody who pays sake of affordable and available health care, taxes. We thought the fairest way to deal we need to have medical liability reform. with tax relief was not to play favorites but For the sake of the working people of this to say, ‘‘If you pay tax, you get tax relief.’’ State, you better have you a Governor who is strong enough to stand up to the trial We provided incentives for small businesses lawyers, somebody who is going to remind to expand, because Ernie and I understand the people of this State that nobody has that most new jobs in America are created ever been healed by a frivolous or junk by small businesses. No, we acted. I called lawsuit. upon Congress; this good man supported And that’s soon-to-be Governor Ernie me. The tax relief came at the right time Fletcher. We spent a lot of time in Wash- for American history. ington talking about jobs. See, he and I Now, I’ve watched him carefully. He un- understand this, that things might look derstands what I know: When we’re spend- okay, but so long as anybody is looking ing money at the Government level, we’re for work and can’t find a job, it means not spending the Government’s money; we still have a problem. We’ve got to work we’re spending the people’s money. And to create the conditions for job growth. The you’d better have a Governor who under- role of our governments is not to create stands that in your statehouse. wealth—Ernie knows that—the role is to There’s another thing we’re working on create the environment in which small busi- in Washington to make sure our businesses nesses can flourish to be big businesses, flourish, and that’s a reliable source of en- in which the entrepreneurial spirit is strong. ergy. I look forward to working with Ernie We had a problem at the national level. on clean coal technology. I want to use When we came in—Vice President Cheney the resources at hand. You’ve got some and I came in—the country was headed great resources here in Kentucky. We’ve into a recession in the first quarter of 2001. got to use them. We’ve got to make sure We were in recession. The economy started we use our technology so that the air is coming around, and then the enemy hit cleaner. But we need an energy policy for us, and that hurt. And then we found out the sake of economic vitality. And for the some of our citizens forgot to tell the truth. sake of national security, we need to be

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less dependent on foreign sources of en- of war, and they had to be diligent and ergy. patient in order to do our duty, in order We’ve been working on a jobs plan at to answer history and secure our homeland. the national level, Ernie’s working on a jobs Ernie Fletcher got that right off the bat. plan here in Kentucky. He knows what he’s It’s important that our country not forget doing. He’s got the right philosophy. If any- the lessons of September the 11th. The body out there is listening and is worried first lesson is the nature of the enemy. about their job, I’d strongly suggest that These people are nothing but coldblooded you make Ernie Fletcher your Governor. killers. They’ve hijacked a great religion. He knows what he’s talking about when They’ll kill innocent women and children it comes to job creation for the people of and men. They care not who they kill. They the Commonwealth of Kentucky. try to create fear and intimidation. Therapy Another thing I’m looking forward to won’t work with these people. Negotiation working with Ernie on is homeland secu- won’t work with these people. The only rity. There’s a lot responsibility at the State way to secure America is to stay on the level when it comes to protecting the offensive, and this country will stay on the homeland. Make sure you’ve got a Gov- offensive. ernor who is well organized, who can make We’re making good progress against Al sure that there’s a response mechanism in Qaida. I vowed that we would bring those case the worst might happen, somebody killers to justice, and we’re making good who supports the first-responders, the fire progress. We’re teaming up with other na- and the policemen and the emergency serv- ice squads all over your State. I’m confident tions and, slowly but surely, bringing them Ernie can do the job. I’ve worked with to justice. About two-thirds of the Al Qaida him on matters of homeland security. leadership have either been killed or cap- The truth of the matter is, the best way tured. And we’re after the rest of them. to secure the homeland is never to forget I know we’ve got a family here who grieved the lessons of September the 11th, 2001, because of the bombing in Bali. The man and chase the enemy down, one by one, who ordered that bombing, masterminded and bring them to justice. the bombing, is now in custody. He’s no One of the big problems we had when longer a threat. May God rest your daugh- we got to Washington was morale in the ter. We have a duty, no matter whether United States military was beginning to suf- the citizen lives here in America or else- fer. When we showed up, there was an where, to be tough and strong and vigilant, issue in the military. So I proposed strong to use our resources and capabilities to defense budgets to meet the threats of a bring killers to justice. new era. Congressman Fletcher was a I also laid out another initiative that’s strong supporter of those defense budgets. an important lesson of September the 11th. And today, thanks to his support and the It’s important for those who harbor a ter- good work of others here in this audience, rorist and feed a terrorist and hide a ter- no one—no one in the world—can doubt rorist to understand they’re just as guilty the strength and the spirit and the sacrifice as the terrorists. And the Taliban in Af- and the class and the technological ability ghanistan found out exactly what we meant. of the United States military. Because of the bravery of the United States Thank goodness we did strengthen our military and our friends and coalitions, the military, because we’re still at war. I knew, Taliban is no more. The people of Afghani- after September the 11th, one of the hard- stan are free. Many young girls go to school est things for me to do would be to con- for the first time, thanks to the United vince the people that there was a new kind States of America.

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There’s another lesson involved with Sep- And we have more work to do in Iraq. tember the 11th, and that is, when we see See, we’re at an historic moment. A free a gathering threat, we must deal with it. Iraq, a peaceful Iraq in the heart of the You see, in the past, oceans protected us, land of terror will change the world and or so we thought. We felt—thought we make America and our friends more secure. were invulnerable to attack. So if we saw A peaceful Iraq in the heart of the Middle a gathering threat overseas, we might de- East will change the habits of countries that cide to deal with it, or might not. Sep- have spawned terrorists. It’s essential we tember the 11th changed that calculation. succeed for the long term. It’s essential we The enemy can strike anytime, anywhere succeed for our children and our grand- in America with ruthless fashion. They children in developing a peaceful, demo- know no rules. They know no bounds of cratic country. And make no mistake about decency. They kill in the name of great it, we will succeed. religion. And therefore, this Nation must We’re making great progress. I don’t care deal with gathering threats when we find what you read about. Just ask anybody them. who’s been there. They will tell you that And Saddam Hussein was a gathering the schools are opening, the children are threat. He possessed and he used weapons getting immunized, the electricity is up, of mass destruction. He was a brutal tyrant water is purified and moving. We’re making and dictator to his own people. We discov- great progress in helping this nation estab- lish itself. The Iraqis want a secure country. ered mass graves of men, women, and chil- They’re moms and dads just like you all dren. He had rape rooms and torture are. They want to live in a peaceful, hope- rooms. Words cannot describe the tyranny ful place. The marketplaces are burgeoning. of this brutal man. I was not about to leave The entrepreneurial spirit is growing. And the security of the United States to the they’ll start taking over their own security. desires and hopes of this madman. By the end of next year, we’ll have 40,000 But we weren’t alone. The world called militia trained so they can deal with the for Mr. Saddam Hussein to disarm, to thugs and the criminals and the Ba’athists prove he had disarmed, not once but time who long for Saddam Hussein. after time. The world clearly saw the threat I talked to Bernie Kerik, the police chief of Mr. Saddam Hussein. Last year, you of New York City, who was the commis- might remember, we passed Security Coun- sioner there during 9/11. He went over cil Resolution 1441. The United Nations there in the midst of chaos and set up said, ‘‘Mr. Saddam Hussein, you must de- a 37,000-person police force in Baghdad. clare your weapons. You must disarm for No, it’s different. We’re making progress. the sake of peace, or there will be serious This country is growing. I readily concede consequences. Your choice.’’ He made a it’s still hard work. There’s thugs and killers bad choice. Saddam Hussein is no more. who can’t stand the thought of freedom. Recently, there was a report about Mr. Freedom makes them nervous. And so, Saddam Hussein’s weapons programs. If they’re going to try to intimidate. See, you read the report, it is absolutely clear you’ve got to understand, their goal is to that he was in defiance of Security Council try to frighten the United States of Amer- Resolution 1441, that he was not only a ica. They want us to leave early. They want danger but a deceiver. The United Nations to inflict damage so that we run. They don’t was right to demand Saddam Hussein be understand our country. We don’t run from disarmed, and the United States and our a challenge. We understand the stakes. We coalition was right to remove him from will stay the course, not only for our own power. security but for the peace of the world.

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I’ve received great support from the No, the greatest strength of this country on this initiative. is the fact that there are thousands and Ernie Fletcher understands the stakes. He thousands of people who have heard the understands the historic nature of what we universal call, whether they be Christian are doing. He understands this war on ter- or Jewish or Muslim, to love a neighbor ror. It will be good to have him as your just like you’d like to be loved yourself. Governor. He has got a vision. Problems will be solved one person at a I also know what he knows, that the true time, one person—one conscience at a strength of this country is not our military time, when our country gathers up the true might, however, or it’s not the size of our strength, those who have heard the call, wallets. That’s not the true strength of and help them provide the services that America. The true strength of this country will save lives. is the heart of the American people. We’re Ernie Fletcher understands that the peo- a compassionate, decent nation. It’s very ple are the strength of this State. There’s important that you have a Governor who no doubt in my mind he’ll make a great knows that Government can hand out Governor. And it’s my high honor to come money, but it cannot put hope in a person’s and stand by his side and urge the good heart or a sense of purpose in a person’s people of this State to vote him into office. life. That comes when loving citizens put May God bless you all, and may God their arm around somebody who hurts and bless America. says, ‘‘I love you. What can I do to help you? How can I make a difference in your life?’’ You need to have a Governor who knows that amidst the plenty of this great NOTE: The President spoke at 6:11 p.m. in State, there are people who hurt. There Heritage Hall at the Lexington Convention are people who cry for help. There’s home- Center. In his remarks, he referred to Glen- less people. There’s battered women. na A. Fletcher, wife of candidate Ernie There’s addicted people. And the best way Fletcher; Lyudmila Putina, wife of President to solve that is to rally the armies of com- Vladimir Putina of Russia; Ruth Ann Pence, passion. Whether it be at the Federal level wife of candidate Steve Pence; former Presi- or at the State level, elected officials should dent Saddam Hussein of Iraq; and Bernard never fear rallying faith, no matter what B. Kerik, former commissioner, New York the religion, to help people in need. City Police Department.

Remarks on Cuba October 10, 2003

Hola. Sientese. Thank you for coming. be—of my administration who will be Welcome to the Rose Garden. It’s my charged with implementing policy. From honor to host you for an important policy the Department of Homeland Security, announcement. Under Secretary Asa Hutchinson is with I’m proud to be joined by our great Sec- us today. From the Treasury Department, retary of State Colin Powell and a son of Rick Newcomb, Director of the Office of Cuba, a graduate of the Pedro Pan pro- Foreign Asset Control, is with us today. gram, Mel Martinez. I’m also pleased to Rick, thank you for coming. Assistant Sec- be joined with other members who will retary for the Western Hemisphere Roger

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