For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
October 24, 2003
Remarks by the President at Bush-Cheney 2004 Reception
Hilton Hawaiian Village
Honolulu, Hawaii
7:08 P.M. (Local)
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very much. Aloha! Thank you.
Please be seated. Thanks for the warm welcome. If I seem a little
jet-lagged -- (laughter) -- it's because I've spent a long week away
from home. After eight days on the road and more than 18,000 miles in
the air, it's great to be back in America. (Applause.) And it's
really great to be in the beautiful state of Hawaii. (Applause.)
We had a great trip. I visited with some of our strongest allies
in the war on terror, and some of the nation's most important trading
partners. We made progress on a broad agenda, an agenda that will help
make America more secure and more prosperous.
I want to thank each of you for giving me a warm welcome home. I
particularly want to thank you for your strong support. See, what
we're doing today is we're laying the foundation for a victory in
Hawaii and a nationwide victory in 2004. (Applause.) As your Governor
said, and my Chairman of the campaign here said, we need more than just
financial contributions, we need you talking up the campaign. We need
you going to your coffee shops and your houses of worship and your
community centers, and reminding everybody that this administration has
got an optimistic, positive, hopeful agenda for everybody who lives in
America. (Applause.)
I'm getting ready, and I'm loosening up. (Laughter.) But the
political season will come in its own time. I've got a job to do. And
there's a lot on the agenda in Washington. I'm going to continue,
though, to work hard to earn the confidence of every American by
keeping this nation secure and strong and prosperous and free.
(Applause.)
As we go about our work in Washington, Vice President Cheney and I
are grateful for the continuing support in Hawaii. We appreciate our
friends here. I also appreciate the unique contributions native
Hawaiians have made to this state and to our nation. (Applause.) I'm
impressed by the rich culture of the native Hawaiian people. I respect
our shared traditions and I appreciate Governor Lingle's dedication to
all of Hawaii's citizens. You've got a great Governor for this state.
(Applause.)
And I've got a great wife. (Applause.) I'm really proud of
Laura. She's a fabulous mom, a wonderful wife, and a great First Lady
for our country. (Applause.)
And I appreciate the Lieutenant Governor Duke Aiona. (Applause.)
I appreciate Felix Camacho, who is the Governor of Guam, who is with us
today. (Applause.) I want to thank the members of the Statehouse who
are here. We've got a lot of state representatives. The Governor was
telling me she wants to increase the number in '04. Mayor Arakawa is
here from Maui. (Applause.) Brian Baptiste is here. I appreciate
you, Mr. Mayor. (Applause.)
I want to thank Travis Thompson, who was our event co-chairman.
(Applause.) I want to thank all the other co-chairs for their hard
work. I want to thank the grassroots activists who are here, the party
chairmen, the national committeewoman. But most of all, I want to
thank you all for coming. It warms our heart. This is a big crowd,
and we're honored.
In the last two-and-a-half years, our nation has acted decisively
to confront great challenges. (Applause.) I came to this office to
solve problems, not to pass them on to future Presidents and to future
generations. (Applause.) I came to seize opportunities and let --
instead of letting them slip away. This administration is meeting the
tests of our time. (Applause.)
Terrorists declared war on the United States of America, and war is
what they got. (Applause.) We've captured or killed many of the key
leaders of the al Qaeda network, and the rest of them know we're on
their trail. In Afghanistan and Iraq, we gave ultimatums to terror
regimes. Those regimes chose defiance and those regimes are no more.
(Applause.) Fifty million people in those two countries once lived
under tyranny, and now they live in freedom. (Applause.)
Two-and-a-half years ago, our military was not receiving the
resources it needed and morale was beginning to suffer. So we
increased the defense budget to prepare for the threats of a new era.
And today no one in the world can question the skill and the strength
and the spirit of the United States military. (Applause.)
Two-and-a-half years ago, we inherited an economy in recession.
And then our country was attacked. And we marched to war for our
security and for peace. And we had scandals in corporate America, all
of which affected the people's confidence. But we acted. We passed
two tough new laws to hold corporate criminals to account. And to get
the economy going again, I have twice led the United States Congress to
pass historic tax relief for the American people. (Applause.)
When Americans have more take-home pay to spend, to save or invest,
the whole economy grows and people are more likely to find a job.
We're returning more money to the people to help them raise their
family. We're reducing the taxes on dividends and capital gains to
encourage investment. We're giving small businesses incentives to
expand and to hire new people. With all these actions, this
administration is laying the foundation for greater prosperity and more
jobs across America, so every single person in this country has a
chance to realize the American Dream.
Two-and-a-half years ago there was a lot of talk about education
reform, but there wasn't much action. So I called for, and the
Congress passed, the No Child Left Behind Act. With a solid bipartisan
majority, we delivered the most dramatic education reforms in a
generation. We've increased spending for Title I students. We've
increased spending at the federal level. But in return for increased
federal dollars, we expect results, because we believe every child can
read and write and add and subtract. (Applause.)
This administration is challenging the soft bigotry of low
expectations. The days of excuse-making are over. (Applause.) We
expect results in every classroom, so that not one single child is left
behind. (Applause.)
We reorganized our government and created the Department of
Homeland Security to safeguard our borders and ports, and to better
protect the American people. We passed trade promotion authority to
open up new markets for our farmers and ranchers and manufacturers and
entrepreneurs. We passed budget agreements to help maintain much
needed spending discipline in Washington, D.C. On issue after issue,
this administration has acted on principle, has kept its word, and has
made progress for the American people. (Applause.)
The Congress gets credit. I enjoy working with our Speaker, Denny
Hastert, and the Majority Leader, Bill Frist. They're fine people. We
work together to try to change the tone in Washington, to elevate the
debate, to focus on results. After all, we're there to represent the
people. And those are the kind of people I have asked to join my
administration -- results-oriented, decent, hardworking people from all
walks of life. I have put together a fantastic administration for the
American people. (Applause.) Our country has had no finer Vice
President than Dick Cheney. (Applause.) Mother may have a second
opinion. (Laughter.)
In two-and-a-half years we have done a lot, we have come far, but
our work is only beginning. I've set great goals worthy of this great
nation. First, America is committed to expanding the realm of freedom
and peace for our own security and for the benefit of the world. And
second, in our own country, we must work for a society of prosperity
and compassion, so that every citizen has a chance to work and to
succeed and to realize the great promise of our country.
It is clear that the future of freedom and peace depend on the
actions of America. This nation is freedom's home and freedom's
defender. We welcome this charge of history, and we are keeping it.
Our war on terror continues. The enemies of freedom are not idle,
and neither are we. This country will not rest, we will not tire, we
will not stop until this danger to civilization is removed.
(Applause.) We are confronting that danger in Iraq, where Saddam
holdouts and foreign terrorists are desperately trying to throw Iraq
into chaos by attacking coalition forces and aid workers and innocent
citizens. They know that the advance of freedom in Iraq would be a
major defeat for the cause of terror. This collection of killers is
trying to shake the will of the United States of America. America will
not be intimidated. (Applause.)
We're aggressively striking the terrorists in Iraq, defeating them
there so we will not have to face them in our own country. We're
calling other nations to help build a free country in Iraq, which will
make us all more secure. We're standing with the Iraqi people as they
assume their defense and move toward self-government. These are not
easy tasks. But they are essential tasks. We will finish what we have
begun and we will win this essential victory in the war on terror.
(Applause.)
Our greatest security comes from the advance of human liberty,
because free nations do not support terror; free nations do not attack
their neighbors; free nations do not threaten the world with weapons of
mass terror. Americans believe that freedom is the deepest need and
hope of every human heart. And I believe that freedom is the right of
every person, and I believe that freedom is the future of every
nation. (Applause.)
America also understands that unprecedented influence brings
tremendous responsibilities. We have duties in the world. And when we
see disease and starvation and hopeless poverty, we will not turn
away. On the continent of Africa, America is now committed to bringing
the healing power of medicine to millions of men and women and children
now suffering with AIDS. This great, strong and compassionate land is
leading the world in this incredibly important work of human rescue.
(Applause.)
We face challenges here at home, as well. And our actions will
prove that we're equal to those challenges. Any time somebody who
wants to work can't find a job, says we've got a problem. This
administration will continue to create the conditions for economic
growth and economic vitality so every single citizen can find work.
(Applause.)
We have a duty to keep our commitment to America's seniors by
strengthening and modernizing Medicare. The Congress took historic
action to improve the lives of older Americans. For the first time
since the creation of Medicare, the House and Senate have passed
reforms to increase the choices for seniors and to provide coverage for
prescription drugs. They must get their differences ironed out and get
a bill to my desk. The sooner they get the job done, the sooner
America's seniors will get the health care they need. (Applause.)
For the sake of our health care system, we need to cut down on the
frivolous lawsuits which increase the cost of medicine. (Applause.)
People who have been harmed by a bad doctor deserve their day in
court. Yet the system should not simply reward lawyers who are fishing
for rich settlements. (Applause.) Frivolous lawsuits drive up the
cost of health care and they, therefore, affect the federal budget.
Medical liability reform is a national issue that requires a national
solution. The House of Representatives has passed a good bill to
reform the system. The bill is now stuck in the United States Senate.
The Senate must act on behalf of the American people. Senators must
understand no one has ever been healed by a frivolous lawsuit.
(Applause.)
I have a responsibility as your President to make sure the judicial
system runs well, and I have met that duty. I have nominated superb
men and women for the federal courts, people who will interpret the
law, not legislate from the bench. (Applause.) Some members of the
United States Senate are trying to keep my nominees off the bench by
blocking up or down votes. Every judicial nominee deserves a fair
hearing and an up or down vote on the Senate floor. It is time for
some members of the United States Senate to stop playing politics with
American justice. (Applause.)
This country needs a comprehensive energy plan. You may have
noticed last summer that we had a problem with the delivery of
electricity in parts of our country. (Laughter.) We need to modernize
our systems. If we're interested in economic growth, we need a modern
system, one that -- we need laws that encourage investment in order to
modernize the system. We need to use our technologies to encourage
conservation. We need to use our technologies to enable us to explore
for energy in environmentally friendly ways. But for the sake of our
national security, and for the sake of our economic security, we need
to be less reliant on foreign sources of energy. (Applause.)
Our strong and prosperous nation must also be a compassionate
nation. I will continue to advance our agenda of compassionate
conservatism by applying the best and most innovative ideas to the task
of helping our fellow citizens who are in need. There are millions of
men and women who want to end their dependence on government and become
independent through hard work. We must build on the success of welfare
reform to bring work and dignity into the lives of more of our fellow
citizens.
Congress should complete the Citizen Service Act so that more
Americans can serve their communities and their country. Both houses
should reach agreement on my faith-based initiative to support the
armies of compassion that are mentoring our children and caring for the
homeless and offering hope to the addicted. This nation should not
fear faith, we ought to welcome faith into the compassion and help of
citizens in need. (Applause.)
A compassionate society must promote opportunity for all, including
the independence and dignity that come from ownership. This
administration will constantly strive to promote an ownership society
in America. We want more people owning their own home. (Applause.)
We have a minority home-ownership gap in America. I presented a plan
to the United States Congress to close that gap, and I urge them to
act.
We want people to own and manage their own health care plan. We
want people to own and manage their own retirement account. We want
more people to own their own small businesses, because in America we
understand if a person owns something, he or she has a vital stake in
the future of this country. (Applause.)
In a compassionate society, people respect one another and take
responsibility for the decisions they make. We're working to change
the culture in this country from one that said, if it feels good, do
it, and if you've got a problem, blame somebody else; to a new culture
in which each of understands we're responsible for the decisions we
make in life. (Applause.)
If you are fortunate enough to be a mother or a father, you're
responsible for loving your child with all your heart. (Applause.) If
you're concerned about the quality of the education in your community,
you're responsible for doing something about it. (Applause.) If you
are a CEO in corporate America, you're responsible for telling the
truth to your shareholders and your employees. (Applause.)
And in the new responsibility society, each of us is responsible
for loving our neighbor just like we'd like to be loved ourself.
(Applause.) We can see the culture of service and responsibility
growing around us. I started the USA Freedom Corps to encourage
Americans to extend a compassionate hand to a neighbor in need. Your
response has been strong. I get reports about our faith-based and
charities that are strong all across America. People want to serve our
country.
Policemen and firefighters and people who wear this nation's
uniform are reminding us what it means to sacrifice for something
greater than yourself. Once again, the children of America believe in
heroes because they see them every day. In these challenging times,
the world has seen the resolve and the courage of America. I've been
privileged to see the compassion and the character of the American
people.
All the tests of the last two-and-a-half years have come to the
right nation. We're a strong country and we use that strength to
defend the peace. We're an optimistic country, confident in ourselves
and in ideals bigger than ourselves. Abroad, we seek to lift whole
nations by spreading freedom. At home we seek to lift up lives by
spreading opportunity to every corner of America. This is the work
that history has set before us. We welcome it. And we know that for
our country, the best days lie ahead.
May God bless you. (Applause.)
END 7:33 P.M. (Local)
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