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Skriven 2007-03-02 23:31:18 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (070302a) for Fri, 2007 Mar 2
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Remarks by the President at McConnell for Senate and National Republican
Senatorial Committee Dinner
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For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary March 2, 2007

Remarks by the President at McConnell for Senate and National Republican
Senatorial Committee Dinner Seelbach Hilton Louisville Louisville, Kentucky

˙˙White House News


6:00 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very much. Thanks for coming. Please be
seated. (Applause.) Thank you all. Okay, thank you, sit down, please.
(Laughter.) That Kentucky whiskey still works. (Laughter.) How about being
with the ultimate power couple? (Laughter.) A Secretary in my Cabinet, and
a powerful United States Senator. This has got to be good for the state of
Kentucky. (Applause.)

I heard Elaine talk about Alvin Barkley. In other words, Mitch is the
second party leader in the United States Senate since -- and the first was
Alvin Barkley. I don't know how good Alvin Barkley was -- this guy is
really good for the people of this state. And he's very good for the
country, and I'm proud to be with him, and I thank you for contributing to
Mitch McConnell. (Applause.)

If you want to get something done in the United States Senate you go to
Mitch McConnell, whether you're from Kentucky or anywhere else. It seems
like to me that if you're a citizen of this important state, whether you're
Republican, Democrat or independent, it makes sense to have somebody
representing you in Washington, D.C. who is full of integrity and decency
and who can get the job done for the people. And that person is Mitch
McConnell. (Applause.)

And I'm proud to call him friend. But I am tired of him constantly
reminding me about the success of the Louisville Cardinal football team.
(Applause.) I'm not begrudging the success, I'm just tired of hearing about
it from Mitch McConnell. If he told me Orange Bowl once, he told me Orange
Bowl 10 times. (Laughter.)

You know, it's interesting, I asked Mitch about what we could do here. I
went to New Albany, across the line there, to go to a school -- and I want
to share some thoughts about public education in a minute -- but I said,
what can we do that would be interesting? And he said one thing -- he said,
I want you to talk to McConnell scholars at the University of Louisville.
Isn't that interesting? He said the one thing he would like his buddy, the
President, to do, would be to spend time with the young scholars in a
program that he helped start. I think that's insightful into the nature of
the person. We could have been parading around in front of the TV cameras,
or doing this, that and the other, but not -- this Senator's idea of
utilizing his friend's time was to sit down and talk to people who he's
trying to inspire to serve.

In other words, he's a selfless person. He's a person who puts the state
above his self-interests. And I'm really proud to know -- to work with a
man of his caliber. He's a really -- look, when it comes to voting here in
Kentucky, you've got to help make sure the people do the right thing, the
right thing for the United States of America, and that's send Mitch
McConnell back to the United States Senate. (Applause.)

You know, people oftentimes ask me what it's like to be President. I said,
it is a decision-making experience, and in a complex organization like we
have in Washington, you've got to learn to delegate. And I'm very
comfortable delegating to members of my Cabinet, particularly since they
are people of the caliber like Elaine Chao. And I thank Elaine for her
service to our country, and I appreciate -- (applause) -- I appreciate her
being here.

Mitch married well, and so did I. (Applause.) If Mitch were smart, he would
have invited the A team to do the fundraiser, but she happens to be on the
road today. But I do bring greetings from Laura. You know, it's a -- I'm
sure some of you are probably wondering, gosh, what's it like to be married
to the President and everything. It can be awfully, I guess, difficult,
unless you happen to be a person who is patient, calm, and loving. And
that's my wife. And I'm really proud of her, and I happen to think she's a
great First Lady for the country. (Applause.)

I want to recognize Mike Duncan, who is now the Chairman of the Republican
National Committee. (Applause.) So when we needed somebody to lead our
party into an important year, 2008, we came to Kentucky. When we needed
somebody to accomplish the objective to make sure that Mitch is Majority
Leader and that we have a Republican Speaker of the House and we hold the
White House, we asked Mike Duncan to lead the charge. And I appreciate you
doing it, Mike. (Applause.) And I want to help you in any way I can over
these next couple of years.

I welcome the Lieutenant Governor, Steve Pence. Thanks for coming,
Governor. I appreciate you being here. (Applause.) I bet you 10 years ago
you would have been shocked if you heard somebody say this -- the Kentucky
State Senate President, David Williams. (Applause.) And Judge Robyn. Thank
you for coming, Judge Robyn. It's good to see you. Dave, it's good to see
you again. I'm not shocked that you're the president, but shocked that a
Republican is the president. (Laughter.) Maybe some are shocked you're the
president. (Laughter.) I'm not going there, though. (Laughter.)

I want to thank all the other state and local officials. Rachel
Schrepferman, who happens to be the chairman of this fantastic event --
(applause.) The mother of twins. (Applause.) We're all members of the twins
club.

I want to thank Gail Russell, who is the acting chairwoman and national
committeewoman of the Republican Party. I want to thank the grassroots
activists -- that's what I'm doing, I'm thanking the grassroots activists
-- (applause) -- for the work that you do and have done and will do. See,
Mitch is going to win because the grassroots activists are going to man the
phones and turn out the vote. And this is a good start to what's going to
be a successful campaign. It's a good sign when this many people show up in
2007 for a 2008 election. And I appreciate you all helping kick off this
good man's campaign. And I want to thank those of you who are going to help
him get elected for what you're going to do when it's coming down the
stretch in November of 2008.

He's going to win because he backs really solid ideas. Mitch believes in a
strong national defense, and so do I. Mitch believes in less government and
low taxes, and so do I. And Mitch believes in the values and the good
judgments of the citizens of this commonwealth of Kentucky. That's what he
believes in. Those are values that Kentuckians from all walks of life can
share.

We got a lot to do in Washington, D.C., and I'm looking forward to working
with Senator McConnell to achieve them. And I want to share some of the
thoughts about what we've got to do. Mitch mentioned the war on terror. I
wish I could report to you that it was over. It is not over. And the most
important function of the federal government is to safeguard the American
people. Our most important job -- (applause.) And the best way to do that
in the short-term is to stay on the defensive, bring the killers to
justice, defeat them overseas so we don't have to face them here in the
United States of America. (Applause.)

And Mitch McConnell understands it as well as anybody in Washington, D.C.
He's clear-eyed about the realities of the world in which we live. And we
need clear-eyed thinkers in the Nation's Capital. If the most important
duty of our government is to protect you, then we'd better have people in
Washington who are steadfast in understanding the responsibilities that
come with the offices we hold. And Mitch understands it.

In the long-term, the best way to defeat these ideologues of hate is to
offer a better ideology, one of hope. Remember, the killers are the people
that advocated no rights for women; that children -- young girls shouldn't
go to school; that there's no such thing as religious tolerance; that if
you disagreed, you'd be taken into the public square and whipped. That's
what they believe.

I know it's hard for some in Kentucky and the country to understand, but
these folks are motivated by an ideology -- and so are we. Ours is an
ideology of human dignity and human rights and decency. Ours is an ideology
based upon liberty and freedom. We believe there is universality when it
comes to freedom. We believe all want to be free. And I believe it's in the
interests of the United States of America to help promote liberty as the
alternative to the hateful ideology of the extremists, so we can lay the
foundation of peace for generations to come. (Applause.)

This war against the extremists is being fought on a variety of fronts. The
most notable front is Iraq. I was confronted with a decision on Iraq. I was
unhappy with the conditions on the ground last fall. And as the
Commander-in-Chief, I have an obligation, if dissatisfied with the status
quo, to make decisions that would alter the status quo.

One decision I was confronted with was withdrawing and hoping for the best,
as I knew the capital city of that young democracy was engaged in sectarian
violence. In other words, one option was to kind of let the so-called fight
burn out. My worry with that option was that the violence and the chaos in
the capital city of a young democracy could spill out into the countryside,
and eventually spill out into the region. And I know that chaos is to the
advantage of the extremists, and that chaos emboldens those who would do us
harm. I also understand, and it's important for our citizens to understand,
that if we were to fail in Iraq, the enemy would follow us here to the
United States of America, and we cannot let that happen. (Applause.)

It's a new concept that we have to learn to deal with after the attacks of
September the 11th, 2001. What happens overseas matters to the security of
the United States. And if our job is to secure this country, then we've got
to make sure that we succeed in helping this young democracy flourish,
survive and become an ally in the war on terror.

And so the option that I chose was one that recognizes the realities of the
world in which we live, which said, as opposed to leaving, we're going to
send more people in there to reinforce the troops that are on the ground.
(Applause.) I understand it's a controversial decision for some. But the
citizens of this state must understand I made the decision after thoughtful
consideration and after consultations with people like Mitch McConnell and
those who don't agree. I listened carefully. But most importantly, I
listened to the United States military about what it takes to help this
democracy defeat the ideology of terror, help this democracy not become a
safe haven for those who would do us harm, help this young democracy
survive. And their recommendation was, Mr. President, we need more troops
in the capital city.

And not only did I accept their suggestion, I nominated a new commander in
General David Petraeus. And he went up in front of the United States Senate
for a hearing, and he got a fair hearing. Senator, I think the Senate
conducted themselves with dignity, and gave him a chance to talk about what
he thought was necessary to succeed in Iraq. And he was approved
unanimously, not one negative vote against David Petraeus. And shortly
thereafter, the House of Representatives passed a resolution expressing
disapproval for the very plan that the General suggested we do -- the man
who was unanimously confirmed. This may be the first time in the history of
our country that the Senate has voted to send a new commander in battle and
then the House of Representatives immediately voted to oppose his plan.

I understand differences of opinion, and I expect that in the Nation's
Capital. It's good for our country that there be differences of opinion.
Everybody has the right to express their opinion. And nobody should say, if
you disagree or agree with the President you're more patriotic, or not. But
soon Congress is going to have to make a decision that's got real
consequences, and that is whether to fund our troops and give us the
flexibility necessary to achieve our mission. Our men and women in uniform
risk their lives as they carry out this plan to secure Baghdad and to
secure this country, and they need the support of the United States
Congress. (Applause.)

No matter where members stand on my decision, they have a solemn
responsibility to support those who wear the uniform of the United States,
and to make sure that we have the flexibility necessary to protect this
homeland.

I want to thank Mitch for his steadfast leadership on this issue. I
appreciate his clarity of thought. The troops of the United States have no
stronger friend than Senator Mitch McConnell from the state of Kentucky.
(Applause.)

We also -- let me say one other thing about foreign policy; it's important
for me to share this with you. I believe to whom much is given, much is
required. We've been given a lot in this country, and I'm going to continue
to call upon Congress to fund initiatives like the HIV/AIDS initiative on
the continent of Africa. I'll tell you why. It matters to me personally,
and it matters to this country, when we see a pandemic like HIV/AIDS
sweeping through a continent and we can do something about it. Thanks to
the generosity of the American people -- I want to share something with you
-- thanks to the generosity of the American people, in three short years
800,000 people on the continent of Africa now receive antiretro viral
drugs; 800,000 lives have been affected as a result of this initiative
that's making the world a better place. (Applause.)

And now I'm going to look forward to working with Mitch on the next
initiative, which is to free countries from malaria. It's an achievable
goal and it's a good goal, and it's good for the world to see the
generosity and compassion of the United States of America. It's also in our
interests that we help feed the hungry when we can, and to help deal with
disease. What happens overseas matters to home. And so whether it be in
fighting the extremists, or battling disease, we'll have an aggressive,
compassionate, decent foreign policy. And I'm glad to have Mitch McConnell
by my side. (Applause.)

Here at home, Mitch talked about the economy. He says, you should get
credit for it, Mr. President. No, I don't deserve credit for the economy.
It's the American people who deserve credit for the economy. The American
people are working hard. It's the entrepreneurs who are taking risks. It's
those small business owners that have got their ideas and they're working
to make it work.

Listen, our economy is strong because America is strong. And the
fundamental question is, will we keep policies in place to keep the economy
growing? And I've got a good idea for the United States Congress: We passed
tax relief; it's worked. They need to make the tax relief permanent.
(Applause.)

Oh, you'll hear them say, we need to raise taxes to balance the budget.
That's what they're going to say. Well, raising taxes hurts the economy,
which means less tax revenues come in. And by the way, they'll figure out
new ways to spend the money. That's the way Washington works, unless you
have got people like Mitch McConnell, who is watching out for the
taxpayers' interests. Washington says, give me a little bit more of your
own money, just a little bit, and we'll figure out how to spend it better.
What Mitch McConnell says, and George Bush says, we're going to let you
keep more of your own money so the economy continues to grow, and we're
going to balance the budget by being wise about the money -- by setting
priorities.

You might remember I said we would cut the deficit in half in five years.
And I'm sure the critics scoffed a little bit. But we did it three years in
advance. And now we've sent a new budget up to Washington, D.C. that says
we'll balance the budget in five years. And we will -- without raising one
dime of taxes. (Applause.)

I appreciate Mitch's attitude about big issues. He knows what I know, that
it's important to address problems, and not pass them on. The temptation
sometimes in life and in politics is to see a big problem and say, we'll
just let the next group deal with it. We'll kind of shuffle it on to the
next Congress or the next President. We've got a big problem in
entitlements. That's basically Social Security and Medicare.

And the reason it's a big problem is baby boomers like me and some of you
are getting ready to retire. It turns out my retirement date, when I turn
62, is 2008, which is quite convenient in my case. (Laughter.) And yet,
there's a lot of us retiring, and fewer people paying for the benefits that
we've been promised. And those benefits are going up faster than the
previous generation's benefits are going up. So you begin to calculate it
in your head the math -- a lot of people getting greater benefits, living
longer, with fewer people paying -- you can understand why we got a
problem. And if you've got somebody fixing to get in the workforce, that
person is going to be paying money into a system that's going broke. And a
lot of us in Washington know it's going broke, including Senator Mitch
McConnell. And he wants to work with me to convince people of both parties
to come together, and in goodwill, sit down at the table. And my call to
both Republicans and Democrats is, put your best ideas out there, come to
the table, think about how to solve it, and let's put your ideas out so we
can show to the American people that we're capable of setting aside
politics, and focusing on solving big problems for the United States of
America.

Mitch thinks that way, and the Senate is better off to have somebody -- a
statesman like Mitch McConnell who is willing to call people to sit down
and solve these big problems now, before it's too late. (Applause.)

Now that I've got you here, I'd like to run a few other issues by you.
(Laughter.) No Child Left Behind is a really good piece of legislation. It
has to do with public schools. Just quickly: I believe that unless you
measure, you can't tell whether or not a child is getting a good education.
And I don't like a system that says to -- says, we're just going to move
you through without knowing whether or not you can read and write and add
and subtract. It doesn't do this country any good. As a matter of fact,
we've got an issue when it comes to education, because if we don't get it
right early, we're not going to get it right late, and if we don't get it
right at all, jobs are going to go overseas. That's just the nature of the
world in which we live.

So I went to New Albany today to talk about No Child Left Behind. It is a
piece of legislation which says, we believe in local folks figuring out how
to run their schools, but when we send you federal money, you need to
measure. And you need to measure whether or not a child can read. And if a
child can't read, you better do something about it now, before it's too
late. That's why it's called the No Child Left Behind. In other words,
we're going to measure, we're going to correct, so we can say with
certainty we've done our duty all across the country to make sure children
have the basics necessary to be able to fill the jobs of the 21st century.

That bill needs to be reauthorized. I'm looking forward to working with
Senator McConnell to get the Senate and the House to get the bill to my
desk this year. (Applause.)

Health care -- costs are going up, businesses can't afford it, we need to
do something about it. The big debate in Washington, D.C. is who best to
make health care decisions. Mitch and I believe the best people to make the
health care decisions are the doctors and the patients, not insurance
companies and government officials. (Applause.) And therefore, I'm looking
forward to working with him to do things such as change the tax code so
that there is no disadvantage in the tax code for the individual, and/or
that person who is working for a small business company that can't afford
insurance relative to those who work for businesses.

I'm looking forward to working with Mitch to help deal with the cost of
health care by the spread of information technology. I mean, for those of
you in medicine, you kind of know what I mean when you say you're a little
lagging, relative to other fields. We've got doctors still writing things
on paper. And the writing is illegible half the time -- (laughter) -- and
therefore, there are medical errors and unnecessary expenses.

I'm looking forward to working with Mitch to enhance transparency in
medicine. How many of you have ever asked, how much does it cost? Very
rarely does anybody in health care ask, how much does it cost. And
therefore, since the federal government is a big health care user, we're
going to insist that those we work with let us know what it costs and what
the quality is, so that as consumers become more involved in health care
through plans like health savings accounts, there's actual consumerism in
health care; there's something helpful when it comes to dealing with rising
costs when somebody says, I think I may try to find a better deal -- if the
cost is too high, I'm going to try an alternative.

I'll continue to work with Mitch to make sure that people in Congress don't
undermine the Medicare reforms that we put in place. I believe we have an
obligation to make sure Medicare works for our seniors. We put forth a
prescription drug benefit for poor seniors, cheaper prescription drugs for
all seniors. You know what happens, the marketplace actually works in
America. We believed in the marketplace, and therefore, it's up to Congress
to leave the marketplace alone when it comes to Medicare. (Applause.)

And I'm looking forward to working with Mitch to make sure that medicine is
accessible and affordable by doing something about these junk lawsuits that
are running good doctors out of practice and running up the cost of your
medicine. (Applause.)

One final point -- this is an energy state, it produces a lot of coal, and
that's good. We need to do something about coal emissions, so that we can
say that we're energy independent and good stewards of the environment. And
that's why Mitch and I are going to work with the Congress to pass
substantial monies on clean coal technologies. (Applause.) Listen, we've
got 250 years of supply. People are concerned about the dependency on
foreign sources of energy; you ought to be. Dependency upon energy from
somewhere else is a national security risk, and it's an economic security
risk. And we can do something about it through technologies.

I want to share with you right quick an interesting -- some interesting
breakthroughs that are coming along. One, we spent a lot of money on
research, as is the private sector, on new battery technologies. I believe
within a reasonable period of time you'll be able to plug your battery in
your car -- a plug-in battery in your car, so that you can run your first
40 miles on electricity, and you'll be happy to hear that the car is not
going to look like a golf cart. (Laughter.)

I believe you're going to be running your automobiles on ethanol made from
switchgrass or wood chips. I know that sounds science fiction to some of
you, but that technology is coming. We're now using about 7 billion gallons
of ethanol a year made from corn. I believe not only can we expand
corn-based ethanol, I believe we're on the verge of technological
breakthroughs to be able to make ethanol from things that -- from refuse --
as I said, switchgrass. That's good for people like me who come from a
state that's awfully dry.

But isn't it interesting, to be able to predict to the American people that
our farmers are going to be vital producers of energy, that we'll be able
to use our cars? And the more ethanol we use, obviously, the less gasoline
you use, and the less gasoline you use the less dependency on oil.
(Applause.)

We're on the verge of some incredible -- which leads me to conclude -- oh,
let me say one other thing about Mitch. Well, not one -- it may not be the
only thing I say about him. (Laughter.) Mitch understands what I know, that
we have a responsibility to fill our benches with judges who strictly
interpret the law, and not try to legislate from the bench. We've got
plenty of legislators in Washington, we don't need them doing that from the
third branch of our government. (Applause.)

I am very proud -- when it came time for tough fights on our judges, judges
like John Roberts and Sam Alito, there was no stronger advocate for a sound
judiciary than Senator Mitch McConnell. (Applause.)

And so I'd like to conclude by telling you we've got a big agenda, and I
believe we're going to get a lot of it accomplished. And one of the main
reasons we're going to get a lot it accomplished is because you've sent a
skillful legislator, a master of the United States Senate, to Washington,
D.C.

I'm here to ask the people of this state, when it comes time to vote, to
think very carefully about your Senator. I know that some of them say,
well, I can't vote for somebody who is a Republican, or somebody -- you
know, based upon party. I ask the people to vote for a man who is
competent, who is accomplished, who is good for the United States.

I want to thank you all for supporting this good man. I appreciate you
coming out tonight. May God bless you, and may God continue to bless the
United States. (Applause.)

END 6:32 P.M. EST

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