For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
November 1, 2003
Remarks by the President at Paducah, Kentucky Welcome
Barkley Regional/Paducah Airport
Paducah, Kentucky
12:44 P.M. CST
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all.
AUDIENCE: Four more years, four more years!
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very much. It's actually three more
days. (Laughter.) Three more days until Ernie Fletcher becomes the
Governor of Kentucky. (Applause.) Thanks for coming. I appreciate
you taking some time out of your Saturday afternoon to say, hello. I'm
honored so many people in Western Kentucky came out. It's good to be
back in Paducah. It's not my first time here. The first time here, I
was knocking on doors asking for the vote, for me. (Laughter.) This
time I'm back, knocking on doors, asking the vote for Ernie Fletcher.
(Applause.)
And the reason why, there's no doubt in my mind he is the best
candidate for the job. (Applause.) I like the fact that he was a
fighter pilot. (Laughter and applause.) That says something about
him, doesn't it? (Applause.) I like the fact that he was a physician,
he's a healer. I like the fact that he's an engineer. I like the fact
that he's been an effective United States Congressman. I know, I work
with him closely. (Applause.)
You should like the fact that when he becomes the governor and he
calls up to Washington, the President will answer the phone.
(Applause.) I appreciate the fact that, like me, he married well.
(Laughter and applause.) Laura sends her love to the people of Western
Kentucky. (Applause.) You drew the short straw, you got me.
(Applause.) But I can't wait for Glenna to become the first lady of
Kentucky, she'll bring a lot of class to the Governor's Mansion.
Glenna, Glenna Fletcher is a good soul. (Applause.)
I like and support Ernie Fletcher because he's a man of integrity.
He understands that when you assume an oath of office, you have an
obligation to bring honor to the office that you assume. (Applause.)
If you're interested in having somebody set a good example in your
State Capitol, if you want somebody who will send the right signal to
the youth of Kentucky, the right man is Ernie Fletcher. (Applause.)
I'm here to embrace his candidacy, but, most importantly, I'm here
to ask you to go out and turn out the vote. (Applause.) When you guys
are driving your cycles, make sure when you see another cycler that you
get them to go vote. (Applause.) When you farmers are going to your
coffee shops, make sure you tell your people that work the land with
you to get out the vote.
See, we have an obligation in the free society to vote. I urge all
people in this great state to vote. And when you're on the phones
urging them to vote, make sure you tell them what's in their interest.
And what's in their interest is to have Ernie Fletcher as the Governor
of the state of Kentucky. (Applause.)
I appreciate the fact that when Ernie wins, he's going to be the
governor of everybody -- he's not going to say, I'm the governor of
this particular political party or that political party, he's going to
be the governor of every single citizen. So when you're out canvassing
for the vote, when you're knocking on doors, you'll find some
disgruntled Democrats -- make sure you encourage them to vote. You'll
find discerning independents -- make sure you encourage them to vote.
I'm here to ask you to do your duty as a citizen to vote, and to do
extra work to make sure you turn out to vote for this good man, Ernie
Fletcher. (Applause.)
And don't forget to put in a good word for Steve Pence. (Laughter
and applause.) See, he's running for the Lieutenant Governor.
(Applause.) He's from Western Kentucky, he knows how you think. It
makes sense to put him in as Lieutenant Governor. See, Ernie picked
him, but I picked him first. (Laughter.) I don't know if you recall,
but I named him the U.S. Attorney for Western Kentucky. (Applause.)
I did because he's a man of integrity, he's a good, honest man, the
kind of fellow that when he holds office you can say, I'm proud of the
way he's conducting himself in office.
I also want to thank very much the United States senators who have
joined us, strong allies, good people, people who will make you proud
here in the great state of Kentucky, starting with Mitch McConnell. I
appreciate you coming, Mitch. (Applause.) Speaking of somebody who
married well -- (laughter) -- he married so well, I picked his wife to
be in my Cabinet -- (laughter) -- the Secretary of Labor, Elaine Chao,
doing a great job. (Applause.) I appreciate you, Elaine. (Applause.)
When I was a kid, I always hoped to have a Jim Bunning baseball
card. (Laughter.) Now, I get to call him "senator," and so do you.
It's vital you send this good man back to the United States Senate in
2004. (Applause.)
Kentucky has sent some fine folks up to Washington in the United
States Congress, the House of Representatives. Two of them are here
with us, besides Ernie, and that's Congressman Ed Whitfield and
Congressman Ron Lewis. (Applause.) Thank you all for coming. Hi,
Ed. I'll try it again: and Congressman Ron Lewis. (Applause.) Good
to see you, Ron, thanks for coming.
As well, we've got some other good folks who have decided to run
for office. Trey Grayson is running for Secretary of State.
(Applause.) Jack Wood is trying to become the Attorney General, he's
running hard. (Applause.) Linda Greenwell is running for State
Auditor. (Applause.)
In order to be a good governor, you'd better be running on a good
platform, so you've got to run for reason, you've got to give people a
reason to vote for you. Ernie Fletcher has done that. He mentioned
jobs. Let me tell you something: we both share the same passion for
our fellow citizen who is looking for work. So long as one person is
looking for work, so long as one person who wants to work can't find a
job, it says we've got an issue here in America.
I put forth a strong, pro-growth package -- that means a package
that encourages economic growth so people can find work. Ernie
Fletcher supported that plan. (Applause.) We need a pretty good dose
of medicine for our economy. Remember, when I first came into office,
we were in recession -- that's three quarters of negative growth, we
were going backwards. And then the enemy hit us. And then we had some
of our corporate citizens who forgot to tell the truth. By the way, if
you notice, some of those who forgot to tell the truth are now paying
the price for not telling the truth. (Applause.)
All of that affected the confidence of the American people, so we
acted. We acted on this theory -- and this is important to have a
governor who understands how it works -- when a person has got more
money in their pocket, they're going to demand a good or a service.
And when they demand a good or a service, somebody is going to produce
that good or a service. And when somebody produces that good or a
service, somebody is more likely to find a job. The tax cuts we passed
came at the right time and they're helping this economy. (Applause.)
In order to make sure your economy grows you better make sure
you've got a governor who's not going to play politics with the
people's money, somebody to bring some fiscal discipline to the State
House. So it's not only a combination of pro-growth policies, but you
better watch how the money is spent. Ernie Fletcher is a fiscal
watchdog, he understands whose money we spend in government. We're not
spending the government's money -- we're spending the people's money,
and you better have a governor who knows that. (Applause.)
In order to make sure -- in order to make sure that Kentucky is a
good place for people to do business, so people can find work, you need
a governor who's willing to stand up to the plantiff's attorneys. You
see, what you don't want is a state dominated by plantiff's attorneys
so you've got a bunch of frivolous and junk lawsuits that on the one
hand deny a person a chance to get their day in court, and on the other
hand make it awfully costly for the state of Kentucky. You need
medical liability reform. You need a governor who's willing to stand
up and be tough. (Applause.)
When I was the Governor of Texas, I used to tell our people that
education is to a state what national defense is to the federal
government -- the top priority. One of the reasons I'm proud to stand
by Ernie is because he understands that we must educate every single
child in the state of Kentucky. (Applause.) He'll stand with the
teachers, he'll stand with the parents. He will challenge what I call
the soft bigotry of low expectations. See, when you lower the bar,
when you have low expectations, you're going to get lousy results. You
must have a governor who's willing to raise the bar, to set high
standards, to have high hopes for every single child. You must make
sure you've got a governor who insists that the curriculum used in
public schools works, not based upon some fancy theory, but actually
works. You've got to make sure every child can read. You need to use
phonics in the classroom. Ernie Fletcher understands that.
(Applause.)
And, finally, there are a lot of people who hurt around our
country. You must have a governor who understands that government can
hand out money -- and we do a pretty good job of it sometimes -- but
what government cannot do is put hope in a person's heart, or a sense
of purpose in people's lives. That's done when a fellow citizen
surrounds a soul with love. It's done when people who have heard the
universal call to love a neighbor just like you'd like to be loved
yourself step forward and say, I want to be a part, I want to be a part
of the fabric of change in a society, I want to help feed the hungry,
house the homeless, I want to be there to help the drug addict
understand that if you change your heart, you can change your
behavior. It is essential -- (applause.)
I have put forth a faith-based initiative, and I'm talking about
all faiths, all faiths. And I put out a faith-based initiative because
I want the great strength of the country, the heart and soul of the
American people to rally to the cause of those who hurt. It's
important to have a governor who does not fear faith, but welcomes
faith and to providing help for those who hurt, and that governor is
going to be Ernie Fletcher. (Applause.)
I look forward to working with Ernie Fletcher to make sure that the
homeland security initiative is done well here in Kentucky. We want to
make sure that there's good coordination between the federal, the state
and the local authorities, to make sure your good police folks and
firefighters and emergency response teams have a coordinated strategy
to be able to deal with a situation, if it were to occur. The thing I
appreciate about Ernie Fletcher is he understands what I know, that the
best way to secure the homeland is to hunt the killers down, one by
one, and bring them to justice, what America will do. (Applause.)
We must never forget the lessons of September the 11th, 2001. We
must understand that we can't sit back and hope for the best, that when
we see danger we must respond, we must respond in a way that is
responsible. We are responsible for the security of the people of this
country. We must use every power we have to make sure that another
attack does not occur. The lessons of September the 11th, 2001, are
indelibly etched in my mind. I will not forget the responsibility that
we have to the people. And neither will Ernie.
For those of you with loved ones in the United States military, you
get a hold of them either by email or phone or letter, and you tell
them their Commander-in-Chief is incredibly proud of the sacrifices
they are making for this country. (Applause.)
But I also want you to know, I also want you to know that we'll
stay on the offensive, but we'll also stay on the offensive for the
spread of freedom. The greatest security America can gain is from the
advance of human liberty. Free nations do not attack their neighbors.
Free nations do not develop weapons of mass terror to threaten or
blackmail the world. No, the greatest security for America will come
when America continues to lead the world toward a free society.
We understand -- we understand -- that freedom is not America's
gift to the world, freedom is God Almighty's gift to each and every
person that lives in the world. (Applause.)
In this war on terror, in this war on terror, I've had no stronger
supporter than Ernie Fletcher. I'm proud to stand with this man.
There's no doubt in my mind he'll make a great governor. There's no
doubt in my mind he'll be a governor for every single person that lives
in this vital and important state. There's no doubt in my mind he's
got a vision that's clear and hopeful, a vision that will provide the
best opportunity, so that everybody who lives here can say, I've been
given my chance to succeed; I've been given a good education, the
environment for finding a job is strong, I can raise my family in peace
and security. There's no doubt in my mind that the right person to
lead this great state into the 21st century is Ernie Fletcher.
Thank you all for coming. May God bless. God bless you all. Work
hard. Thank you all. (Applause.)
END 1:04 P.M. CST
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