Remarks at a fundraiser for gubernatorial candidate Mike Fisher in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, April 8, 2002

April 2, 2002

Thank you very much. Well, "Governor," thank you for those kind words. I want to thank you all for coming, and thanks for that warm welcome. It's good to see so many friends. I want to thank you all for supporting the next Governor from Pennsylvania. I've been here quite a bit since I've been President, hut I learned a new fact recently that made me a little nervous. I didn't realize this, but Pennsylvania has more pretzel bakeries--[laughter]--than any State in the Union. [Laughter] So I decided to take a risk. [Laughter]

I love coming to Philadelphia. I love the history of Philadelphia. I love the fact that Philadelphia is the cradle of freedom; that's what I love.

Mike mentioned Tom Ridge. You know, my biggest job is to defend freedom, is to protect our homeland. And you know better than anybody, I picked a really good man to lead the homeland defense of the United States. I want to thank you for letting Tom cut his eyeteeth here. [Laughter] He did a great job as Governor. He's doing a really good job in Washington.

And I want to thank Mark Schweiker as well. He's doing a fantastic job as Governor. Thank you, Mark, Pennsylvania has had two fine Governors. It's time to make three Governors in a row. I'm proud to be here on stage with Mike and the future Lieutenant Governor. There's no doubt in my mind they will both do a fine job, an excellent job, for the people of Pennsylvania. I'm also honored to be here with your senior Senator, Arlen Specter. Thank you very much, Mien, for coming. I had the privilege of traveling from the University of Pennsylvania, in Delaware County, to the hotel with Jane Earll. She's solid on the issues. She knows what she's talking about.

I'm also honored to be here with David Girard-diCarlo and Manny Stamatakis. These guys were my friends before I was somebody--[laughter]--and I'm proud to call them friend. I want to thank them for their hard work, and I want to thank you all for contributing your hard-earned dollars to this good candidate. I also want to thank the leaders of the political party here, the chairman and the national committeeman and national committeewoman, all of whom are willing to provide the grassroots support necessary for candidates like me and Mike to succeed.

You know, fundraising is an integral part of politics but so is getting out the vote--so is those who are willing to spend a lot of time putting out the yard signs, dialing the phones, and doing all the hard work necessary to make candidates viable. On behalf of a grateful President, and a soon-to-be-grateful Governor, thank you for the grassroots politics here in Pennsylvania.

I also want to thank Carol Fisher, Mike's wife, for her willingness to make a huge sacrifice on behalf of a good man running for Governor. I know something about good wives. I'm very fortunate to have a good wife, myself. Laura is doing a great job as our First Lady. She is a steady hand. She was a public school librarian when I married her and really wasn't all that keen on politics. And if the truth he known, she wasn't all that thrilled about knowing politicians, either. [Laughter] But she is where she is, thank goodness. Thank goodness for my family, and thank goodness for the country. The American people have gotten to see why I asked Laura to marry me. There's still a lot of doubts in people's minds as to why she said yes. [Laughter] But I'm proud of her, and I want you to know she's doing great, and so is my family.

I think there's a lot of reasons for the people of Pennsylvania to support Mike. First, he's done a good job as the attorney general. He's been given a huge responsibility, and he performed. He's one of these fellows that does in office what he said he would do, and that's refreshing.

Mike has led the fight against drugs, and he's made a difference. As I understand it, there's been over 6,000 arrests made to make sure Pennsylvania streets are safe from those who would sell drugs. But he also knows what I knew, that we've also got to work on demand. We've got to make sure our youngsters understand that drugs will destroy their lives and ruin their hopes. Mike can take this to the Governor's office and make a huge difference for the citizens of Pennsylvania.

He also has been making sure Pennsylvania stays safe. He's a tough crimefighter. He makes it clear that there are consequences for bad behavior in the State of Pennsylvania. And that will stand him in good stead when he becomes the Governor as well.

We had a chance to talk about education today in the car. I was promoting an early childhood reading initiative here in the Philadelphia area. Mike knows what I know, that we must set high standards for every child, that we must expect the best from every single child, and that we must hold people accountable for results. It's fine for States and the Federal Government to spend money, but for that money we expect our children to learn how to read and write and add and subtract. And if the status quo is unacceptable, if children are not learning to read and write and add and subtract, it's important to have somebody in the Governor's office who is willing to say, "That is not good enough. The fact that children can't read and write and add and subtract is not satisfactory to me, because every child counts in America, and no child should be left behind."