Remarks at Boston Latin school in Boston, Massachusetts

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Jan 14, 2002

January 8, 2002

Thank you all very much, Thank you, please. You know, I told the folks at the coffee shop in Crawford, Texas, that Ted Kennedy was all right. [Laughter] They nearly fell out. [Laughter] But he is. I've come to admire him. He's a smart, capable Senator. You want him on your side, I can tell you that. And as a result of his hard work, we put together a good piece of legislation that has put Republicans and Democrats on the side of the schoolchildren in America. And Senator, thank you very much for your leadership.

On September the 11th, my wife was heading to--was on Capitol Hill to testify in front of Senator Kennedy. And before she'd go testify in front of his committee, obviously the evildoers hit America. And I want to thank him publicly, in front of his home folks, for providing such comfort to Laura during an incredibly tough time. Ironically enough, Judd Gregg was there, as well, and both those men went out of their way to put their arm around Laura and let her know all would be right. So, Mr. Senator, not only are you a good Senator; you're a good man.

Speaking about September the 11th, I want the young folks here to know that the mission we are on to rid the world of terror is a noble and just mission. I long for peace. But we learned a terrible lesson, and that lesson is we must rout out terror wherever it exists, in order for you and your children to grow up in a free and peaceful society. This Nation will not tire; we will not rest until we bring those who are willing to harm Americans to justice. And that's exactly what we intend to do.

We have a job to do overseas, and our military is performing brilliantly. For those of you who have got relatives in the military or those of you who are in the military, thank you from the bottom of our Nation's collective heart.

And we've got a job to do here at home, as well, and that's to make sure every child in America--every child--receives a good education.

Senator Kennedy and I, on the way in here, were talking about the Latin School. And I want to thank the headmistress Kelley for having us here. Thank you very much. After he had finished the litany of all the Kennedys that had gone to school here-- [laughter]--we talked about the quality of education that the kids receive here. And the truth of the matter is, if you look at this bill that I signed this morning in Ohio, it says this is the way--this is Boston Latin all over again. This is what Boston Latin is about. It's about expecting high standards, understanding every child can learn, demanding the best, insisting upon hard work, rewarding success, solving failure. It is a great school, and I am grateful that I could come and herald the signing of an important piece of legislation here at this school. This is not only a testimony to Senator Ted Kennedy's hard work; it's a testimony to a fine public school. Thank you for having us.

I appreciate the Governor coming, and I know the Governor is committed to quality education, as well. Jane, thank you for being here. I'm honored that members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation came. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to come by and say hello. I appreciate so very much the mayor being here. Mr. Mayor, thank you for coming; it's good to see you again. I want to thank all of you for coming. I particularly want to thank the students who are here.

I--you're seeing Government at its best with this piece of legislation. I know there's a lot of folks who look at Washington and say, "Can't they ever get along? All they do is argue. All they do is call each other names." But on this piece of legislation, on this important piece of legislation, we figured out how to put our parties aside and focus on what's right for the American children. We showed the country that, if we so desire, it is possible in Washington to say the Nation matters more than our political parties matter.

That was not as easy as it sounds. [Laughter] It took a lot of hard work, and it took the leadership of four fine Americans who are on this stage with me today. These four people decided they would rather see results than have empty rhetoric dominate the scene. These people said, "Look, we disagree on some issues, but why don't we figure out where we agree and get something done." And it was in that spirit that we crafted a great piece of legislation.

Big George Miller is out of California. He is--he might be considered left in Massachusetts. [Laughter] What do you think, Congressman? [Laughter] That's saying something. [Laughter] Before I went to Washington, I had a group of the gentlemen come down to Austin to talk about education reform, and George and I had a discussion about making sure that the systems did not simply shuffle children through, that we wanted to call a halt to what some call social promotion. I knew right then and there, when I heard his passion about focusing on each child, that there was a potential ally when it came to writing good legislation.