Remarks at a Bush-Cheney reception in Palm beach gardens, Florida - Week Ending Friday, January 9, 2004

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Jan 12, 2004

January 8, 2004

Thank you all. Thanks for coming. It's great to be back in the great State of Florida. We carried it once, and we're going to carry it again.

And I want to thank you all for your help. I appreciate you showing up today. I appreciate your contributions. I appreciate your friendship, appreciate your prayers. I appreciate you laying the foundation for what is going to be a great national victory in November of '04.

And I'm getting ready. [Laughter] I'm loosening up. [Laughter] But there's plenty of time for politics. See, I've got a job to do. I'm focused on the people's business in Washington, DC. I want you to remind your friends and neighbors that I will continue to work hard to earn the confidence of every American by keeping this Nation secure and strong and prosperous and free.

I love my brother Jeb. He is a great Governor. He is a great Governor, first and foremost, because he has a large heart. He cares deeply about the people. He and I share some things in common. We share the same last name. [Laughter] We share the same political consultant--[laughter]--Mother. [Laughter] And we both married extremely well.

I'm honored to be onstage with a fabulous first lady for the State of Florida, Ms. Columba. And a great First Lady for America sends her love. I'm sorry Laura is not here. I know she was Jeb's first choice to be the speaker today. [Laughter] She's in Washington. But I'm a lucky man to have married Laura Bush. She is a great wife, a fabulous mother, and a wonderful First Lady for America.

I know my friend and former colleague in the Cabinet Mel Martinez is with us. Mel, thank you lot being here today. I know Congressman Mark Foley is with us. Mr. Congressman, I'm glad you're here. I'm sorry Congressman Clay Shaw is not here. This is his district, I understand, but he is traveling with Speaker Denny Hastert. He made a good choice. When the Speaker calls, it's probably a pretty good thing to travel with him. I know the Lieutenant Governor, Toni Jennings, is here. The attorney general, Charlie Crist, is here. Tom Gallagher is here. Where's Gallagher? I appreciate you coming.

A lot of members of the statehouse are here. It's a good sign when State senators and State reps show up. After all, you win campaigns by energizing the grassroots. I appreciate the members of the statehouse being here. I'm looking forward to working with you to carry Florida. I want to thank all the grassroots activists who are here. I want to thank you for what you're going to do, which is to put up the signs, to man the phone booths, to put out the mailers, and to turn out the vote.

I want to thank the mayors and local officials who are here. I want to thank all those who worked hard to make this event such a successful event. We've had three event cochairmen, the Guzzettas, the Gaineses, and Elizabeth Fago. I want to thank you for your hard work. I appreciate your good work.

My friend Mercer Reynolds is here. He's the national finance chairman. He's from Cincinnati, Ohio. He's taken a lot of time out of his private life to help make sure we get well funded in what's going to be a tough campaign. I want to thank my friend Al Hoffman from the great State of Florida, who is doing such a fantastic job as the--raising money. And of course, there's Tom Petway and Zach Zachariah, two good buddies as well, who have been working hard to make this campaign go well.

In the last 3 years, our Nation has acted decisively to confront great challenges. I came to this office to solve problems instead of passing them on to future Presidents and future generations. I came to seize opportunities instead of letting them slip away. My administration is meeting the tests of our time.

Terrorists declared war on the United States of America, and war is what they got. We've captured or killed many of the key leaders of the Al Qaida network, and the rest of them know we're on their trail. In Afghanistan and in Iraq, we gave ultimatums to terror regimes. Those regimes chose defiance, and those regimes are no more. The world is better off, and so are the 50 million people in those two countries who once lived under tyranny, and today, they live in freedom.

Three years ago, our military was not receiving the resources it needed and morale was beginning to suffer, so we increased the defense budgets to meet 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.

Three years ago, the economy was in trouble and a recession was beginning. And I want you to remember what we have come through. Not only was a recession beginning, but our country was attacked. And then there were corporate scandals and war, all of which affected the people's confidence. But this administration acted. We passed 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.