Remarks at west ashley high school in Charleston, South Carolina

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, August 5, 2002

July 29, 2002

Thank you all very much. It's great to be back in Charleston. I want to thank you for taking time out of your day to come by and say hello. It's good to be back to the place where my mother graduated from high school. She must have learned there that if you ever get to be a mother, make sure you tell your oldest son what to do all the time. [Laughter] I'm still listening.

I am so honored that Tommy traveled down with me. You know, Tommy and I were fellow Governors. I knew he had a good record as the Governor of Wisconsin in helping move people from welfare to work. So that when I--one, I asked Tommy to join us as the Cabinet Secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services, because I know--I know his passion for helping people in need, and I know his philosophy. And so I want to thank Tommy for agreeing to leave the life he had there in Wisconsin and moving to Washington, DC, and serving our Nation with such class and such distinction. I appreciate you, Mr. Secretary.

I want to thank some of the members of the mighty South Carolina congressional delegation who have joined us here today, Congressmen Brown, Wilson, Graham, and DeMint, who represent your State with such class. And I appreciate you all coming. And it's good to see that my friend the Lieutenant Governor, Bob Peeler, is here with us as well. Thank you, Bob, appreciate you coming.

And I want to give a special thanks to Bob Olson, the principal of this high school. I know it's not easy to host a Presidential visit, The entourages are quite large. But you all have done a fabulous job. It's such an honor to be here in this high school. I want to thank you for--Bob, you and the teachers, all the folks who work here--for being involved in education. There's nothing more important to make sure that every single child in America gets a quality education.

I just had what they call a roundtable discussion about some of the programs that are taking place here in South Carolina, programs all aimed at helping people help themselves. I don't have time to go through all the stories, but there are some remarkable people that joined us today, those who have worked hard to get off welfare to succeed and those kind, compassionate souls who are helping them. And I want to thank the participants for coming today. I really appreciate our discussions.

I also met Steve Riggs, who is a volunteer here in South Carolina. He came out to Air Force One. Steve's job is to--as a volunteer is to work with the South Carolina military department, which reenacts moments of American history. Steve believes it's important to teach history--live history, or history that-through people wearing uniforms, so they can see history come to life. He believes it's important to teach our youngsters values that they can hold dear for the rest of their life. Steve decided to do this on his own. It didn't require any Government edict or any proclamation. He's a volunteer to make South Carolina the best State it can be. And I'm honored you're with us today, Steve. Thank you for coming.

The reason I like to talk about people like Steve--and many of the people I met this morning share the same concept that one person can do something to help change America, and each of us have got to be a person helping to change America. If you want to fight evil, if you want to join the war on terror, do some good in your society. If you want to send a message to the evil one who attacked us, one way to do so is to love your neighbor like you'd like to be loved yourself. And that's what's happening all across America.

I can't imagine what went through the mind of the enemy when they attacked us. They must have thought America and Americans were shallow people, so materialistic that when it came to defending something we hold dear, we'd just kind of file a lawsuit or, you know, wring our hands, be afraid of our shadows. But they didn't understand America, see. And they're learning a pretty tough lesson about this country: When it comes to the defense of our freedom, when it comes to defending that which we hold dear, we're plenty tough, and we're determined, and we will succeed.

Now, we're making progress on the war against terror. It's a different kind of war. Steve reenacts battles where there used to be infantries moving against infantries and artilleries moving against artilleries and flights of aircraft flying all over the--this is a different type of war. These folks are nothing but a bunch of coldblooded killers who--they'll send youngsters to their death, and they'll hide. And so this country, in order to protect America, is going to hunt them down, one person at a time, no matter how long it takes--one person at a time.

I know this is a great military town, and I want to thank all of you who have got loved ones in the United States military. Please pass on from their Commander in Chief that we're proud. We're proud of their service, and we're proud of their sacrifice.

We're making progress on our economy. The foundation for growth is strong in America. Interest rates are low. Inflation is low. Monetary policy is sound. Fiscal policy is sound. Productivity is up. And tomorrow I'm going to sign a bill that says as clearly as we can possibly say it out of Washington, DC--by the way, a bill supported by both Republicans and Democrats--that if you're a CEO and you think you can fudge the books in order to make yourself look better, we're going to find you; we're going to arrest you; and we're going to hold you to account.