Remarks at Carl Harrison High School in Kennesaw, Georgia

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Feb 24, 2003

February 20, 2003

Thank you all very much. Thanks a lot. So, I'm on my way down to Crawford, and I thought it would be wise to stop in Cobb County. And I'm glad I did. Thank you for that incredibly warm welcome. It is wonderful to be here at Harrison High. I'm honored to be in the presence of the principal, Donnie Griggers. I want to thank he and his staff--he and his fine staff for putting up with the entourage. [Laughter] I appreciate all the teachers here at Harrison High. I want to thank you for teaching. Yours is a noble profession, an important profession, and all of us who care about our children and our children's future thank you for teaching and sharing your wisdom and your love for our children.

I appreciate the Harrison High students who are here. Listen to your teacher and your mother, by the way. I'm still listening to mine. [Laughter] But I'm honored the students are here, and thank you for sharing your facility with us.

I've come to your school to talk about the need for this Nation to assume responsibilities, that we have a responsibility to keep the peace and to protect the homeland, that we have a responsibility to make sure this economy is strong so people can find work. We have a responsibility to nourish the entrepreneurial spirit of America. We have that responsibility. And I want to talk to you about the need for all of us to assume our responsibilities as we go through life.

If you're fortunate enough to be a mom or a dad, you're responsible for loving that child with all your heart and all your soul. If you're a citizen of democracy, you're responsible for participating in the political process. If you're a leader, you're responsible for doing what you think is right on behalf of all of the citizens. And that's why I'm so honored--[applause].

Those of us in office have the responsibility to reject partisan politics which divides our Nation, that ugly politics, which says, if so and so wins, such and such has got to lose--the zero-sum politics that oftentimes enters the discourse of Washington, DC. We have a responsibility to lift up issues beyond the mud pit of politics.

And that's why I'm so honored to be standing here with Democrat Senator Zell Miller, American first. He is the kind of fellow that tells you exactly what he thinks. If he agrees with you, he tells you he agrees with you. If he doesn't agree with you, he'll tell you that, too. [Laughter] One thing you can be certain of, he puts his country ahead of the political party. I'm proud to call him friend. I listen to him. And I'm proud of the fact that he is going to sponsor the tax relief plan I'm going to tell you about in a minute.

I'm also proud to be traveling with Saxby Chambliss, newly elected Senator from Georgia. These two Senators make a fine combination on behalf of all the people. Your State is really well represented in the Halls of the United States Senate.

I'm proud to be with the man who's got one of the greatest jobs in America, the Governor of the State of Georgia. It's interesting we're here with Sonny in a school, because I understand his passion for public education. He understands that's the number one priority of any State. And I believe a result of his leadership and working with the teachers and principals and administrators and parents, education in this great State is going to flourish for every single child. No child is going to be left behind in the State of Georgia.

We've got the members of the mighty Georgia congressional delegation with us. I say mighty, because they're mighty strong. And I'm mighty proud to call them all friends. The Congressman from this district, Johnny Isakson, is with us today. Newly elected Phil Gingrey is with us as well. And John Linder from the Atlanta region is with us. And some of the country boys from the delegation arrived with us today--[laughter]--Charlie Norwood, Mac Collins, and Max Burns, all fine Members. Thank you all for coming.

I am proud to be in the presence of State and local leaders. Thank you all for being here. Recently I had a-recently--like 15 minutes ago, I had a chance to--[laughter]--really recently--[laughter]--I had a chance to visit with some of our fellow citizens. I'm going to talk about them a little later on. I think it's very important for our fellow Americans to know that when I talk about tax relief and talk about the entrepreneurial spirit, that it can relate directly to people in your neighborhoods and your communities. I want to thank you all for coming today.

I also want to recognize a fellow named Bob Langley. Where are you, Bob? Right there. Thank you for coming. The reason I mentioned Bob is he came out to Air Force One to greet me. He represents thousands of our fellow citizens who have heard a call to help somebody in need. He is a volunteer for Hospice Atlanta and the American Cancer Society. He is a citizen, like many of you here and many around the country, who know that each of us has a responsibility to make our communities better by following our hearts and helping people in need.