Just think about what life was like in Afghanistan under the Taliban, with al Qaeda driving the agenda. This is where girls have no rights. You can't worship freely. This is a very dark, grim vision that they believe they must spread far and wide. That's what they think. And one way they achieve their objectives, of course, is to intimidate by death. There's no rules with these people. There's just — so America has got to understand that in order to find them we've got to get in their heads. If you're facing a nation, you can find the nation. If you're facing people that burry in failed states you've got to understand how to find them.

I've been — since I've been your President, I want to remind you we have been through a recession, we have been through a terrorist attack, we have been at war, we have had corporate scandals, we have had major natural disasters.

Let me talk about energy very quickly. I'm fully aware that people are paying dearly at the pump. The other day at a press conference I said it's like a tax. It's a tax on you. The more that gasoline goes up, the more you're paying — the more you're paying for the pump, the less money you have in your pocket to spend for your family. I will tell you it's taken us a while to get in this fix, and therefore it's going to take us a while to get out of the fix.

Unlike in Vietnam, if we withdraw before the job is done, this enemy will follow us home. And that is why, for the security of the United States of America, we must defeat them overseas so we do not face them in the United States of America.

SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, MIKE LEAVITT: I think, Mr. President, you'll get a lot of interesting perspective —
DUBYA: Leavitt, one thing before you get — I see we've got some cameramen here. Why don't you give them the cameraman story.
LEAVITT: I had a terrific conversation yesterday —
DUBYA: For all you cameramen out there.
LEAVITT: Someone asked me — actually, it was a news organization here in Missouri, anticipating our trip, asked me, what are you going to talk about? And I said, essentially, we've got this problem that we're trying to solve of people who work in restaurants or in daycare centers, or are self-employed, and it's unfair that they should be treated in a way — and I could see the cameraman —
DUBYA: He's an independent contractor, he's on his own, basically.
LEAVITT: But he was behind the camera doing this, which is unusual.
DUBYA: Because he wants to be treated just like the person who works for big corporate America, and he wants to be able to have that deduction.
LEAVITT: So before we were even off the satellite, he's saying, and you should have said independent cameramen. He said, do you know how much I pay for insurance? He says, it's $1,350 a month, and I have to pay it after I pay my taxes, and it's just not fair. It isn't fair. This is the right thing to be doing.
DUBYA: Thank you.

We thought long and hard about what to propose. We proposed a bold initiative, an initiative that takes equities out of the system, so people are treated fairly.

One way to encourage you to make the right decisions when it comes to health care is to take the inequities out of the tax code. If you work for a company, you pay — you get your health care free, in essence.

These are historic times in which we live, and it is essential that we have people in the United States Senate who are clear-eyed realists who see the world the way it is, not the way we would hope it would be ...There's a group in the opposition party who are willing to retreat before the mission is done. They're willing to wave the white flag of surrender. And if they succeed, the United States will be worse off, and the world will be worse off. These are historic times. We will defeat the enemy by, one, bringing them to justice before they hurt us again, and we will defeat the enemy, we will defeat their hateful ideology by spreading liberty.

There's no need to have a health care system for our seniors that doesn't meet needs. And one of the things I noticed in analyzation of the health care system for seniors, analyzation of Medicare, was that medicine had changed, but Medicare hadn't.

After listening to the litany of complaints and the dour pessimism, I did all I could not to make a bad face.

And our strategy is clear. We're going to help the Iraqis. We're going to train Iraqis so they can do the hard work necessary for a free society to emerge. It's their country. We just want to stand with them as democracy comes to that piece of the world. And so we're training the troops. We'll have 125,000 police, Afghan National Army and army trained up by the end of December. It's an essential part of our strategy. We got $7 billion allocated for reconstruction efforts. We're working with a grand coalition. Some 30 nations are involved there in Iraq.

Uhh — I hear there's rumors on the, uhh, Internets that we're gonna have a — draft. We're not going to have a draft. Period.

JOHN KERRY: We're gonna build alliances. We're not gonna go unilaterally, we're not gonna go alone like this President did.
CHARLES GIBSON: Mr. President, let's extend for a minute.
DUBYA: Let me just — I've gotta answer this.
GIBSON: Exactly. And with Reservists being held on duty and —
DUBYA: Let me answer just, what he just said about going alone.
GIBSON: [obscured] Well, I wanted to get into the issue of the backdoor draft.
DUBYA: You tell Tony Blair we're going alone! Tell Tony Blair we're going alone!

It is naive and dangerous to take a policy that he suggested the other day, which is to have bilatarelations with North Korea.

You see, he's proposed 2.2 trillion dollars of new spending. And say, you say "Well, how are you gonna pay for it?" He said, well, he's going to raise the taxes on the rich — that's what he said — the top two brackets. That raises, he says 800 billion. We say 600 billion. We've got battling green eye shades.

When a drug comes in from Canada, I want to make sure it cures you and doesn't kill you. And that's why the FDA and that's why the Surgeon General are looking very carefully to make sure it can be done in a safe way. I've got an obligation to make sure our government does everything we can to protect you. And what my worry is is that, you know, it looks like it's from Canada, and it might be from a third world.

I can see why people at your workplace think [John Kerry] changes positions a lot, because he does. He said he voted for the $87 billion and — or voted against it right before he voted for it. And that sends a confusing signal to people.

I wasn't happy when we found out there wasn't weapons, and we've got an intelligence group together to figure out why.

JOHN KERRY: Ninety-eight percent of America, I'm giving you a tax cut and I'm giving you health care.
CHARLES GIBSON: Mr. President, a minute-and-a-half.
DUBYA: Let me see where to start here. First, the National Journal named Senator Kennedy the most liberal senator of all. And that's saying something in that bunch. You might say that took a lot of hard work.

I'm going to tell you what I really think is going to happen over time is technology is going to change the way we live for the good for the environment. That's why I proposed a hydrogen automobile — hydrogen-generated automobile. We're spending 1 billion dollars to come up with the technologies to do that.

I don't think my opponent has got the right view about the world to make us safe. I really don't. First of all, I don't think he can succeed in Iraq. And if Iraq were to fail, it'd be a haven for terrorists, and there would be money and the world would be much more dangerous.

And so people are going to have to look at the record. Look at the record of the man running for the President.

JAMES HUBB: Mr. President, how would you rate yourself as an environmentalist? What specifically has your administration done to improve the condition of our nation's air and water supply?
DUBYA: Off-road diesel engines. We have reached an agreement to reduce pollution from off-road diesel engines by 90 percent. I've got a plan to increase the wetlands by three million.

We proposed and passed a Healthy Forest bill, which was essential to working with — particularly in western states, to make sure that our forests were protected. What happens in those forests, because of lousy federal policy, is they grow to be — they are not — they're not harvested. They're not taken care of.

JOHN KERRY: Ladies and gentlemen, that's just not true what he said. The Wall Street Journal said 96 percent of small businesses are not affected at all by my plan. And you know why he gets that count? The president got $84 from a timber company that he owns, and he's counted as a small business. Dick Cheney's counted as a small business. That's how they do things. That's just not right.
DUBYA: I own a timber company? [LAUGHTER] That's news to me. [LAUGHTER] Need some wood?

I wouldn't pick a judge who said that the Pledge of Allegiance couldn't be said in a school because it had the words "under God" in it. I think that's an example of a judge allowing personal opinion to enter into the decision-making process, as opposed to strict interpretation of the Constitution. Another example would be the Dred Scott case, which is where judges years ago said that the Constitution allowed slavery because of personal property rights. That's personal opinion. That's not what the Constitution says. The Constitution of the United States says we're all — it doesn't say that, it doesn't speak to the equality of America.

On the tax cut, it's a big decision. I did the right decision.

[John Kerry] complains about the fact our troops don't have adequate equipment, yet he voted against the $87 billion supplemental I sent to the Congress, and then issued one of the most amazing quotes in political history: "I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it."

The truth of the matter is, if you listen carefully, Saddam would still be in power if he [John Kerry] were the President of the United States, and the world would be a lot better off.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: With expansions to the Patriot Act and Patriot Act II, my question to you is, why are my rights being watered down and my citizens' around me? And what are the specific justifications for these reforms?
DUBYA: I appreciate that. I really don't think your rights are being watered down. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't support it if I thought that. Every action being taken against terrorists requires court order, requires scrutiny.

I'm telling you, too many good docs are getting sued time and time and time again by frivolous lawsuits.

We got an issue in America. Too many good docs are gettin' out of business. Too many OB/GYNs aren't able to practice their — their love with women all across this country.

There will be big differences in this campaign. They're going to raise your taxes, we're not.

DUBYA: It was my way to — to help kick off the baseball season.
SPORTSCASTER: That's neat.
DUBYA: I, I really think it's, uhh — an integral part of the — fabric of our society, and, uhh — I'm, I'm gonna try to do my part to make sure baseball gets the notoriety it deserves.

Yes, that's a — first of all, Mom, you're doing — that's tough. But it's — I appreciate that. I appreciate the idea of you wanting to give your children the education from you and the mom.

The march to war affected the people's confidence. It's hard to make investment. See, if you're a small business owner or a large business owner and you're thinking about investing, you've got to be optimistic when you invest. Except when you're marching to war, it's not a very optimistic thought, is it? In other words, it's the opposite of optimistic when you're thinking you're going to war. War is not conducive to — for investment.

A lot of times, this country talks about our strengths, and we should. We talk about the military strength of America. And that's important. And we're going to keep us strong.

See, when a stock market sometimes indicates — is a predictor of the future, and sure enough, in the first quarter of 2001, the country was in a recession.

My one regret tonight is that Laura isn't here. She is a fabulous lady. She's a great First Lady for our country. She is a wonderful wife, a great mother, and she's doing a heck of a job on behalf of the American people.

Al Qaeda is a group of people that they don't care about taking innocent life.

I'm asking the FEMA people and the Governor and the Mayor and everybody said, is the government moving fast enough? That's the question that I need to know. And some of you said yes, and some of you said no.

So one of my visits — one of the reasons I'm visiting here is to ask the question to people. Because if there's — moving too slow, or people are saying one thing and the other thing is not happening, now is the time to find out.

Overwhelmingly, yet carefully targeted, air strikes left entire enemy divisions without armor and without organization.

Should any Iraqi officer or soldier receive an order from Saddam Hussein, or his sons, or any of the killers who occupy the high levels of their government, my advice is, don't follow that order. Because if you choose to do so, when Iraq is liberated, you will be treated, tried and persecuted as a war criminal.

So I met a guy today named Joe.... He said, by allowing businesses to expense up to $75,000, it means somebody is more likely to buy a copying machine, or in this case, an architectural fancy machine.

I mentioned early on that I recognize there are hurdles, and we're gonna achieve those hurdles.

Small business owners like Joe may have problems passing their business off to a child or somebody they choose to pass their business off of.

No child in America should be left behind in this country.

[Saddam Hussein] is adept at deception and delays and denying. He asked for more time so he can give the so-called inspectors more runaround.

I want you to think about a scenario in which he becomes the arsenal and the training grounds for shadowy terrorists so that he can attack somebody he hates and not leave any fingerprints behind.

I want the youngsters here to remember the story of Flight 93, one of most profound parts of this entire history of the recent history we've been through.

Old wars used to be battle lines and tanks moving here and equipment moving there, and logistics.

Interestingly enough, we've rounded up and detained over 2,400 terrorists, and that's good.

I believe, I believe this country, I know this country is a fabulous country. But I believe we've got great days ahead of us.

Shadowy terrorists could hook up with a nation that has got weapons of mass destruction, the nations that I labeled axis of evil, people who in one case have gassed their own people with a weapons of mass destruction.

Within this Cabinet department, we're going to have four basic functions. One are borders.

Their job is to collect tariffs and to worry about people bringing things into our country, and yet they work for the Treasury Department. Well, the Treasury Department's job is to worry about fiscal matters, not the security of the homeland.

Or how about the Coast Guard? The Coast Guard can do a good job of patrolling our borders, and they do. The Coast Guard is a fine outfit. But guess who they report to? The Transportation Department. The Transportation Department is worried about highways and airplanes and railroads.

I believe, I believe this country, I know this country is a fabulous country. But I believe we've got great days ahead of us. I believe that by being strong and tough that we can achieve peace. I believe that. I sincerely, honestly believe it. And not only do I believe we can bring peace for America, I believe we can bring peace to parts of the world that may not seem like there ever is going to be peace.

Not only will we win the war on terror to secure the peace in the world, we will show the world that a diverse nation from all walks of life and all religions can be compassionate and kind and hopeful for everyone who's lucky enough to be an American citizen.

The enemy must have thought they were hitting a society that was so soft, so self-absorbed, so materialistic that we would sue them.

There is no cave deep enough for the justice of the United States of America.

And so one of my jobs is to make sure that entrepreneurial spirit is strong and alive in America, that it continues to flourish so that the great American dream of owning your own business is vibrant and alive and well and when we go into the 21st century.

And by cutting the personal rates, all personal rates, what we are in effect doing for the small business community was encouraging cash flow.

High taxes is a road block.

But I do want to thank you for your hospitality and all the employees with whom I just had an interesting discussion about how to — about what's on their mind, about what's it like to work for a small business and how best — what the government can do to perhaps make the small business more vibrant and/or deal with some of the needs that directly affect the employees.

Here's Derek. Derek is the CEO of a small bio-tech firm. He is a economic entrepreneur. But I'm heralding Derek today because he's also a social entrepreneur. He's a person that understands that with freedom comes the responsibility to nuv - love a neighbor like you'd like to be loved yourself. And I appreciate that spirit, Derek. He started what's called St. Louis Cares. It is a recruiting vehicle to help match people with kind heart with people who need kind hearts in their lives. And the reason I want to talk about the Dereks of the world is because in order to win the war against evil, this nation must continue to practice acts of decency and kindness and goodness. [Applause] That there is no question that the entrepreneurial spirit in America makes us unique, I think.

One of my hopes is out of this evil that was done to our country, is that people, young people understand that living in America is wonderful — but it also requires a effort to make the communities in which they live a better place, that we've got to work to usher in a era of personal responsibility.

And so one of the good ideas... is to allow for what we call associated health plans, which says that if you're a member of the NFIB, for example, the National Federation of Independent Businesses, that they can pool a multitude of small businesses together, thereby driving down the cost of health care.

I talked about making the death tax permanent, so that Rolf can pass his assets to a family member, if he so chooses.

And I don't want Congress messing with the budget.

Let me see if I can put this into English, or Texan.

Listen, we caught a bunch of them bunched up the other day. And they're not bunched up any more.

It was vital for our economic future, because when you give people more of their own money to spend, they demand. And when they demand, somebody produces. And when somebody produce, somebody gets to work.

If you try to look at one isolated incident, it's easy to belittle $600 in a person's pocket. But $600 of additional disposable income all across America that amounts to billions of dollars will provide a part of the equation for economic recovery. Of course, if somebody buys a pencil, somebody's had to make it. But it is not just school supplies. That maybe kind of diminishes the effect of billions of dollars getting into the economy in a very quick period of time.

Why? Because it's something people ought to do. And I believe in supporting charities. As you know, every year when I put out my income tax returns, you see the fact that I do give to charities, give to my church. I haven't made up my mind yet.

Madam Superintendent, I promise you, I know where the great educational entrepreneurship of America lay, and it lay right here, in districts such as this one.

They want the federal government controlling Social Security like it's some kind of federal program.

We say to seniors, "We understand how important prescription drug coverage, so prescription drugs will be an ingrinable part of the Medicare plan."

If affirmative action means what I just described, what I'm for, then I'm for it.

Quotas are bad for America. It's not the way America is all about.

I think also what you need to think about is not the immediate, but what about Medicare? You get a plan that will include prescription drugs, a plan that will give you options. Now, I hope people understand that Medicare today is - is - is important, but it doesn't keep up with the new medicines. If you're a Medicare person, on Medicare, you don't get the new procedures. You're stuck in a time warp in many ways. So it will be a modern Medicare system that trusts you to make a variety of options for you.

Well, you know, it's hard to make people love one another. I wish I knew the law because I would darn sure sign it. I wish I knew the law that said all of us would be good parents.

The federal government puts about 6% of the money up. They put about, you know, 60% of the strings where you have to fill out the paperwork. I don't know if you have to be a paperwork-filler-outer, but most of it's because of the federal government.

Should I be fortunate enough to earn your confidence, the mission of the United States military will be to be prepared and ready to fight and win war. And therefore prevent war from happening in the first place.

It's one thing about insurance, that's a Washington term.