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President's Remarks at Ask President Bush EventEclipse AviationAlbuquerque, New Mexico 1:40 P.M. MDT THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Thanks for coming. (Applause.)I'm glad you all are here. Thank you all for coming. It's good to beback. Please be seated. Yes, thanks for being here today. It's goodto be back -- yeah! (Laughter.) It's good to be back in country wherepeople wear cowboy hats. (Applause.) Thanks for your hospitality. I'm traveling our country asking forthe vote. I think you have to go out and ask people for their help andask people for their support. I've got a reason for running again --I'm going to share some of that with you today. We're going to do itin a little different way. We're going to talk about smallbusinesses. We'll talk about homeownership. We're going to talk aboutjobs and education, all aimed to let the people know that I have adesire to make sure this country is a stronger country, and a bettercountry for everybody. Por todos. (Applause.) I want to thank my friend, Pete Domenici. You got a good one inPete Domenici. He's a United States Senator -- (applause.) He's astrong leader for New Mexico. When you're with Pete, all he talksabout is New Mexico. (Laughter.) Occasionally works in the UnitedStates. (Laughter.) He loves this state. Ever since he was afire-balling right-hander. (Laughter.) He's a wonderful man. I'mproud you're here, Pete. Thanks for taking on a leadership role in mycampaign. I'm also proud to be traveling with John McCain. (Applause.)Nothing better than waking up in the country and getting a cup ofcoffee and getting in the pickup truck, and driving around and lookingat the cows. That's what John and I did this morning. It's a good wayto -- good way to clear your mind and keep your perspective. Yesterday, we were in the Panhandle of Florida. We ended our dayin Panama City, Florida. There was 22,000 people that came out to sayhello. It's -- listen, I'm going to tell you what I'm seeing. I'mseeing big crowds, the enthusiasm is high. (Applause.) We're on ourway to victory. (Applause.) The two people I wish who were here who aren't, one is HeatherWilson. I know she's out working. She's a fantastic lady. You needto put her back in Congress. (Applause.) People of this district arelucky that Heather is your Congresswoman. (Applause.) She's verycompetent, very smart, very-able person who has got a lot of respect --who has earned a lot of respect in Washington. And the other person who I regret is not here is Laura.(Applause.) Yeah, you do, too. (Applause.) You know, she was born andraised right around the corner. I was raised right around the corner;she was born and raised right around the corner. We're right on theother side of the New Mexico border. We've spent a lot of time in thisstate. This is a state -- this is a state where we don't have to havea tour guide to figure out how to get around. (Applause.) And wedon't need to have somebody explain to us how the people of New Mexicothink. (Applause.) She's a great First Lady, a great mother -- (applause) -- and awonderful wife. (Applause.) And she sends her best to Pete and allour friends here in New Mexico. I also want to thank the sheriff, the high sheriff is here, DarrenWhite. It's good to see you, Sheriff. (Applause.) I appreciate youbeing here. He's sitting next to my friend, John Sanchez. John,thanks for taking a leadership role. (Applause.) I want to thank PatLyons and Manny Lujan, friends of mine. I appreciate so very muchAllen Weh, the chairman of this -- the chairman of the party.(Applause.) I want to thank all the grassroots activists who are here. Yeah,there you go. (Applause.) You're the people who are going to getpeople registered to vote. (Applause.) That's what we're really hereto talk about, in many ways, is to get people to show up to the polls.I'm confident if we can get a lot of people to vote, we'll carry NewMexico this time. (Applause.) Wasn't but about 300 votes last time.(Laughter.) Too many of our people got the head cold right before theelection. This time, we're going to get them out to vote. And I wantyour help. And remember, there are a lot of Democrats here who likewhat's going on in Washington, D.C. -- make sure you get those peopleto the polls. Make sure you get the independents. (Applause.) Theyunderstand that this administration is dedicated to keep this countrysafer and stronger and a better country for everybody. (Applause.) I met Tom Hesch today -- where are you, Tom? There he is, rightthere. He's a doc, he's a dentist. Guess what he does? He providesfree dental care for people who need help -- that's what he does.(Applause.) One of the reasons -- I call him a soldier in the army ofcompassion. You know why I mention Tom, is because the strength ofthis country is the hearts and souls of citizens like Tom, who arewilling to reach out to somebody who needs help and says, can I helpyou, brother or sister. What can I do to help your life? I'm runningfor four more years because I want to continue to rally and encouragethe soldiers in that vast army of compassion, so that America canchange one heart, one soul, one conscience at a time. I understand the limitations of government. I understand thatgovernment is not a loving organization. (Laughter.) But governmentcan stand side-by-side with loving organizations to help improve thelives of people from all walks of life. (Applause.) Tom, I want to thank you for being here. Thank you for the exampleyou set. I'm also running because I want this country of ours to be astronger country, and by that, I mean a country in which people canrealize their dreams. And people can better realize their dreams whenour economy is strong. Now, we've been through a lot. We've beenthrough a lot in this country. If you really think about what we'vebeen through, it's amazing to say that we're strong and gettingstronger. We've been through a recession -- that's when things aregoing backwards. We've been through an attack. That's when thingsreally shook up the country. It shook our conscience. The attacks ofSeptember the 11th affected our economy. Remember, airplanes weren'tflying; Wall Street was shut down; banks were closed. I mean, it was aterrible time for our nation. We went through corporate scandals.Make no mistake about it, when you've got a system that relies upontrust, in other words, somebody opening up the books, and you trust inwhat you read, and that trust has been violated by a -- by a corporateofficer, it affected our economy. It shook our confidence in thesystem. But we acted. We acted to overcome all these obstacles. Wepassed tough new corporate reforms. The message ought to be clear toeverybody now that if you don't tell the truth, we're coming after you,to keep the trust. (Applause.) We acted after the enemy attacked us -- I'll talk about that alittle later. We also acted to help cure the ills of a recession. Ibelieve that when somebody has got more money in their pocket to saveor spend or invest, it causes there to be an increase in demand forgoods and services, and when there's an increase in demand for goodsand services, somebody is going to produce the good or a service. Ifsomebody produces that good or a service, somebody is more likely tofind a job. My whole focus on getting out of this recession was to help theeconomy grow so people can find work, and we're making progress. We'veadded 1.5 -- nearly 1.5 million new jobs since last August --(applause.) We're a strong economy. If you look at all the majorindustrialized nations in the world, we're the strongest. That's wherewe should be. There's more to do. There's more to do. We're going to talk aboutthe entrepreneurial spirit. See, I don't think the role of governmentis to create wealth. I believe the role of government is to create anenvironment in which the entrepreneurial spirit can soar and is strong,where the strong businesses -- (applause.) You know what that means?You see, in order to keep jobs here at home, that means we better havethe best environment for job creation in the world. We want jobs to behere in New Mexico and in Texas and all around the country like we alldo. That means this has got to be the best place to be an employer,which means good tax policy, it means we've got to do something aboutall these lawsuits, which are threatening the job creators.(Applause.) We've got to do something on health care costs. I'll tell you whatwe can do on health care costs. We can take care of our seniors withgood Medicare law, which we've done. We can have more community healthcenters in urban New Mexico and rural New Mexico and the tribal areasof New Mexico to help poor citizens get primary care and take thepressure off our emergency rooms. (Applause.) We can have associatedhealth care -- I mean, associated health plans, which will allow smallbusinesses to pool risk across jurisdictional boundaries, so they canhave the same purchasing power as large companies do, and therefore,better afford insurance for their employees. We can continue to promote health savings accounts, which allowindividuals and small businesses to put money aside for workers and/oryourself on a tax-free basis, which will help control costs. We canspread new technologies, electronic records for patients, to help wringout the inefficiencies which now exist in the medical system. And you know what else we need to do in order to make sure healthcare is available and affordable? Medical liability reform. Theselawsuits are making -- (applause.) I'm telling you, the frivolouslawsuits are running up the cost of health care and they're drivingdoctors out of business and they're hurting our hospitals.(Applause.) And I don't think you can be -- I don't think you can bepro-patient and pro-doctor and pro-trial lawyer at the same time.(Applause.) I think you have to choose. My opponent has made hischoice and he put him on the ticket. (Laughter.) I made my choice.We're standing with the patients and the doctors and the small businessowners. In order to make sure jobs stay here and the economy is strong, weneed good trade policy. Let me tell you something about trade. Oureconomy has been open for goods from overseas. You know why? Ifyou're a customer and you have more choices, you're going to get abetter product at a better price. That's how the economy works. Themore choices you have as a customer, the more likely it is you're goingto get a product that you want at higher quality and better price. And so, Presidents before me, from both parties, have said, let'shelp the customers of America, the consumers, you. In return, though,other countries have not opened their markets to our products like wehave opened our markets to theirs. Good public policy and good tradepolicy says to places like China and elsewhere, open up your markets.Ours are open. You open up yours. We can compete with anybody,anytime, anyplace, so long as the rules are fair. (Applause.) I'm going to talk -- I'm going to ask Rudy Gonzalez to stand up.Rudy is a small business owner. One of the things that -- one of thethings -- one of the things I love to do is talk to small businessowners, people who have started their own business. Isn't that afantastic thing to be able to say? Rudy owns his own business. And hestarted it himself, which is really good. It means that something isgoing right in the society where people are willing to risk capital tostart their own business. Part of our tax relief plan was aimed directly at the Rudys, thesmall businesses of the world, because 90 percent of the smallbusinesses are sub-chapter S or sole proprietorships. That's legalesefor they pay tax at the individual income tax rate, not corporate taxrate. And so when you hear us saying we're -- reduce the income tax,the individual income taxes, think about Rudy. Think about hisbusiness. (Applause.) Rudy, when did you start your company? MR. GONZALEZ: Well, Mr. President, first of all, thank you forinviting me. I started my company back in 1997. And I'm afirst-generation Hispanic. My parents were born in Mexico. They cameover to this country because, just like you, Mr. President, they havethree fundamental values -- a belief in a higher power, a belief in thefamily as the best institution to secure our future, and a belief thatif you work hard and you apply yourself, in the United States you canget anywhere you want to be. (Applause.) THE PRESIDENT: That's great. La familia es esperanza. Exactlyright. What does your business do? In case somebody might belistening. (Laughter.) * * * * * THE PRESIDENT: I appreciate the credit. No, you did it, see.They wouldn't be giving you a contract if you couldn't do the job.You've got to be able to do the job. And if you can't do the job, thenyou shouldn't be given the contract. But you can do the job. You'regood at what you do. Thanks for the credit. I don't deserve it, youdo. Let me ask you this question: How many people have you hired thisyear? MR. GONZALEZ: Well, I'd like to go back a little bit. When Istarted off, you were right, I started by myself in 1997. Today, wehave approximately 65 employees. (Applause.) This year -- we've grownevery single year since 2001. This year, we added 20 new employees. THE PRESIDENT: That's good. (Applause.) Let me stop you there.Let me stop you. A lot of the job growth is happening becausecompanies like Rudy are expanding their job base. Most new jobs inAmerica are created by small business owners. It's important for theAmerican people to understand that. And so you're seeing Rudy hires 20here, and somebody else hires 20 there, and it begins to add up.People are working in the small business sector. That's why we've gotto make sure small businesses have got affordable health care. Andthat's why we've got to make sure tax policy does not harm smallbusinesses. Are you making investments this year? MR. GONZALEZ: Yes, sir, I sure am. THE PRESIDENT: What will you be buying? (Laughter.) Just in casethere's a seller here. (Laughter.) MR. GONZALEZ: You can -- you can talk to my friend Ken -- overthere because this year, he sold us four vehicles. THE PRESIDENT: Okay. (Laughter.) The only reason I ask is thatpeople have got to understand when you hear the tax relief encouragedinvestment, investment means you're purchasing something, and somebodyhas to make that which you purchase and sell that which you purchase.And that's how the economy works. There's a million decision-makers,or more than that, like Rudy, who are out saying the tax codeencourages me to buy something, and as that purchasing takes place, itadds economic vitality and growth. Rudy is an S corp. That means he pays tax at the individual incometax rate. And so when you hear my opponent talking about taxing therich, that means running up the rate, the high rates, he's reallytaxing small businesses. See, they put out $2.2 trillion of newspending promises. He hasn't even got to September yet, by the way.(Laughter.) And he says he's going to pay for it -- (applause) -- hesays he's going to pay for it by taxing the rich. That means that Scorps that are doing okay are going to pay higher taxes. We don't needto be taking money out of the small business coffers as this economy isbeginning to grow. If most new jobs are created by small businesses,and most small businesses are sub-chapter S or sole proprietorships, itmakes no sense to run up the taxes on these people as this economy isbeginning to grow. (Applause.) You know what else I think? You know what else I think when theysay, tax the rich? Most rich people are able to avoid taxes, and ifyou can't raise enough money from taxing the rich, guess who pays thetaxes? Yes, you do. But we're not going to let him. That's what thiscampaign is about, to make sure we've got good tax policy. (Applause.) AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! THE PRESIDENT: All right, Rudy. Go ahead. * * * * * THE PRESIDENT: Fabulous. See, that's what -- that's what he'stalking about. The tax relief encouraged him to make this investment. Good job, Rudy. Thanks for coming. Appreciate it. Thanks. Goodjob. (Applause.) We've got another entrepreneur with us, Vern Raburn. He -- he isthe -- (applause.) So here's a guy who said, I can build a betterairplane. (Applause.) That's what you call a grand vision.(Laughter.) Why don't you tell the folks about your company. * * * * * THE PRESIDENT: McCain and I will fly the first one. (Laughter.)So how's it going? I mean, this is -- this is -- MR. RABURN: Things are going great. THE PRESIDENT: You've hired since I saw you last, four years ago,how many? MR. RABURN: Well, four years ago, at this time, we had about 18employees. We have 342 employees now. (Applause.) THE PRESIDENT: That's good. And like what skill level is required-- skill level of the worker? MR. RABURN: Skill levels, we have very high skill level. Most ofour work force today are engineers, manufacturing folks, white-collarworkers. In fact, our average salary of each of our employees is abouttwice that of the average family income in New Mexico. THE PRESIDENT: Yes, let me stop you there. One of the realchallenges we have in our country to make sure jobs stay here is toeducate people, is to make sure the education system works.(Applause.) You just heard what -- it's a new business, new business.He says that we pay twice as much as the average income, but we requirehigh-level skills. You know what that says to me? It says to me thatwe've got to make sure No Child Left Behind works. (Applause.) We'vegot to make sure we keep raising the bar, make sure the young kids canread and write and add and subtract early before it's too late. We'vegot to make sure our community colleges are able to train workers forthe jobs of the 21st century, so that Eclipse* can find a work forcenecessary to make this company fly. (Applause.) So when are we going to see the first unit take off? MR. RABURN: Well, we'll be flying again late this year, and weexpect to have the aircraft certified in early '06, March of '06.Today we've got orders for about 2,200 airplanes, about $2.5 billion inback -- (applause.) THE PRESIDENT: That's good. MR. RABURN: Good problem. THE PRESIDENT: -- pulling to make sure this economy stays strong.Any of them overseas? MR. RABURN: A lot of those are overseas. THE PRESIDENT: Let me tell you something. See, if we get into amode where we become economic isolationists, he won't be able to sellthese airplanes overseas. We don't need trade wars. He wants to beable to sell this product overseas without having to compete withgovernment bureaucracies and unnecessary tariffs and restrictions.That's why we believe in fair trade and open trade. You got workers here who are going to be working because you've gotplanes being sold overseas. So when you hear them talk about trade,you need to be thinking about jobs. Jobs exist when you're able totrade overseas. You've got some farmers in this state don't you?(Laughter.) Yes, the farm economy is strong around the country. Youknow why? Because not only are we feeding our own people, we'refeeding other people. Other people are eating our corn and oursoybeans and our wheat, because we're opening up markets. Stillworking to get that New Mexico cattle around the world. (Laughter.)Open up markets for the Mexican cattlemen -- and Texas cattlemen, too,I want you to know. (Laughter.) So what else? What else on your mind, Vern? You get the chance totell the President something. (Laughter.) By the way, I guaranteehe's a big believer in tort reform. (Laughter.) A lot of airlinecompanies, a lot of manufacturers in the past got shut down because ofall kinds of lawsuits. And these lawsuits, we want good justice inAmerica, but when the trial bar converts the law into a legal lottery,it begins to affect jobs. You just got to know that. It's one thingto have justice; it's another thing to go overboard with justice,because people start to lose work. I don't know what your opinion is. MR. RABURN: I agr