Remarks by the President in Address to the Nation The Cross Hall

The White House ^ | 6 June 2002 | President Bush

[Scott from the Left Coast]

Bush should get high marks for this move, the Coast Guard was something of a surprise (but logical). Now it's up to the leadership of the new department to produce on the policy side as well. Ridge is really the man on the hot seat, and he needs to move strongly right out of the box. Both administrative effectiveness and a strong policy review/revision in many areas will be needed (The opportunity to turn INS on its head both administratively and in the policy arena come immediately to mind). Ridge must deliver now.

But good for Bush. This is his best move since the State of the Union (an intervening period that was somewhat dark and inconsistent in my own view).

[gov_bean_ counter]

Many thanks for the ping, PKM. Now I wonder when he is going to expose the Senate's Homeland Security package for the garbage it is. Tiny Tom say he is concerned that the President doesn't want to spend as much as the Senate wants to.

To this ole volleyball set man, it looks like Dass has put the ball in perfect position for a GW slam. I sure hope he takes advantage of it.

[Sen Jack S. Fogbound]

Thanks for the ping! I was working at a client's place and missed the speech. Glad to read this!

[PhiKapMom]

Hi!

Really enjoyed this speech and the results he is advocating. The press keep going back to when this was announced like they are really bugged it is going to take away from the hearings. They are back to whining as usual and don't believe they can fathom he just pulled the rug out from under the DemocRATS again!

[PhiKapMom]

Was going to post on the expansion thread that the guy that put it up was wrong but instead I went and got Pres Bush's speech instead to prove him wrong! Figured the facts would stand on their own!

[Lancey Howard]

Take heart.
Please understand that some of those "trash talkers" are Democrat operatives who chime in to cause mischief (and lie, of course - - that is what Democrats do). But most of the rest are disenfranchised rats. These are folks who were raised in lifelong Democrat families and who have finally woken up to see the party leaders for the liars and scumbags that they are.

They also look at the core Democrat constituencies (screeching feminists, environmental whackos, victim-culture minorities, gay and lesbian condom throwers, welfare parasites, etc., etc., and ask themselves, "Why do I vote with these people?" These Democrats simply cannot bring themselves to admit that they and their families have been wrong for decades and have nearly destroyed this nation. Voting Republican would be too hard for many of them.

So instead they call themselves "libertarians" and try to assuage themselves by convincing themselves and others that "the Republicans are no better", etc. Mostly, they are harmless and end up stroking each other.

Regards,
LH

[harpo11]

"History has called our nation into action.
History has placed a great challenge before us:
Will America -- with our unique position and power -- blink in the face of terror,
or will we lead to a freer, more civilized world?
There's only one answer:
This great country will lead the world to safety, security, peace and freedom.

Thank you for listening. Good night, and may God bless America.

Senator Leahy's committee is playing spin the bottle while President Bush is leading the nation and the world in the very critically vital for our survival "titanic" war against terrorism. President Bush is thinking ahead, while Leahy and his democrat comrades are thinking backward trying to spin the bottle in any direction that does not point at their former master, Clinton, (although they all wish a turn at kissing his waggling ring finger) for his apparent appalling disregard for our national security.

[Ole Okie]

Thanks for posting this, PhiKapMom. I thought it was a very effective speech.

Ole Okie

[AmishDude]

This is very very interesting. Follow me on this. This had to be in the works since Ridge was made a cabinet-level advisor. So, we had the idiot Democrats whining that Ridge wouldn't testify -- now he will be required to do so because he's the head of a Congressionally-approved department. We had the idiot Democrats first accuse Bush of knowing the attack was going to happen. Then the idiot Democrats said that Bush should have known. Then the idiot Democrats said that Bush should have had a better (than Clinton) system in place to deal with the bureaucracy.

Well, now the idiot Democrats got exactly what they asked for. On top of it all, the lower-level bureaucrats that Bush will appoint for this will probably sail through Senate confirmation because they were so blindsided.

More important than that, money will be taken from some of these other departments and funnelled to Homeland Security.

Methinks somebody is leading the Democrats by the nose: Giving them bait on which they'll surely bite.

I like it. :)

[codebreaker]

Dubya puts the ball back in little Tommy's court..great move!!

[Freedom'sWorthIt]

I am sure they are bugged. President Bush looked fantastic and gave the exact message at the right time. We are reorgnizing the government and it will benefit our nation's war against terrorists......

Most of the bureaucracy is going to be pulled from other parts of the Executive Branch. (taking some power away from some of those departments....good!)

It is a huge task and I hope Congress will act quickly. This President doesn't fume and fuss - just lays it out and expects sane people to act. They don't always do that. Most of the time the Demoncreeps screech and holler and spew and spin - and the President just goes to work.

If they don't act, if they fail to move quickly - fine. He is not going to bash them over their traitorous heads or blackmail them as the Clintonoids did over and over again. He will just get the best deal he can get and move on.

That is frustrating to those of us who want it all - even though the Senate Demonrat majority is such an obstacle that most here just simply do not grasp the problem that gives the President.

What is clear to me is this man is NO NONSENSE - GET TO WORK - and let's clear this mess up and get things right.

He simply has no time for foolishness or self centeredness or any other dilly dallying.

VP Cheney is exactly the same.

All business.

No nonsenes.

Efficient as he can be in his own conduct.

Demanding such efficiency and excellence of all who work with him and with whom he works.

While still exuding love of his fellow Americans of all colors, all ethnicities, all ages, all genders, all conditions.

How amazing there is a man like this even available to be our President at this time! And a Christian to boot!

Truly, America is blessed. May each of us carry on with our lives with similar maturity, self-discipline, and determination to do what is necessary to protect this country and advance the cause of freedom here and around the world.

[Pistias]

Indeed.

[PhiKapMom]

Have a theory that as soon as this starts pointing at clinton, the democRATS will close up shop and declare the hearings over!

[ReaganRevolution]

Dubya puts the ball back in little Tommy's court..great move!!

Where is little Tommy anyway, shouldn't he be out whining by now?

[PhiKapMom]

That was a fantastic post! So well written and IMHO right on the mark! Thanks very much for posting that on here!

[Pistias]

Tonight, I propose a permanent Cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security to unite essential agencies that must work more closely together: Among them, the Coast Guard, the Border Patrol, the Customs Service, Immigration officials, the Transportation Security Administration, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

A powerful organization--and in an Emergency, more powerful than the Executive and the Legislature, while independent of the Judiciary. The man at the head of this operation must be trustworthy, indeed, to be the commander of such might.

[Menkenspiel]

A powerful organization--and in an Emergency, more powerful than the Executive and the Legislature, while independent of the Judiciary. The man at the head of this operation must be trustworthy, indeed, to be the commander of such might.

While the Go-Dubya! love fest is a sweet thing to behold on FR, someday - when a real powergrabbing liberal gets ahold of this power - we'll regret it. What is it (on dispassionate analysis), if not a modern, American-style KGB?

[Pistias]

Not a KGB. Dictators don't make organizations that can legally supercede authority--unless they're going to be at the top of them.

[MJY1288]

I also liked the this part,

"The staff of this new department will be largely drawn from the agencies we are combining"

That means they will screen out any entrenched clinton holdovers and get the very best of the agencies. Gotta love it. They keep playing checkers and Bush is playing chess :-)

[isthisnickcool]

If, at a minimum, if this provides platforms for the good guys to exchange information on the bad guys it will be successful.

It will be more than successful if it allows house cleaning of the countless morons that have no bidness working for these various agencies. Especially, those morons put in places by the last fool in the WH and his shrill, foul mouthed and stupid wife.