Notes for Introductory Remarks By President George Bush 2003 George Bush Award for Excellence in Public Service College Station, Texas November 7, 2003 >>EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 6:00PM CST<< Welcome to this special lecture, to be given by tonight’s recipient of the 2003 Bush Award for Excellence in Public Service. Barbara and I are delighted to see all of you here. Let me start with this direct quote from the campaign trail: “I am running for President because somebody has got to stop Ted Kennedy and his far-out liberal agenda. Someone needs to stand up to the loony left.” Or this conversation that took place in the White House Briefing Room: Reporter. Mr. President, you’ve heard the commentaries and read the articles about the — as have been described here ~ the foundering and the lack of ideas of your administration. Why is this criticism coming from Democrats and Republicans? The President. Well, who are some of the sources? Give me a name. Reporter. Ted Kennedy. The President. Ted Kennedy? Please. Enough said. Or this quote, taken from a speech given on the floor of the U.S. Senate: “President Bush is not King George Bush. He does not have the unilateral authority to take this nation into war. By refusing to seek congressional authority for offensive action, the President is acting unconstitutionally and irresponsibly. He may threaten Iraq with war in the gulf, but he is also threatening America with our worst constitutional crisis since the Civil War.” Sound familiar? It may surprise you that the first quote ~ the “loony left” reference ~ was a line I regularly used, to great effect I might add, when I ran for President in 1980. - more -2003 Bush Award ~ Introduction of Senator Kennedy The second exchange from the White House Briefing Room took place in ch of 1989. I had been on the job as President a full five weeks before the distinguished Senator from Massachusetts was all over me like ugly on an ape. The final quote from Senator Kennedy hails back to January of 1991, right before Desert Storm began. Listening to these barbed exchanges from a decade and more ago — and in light of recent events — one may be tempted to think the more things change, the more they stay the same. And in a sense, that’s absolutely right. American history is deeply rooted political dissent and “no-holds-barred” debate. Since our earliest days as a Republic, it has been the law of the political jungle in Washington, DC that no quarter is asked — and where Ted Kennedy is concemed, I can assure you none is given. He is indeed of a “strong heart,” as one of his family’s favorite poems goes, with which he has consistently striven “to seek, to find — and never to yield.” He can be direct, as I learned in January of 1991. “There is still time to save the President from himself,” he argued to his Senate colleagues before the critical Senate vote on Desert Storm. I also learned the Senator can also be witty. In November of 1991, over the issue of extending unemployment benefits, tonight’s honoree said: “Waiting for George is more frustrating than Waiting for Godot.” (If had speechwriting like that, Senator, I might have been re-elected.) And he can also be controversial, as he was recently in comments directed at the 43" President of the United States. As a father, let me say attacks like that upset me a great deal more today than they did when I was in the crosshairs - and yet as someone who has sat behind that desk, I know that tough criticism goes with the territory. And today, I know both the Office, and its 43 occupant — and Senator Kennedy, I might add — are resilient enough to withstand the slings and arrows of political rhetoric. It’s a good thing, too, because if I know tonight’s honoree, Monday moming he will be back in Washington fighting with every ounce of passionate conviction for his longstanding beliefs. As I noted earlier, I have lobbed more than my fair share of attacks at the Senator. It is a well-known political fact of life, particularly here in Texas, that when you want to fire up a Republican crowd — and give them a little “red meat” -— nothing works quite like tearing away at Ted. - more -2005 Bush Award ~ Introduction of Senator Kennedy And having thought about this a great deal, I have what I think is a fair trade —to help foster a greater political detente between the parties. If the Senator can contain the nine Democratic candidates out there taking shots at The President, I ‘will do what I can to restrain Barbara Bush ... That’s a fair trade, isn’t it?? So to be clear, we are not here to celebrate a partisen ideology, but rather the steadfast public service of a seminal figure in the United States Senate — and by extension his remarkable family. And on that note, we are delighted and honored to welcome so many members of the Kennedy family back to Texas A&M today: * Ted’s wife Victoria, along with her parents Judge and Mrs. Reggie ¢ Ted’s children [Kara, Edward, Caroline, Curran, and Michael Allen] © His wonderful niece Caroline e And of course the fabulous Kennedy sisters — Ambassador Jean, Ethel, Pat Lawford, and Eunice Shriver (who has done so much for the Special Olympics) The only question I’ve got, Senator, is where is your nephew, Arnold Schwarzenegger, when we need him? But having these family members here gives us a wonderful chance to salute all Kennedys — past and present — for their selfless service in uniform, their service in politics, and their service as Points of Light — helping others. But in this remarkable clan, none has served longer or amassed the same prolific record as our honored guest speaker this evening. Though the times have changed these past 41 years, Ted Kennedy has kept | the faith and held fast to his ideals no matter the direction of political winds. He has proudly, at times even defiantly, held high the banner of his calling — and under it, he has waged a purposeful battle to improve the human condition. ‘We regularly differed on the issues — and there were times when we were at each other’s political throats — but at the end of the day, we both are Americans who love our country and want the very best for it. The good Senator’s prescriptions for what ails America may be different from mine, but it is born of, patriotism and compassion. (Note I did not say “compassionate conservative.”) For this, our speaker has rightly earned the 2003 Bush Award for Excellence in Public Service we will present to him later this evening — and I am honored to present him to you now. Ladies and gentlemen, please give a warm Aggie welcome to Senator Edward M. Kennedy ... eee