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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
April 22, 2008
Remarks by the President Upon Arrival
Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
3:19 P.M. (CDT)
THE PRESIDENT: First of all, it's good to be back in Baton Rouge, home of the LSU Tiger [sic] National Championship football team. I had the honor of welcoming the team and Coach Les Miles to the White House, and it was a great honor for me and I enjoyed it. And I do want to congratulate the good folks of Louisiana for supporting a football team that brought great credit to the game.
I'm here with the Governor, the great Governor of Louisiana to lend my support to John Kennedy for the United States Senate. I thank Becky and Preston for joining us, as well. John Kennedy will make a fine senator for the people of Louisiana. He's a fiscal watchdog; he cares about the taxpayers' money. He's made a career out of making sure that whenever government spends money it's spent wisely, and that's the kind of senator Louisiana needs.
He'll support the troops. He'll support those who wear our nation's uniform. And he'll see our troops are funded without the United States Senate telling our military how to conduct the war. So I appreciate your strong support for our military, John.
You know, one of the issues that the Senate will be faced [with] is whether or not to raise peoples' taxes. John Kennedy has pledged to keep taxes low. We want the people here in Louisiana to have more of their own money to spend. And we can meet our priorities at the federal government without getting into the pockets of the people of Louisiana.
And finally, John Kennedy understands that our most important task is to protect the American people from harm. And if al Qaeda is making a phone call into the United States, he understands we need to know who they're talking to and why they're making the call.
So I look forward to having a man in the Senate who understands the priorities have got to be to protect the American people, and understands that the same civil liberties given to our people shouldn't be extended to terrorists who want to do us harm.
So I wish you all the best, Senator-to-be. We got a good fundraiser for you. I'm honored that you would invite me here, and I ask the people of Louisiana to give this good man a fair hearing -- more importantly, give him their vote, because he'll do a fine job as the United States senator.
Thank you and congratulations. Good to see you.
END 3:22 P.M. CDT
