President Bush promoted small businesses, tax relief, improved relations with Mexico and education accountability on Wednesday during a speech at the opening ceremony for the Barelas Job Opportunity Center in Albuquerque.
About 1,000 people waited outdoors in the blazing heat for the president?s motorcade to arrive at the Hispano Chamber of Commerce.
After more than an hour of short speeches from Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., Archbishop Michael Sheehan, Mayor Jim Baca and others, Bush?s entourage pulled up behind the colorful stage in a chain of shiny black cars.
The crowd roared with applause when he began his speech full of thank yous and smatterings of Spanish. Some even forgot about the papers and napkins they had put on their heads to protect their bald spots from the sun.
Bush said his all-inclusive tax relief plan creates an environment conducive to small businesses.
?One way to help kick-start the economy is to give people their own money back,? he said. ?After all, that money isn?t the government?s money ? it?s the people?s money. It?s the small business owners? money.?
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The audience cheered when Bush said most new employment comes from small businesses and that the number of Latino businesses is increasing dramatically.
?It?s good news for America,? he said.
Bush declared that the United States needs to have good relations with its neighbor, Mexico. A few people booed when Bush emphasized free trade and allowing Mexican trucks to travel freely in the United States.
?I believe we can have safety on our highways without discrimination to our neighbors to the south,? he said.
Bush mentioned his visit to Griegos Elementary School earlier that day where he shared his goals of creating high standards for education and behavior in schools with local administrators.
?We want our children to be able to read,? he said. ?We also want them to know the difference between right and wrong.?
Schools need to measure student skills and make curriculum changes if necessary to correct learning problems early, he said.
?It?s so easy to walk into a classroom of the so called ?hard to educate? and to give up, and to just move them through schools. That?s wrong,? he said.
Bush cut a ribbon for the Barelas Job Opportunity Center at the end of his speech and expressed his approval.
?I love the spirit of this facility,? he said. ?The idea of citizens saying, ?What can I do to improve a neighborhood? What can I do to improve a community in which I live???
Armenta, president of the chamber, said Bush seemed genuinely interested when he toured the job opportunity center.
?He understood the importance of the whole event,? she said. ?He really seemed to belong.?
The Barelas Job Opportunity Center has received $1.8 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the city of Albuquerque, UNM and other corporate and private sponsors. Computer and business training will be available and free to the public in September, said Loretta Armenta, president of the Hispano Chamber of Commerce.
?It?s a technology center where individuals will have the opportunity to take classes,? she said.
Anne Hunter, 29, of Albuquerque, said after the speeches that she was a strong Republican and supporter of Bush.
?I thought he was wonderful,? she said. ?I thought he spoke to the issues that are important to the United States.?
She said she liked his ideas about education.
?We may be 49th or 50th in a lot of areas, but it seems important to him to take New Mexico up a notch,? Hunter said.
Esther Sury, a senior citizen from Albuquerque, said she is not a Bush fan but is a supporter of the Hispano Chamber of Commerce.
?First of all he needs to practice his Spanish,? she said. ?Other than that, the support he gave the Hispano Chamber of Commerce was really great.?
