Remarks at Cotham's in the City and an Exchange With Reporters in Little Rock, Arkansas

The President. Asa recommended I come in and get some fried chocolate chip pie, so I did. I'm looking forward to eating it. It's a pleasure to be here with you. I've known Asa for a long time. He's the kind of fellow who can set an agenda and then achieve the results necessary to get the job done. I've seen him first hand in Washington. He's a fellow I called upon to help us get the Homeland Security Department up and running. And so I want to thank you for having me come here.

Asa Hutchinson. Thank you, Mr. President.

The President. I'm proud to call you friend, and thanks for the advice.

Mr. Hutchinson. You can't beat the fried pie here at Cotham's in Little Rock.

The President. Well, I'm looking forward to eating it. When you get to 60, you've got to be a little careful about what you eat. But nevertheless, I'm going to give it a shot, on the recommendation of my friends. Anyway, it's good to be back here in Little Rock. This is a good town. I've come here a lot, as candidate and as President. I appreciate my friends here; I appreciate the values of the people that live in this State. I hope to be back soon. Anyway——

Mr. Hutchinson. Mr. President, we're glad to have you. It's been a great visit. Thanks for helping us out. And we welcome you back anytime. And thank you for your leadership.

The President. Thank you, sir. We'll see you all in Tennessee.

President's Upcoming Speeches/War on Terror

Q. Sir, do you think your new series of speeches are going to have an impact on midterm elections?

The President. My series of speeches, they're not political speeches. They're speeches about the future of this country, and they're speeches to make it clear that if we retreat before the job is done, this Nation would become even more in jeopardy.

These are important times, and I seriously hope people wouldn't politicize these issues that I'm going to talk about. We have a duty in this country to defeat terrorists. That's why we'll stay on the offense and bring them to justice before they hurt us, and that's why we'll work to spread liberty in order to spread the peace.

Anyway, thank you all.