Remarks by Alberto Gonzalez, Assistant to the President and White House Counsel
Thank you, my name is Al Gonzalez.
As a young boy about the same age as my two sons here today (who by the way Mr. President have brought their dollar bills for the Afghan children), I used to get up early to have breakfast with my father before he left to catch a ride to his construction job and I would wait patiently for his return usually after dark.
My father worked six days a week for most of his life harder than any person I've ever known. I suppose this was a byproduct of growing up as a migrant worker in South Texas where he meet my mother and although he had only a second grade education our family was poor. My father was a very proud man; he was also very private so I don't know what his dreams were for me.
He never saw me take the oath of office to become a Secretary of State or a State Supreme Court Justice.
And he did not live to see that day when I would walk into the Oval Office to brief the most powerful person in the world. Like your parents, my mother and father sacrificed so their eight children would have a chance to succeed.
Today, we celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month as a reminder of those sacrifices. We celebrate it to recognize the achievements of our people. We celebrate to reaffirm our commitment to our family, our country, our heritage, our beautiful culture.
It's a celebration of our diversity but this year, this day, it's also a celebration of our unity, a celebration of hope for a united and safe America. And finally it's a celebration of faith, a covenant for the next generation, a commitment of responsibility to give others in our community the same opportunities that we've enjoyed and teach our children to be proud and respectful of our Hispanic heritage and to be grateful to be Americans.
I am blessed to be the President's lawyer. This is the most rewarding thing I've ever done but also the most challenging. It helps me to know that for some Americans there is special interest and pride that someone named Gonzalez walks the halls of the West Wing. Of course the credit for this opportunity belongs to our President.
I wish that you could know President Bush as I do. I've watched how he seriously approaches his responsibilities as Commander-in-Chief and I have seen his smile, or a tender word, sooth the hurting soul.
Our President is compassionate but firm, passionate but disciplined, humorous and yet principled. He is a man of strong faith who believes that Americans should be treated the same-that all are entitled to equal opportunities whatever ethnicity or religion.
And yet I believe in my heart that he has a special place in his heart for the Hispanic community. And perhaps that belief is colored by my own affection and respect for him but I think there is ample evidence in the opportunities that he has given me and others and in his vision for America-a county united not only in times of war but in times of peace.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the President of the United States.
Watch President Bush's remarks »
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Prior to his service in the White House, Al Gonzales sat on the Supreme Court of Texas. From 1997 to 1999, he served as the 100th Secretary of State of Texas. In addition, Judge Gonzales served as General Counsel to Governor Bush for three years and was a partner with the law firm of Vinson & Elkins in Houston, Texas. He is a graduate of Rice University and Harvard Law School. Judge Gonzales attended the U.S. Air Force Academy and is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force.
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