Reaction to the President's Message to a Joint Session of Congress

September 20, 2001

"The President has helped to prepare the nation for a long campaign against terrorism. When we fight terrorism we won't always recognize our victories but we will always know our defeats.

"These attacks have produced a deep reservoir of unity and will in the American people, and the President has recognized and tapped that reservoir for the struggle that lies ahead. The challenge will be to add to the reservoir and not merely draw from it, and to defend our freedoms and not diminish them in this effort. For that the Administration will need to seek and build consensus for the ways and means our government will use in the war on terrorism."