George H.W. Bush: “What you're doing. What I saw when I walked in here is profound. I mean, this isn't some passing fantasy when you see…”

“What you're doing. What I saw when I walked in here is profound. I mean, this isn't some passing fantasy when you see all those volunteers out there doing something that in some ways people might just hang back and say, where are the Government people to do this? These people are reaching out into the community, trying to find what the problem is, what the location of the disaster is, and then trying to reach out to the agencies to take care of those specific cases. I would certainly continue that kind of effort. What these gentlemen were talking about is participating in the committees that inevitably are formed from the distribution of Federal or State assistance. I think that is very important. And I think what you project, how you project the problems--here are people that have come here very recently, settled in with the work ethic, the family ethic, clearly not just because the pastors are here but a sense of faith, and convey to the community that that is not dead in spite of the setback. Now, that's asking a lot until there are some remedial action taken, but I sense, when I've come here, a certain determination. And I think you've got to project that. If you project the defeatism, that we've been defeated, we've been beaten, then I think that is real bad. That's what you asked, what you can do for the community. Again, I've tried to outline here what the Federal Government and other government entities can do for the community. I think they go hand in hand. [A participant asked about the terms of the SBA loans.]”