For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
October 12, 2004
President's Remarks at Victory 2004 Rally in Paradise Valley, Arizona
Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain
Paradise Valley, Arizona
12:46 P.M. MST
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all for coming. (Applause.) Thank you
all for being here. I want to thank my friends, John Kyl and John
McCain, for their leadership. They're good, honest people and they're
good to work with, and they do a great job representing Arizona. I
presume you want me to sign the water bill. (Laughter.) No wonder
you're here. Anyway -- (laughter.)
I finally made it to Arizona -- back to Arizona. You know, we're
kind of warming up for these debates. I'm looking forward to tomorrow
night. It's a chance to point out major differences. For example, if
the Senator has his way, this is the way every house will feel because
he doesn't have an energy policy. (Applause.) But it's going to be a
lot of fun. I want to thank Arizona State for hosting the debate, and
thank the good city of Phoenix and Tempe for being such gracious
hosts.
I'm -- will be teaming up here in a minute with Laura. She's been
working her way from east to west. She and little Barbara are
campaigning New Mexico today, and Jenna introduced me in Colorado
springs. And I was sitting there watching that gracious young lady
introduce me in front of 10,000 people, saying, my, does time fly, you
know. (Laughter.) It's an unbelievable feeling, really. I told the
girls when they were young, I said, oh, don't worry, we'll go on the
famous father-daughter camping trip, come to the Grand Canyon, maybe
ride down the Colorado River. And this is the grand camping trip we
never took them on, campaigning for President. (Laughter.) But it's a
lot of fun to have your family out there.
I tell people -- and this is true -- I think it's true. It's got
some truth to it at least -- that either when I asked her, or shortly
thereafter, Laura said, you know, I never want to have to give a
political speech. I'll marry you, but I don't want to give a speech.
I said, okay, you got a deal. And -- but fortunately, she didn't hold
me to the deal. The American people have gotten to see her as a warm,
compassionate, great First Lady. (Applause.)
It's such an honor to serve the people. You know, people say,
well, gosh, that's interesting -- what's it like on your marriage,
being the President and First Lady? I say, it strengthened our
marriage. After all, I've only got a 45-second commute. (Laughter.)
But we're representing the country together. And Laura has come to
know what I know, that we have a chance to really do some good things
for people. And I remember when she gave the radio address to the --
and spoke to the women of Afghanistan, made it very clear that the
American people were standing with them as they went from tyranny to
freedom. And the feedback was fantastic, and she realized what I know,
as well, that just simple gestures and kind -- moments of kindness can
really make a difference in people's lives, and can help lift spirits
and make a valuable contribution to the future of the country.
I tell people that I'm going to give you some reasons why to put me
back in tomorrow night -- that's part of the purpose. But perhaps the
most important one of all is so that Laura is the First Lady for four
more years. (Laughter and applause.)
And my running mate is doing just fine. I talk to him quite
frequently. I think I'm going to see him tomorrow on a video -- on a
SVTS, we call it, which is a secure two-way conversation via video. We
talk about national security needs. And he's doing great. He's
holding his own. He did a wonderful job in the debate. (Applause.) I
tell people he didn't have the -- I tell people plainly the fact, and
that is, he doesn't have the waviest hair there amongst the
candidates. But I didn't pick him for his hairdo. (Laughter.) I
picked him because he's a man of sound judgment and great experience,
and he's getting the job done. And I'm real proud of Dick Cheney and
proud to serve with him. (Applause.)
I want to thank members of the Congress who are here. Trent and
Josie Franks are with us. It's great to see you all. (Applause.)
Thanks for coming. You're doing a fine job, and I'm proud you're
here. Shadegg is with us. Where is John? Somewhere, anyway. Either
that or he's outside trying to find some cool air. (Laughter.) I want
to thank J.D. and Mary Hayworth. They're with us today. (Applause.)
Big J.D. Appreciate you coming. Jeff and Cheryl Flake -- there he
is. Thanks for coming. I'm glad to see you all. (Applause.)
The Mayor is with us, Ron Clarke, of the town of Paradise,
Arizona. What a fantastic name. (Applause.) Paradise. What a great
name. You know who is here -- I'm a member of the ex-governors club.
And my old buddy, the ex-governor of the state of Arizona is with us,
Fife Symington. (Applause.) I appreciate you coming. You look great,
for an older guy -- no. (Laughter.) I want to thank my friend, Jim
Click. (Applause.) I appreciate his leadership. Several people came
through the line and said, I'm Click's friend. I said, well, I'm
sorry. (Laughter.) But thanks for coming. (Laughter.)
I want to thank my -- longtime friend of mother and dad's, and
mine, Jim Simmons. (Applause.) I appreciate Jim, and thank you for
being here. I don't know if many people know this, but he used to live
in Midland, Texas. And that's where Laura is from, that's where I'm
from. Mother and dad were living out there, and they became fast
friends. You can't make it in this line of work unless your friends
stay with you. That's just the way it is. And I appreciate Jim.
(Applause.)
Bob Castellini and Susie are here. They've helped on this event.
I want to thank my longtime friend, Bob Castellini. (Applause.) I
want to thank Dave Thompson. I want to thank the Chairman of the
Republican Party of Arizona, Bob Fannin, and his wife, Lisa.
(Applause.)
Let's see here -- 21 days from today, the people will be going to
the polls.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: You've got my vote!
THE PRESIDENT: That's good. (Laughter.) I certainly hope so.
(Laughter.) I don't know who is counting the days. I guess -- but my
spirits are high. I feel great. I really feel like the people --
(applause.) I got a good record to run on. I went to Washington to do
some things. You might remind people about what this economy has been
through. The stock market was declining six months before I arrived in
Washington, D.C. We had one of the most significant stock market
corrections in our history, and it foretold a recession. And then we
got attacked, which cost us a million jobs. But we acted. I acted. I
led the Congress. We cut the taxes in order to create consumption and
investment. And this recession was one of the shallowest in American
history.
We're on the move. Jobs are being created. There's a sense of
optimism everywhere I go. Do you realize that there are more
homeowners today than ever before? More minorities own their home than
ever before in the history of the United States. (Applause.) What a
fantastic, fantastic statistic.
The entrepreneurial spirit is strong. I mean, I meet small
business owners all over who feel like tomorrow will be a better day,
in part because of the policies we have put in place. Listen, farmers
are doing well, and that's good. When you got a good ag economy, you
got a good economy. Think about that. The agricultural sector is
doing well, which means rural America is doing well. There are bright
spots all over this country. And what I'm going to tell the people
tomorrow night is we're not going to go back to the days of tax and
spend. We're not going to go back to the days where -- kind of the
vision of economic policy is we're going to take your money and we'll
decide what to do with it. Running up the taxes on the American people
right now would be bad for our economy. And we're not going to let him
tax you. We're going to win -- in Arizona, and we're going to win in
November. (Applause.)
So it's -- you can't run on your record, see, you got to run on --
the only reason you look at your record is to say, I did what I said I
was going to do, and now here's what I'm going to do. And the best way
to make sure jobs stay here is to make sure America is the best place
in the world to do business. That means less regulations. That means
legal reform. That means a common-sense energy policy that will make
us less dependent on foreign sources of energy. That means opening up
markets for U.S. goods.
One of the interesting debates in this campaign is about trade. I
go around telling the people, look, we open up our markets for foreign
goods, and that's good for you. I explain to them that when you have
more products to choose from, you're likely to get that which you want
at a better price and higher quality. That's how the market works. So
rather than preventing you from having more choices, I think what we
ought to do is to say to countries, you treat us the way we treat you.
Let's open up markets for U.S. products and U.S. goods and U.S.
services. And that's how you keep jobs here in America.
And you keep jobs here in America by being wise about how we spend
your money. I look forward to working with Senators McCain and Kyl
about -- to bring some fiscal sanity to Washington, D.C. But you're
not going to have fiscal sanity if John Kerry is the President. He's
been the most liberal member of the United States Senate, which means
he likes to spend your money. That's what that means. Now, he can try
to run from his record, but I'm not going to let him hide. (Applause.)
A couple of other quick points before people start to fall out here
-- (laughter) -- including me. (Laughter.) I can't wait for the
health care debate. It's clear in this campaign, there's a difference
of opinion. He said the other day, the government doesn't have
anything to do with his plan. When he said that I could barely contain
myself. (Laughter.) Of course, the government has something to do
with his plan -- it's the cornerstone of his plan. It's the crux of
his health care policy, to expand the federal government.
I have a different view. We've got to address costs with medical
liability reform. We got to address costs with -- (applause) --
structural reforms by giving consumers more choice in the marketplace.
That's how you begin to control costs. And that's why I'm such a big
believer in health savings accounts. I could give you the whole
litany, but what I'm telling you is that there is a vast difference of
opinion about health care. And I'm absolutely confident our view is
the way to help make sure health care is available and affordable.
I'm looking forward to talking about education. This is a subject
about which I've got great passion. We reformed our -- the way the
federal government looks at schools. We measure now, in return for
extra federal money. You got to measure if you want to save people's
lives. You've got to measure if you want to educate every child. If
you don't diagnose the problem, you can't solve it.
Listen, I'm looking forward to debating tomorrow night on domestic
issues that will make a difference. I'm looking forward to probably
spending a little time, hopefully, on the war on terror because there's
a big difference of opinion on the war on terror.
Let me tell you a couple of things, and we'll all go home and find
some air-conditioning. First, you got to understand the nature of the
enemy. They are cold-blooded. They -- they have no conscience And you
can't negotiate with them, and you can't hope for the best with these
people. We must find them overseas so we don't have to face them here,
and that's exactly what we're doing. (Applause.)
A couple of other things. Secondly is that in this different kind
of war, it is important to send clear and understandable messages such
as if you harbor a terrorist, you're just as guilty as the terrorist.
See, it's one thing to go after the terrorist networks, which we'll
continue to do, but we also got to go after those people who harbor
them and support them. And that's what I meant when I told the Taliban
to get rid of al Qaeda or face serious consequences. They didn't
listen, and they're no longer in power.
And I want you to remind your friends and neighbors about what took
place this weekend. It is a phenomenal statement about democracy and
freedom. Do you realize the first person that voted in the
presidential election was a 19-year-old girl? That's unbelievable.
(Applause.) It's an unbelievable thought. (Applause.) Imagine what
is happening in that society because of freedom. And it's in our
nation's interest that we promote freedom in places like Afghanistan
and elsewhere -- because Afghanistan is now an ally in the war on
terror, and such a bright example of what is possible in parts of the
world that are desperate for free societies.
The third lesson is that we've got to deal with threats before they
come to hurt us. That's the reality of September the 11th. Saddam was
a threat. We didn't find the stockpiles we thought were there, but
remember what the report last week said. It said he was gaming the
oil-for-food program to convince governments to get rid of -- weaken or
get rid of the sanction program for one reason, to use his expertise to
rebuild his weapons. And what could he do with the weapons? He could
share them with a terrorist enemy, which would make the harm done on
September the 11th mild in comparison to what they could do. That's
the true threat we face. And therefore, it's incumbent upon a
President to face those threats before they come to hurt us. And
that's exactly what we did in Iraq. Getting rid of Saddam Hussein was
the right thing to do, and the world is safer for it. (Applause.)
And we'll succeed in Iraq. We've got a plan, and we're moving
toward elections. Think about a -- they're going to have elections in
January. It's dangerous there, and there's a reason: These terrorists
want to stop us. They want us to quit. They can't stand the thought
of a free society in their midst. They understand how powerful Iraq
will be as an example of people being able to live in a free society.
I believe everybody wants to be free. I believe women in the
Middle East want to live in a free world. I know mothers from all
walks of life and all religions want to raise their children in a free
society. I know that, and at the core of my belief is that people want
to be free because freedom is the Almighty God's gift to each man and
woman in this world. (Applause.) That's what I believe.
Let me tell you one story -- one story, and then we'll all go home
here. (Laughter.) There's already enough hot air in here to begin
with. (Laughter.) I tell people I believe in the transformational
power of liberty. And I put it -- I try to put it in terms so
everybody can understand what I'm saying. And I use my friend,
Koizumi, as an example about what I mean. Now, he's the Prime Minister
of Japan. Laura and I are very fond of him. He's an interesting,
interesting man. His favorite singer is Elvis. (Laughter.) One of
his favorite -- pretty unusual. And one of his favorite movies is High
Noon. (Laughter.)
And I sit down with him and talk to him quite frequently. And what
I find amazing is that I am talking to him at all, because it wasn't
all that long ago in the march of history that we were at war with
Japan. Japan was the sworn enemy. My dad fought the Japanese,
McCain's dad fought the Japanese, your dads, granddads were at war with
the Japanese. And after we won, Harry S. Truman, President of the
United States, believed in the power of liberty to transform an enemy
into an ally. Think about what that must have been like for the
President, to stand up to the American people and say, we're going to
help our enemy become a democracy. We'll help Japan, not hurt Japan,
the enemy, but we'll help lift up Japan as a free nation.
And there were great doubters and skeptics. And you can understand
why. Many lives had been turned upside down. Who wants to help an
enemy, some probably asked. But Truman, and other Americans, stood
true to the belief that liberty is a powerful, powerful concept. And
so today, as a result of their belief, I sit down with Prime Minister
Koizumi, talking about the peace that we all want. We talk about how
to keep the peace on the Korean Peninsula. We're talking about how to
spread democracy and freedom. We talk about how to help the people of
Afghanistan and Iraq realize their dreams to live in a free society.
He knows what I know: Free societies will yield a more peaceful
world.
And I'm talking to a former enemy about peace. Someday an American
President will be sitting down with a leader from Iraq, elected by the
people, talking about how to keep the peace in a troubled part of the
world, talking about how to spread liberty to corners of the world that
need liberty, talking about how to make sure the example of a free
society shines brightly for all. And our children and our
grandchildren will be better off for it. (Applause.)
The stakes are high. The stakes are high in this campaign. We
have a competing different -- competing visions on government, and we
have a different view of the war on terror. It's not just to be
reduced as a nuisance; it is to be defeated by using all the might of
the United States and spreading freedom as an alternative. And make no
mistake about it, with the firm resolve and clear vision, we will
prevail.
And I want to thank you for your help. God bless you. Thank you
all. (Applause.)
END 1:05 P.M. MST
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