For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
October 14, 2004
Remarks by the President to the Travel Pool
Aboard Air Force One
En route Las Vegas, Nevada
9:07 A.M. MST
THE PRESIDENT: How is everybody? Ballsky.
Q Mr. President, how are you?
THE PRESIDENT: Were you anticipating my arrival? (Laughter.)
Listen, 19 days to go, and I'm looking forward to it. I enjoyed myself
last night. The debate phase of the campaign is over and now it's a
sprint to the finish. And the good news is I'm not going to be
sprinting alone, I'll have a lot of support from people like Senator
McCain and Governor Lingle. We'll be seeing governors today in Las
Vegas, and they're going to spread out all across the country, and I'm
excited about it. It's -- my spirits are high, I'm enthusiastic about
my chances.
I'll answer a couple of questions and then we'll let you have your
coffee.
Q Some of the early polls say Kerry won last night. What do
you have to say?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, the voters will decide. They'll decide on
November the 2nd who they want to be the President
Q Has Kerry helped himself with these debates, if you have an
opinion?
THE PRESIDENT: The voters will decide that. You know, that's --
the great thing about a campaign, all the speculation ends on election
day.
SENATOR McCAIN: Can I just say, on substance there is no doubt.
When you talk about Social Security, they all want to reform it -- you
don't know how to pay for it, you can't answer the question, and
people notice that. On substance the President won, and that's what
the people think about when they go into the ballot booth.
Can I also say at that event afterwards, 40,000 citizens of Arizona
showed up at Bank1One Ballpark. There has never been an event like
that in the history of our state -- not only the numbers, but the
enthusiasm.
Q Mr. President, what do you think your best moment was last
night?
THE PRESIDENT: Telling people what I think. You know, the pundits
and the spinners and the -- they'll all have their opinion, but there's
only one opinion that matters, and that's the opinion of the American
people on November the 2nd. I feel great about where we are. There's
lot of enthusiasm for my candidacy, people have seen me lead, and they
also know that I've got plans for the next four years. And as you'll
hear me today, I'm optimistic about the future of this country.
GOVERNOR LINGLE: I thought that a great moment was the question
about jobs. It's more than statistics. I think the President made a
key point when he said the important point is that a solid education
for the children in America is the best way to ensure a sound economy
over the long term. It's common-sense, it's why No Child Left Behind
is not just important for education, it's important for the sustained
economic progress of this nation. And, personally, the part I liked is
when the President talked about his feelings for Mrs. Bush and his
daughters -- I thought that was just so touching. I think people
across America felt how close they were as a family and I thought it
was a really important part of the debate, as well.
THE PRESIDENT: All right, I'm going to let you all go back to your
breakfast.
SENATOR McCAIN: Can I just mention one thing? Again, on Social
Security, the President has pledged to reform Social Security and bring
America together on that issue. You can't just say that the status quo
will prevail on Social Security. Millions and millions of baby boomers
are going to be facing retirement. This is an issue that has got to be
the highest priority. The President has pledged to address it, and not
be satisfied with the status quo.
Q Mr. President, one question that you were asked last night
about the cost, the transition cost of --
THE PRESIDENT: Well, that's part of bringing people together, to
figure out how to address the costs. The point is, is that I'm the
President who understands Social Security needs to be reformed.
Listen, thank you. Good to see you, Dan. Get a smile on your
faces, everybody, 18 days left.
Q Will you come visit us again?
SENATOR McCAIN: Every day. (Laughter.)
THE PRESIDENT: I'm a better person for it, of course. (Laughter.)
END 9:12 A.M. PST
|