For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
October 9, 2004
President's Remarks at Victory 2004 Rally in Waterloo, Iowa
Riverfront Stadium
Waterloo, Iowa
11:13 A.M. CDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all for coming. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all for being here. What a beautiful day
here in the great state of Iowa. Thanks for coming out to say hello.
(Applause.) It's good to be in the home of tall corn, good tractors,
and great people. (Applause.) You know, I remember coming to Waterloo
quite a few times before -- one or two times before, in the 200
campaign. And it's always good to be back. The crowds are bigger, and
so is the entourage. (Laughter.)
You know, we're getting closer to voting time here, and I'm here to
ask for your vote and I'm here to ask for your help. (Applause.)
There's no doubt in my mind, with your help, we'll carry Iowa and win a
great victory in November. (Applause.)
Some other people were voting today around the world. As we meet
here this morning, a really great thing is happening in Afghanistan.
(Applause.) The people of that country, who just three years ago were
suffering under the brutal regime of the Taliban, are going to the
polls to vote for President. (Applause.) Think about that. Just
three years ago, women were being executed in the sports stadium.
Today they're voting for a leader of a free country. (Applause.) A
nineteen-year-old woman, an Afghan refugee who fled her homeland during
its civil war, became the very first voter. Here is what she said.
She said, "I cannot explain my feelings, just how happy I am. I would
never have thought I would be able to vote in this election." Amazing,
isn't it? Freedom is beautiful. (Applause.)
And today is an appropriate day for Americans to remember and thank
the men and women of our Armed Forces, who liberated Afghanistan.
(Applause.) And earlier today I had the opportunity to call and
congratulate my friend, the Prime Minister of Australia, who won his
election, as well. (Applause.) Australia is a great ally in the war
on terror, and John Howard is the right man to lead that country.
(Applause.) As you can see, I'm keeping pretty good company today.
(Applause.)
So I said, Laura, will you marry me? She said, fine, just so long
as I never have to give a speech. (Laughter.) I said, okay, you've
got a deal. Fortunately, she didn't hold me to that promise. When she
speaks, the American people know they're looking at someone who has got
great compassion, a great heart. She's a wonderful First Lady.
(Applause.)
I'm proud of my running mate, Dick Cheney. (Applause.) He did a
fine job in the debate the other night. I admit, he didn't have the
waviest hair in the race. (Laughter.) I didn't pick him because of
his hair. (Laughter.) I picked him because of his judgment, his
experience. He's getting the job done for the American people.
(Applause.)
Before I came up here, I had the privilege of saying hello to Jay
and Patrick Grassley -- that would be the son and grandson of a really
fine United States Senator. (Applause.) I told him the other day in
Des Moines that we've got a big yard there at the White House.
(Laughter.) If he's looking for something to do -- (laughter) -- bring
those mowers over. (Laughter and applause.)
I appreciate Congressman Jim Nussle for his leadership.
(Applause.) He's a fine, fine, fine leader. I appreciate Mayor Tim
Hurley of Waterloo, Iowa. I appreciate you coming, Mr. Mayor. Now, I
understand the Mayor didn't ask me for any advice, but I'm going to
give him some. (Laughter.) Fill the potholes. (Laughter and
applause.) I'm honored you're here, Mr. Mayor. Thank you for your
service.
I want to thank all the other state and local officials. I want to
thank the people who are running for office. I want to thank Dave
Roederer, who is the Bush-Cheney state campaign chairman. I want to
thank Leon Mosley. I want to thank the grassroots activists who are
here. I want to thank the people who are putting up the signs and
making the phone calls, doing the hard work to turn out this vote.
(Applause.) I want to thank the Sonny Burgess Band for being here.
I'm honored you all are here. Appreciate you coming. (Applause.)
We had a great debate last night. (Applause.) It highlighted some
of the fundamental differences on issues from jobs to taxes to health
care to our national security. Much as he tried to obscure it, on
issue after issue, my opponent showed why he earned the ranking of the
most liberal member of the United States Senate. Several of the
statements last night simply don't pass the credibility test. With a
straight face, he said, "I have only had one position on Iraq."
(Laughter.) I could barely contain myself. (Laughter.) He must think
we've been on another planet. (Laughter.)
In the spring of 2003, as I ordered the invasion of Iraq, Senator
Kerry said it was the right decision. Now he says it's the wrong war.
And he tries to tell us he's had only one position. He can run, but he
cannot hide. (Applause.)
With another straight face, he tried to tell Americans that when it
comes to health care, his health care plan -- and I quote -- "the
government has nothing to do with it." Eight out of ten people who get
health care under Senator Kerry's plan would be placed on a government
program. He can run, but he cannot hide. (Applause.)
And then Senator Kerry was asked to look into the camera and
promise he would not raise taxes for anyone who earns less than
$200,000 a year. The problem is, to keep that promise, he would have
to break almost all of his other ones. (Laughter.) His plan to raise
taxes on the top two income brackets would raise between $600 billion
by our estimates, and $800 billion by his. But his health care plan
alone costs $1.2 trillion. See, you can't have it both ways. To pay
for big spending programs he's outlined during his campaign he will
have to raise your taxes. He can run, but he cannot hide. (Applause.)
You know, after listening to the litany of complaints and the dour
pessimism, it took all I could do not to make a bad face. (Laughter
and applause.) Much of what my opponent said last night is
contradicted by his own records. Twenty years of votes have earned him
the "most liberal" label. I have a different record, and a very
different philosophy. I am a compassionate conservative. (Applause.)
As your President, I have worked to make America more hopeful and more
secure. I have led our country with principle and resolve, and that is
how I will lead this nation for four more years. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
THE PRESIDENT: I'm looking forward to the campaign coming down the
stretch. I like to get out with the people. (Applause.) I like to
tell the people what I believe and where I stand. I believe every
child can learn and every school must teach. (Applause.) I went to
Washington, D.C. to challenge the soft bigotry of low expectations.
We've raised standards. We're measuring early, to solve problems
before it's too late. We're ending the old practice of just shuffling
students through school whether they can read and write and add and
subtract. And we're making progress. We're closing an achievement gap
in America, and we're not going to go back to the old days of failure
and mediocrity. (Applause.)
I believe we have a moral responsibility to honor our seniors with
good health care. I went to Washington to solve problems, not to pass
them on to future Presidents and future generations. We had a problem
in Medicare. Medicine was changing, but Medicare wasn't. For example,
Medicare would pay tens of thousands of dollars for heart surgery, but
wouldn't pay a dime for the prescription drugs that would prevent the
heart surgery in the first place. We worked together with Republicans
and Democrats; I worked with Chuck Grassley to make sure Iowa's rural
hospitals got help in the Medicare program. (Applause.) We've
strengthened and modernized Medicare for our seniors. Beginning in
2006, all seniors can get prescription drug coverage. We're helping
our seniors, and we're not turning back.
I believe in the energy, innovation and spirit of America's workers
and small business owners and farmers. And that's why we unleashed
that energy with the largest tax relief in a generation. (Applause.)
When you're out gathering up the vote, when you're out convincing
people to come our way, remind them what we have been through. The
stock market was in serious decline six months before Dick Cheney and I
took office. It was an indication of a recession that was coming, and
we went through that recession. Then we had some corporate scandals,
which affected our economy. We passed tough laws. It's now abundantly
clear that we will not tolerate dishonesty in the boardrooms of
America. (Applause.)
And then we got attacked, and that attack cost us about a million
jobs in the three months following September the 11th, 2001. But we
acted. We put tax relief in place. And now our economy has been
growing at rates as fast as any in nearly 20 years. The recession was
one of the shallowest in American history. The unemployment rate in
America is at 5.4 percent, lower than the average of the 1970s, 1980s
and 1990s. (Applause.) The unemployment rate in Iowa is 4.5 percent.
The farm economy is strong here in the state of Iowa. (Applause.)
More people own a home than ever before in the United States of
America. (Applause.) We're moving forward to a more hopeful country,
and we're not going to turn back. (Applause.)
I believe the most solemn duty of the American President is to
protect the American people. If America shows uncertainty or weakness
in this decade, the world will drift toward tragedy. This will not
happen on my watch. (Applause.) I'm running for President with a
clear and positive plan to build a safer world and a more hopeful
America. I'm running with a compassionate conservative philosophy that
government should help people improve their lives, not try to run their
lives. (Applause.) And with your help, we're going to win.
(Applause.)
Any hopeful society has a growing economy, and I've got a plan to
keep our economy moving forward. To make sure jobs are here, to make
sure people can find work, America must be the best place in the world
to do business. To keep jobs here, we need to reduce the burden of
regulations on our business creators and job creators. To create jobs,
we got to stop these junk lawsuits that are threatening the small
businesses which are creating most new jobs in America. (Applause.)
To create jobs, Congress needs to pass my energy plan. (Applause.) My
plan encourages conservation. It encourages the use of renewables like
ethanol and biodiesel. (Applause.) It encourages new technologies.
It encourages clean coal technology. What I'm telling you is, to keep
jobs here we must become less dependent on foreign sources of energy.
(Applause.)
To keep jobs here, we got to reject economic isolationism and open
up markets around the world for U.S. products -- for Iowa farm
products. (Applause.) I like it when I hear people around the world
are eating Iowa corn or Iowa soybeans. (Applause.) See, I believe
that we can compete with anybody, anywhere, any time, so long as the
rules are fair. (Applause.) And that's why I'm telling countries like
China, you treat us the way we treat you. (Applause.)
To create jobs, we got to be wise about we spend your money. We're
going to keep your taxes low. (Applause.) You heard the language last
night, all I'm going to do is tax the rich. We've heard that before in
American politics. You know what that means, tax the rich; the rich
hire lawyers and accountants for a reason, to stick you with the tab.
We're not going to let him tax you. We're going to win in November.
(Applause.)
I'll tell you something else about the tax code -- it's a
complicated mess. It is a million pages long. Americans spend 6
billion hours a year working on their tax returns. In a new term, I'm
going to bring people together and simply this tax code and make it
more fair for you. (Applause.)
Most new jobs are filled by people with at least two years of
college. That's what happens in a changing world. Yet only one in
four of our students gets there. That's why in our high schools we'll
fund early intervention programs to help at-risk students. We'll place
a new focus on math and science. Over time we'll require a rigorous
examination. By raising performance in our high schools and expanding
Pell grants for low-and middle-income families, we'll help more
Americans start their career with a college diploma. (Applause.)
I'm a big believer in the community college system in America. I
believe the community colleges can be used wisely to make sure our
workers gain the skills necessary to fill the jobs of the 21st
century.
In this time of change we also need to reform our health care
system. We had a spirited debate last night on health care. The
differences are clear. When it comes to health care, my opponent wants
government to dictate. I want you to decide. I want you to be the
decision-maker. (Applause.) So we have a plan to make sure health
care is available and affordable. I believe in community health
centers, places where the poor and indigent can get care. I believe
every poor county in America ought to have a community health center.
I know we got to make sure our programs for low-income children are
fully subscribed, to make sure America's health care system works. But
we've got to do more to make sure health care is affordable, as well.
Listen, most of the uninsured work for small businesses. Small
businesses are having trouble affording health care. To more enable
people to be able to afford health care, we ought to allow small
businesses to pool risk, to join together across jurisdictional
boundaries, so they can buy insurance at the same discounts that big
businesses can do. (Applause.)
To make sure health care is affordable, we've got to expand health
savings accounts, so workers and small businesses are able to save on
premiums, and people can save tax-free for a health care plan they call
their own. To make sure health care is available and affordable, we've
got to do something about these junk lawsuits that are running up the
costs of health care and running good docs out of practice.
(Applause.) You can't be pro-patient, pro-doctor and pro-trial lawyer
at the same time. (Applause.) You have to choose. My opponent made
his choice, and he put a trial lawyer on the ticket. I made my
choice. I am for medical liability reform now. In all we do to
improve health care, this administration will make sure the health
decisions are made by patients and doctors, not by officials in
Washington, D.C. (Applause.)
In a time of change, some things don't change. Those are the
values we try to live by -- courage and compassion and reverence and
integrity. In changing times, we'll support the institutions that give
our lives direction and purpose -- our families, our schools, our
religious congregations. We stand for a culture of life, in which
every person matters and every being counts. (Applause.) We stand for
marriage and family, which are the foundations of our society.
(Applause.) We stand for the appointment of federal judges who know
the difference between personal opinion and the strict interpretation
of the law. (Applause.)
This election will also determine how America responds to the
continuing danger of terrorism. Since that terrible morning, September
the 11th, 2001, we have fought the terrorists across the Earth -- not
for pride, not for power, but because the lives of our citizens are at
stake. Our strategy is clear: We're defending the homeland, we're
transforming our military. I will make sure the all-volunteer army
remains the all-volunteer army. (Applause.) We're reforming and
strengthening our intelligence. We're staying on the offensive. We're
striking the terrorists abroad so we do not have to face them here at
home. (Applause.)
We will work to advance liberty in the broader Middle East and
around the world, because we understand free societies are peaceful
societies. And we'll prevail. Our strategy is succeeding. Think
about the world as it was about three-and-a-half years ago.
Afghanistan was the home base of al Qaeda. Pakistan was a transit
point for terrorist groups. Saudi Arabia was fertile ground for
terrorist fundraising. Libya was secretly pursuing nuclear weapons.
Iraq was a dangerous place and a gathering threat. Al Qaeda was
largely unchallenged as it planned attacks.
Because we led, Afghanistan is fighting terror and held a
presidential election today, Pakistan is capturing terrorist leaders,
Saudi Arabia is making raids and arrests, Libya is dismantling its
weapons programs, the army of a free Iraq is fighting for freedom and
more than three-quarters of al Qaeda's key members and associates have
been brought to justice. (Applause.) We have led, many have joined,
and America and the world are safer. (Applause.)
The progress involved careful diplomacy, clear moral purpose and
some tough decisions. And the toughest came on Iraq. We knew Saddam
Hussein's record of aggression. We knew he harbored terrorists. We
knew he hated America. We knew he had a long history of pursuing and
even using weapons of mass destruction. We know that after September
the 11th, we must take threats seriously before they come to haunt us,
before they hurt us. (Applause.)
In Saddam Hussein we saw a threat. I went to the Congress. They
looked at the very same intelligence I looked at, and they came to the
same conclusion: Saddam Hussein was a threat. And they authorized the
use of force. Some members of the Senate want to forget that vote, or
want you to forget it.
Before the United States ever commits troops into harm's way, we
must try all means to deal with the threat. I understand the
consequences of putting troops into combat. I know what it means. And
so I went to the United Nations, in hopes that diplomacy would work.
The United Nations looked at the issue, and passed another resolution.
And this resolution said to Saddam Hussein, disclose, disarm or face
serious consequences. When an international body speaks, it must mean
what it says. (Applause.)
A free world gave Saddam Hussein another chance, a final chance, to
meet his demands. And as he had for over a decade, he refused the
demands of the free world. He systematically deceived inspectors. So
I had a choice to make at this point in time: Do I forget the lessons
of September the 11th and take the word of a madman --
AUDIENCE: Nooo!
THE PRESIDENT: -- or take action to defend America. Given that
choice, I will defend our country every time. (Applause.)
We did not find the stockpiles we thought were there. But I want
you to remember what the Duelfer report said. It said that Saddam
Hussein was gaming the oil-for-food program to get rid of sanctions.
And why? Because he had the capability and knowledge to rebuild his
weapon programs. And the great danger we face in the world today is
that a terrorist organization could end up with weapons of mass
destruction. Knowing what I know today, I would have made the same
decision. The world is safer with Saddam in a prison cell.
(Applause.)
Because we acted, freedom is on the march. We know what's
happening in Afghanistan, and despite ongoing acts of violence, Iraq
has got a strong Prime Minister, a national council, and national
elections are scheduled for January. (Applause.) We're standing with
the people in Afghanistan and in Iraq because when America gives its
word, America must keep its word. (Applause.) But we're doing so, as
well, because it will make us safer. Free societies in the Middle East
will be hopeful societies which no longer feed resentments and breed
violence for export. Free governments in the Middle East will fight
terrorists instead of harboring them. And that helps us keep the
peace.
So our mission in Afghanistan and our mission in Iraq is clear:
We'll help those leaders train armies so the people of Afghanistan and
Iraq can do the hard work of defending democracy. We will help them
get on the path to stability and democracy as quickly as possible, and
then our troops will come home, with the honor they have earned.
(Applause.)
We've got a great United States military, and I want to thank the
veterans who are here today for having set such a great example.
(Applause.) And I want to thank the military families who are here
today. (Applause.) I want to assure you, we'll keep the commitment I
have made to our troops, that they will have all the resources they
need to complete their missions. That's why, in September, 2003, I
went to the Congress and requested $87 billion in funding for body
armor and spare parts, ammunition, fuel and other supplies necessary
for our troops in combat in both Afghanistan and in Iraq. It was
really important funding. As a matter of fact, we received great
bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate. As a matter of
fact, only 12 United States Senators voted against the funding, two of
whom are my opponent and his running mate.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: When you're out talking up this election and
reminding people about the difference in this campaign, remind them
there were only four United States Senators who voted to authorize the
use of force and then voted against providing the funding for our
troops, only four, two of whom are my opponent and his running mate.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: You might remember his famous quote, "I actually
did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it." I don't
suspect a lot of people in Waterloo, Iowa speak that way. He's given a
lot of explanations for that vote. One of my favorites is when he
said, well, the whole thing is a complicated matter. There's nothing
complicated about supporting our troops in harm's way. (Applause.)
On national security, my opponent has a record of voting against
the weapons systems that helped our country win the Cold War. He voted
to cut America's intelligence budget by $7.5 billion after 1993. And
now he says he wants a global test before taking action to defend
America's security. The problem is, Senator Kerry's own record shows
we can never pass that test. In 1990, the United Nations Security
Council passed a resolution supporting action to remove Saddam Hussein
from Kuwait. The international community was united. Countries
throughout the world joined our coalition. Yet in the United States
Senate, after the Security Council resolution, Senator Kerry voted no.
Let me tell you how I think the President ought to lead. The
President will always work with our friends and allies. We've built
strong coalitions. As a matter of fact, I can -- I told you I
congratulated Prime Minister John Howard today. But I will never allow
other nations to veto America's national security decisions.
(Applause.)
In the long run, the best way to defend our security is to spread
freedom. I believe in the transformational power of liberty. I like
to tell people about my friend, Prime Minister Koizumi of Japan. I was
with him recently in the United Nations in New York. I said, by the
way, I'm campaigning a lot and I'm talking about you a lot on the
campaign trail; do you mind? He said, not at all. I didn't ask him if
I could tell you his favorite singer was Elvis. (Applause.) Which it
is. What's interesting about my meetings with his is that, one, we get
along great and Laura and I consider him a friend. But we're sitting
down with the head of a country that a sworn enemy of America not so
long ago. My dad fought against the Japanese; I just know a lot of
people out here relative fought against the Japanese. It was a bloody
war. But after the war was over, Harry S. Truman, President of the
United States, believed in the transformational power of liberty,
believed that liberty could change an enemy into an ally.
Now, there were some people in the United States at that time who
didn't agree with that. There were skeptics and pessimists. You can
understand why. After a war, there was bitterness about what took
place. Some, I'm confident, were saying, who cares about the enemy, we
won. But fortunately, enough Americans didn't believe that way, and
they helped Japan become a democracy. And today I sit down with my
friend, Prime Minister Koizumi, talking about how to keep the peace,
talking about the peace that we all want for our children and
grandchildren.
We'll succeed in Iraq. We've got a plan that will work. I believe
strongly the Iraqi people want to live in a free society, and some day
a duly-elected leader of Iraq will be sitting down with the President
of the United States, talking about how to keep the peace. And our
children and our grandchildren will be better off for it. (Applause.)
I believe that millions in the Middle East plead in silence for
their freedom. I believe women want to grow up in a free society and
raise their children in a free society. I believe that given a chance
the people in the Middle East will embrace the most honorable form of
government ever devised by man. I believe all these things because
freedom is not America's gift to the world; freedom is the Almighty
God's gift to each man and woman in this world. (Applause.)
For all Americans, these years in our history will always stand
apart. There are quiet times in the life of a nation when little is
expected of its leaders. This is not one of those times. This is a
time that requires firm resolve and clear vision and the deep faith in
the values that make us a great nation.
None of us will ever forget that week when one era ended and
another began. On September the 14th, 2001, I stood in the ruins of
the Twin Towers. It's a day I'll never forget. I'll never forget the
workers in hard hats that were yelling at me at the top of their lungs,
"Whatever it takes." I will never forget the man who had been in the
rubble looking for a friend, who came out and grabbed me by the arm and
he said, "Do not let me down." Ever since that day, I wake up every
morning thinking about how to better protect our country. I will never
relent in defending America, whatever it takes. (Applause.)
You know, four years ago when I traveled your great state in the
caucuses and then in the general election, I made a pledge that if you
gave me the chance to serve, I would uphold the honor and the dignity
of the office to which I had been elected. With your help, with your
hard work, I will do so for four more years.
God bless. Thank you for coming. (Applause.) I'm honored you're
here. Thank you all for being here. (Applause.)
END 11:55 A.M. CDT
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