For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
October 12, 2004
President's Remarks at a Victory 2004 Rally in Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs World Arena and Ice Hall
Colorado Springs, Colorado
9:37 A.M. MDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all for coming. It's great to be back in
Colorado Springs. (Applause.) I've come back to ask for your vote.
(Applause.) I've come back to ask for your help in getting people to
the polls on November 2nd. (Applause.) We have a duty in this country
to participate in the democratic system. Remind your friends and
neighbors about that duty. Get people from all the neighborhoods in
Colorado Springs to show up to vote. Get them to do what all of us
must do, to vote on election day. And when you get them headed to the
polls, remind them if they want a stronger America, a safer America and
a better America, to put me and Dick Cheney back in office.
(Applause.)
It's an amazing line of work, isn't it, where you get your daughter
to introduce you in front of thousands of people. I'm really proud of
Jenna and Barbara. Laura and I love them dearly. I want to thank them
for their help on the campaign trail. And it warms my heart and
strengthens my spirit to be campaigning with somebody I love a lot.
I wish Laura were here today, speaking about loving somebody a
lot. (Applause.) When I asked her to marry me, she was a public
school librarian, didn't much care for politics, or politicians.
(Laughter.) She said, fine, I'll marry you, 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 pledge. She's speaking a lot,
and when she does, the American people get to see a compassionate,
strong, great First Lady in Laura Bush. (Applause.)
I'm proud of my running mate, Dick Cheney. (Applause.) He did a
great job in his debate the other night. (Applause.) I admit it, he
doesn't have the waviest hair. (Laughter.) But I didn't pick him for
his hairdo. I picked him because he's a man of sound judgment and
great experience. I picked him because he's getting the job done for
the American people. (Applause.)
I'm honored to be on the platform with the next United States
Senator from Colorado, Pete Coors. (Applause.) I hope when you're
turning out the vote for me, you turn out the vote for Pete, as well.
(Applause.) He'll be taking the place of a really fine fellow in Ben
Nighthorse Campbell. I've enjoyed working with Senator Campbell. He's
served your state well. (Applause.) And Pete will be serving
alongside another fine United States Senator in Wayne Allard. I
appreciate Wayne being here. (Applause.) Thanks for coming, Joan.
It's good to see you.
I'm honored to be on the state with a great Governor of the state
of Colorado, Bill Owens. (Applause.) He's doing a fine job. I know
something about being a governor. I was one. (Applause.) You've got
a great congressman from this district in Joel Hefley. I'm proud that
he's here. (Applause.) And how about his wife, State Representative
Lynn Hefley. (Applause.) I told Joel the other day, he better hope
Lynn doesn't run him in the Republican primary. (Laughter.)
You know, I got to meet your Mayor when I came to give the
graduation speech at the Air Force Academy, and I was very impressed by
Lionel Rivera. Mr. Mayor. (Applause.) What a good man he is. And I
want to thank his wife, Lynn, for being here, as well. I want to thank
all the state and local officials who have joined us. I want to thank
Sammy Kershaw for being here and entertaining. (Applause.) I want to
thank the Walker Williams Band for being here and entertaining
everybody. (Applause.) I appreciate the members of the Olympic team
who've joined us today, Shane Hamman and Matt Emmons. I'm honored you
all are here. (Applause.)
I appreciate those who are here serving in our United States
military. (Applause.) I want to thank your families of the men and
women who wear the uniform -- thank you for your sacrifice and your
dedication. (Applause.) I want to thank all the veterans who are here
today. Thank you all for coming. (Applause.)
Thank you all. I want to thank the grassroots activists for what
you're going to do, to put up the signs and make the phone calls, turn
out the vote. There's no doubt we'll carry Colorado again and win a
great victory in November. (Applause.)
I'm on my way to Arizona -- (applause) -- for the final debate.
(Applause.) Those debates have highlighted the clear differences
between the Senator and me on issues ranging from jobs to taxes to
health care to the war on terror. Much as he's tried to obscure it, on
issue after issue, my opponent has showed why he earned his ranking as
the most liberal member of the United States Senate.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: And several of his statements he made in the last
debate simply do not pass the credibility test. (Applause.) With a
straight face, he said he'd had only one position on Iraq.
(Laughter.) I could barely contain myself. (Applause.) In the spring
of 2003, Senator Kerry said it was the right decision to remove Saddam
Hussein from power. Now, he says it's the wrong war. In the same
debate, he said Saddam was a threat, and then a few minutes later, he
said there wasn't a threat in Iraq. And he tries to tell us he's had
only one position. Who's he trying to kid? See, he can run from his
record, but he cannot hide. (Applause.)
With another straight face, he tried to tell Americans that when it
comes to his health care plan -- and I quote -- "the government has
nothing to do with it." The facts are, 8 out of 10 people who get
health care under Senator Kerry's plan would be placed on a government
program, see. He can run, but he cannot hide. (Applause.)
Then he was asked to look into the camera -- (laughter) -- 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 brackets would raise, we think, about $600
billion. But his spending plan costs almost four times that much,
about $2.2 trillion. You can't have it both ways. To pay for all the
big spending programs he's outlined during his campaign he's going to
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 face. (Laughter.)
See, I have a different philosophy. I'm a compassionate conservative.
(Applause.) I think government ought to help people realize their
dreams, not tell them how to live their lives. (Applause.) I've led
this country with principle and resolve, and that's how I'm going to
lead it, with your help, for four more years. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
THE PRESIDENT: My plan -- my plan for a more hopeful America
begins with a growing economy that creates good jobs. See, I believe
in the energy and innovation and spirit of our workers, our small
business owners, our farmers, our ranchers. And that's why we
unleashed that energy with the largest tax relief in a generation.
(Applause.)
When you're out -- when you're out convincing people to vote and to
come our way, remind them what this economy and this country has been
through. Six months before we got to Washington, the stock market was
in serious decline. It foreshadowed a recession. Then we found out
some of our citizens forgot what it meant to be a responsible American,
and they didn't tell the truth. We passed tough laws to make it
abundantly clear we won't tolerate dishonesty in the board rooms of
America. (Applause.)
Those scandals hurt our economy. And then we got attacked. And
the attack cost America 1 million jobs in the three months after
September the 11th. But we acted. We put tax relief in place, and
this recession was one of the shallowest in American history.
(Applause.) The tax relief spurred consumption and investment. And as
a result, our economy has been growing at rates as fast as any in
nearly 20 years. In the past 13 months, we've added 1.9 million new
jobs. (Applause.) The unemployment rate nationally is 5.4 percent --
lower than the average rate of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.
(Applause.) The unemployment rate in the state of Colorado is 5.1
percent. (Applause.) The home ownership rate is at all-time high in
America. (Applause.) More minorities own a home than ever before in
the history of this country. (Applause.)
The entrepreneurial spirit is strong. We're moving forward, but
there's more work to be done. In order to make sure jobs are here in
America, in order to make sure there's hope in this country when it
comes to finding work, America must be the best place in the world to
do business. That means less regulations on our employers.
(Applause.) That means legal reforms so these junk lawsuits don't make
it hard for people to find a job. (Applause.)
In order to make sure jobs stay here, Congress needed to pass my
energy plan. See, it's a plan that encourages conservation. We spend
money on research and development to expand the use of renewables,
technologies to help us live different ways at the same lifestyle we're
accustomed to, technologies to help us use coal in environmentally
friendly ways. I believe we can explore for hydrocarbons in
environmentally friendly ways. 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 open up markets for U.S. products.
See, we don't want to be closing down markets, we're going to be
opening markets. It's to your advantage that our market is open from
products for overseas. See, if you've got more choices to choose from,
you're likely to get that which you want at a better price and higher
quality. That's how the marketplace works. So I'm telling places like
China, you treat us the way we treat you; you treat us in a way that
opens up your markets -- because we can compete with anybody, anytime,
anywhere so long as the rules are fair. (Applause.)
In order to make sure this economy grows, we've got to keep your
taxes low. (Applause.) Raising taxes would be the wrong prescription
for economic growth. You heard my opponent -- I talked a little bit a
while ago about it -- he said, oh, he's going to pay for all his
programs by taxing the rich. We've heard that kind of rhetoric
before. The rich hire lawyers and accountants for a reason --
(laughter) -- to pass the tax bill on to you. We're not going to let
him tax you because we're going to win in November. (Applause.)
Speaking about the tax code, it is a complicated mess. It's a
million pages long. We spend 6 billion hours a year filling out
taxes. I'm going to bring Republicans and Democrats together in a new
term to simplify the tax code and make it more fair for the American
people. (Applause.)
Listen, in order to make sure we can compete in a global war, we've
got to educate our work force. It all starts with making sure our
youngsters can read and write and add and subtract. (Applause.) I
went to Washington, D.C. to challenge the soft bigotry of low
expectations. That's what happened in too many classrooms in America,
where they would just shuffle the kid through, the so-called hard to
educate, an inner-city kid, shuffle him through, or maybe a child whose
parents didn't speak English as a first language; let's just move him
through. See, that's not the America I know. I believe every child
can learn; I expect every school to each. That is why we now measure,
so we can solve problems early, before they are too late. (Applause.)
Before it is too late. We can't have children coming out the back
end of the school system that can't read and write and add and subtract
anymore, if we expect to compete in the 21st century. Do you realize
we're closing an achievement gap in America, and we're not going to go
back to the days of mediocrity in our schools.
There is more work to be done. I believe we ought to fund at-risk
programs in our high schools. I believe we ought to emphasize math and
science. I believe over time we ought to have a rigorous exam before
graduation. I know we'll continue to expand Pell grants for low- and
middle-income families. We want more of our kids who graduate to start
their career with a college diploma. (Applause.)
To build a more hopeful America, we've got to make sure health care
is more available and affordable. We'll have a safety net for those
with the greatest need. I'm a strong proponent of community health
centers. These are places where the poor and the indigent can get
preventative and primary care. It's best they get the care in these
centers, and not in the emergency rooms around our country. It is a
compassionate way to make sure people get the help they need.
(Applause.)
We will continue to make sure our health programs for low-income
children are fully subscribed to. But we also must address this issue
of affordability. Most of the uninsured are employees of small
businesses. Small businesses are having trouble affording health
care. We should allow small businesses to pool together so they can
buy insurance at the same discounts that big companies can do.
(Applause.) I know we need to continue to expand health savings
accounts, accounts where people can buy low-premium policies to cover
major medical expenses, and can set money aside on a tax-free basis to
be able to cover their health care needs. These are vital plans which
will help our small businesses, help our young uninsured. These are
plans where workers will own their own accounts, so they can base their
medical decisions on the advice from their doctor, not in negotiations
with an HMO. (Applause.)
These are some common-sense, practical ways to make sure health
care is available and affordable, without increasing the reach of the
federal government. Let me tell you one other practical way to deal
with the cost of health care. We've got to do something about these
frivolous lawsuits that are running good docs out of practice --
(applause) -- frivolous lawsuits that are running up the cost of
health care. See, you can't be pro-lawyer -- I mean, pro-doctor,
pro-patient and pro-trial lawyer at the same time. You have to
choose. My opponent made his choice, and he put a trial lawyer on the
ticket.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: I made my choice -- I'm standing with the doctors
and the patients. I'm for medical liability reform now. (Applause.)
In all we'll do to improve health care, this administration will make
sure that the decisions are made by patients and doctors, not by
government officials in Washington, D.C. (Applause.)
You know, I went to Washington to solve problems, not to pass them
on to future Presidents and future generations. And I saw a problem in
Medicare. Medicine was modernizing, but Medicare wasn't. And I
believe we have a moral responsibility to honor our seniors with good
health care. Let me tell you what I'm talking about, about modernizing
and Medicare wasn't. You realize we would pay thousands of dollars for
heart surgery under Medicare, but not one dime for the prescription
drug that could prevent the heart surgery from being needed in the
first place. That did not make any sense for our seniors, and it
didn't make any sense for the taxpayers.
And so I worked with Republicans and Democrats to modernize
Medicare. And now, in 2006, our seniors will get prescription drug
coverage for the first time under Medicare. (Applause.)
Let me talk about Social Security. You might remember the campaign
rhetoric of 2000 when they said if old George W. gets elected, they're
going to take away your check. To our seniors, you still got your
check, didn't you? Just remember that, when we talk about how to make
sure the Social Security system works for our youngsters.
See, baby boomers are okay when it comes to the Social Security
trust. But we need to worry about our children and our grandchildren
if we want to make sure Social Security is available to them. We've
got to think differently. And so one of the good ideas that I believe
is necessary -- an idea, by the way, that came out of a commission I
formed to take a look at Social Security, headed by the late Senator
Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Democrat from New York, was that younger
workers ought to be allowed to take some of their own tax money and set
aside a personal savings account that will earn a better rate of return
than the current Social Security system does, so they will have the
capacity to be able to realize benefits from a retirement system --
(applause) -- a personal account they call their own and a personal
account the government cannot take away. (Applause.)
We're living in changing times, and that can be unsettling. That's
why I've promoted an ownership society throughout our country. We're
living in changing times, but there's some things that don't change:
reverence and integrity, compassion and courage, the values we try to
live by don't change. In changing times, we must 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 counts and every being matters.
(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. 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.)
Since that terrible morning of 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. We've got a clear
strategy. We'll defend the homeland; we'll strengthen our
intelligence-gathering services; we'll transform our military so it can
do its job. The all-volunteer army will remain an all-volunteer army.
(Applause.) We're staying on the offensive. We will strike the
terrorists abroad, so we do not have to face them here at home.
(Applause.) We will continue to work to spread liberty and peace, and
we will prevail. (Applause.)
Our strategy is succeeding. Think of the world the way it was
three-and-a-half years ago. Afghanistan was the home base of al
Qaeda. Pakistan was a transit point for terrorist groups. Al Qaeda --
Saudi Arabia was fertile ground for terrorist fundraising. Libya was
secretly pursuing nuclear weapons. Iraq was a dangerous place, run by
a sworn enemy of America. Al Qaeda was largely unchallenged as it
planned attacks.
Because we acted, the government of Afghanistan is an ally in the
war on terror and they held presidential elections last weekend.
(Applause.) Because we acted, 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.)
This 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 and his support for terror. We knew he
hated our country. We knew he had invaded another country. We knew he
was shooting missiles at American pilots who were enforcing the
sanctions of the world. We knew he had a long history of pursuing and
even using weapons of mass destruction. And we knew that after
September the 11th we must take threats seriously before they fully
materialize. That's one of the key lessons that we must never forget
in order to protect the American people. (Applause.)
In Saddam Hussein, I saw a threat. And I went to the United States
Congress. They looked at the same intelligence I looked at; they
remembered the same history my administration remembered, and they
concluded that Saddam Hussein was a threat and authorized the use of
force. My opponent looked at the same intelligence I looked at and he
came to the same conclusion, and he voted, yes, when it came time to
authorize the use of force.
Before I ever commit troops into harm's way, or any President, we
must try all means to deal with the threat. No President ever wants to
send our young into harm's way. No President ever wants to have to do
that. So I went to the United Nations, in hopes that diplomacy would
work. That was my hope. I hoped that the free world would come
together and make its voice clear, which it did. The Security Council
voted 15-to- nothing, and said to Saddam Hussein, disclose, disarm or
face serious consequences. Now, I believe that when an international
body speaks, it must mean what it says. (Applause.) And that goes for
the President, as well. (Applause.)
Saddam Hussein had no intention of listening to the demands of the
free world. He ignored the resolution. He deceived the inspectors
that were trying to get into -- that were in his country. Why should
he change? This is resolution number 17. Resolution after resolution
after resolution had been passed, and nothing happened. He wasn't
about to listen. As a matter of fact, when we gave him the final
chance, he continued to deceive and evade. So I have a choice to make
at this point in our history: Do I forget the lessons of September the
11th and take the word of a madman, or do I take action to defend this
country? Given that choice, I will defend America every time.
(Applause.)
We did not find -- we did not find the stockpiles that we all
thought were there. But I want to remind you what the Duelfer report
said. It said that Saddam Hussein retained the intent, the knowledge,
and therefore, the capability to rebuild his weapons programs. Now,
think about that. It also said that he was gaming the system, using
the oil-for-food program to try to convince -- the polite way of saying
it -- (laughter) -- officials of other nations to get rid of the
sanctions that were already weakening. And why would he do that?
Well, because he wanted the world to look the other way so he could
restart his weapons programs. The greatest danger we face is weapons
of mass destruction in the hands of a terrorist enemy.
Knowing what I know today, I would have made the same decision.
America and the world are safer with Saddam Hussein in a prison cell.
(Applause.) Because we acted in Afghanistan and Iraq, America is
safer, and 50 million people now live in freedom.
Think about what happened in Afghanistan over the past weekend.
You know, it wasn't all that long ago that young girls were not allowed
to go to school; their mothers were pulled out in the public square and
whipped if they didn't toe the line of these ideologues of hate. The
Taliban were backward and barbaric. They had a dark view of the
world. This past weekend, millions of Afghan citizens voted for their
President. The first voter was an Afghan woman, a 19-year-old woman.
(Applause.) That society has gone from darkness to light because of
freedom. Freedom is powerful. (Applause.)
Iraq will have elections in January. They got a strong Prime
Minister. We're fighting off the terrorists who are trying to prevent
the elections from happening. Freedom frightens these ideologues of
hatred. They can't stand the thought of free societies. It's in our
interest that we expand freedom. It's in our interest that when we
tell the Afghan people and the Iraq people we'll stand with them, that
we keep our word. It's in our interest that free societies emerge in
the broader Middle East, because they will be hopeful societies,
societies which no longer feed resentments and breed violence for
export. Free governments in the Middle East will fight the terrorists,
instead of harboring them. And that helps us keep the peace. Free
societies are peaceful societies.
And so our mission is clear. We will help these countries,
Afghanistan and Iraq, train their armies and their police so they can
do the hard work of defending democracy. We'll help them get on the
path -- (applause) -- we'll help them get on the path of stability and
democracy as quickly as possible, and then our troops will come home
with the honor they have earned. (Applause.)
I made a commitment to our troops and their families that we'll
make sure they have the resources they need to complete their
missions. That's why I went to the United States Congress in September
of 2003 and requested $87 billion of supplemental funding. This is
really important money. This is money to help our troops in harm's way
in both Afghanistan and Iraq. And I was pleased that we received
strong bipartisan support for the funding request. It was so strong
that only 12 senators -- United States senators voted against it, two
of whom are my opponent and his running mate. (Laughter.) Now, I want
to tell you another statistic. Let me just tell you another revealing
statistic. There were four United States senators who voted to
authorize the use of force and then voted against funding for our
troops in harm's way, only four out of 100 -- two of whom are my
opponent and his running mate.
AUDIENCE: Boooo!
THE PRESIDENT: That's got to tell you something. So they asked
him why, and he issued perhaps the most famous quote of the 2004
campaign: "I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted
against it." (Laughter.) Now, since then he's given numerous
explanations for why he made the vote. One of the most interesting was
he just finally said the whole thing is a complicated matter.
(Laughter.) There's nothing complicated about supporting our troops in
combat. (Applause.)
Listen, on national security, just like domestic policy, we've got
big differences between us. I want you to remember that my opponent
has had a record -- a record in 20 years in the United States Senate.
He's had a record of voting against the weapons systems that helped our
country win the Cold War. He had a record -- in 1993, after we got the
first World Trade Center attack, he voted to cut the intelligence
budget by $7.5 billion. See, that's part of his thinking. That's
record. That happened. He now says he wants a global test before
taking action to defend America's security.
AUDIENCE: Boooo!
THE PRESIDENT: Think about that, a global test. The problem is he
could never pass his own test. (Laughter.) I want you to remember
this now when you're out gathering people to vote. 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 the coalition. Yet, in
the United States Senate, after the Security Council resolution, after
it became clear there was international support, Senator Kerry voted
against the authorization of force. Listen, if driving Saddam Hussein
out of Kuwait, with the support of the international community, does
not meet his test, nothing will. (Applause.)
And that is dangerous, a dangerous way of thinking in the world in
which we live. We have a different view of our role confronting
threats. Just this weekend we saw new evidence that the Senator
fundamentally misunderstands the war against terror. See, earlier he
questioned whether this is really a war at all, describing it as
primarily a law enforcement and intelligence-gathering operation,
instead of a threat that demands the full use of American power. And
this weekend he talked of reducing terrorism to -- quote -- "nuisance"
-- his word -- and compared it to prostitution and illegal gambling.
Our goal is not to reduce terror to some acceptable level of
nuisance. Our goal is to defeat terror by staying on the offensive,
destroying the networks, and spreading freedom and liberty.
(Applause.)
During the next four years I will work with our friends and
allies. We'll continue to build strong coalitions. But I will never
turn over America's national security decisions to leaders of other
countries. (Applause.)
I believe in the transformational power of liberty. I like to use
my friend, Prime Minister Koizumi, to explain what I mean by the
transformational power of liberty. I saw him in New York in early
September, and I -- at the United Nations -- and I said, by the way,
I'm talking about you on the campaign trail; do you mind if I continue
to do so? He said, not at all. I didn't ask him whether or not I
could tell you whether or not Elvis was his favorite singer.
(Laughter.) It's true. (Laughter.) One of his favorite movies is
"High Noon," by the way. Anyway -- (laughter.) So I like to bring him
up because he's the head of a country that some 60 years ago we were at
war with. My dad fought against the Japanese; I'm sure there's some in
this audience who did so, and I know some dads and granddads did, as
well.
And after the war, Harry S. Truman, President of the United States,
believed in the transformational power of liberty to convert an enemy
into an ally. That's what he believed. So did a lot of other
Americans. But there was some great skepticism of what that could
mean, you know -- we were working for democracy in Japan. A lot of
people in this country said, why do it, why bother, why should we
care. They were the enemy. You could understand. Families' lives had
been turned upside down because of the death of a loved one during that
war. People were questioning whether or not it was worthwhile.
But, fortunately, they believed in the power of liberty, and today
I sit down at the table with Prime Minister Koizumi, the head of Japan,
talking about the peace, talking about how the United States and Japan,
former enemies and now allies, can work together to achieve the peace
we all want for our children and our grandchildren.
I believe we'll succeed in Iraq. I believe there will be a
democracy. And I envision the day, some day, when an American
President and a duly-elected leader of Iraq are sitting down at the
table talking about achieving the peace, and our children and our
grandchildren will be better off for it. (Applause.)
I believe that millions plead in silence in the Middle East for
freedom. I believe that women in the Middle East want to have a free
society and have their children grow up in a free society. I believe
that if 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 isn't one of those times. This is a
time that requires firm resolve and clear vision and a deep faith in
the values that makes 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. There was workers in
hard hats there, yelling at me at the top of their lungs, "Whatever it
takes." I remember doing my best to console those people coming out of
the rubble. They were there lined up, and we were heading down the
rope line -- Rudy Giuliani and Governor Pataki and I were going down
the line, thanking people and hugging them. And a guy grabbed me by
the arm, and he said, "Do not let me down." (Applause.) 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.)
Four years ago, when I traveled your great state, 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,
I will do so for four more years. (Applause.)
God bless. Thank you all for coming. Thank you all. (Applause.)
END 10:26 A.M. MDT
|