For Immediate Release
Office of the Vice President
October 15, 2004
Remarks by the Vice President at a Victory 2004 Rally
Deltaplex Entertainment & Expo Center
Grand Rapids, Michigan
5:00 P.M. EDT
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Thank you.
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Thank you. I accept. (Applause.) Well, it's
great to be back in Michigan again. And from the enthusiasm I see here
today, there is no question Grand Rapids is Bush-Cheney country.
(Applause.)
Now, it is true Lynne has known me since I was 14, but she wouldn't
go out with me until I was 17. (Laughter.) I explain to people that
we got married because Dwight Eisenhower got elected President of the
United States. Because in 1952, I was a youngster living in Lincoln,
Nebraska with my folks. Dad worked for the Soil Conservation Service.
Eisenhower got elected, reorganized the government, Dad got transferred
to Casper, Wyoming. And that's where I met Lynne. We grew up
together, went to high school together, and recently celebrated our
40th wedding anniversary. (Applause.) I explained to a group the
other night that if it hadn't been for Eisenhower's election victory,
Lynne would have married somebody else. (Laughter.) And she said,
right, and now he'd be Vice President of the United States.
(Laughter.) No doubt in my mind.
But like most of you, Lynne and I watched the debate Wednesday
night and thought the President did a fantastic job. (Applause.) And
now, with 18 days to go the choices in the election are very clear.
The stakes are high, both at home and abroad. And I believe on
November 2nd, the American people are going to make George W. Bush
President for four more years. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Today, we've been traveling through Michigan
by bus. We started this morning in Berrien Springs, been to Kalamazoo,
and stops in between -- and we are delighted to finish out our trip
here today in Grand Rapids. And I can't think of a better place for a
campaign rally than the hometown of a fine President, Gerald R. Ford.
(Applause.) As many of you know, I had the honor of working for
President Ford during his years in the White House, and I'm fortunate
to count him among my close friends. It's also where I met Pete
Secchia. (Laughter.) But I won't tell you that story.
But I've been privileged to see the President and Mrs. Ford several
times recently, and they're both doing great. He just celebrated of
his 91st birthday this past July. And we just marked the 30th
anniversary of his becoming President in August. I've always thought
of the Ford family as the embodiment of Midwestern values. You simply
won't find two more decent, people -- committed public servants than
Jerry and Betty Ford. (Applause.)
I want to thank Ambassador Secchia for his kind words. And I also
want to mention your Congressman Vernon Ehlers. He does a superb job
for the members of the third district, and I know he's on his way to
another term in Washington, where he'll do a superb job as he has in
the past. (Applause.)
This is no ordinary time for America. The last three-and-a-half
years have brought some serious challenges. We're meeting every one of
those challenges with strength and resolve. Today, people in Michigan
and across the land can be confident of a better future; a stronger
economy; and a nation that is more secure because of the character and
the leadership of our President, George W. Bush. (Applause.)
Let me go back to Wednesday's debate for a minute, because I
thought what you saw was the character and the vision of our
President. He's a man of loyalty and kindness who speaks plainly and
means what he says. He sets clear goals, and he works with members of
both parties to achieve them. He puts the country first and his
deepest commitment is to making us safer, more prosperous, and more
secure.
You saw something quite different in the President's opponent. You
saw a man --
AUDIENCE: Booo! Flip-flop! Flip-flop! Flip-flop!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: This speech is going to take a long time to
get through. (Applause.) I haven't even gotten to the good part yet.
(Applause.) But in John Kerry, you saw a man who will say and do
anything if he thinks it will advance his cause. And of course, this
is nothing new. A year ago this weekend, John Kerry turned his back on
the troops he voted to send into combat because he thought it was to
his political advantage to do so.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Senator Kerry, you'll remember, voted in favor
of using force to oust Saddam Hussein, but then during the Democratic
primary season when it came to vote for funds that would provide our
fighting men and women with body armor, ammunition, spare parts, and
fuel, Senator Kerry voted no.
AUDIENCE: Flip-flop! Flip-flop! Flip-flop!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: He offered a ridiculous explanation for his
action, saying, and I quote, "I actually voted for the $87 billion
before I voted against it."
AUDIENCE: Flip-flop! Flip-flop! Flip-flop!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: But the real reason he turned his back on our
troops was Howard Dean. Dean was the antiwar candidate and Dean was
surging ahead in the polls in the Democratic primaries. And so John
Kerry, in order to advance himself turned his back on our troops. He
said his vote was "complicated," but, my friends, supporting American
troops in combat is never a complicated question. (Applause.)
John Kerry will say and do anything in order to get elected. He
will attack the Patriot Act -- after he voted for it. He will attack
the No Child Left Behind Act -- after he voted for it. And most of
all, he will try to disguise his 20-year Senate record, which clearly
shows him to be a tax-and-spend, soft-on-defense liberal.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Only John Kerry could make Ted Kennedy the
most conservative senator from Massachusetts. (Applause.)
On the campaign trail, Senator Kerry talks about helping families
and delivering a middle-class tax cut. But he doesn't mention that
President Bush has already delivered a middle-class tax cut, increased
the child tax credit, reduced the marriage penalty, and established a
new 10-percent bracket. All of these measures left money in the hands
of taxpayers who earned it. All of these measures passed with
bipartisan support in Congress. Yet when they called the roll, Senator
Kerry voted "no."
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Senator Kerry doesn't mention these details,
so we're going to have to do it for him. (Applause.)
And the President did a fine job in the debate, I thought, of
pointing out John Kerry's record. He noted that the Senator voted 98
times to raise taxes; against tax reductions 126 times; and voted to
break the budget caps 277 times. The President also pointed out that
in 20 long years in the Senate, Senator Kerry has introduced hundreds
of bills, yet only five became law. The Senator denied it on the spot,
but the President was correct. He had the correct record. To be fair,
however, Senator Kerry has earned a special distinction in Congress.
The nonpartisan National Journal Magazine analyzed his record and named
him the most liberal member of the United States Senate.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: But John Kerry is trying very hard to hide
that, making promises he can't keep about health care and being totally
deceitful when it comes to medical liability reform. He says he has a
plan to reform the medical liability system, but you know what his plan
is? Put the trial lawyers in charge.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: President Bush has a better idea: let's keep
medical decisions in the hands of doctors and patients not personal
injury lawyers. (Applause.)
The record John Kerry is trying hardest of all to hide is the one
on national security. He first ran for Congress advocating the idea
that we should deploy American troops only under the authority of the
United Nations.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: He ran for the Senate on the platform that we
should dismantle most of the major weapons systems that Ronald Reagan
used to keep the peace and win the Cold War. In 1991, when Saddam
Hussein invaded Kuwait and stood poised to dominate the Persian Gulf,
John Kerry voted against sending American troops to expel him. He
voted against Operation Desert Storm.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: In the first debate, this year, Senator Kerry
said America had to meet some kind of "global test" before we could
take military action. Now, the President and I know better than this.
We know that it is not our job to conduct international opinion polls.
Our job is to defend America. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
AUDIENCE MEMBER: (Inaudible.) (Laughter and applause.)
THE VICE PRESIDENT: All right, what are you guys doing for the
next 18 days? (Laughter and applause.)
You saw John Kerry Wednesday night trying to back off that idea of
a "global test." That notion fits with his whole career, but he
doesn't want us to know about his whole career. He is trying to hide
it, to cover it up by using a little tough talk during the course of
this campaign. But you can't do that. It won't work. To use a phrase
that we like in our home state of Wyoming, you can put lipstick on a
pig, but it's still a pig. (Applause.)
What Wednesday night so clearly revealed is that John Kerry does
not have the judgment or the conviction that America needs in a
President. He is not a steadfast leader. And our President is. And
let me tell you why that matters. A country can never know what a
President will be called upon to do. Think of the last four years.
Think of the challenges of 9/11 and the global war on terrorism.
Because our President is a man of strong character and steadfast
determination, he has led us well. At the Republican Convention,
former Mayor Giuliani told the story of how on 9/11, he turned to
Bernie Kerik there in New York and said, "Thank God, George Bush is our
Commander-in-Chief." (Applause.)
Under the President's leadership, we have reached around the world
to capture and kill thousands of al Qaeda. In Afghanistan, the camps
where terrorists trained to kill Americans have been shut down, and the
Taliban driven from power. (Applause.) In Iraq, we dealt with a
gathering threat, and removed the regime of Saddam Hussein.
(Applause.) Eighteen months ago, he controlled the lives of 25 million
people. Tonight, he sits in jail. (Applause.)
We're also helping the people of Iraq and Afghanistan build
representative governments. In Afghanistan, 10 million people
registered to vote, nearly half of them women. Elections were held --
(Applause.) I'm for women voting, too. It's a good idea. (Applause.)
Elections were held last Saturday -? the first in the 5,000-year
history of that country -- and the first voter in the election was a
19-year-old woman. (Applause.) In January, the people of Iraq will
vote as well. The world is better as these countries move towards
self-government. As free societies rise in the broader Middle East,
millions of men and women will live hopeful lives. The terrorists will
suffer a defeat, and every free nation will be more secure.
(Applause.)
Because of President Bush's determination in the war on terror
leaders around the world are getting the message. Just five days after
Saddam Hussein was captured, the government of Libya agreed to abandon
its nuclear weapons program and turn the materials over to the United
States. (Applause.)
The biggest danger we face today is having nuclear weapons
technology fall into the hands of terrorists. The President is working
with many countries in a global effort to end the trade and transfer of
these deadly technologies. The most important result thus far is that
the black-market network that supplied nuclear weapons technology to
Libya, as well as to Iran and North Korea, has been shut down. And the
world is safer as a result. (Applause.)
We could not have succeeded in these efforts without the help of
dozens of countries around the world. We will always seek
international support for international efforts, but as the President
has made very clear, there is a difference between leading a coalition
of many nations and submitting to the objections of a few. We will
never seek a permission slip to defend the United States of America.
(Applause.)
The clearest, most important difference in this campaign is simple
to state: President Bush understands the war on terror and has a
strategy for winning it. Senator Kerry does not. All doubt on that
matter was removed this past weekend, by comments Senator Kerry made in
The New York Times. The Senator said he wanted to lead America back to
the place where we were -? to a time when terrorism was, in his words,
a "nuisance" like illegal gambling or prostitution.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: That's the comparison he made -- a nuisance
like illegal gambling or prostitution. When I read that, I thought to
myself when was terrorism only a nuisance? Was it four years ago, when
the USS Cole was attacked and we lost 17 sailors and nearly lost the
ship? Was it six years ago when they destroyed two of our embassies in
East Africa and killed hundreds of people?
AUDIENCE: No!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Was it a nuisance 11 years ago, when they
first attacked the World Trade Center in New York?
AUDIENCE: No!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Or 16 years ago, when Pan Am Flight 103 was
blown out of the skies over Lockerbie, Scotland?
AUDIENCE: No!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Or 21 years ago, when a truck bomb in a truck
loaded with explosives hit a barracks in Beirut and killed 241
Marines?
AUDIENCE: No!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Ladies and gentlemen, there never was a time
when terrorism was just a nuisance. (Applause.) There never can be a
time when terrorism is a nuisance. Our goal is not to reduce terror to
some acceptable level. Our goal is to defeat terror -? and with George
Bush as our President, America will stay in the fight until the fight
is won. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: These are not times for leaders who shift with
the political winds, or who fail to understand the nature of the
struggle we're in. Our troops, our allies, and our enemies must know
where America stands. The President of the United States must be clear
and consistent. In his years in Washington, John Kerry has been one of
a hundred votes in the United States Senate -? and fortunately on
matters of national security, his views rarely prevailed. But the
presidency is an entirely different proposition. A senator can be
wrong for 20 years, without consequence to the nation. But a President
-- a President -- always casts the deciding vote. And in this time of
challenge, America needs -? and America has -? a President we can count
on to get it right. (Applause.)
President Bush knows that our dedicated servicemen and women
represent the very best of the United States of America. And I want to
thank them, their families, and all the veterans with us here today for
all that they have done for all of us. (Applause.)
Our country requires strong and consistent leadership for our
actions overseas, and the same is true for our policies here at home.
When President Bush and I stood on the inaugural platform on the west
front of the Capitol and took the oath of office, the economy was
sliding into recession. Then on 9/11 terrorists struck and shook our
economy once again. We had a basic decision to make ?- to leave more
money with families and businesses, or to take more of the American
people's hard-earned money for the federal government. President Bush
made his choice. He proposed and he delivered tax cuts for the
American people not once, not twice, but four times in four years.
(Applause.)
Every American who pays federal income taxes benefited from the
Bush tax cuts ?- and so has our economy. We've created jobs for 13
consecutive months -? a total of over 1.9 million new jobs -? including
almost 100,000 in the last month alone. (Applause.) Mortgage rates,
and interest rates, and inflation are all low. Consumers are
confident, businesses are investing, and families are taking home more
of what they earn.
We're seeing record exports for farm products. Farm income is up.
Our farm economy is strong and that's good for the entire nation.
We know there are still challenges, especially in manufacturing.
The President and I will not be satisfied until every American who
wants to work can find a job. (Applause.)
We plan to double the number of workers trained through the federal
government's job training programs. We've proposed a quarter of a
billion dollars to help more workers train at our nation's outstanding
community colleges. And we'll improve math and science education in
our public high schools, so every high school graduate gets the quality
education they deserve, and the foundation they need to fill the jobs
of the 21st century. (Applause.)
Our accomplishments these past four years have made America safer,
stronger, and better. In our second term, we'll keep moving forward
with a pro-growth and pro-jobs agenda. We will work to make the Bush
tax cuts permanent. And to help families and small businesses --
(Applause.) And to help families and small businesses, we will lead a
bipartisan effort to reform and simplify the federal tax code.
We will work to end lawsuit abuse. (Applause.) We know that it's
a lot easier for America's businesses to hire new workers if they don't
have to keep hiring lawyers. And we will work for medical liability
reform because we know the cost of malpractice insurance is creating a
crisis, not only in Michigan, but across the nation. (Applause.)
America's doctors should be able to spend their time healing patients,
not fighting off frivolous lawsuits. (Applause.)
President Bush and I will also continue to defend society's
fundamental rights and values. We stand for a culture of life and
reject the brutal practice of partial birth abortion. (Applause.) We
stand strongly for the Second Amendment, and we'll defend the
individual right of every American to bear arms. (Applause.) We
believe our nation is "one nation under God." (Applause.) And we
believe Americans ought to be able to say so when we pledge allegiance
to our flag. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: There shouldn't be any question about this -?
and there wouldn't be if we had more reasonable judges on the federal
bench. The Democrats in the Senate have been doing everything they can
-? including using the filibuster ?- to keep the President's sensible,
mainstream nominees off the bench.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: They are hoping to wait the President out.
But I've got news for them. That's not going to happen because we are
going to win this election. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: My friends, the differences between the
President and his opponent are as sharp as they can possibly be, and
the consequences for the country are enormous. On vital matters of
national security, Senator Kerry offers a record of weakness and a
strategy of retreat. President Bush offers a record of steady purpose
and resolute action, and a strategy for victory. (Applause.) Senator
Kerry wants to empower government; President Bush will use government
to empower people. (Applause.) John Kerry seems to think that all the
wisdom is found in Washington, D.C.; George Bush trusts the wisdom of
the American people. (Applause.)
Under President Bush's leadership, we will use America's great
power to serve great purposes, to protect our homeland by turning back
and defeating the forces of terror, and spreading hope and freedom
around the world. (Applause.) Here at home, we will continue to build
a prosperity that reaches every corner of the land so that every child
in America has a chance to learn, to succeed, and to rise in the
world. (Applause.)
The President and I are honored by your commitment to the cause we
all share. President Bush and I will wage this effort with complete
confidence in the judgment of the American people. The signs are good
?- here in Michigan, and even in Massachusetts. (Applause.) According
to a news account, people leaving the Democratic National Convention in
July asked a Boston policeman for directions. He replied, Leave here
?- and go vote Republican. (Applause.)
President Bush and I are honored to have the support of that police
officer, and of Democrats, Republicans, and independents from every
calling in American life. We're grateful to our many friends across
the great state of Michigan. I want to thank you for the tremendous
welcome today. We're proud to have you on the team. And together, on
November 2nd, we'll to see our cause forward to victory.
Thank you very much. (Applause.)
END 5:31 P.M. EDT
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