For Immediate Release
Office of the Vice President
October 14, 2004
Remarks of the Vice President at a Debate Watching Party
Embassy Suites Hotel
Coraopolis, Pennsylvania
October 13, 2004
8:20 P.M. EDT
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you all very
much. This looks like Bush-Cheney country. (Applause.)
Well, we're delighted to be here tonight, to be back in
Pennsylvania. We've spent a fair amount of time here this year, and
come November 2nd, we're going to add Pennsylvania to the Bush-Cheney
column. (Applause.)
This has been a great campaign. Lynne and I now have been, over
the course of this election cycle in 48 states. This week alone; this
is Wednesday I guess -- (laughter) --we started in Washington. We've
been to New Jersey, Ohio, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, back to
Washington -- today in Pennsylvania. Tomorrow, we'll be in Florida.
The day after that, we'll back in Indiana and Michigan. So it's the
closing stages of the campaign. But it's a lot of fun, in part because
we get an opportunity to get out around the country and meet so many
great people. And in Washington nobody ever says thank you. When you
get out here on the road, people say thank you, and that's great.
(Applause.)
I've been in a number of campaigns now and I've never been in one
that I believe is as important as the one we're embarked on right now.
I think the election two weeks from next Tuesday on the 2nd of
November, may be the most important that I ever participate in. And I
say that not just because my name is on the ballot. You might accuse
me of a slight bias there, but because I think the decision we're going
to make -- both about where we go as a nation from the standpoint of
our national security strategy, how we defend America, how we deal with
the threat that's clearly out there, how we guarantee the safety and
security of our kids and grandkids, as well as what we do here at home,
in terms of domestic policy, and the economy, and so many of the areas
that Lynne touched upon, that's what is going to be decided on Election
Day. And I cannot recall a time in my career, which goes back now
several decades when we had as clear cut a choice as we have at
present. Because when you get down to the sort of bottom-line,
grass-roots evaluation, what the Kerry campaign has been all about for
-- really since he began running is trying to obscure that 20-year
record in the United States Senate. He never talks about it.
We haven't heard him talk about it all. And there's a reason for
that, and the reason is because on domestic issues he has been rated by
the National Journal, an independent, nonpartisan group, probably does
the most thorough and comprehensive analysis of members' voting records
of any organization in Washington, he's been rated the most liberal
member of the United States Senate. Ted Kennedy --
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Ted Kennedy is the most conservative senator
from Massachusetts. (Laughter.) If you can believe that. (Applause.)
And with respect to national defense and security, which we've
talked about a lot in this campaign, and we've seen debated on earlier
nights, there's no question that John Kerry has come down on the wrong
side of virtually every major national defense that he's faced while
he's been in public office. We never challenge his patriotism. I want
to emphasize that again here tonight. What we challenge is his
judgment. And in his campaigns for Congress and for the Senate, and
his conduct in the Senate, he's consistently been for limitations on
the U.S. force -- use of U.S. forces. For example, when he ran for
Congress the very first time, he said he would not commit forces
without the approval of the United Nations.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Later on when he ran for the Senate, he ran on
the platform of cutting or eliminating most of the major Reagan defense
build-up programs that were vital to winning the Cold War. In 1991,
when we were faced with Saddam's first invasion of Kuwait and the first
Gulf War, John Kerry voted against Operation Desert Storm. It's a
pattern that has been fairly consistent over the years, until of course
he gets up the current campaign.
But he's spent a lot of time during the course of this campaign
trying to obscure the facts with respect to his record and what he
believes and how he's conducted himself. Perfectly legitimate if you
want to represent the people of Massachusetts -- you probably have to
be pretty far over there to where he's been. (Laughter.) But it's
been a long time since we had a conservative senator from
Massachusetts. But the fact of the matter is that I think in terms of
what the nation needs today, the kind of strong, principled leadership
the President has provided -- especially in the war on terror, the
outstanding job I think he's done taking on some very difficult
issues. Lynne mentioned Medicare and prescription drug benefits. She
said the Democrats ran on that year after year after year throughout my
entire career and never once delivered. And George Bush delivered.
(Applause.)
On education, the most sweeping changes we've seen in education
since the federal government got into the business back in the 1960s
happened on George Bush's watch with the No Child Left Behind Act --
something he put together. It was his number one priority when he
arrived in Washington. It was HR 1 when we introduced it in the
Congress, put together a bipartisan coalition and got it done as well,
too.
And what we've done on tax policy, I think goes to the heart of the
different philosophy between our administration, the President and
myself and what we believe and what we stand for as a party, and I
think the principles all of you share, and the Kerry-Edwards approach
to how the system ought to work, basically. What the President will
emphasize and has consistently is that it's very important for us to
leave with the American people just as much of their hard earned
paychecks as humanly possible. (Applause.)
When we were faced with a recession and the aftermath of the
attacks of 9/11, we saw the significant economic impact that had on the
country, the President made that key choice that the best way for
recovery and to get the economy back on the right track again was to
leave more money in the hands of the American people because they would
spend it far better, far more wisely, far more effectively than would
the government in Washington. And he was absolutely right.
(Applause.)
We've got a good track record on the economy. The unemployment
rate today is where it was when the Democrats hailed Bill Clinton's
stewardship in 1996. We're at 5.4 percent, he was at 5.5 percent. The
fact of the matter is that the economy is doing very well. We're on
the right track. We've added 1.9 million new jobs in the last 13
months. We've had a rate of growth of 4.8 percent over the last four
quarters, in terms of GDP, one of the best rates of growth any time in
the last 20 years. So we're headed in the right direction. The Kerry
alternative will be an alternative that instead of empowering people,
instead of allowing the American people to make basic fundamental
decisions that affect their lives in terms of health policy and
education and how to spend their hard earned dollars, the Kerry
administration proposal that Senator Kerry talks about with Senator
Edwards would constitute a significant increase in the size and power
of the federal government. That's what he believes. That's what he
voted for 20 years in the United States Senate. It would involve an
increase in taxes. He voted 98 times to raise taxes during his 20
years in the United States Senate. None of that can be obscured.
Those are the facts. That's the record, and I think what we'll see as
we go down to the wire in this campaign that's as the American people
focus in on this decision, it will be a very clear choice for them,
that what we need going forward for the next four years is the
principled leadership of George W. Bush as President of the United
States. (Applause.)
Now, this is going to be a fascinating evening. It's going to be a
very interesting evening. As I said earlier today, the President is
ready for it. He's loaded for bear and raring to go. And we're going
to come out of this debate tonight, and then on down to the wire for
the last almost three weeks as we wrap up this campaign. And we
greatly appreciate your support and all the time and effort you've put
into it. And we know after the last very close election that all the
work that everybody does is absolutely vital. Don't let anybody tell
you that what you do as a volunteer or supporter of this campaign
doesn't matter. We learned last time around, 537 votes in Florida,
that every dollar contributed, every hour of volunteer time, every time
you work the phone banks or ring the doorbells, or just encourage
friends and neighbors to register and get out and vote, all of that
matters. It all adds up and it all ultimately decides who will be
President of the United States.
We're enormously blessed to have the opportunity to participate in
this process. It's a unique privilege that we enjoy as Americans, and
what we're going to do now is go watch the debate. But we'll back down
here shortly after the debate tonight to celebrate on the way to the
ultimate victory on November 2nd.
Thank you very much. (Applause.)
END 8:34 P.M. EDT
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