For Immediate Release
October 16, 2004
President's Radio Address
Audio
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Over the past four years, I have brought
a straightforward approach to the presidency. I tell you what I'm
going to do, and I keep my word. When I came into office four years
ago, the economy was sliding into recession. Then terrorist attacks
cost our nation nearly a million jobs in three months. To help
families and to get this economy growing again, I pledged to reduce
taxes, and I kept my word.
|
Radio
Address
|
Radio Interviews
|
Now the results are clear. Over the last three years, America's
economy has grown at the fastest rate of any major industrialized
nation. The home ownership rate is at an all-time high, and we have
added more than 1.9 million new jobs in the past 13 months.
My opponent has a different approach. Over the last 20 years, he
has voted to raise taxes 98 times. Now he is promising over $2.2
trillion in new spending, and paying for it would require broad tax
increases on small businesses and the middle class. I have a better
plan. I will continue to be wise with taxpayers' money and I will keep
your taxes low. When I came into office, too many of our children were
shuffled through school without learning the basics. I pledged to
restore accountability and end the soft bigotry of low expectations.
And I kept my word. Now our children are making sustained progress in
reading and math, and we are closing the achievement gap for minority
students.
My opponent has pledged to weaken the No Child Left Behind Act.
His proposals would undermine the accountability we worked so hard to
pass. I have a better plan. We will keep demanding results for all
our children, and we will leave no child behind.
When I came into office, Medicare wasn't paying for the
prescription drugs that can reduce health costs and save a lot of
lives. I pledged to strengthen and modernize Medicare for our seniors,
and I kept my word. Now seniors are saving money with drug discount
cards, and in 2006, all seniors will be able to get prescription drug
coverage.
On health care, my opponent has a history of opposing needed
reforms. He voted against the Medicare bill, even though it was
supported by the AARP and other seniors groups. He has voted 10 times
against medical liability reform, and now his health care proposal
calls for bigger, more intrusive government. Eight out of 10 people
who get health care under his plan would be placed on a government
program.
I have a better plan. I will protect doctors and patients from
junk lawsuits, help employees in small businesses afford health
coverage, make sure every poor county has a community health center.
And I will make sure health decisions are always made by patients and
doctors, not by officials in Washington, D.C.
In this time of change, some things do not change. Those are the
values we try to live by -- courage and compassion, reverence and
integrity. I stand for a culture of life in which every person matters
and every being counts. I stand for marriage and family, which are the
foundations of our society. I stand for the appointment of federal
judges who know the difference between personal opinion and the strict
interpretation of the law.
My opponent says he supports the institution of marriage, but he
voted against the Defense of Marriage Act, which Congress passed by an
overwhelming majority and my predecessor signed into law. My opponent
has voted against sensible bipartisan measures, like parental
notification laws. He voted against the ban on partial birth
abortion.
On issues that are vital to this nation's future, all Americans
know where I stand. I'm a compassionate conservative. I believe in
policies that empower people to improve their lives, not try to run
their lives. I believe in helping men and women find the skills and
tools to prosper in a changing world. I have worked to help all
Americans build a future of dignity and independence. And that is how
I will continue to lead this nation for four more years.
Thank you for listening.
# # #
|