For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
October 6, 2004
President's Remarks in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Kirby Center for the Performing Arts
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
10:13 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. (Applause.) Thank you all very
much. (Applause.) Thank you all for coming. Please be seated.
(Applause.) Thank you all. Thanks for such a great welcome. I
appreciate it. It's great to be in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. It's
such an honor to be back here. I'm glad to be in a part of the world
where people work hard, they love their families -- (applause) -- good
to be in a part of the world where people like to hunt and fish.
(Applause.) My regret is that Laura is not with me. She is --
AUDIENCE: Awww --
THE PRESIDENT: I know it. (Laughter.) That's generally the
reaction. (Laughter.) Kind of like, why didn't you stay home and send
Laura. (Laughter.) You're not going to believe this, it's a true
story -- or kind of true. (Laughter.) I said, will you marry me? She
said, fine, just so long as I never have to give a speech.
(Laughter.) I said, okay, you got a deal. (Laughter.) Fortunately,
she didn't hold me to that promise. Laura -- when Laura speaks, people
see a compassionate, decent, strong First Lady. (Applause.)
I had my morning briefing today with someone you're familiar with
-- that would be your former governor, Tom Ridge. (Applause.) So
Laura sends her best, as does Tom Ridge.
Today I traveled with Don Sherwood. (Applause.) As we say in
Crawford, he's a good one. He's a great member of the United States
House of Representatives. I'm proud to work with him. He cares deeply
about the people of this important part of the state of Pennsylvania.
He is a -- he is a fine representative who brings integrity to the
office. I appreciate your service. (Applause.)
I want to thank all the state and local officials who are here. I
want to thank the candidates who are here. I want to thank the
grassroots activists who are here. (Applause.) I want to thank you
for what you're going to do, which is to put up the signs, make the
phone calls, turn out the vote. With your help, there's no doubt in my
mind we'll carry Pennsylvania. (Applause.)
I am sure many of you stayed up to watch the vice presidential
debate last night. (Applause.) America saw two very different visions
of our country, and two different hairdos. (Laughter.) I didn't pick
my Vice President for his hairdo. I picked him for his judgment, his
experience -- (applause.) A great Vice President. I'm proud to be
running with him. (Applause.)
In less than a month you'll have a chance to vote for Dick Cheney
and me. Think about that -- less than a month. I'm looking forward to
coming down the stretch with a positive, strong message. As your
President I've worked to make America a more hopeful and more secure
place. I've led our country with principle and resolve. And that's
how I'll lead our nation for four more years. (Applause.)
When I took -- when I took office in 2001, the bubble of the '90s
had burst. Our economy was headed into a recession. And because of
the attacks of September the 11th, nearly a million jobs were lost in
three months. It was a dangerous time for our economy. People were
warning of potential deflation and depression. But I acted. To
stimulate the economy, I called on Congress to pass historic tax
relief, which it did, without my opponent's "yes" vote. (Applause.)
The tax relief was the fuel that got our economy growing again. Thanks
to the efforts of our citizens, and the right policies in the right
place at the right time, we put the recession behind us and America is
creating jobs once again. (Applause.)
We have built a broad and solid record of accomplishment. In the
past year, the United States of America has added about 1.7 million new
jobs. (Applause.) More than Germany, Japan, Great Britain, Canada and
France combined. (Applause.) Real tax -- real after-tax income --
that's the money in your pocket to spend on groceries or house payments
and rent -- is up more than 10 percent since I took office.
(Applause.) Home ownership is at an all-time high in America.
(Applause.) Farm income is up. Small businesses are flourishing. The
entrepreneurial spirit is strong in the United States of America.
(Applause.)
Ours is a record of accomplishment. Thanks to reforms in
education, math and reading scores are increasing in our public
schools. (Applause.) Ten million students will get record levels of
grants and loans to help with college. (Applause.) Low-income seniors
-- low-income seniors are getting $600 extra to help pay for medicine
this year in their drug discount cards. And soon Medicare will offer
prescription drug coverage to every senior in America. (Applause.) We
have made America a stronger, more hopeful country -- and we're just
getting started. (Applause.)
Listen, I -- I like to travel our country because I have a chance
to talk to our fellow citizens. I understand the challenges facing our
nation. People are living and working in a time of change. Workers
switch jobs more than they used to, which means they often need new
skills and benefits they can take with them from job to job. We're in
a changing world, yet the systems of government haven't changed. I'm
running for four more years to change the systems of government so
people can better realize the great dreams of America. (Applause.)
Making sure people realize those dreams, it's essential that our
education systems work. We're going to raise the standards and
expectations in every high school. We'll invest in our nation's fine
community colleges so workers can be prepared to fill the jobs of the
21st century. We're going to expand health savings accounts so people
can pay health expenses with tax-free money and keep the savings if
they change jobs. We're going to improve Social Security, to allow
younger workers to own a piece of their own retirement, a nest egg that
the Washington politicians can never take away. (Applause.)
To keep this economy strong and competitive, we must make sure
America is the best place in the world to start a business and to do
business. (Applause.) To make sure America is the best place in the
world to start a business, our taxes must be low; Congress must make
the tax relief we passed permanent. (Applause.) To keep jobs here,
there need to be less regulations on our small businesses.
(Applause.) To keep jobs here, we must pass an energy plan that makes
us less dependent on foreign sources of energy. (Applause.) To make
sure jobs exist here in America, we got to do something about these
junk and frivolous lawsuits. (Applause.) Trial lawyers shouldn't be
getting rich at the expense of our entrepreneurs and our doctors.
(Applause.)
My opponent and I have a very different view on how to grow our
economy. Let me start with taxes. I have a record of reducing them;
he has a record of raising them.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: He voted in the United States Senate to increase
taxes 98 times.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: That's a lot. (Laughter.) He voted for higher
taxes on Social Security benefits.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: In 1997, he voted for the formula that helped cause
the increase in Medicare premiums.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: My opponent was against all of our middle class tax
relief. He voted instead to squeeze another $2,000 per year from the
average middle class family. Now the Senator is proposing higher taxes
on more than 900,000 small business owners. My opponent is one of the
few candidates in history to campaign on a pledge to raise taxes.
(Laughter.) And that's the kind of promise a politician from
Massachusetts usually keeps. (Laughter and applause.)
He says the tax increase is only for the rich. You've heard that
kind of rhetoric before. The rich hire lawyers and accountants for a
reason -- to stick you with the tab. The Senator is not going to tax
you because we're going to win in November. (Applause.)
The Senator and I have different views on another threat to our
economy -- frivolous lawsuits. He's been a part of the Washington
crowd that has obstructed legal reform again and again. Meanwhile, all
across America unfair lawsuits are hurting small businesses. Lawsuits
are driving up health care costs. Lawsuits are threatening OB/GYNs all
across our country. Lawsuits are driving good doctors out of
practice. (Applause.) We need a President who will stand up to the
trial lawyers in Washington, not put one on the ticket. (Applause.)
The Senator and I have very different views on health care. I've
got a specific plan to help Americans find health care that's available
and affordable, lawsuit reform, association health care plans to help
our small businesses, health savings accounts, community health centers
to help the poor, expanding health care for low-income children, using
technology to drive down the cost of health care.
He has a different vision. Under his health plan, 8 million
Americans would lose the private insurance they get at work, and most
would end up on a government program. Under his plan, 8 out of 10
people who get new insurance will get it from the federal government.
My opponent's proposal would be the largest expansion of government-run
health care ever. And when government pays the bills, government makes
the rules. His plan would put bureaucrats in charge of dictating
coverage, which could ration care and limit your choice of doctor.
Senator Kerry's proposal would put us on the path to "Clinton-care."
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: I'll make sure doctors and patients are in charge
of the decisions in America's health care. (Applause.)
The Senator and I have different views on government spending.
Over the years, he's voted 274 times to break the federal budget
limits. And in this campaign, Senator Kerry has announced more than $2
trillion in new spending. And that's a lot of money even for a senator
from Massachusetts. (Laughter and applause.) During his 20 years as a
senator, my opponent hasn't had many accomplishments. Of the hundreds
of bills he submitted, only five became law. One of them was
ceremonial. But to be fair, he's earned a special distinction in
Congress. The nonpartisan National Journal analyzed his record and
named John Kerry the most liberal member of the United States Senate.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: And when the competition includes Ted Kennedy,
that's really saying something. (Laughter and applause.) I'm telling
you, I know that bunch. (Laughter.) It wasn't easy for my opponent to
become the single most liberal member of the Senate. You might even
say, it was hard work. (Laughter and applause.) But he earned that
title -- by voting for higher taxes, more regulation, more junk
lawsuits, and more government control over your life.
And that sets up a real difference in this campaign. My opponent
is a tax-and-spend liberal; I'm a compassionate conservative.
(Applause.) My opponent -- my opponent wants to empower government; I
want to use government to empower people. (Applause.) My opponent
seems to think all the wisdom is found in Washington, D.C.; I trust the
wisdom of the American people. (Applause.)
Our differences are also clear on issues of national security.
When I took office in 2001, threats to America had been gathering for
years. Then on one terrible morning, the terrorists took more lives
than America lost at Pearl Harbor. Since that day, we have waged a
global campaign to protect the American people and bring our enemies to
account. Our government has trained over a half a million first
responders. We tripled spending on homeland security. Law enforcement
and intelligence have better tools to stop terrorists, thanks to the
Patriot Act, which Senator Kerry voted for, but now wants to weaken.
The Taliban regime that sheltered al Qaeda is gone from power and the
people of Afghanistan will vote in free elections this very week.
(Applause.)
A black market network that provided weapons materials to North
Korea and Libya and Iran is now out of business. (Applause.) Libya,
itself, has given up its weapons of mass destruction programs.
(Applause.) We convinced Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to join the fight
against the terrorists. And more than three-quarters of al Qaeda's key
members and associates have been brought to justice. (Applause.)
After September the 11th, America had to assess every potential
threat in a new light. Our nation awakened to an even greater danger,
the prospect that terrorists who killed thousands with hijacked
airplanes would kill many more with weapons of mass murder. We had to
take a hard look at everyplace where terrorists might get those
weapons. And one regime stood out: the dictatorship of Saddam
Hussein.
We knew the dictator had a history of using weapons of mass
destruction, a long record of aggression and hatred for America. He
was listed by Republican and Democrat administrations as a state
sponsor of terrorists. There was a risk -- a real risk -- that Saddam
Hussein would pass weapons, or materials, or information to terrorist
networks. In the world after September the 11th, that was a risk we
could not afford to take. (Applause.)
After 12 years of United Nations Security Council resolutions, we
gave him a final chance to come clean and listen to the demands of the
free world. When he chose defiance and war, our coalition enforced the
just demands of the world. And the world is better off with Saddam
Hussein sitting in a prison cell. (Applause.)
We've had many victories in the war on terror, and that war goes
on. Our nation is safer, but not yet safe. To win this war, we must
fight on every front. We'll stay on the offensive against terrorist
networks, striking them before they come to America to hurt us. We'll
confront governments that support terrorists and could arm them,
because they're equally guilty of terrorist murder. (Applause.) And
our long-term victory requires confronting the ideology of hate with
freedom and hope. (Applause.)
Our victory requires changing the conditions that produce
radicalism and suicide bombers, and finding new democratic allies in a
troubled part of the region. America is always more secure when
freedom is on the march. And freedom is on the march -- in Afghanistan
and Iraq and elsewhere. (Applause.) There will be good days and there
will be bad days in the war on terror, but every day we will show our
resolve and we will do our duty. This nation is determined: we will
stay in the fight until the fight is won. (Applause.)
My opponent agrees with all this -- except when he doesn't.
(Laughter.) Last week in our debate, he once again came down firmly on
every side of the Iraq war. (Laughter.) He stated that Saddam Hussein
was a threat and that America had no business removing that threat.
Senator Kerry said our soldiers and Marines are not fighting for a
mistake -- but also called the liberation of Iraq a "colossal error."
He said we need to do more to train Iraqis, but he also said we
shouldn't be spending so much money over there. He said he wants to
hold a summit meeting, so he can invite other countries to join what he
calls "the wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time." (Laughter
and applause.)
He said terrorists are pouring across the Iraqi border, but also
said that fighting those terrorists is a diversion from the war on
terror. (Laughter.) You hear all that and you can understand why
somebody would make a face. (Laughter and applause.)
My opponent's endless back-and-forth on Iraq is part of a larger
misunderstanding. In the war on terror, Senator Kerry is proposing
policies and doctrines that would weaken America and make the world
more dangerous. His -- Senator Kerry approaches the world with a
September the 10th mind-set. He declared in his convention speech that
"any attack will be met with a swift and certain response." That was
the mind-set of the 1990s, while al Qaeda was planning the attacks on
America. After September the 11th, our object in the war on terror is
not to wait for the next attack and respond, but to prevent attacks by
taking the fight to the enemy. (Applause.)
In our debate, Senator Kerry said that removing Saddam Hussein was
a mistake because the threat was not imminent. The problem with this
approach is obvious: if America waits until a threat is at our
doorstep, it might be too late to save lives. (Applause.) Tyrants and
terrorists will not give us polite notice before they launch an attack
on our country. (Applause.) I refuse to stand by while dangers
gather. In the world after September the 11th, the path to safety is
the path of action. And I will continue to defend the people of the
United States of America. (Applause.) Thank you all. Thank you all.
My opponent has also announced the Kerry doctrine, declaring that
American actions in the war on terror must pass a "global test."
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: Under this test, America would not be able to act
quickly against threats, because we'd be sitting around waiting for our
grade from other nations and other leaders. (Laughter.)
I have a different view: America will always work with allies for
security and peace. But the President's job is not to pass a global
test; the President's job is to protect the American people.
(Applause.) Thank you all.
When my opponent first ran for Congress, he argued that American
troops should be deployed only at the directive of the United Nations.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: Now, he's changed his mind. (Laughter.) No, he
has, in all fairness. But it is a window into his thinking. Over the
years, Senator Kerry has looked for every excuse to constrain America's
action in the world. These days he praises America's broad coalition
in the Persian Gulf War. But in 1991, he criticized those coalition
members as "shadow battlefield allies who barely carry a burden."
Sounds familiar. At that time, he voted against the war. If that
coalition didn't pass his global test, clearly, nothing will.
(Laughter and applause.) This mind-set would paralyze America in a
dangerous world. I'll never hand over America's security decisions to
foreign leaders and international bodies that do not have America's
interests at heart. (Applause.)
My opponent's doctrine has other consequences, especially for our
men and women in uniform. My opponent supports the International
Criminal Court, which would allow unaccountable foreign prosecutors and
judges to put American soldiers on trial.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: That would be a legal nightmare for our troops. My
fellow citizens, as long as I'm your President, Americans in uniform
will answer to the officers and laws of the United States -- not to the
International Criminal Court in The Hague.
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
THE PRESIDENT: The Senator speaks often about his plan to
strengthen America's alliances, but he's got an odd way of doing it.
In the middle of the war, he's chosen to insult America's fighting
allies by calling them, "window dressing," and the "coalition of the
coerced and the bribed." The Italians who died in Nasiriyah were not
window dressing. They were heroes in the war on terror. (Applause.)
The British and the Poles at the head of the multinational divisions in
Iraq were not coerced or bribed. They have fought, and some have died,
in the cause of freedom. These good allies and dozens of others
deserve the respect of all Americans, not the scorn of a politician.
(Applause.)
Instead, the Senator would have America bend over backwards to
satisfy a handful of governments with agendas different from our own.
This is my opponent's alliance-building strategy: brush off your best
friends, fawn over your critics. And that is no way to gain the
respect of the world. (Applause.)
My opponent says he has a plan for Iraq. Parts of it should sound
pretty familiar -- it's already known as the Bush plan. (Laughter and
applause.) Senator Kerry suggests we train Iraqi troops, which we've
been doing for months. Just this week, Iraqi forces backed by
coalition troops fought bravely to take the city of Samarra from the
terrorists and Baathists and insurgents. (Applause.) Senator Kerry --
Senator Kerry is proposing that we have -- that Iraq have elections.
(Laughter.) Those elections are already scheduled for January.
(Laughter and applause.) He wants the U.N. to be involved in those
elections. Well, the U.N. is already there.
There was one element of the Senator -- there's one element of
Senator Kerry's plan that's a new element. He's talked about
artificial timetables to pull our troops out of Iraq. He sent the
signal that America's overriding goal in Iraq would be to leave, even
if the job isn't done. That may satisfy his political needs, but it
complicates the essential work we're doing in Iraq. (Applause.) The
Iraqi people -- the Iraqi people need to know that America will not cut
and run when their freedom is at stake. (Applause.) Our soldiers and
Marines need to know that America will honor their service and
sacrifice by completing the mission. (Applause.) And our enemies in
Iraq need to know that they can never out-last the will of America.
(Applause.)
Senator Kerry assures us that he's the one to win a war he calls a
mistake, an error, and a diversion. But you can't win a war you don't
believe in fighting. (Applause.) In Iraq, Senator Kerry has a
strategy of retreat; I have a strategy of victory. (Applause.) We've
returned sovereignty to the Iraqi people ahead of schedule. We've
trained about 100,000 Iraqi soldiers, police officers and other
security personnel, and that total will rise to 125,000 by year-end.
We've already allocated more than $7 billion for reconstruction
efforts, so more Iraqis can see the benefits of freedom. We're working
with a coalition of some 30 nations to provide security. Other nations
are helping with debt relief and reconstruction aid for Iraqis. And
although the terrorists will try to stop them, Iraq will hold free
elections in January, because the Iraqi people want and deserve to
govern themselves. (Applause.)
I understand some Americans have strong concerns about our role in
Iraq. I respect the fact that they take this issue seriously, because
it is a serious matter. I assure them we're in Iraq because I deeply
believe it is necessary and right and critical to the outcome of the
war on terror. If another terror regime were allowed to emerge in
Iraq, the terrorists would find a home, a source of funding, vital
support. They would correctly conclude that free nations do not have
the will to defend themselves. If Iraq becomes a free society at the
heart of the Middle East, an ally in the war on terror, a model of
hopeful reform in a region that needs hopeful reform, the terrorists
will suffer a crushing defeat, and every free nation will be more
secure. (Applause.)
This is why Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman calls Iraq a "crucial
battle in the global war on terrorism." This is why Prime Minister
Tony Blair has called the struggle in Iraq "the crucible in which the
future of global terrorism will be determined." This is why the
terrorists are fighting with desperate cruelty. They know their own
future is at stake. Iraq is no diversion; it is the place where
civilization is taking a decisive stand against chaos and terror -- and
we must not waver. (Applause.)
Unfortunately, my opponent has been known to waver. (Laughter.)
His well-chosen words and rationalizations cannot explain why he voted
to authorize force against Saddam Hussein, and then voted against money
for bullets, and vehicles and body armor for the troops on the ground.
He tried to clear it all up by saying, I actually did vote for the $87
billion before I voted against it. Now he says he "made a mistake" in
how he talked about the war. The mistake here is not what Senator
Kerry said; the mistake is what he did in voting against funding for
Americans in combat. (Applause.) That is the kind of wavering a
nation at war can never afford.
As a candidate, my opponent promises to defend America. The
problem is as a senator for two decades, he has built a record of
weakness. The record shows he twice led efforts to gut our
intelligence service budgets. The record shows he voted against many
of the weapons that won the Cold War, and are vital to current military
operations. And the record shows he has voted more than 50 times
against missile defense systems that would help protect us from the
threats of a dangerous world.
I have a record in office, as well. And all Americans have seen
that record. On September the 14th, 2001, I stood in the ruins of the
Twin Towers. It's a day I will never forget. There were workers in
hard hats yelling at me, "Whatever it takes." I remember trying to
console people coming out of that rubble, and a guy grabbed me by the
arm, and he looked me in the eye and said, "Do not let me down." These
men and women -- (applause) -- the men and women there took it
personally. You took it personally. I took it personally. I have a
responsibility that goes on. I wake up every morning thinking about
how to make our country more secure. I have acted again and again to
protect our people. I will never relent in defending America, whatever
it takes. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
THE PRESIDENT: Twenty-seven -- 27 days from today, Americans will
make a critical choice. My opponent offers an agenda that is stuck in
the thinking and the policies of the past. On national security, he
offers the defensive mind-set of September the 10th, a global test to
replace American leadership, a strategy of retreat in Iraq, and a
20-year history of weakness in the United States Senate. Here at home,
he offers a record and an agenda of more taxes and more spending, and
more litigation, and more government control over your life.
The race for President is a contest for the future, and you know
where I stand. I'm running for President to keep this nation on the
offensive against terrorists, with the goal of total victory. I'm
running -- (applause) -- I'm running for President to keep this economy
moving so every worker has a good job and quality health care and a
secure retirement. (Applause.) I'm running for President to make our
nation a more compassionate society, where no one is left out, where
every life matters.
I have a hopeful vision. I believe this young century will be
liberty's century. We'll promote liberty abroad, protect our country
and build a better world beyond the war on terror. We'll encourage
liberty at home to spread the prosperity and opportunity of America to
every corner of our country. I will carry this message to my fellow
citizens in the closing days of this campaign, and with your help, we
will win a great victory on November the 2nd. God bless. God bless
our great country. (Applause.)
Thank you all. Thanks for coming. (Applause.)
END 11:01 A.M. EDT
|