For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
October 16, 2004
Remarks by the President at Victory 2004 Rally
Sound Advice Amphitheater
West Palm Beach, Florida
1:20 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all for coming. (Applause.) Thank you
all for being here. It lifts our spirits that so many came out to say
hello on a Saturday afternoon. Laura and I are grateful that you're
here, and we appreciate you being here. (Applause.) We're here to ask
for your vote and your help. (Applause.) As Jeb mentioned, we're
coming close to voting time, and it's time to go to your friends and
neighbors and remind them they have a duty in this country to vote.
And when you get them headed to the polls, tell them, if they want a
safer America, a stronger America, and a better America, to put me and
Dick Cheney back in office. (Applause.)
I'm going to give you some reasons to put me back in office today,
but perhaps the most important one of all is so that Laura is the First
Lady for four more years. (Applause.) When I asked her to marry me,
she said, fine, I'll marry you, just as long as I never have to give a
political speech. (Laughter.) I said, okay, you got a deal.
Fortunately, she didn't hold me to that promise. She's given a lot of
speeches, and when she does, the American people see a warm,
compassionate, great First Lady. (Applause.)
I'm proud of my running mate. I admit, Dick Cheney doesn't have
the waviest hair in the race --
AUDIENCE: Laura! Laura! Laura!
THE PRESIDENT: Dick Cheney is a great Vice President. (Applause.)
I'm proud of brother Jeb. You know, you can determine the character of
a person when times are tough, and times are really tough for you all
here in Florida -- not one hurricane, but four. Jeb stepped up, as did
a lot of other people, including, I hope, the federal government to
your satisfaction, to provide help for people who hurt. (Applause.)
But you know what we saw in those storms was the great character of the
people of Florida -- neighbor loving neighbor, neighbor helping
neighbor. There's no doubt in my mind that the people of this state
showed the people of the world that there's great character amongst
you. And I'm proud of you and I want to thank you for doing everything
you can to help rebuild this state. (Applause.)
What an honor it is to be sharing the stage with Jack Nicholas. He
gave me a chance -- I asked for a few putting lessons. (Laughter.) He
said, your game is beyond repair. (Laughter.) But I'm proud to have
his support, proud for him -- to be able to call him friend. I also
want to thank Congressman Mark Foley, who is with us today. I
appreciate you being here, Congressman. (Applause.) Congressman Clay
Shaw and Emily Shaw are with us today. Thanks for coming.
(Applause.) Tom Gallagher is with us today. I appreciate him being
here. I want to thank all the other state House officials and local
officials.
But most of all, I want to thank the grassroots activists who are
here. I want to thank all the volunteers who are getting ready to walk
the vote across not only Florida, but all across our country today.
(Applause.) What's happening is, we've got people all over the country
heading out into neighborhoods to knock on doors and putting in a good
word for the Bush-Cheney ticket. (Applause.) Some volunteers are
watching on the Internet right now, and I hope they're stretching for
their walk. (Laughter.) I want to thank them for their hard work.
With your help, with their help, we're going to win a great victory in
Florida and win on November the 2nd. (Applause.)
In the last few years, the American people have gotten to know me.
They know my blunt way of speaking. I got that from Mother.
(Laughter.) They know I sometimes mangle the English language. I got
that from Dad. (Laughter.) Americans also know I tell you exactly
what I'm going to do, and I keep my word. (Applause.)
You know, I enjoyed the debates against my opponent, and they
showed stark differences between his views and mine. We have different
records. We have very different plans for the future. My record is
one of reforming education, of lowering taxes, of providing
prescription drug coverage for our seniors, improving homeland
protection, and waging an unrelenting fight against the ideologues of
hate. (Applause.)
My opponent's record is 20 years of out-of-the-mainstream votes,
without many significant reforms and results to show for it.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: These records are important. They are important
because our country faces challenges. And the next President must
recognize the need to lead and reform. On issue after issue, from jobs
to health care to the need to strengthen Social Security, Senator
Kerry's policies fail to recognize the changing realities of today's
world and the need for fundamental reforms. See, when I came into
office, the stock market had been in serious decline for six months.
The American economy was sliding into a recession. To help families,
and to get this economy growing again, I pledged to reduce your taxes.
I kept my word. (Applause.)
The results are clear. The recession was one of the shallowest in
American history. Over the last three years, our economy has grown at
the fastest rate as any in nearly 20 years. The home ownership rate in
America is at an all-time high. (Applause.) Farm and ranch income is
up. In the past 13 months, we have added 1.9 million new jobs. The
national unemployment rate is 5.4 percent, lower than the average of
the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. (Applause.) Your unemployment rate is
4.5 percent. This economy is moving forward, and we're not going to go
back to the days of tax-and-spend. (Applause.)
To make sure quality jobs are created right here in America, we've
got to make sure America is the best place in the world to do
business. That means less regulations on our job creators. That means
we've got to do something about these lawsuits that threaten small
businesses that are creating most new jobs. (Applause.)
To create jobs in America, Congress needs to pass my energy plan.
It's a plan that encourages conservation. It encourages the use of
renewables like ethanol and biodiesel. It encourages clean coal
technology. It encourages the exploration for natural gas in
environmentally friendly ways. To make sure this economy stays strong
and people can find work, we must become less dependent on foreign
sources of energy. (Applause.)
To create jobs, we need to reject economic isolationism and open up
markets around the world for U.S. products. We open up our markets for
goods from overseas, and that's good for you. If you've got more
choices in the marketplace, you're likely to get that which you want at
a better price and higher quality. So, rather than shutting our
markets, I'm saying to countries like China, treat us the way we treat
you. Americans can compete with anybody, any time, anywhere so long as
the rules are fair. (Applause.)
To create jobs, we've got to be wise about how we spend your money
and keep your taxes low. (Applause.) My opponent has his own history
on the economy. In 20 years as a Senator from Massachusetts, he's
built up a record of -- a Senator from Massachusetts. (Laughter.)
He's voted to raise taxes 98 times.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: Think about that. He's been in the United States
Senate for 20 years. That's about five times a year. (Laughter.)
That's a pattern. (Laughter.) That's an indication of what's going
to come. See, he can run from his record, but he cannot hide.
(Applause.)
He's now promising not to raise taxes on anybody 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.) He's promised
$2.2 trillion in new spending -- that's with a "T." And yet his plan
to pay for it is to tax the rich. But you can't raise enough money to
tax the rich to pay for $2.2 trillion. There's a tax gap between his
promises and what he can raise. And guess who usually has to fill the
tax gap.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: Yes. Let me say something else about the rhetoric
of taxing the rich. The rich hire lawyers and accountants for a reason
-- to slide the tab and stick you with the bill. We're not going to
let the Senator tax you. We're going to carry Florida again and win in
November. (Applause.)
When I came into office, our public schools had been waiting for
decades for hopeful reform. Too many of our children were shuffled
through school, year after year, without learning the basics. I
pledged to restore accountability to our schools and raise standards
and end the soft bigotry of low expectations. And I kept my word.
(Applause.)
To build a more hopeful America, we must have the best prepared and
most highly skilled work force in the world. Most new jobs are filled
with people -- by people with at least two years of college; yet one in
four of our students gets there. So that's why we'll fund early
intervention programs in our high schools to help at-risk students.
We'll place a new focus on math and science. Over time we'll require a
rigorous examination before graduation. By raising performance in our
high schools and expanding Pell grants for low- and middle-income
families, we will help more Americans start their career with a college
diploma. (Applause.)
When I came into office we had a problem in Medicare. Medicine was
changing; Medicare was not. For example, Medicare would pay tens of
thousands of dollars for a heart surgery, but would not pay a dime for
the prescription drugs that can prevent the heart surgery from being
needed in the first place. That was not fair to our seniors, and it
was not fair to the taxpayers. I pledged to bring Republicans and
Democrats together to strengthen and modernize Medicare for our
seniors, and I kept my word. (Applause.) Seniors are getting
discounts on medicine. Docs are being treated fairly. Rural hospitals
are being reimbursed, and beginning in 2006, all seniors will be able
to get prescription drug coverage under Medicare. (Applause.)
We have more work to do. We have more work to do to make sure
health care is available and affordable. We need a safety net for
those with the greatest needs. I believe in community health centers,
places where the poor and the indigent can get primary and preventative
care; places where people can get the help they need without burdening
the emergency rooms of our hospitals. (Applause.)
In a new term, we'll work to make sure every poor county in America
has a community health center. We'll need to do more to make sure poor
children are fully subscribed in our program for low-income families.
We got to do more to make sure health care is affordable. Most of the
uninsured work for small businesses. Small businesses are having
trouble affording health care. To help our workers get the health care
they need, we must allow small businesses to join together so they can
purchase insurance at the same discounts big companies are able to do.
(Applause.)
We will expand health savings accounts so workers in small
businesses are able to pay low premiums and can save tax-free for a
health care account they can manage -- manage and call their own. To
make sure health care is available and affordable, we must do something
about the junk lawsuits that are running good doctors out of practice
and running the premiums up. (Applause.)
By forcing doctors to practice defensive medicine, medical lawsuits
cost the government about $28 billion a year. That means they cost you
$28 billion a year. The lawsuits cost our nation's economy anywhere
from $60 billion to $100 billion a year. They drive up insurance
premiums, which drives good doctors out of practice. You cannot be
pro-patient and pro-doctor and pro-plaintiff attorney at the same
time. You have to choose. My opponent made his choice, and he put a
personal injury trial lawyer on the ticket.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: I have made my choice. I'm standing with the
doctors, I'm standing with the patients. I'm for medical liability
reform now. (Applause.)
My opponent said he has a health care plan.
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
THE PRESIDENT: My opponent has a health care plan. It's a plan
for bigger and more intrusive government. The other day in the debate,
he said, the government has nothing to do with it. He was talking
about his health care plan. I could barely contain myself.
(Laughter.) Of course, the government has things to do with it. The
facts are, eight out of ten people who get health care under Senator
Kerry's plan would be placed on a government program.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: Eight million Americans would lose their private
health insurance, and most would go on Medicaid. That is a government
program. Senator Kerry claimed his plan would help small businesses.
Those who studied his plan call it an overpriced albatross, which would
saddle small businesses with 225 new mandates. I have a different view
of health care. I'm not for increasing the federal role in health
care. I want to make sure health decisions are made by doctors and
patients, not by officials in Washington, D.C. (Applause.)
I've set out policies that move America toward a positive and
optimistic vision. We're headed toward an ownership society in
America. There's a saying that no one ever washes a rental car.
(Laughter.) There's a lot of wisdom in that statement. (Laughter.)
When you own something you care about it. When you own something you
have a vital stake in the future of your country. That's why we're
encouraging entrepreneurship. Every time a small business is started
someone is achieving the American Dream. (Applause.)
We're encouraging health savings accounts, so people have the
security of owning and managing their own health care account. We're
promoting home ownership. I love it when more and more people from all
walks of life open up the door where they live and say, welcome to my
home; welcome to my piece of property. (Applause.)
In a new term, we'll take the next step to build an ownership
society by strengthening Social Security. Our Social Security system
needs fixing. First, let me talk to those who are on Social Security
today. You might remember the 2000 campaign when they said in these TV
ads, if George W. wins, you will not get your check. I won, and you
got your checks. (Applause.) You will continue to get your checks.
The problem in Social Security is not for those on Social Security
today, or baby boomers like me. The problem is for our children and
our grandchildren. People are understandably worried about whether our
children and grandchildren will have Social Security around when they
need it. For their sake, we must be bold and think about how to reform
Social Security. For our children's sake, we must strengthen Social
Security by allowing younger workers to save some of their payroll
taxes in a personal savings account that they call their own and that
the government cannot take away. (Applause.)
My opponent wants to maintain the status quo when it comes to
Social Security. He's against the Social Security reforms I just
discussed, and he's just -- against about every other reform that gives
more authority and control to individuals. On issue afer issue, from
Medicare without choices to schools with less accountability to higher
taxes, he takes the side of more government control. There is a word
for that attitude -- it's called liberalism.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: He dismisses that as a label, but he must have been
thinking differently when he told a newspaper, I am a liberal and proud
of it. As a matter of fact, the nonpartisan National Journal Magazine
did a study and named him the most liberal member of the United States
Senate. That takes hard work. (Laughter.)
I have a different record and a different philosophy. I do not
believe in big government and I do not believe government should be
indifferent. (Applause.) That is called compassionate conservatism.
(Applause.) I believe in policies that empower people to improve their
lives, not try to run their lives. So we're helping men and women find
the skills and tools they need to prosper in a time of change. We're
helping all Americans to have a future of dignity and independence, and
that is how I will continue to lead our nation for four more years.
(Applause.)
In a time of change, some things do not change -- the values we try
to live by: courage and compassion, reverence and integrity. We stand
for a culture of life in which every person matters and every being
counts. (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.)
My opponent's words on these issues are a little muddy, but the
record is real clear. (Laughter.) He says he supports the institution
of marriage, but he voted against the Defense of Marriage Act, which my
predecessor signed into law. He voted against the ban on the brutal
practice of partial birth abortion.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: He described the Reagan years as a time of moral
darkness.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: There is a mainstream in American politics, and my
opponent sits on the far left bank. (Applause.) He can run, but he
cannot hide. (Applause.)
This election will also determine how America responds to the
continuing danger of terrorism. The most solemn duty of the American
President is to protect the American people. (Applause.) 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. Our strategy is
clear: We're defending the homeland. We're transforming our
military. The all-volunteer army will remain an all-volunteer army.
(Applause.) We're strengthening our intelligence. 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 spread freedom and
liberty, and we will prevail.
Our strategy is succeeding. Think about the world as it was some
three-and-a-half years ago. Afghanistan was the home base of al
Qaeda. Pakistan was a transit point for terrorist groups. Saudi
Arabia was fertile ground for terrorist fundraising. Libya was
secretly pursuing nuclear weapons. Iraq was a dangerous place and a
gathering threat, and al Qaeda was largely unchallenged as it planned
attacks. Because we acted, because the United States led, Afghanistan
is free and an ally in the war on terror, Pakistan is capturing
terrorist leaders, Saudi Arabia is making raids and arrests --
(applause) -- 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.) Because we acted to defend ourselves, more then 50 million
people are now free. (Applause.) And that makes us more secure.
Think about what happened in Afghanistan. I want the youngsters
here to understand the significance of what took place in
three-and-a-half short years. It wasn't all that long ago that the
people of that country lived under the barbaric regime of the
ideologues of hate. They lived in a period of darkness. Young girls
were not allowed to go to school. Their mothers were pulled in the
public square and whipped if they didn't toe the ideological line of
these people. Because we acted to secure ourselves and to remove al
Qaeda's ability to train, the people of Afghanistan are free. They
went to the polls -- they went to the polls to vote for president in
the millions. The first voter in Afghanistan was a 19-year-old woman.
(Applause.) Freedom is on the march. (Applause.)
The people of Afghanistan no longer live in darkness, they now live
in light because of democracy. And we're making progress in Iraq. The
people of Iraq will have elections in January. Think how far that
society has come from the days of torture chambers and mass graves and
brutality. No, we will stand with the people of Afghanistan and Iraq,
because when America gives its word, America will keep its word.
(Applause.) And we will stand with those people because we understand
free societies in the Middle East will be hopeful societies which no
longer feed resentment and breed violence for export. Free governments
in the Middle East will fight the terrorists, instead of harboring
them. Freedom will help us keep the peace we all want. (Applause.)
So our mission is clear. We'll help the countries train armies so
that the people of Afghanistan and Iraq can do the hard work of
defending their democracies. We'll help them get on the path of
stability and self-government as quickly as possible, and then our
troops will come home with the honor they have earned. (Applause.)
It is a great honor to be the Commander-in-Chief of a great
military. (Applause.) And we're a great military because of the
character of the people who wear our nation's uniform. I want to thank
the veterans who are here today for having set such a great example for
those who wear the uniform. (Applause.) I want to thank the military
families who are here today for their sacrifices. (Applause.)
We will make sure that our troops have all the resources they need
to complete their missions. (Applause.) That's why I went to the
United States Congress and asked for $87 billion of supplemental
funding in September of '03. It was a very important request. We were
there to support our troops in harm's way. And I received great
bipartisan support for my request. As a matter of fact, the support
was so strong that only 12 members of the United States Senate voted
against funding for our troops in combat -- two of whom are my opponent
and his running mate.
AUDIENCE: Booo.
THE PRESIDENT: When you're out rounding up the vote, remind people
of this startling statistic: Only four United States senators voted to
authorize the use of force, and then voted against funding for our
troops -- only four; two of whom are my opponent and his running mate.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: So they asked him why -- you might remember the
most famous quote of the 2004 campaign, when he said, I actually did
vote for the $87 billion right before I voted against it.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: He's had several explanations since then of his
vote. One of them was, the whole thing was a complicated matter.
There's nothing complicated about supporting our troops in harm's way.
(Applause.)
Tomorrow is the one-year anniversary of Senator Kerry's vote
against funding for our troops. My opponent's many and conflicting
positions on this issue are a case study into why his contradictions
call into question his credibility and his ability to lead our nation.
In September, 2003, as the $87 billion funding package was being
debated, Senator Kerry said on national TV, it would be irresponsible
to abandon our troops by voting against it. Just one month later, he
did exactly that irresponsible thing, and he abandoned our troops in
combat by voting against the funding. What happened to change the
Senator's mind so abruptly in one short month? His opponent in the
Democrat primary, Howard Dean, was gaining ground as an anti-war
candidate. Senator Kerry apparently decided supporting our troops,
even while they were in harm's way, was not as important as shoring up
his political position.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: At a time of great threat to our country, at a time
of great challenge to the world, the Commander-in-Chief must stand on
principle, not on the shifting sands of political convenience.
(Applause.)
There are big differences of opinion about how best to lead in this
world. Senator Kerry proposed that we should pass a global test before
we defend ourselves.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: The problem is with that global test, the Senator
can never pass it. Remember what happened 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 our coalition. Yet, even after
United Nations' approval, in the United States Senate, Senator Kerry
voted against the authorization for the use of force. If that
coalition didn't pass his global test, nothing will pass a global
test. (Applause.)
During the debate, you might remember he said that removing Saddam
Hussein was a mistake. He actually said he would have done it
differently by supporting another United Nations Security Council
resolution.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: Precisely what Saddam Hussein wanted. He wanted
the world to look the other way. If my opponent had his way, Saddam
Hussein would not only be sitting in a palace in Baghdad, he'd be in
Kuwait. The world is better off with Saddam in a prison cell.
(Applause.)
Listen, I'll continue to work to build strong alliances to keep our
coalition strong. I talked to Prime Minister Tony Blair yesterday on
Air Force One as I was heading from Iowa to Wisconsin. (Applause.)
Alliances are important; friendships are important in this dangerous
world. 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'll tell you
what I mean by that. One of Laura and my best friends, or closest
friends in the international scene, is Prime Minister Koizumi of
Japan. That doesn't sound like much until you think about the fact
that we were at war with them 60 years ago. Japan was a sworn enemy of
the United States of America. My dad fought against the -- our dad
fought against the Japanese. I'm sure your dads and granddads probably
did, as well. They -- they were a mortal enemy.
Yet, after we won in World War II, Harry S. Truman, President of
the United States, believed in the transformational power of liberty.
He believed that liberty could change an enemy into an ally. There was
a lot of skeptics about that in America then, and you can understand
why. Why would you want to work with the enemy? People lost lives,
had their families turned upside down, were wondering why we even cared
about a former enemy. But, fortunately, enough citizens and the
President believed in the power of liberty. And today, I sit down with
Prime Minister Koizumi, as a result of Japan being a democracy, talking
about the peace we all want. Some day, an American President will be
sitting down with a duly-elected leader of Iraq. They'll be talking
about the peace in the Middle East, and our children and our
grandchildren will be better off for it. (Applause.)
I believe that millions in the Middle East plead in silence for
their freedom. I believe that women in the Middle East want to live in
a free society. I believe moms in the Middle East want to raise their
child in a free world. 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.)
Extending freedom means confronting the evil of anti-Semitism.
Today, I signed the Global Anti-Semitism Review Act of 2004. This law
commits the government to keep a record of anti-Semitic acts throughout
the world, and also a record of responses to those acts. This nation
will keep watch and make sure the ancient impulse of anti-Semitism
never finds a home in the modern 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, clear vision, and the deep faith in
the values that makes this a great nation. (Applause.)
None of us -- none of us will ever forget that era when one -- 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 will never
forget. There were workers in hard hats there yelling at the top of
their lungs, "Whatever it takes." I remember trying to console people,
and a guy grabbed me by the arm and he said, "Do not let me down."
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 -- four years ago, when I traveled your great state,
I made a pledge that if you gave me a 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.
Thanks for coming. God bless. On to victory. Thank you all.
(Applause.)
END 1:55 P.M. EDT
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