For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
October 20, 2004
President Discusses the Economy in Rochester, Minnesota
Rochester Aviation Hangar
Rochester International Airport
Rochester, Minnesota
12:10 P.M. CDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all for coming. (Applause.) Thank you
all. Please be seated. I might just decide to take off my jacket.
We've got some work to do. As you can see, I'm joined on the platform
here with some of your fellow citizens. We're going to talk about
economic policy and ownership and ways to make America a more hopeful
place. And we'll be having a dialogue here in a minute, but I've
something I want to tell you first.
I'd like your help in this election. (Applause.) We're coming
down the stretch, and I'm here to ask for your help in turning out the
vote. (Applause.) Get your friends and neighbors to go to the polls.
We have a duty in this country to participate in our democratic system
by voting. And get them going to the polls. And when you get them
headed there, remind them that if they want a safer America and a
stronger America and a better America, put me and Dick Cheney back in
office. (Applause.)
It is nice to be back in Rochester, and it's great to be back in
the great state of Minnesota. (Applause.) And there is no doubt, with
your help, we will carry Minnesota and win a great victory on November
the 2nd. (Applause.)
Laura said for me to send her best. (Applause.) I'm sorry she's
not here. You know, when I -- we went to the 7th grade together at San
Jacinto Junior High in Midland, Texas. And then we got to know each
other again later on and she was a public school librarian. And I
asked her to marry me, of course, and she said, fine, but never make me
give a political speech. (Laughter.) I said, okay, if that's one of
the conditions, you got a deal. Fortunately, she didn't hold me to
that promise. She's giving a lot of speeches, and when she does, the
American people see a strong, compassionate, warm, great First Lady. I
love her dearly. (Applause.) We are enjoying ourselves on this
campaign. It's really a lot of fun to travel with her, and it's really
a lot of fun to travel with our daughters, Barbara and Jenna. They're
now out campaigning. You know, I told them when they were kids, we'll
go on the great family camping trip. This is it. (Laughter.)
I'm proud to be here with your United States Senator, Norm
Coleman. I appreciate you, Senator. (Applause.) He's a good man. I
enjoy working with him. He represents Minnesota in fine fashion. And
I'm also proud to be here with Gil Gutknecht, the United States
Congressman for this area. And Mary -- where is Mary? Oh, hi, Mary,
good to see you again. Thanks for coming. I want to thank -- the
Governor is not with us. He's doing a great job, though. I appreciate
Tim. I enjoy him, I like him, I trust him, and so should you. He's
doing you a good job. (Applause.) I'm sure he's out working a phone
bank, turning out that vote.
I want to thank all the local state officials who are here. I
really want to thank the grassroots activists. You never get thanked
enough for putting up the signs, for making the phone calls, for doing
all the hard work. I know how hard you are working. I want to thank
you in advance for the great victory we're going to have here in the
state of Minnesota. (Applause.)
I met Sister Chabanel Hayunga today. Where are you, Sister? I
know she's -- you got a terrible seat. (Laughter.) You would have
thought a soldier in the army of compassion would have gotten a better
seat. I'm going to talk to the advance person here. (Laughter.) The
reason I bring her up is because she is active with the Senior
Companion Program through Catholic Charities.
The strength of this country is the hearts and souls of our
citizens. That is the strength of America. We've got a great military
and we'll keep it strong. We've got a world-class economy that's
growing; we'll keep it strong. But the true strength of this society
of ours is the fact that there are millions among us who love a
neighbor just like they'd like to be loved themselves. America can
change and will change one heart, one soul, one conscience at a time,
because of the deep compassion of people like the Sister. (Applause.)
She, of course, says -- typical of a true soldier in the army of
compassion -- out here on the runway, when we had our picture taken at
Air Force One, she said, I am here representing the thousands of people
in Minnesota who volunteer to make society a better place.
You have set such a clear example for which we are grateful. Thank
you, Sister, for what you do. (Applause.)
The President's job is to solve problems. We had a serious problem
when it came to our economy. The stock market had been in significant
decline six months prior to my arrival. I want you to remind your
friends and neighbors of that -- which foretold a recession that took
place. And then we had some corporate scandals which affected our
economy. We passed tough laws that made it clear to people we will not
tolerate dishonesty in the boardrooms of America. That ought to be now
abundantly clear. And then we got attacked, and those attacks cost our
economy one million jobs in the weeks after September the 11th.
But we acted. I led, the Congress responded with tax relief. And
the tax relief was vital. The tax relief encouraged consumption. It
encouraged investment, and the recession was one of the shallowest in
American history. (Applause.)
And the facts are clear. When you get through all the political
noise, the facts are clear. Our economy is growing at rates as any --
as fast as any in nearly 20 years. We've added 1.9 million new jobs
since August of 2003. The national unemployment rate is 5.4 percent,
which is lower than the average rate of the 1970s, the 1980s, and the
1990s. (Applause.) Your unemployment rate in Minnesota is 4.5
percent. (Applause.) The farm income is up. Home ownership is at an
all-time high. We're moving forward. We've overcome -- we have
overcome problems, there's more work to be done, but think about where
we have been and where we're going. And we're not going to go back to
the days of tax and spend. We're not going to go back to the days of
the policies that stifle the entrepreneurial spirit. (Applause.)
So the fundamental question in this campaign, after I've shown
people I can lead and solve problems -- what else are we going to do.
I'll tell you what else we're going to do. We're going the make sure
we get an energy policy to my desk. I proposed a plan over two years
ago that encourages conservation, that uses renewables like ethanol and
biodiesel, that uses technologies for clean coal technology, that says
we can explore for environmentally friendly ways for natural gas, a
plan that recognizes we must become less dependent on foreign sources
of energy. (Applause.)
In order to make sure this economy grows, we got to keep opening up
markets for Minnesota farmers and entrepreneurs and small business
owners. See, the tendency in American politics is to fall prey to
economic isolationism. That would be bad for our workers. It would be
bad for our consumers. The Presidents before me have opened up our
markets, and I'm happy to open up markets, too. It's in our consumers'
interests. If you have more products to choose from you're likely to
get that which you want at a better price and better quality. See,
it's in your interests. And so I'm saying to places like China, you
treat us the way we treat you. You open up your markets just like
we've opened up our markets. And I say that with confidence because we
can compete with anybody, any time, anywhere so long as the rules are
fair. (Applause.)
And I want our soybean growers here in Minnesota to understand that
one reason your prices are such that you can make a living is because
you're selling soybeans to China. See, they're using your soybeans.
It's essential you have a President who understands what free trade
means to people from all sectors of our economy.
I'll tell you what else we need to do to make sure jobs stay here
in America and the entrepreneurial spirit is strong. We got to do
something about the regulations that plague our business and job
creators, and something about these frivolous lawsuits that are making
it hard for small businesses to expand their businesses. (Applause.)
To keep jobs here we got to be wise about how we spend your money,
and keep your taxes low. And taxes are an issue in this campaign.
See, I'm running against a fellow who has promised $2.2 trillion worth
of new spending. That's a lot. That's with a "T." (Laughter.) That's
a lot even for a senator from Massachusetts. (Laughter.) So they
asked him, how are you going to pay for it. How are you going to pay
for it? He said, oh, we'll just tax the rich, raise the top two
brackets. Let me tell you at least two things -- three things wrong
with that. First of all, you got to believe him that he's going to
tax. You know, he's one of the first -- one of the few presidential
candidates to ever promise raising taxes in a presidential campaign.
And that's a promise most politicians are happy to keep.
First of all, you can't pay for $2.2 trillion worth of new spending
by raising the top two brackets. You fall short by about $800
billion. There's a gap between what is promised and what is
deliverable. Actually, it's $1.4 trillion you fall short -- and so
guess who usually gets to fill that gap between what is promised and
what is capable of delivering? You do. Secondly, when you're taxing
the rich, you're taxing about 900,000 small business owners. Most
small businesses are sub-chapter S corporations or limited
partnerships, and they pay tax at the individual income tax level,
which means you're running up the taxes on the job creators. We're
about to talk to somebody, you know, one of these people who are going
to be affected by the top two brackets.
Thirdly, the rich hire lawyers and accountants for a reason -- to
stick you with the tab. We're not going to let him tax you, because
we're going to win Minnesota on November the 2nd and carry this
country. (Applause.)
Let me talk about a couple of other issues. I want to talk about
health issues. This is a good place to talk about health. (Applause.)
Mayo Clinic -- one of the great clinics -- (applause.) We always want
our country to be on the leading edge of change when it comes to
providing good medicine for our people. My mother keeps telling me
what to say when it comes to Mayo Clinic. (Laughter.) So there is a
fundamental difference of philosophy in this campaign about health
care. I believe health care ought to be a common-sense approach, not
one that increases the scope and power of the federal government. We
ought to be worried about a health care system that moves people from
private care to federally controlled health care. Because what that
will lead to is rationing, bad decision-making. It will take the
consumer totally out of the equation. Other countries have tried
centralized health care and it has failed. And the health care systems
have slowly, but surely declined in the quality of health care.
I have a different -- and make no mistake about it, my opponent's
program does that. He actually -- he said in the camera at one of our
debates, he said, my plan is not a government plan. You know, I could
barely contain myself. (Laughter.) I understand the nature of his
plan. When you increase Medicare -- Medicaid availability, it provides
an excuse for small business owners to no longer provide insurance for
their employees because the government will pick it up. See, 8 out of
10 new people subscribed to health care under his plan would end up on
federal rolls. That is an increase in the role of the federal
government.
Here's a different approach. One, we'll make sure health care is
available. We'll take care of the poor and the indigent through
community health centers. Every poor county in America ought to have a
community health center, places where people can get good preventative
and primary care. (Applause.) It is a good use of your money to make
sure the poor and the indigent get good primary and preventative care.
We'll make sure our programs for children in low-income families are
fully subscribed to. But to make sure health care is affordable --
that's what we need to address, the cost of health care.
Part of the reason health care costs are high is because
third-party payers make a payment. There is no market discipline.
There is no real demand, focus on demand in health care. That's why I
believe in health savings accounts, tax-free plans to allow the
decision-maker to be you, a plan you own, a plan you carry with you
from job to job, a plan in which you're totally in charge of.
(Applause.)
Secondly, health care costs are up because of lawsuits. Make no
mistake about it, junk lawsuits against our doctors are running up the
cost of your health care. They're making it hard for small businesses
to be able to afford insurance, and they're running good doctors out of
practice. You cannot be pro-doctor, pro-patient, and pro-trial lawyer
at the same time. (Applause.) You have to choose. You have to
choose. My opponent made a choice, and he put a personal injury trial
lawyer on the ticket. I made my choice. I am standing with our
doctors and our patients. I support medical liability reform now.
(Applause.)
Two other ways to address the cost of health care: One is speed up
generic drugs to the market. Plus, I support the Minnesota Congressman
and Senator's idea of importation of drugs from Canada, so long as it's
safe. We want you to take drugs that cure you, not harm you. I have a
duty -- it's easy for some in Congress to be calling for importation.
I'm just going to make sure before they come in we know exactly what
we're importing. (Applause.) You want to make sure that that which
comes in from Canada is actually manufactured in Canada. You don't
want to be buying something from a third-world country. And so we want
to be safe. We want to make sure we do the right thing.
And, fourthly, medicine, in all due respect, is like going back to
the horse and buggy days, when it comes to the use of information
technology. I mean, you know, there's a lot of files that are
handwritten still, and you can't even read a doctor's writing most of
the time. (Laughter.) So I believe in electronic medical records. I
know we need to have a common language all across the medical field.
They estimate that over 20 to 30 percent of the costs can be wrung out
of the system with the proper use of information technology. This is
an exciting new era available for medicine. You just need a President
who understands how to address the root causes of costs going up. And
that's how you avoid federalizing health care, and that's how you put
in place common-sense policies that makes sure the decisions are always
made by doctor and patient, not by officials in our nation's capital.
(Applause.)
A couple of other points I want to make very quickly -- kind of
getting wound up here. (Laughter.) You know if the temperature in the
room is rising -- (Laughter.) One, education is vital to make sure
that we have a hopeful America. The No Child Left Behind Act that we
passed was a great piece of legislation. It challenges the soft
bigotry of low expectations. It increases federal spending, but in
return says, show us, measure, and let us know whether a child can read
and write and add and subtract. And we've got to find that out early.
We should not have a system that just simply shuffles kids through the
system and hope we get it right. We need to know if we're getting it
right. You can't solve a problem unless you diagnose it, and now we're
diagnosing problems early. We're providing extra money for at-risk
students and students who need extra help.
And there's an achievement gap closing in America and it's vital.
You know how we know? We measure. We can determine whether a child
can read. And reading scores are going up for kids that have generally
been shuffled through the school system. And we're not going to go
back to the days of mediocrity and low standards. We're making
progress and America is better off for it. (Applause.)
So we're going to talk about education today. See, one of the
things we've got to do is make sure education is not only strong for
our kids, we've got to make sure education is available for all our
citizens, because in a changing world, in a world that's changing, the
jobs of the 21st century oftentimes require a new skill set. For those
of you involved with medicine know exactly what I'm talking about.
Medicine is changing, and there constantly needs to be an upgrading of
skills. And a great place to do that and a wonderful way to make sure
people have got the skills necessary to fill the jobs of the 21st
century is through our community college system. I'm a big backer of
the community college system, and we're going to talk to a community
college student here today about what it means to go back to school.
(Applause.)
One other thing I want to talk about right quick, and that is
Social Security. A President must solve problems, must confront
problems, not pass them on to future Presidents or future generations.
We have a problem in Social Security, and that is, when baby boomers
like me retire, younger workers are going to have trouble paying for
us, and therefore, have money available when they retire. That's just
the facts. Now, first, I want to address kind of the typical
old-style, stale politics, and that is the politics of scare tactics
towards Social Security. When I ran in 2000, I suspect here in the
state of Minnesota -- I know in other states -- they ran ads saying, if
George W. gets elected, the seniors will not get their checks. I want
you to remind your friends and neighbors, the seniors got their
checks. Nobody's going to take away the Social Security check from our
seniors. (Applause.) The fund has got enough money, and baby boomers
like me are in good shape. But we need to worry about children and our
grandchildren when it comes to Social Security. Social Security will
not be there when they need it if we don't think differently.
That is why I believe younger workers ought to be able to take some
of their payroll taxes and set up a personal savings account, a
personal savings account that will earn a better rate of return than
the current Social Security trust, an account they call their own, an
account the government cannot take away. (Applause.)
You know, I like to tell people that no one ever washes a rental
car. (Laughter.) There's wisdom in that. If you own something, you
tend to wash it. If you own something, you have a vital stake in the
future of our country. You know, one of the most heartwarming things
about our society is when I hear people own something. They've started
their own business, for example, or own their own home. We're going to
talk to an owner right here, and that would be Jon Eckhoff.
Jon, thank you for coming. Please tell us the name of your company
and are you the owner? And if you're the owner, how did you end up
owning it? (Laughter.)
MR. ECKHOFF: Thank you for the introduction. Thank you. I am the
owner of Venture Computer Systems, along with three other people, two
of which are in the audience. And how did it get started? Well, that
could be a complex story, but let's just say that I came to Rochester
16 years ago to work for the Mayo Clinic, a dream job for a kid from
Iowa. And it was a great job, but I was always restless. I always
wanted to do something on my own. So in an unfinished corner of my
basement, I put up a white board and I bought a computer and I started
meeting. Some of the people in this room probably were in my basement
in the beginning of Venture Computer Systems.
THE PRESIDENT: It's a classic, right, the old kitchen table, the
garage, in this case, the basement. (Laughter.) That's what happens.
Don't you love to live in a country where old Jon says, you know, I've
got a dream, I want to start my own business? The role of the
government is to create an environment. (Applause.)
What do you do? I mean, like, here's your chance to sell some
products. (Laughter.) It's a marketing opportunity.
MR. ECKHOFF: Let's take it. Well, Venture Computer Systems sells
computers, network security products to businesses, like the ones that
people in this room own. In fact, I recognize many of my customers,
and if you're not my customer, give me a call after the -- (laughter.)
THE PRESIDENT: No wonder he's successful. (Applause.) Gets on
the President's time and sells some products. (Laughter.)
So, let me ask you something. How many employees you got?
MR. ECKHOFF: We have 30 employees in Venture Computer Systems.
THE PRESIDENT: See, that's classic small business, isn't it?
Thirty employees. Did you hire any this year?
MR. ECKHOFF: We're going to have three more before December 31st.
THE PRESIDENT: Three more? For the year?
MR. ECKHOFF: For the year.
THE PRESIDENT: YeS, see, that's what's happening all across
America, by the way. When the entrepreneurial spirit is strong, when
people are upbeat about the future, they hire people. Do you realize
70 of new jobs in America are created by small businesses like Jon's?
Seventy percent. The job creators in America are the small business
owners of America. (Applause.)
So let me ask you something. How are you organized legally?
MR. ECKHOFF: Well, we're an S corporation.
THE PRESIDENT: S corporation. See, now let me explain what that
means. That's legalese. I'm not even a lawyer. Anyway -- but I do
understand facts. If you're an S corporation, they pay tax at the
individual income tax level. So when you hear my opponent say, oh,
we're just going to take the rich, that means anybody that's got income
over $200,000 a year, I want you to remind your friends and neighbors
he's talking about taxing job creators. It makes no sense to run up
the taxes on somebody like Jon and his company as they're gaining
steam, as they're hiring new people. If you take money out of his
treasury, it's less likely he's going to hire somebody. (Applause.)
Let me ask you something. One other point I want to make. Part of
good tax policy encourages good decision-making. And so part of the
tax policy -- if you invest -- in other words, if you purchase
something, you're going to get a little tax break for small
businesses.
Did you purchase anything?
MR. ECKHOFF: Yes, sir, we did. We purchased a variety of things.
We used that money to buy a new truck. A lot of people have seen the
Venture Computer Systems truck in the neighborhood.
THE PRESIDENT: Always selling. Go ahead. (Laughter.) Go ahead,
what else did you buy?
* * * * *
THE PRESIDENT: What he's doing is he's buying equipment to make
his work force more productive. And when the work force becomes more
productive, A, it means the worker is going to make more money, and B,
it means he's going to stay in business. See, a open market is one
where you compete and you're constantly trying to get better. It's in
the consumer's interest that he gets better. It means he gives a
better product. Tax policy encouraged him to make certain decisions.
He said he bought a truck. Well, remember, somebody has to make the
truck. And when somebody makes the truck, it means the decision he
made means somebody is more likely to keep a job.
The tax policy we passed not only helped in a large sense, the tax
policy we passed made the entrepreneurial spirit shine even more
brightly in America and more and more people are starting their small
businesses today, which is great for our country. (Applause.)
Michele Clements is with us. All right, Michele, what did you used
to do?
MRS. CLEMENTS: I was a full-time employee at a local electronic
manufacturing plant here in Rochester. And in February of 203, they
laid us all off and sent our jobs overseas.
THE PRESIDENT: Right. So this is the classic case of somebody
being affected by jobs going overseas. The fundamental question is,
what does society do about it, without harming our markets and our
economy. What do you do about it? Well, the first thing you do about
it is you make sure this is the best place in the world to do
business. You make sure it's the best place for jobs to continue to
grow here. You make sure Jon is optimistic so he continues to grow his
jobs. But also you got to help people.
And so what happened?
MRS. CLEMENTS: Well, after we found out we were moving our job, we
-- shortly after that we found out we qualify for retraining programs
through the Dislocated Worker Program, if we wanted to go back to
school to further our education and get back into the work force.
THE PRESIDENT: Right. Right. And so like, you hadn't been in
school for a while. I'm not going to ask you how long. (Laughter.)
MRS. CLEMENTS: It's been a while.
THE PRESIDENT: It's been a while. You got a husband and two
daughters, been a mom and everything. And you go back to school.
Where?
MRS. CLEMENTS: Right here at RCC in Rochester. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, very good. So what was it like? I mean, I'm
sure people are listening out there who wonder whether or not they
could go back to school at this point in their life. Was it as tough
as you thought?
MRS. CLEMENTS: It was a big step.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes.
MRS. CLEMENTS: It was not easy to go back, but it was well worth
it. I'm in the law enforcement program -- law enforcement was
something that I always wanted to get into. But because of financial
and family commitments, I wasn't able to do so. And if it wasn't for
the funding I received through the retraining program --
THE PRESIDENT: Trade adjustment assistance, retraining programs.
Listen, the federal government has got ample money to help people go
back to school. (Applause.) Don't clap for me, clap for her. She's
the one who made the decision to go back to school. (Applause.) Yes,
we can't pass a law that says somebody has got to want to improve
themselves. But the role of government is to say, here's an
opportunity, here's a chance.
And so, you're now doing something -- you're being trained for
something you've always wanted to do, law enforcement. Well, it's a
noble profession. Thank you for doing it.]
And secondly, what's interesting is, I asked her -- kind of none of
my business, you know, anyway -- I asked her anyway -- are you going to
make more money?
MRS. CLEMENTS: Yes, sir, hopefully at least 50 percent more than
what I was making at the plant.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, listen to that. I want everybody to hear
that. With a little education -- in other words, improving skill sets,
you make more money. By going back to a community college, with
government help, you become a more productive worker. And when you
become a more productive worker, your wage goes up. And her wage went
up.
Let me tell you something else interesting. You know, when we cut
the taxes we cut them for everybody who paid taxes. I was one -- I'm a
fellow who believes if you pay taxes you ought to get relief. We ought
not to try to pick and choose winners when it comes to tax relief. But
we also helped our families. We raised the child credit to $1,000 a
child. We reduced the penalty on marriage. Code -- the code ought to
encourage marriage, not discourage marriage. (Applause.)
And this family saved $1,700 a year in tax relief. See, and the
fundamental question in this campaign is who can spend the $1,700
better, this family or the government. I believe this family can spend
their money better. (Applause.)
Good job. Thank you.
The home ownership rate in America is an all-time high. More and
more people from all walks of life are owning their homes for the first
time. And Jill Wooten is with us. She is a first-time home owner.
(Applause.) First of all, you work.
MRS. WOOTEN: I work. I'm a teacher --
THE PRESIDENT: Fabulous. (Applause.) Thank you for teaching.
Husband, Jesse.
MRS. WOOTEN: He's the cute guy in the front row right there.
(Laughter.)
THE PRESIDENT: Having trouble finding one -- oh, there he is.
(Laughter.) I agree, yes. It's an election year -- anyway.
(Laughter.) We just embarrassed Jesse --
MRS. WOOTEN: I know. He's beet-red. Shouldn't I be the one red
up here?
THE PRESIDENT: No, you're doing great. So why did you all decide
to buy a home?
* * * * *
THE PRESIDENT: Isn't that wonderful to hear? (Applause.) There's
nothing better in a society where more and more people open up the door
where they live and say, welcome to my home; welcome to my piece of
property. If you own something, you care a lot about a lot of things
-- like you our future. That's why we want to have people own their
own savings account -- health savings account, so they manage their
health care. Or own a piece of their retirement if you're a younger
American. Or own your own business. Or own your own home. A hopeful
America is one in which ownership is spread throughout all our
society.
We've got good plans to help people own their home. By the way,
this family will save $2,500 in 2004 on tax relief. (Applause.) You
know, you hear this -- it matters. The tax relief helps. It helps the
American family be able to realize their dreams like owning their own
home. And by the way, my opponent voted against every one of these tax
reliefs that I talked about -- voted no when American families were on
the line, voted no when it came to raising the child credit, voted no
when it came to reducing the marriage penalty.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: There is a big difference in this campaign. Make
no mistake about it. Make no mistake about it, there is a different
philosophy, a different attitude. He trusts government; I trust the
people. (Applause.)
Good job. Really good job.
The platform wouldn't be complete without a farmer. (Applause.)
Duane Alberts, Pine Shelter Farms.
MR. ALBERTS: That's correct.
THE PRESIDENT: Good. And you do what?
MR. ALBERTS: Well, Mr. President, it's time to kill the death
tax. I just want to start out that way.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, he's got -- the man's got an opinion.
(Applause.) We've got it -- it's on its way to extinction.
Unfortunately, it pops back up. It's going to be an odd year in 2010.
You can imagine people -- I mean, it goes away in 2010, it pops back up
in 2011. So people are going to have some weird choices in 2010 when
it comes to the death tax. But never mind. (Laughter.) It's a little
morbid.
So why are you that concerned about it? Here's a farmer, a dairy
farmer, got a lot of money tied up in inventory and land.
MR. ALBERTS: That's correct. I farm in -- I'm a fifth generation
farmer, a fifth generation dairy farmer. (Applause.) Some of the
sixth
generation is sitting out here in the second row. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Let me guess. Oh, yeah.
MR. ALBERTS: I farm in partnership with my -- in partnership with
my father and my two brothers, and we milk 550 cows. Now, I used to
have --
THE PRESIDENT: By hand?
MR. ALBERTS: Not anymore. Not anymore. (Laughter.) You could
ask my father about that, I suppose.
THE PRESIDENT: Good. I just wanted to tell you there's a new kind
of way to milk if you do.
MR. ALBERTS: But we -- but I used to have another partner. My
uncle passed away seven years ago, seven years ago now. It's hard to
believe it's been that long. But while my Uncle Myron was alive, he
paid -- he paid all the taxes, income taxes, Social Security taxes,
payroll taxes, property taxes, sale taxes. He was loaded with taxes.
And when he died, the estate tax bill came, and that came to $1,000 per
cow.
THE PRESIDENT: See, you can understand why people who farm the
land, or small business owners that have got their assets -- I mean
their money tied up in assets, are worried about a tax that causes them
to have to liquidate a herd to pay for it, I guess is what you're
saying.
MR. ALBERTS: That's right. That's right. It's hard to believe
that a tax can be so huge, actually, that farmers, ranchers, and small
business men have to buy insurance to pay for it.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes. And so what we've done is we've put the death
tax on its way to extinction. But I'm telling you, it's coming back,
unless you have the right President. I think we need to get rid of the
death tax forever. (Applause.) Once and for all.
People talk about simplifying the code. By the way, the tax code
needs to be simplified. It's a complicated mess. A major portion of
the tax code is the death tax. Once we get rid of that once and for
all, it will help simplify the code. We need to do more work, don't
get me wrong. But I want to thank you for sharing.
People have got to understand the death tax hurts our farmers,
hurts our small businessmen. People say we've got to protect the
family farmer. You can't be a family farmer if you have to liquidate
the farm in order to pay the death tax. (Applause.)
You got something else you want to say? Good job.
MR. ALBERTS: I do want to stress that my -- I do want to stress
that uncle did his estate tax planning, he did everything right. He
bought the insurance. But the annual premiums were $25,000 a year.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, see, when you get rid of the death tax, you
don't have to worry about lawyers and you don't have to worry about
premiums and insurance. All you've got to worry about is who you want
to leave your property to. And that is a fundamental American right.
You ought to be able to leave your property to whoever you want to
leave your property to. (Applause.) Thank you, sir.
I've got something else on my mind -- two other things on my mind.
I told you it's a changing world. Some things don't change, the values
we try to live by: courage, compassion, reverence and integrity. Our
basic beliefs don't change. 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.) And we stand for the appointment of federal judges who
know the difference between personal opinion and the strict
interpretation of the law. (Applause.)
Let me talk about the security of our country right quick. Please
be seated. This may take a little longer than you hoped. (Laughter.)
The most solemn duty of the American President is to protect you, is to
protect the American people. In this dangerous world, in this
dangerous world, if our country shows uncertainty or weakness, this
world will drift toward tragedy. This will not happen on my watch.
(Applause.)
I want to share with you, I want to share with you some of the
lessons of September the 11th. First, we face an enemy that has no
conscience. They are cold-blooded killers. They would just as soon
kill in a schoolhouse as they would bomb the Twin Towers with our
airplanes. Therefore, we can never negotiate with them, we can never
hope for the best, we can never say, oh, gosh, well, maybe if we change
our behavior, they'll change their ways. The only way to deal with
them is to find them and bring them to justice before they hurt us
again. (Applause.)
Secondly, we are fighting a different kind of war, but it is a --
this war requires a complete strategy. Not only will we continue
bringing al Qaeda and like terrorists to justice -- and by the way,
three-quarters of them have been brought to justice and we're after the
rest of them. (Applause.) But we also must make it clear to others
that if you harbor a terrorist, you're just as guilty as the
terrorist. And when the President says something, I think the
President must speak clearly and mean what he says in order to keep the
peace. (Applause.)
And so, I meant what I said to the Taliban who were harboring al
Qaeda. Remember, thousands of people had been trained in Afghanistan
under the -- with the consent of the Taliban. And so I said to the
Taliban, get rid of al Qaeda, join the community of free nations. They
ignored our demand, and as a result of the brave actions of the United
States military, the Taliban have been routed from power, al Qaeda
training camps were destroyed, and 25 million lived in a free society.
(Applause.)
I want our youngsters here to think about what has happened over a
course of three-and-a-half years. Something amazing has taken place,
truly amazing in Afghanistan. You know, it wasn't all that young ago
that young girls couldn't go to school. Two-and-a-half years is really
nothing in the march of history, when you think about it. And their
mothers were taken in the public squares and whipped if they didn't toe
the ideological line of the Taliban, those ideologues of hate. Because
we acted in our self-interest, because we upheld doctrine, the people
of Afghanistan went to the polls to vote for a President. The first
voter was a 19-year-old woman. (Applause.) Think about that.
There weren't a lot of people who believed three-and-a-half years
ago that Afghanistan would ever be free. But Afghanistan is free now.
And it's in our interests that they are free, not only uphold doctrine,
but a free society is one that is now an ally in the war on terror. A
free society sets such a hopeful example for others. Free societies do
not export terror. Free societies help defeat the hopelessness that
enables terrorists to breed. Free societies equal peaceful societies.
(Applause.)
The second -- the third lesson, the third lesson is that when we
see a threat, we must deal with it before it fully materializes.
Saddam Hussein was a threat. He was a threat because he hated
America. He was a threat because he was shooting missiles at American
airplanes. He was a threat because he harbored terrorists. He was a
threat because he invaded his neighbors. He was a threat because he
had used weapons of mass destruction. He was a threat. Now, we didn't
find the stockpiles we all thought were there. That includes me and my
opponent. But we did realize that he was gaming the oil-for-food
program, to get the world to turn a blind eye, to continue to weaken
the sanctions so he could reconstitute his weapons programs. And the
danger America faces is the nexus of terrorist organizations and
weapons of mass destruction. That's a danger. It is a threat.
We cannot hope for the best in this world -- in the post-September
the 11th world. We must deal with every threat. Military is always
the last option. That's why I went to the United Nations. I was
hopeful that diplomacy would work. But the 17th resolution failed,
just like the first 16 resolutions. We passed the resolution, but
Saddam wasn't afraid of a resolution. He wasn't worried about the
United Nations or the will of the free world, because the will didn't
mean anything to him in the past. And so he ignored the demands. I
have a choice to make: Do I trust a madman and forget the lessons of
September the 11th, or take action to defend this country? Given that
choice, I will defend America every time. (Applause.)
And now we're -- Iraq is headed toward elections. Remember the
skepticism about elections in Afghanistan? I do. Well, the same
skepticism exists about Iraq. Can they ever be free? Do they ever
want to vote? Of course, they do. People want to be free. People
love the idea of a free society. And so we're headed toward elections,
and there are people there who are trying to stop them. Freedom is the
greatest fear these terrorists have. That's why Zarqawi is fighting --
Zarqawi who had been in Afghanistan, routed out of Afghanistan when his
training camp was destroyed, comes to Baghdad, gets medical help in
Baghdad, working with people in northern Iraq prior to our arrival, on
poisons and chemicals. And he's now fighting to stop the advance of
freedom. He's a known killer.
And this is where my opponent and I disagree. He said, after
September the 11th he wasn't fundamentally changed. I mean -- and it
reflects in his policy. He believes that this is a war only for
intelligence and law enforcement. It is a limited point of view, which
is a dangerous point of view in the world in which we live. He said
that Iraq is a diversion from the war on terror. What does he think,
Zarqawi has become a peaceful citizen? Does he think Zarqawi is going
to change his ways? Zarqawi wants to destroy American life. Zarqawi
was plotting and planning to attack us. It is essential we defeat
Zarqawi there so we don't have to face the likes of him here at home.
(Applause.)
You cannot win a war when you don't believe we're fighting a war.
And that's the problem with my opponent's policy. They're limited in
view, and that would lead to a danger for America. We must use every
asset at our disposal. We must fully understand the nature of the
enemy. We must take threats seriously before they materialize in order
to do our duty to protect the American people. If we should
uncertainty or weakness, this world will drift toward tragedy. And the
American people can count on me to show no uncertainty or weakness in
protecting you. (Applause.)
A couple other -- a couple of other points I want to make, then
we'll get out of here. When you have troops in harm's way, we have a
duty to support them. That's why I went to the Congress and asked for
$87 billion of supplemental funding to support our troops in combat,
really important money. I want you to remind your friends and
neighbors that there were only four United States senators, four out of
a hundred, that voted to authorize the use of force and voted against
supporting our troops in combat, two of whom were my opponent and his
running mate.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: Voted to authorize force, and wouldn't support the
troops. People wonder why he made the vote. Well, I'll tell you why.
Howard Dean was gaining in the Democrat primary. A Commander-in-Chief
has got to stand on principle, not on the shifting sands of political
convenience. (Applause.)
Undecided voter. (Laughter.)
I want to share one other thing with you. I have a firm belief in
the power of obstacles to transform societies. At the heart of much of
what I believe is this strong and unshakeable belief in the ability of
freedom to change the world.
Let me share an experience with you that I've had over time as your
President, and that is my relationship with the Prime Minister of
Japan, Prime Minister Koizumi. He's a friend of Laura and mine.
Really interesting guy, I like him a lot. He's a lot of fun to be
around. When I saw him at the United Nations, I said, you know, I'm
traveling our country talking about you, I hope you do not mind. He
said, no, go ahead and talk about me. I didn't ask his permission to
tell you Elvis was his favorite singer, though -- but anyway.
(Laughter.)
And it probably doesn't sound too unusual to you that I would say
that the Prime Minister of Japan is a friend, but think about our
history, our recent history. Japan was the sworn enemy of the United
States of America some 60 years ago. My dad fought against the
Japanese. I suspect somebody in this crowd might have fought against
the Japanese. I know somebody's relative fought against the Japanese.
They were the sworn enemy of the United States of America and it was a
brutal war. All war is brutal. And we suffered a lot in that war.
Families were disrupted, loved ones were lost, hearts were broken.
And after World War II, Harry S Truman, one of my predecessors,
believed that liberty could transform an enemy into an ally. And so he
set policy to say we'll help Japan become a democracy. Now, there were
a lot of skeptics in America about that, and you can understand why,
about that decision. Why would you want to help an enemy, some
probably said. How could an enemy possibly become a peaceful,
self-governing nation? These people can't be a democracy, others would
say. There was enormous skepticism. But my predecessor and others had
belief. And as a result of believing that liberty could transform an
enemy into an ally, I now sit down a the table with my friend, Prime
Minister Koizumi, talking about how to keep the peace we all want,
talking about how to make this troubled world a more stable, peaceful
place. (Applause.)
Some day, an American President will be sitting down with a
duly-elected leader from Iraq and they will be talking about the peace
in the Middle East. And our children and our grandchildren will be
better off for it. (Applause.)
I believe people want to live in a free society. I believe women
in the Middle East want to live in freedom. I know moms and dads wants
to raise their children in a free and peaceful world. I believe
millions plead in silence for their liberty. And I believe this not
because freedom is America's gift to the world, I believe this because
freedom is the Almighty God's gift to each man and woman in this
world. (Applause.)
I'm running again because I want to make sure hope and opportunity
spread throughout the land, good economic policy, to encouraging
ownership for all people in our society. I'm running again because I
hold certain values dear that I think are important for this country.
And I'm running again because I fully understand the risks we face, and
I have a strategy to protect the American people.
We're going to win on November the 2nd, with your help. May God
bless you. May God bless our great country. Thank you all for
coming.
END 1:08 P.M. CDT
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