For Immediate Release
Office of the Vice President
October 26, 2004
Vice President's Remarks in West Palm Beach, Florida
Palm Beach County Convention Center
West Palm Beach, Florida
10:12 A.M. EDT
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: I accept. (Laughter and applause.)
Well, I want to thank you for that warm welcome this morning.
Thank you, thank you. (Applause.) We're delighted to be in -- back in
Florida, and here in West Palm Beach, especially during the city's
110th anniversary. (Applause.) And it looks to me like this is
Bush-Cheney country.
Well, I -- it's true Lynne has known me since I was 14.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: (Inaudible.) (Laughter.)
THE VICE PRESIDENT: I'm not going to ask him to repeat that.
(Laughter.) But she wouldn't go out with me until I was 17. And I
explain to people that we got married because Dwight Eisenhower got
elected President of the United States. In those days I was a
youngster living in Nebraska with my folks. Dad worked for the Soil
Conservation Service. Eisenhower got elected, reorganized the
government, Dad got transferred to Casper, Wyoming, which is where I
met Lynne. We grew up together, went to high school together and
recently celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary. (Applause.) I
explained to a group the other night that if it hadn't been for
Eisenhower's victory, Lynne would have married somebody else.
(Laughter.) And she said, right, and now he'd be Vice President of the
United States. (Laughter and applause.) No doubt in my mind.
But with one week left in the campaign, the choices in this
election could not be more clear; and the stakes are very high, both at
home and abroad. And I believe on November 2nd, the American people
are going to make George W. Bush President for four more years.
(Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Your state has been through a lot with
Hurricanes Charley, Jeanne, Frances, and Ivan. Palm Beach County was
especially hard hit, but the residents have pulled together. It's a
story of endurance, of compassion, and in many cases great courage.
The President and I applaud your efforts. We want you to know the
federal government is doing everything possible to help. President
Bush, of course, has approved $13.6 billion for the people of Florida
and other states hit by the hurricanes. (Applause.)
Let me also add, that I think Florida has been well served by state
and local officials, FEMA personnel, members of the National Guard,
first responders and had the great fortune to have a superb executive
in Governor Jeb Bush. (Applause.)
Let me also thank Mayor Koch for those kind words today, and for
joining us today. (Applause.) The Mayor understands the connection
between strong leadership and victory in the war on terror. And like a
growing number of Democrats and independents, he recognizes President
Bush is the best man to protect our families and to secure our
homeland. (Applause.)
I want to thank all the volunteers who have put up signs, made
phone calls to help turn out the vote. Grassroots activists are an
essential part of our efforts, and the President and I are deeply
grateful for your support. (Applause.)
Now, the President and I have been to Florida many times over the
last several years, and we appreciate the strong support we have
received throughout this state. We are delighted to be running
alongside a solid slate of Republican candidates. I'd like to thank
Congressman Mark Foley for joining us here today. (Applause.) Also
Emilie Shaw -- Emilie and Clay have been friends of Lynne's and mine
for 20 years. (Applause.)
And although he couldn't be here, I'd like to put in a good word
for your Senate candidate Mel Martinez. (Applause.) Come January, I
look forward to swearing him in as the new Senator from the state of
Florida. (Applause.)
Florida voters understand the importance of steady, principled,
consistent leadership in the White House. This is no ordinary time for
America. Our country faces some serious challenges, but we're meeting
every one of those challenges with strength and resolve. Today, people
in Florida and across the land can be confident of a better future; a
stronger economy; and a nation that is more secure because of the
leadership of our President, George W. Bush. (Applause.)
Over the course of the last four years, I think people have seen
very clearly the character and the vision of our President. He's a man
of loyalty and kindness who speaks plainly and means what he says. He
sets clear goals, and works with members of both parties to achieve
them. He puts the country first and his deepest commitment -- to
making us safer, more prosperous, and more secure.
During the course of this campaign, we have seen something quite
different in the President's opponent. He is a man who will say and do
anything if he thinks it will advance his cause.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: I can see you guys are going to enjoy this
speech. (Laughter.)
Just over a year ago, John Kerry did something truly unthinkable
for a man who aspires to be Commander-in-Chief. He turned his back on
the troops that he had earlier voted to send into combat because he
thought it was to his political advantage to do so.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Senator Kerry, you will remember, voted in
favor of using force against Saddam Hussein, but then during the
Democratic primary season when it came time to vote for funds that
would provide our fighting men and women with body armor, ammunition,
jet fuel, and spare parts, Senator Kerry voted "no."
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: He offered a ridiculous explanation which,
frankly, I think will go down in the history of American politics. He
said, and I quote, "I actually voted for the $87 billion before I voted
against it."
AUDIENCE: Flip-flop! Flip-flop! Flip-flop!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Don't overdo it. (Laughter.)
But the real reason he turned his back on our troops was Howard
Dean. Dean was the antiwar candidate and he was surging ahead in the
polls, and so John Kerry, in order to advance himself in the Democratic
primary, turned his back on the troops. He said his vote was
"complicated," but, my friends, supporting American troops in combat
should never be a complicated matter. (Applause.)
John Kerry will say and do anything in order to get elected. He
will attack the Patriot Act -- after he voted for it. He will attack
No Child Left Behind -- after he voted for it. He will try to scare
young people by raising the specter of the draft ?- when he knows the
only people who supported the idea of bringing it back are two members
of his own party. Nobody but those two Democrats wants to change the
all-volunteer force because it is the finest military the world has
ever known. (Applause.)
John Kerry also tries to scare seniors by saying Social Security is
threatened. He stood 10 feet from President Bush in the debates and
heard the President guarantee once again the promise of Social Security
will be kept for our seniors, and it will be. But Senator Kerry will
say and do anything, including making false charges that he knows to be
false.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Most of all, Senator Kerry will say and do
anything to disguise his 20-year Senate record, because it shows him
taxing and spending and out of the mainstream.
On the campaign trail Senator Kerry talks about helping families
with a middle-class tax cut, covering over the fact that when President
Bush increased the child tax credit, reduced the marriage penalty, and
set up a new 10-percent bracket, Senator Kerry opposed it. All these
measures leave money in the hands of taxpayers who earned it ?- but
Senator Kerry voted "no."
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: The Senator doesn't mention these details, so
we're going to have to do it for him. (Applause.) John Kerry has
voted to raise taxes 98 times. He voted against tax reductions at
least 126 times, and voted to break the budget caps that control
spending 277 times.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Senator Kerry has earned a special distinction
in Congress. The nonpartisan National Journal Magazine analyzed his
record and named him the most liberal member of the United States
Senate. Because of John Kerry, Ted Kennedy is the conservative senator
from Massachusetts. (Applause.)
John Kerry is trying very hard to hide all that, making promises he
can't keep about health care and being totally deceitful when it comes
to medical liability reform. He says he has a plan to reform the
medical liability system, but you know what his plan is? Put the trial
lawyers in charge.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: President Bush has a better idea: Let's keep
medical decisions in the hands of doctors and patients, not personal
injury lawyers. (Applause.)
The record John Kerry is trying hardest of all to hide is his
record on national security. He first ran for Congress advocating the
idea that we should deploy American troops only under the authority of
the United Nations.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: He ran for the Senate on the platform that we
should dismantle most of the major weapons systems that Ronald Reagan
used to keep the peace and win the Cold War.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: In 1991, when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait
and stood poised to dominate the Persian Gulf, John Kerry voted against
America sending troops to expel him. He voted against Operation Desert
Storm.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: In the first debate, this year, Senator Kerry
said that America had to meet some kind of global test --
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: -- before we could take military action. The
President and I know better than that. We know that it is not our job
to conduct international opinion polls. Our job is to defend America.
(Applause.)
Now in the closing days of this campaign, John Kerry is trying
every which way to cover up a record of weakness. Just this last
weekend, he tried to make himself sound like he could do a really good
job of fighting terrorism because he'd written a book on the subject.
(Laughter.) But this book, called The New War, should, if anything,
raise concerns about Senator Kerry. The book makes no mention of al
Qaeda or Osama bin Laden. It does mention Yasser Arafat, whom John
Kerry praises as a statesman and a role model.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: That's not exactly how I think of Yasser
Arafat.
The New War makes it clear that John Kerry thinks that law
enforcement is the answer to terrorism. That's the approach we took
before 9/11. When there was a terrorist incident, our government went
after the perpetrators, but we did not, throughout the '80s and '90s,
go after the networks that spawned those terrorists, and so they
attacked us again and again, until finally on 9/11, they killed 3000 of
us -- more than we lost at Pearl Harbor.
When terrorists kill Americans by the thousands, law enforcement is
insufficient. When the greatest threat we face today is the
possibility of terrorists in the middle of one of our cities armed with
a biological agent or nuclear weapon, threatening the lives of hundreds
of thousands, law enforcement is insufficient. The President and I
understand that the war on terrorism requires an aggressive strategy of
using all our might to go after the terrorists and those who support
terror: It is a war -- and we are going to win it. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Cheney! Cheney! Cheney!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: I've got some more good stuff left here yet.
(Applause.)
In what may be his most desperate effort to burnish his
credentials, Senator Kerry claimed in one of the debates that before he
voted on the war in Iraq, he went to New York and talked to all the
members of the United Nations Security Council.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Quote, "I talked to all of them," he said.
He's made the same claim before, saying that he met, quote, "with the
entire Security Council, and we spent a couple of hours talking about"
how to deal with Saddam Hussein.
A reporter for The Washington Times decided to check on Senator
Kerry's meeting. The reporter got hold of five ambassadors on the
Security Council; four of them said they had never met with Senator
Kerry. (Laughter.) Apparently he talked to a few individuals on the
Security Council, but there never was a meeting with all of them. An
official at the U.S. mission to the U.N. remarked, we were as surprised
as anyone when Kerry started talking about a meeting with the Security
Council. (Laughter.)
John Kerry does not have the judgment or the conviction that
America needs in a President. He is not a steadfast leader. And our
President is. (Applause.)
And let me tell you why that matters. A country can never know
what a President will be called upon to do. Think of the last four
years; think of the challenges of 9/11 and the global war on terror;
and because our President is a man of strong character and steadfast
determination, he has led us very well. (Applause.)
Under the President's leadership, we have reached around the world
to capture and kill thousands of al Qaeda. In Afghanistan, the camps
where terrorists trained to kill Americans have been shut down, the
Taliban driven from power. (Applause.) In Iraq, we dealt with a
gathering threat, and removed the regime of Saddam Hussein.
(Applause.) Nineteen months ago, he controlled the lives of 25 million
people. Today, he sits in jail. (Applause.)
We're also helping the people of Iraq and Afghanistan build
representative governments. In Afghanistan, 10 million people
registered to vote, nearly half of them women. Elections were held two
weeks ago -- the first in the 5,000-year history of that country.
(Applause.) In January, the people of Iraq will vote, as well. And we
will be safer as a result. One of the lessons that history teaches is
that institutions of self-government turn the energies of people away
from violence to the peaceful work of building better lives. Freedom
is the best antidote to terror. (Applause.)
Because of President Bush's determination in the war on terror,
leaders around the world are getting the message. Just five days after
Saddam Hussein was captured, Colonel Ghadafi of Libya agreed to abandon
his nuclear weapons program and turn the materials over to the United
States. (Applause.)
The biggest danger we face today is having nuclear weapons
technology fall into the hands of terrorists. The President is working
with many countries in a global effort to end the trade and transfer of
these deadly technologies. The most important result thus far is that
the black-market network that supplied nuclear weapons technology to
Libya, as well as to Iran and North Korea, has been shut down. And the
world is much safer as a result. (Applause.)
We could not have succeeded in these efforts without the help of
dozens of countries around the world. We will always seek
international support for international efforts, but as President Bush
has made very clear, there is a difference between leading a coalition
of many nations and submitting to the objections of a few. We will
never seek a permission slip to defend the United States of America.
(Applause.)
The clearest, most important difference in this campaign is simple
to state: President Bush understands the war on terror and has a
strategy for winning it. Senator Kerry does not. (Applause.)
All doubt on the matter was removed recently when Senator Kerry
said he wanted to lead America back to the place where we were -? to a
time when terrorism was, in his word, a "nuisance."
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Like illegal gambling or prostitution. That's
the comparison he made. When I read that, I thought to myself: When
was terrorism only a nuisance? Was it a nuisance four years ago, when
the USS Cole was attacked and we lost 17 sailors off Yemen? Was it a
nuisance six years ago when they attacked simultaneously two of our
embassies in East Africa and killed hundreds of people?
AUDIENCE: No!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Was terrorism just a nuisance 11 years ago,
when the World Trade Center was first bombed?
AUDIENCE: No!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Or 16 years ago, when Pan Am Flight 103 was
blown out of the skies over Lockerbie Scotland?
AUDIENCE: No!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Or 21 years ago, when a suicide bomber driving
a truck loaded with explosives hit our barracks in Beirut and killed
241 of our Marines?
AUDIENCE: No!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: My friends, there never was a time when
terrorism was just a nuisance. There never can be a time when
terrorism is just a nuisance. Our goal is not to reduce terror to some
acceptable level. Our goal is to defeat terror -- and with George W.
Bush as President, that's exactly what we'll do. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: These are not times for leaders who shift with
the political winds; or who fail to understand the nature of the
struggle we are in. Our troops, our allies, and our enemies must know
where America stands. The President of the United States must be clear
and consistent. In his years in Washington, John Kerry has been one of
a hundred votes in the Senate -? and fortunately on matters of national
security, his views rarely prevailed. But the presidency is an
entirely different proposition. A senator can be wrong for 20 years,
without consequence to the nation. But a President -- a President --
always casts the deciding vote. And in this time of challenge, America
needs ?- and America has ?- a President we can count on to get it
right. (Applause.)
The President knows that our dedicated servicemen and women
represent the very best of the United States of America. (Applause.)
I want to thank them, their families, and all the veterans with us here
today for what they've done for all of us. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: USA! USA! USA!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Our country requires strong and consistent
leadership for our actions overseas, and the same is true here at
home. When President Bush and I stood on the inaugural platform on the
west front of the Capitol and took the oath of office, our economy was
sliding into recession. Then terrorists struck on 9/11 and shook the
economy once again. We faced a basic decision -? to leave more money
with families and businesses, or to take more of the American people's
hard-earned money for the federal government. President Bush made his
choice. He proposed and he delivered tax cuts for the American people
not once, not twice, but four times in four years. (Applause.)
Every American who pays federal income taxes benefited from the
Bush tax cuts, and so has our economy. We've created jobs for 13
consecutive months -? a total of over 1.9 million new jobs during that
period. Here in Florida, more than 300,000 jobs have been created
since December of '01. Mortgage rates, and interest rates, and
inflation are all low. Consumers are confident, businesses are
investing, families are taking home more of what they earn.
(Applause.)
We know there are still challenges. The President and I will not
be satisfied until every American who wants to work can find a job.
But this is a strong, growing economy -- don't let the Democrats tell
you otherwise. (Applause.)
Our accomplishments these past four years have made America safer,
stronger, and better. In our second term, we'll keep moving forward
with a pro-growth, pro-jobs agenda. We'll work to make the Bush tax
cuts permanent. (Applause.)
To help families and small businesses, we'll lead a bipartisan
effort to reform and simplify the federal tax code. (Applause.)
We'll work to end lawsuit abuse because we know that it's easier for
America's businesses to hire new workers if they don't have to keep
hiring lawyers. (Applause.)
We'll continue to work to help parents and teachers improve our
public schools so that all our children receive the world-class
education they deserve. (Applause.) We will work to make it easier
for small businesses to provide health insurance to employees and for
families to meet their health care needs ?- and we'll do this in ways
that keep health decisions in the hands of doctors and patients, not in
the hands of Washington bureaucrats. (Applause.)
We will work for medical liability reform because we know the cost
of malpractice insurance is creating a crisis, not only in Florida, but
across the nation. (Applause.) America's doctors should be able to
spend their time healing patients, not fighting off frivolous
lawsuits. (Applause.)
My friends, the differences between the President and his opponent
are as sharp as they can possibly be, and the consequences for the
country, enormous. On vital matters of national security, Senator
Kerry offers a record of weakness and a strategy of retreat. President
Bush offers a record of steady purpose and resolute action, and a
strategy for victory. (Applause.) Senator Kerry wants to empower
government; President Bush will empower the citizens of this great
country. (Applause.) John Kerry seems to think that all the wisdom is
found in Washington, D.C.; George Bush trusts the wisdom of the
American people. (Applause.)
Under the President's leadership, we will use America's great power
to serve great purposes, to protect our homeland by turning back and
defeating the forces of terror, and to spread hope and freedom around
the world. Here at home, we will continue building prosperity that
reaches every corner of the land so that every child in America has a
chance to learn, to succeed, and to rise in the world. (Applause.)
The President and I are honored by your commitment to the cause we
all share. President Bush and I will wage this effort with complete
confidence in the judgment of the American people. The signs are good
-? here in Florida, and even in Massachusetts. (Applause.) According
to a news account, people leaving the national convention of the
Democratic Party in July asked a Boston policeman for directions. He
replied, leave here ?- and go vote Republican. (Applause.)
President Bush and I are honored to have the support of that police
officer -- (laughter) -- and of Democrats, Republicans, and
independents from every calling in American life. We're grateful to
our many friends across the great state of Florida. I want to thank
you for the tremendous welcome this morning. We're proud to have you
on the team. And together, on November 2nd, we'll see our cause
forward to victory.
Thank you very much. (Applause.)
END 10:40 A.M. EDT
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