For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
August 14, 2004
President and Mrs. Bush's Remarks at Sioux City, Iowa Rally
Tyson Events Center
Sioux City, Iowa
1:15 P.M. CDT
MRS. BUSH: Thanks, everybody. Thank you all very much. Thank
you, Congressman King. We're so glad to be here today in Iowa. I was
in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday, George was in Davenport last week, and it's
great to be here in Sioux City together today. (Applause.)
I love traveling our great country with the President. But not
everybody has gotten to know him like we have. Last fall we walked
into an elementary school in Hawaii, and a little 2nd-grader came out
to welcome us and bellowed, "George Washington!" (Laughter.) Close,
just the wrong George W. (Laughter.)
When I was in Cedar Rapids I had the pleasure to meet a number of
women entrepreneurs who are making life better for themselves and for
all of their employees, and I met Carmela Chaifos, the only woman to
own a tow truck company in the state of Iowa. (Applause.) Maybe in
the whole country. Carmela thinks the President deserves to be
reelected because she's put more money in her pocket through tax cuts
that she's using to expand her business and buy more equipment.
(Applause.) And like Carmela, I think George deserves to be reelected,
not only because people are keeping more of their own hard-earned
money, but I know he's got the courage and the character that these
times demand. (Applause.)
Ladies and gentlemen, my husband, our President, George W. Bush.
(Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Thank you all very much.
(Applause.) Thanks for coming. I've got an interesting line of work,
don't I -- yes, it's a line of work where you get introduced by your
wife. (Laughter.) Thankfully, she said yes when I said, will you marry
me. What a great First Lady she is, a fabulous mom, and a wonderful
wife. (Applause.) I'm going to give you some reasons today why I
think you ought to put me back into office, but perhaps the most
important one of all is so that Laura will be the First Lady for four
more years. (Applause.)
We're glad to be in Sioux land, and we thank you all for coming.
I'm here to ask for the vote. I'm here traveling this important state
to say, there's more to do to make this country a safer, stronger, and
better nation for all of our citizens. (Applause.) And I'd like your
help. I'd like you to register your friends and neighbors. See, we
have an obligation in this free land to vote. And I'd like my
supporters to encourage all your citizens to register to vote and to do
our duty. And when you get them headed to the polls, you might just
tell them, for the sake of a better nation, George Bush and Dick Cheney
are ready to lead for four more years. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
THE PRESIDENT: We're coming off a -- we're coming off a swing
around the West. It's been a great trip. The crowds are large, the
enthusiasm is strong. And there's no doubt in my mind with your help
we will carry Iowa and we will win a great national victory in 2004.
(Applause.)
Tomorrow, I'm going to travel down to Florida to visit with those
whose lives have been hurt by Hurricane Charlie. I just want them to
know that our federal government is responding quickly. We have got
aid stations in place. FEMA federal officials are on the ground
working with state and local officials. Many lives have been affected
by this hurricane. And I know you join me in sending our prayers to
those people who look for solace and help. (Applause)
I'm running with a really good man in Vice President Cheney. Look,
I didn't pick him because he's the prettiest guy in -- (laughter). I
picked him because he can do the job. I picked him for his advice and
his sound judgment. (Applause.) And we're ready to go. I'm looking
forward to it. There are big differences, and I'm looking forward to
making those differences clear to the American people.
I want to thank my friend, Congressman Steve King. I appreciate
his leadership. I look forward to working with him for four more years
for the good of this country. (Applause.)
I know the state auditor, David Vaudt, is here. I know the speaker
is with us today, Christopher Rants. And I want to thank Ralph Klemme
for coming. I want to thank all the state officials who are serving
the state of Iowa, and those from Nebraska. (Applause.) Those good
souls from South Dakota who have come down here. (Applause.) Let me
make something clear about South Dakota -- John Thune needs to be the
United States senator. (Applause.)
I want to thank the Mayor, Dave Ferris, here from Sioux City. Mr.
Mayor, thanks for coming. (Applause.) Fill the potholes. (Laughter
and applause.) I want to thank my friend Dave Roederer, who is the
state campaign chairman for Iowa. He knows what I know -- we're going
to carry this state. (Applause.)
Backstage, I had the honor of meeting Jeff Fortenberry. He's
running for the United States Congress for Nebraska. (Applause.) I
want to thank the Blue County Band for being here. I appreciate you
lending your talents. (Applause.) I thank the All American Concert
Band for being here. (Applause.) Most of all, I want to thank you all
for being here. Thanks for taking time out of your weekend to come.
(Applause.)
In the past few years, Americans have been through a lot together.
These have been hard times. We've accomplished a great deal. But
there's only one reason to look backwards, and that is to determine who
best to lead us forward. See, that's the only reason to look
backwards, is who best to get the job done for the American people.
(Applause.)
I'm asking for the vote, and I'm working hard to ask for the vote
because so much is at stake in this election. We have much more to do
to move this country forward. I'm running again because I want to work
to continue to create jobs and improve our schools. I'm running again
because I know we've got to continue to fight the terrorists to secure
our homeland. I'm running again to spread the peace. I'm running
again -- (applause.) What I'm here to tell you is, we have made much
progress, and there is more work to be done. (Applause.)
We have more to do to make our public schools the centers of
excellence. We all know they can be so that no child is left behind in
America. You might remember, three-and-a-half years ago, there was --
when we came to office, too many of our children were being shuffled
from grade to grade, year after year, without learning the basics. We
have challenged the soft bigotry of low expectations. (Applause.) We
have raised the bar. We believe in accountability because we want to
know whether or not our children are learning to read and write and add
and subtract. We believe in local control of schools. When we find
schools that will not teach and will not change, we are bold enough to
challenge the status quo. (Applause.)
There's more work to be done. We want our high school diplomas to
mean something. We want to intervene early before it's too late. We
want to make sure that technology is in the classrooms so that we can
bring high-level training to our kids. We want to emphasize math and
science. What I'm telling you is after four more years, a rising
generation will have skills and competence necessary to compete in the
21st century. (Applause.)
We have more to do to make quality health care affordable and
available. You might remember those Medicare debates. You might
remember campaign after campaign, people would travel this state
saying, don't worry, we'll strengthen Medicare. We got the job done.
(Applause.) Drug discount cards that provide real savings are
available for our seniors, beginning in 2006. All seniors on Medicare
will be able to choose a plan that suits their needs and gives them
coverage for prescription drugs.
I was working with -- I remember campaigning in this state in
2002. There were a lot of skeptics. People would say, well, you know,
they talk a good game in Washington. Do you remember what was
happening to the rural hospitals of Iowa? Do you remember what it was
like when the reimbursement levels didn't support health care in this
important state? I stood up for Charles Grassley, the fine United
States Senator from Iowa. I said, we're going to work together to get
the job done. (Applause.) And we got the job done for the people of
this state.
We're helping low-income seniors by expanding community health
centers. We've created health savings accounts so families can save
tax-free for their own health care needs. We're getting the job done
in America to -- for health care. And there's more to do. We want our
small businesses to be able to pool across jurisdictional boundaries so
they can afford insurance just like big companies are able to do. In
order to make sure you've got health care available and affordable in
Iowa and Nebraska and South Dakota, we need medical liability reform
now. (Applause.)
See, I don't think you can be -- I don't think you can be
pro-patient and pro-doctor and pro-trial lawyer at the same time.
(Applause.) I think you have to choose. My opponent made his choice,
and he put him on the ticket. (Laughter.) I made my choice, we need
medical liability reform now. (Applause.)
We will expand research and seek cures for diseases. We will
harness technology to reduce costs. And in all we do to improve health
care in America, I'll make sure that the health decisions are made by
doctors and patients, not by Washington, D.C. bureaucrats. (Applause.)
Listen, there's more work -- there's more work to be done to keep
our economy strong. We've been through a lot. Think about what this
economy has been through. We've been through a recession, corporate
scandals, a terror attack -- yet we've overcome those obstacles. We've
overcome them because our workers are great. We've overcome them
because our farmers and ranchers are really good at what they do.
(Applause.) We've overcome them because the entrepreneurial spirit of
this country is really strong. We've overcome it because small
businesses are vibrant and healthy and expanding. And we've overcome
it because of well-timed tax cuts. (Applause.)
When it came time to -- came time for providing tax relief, when it
came time -- which really means just letting you keep more of your own
money. Sometimes you hear them in Washington say, well, we're going to
give them some government money. (Laughter.) That's not government
money. No, that's the people's money. That's whose money is it.
(Applause.) We said, if you pay tax, you ought to get relief -- it
seems like to be the fair way to do things instead of trying to pick
winners and losers. If you're a mom or a dad, you got relief. We've
increased the child credit. We've provided relief from the marriage
penalty. I never quite understood a tax code that penalizes marriage.
It seems like policy ought to encourage marriage in America.
(Applause.)
We helped our small businesses, and this time, the check actually
was in the mail. (Laughter.) Because we acted, our economy, since
last summer, has grown at a rate as fast as any in nearly 20 years.
This economy is strong; it's getting stronger. We've added about 1.5
million new jobs; the national unemployment rate is 5.5 percent, and
right here in the state of Iowa, your unemployment rate is 4.3
percent. (Applause.)
And there's more work to be done. I'm running because I understand
that we've got to continue with a pro-growth, pro-entrepreneur,
pro-agricultural policy in order to make sure this economy stays strong
and people can find work. You know, when I campaigned before, I said,
give me a chance and I'll stay focused on the agricultural economy of
America. See, I understand, good agricultural policy is good economic
policy for this country. (Applause.)
We passed a good farm bill, and it's working. Farm income is up,
property values are up, our farmers and ranchers are making a good
living, and that's good for the American economy. (Applause.) And
also, there's something else to help our farm economy -- we put the
death tax on its way to extinction. (Applause.) The problem is -- the
problem is, unless you have a President and Congress who understands
how devastating the death tax is to our agricultural economy and our
small business economy, it's going to come back to life in 2011. It's
going to make it kind of strange in 2010. I believe we ought to get
rid of the death tax forever. (Applause.)
In order to make sure jobs stay here in America and people can find
work, we need an energy policy which makes us less dependent on foreign
sources of energy. (Applause.) That's why I am a strong supporter of
alternative sources of energy like ethanol and biodiesel. (Applause.)
Someday my hope is that somebody walks into the Oval Office and plops a
report right in front of the President and says, the corn crop is up
and we're less dependent on foreign sources of energy. (Applause.)
In order to make sure we've got jobs here, we must have wise trade
policy. See, I believe in free trade, and I believe in fair trade. I
believe the job of this administration is to reject economic
isolationism and open up markets. One reason the farm economy is high
is because not only are our farmers feeding Americans, they're feeding
people all around the world. (Applause.)
In order to make sure we've got jobs here, we need less regulations
and less lawsuits against our employers. (Applause.) In order to make
sure we've got jobs here, we must not overspend your money. And we
must keep your taxes low. (Applause.) And that's an issue in this
campaign. We still got about 80 days to go in this campaign, and the
fellow I'm running against has already made over $2.2 trillion of new
promises. And so I said, well, how are you going to pay for it? He
said, oh, don't worry, we'll tax the rich. You've heard that rhetoric
before, haven't you? It's why the rich have got accountants.
(Laughter.) Figure out how he can't tax them. In order to make sure
he fulfills all his promises, guess who is going to pay? You are. But
the good news is we're not going to let him get in office in the first
place. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
THE PRESIDENT: I'm running because I know we need to continue with
a pro-growth, pro-entrepreneur, pro-farmer economic agenda to make sure
people can find a decent wage in this country, and to make sure this
country is the strongest economy in the industrialized world.
(Applause.)
We have more to do to wage and win the war against terror. Our
future depends on our willingness to lead in this world. See, if
America shows uncertainty and weakness in this decade, the world will
drift toward tragedy. This will not happen on my watch. (Applause.)
The world changed on that terrible September morning. And since
that day, we have changed the world. Before September the 11th,
Afghanistan served as the home base of al Qaeda, which trained and
deployed thousands of killers to set up terrorist cells around the
world, including our own country. Because we acted, Afghanistan is a
rising democracy. (Applause.) Because we acted -- because we acted,
Afghanistan is an ally in the war on terror. Because we acted, many
young girls now go to school for the first time. Because we acted,
America and the world are safer. (Applause.)
Before September the 11th, Pakistan was a safe transit point for
terrorists. Today, Pakistan is an ally in the war on terror, and
America and the world are safer. (Applause.) Before September the
11th, in Saudi Arabia the terrorists were raising money and recruiting
and operating with little opposition. Today, the government, the Saudi
government is after al Qaeda. America and the world are safer.
(Applause.) Before September the 11th, Libya was spending millions to
acquire weapons of mass destruction. Today, because America and our
allies sent a clear and strong message, the leader of Libya has
abandoned his pursuit of weapons of mass destruction, America and the
world are safer. (Applause.)
Before September the 11th, the ruler of Iraq was a sworn enemy of
America. He was defying the world. He was firing weapons at American
pilots who were enforcing the world's sanctions. He had pursued and he
had used weapons of mass destruction. He had harbored terrorists. He
invaded his neighbors. He subsidized the families of suicide bombers.
Saddam Hussein murdered tens of thousands of his own citizens. He was
a source of instability in a -- in the world's most volatile region.
He was a threat.
We looked at intelligence. Not only did we look at the facts, we
looked at intelligence as we had it, and saw a threat. I knew it was
important to bring the Congress in, so I called on Congress to give me
its judgment. The Congress remembered the facts and looked at the
intelligence and saw a threat. You see both of us saw a threat -- me
and the Congress saw a threat -- because we remembered one of the
lessons of September the 11th was, is that when we saw a threat we must
deal with it before it full materializes. (Applause.) It's a
different world we're in.
So members of Congress -- like me -- saw that lesson and voted
overwhelmingly to use force, if necessary, to protect America. Members
of both political parties looked at the intelligence and made that
declaration. My opponent looked at the same intelligence and came to
the same conclusion I did.
I then went to the United Nations. See, I do think it's important
always to have war as the last resort, and that we must try diplomacy
as first resort, in order to bring the peace. So I went to the U.N.
They agreed with our assessment that Saddam Hussein was a threat. You
might remember they voted overwhelmingly in the U.N. Security Council
to say to Saddam Hussein, disclose, disarm, or face serious
consequences.
As he had for over a decade, he didn't care what the free world
said. Remember, he defied the world, resolution after resolution after
resolution. He did so again. As a matter of fact, when we sent
inspectors in to find out the facts, he systematically deceived them.
So I had a choice to make: either forget the lessons of September the
11th and trust the word of a madman, or take action to defend our
country. Given that choice, I will defend America every time.
(Applause.)
Even though -- even though we did not find the stockpiles that we
thought we would find, you need to remember that Saddam Hussein had the
capability to make weapons of mass destruction, and he could have
passed that capability on to our enemies. And that's not a risk, after
September the 11th, that we could afford to take. Knowing what I know
today, I would have taken the same action. America and the world are
safer because Saddam is in a prison cell. (Applause.)
Now -- and now, almost two years after he voted for the war in
Iraq, and about 220 days after switching positions to declare himself
the anti-war candidate, my opponent has found a new nuance.
(Laughter.) He now agrees it was the right decision to go into Iraq.
See, after months of questioning my motives and my credibility, the
Senator from Massachusetts now agrees with me that even though we have
not found the stockpile of weapons we all believed were there, knowing
everything we know today, he would have voted to go into Iraq and
remove Saddam Hussein from power. And I want to thank Senator Kerry
for clearing that up. (Laughter and applause.) Although, I caution
you, there are still 80 days left where he could change his mind
again. (Applause.)
I'm running because I know we must continue to work with friends
and allies around the world to aggressively pursue the terrorists in
Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere. See, you can't talk sense to these
people. You cannot negotiate with them. In this post-9/11 world, we
cannot simply hope for the best. We must aggressively pursue them and
defeat them in foreign lands, so we do not have to face them here at
home. (Applause.)
During the next four years, America will continue to lead the world
with confidence and moral clarity. (Applause.) We have put together a
strong coalition to help us in the pursuit of the terrorists and to
spread peace. There are nearly 40 nations involved in Afghanistan, and
some 30 nations involved in Iraq. I really appreciate the moms and
dads in those countries who share the same sacrifices that the moms and
dads and husbands and wives in our country shared, knowing a loved one
is serving a noble cause during historic times. I will continue to
build alliances and strengthen alliances, and work with our friends for
the cause of security and peace, but I will never turn over America's
national security decisions to leaders of other countries. (Applause.)
These are crucial time. They're crucial times, and we're doing the
hard work to secure our country and to spread peace. And our
commitments are being kept by our men and women of the military.
(Applause.) I want to thank the veterans who are here for setting such
a good example to those who wear the uniform today. I appreciate you
all coming. (Applause.)
I've had the privilege of traveling to bases in our country and
around the world. I've met those -- with those who defend our
security. I've seen their great decency and their unselfish courage.
I can assure you, ladies and gentlemen, the cause of freedom is in
really good hands. (Applause.)
And those who wear our uniform deserve the full support of our
government. (Applause.) Last September -- last September, while our
troops were in combat in both Afghanistan and Iraq, I proposed
supplemental funding to support them in their missions. The
legislation provided funding for body armor and vital equipment, hazard
pay, health benefits, ammunition, fuel, spare parts. I appreciated the
bipartisan support my request received in the House and the Senate. It
was a strong support in the United States Senate. As a matter of fact,
only a small, what I would call, out-of-the-mainstream minority of 12
voted against the funding, and two of those 12 are my opponent and his
running mate.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: You might remember his initial explanation. He
said, "I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against
it." (Laughter.) That doesn't sound like the way people in Sioux land
talk. (Applause.) The pressure got on a little bit about that vote.
Then he said, well, he's proud of the vote. And he went on to say, the
whole thing is a complicated matter. (Laughter.) There's nothing
complicated about supporting our troops in combat. (Applause.)
In the long run, our security is not guaranteed by force alone. We
must work to change the conditions that give rise to terror: poverty
and hopelessness and resentment. These are historic times. A free and
peaceful Iraq and a free and peaceful Afghanistan will be powerful
examples in a neighborhood that is desperate for freedom. (Applause.)
See, Americans believe -- Americans believe that peaceful societies
emerge when governments listen to the hopes and aspirations of their
people.
In Iraq and Afghanistan, there are strong leaders who have emerged
who believe in the hopes and aspirations of their people. Success in
Iraq will be achieved when more Iraqis are trained to defeat those who
want to stop the advance of freedom. Our job is stand with the
government that is heading toward elections and preparing the Iraqis
for a day of security and freedom. That's what we're doing in Iraq.
And it's important work. It's important work because -- (applause)
-- because by serving the ideal of liberty, we're bringing hope to
others and we're making our own country more secure. By serving the
ideal of liberty, we're spreading peace. Free countries are peaceful
countries. By serving the ideal of liberty, we're serving our deepest
ideals as Americans. We believe that freedom is the Almighty God's
gift to each man and woman in this world. (Applause.)
Let me share a story with you right quick, tell you what I'm
talking about. Laura and I were having dinner with the Prime Minister
of Japan, and -- Prime Minister Koizumi, in Tokyo. And we're talking
-- and during the course of the conversation, it dawned on me that it's
really interesting that I was having a meeting with the leader of a
former enemy. My dad fought in World War II. Many of your dads fought
against the Japanese. And here we were sitting down to dinner. What
was remarkable about the conversation is we were talking about how to
keep the peace.
Fortunately, my predecessor and others in our government after
World War II believed in the power of liberty to transform enemies into
allies and friends. They believed that liberty had the capacity --
(applause) -- to take a former enemy and help them become a peaceful
advocate for freedom. And that's what happened. And fortunately, they
defied the pessimists, they didn't listen to the doubters, they didn't
listen to the naysayers. They held deep in their hearts this
conviction that we hold in America that freedom is a right of people
all around the world, and freedom is an amazingly powerful,
transforming philosophy.
And so we were talking about the peace. We were talking about how
to deal with North Korea as allies in peace. Someday, when we complete
our mission, an American President will be sitting down with a
duly-elected leader of Iraq, saying to himself or herself, thank God
America didn't forget its values, and they'll be talking about how to
keep the peace. (Applause.)
We have more work to do. We have more work to do to protect our
country. There's enemies who hate us. They still plot to harm us.
You know, there's a debate about the course of action I've taken. They
say -- he says that going to war with the terrorists is actually
improving their recruiting efforts. I strongly disagree with that.
There's obviously a clear difference of opinion. I think it shows a
misunderstanding of the nature of the enemy. I want you to remember,
during the 1990s, the terrorists were recruiting and training for war
with us long before we went to war with them. I don't think they need
an excuse for their hatred and their evil hearts. You do not create
terrorists by fighting back; you defeat the terrorists by fighting
back. (Applause.)
We're reforming how we protect our homeland. It's hard work to
reform how you protect your homeland. It's hard work to reform at all
in Washington -- a lot of entrenched interests there. But we're making
progress. You just need to know there's a lot of really good people
working hard on your behalf to find terrorists before they can hurt
us. We've created a new Department of Homeland Security.
We passed the Patriot Act. Listen, the Patriot Act is a vital
piece of legislation which gives our law enforcement the tools
necessary to crack these terrorist networks. (Applause.) And they do
so without compromising your constitutional rights as an American.
(Applause.)
We're integrating intelligence and law enforcement better than ever
before. We're taking action on a large majority of the 9/11 Commission
recommendations, which I found to be a very helpful report and a good
report. We've got more to do to secure our ports and borders and to
train our first responders, and dramatically improve
intelligence-gathering capability. When Congress comes back in, we'll
continue to work with them on the National Intelligence Director, so
one person is in charge of coordinating intelligence overseas and at
home. We're working hard. A lot of people are working hard, and I'm
proud to be associated with great people at the federal level and at
the state level, and the first responders here at the local level who
are doing their duty to the American citizens -- for the American
citizens. (Applause.)
I told you reform is hard. It's easy to advocate it in Washington,
but you have to get the job done. When you're out campaigning and
rounding up the voters, remind them, when it comes to reforming public
schools and improving education for every child, we're getting the job
done. (Applause.) When it comes to health care reforms and giving
families more access and more choices in health care, we're getting the
job done. (Applause.) When it comes to a strong agricultural economy,
we're getting the job done. (Applause.) When it comes to growing our
economy and creating quality jobs, we're getting the job done. When it
comes to securing our nation and spreading the peace, we're getting the
job done. When it comes to electing the President, put a man in there
who can get the job done. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
THE PRESIDENT: These are exciting times we live in, and there a
time of change. And I think one of the ways that government can help
people during a time of change is to encourage an ownership society.
We want more people owning their own health care accounts, so that if
they change jobs, they can take the health care accounts with them. We
want -- look, I've got to tell you, I'm concerned about Social
Security. For old guys like me, Social Security is fine. (Laughter.)
It's for the younger workers, those who are just starting to work,
we've got to worry about the fiscal solvency of the Social Security
system. That's why I believe we ought to allow younger workers to own
their own personal retirement account and Social Security. (Applause.)
I love the fact, in a changing world, more people own their own
home. The home ownership rate is at an all-time high in America.
There's nothing better than thinking about somebody opening a door,
say, welcome to my home. (Applause.) Come into my piece of property.
You know, the entrepreneurial sector of America is strong and vibrant.
More people are owning their own business. The reason I believe in an
ownership society is not only to provide stability during changing
times, I also understand that if you own something, you have a vital
stake in the future of our country. (Applause.)
During changing times, though, there are some things that won't
change -- our belief in liberty, opportunity and the non-negotiable
demands of human dignity. Individual values we try to live by won't
change: courage, compassion, reverence and integrity. The
institutions that give us direction and purpose: our families, our
schools, our religious congregations. (Applause.) By the way, these
institutions are fundamental to our lives. They deserve the respect of
government. (Applause.)
We stand for institutions like marriage and family, which are the
foundations of society. (Applause.) We stand for a culture of life,
in which every person matters and every person counts. We stand for
judges who faithfully interpret the law, instead of legislating from
the bench. (Applause.)
We stand for a culture of responsibility in America. The culture
of this country is changing from one that has said, you know, if it
feels good, do it, and if you've got a problem, blame somebody else, to
a culture in which each of us understands we are responsible for the
decisions we
make in life. Listen, if you're fortunate enough to be a mother or
a father, you are responsible for loving your child with all your heart
and all your soul. (Applause.) If you're worried -- if you're worried
about the quality of the education in Sioux City, Iowa, you're
responsible for doing something about it. (Applause.) If you're a CEO
in corporate America, you are responsible for telling the truth to your
shareholders and your employees. (Applause.) And in a responsibility
society, each of us is responsible for loving our neighbor just like
we'd like to be loved ourselves.
No, I understand the strength of this country is in the hearts and
souls of our citizens. Government can hand out money, but government
cannot put hope in a person's heart, or a sense of purpose in a
person's life. Government (sic) happens when a loving neighbor puts
their arm around somebody who hurts and says, I love you, and can I
help you. I will continue to rally the armies of compassion, so that
we change America one heart, one soul, one conscience at a time.
(Applause.)
For all Americans these years in our history will always stand
apart. There are quiet times in the life of nation when little is
expected of its leaders. This isn't one of those times. This is the
times where we need firm resolve and clear vison, strong belief in the
values that make us such a wonderful country.
None of us will ever forget that week when one era ended and
another began. I stood in the ruins of the Twin Towers on September
the 14th, 2001. It's a day that I'll never forget. Amidst all the
scenes in my memory that day, a couple stand out -- the workers in
hard-hats that were chanting, "Whatever it takes." I was working the
rope line. A guy grabs me. His eyes were bloodshot. He says, do not
let me down. I remember meeting with the victims' families who had
this great hope of all hopes that somehow a loved one who had rushed in
the rubble to save life would still be alive. All of us there took
that day personally. I took it personally. I know you took it
personally.
I have a duty that goes on. Every day that I wake up, I think of
best how to defend our country. I will never relent. I will stay firm
in my desire to bring justice to the enemies, to keep America safe and
secure, whatever it takes. (Applause.)
We've come through a lot. We've come through a lot together, and
we've done hard work and important work. But there's more to be done.
During the next four years, we'll spread ownership and opportunity to
every corner of America. We will pass the enduring values of our
country on to a young generation. We'll stay focused and firm in our
resolve to secure America and to spread the peace.
You know, when I campaigned through your state in 2004, I said that
if I had the high honor of holding this office, I would pledge to you
that I would uphold the dignity and the honor of the office of the
presidency. And with your help, during the next four years, I will
continue to do so.
May God bless you all. Thanks for coming. God bless. Thank you
all. (Applause.)
END 2:06 P.M. CDT
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