For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
August 4, 2004
President's Remarks in Davenport, Iowa
Leclaire Park and Bandshell
Davenport, Iowa
11:09 A.M. CDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all so very much for coming. Thanks for
having me. (Applause.) It's great to be back here in the Quad Cities
area; it's a great place to work and raise your family; it's what I
would call the heart and soul of the country. (Applause.) We have a
little difference of opinion about the heart and soul -- some of them
think you can find it in Hollywood.
THE AUDIENCE: No!
THE PRESIDENT: I think you find it right here in Davenport, Iowa.
(Applause.)
I'm looking forward to the race. I'm here to ask for your vote and
ask for your help. (Applause.) Everywhere we're going, the crowds are
big, the enthusiasm is high, the signs are good -- with your help, Dick
Cheney and I will have four more years. (Applause.)
I regret -- I regret that Laura is not here to see this significant
crowd. (Applause.) She is a fabulous First Lady. (Applause.) She is
a great mother and a wonderful wife. Today I'm going to give you some
reasons for you to put me back in office, but perhaps the most
important reason of all is so that Laura will be the First Lady for
four more years. (Applause.)
I'm proud to be running with Dick Cheney. I admit, he's not the
prettiest one on the ticket. (Laughter.) I didn't pick him for his
looks. (Laughter.) I picked him for his judgment and his experience.
Dick Cheney is a great Vice President. (Applause.)
I want to thank my friend, Jim Nussle. I appreciate his leadership
in the United States Congress. He's the budget man. He's looking out
after your money. He and I understand when we spend money in
Washington, it's not the government's money, it's the people's money.
(Applause.)
I appreciate my friend, Jim Leach joining us today. What a fine,
fine citizen of the state of Iowa. (Applause.) I want to thank my
friend, Tom Latham, for joining us, the congressman from the other part
of the state. Thanks for inviting him here to eastern Iowa.
(Applause.) It's good for your congressmen to get a taste for the
decency of the folks that live in this part of the state. (Applause.)
I want to thank Chuck Gipp, David Vaudt, all the state officials
here. I appreciate the mayor coming. Mr. Mayor, we're proud you're
here. (Applause.) Fill the potholes. (Laughter.)
I want to thank Mayor Freemire, of Bettendorf, as well; I'm proud
you're here. I want to thank my friend, David Roederer, who is
campaign chairman for this great state of Iowa. I appreciate my
friend, Larry Gatlin -- we were both raised in west Texas together, I
was in Midland, he was in Odessa. I can't sing, he can. (Laughter and
applause.)
Listen, I want to thank all the grassroots activists who are here.
I appreciate you coming. I want to thank you for what you are going to
do -- which is to register the voters. We have a duty in this country
to vote. Make sure you register people. Don't worry about what party
they're in; we want everybody voting in America. (Applause.) However,
now when you're convincing them who to vote for, don't overlook
discerning Democrats and wise independents. (Laughter.) When you get
them headed toward the poll, nudge them our way. I'm counting on your
help, and together we're going to win not only Iowa, but it's going to
be a great victory in November nationwide. (Applause.) We were close
in Iowa last time. Not this time, we're going to carry it.
(Applause.)
Every incumbent who's asking for the vote has to answer a
question: Why? Why should the American people give me the great
privilege of serving as your President for four more years? In the
past years we've been through a lot together. We've been through a
whole lot together. And we've accomplished a great deal. But there's
only one reason to look backward at the record, and that is to
determine who best to lead our nation forward.
I'm asking for your vote because so much is at stake. We have more
to do. We must work to move America forward. I want to be your
President for four more years to make our country safer. (Applause.)
THE AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more
years!
`THE PRESIDENT: I want to be your President for four more years to
make our economy stronger. I want to be your President for four more
years to make our future brighter and better for every one of our
citizens. (Applause.) From creating jobs to improving schools, from
fighting terror to spreading the peace, we have made much progress and
there is still more to do. (Applause.)
We have more to do to make our public schools the centers of
excellence we know that they can be, so that no child is left behind in
this country. When we came to office three-and-a-half years ago, too
many children were being shuffled from grade to grade, year after year,
without learning the basics. So we've challenged the soft bigotry of
low expectations. We've raised the bar. (Applause.) We believe in
accountability. We believe in making sure local folks are in charge of
public schools. We believe in empowering parents. And, today,
children across America are showing real progress in reading and math.
When it comes to improving America's public schools, we're turning the
corner, and we're not turning back. (Applause.)
Listen, we've got more to do. The world we're in is changing. The
jobs of the future will require greater knowledge and a higher level
skills. So we've got to reform our high schools to make sure a high
school diploma means something. We're going to expand math and science
so young people can compete in our high tech world. We will expand the
use of the Internet to bring high level training into classrooms. With
four more years, we will help a rising generation gain the skills and
confidence they need to realize the American Dream. (Applause.)
We have more to do to make quality health care available and
affordable. When we came to office, too many older Americans could not
afford prescription drugs -- and Medicare didn't pay for them. Leaders
in both political parties for years had promised prescription drug
coverage for our seniors -- we got it done. (Applause.) Already, more
than 4 million seniors have signed up for drug discount cards that
provide real savings. 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 remember campaigning with Nussle and Leach and Latham, and your
fine United States senator, Charles Grassley. (Applause.) I said,
we're going to strengthen Medicare to make sure rural hospitals in Iowa
get the help they need. So we provided more funds to hospitals healing
-- handling a low volume of patients. We've increased payments for
ambulance providers and suppliers in rural areas. We're giving better
bonuses to physicians, so we can keep good doctors practicing in rural
America. In other words, we delivered on our promise to the people of
Iowa. (Applause.) The other folks talk a good game -- we deliver.
(Applause.)
To help people get access to quality care, we've expanded community
health centers for low income Americans. We've created health savings
accounts, so families can save, tax-free, for their own health care
needs. When it comes to giving Americans more choices about their
health care and making health care more affordable, we're moving
America forward and we're not going to turn back. (Applause.)
This world is changing. Most Americans get their health care
coverage through their work. Most of today's new jobs are created by
small businesses, which too often cannot afford to provide health
coverage. To help more American families get health insurance, we must
allow small employers to join together to purchase insurance at the
discounts available to big companies. (Applause.)
To improve health care, we must end the frivolous lawsuits that
raise health care costs and drive doctors out of medicine.
(Applause.) You cannot be pro-patient and pro-doctor and pro-trial
lawyer at the same time. (Applause.) You have to choose. My opponent
made his choice, and he put him on the ticket. (Laughter.) I made my
choice: I will continue to work with Congress to pass medical
liability reform for the patients of America. (Applause.)
We can do more to harness technology to reduce costs and prevent
health care mistakes. We can do more to expand research and seek new
cures for terrible diseases. And in all we do to improve health care
in America, we'll make sure the health decisions are made by doctors
and patients, not by bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. (Applause.)
We have more to do to make our economy stronger. Listen, we've
come through a recession and terror attacks and corporate scandals and
a stock market decline. We overcame these obstacles because of the
hard work of Iowa's small business people, because we've got the best
workers in the world. We've overcome these obstacles because we've got
the best farmers in the world. (Applause.)
And we've overcome these obstacles because of well-timed tax relief
for the American people. Listen, we didn't pick winners and losers
when it came to tax relief. We gave tax relief to every American who
pays federal income taxes. (Applause.) We gave tax relief for
families with children. We gave tax relief for married couples.
(Applause.) What kind of tax code is it that penalizes marriage? It's
a tax code that needs to be changed. (Applause.) We gave tax relief
for every small business that purchases equipment. And this time, the
check really was in the mail. (Applause.)
Because we acted, our economy since last summer has grown at a rate
as fast as any in nearly 20 years. Because we acted, America has added
more than 1.5 million new jobs since last August. (Applause.) Because
we acted, Iowa has added more than 11,000 jobs over the past year.
Because we acted, Iowa's unemployment rate now is 4.3 percent.
(Applause.) When it comes to creating jobs for American workers, we
are turning the corner and we're not going back. (Applause.)
We worked to strengthen our farmers and ranchers. We passed a good
Farm Bill, I was proud to sign it. We phased out the death tax, so
America's family farmers [sic] can stay in the family. (Applause.)
We've opened up foreign markets for Iowa and Illinois farmers. You
see, if you're good at something, you ought to have the opportunity to
sell that which you're good at around the world. (Applause.)
Listen, this country needs an energy strategy. We must become less
dependent on foreign sources of energy if we want to keep jobs here in
America. (Applause.) And one way to become -- one way to become less
dependent on foreign sources of energy is to promote alternate sources
of fuel, like biodiesel and ethanol. (Applause.) I told the people of
this state when I was running in 2000, I support ethanol. I have kept
my promise to Iowa's farmers. (Applause.) In the last three years,
America's farmers have posted record net-cash, farm income -- record.
Record exports. Record farm equity and land values. I have made the
success of America's farmers and ranchers a priority, and America is
better off for it. (Applause.)
To keep jobs in America, regulations need to be reasonable and
fair. To keep jobs in America, we must end the junk lawsuits which
threaten our small businesses. (Applause.) To keep jobs in America,
we will not overspend your money, and we will keep your taxes low.
(Applause.) To keep jobs in America, we will offer a workers a
lifetime of learning, and to make sure they get training for the jobs
of the future at our community colleges. The education and training
community colleges offer can be the bridge between people's lives as
they are, and people's lives as they want them to be.
And we're going to make sure America's families keep more of
something they never have enough of, and that is time -- time to be
with your kids, time to take care of your parents, time to go to class
to improve yourselves. Congress needs to work with the administration
to enact comp-time and flex-time to help America's families better
juggle their home needs and their work needs. (Applause.)
What I'm telling you is, after four more years, the economy will be
better. More small business owners will be in America. Better and
higher paying jobs will exist here. And our farmers will be able to
put something aside for the future generations. (Applause.)
We have more to do to wage and win the war against terror.
America's future depends on our willingness to lead in this world. If
America shows uncertainty and weakness in this decade, the world will
drift toward tragedy. This is not going to happen on my watch.
(Applause.)
THE AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more
years!
THE PRESIDENT: The world changed on a terrible September morning,
and since that day, we have changed the world. Before September the
11th, Afghanistan served as the home base for al Qaeda, which trained
and deployed thousands of killers to set up terror cells in dozens of
countries, including our own. Today, Afghanistan is a rising
democracy. Afghanistan is a place where many young girls now go to
school for the first time. (Applause.) Afghanistan is an ally in the
war against terror, and 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. Pakistani
forces are aggressively helping to round up the terrorists. America
and the world are safer. (Applause.)
In Saudi Arabia, before September the 11th, terrorists were raising
money and recruiting and operating with little opposition. Today, the
Saudi government is taking the fight to 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
have sent a strong and clear message, the leader of Libya has abandoned
his pursuit of weapons of mass destruction, and 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, enforcing the world's sanctions. He had pursued and used
weapons of mass destruction -- (applause) -- against his own people.
He had harbored terrorists. He invaded his neighbors. He subsidized
families of suicide bombers. He had murdered tens of thousands of his
own citizens. He was a source of great instability in a volatile part
of the world. After September the 11th, we looked at all the threats
in a new light. One of the lessons of September the 11th, is this
country must take threats seriously before they fully materialize.
(Applause.)
The September the 11th Commission concluded that our institutions
of government had failed to imagine the horror of that day. After
September the 11th, we could not fail to imagine that a brutal tyrant
who hated America, had ties to terror, had used weapons of mass
destruction might use those weapons or share his deadly capabilities
with our enemies. (Applause.) We saw a threat. The United States
Congress, members of both political parties -- including my opponent --
looked at the same intelligence and saw a threat to America. The
United Nations looked at the same intelligence, and it saw a threat and
unanimously demanded a full accounting of Saddam Hussein's weapons and
weapons programs, or face serious consequences. That's what the free
world demanded. After 12 years of defiance, the tyrant refused to
comply. He continued to deceive the world. He deceived the weapons
inspectors that the world had sent into Iraq. Now, I had a choice to
make: Do I forget the lessons of September the 11th and trust a
madman?
THE AUDIENCE: No!
THE PRESIDENT: Or do I take action to defend America? Given that
choice, I will defend our country. (Applause.)
THE AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more
years!
THE PRESIDENT: Because the dictator sits in a prison cell, the
people of Iraq are better off. America and the world are safer.
(Applause.)
When it comes to fighting the threats of our world, when it comes
to making America safer, when it comes to spreading peace, we're moving
forward, and we're not turning back. (Applause.)
We've got more to do. I'm running for four more years because
we've got more to do. (Applause.) We must continue to work with our
friends and allies around the world to aggressively pursue the
terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere. See, you can't talk
sense to the terrorists.
THE AUDIENCE: No!
THE PRESIDENT: You cannot negotiate with them.
THE AUDIENCE: No!
THE PRESIDENT: You cannot hope for the best. We must engage the
enemies around the world so we do not have to face them here at home.
(Applause.) America will continue to lead the world with confidence
and moral clarity. (Applause.) We put together a strong coalition to
help us defeat terror, and that's necessary. Over 60 nations are
involved with the proliferation security initiative. Nearly 40 nations
are involved in Afghanistan. Some 30 nations are involved in Iraq. We
will continue to build our alliances. We will continue to 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.)
We will keep our commitment to help Afghanistan and Iraq become
peaceful, democratic societies. These two nations are now governed by
strong leaders, people who want the boys and girls of their respective
countries to grow up in peace. They know what we know in America:
moms and dads long for a peaceful society; they long for their children
to be able to be educated and realize their dreams. The people of
these countries are stepping up, providing security for their own
people. After years of brutality they see a glimmer of hope, a chance
to live in a free society. And these people can count on our help and
the help of our coalition.
You see, when we acted to protect our own security, we also
promised to help deliver them from tyranny, to restore their
sovereignty, to help set them on the path to liberty. And when America
gives its word, America will keep its word. (Applause.)
In these crucial times, our commitments are kept by the men and
women of our military. At bases across our country and the world, I've
had the privilege of meeting with those who defend our country and
sacrifice for our security. I've seen their great decency and their
unselfish courage. The cause of freedom is in really good hands.
(Applause.) And our men and women in uniform deserve the full support
of our government. (Applause.) Last September, while our troops were
in combat in both Afghanistan and Iraq, I proposed supplemental funding
to support our military and its mission. This legislation provided
funding for body armor and vital equipment, hazard pay, health
benefits, ammunition, fuel and spare parts for our military. In the
Senate, only a small, out-of-the-mainstream minority of 12 voted
against the legislation. Two of those 12 senators are my opponent and
his running mate.
THE AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: Here's how my opponent tried to explain his vote.
He said: I actually did vote for the $87 billion, before I voted
against it. (Laughter.) End quote. (Laughter.) Then he went on to
say that he was proud that he and his running mate voted against it and
he further said: The whole thing is a complicated matter.
There is 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. A free and peaceful Iraq, and
a free and peaceful Afghanistan will be a powerful example to their
neighbors in a part of the world that is desperate for freedom.
(Applause.)
Free countries do not export terror. Free countries listen to the
dreams and aspirations of their citizens. By serving the ideal of
liberty, we're bringing hope to others, and that makes America more
secure. By serving the ideal of liberty, we're making the world a more
peaceful place. By serving the ideal of liberty, we serve the deepest
ideals of our country. Freedom is not America's gift to the world;
freedom is the Almighty God's gift to each man and woman in this
world. (Applause.)
We have more to do to protect us. Enemies who hate us are still
plotting to harm us. Those who claim that America's war on terror is
to blame for terror threats against the United States have a
fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of the enemy. See, the 9/11
Commission said something wise: Our homeland is safer, but we are not
yet safe.
Beginning immediately after September the 11th, we started the hard
process of reform. We transformed our defenses. We've created a new
Department of Homeland Security. We passed the Patriot Act to give law
enforcement the tools they need to help make America more secure.
(Applause.) The mission of the FBI is now focused on preventing
terror. We're integrating intelligence and law enforcement better than
we ever have before. We've taken action on a large majority of the
Commission's recommendations. We have more to do to better secure our
ports and borders, to train first responders, to dramatically improve
our intelligence gathering capability. That's why this week I called
on Congress to create a position of National Intelligence Director, so
that one person is in charge of coordinating all our intelligence
efforts, overseas and here at home.
These reforms are not going to be easy. I understand that. You
see, reform is never easy in Washington. (Laughter.) There's a lot of
entrenched interests there. People don't like to have the status quo
challenged. It's not enough, though, to advocate reform, you have to
be able to get it done. (Applause.)
And we're getting it done on behalf of the people of this country.
When it comes to reforming schools to provide an excellent education
for all our children, results matter. When it comes to health care
reforms that give families more access and more choices, results
matter. When it comes to improving our economy, and creating quality
jobs, results matter. When it comes to a strong farm economy, results
matter. When it comes to better securing our homeland, fighting the
forces of terror, and promoting the peace, results matter. When it
comes to electing a President, results matter. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
THE PRESIDENT: No, there's a lot of big talkers in the nation's
capital. We just like to be known as the people who can get the job
done. (Applause.) We're living in a time of great change. And it's
an exciting time -- it really is -- to be an American. We got to make
sure government responds to these times by standing side-by-side with
people, side-by-side with our workers and side-by-side with our
families. The best way to do so, in my judgment, is to encourage
people to own something; to encourage people to own their own homes.
Listen, the home ownership in America is at an all-time high, and
that's good news for our country. (Applause.)
We want our workers to be able to own their own health care
accounts so they can take them from job to job. We want younger
workers to be able to own a Social Security personal retirement account
that they can call their own and pass on from one generation to the
next. (Applause.)
We want people owning their own farm and their own small business.
See, we understand when you own something, you have a vital stake in
the future of this country. The world is -- times have changed, but
some things are not going to change. Our belief in liberty will not
change. Our belief in the non-negotiable demands of human dignity will
not change. Our desire to make sure opportunity, the great American
experience is spread throughout every corner of this country, will not
change. The individual values we try to live by won't change: courage
and compassion, reverence and integrity. The institutions that give us
direction and purpose are important: our families, our schools, our
religious congregation. They are so important and so fundamental, they
deserve the respect of government. (Applause.)
We stand for things. We stand for something. We stand for
institutions, like marriage and family, which are the foundations of
our society. (Applause.) We stand for a culture of life in which
every person matters and every person counts. (Applause.) We stand for
judges who faithfully interpret the law, instead of legislating from
the bench.
And we stand for a culture of responsibility in America. This
culture of ours is changing from one that has said, 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're responsible for the
decisions we make in life. (Applause.) 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 about
the quality of the education in the community in which you live, you
are responsible for doing something about it. (Applause.) If you are
a CEO in corporate America, you're 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. Listen,
the strength of this country is not our military; the strength of this
country is not our wallets -- the strength of this country is the heart
and soul of the American people. (Applause.)
I want to be your President for four more years so we can continue
to rally the armies of compassion, so we can help 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 a nation, when little is
expected of its leaders. This isn't one of those times. It's a time
that requires strength and firm resolve. This is a time that requires
courage and our willingness to lead.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: That's why we love you! (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: None of us will ever forget that era -- that week
when one era ended and another one began. On September the 14th, 2001,
I stood in the ruins of the Twin Towers. It's a day I will never
forget. There were workers in hard hats yelling at me: Whatever it
takes. A guy grabbed me by the arm, he had tears in his eyes, he was
exhausted from searching through the rubble to find his friend. He
said: Do not let me down. He took it personally. The people
searching through the rubble took that day personally. You took it
personally and so did I. (Applause.)
I wake up every morning thinking about how to better protect our
people. I will never relent in defending America, whatever it takes.
(Applause.)
THE AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more
years!
THE PRESIDENT: No, we've come through much together. We've done
hard work. During the next four years we will spread ownership and
opportunity all throughout our land. We'll pass the enduring values of
our country to another generation. And during the next four years
we'll continue to lead in the cause of freedom, so the world will be a
more peaceful place. (Applause.)
You know, four years ago I traveled your great state asking for the
vote, and I made a pledge that if you honored me with this great
responsibility I would uphold the dignity and the honor of the office
to which I had been elected, so help me, God. (Applause.) And with
your help, I will do so during the next four years. May God bless
you. Thanks for coming. Thank you all. (Applause.)
END 11:27 A.M. CDT
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