For Immediate Release
Office of the First Lady
September 14, 2004
Remarks by First Lady Laura Bush at a Victory '04 Rally in Des Moines, Iowa
Polk County Convention Center
Des Moines, Iowa
3:03 P.M. CDT
MRS. BUSH: Thank you all so much for being out here with me
today. I really appreciate it. And thank you very much, Senator
Lamberti, for your kind introduction, and also for your leadership as
Senate President. Thank you very much. (Applause.)
And special thanks to all the state senators and representatives
who are here with us today sitting behind me. We have Senator Nancy
Boettger, Senator Patricia Ward -- I hope you all are waving.
(Laughter.) Representative Carmine Boal, Representative Jodi Tymeson,
and Representative Linda Upmeyer, thank you all so very much for being
with me. (Applause.)
Also, Nancy Thompson is with us. Her husband, Stan, is a
congressional candidate here in Iowa. And thank you, Nancy.
(Applause.)
And I want to thank each and every one of you out here in the
crowd, because I know you're working hard to reelect President Bush and
to make sure he leads our country for four more years. (Applause.)
And I'm so happy to be in Des Moines today to talk to all of you about
why it's so important to reelect President Bush.
George and I love visiting Iowa. We have so many wonderful
memories of Iowa from all those years that we campaigned here for
President Reagan, President Bush and President Bush. (Laughter and
applause.) And we love visiting the heartland of America. And, don't
worry, we'll be back a lot between now and November 2nd. (Applause.)
Four years ago, the race here in Iowa ended up very, very close.
This year, President Bush is going to win the state of Iowa on November
2nd. (Applause.)
George and I first traveled together on the campaign trail when he
was running for Congress back in Midland in 1978. newly married, we
spent all our time driving up and down the panhandle of West Texas.
George was driving in his Oldsmobile Cutlass. And, believe me, you
learn a lot about your husband when you spend that much time in a car
with him. (Laughter.) By the end of the campaign, he had even
convinced me to vote for him. This time, I don't need any convincing.
(Applause.)
I've watched as my husband has led our country with strength and
conviction through some of the most difficult struggles of our
generation. I've watched him take decisive action to lead us out of
recession with the largest tax relief in a generation. (Applause.)
And thanks to my husband's commitment to tax relief, we've added 1.7
million jobs since last August. That's more than Germany, Japan,
England, Canada and France added, combined. (Applause.)
The unemployment rate has fallen to 5.4 nationally, and to 4.4 for
here in Iowa, which really shows how great the workers are here.
(Applause.) And today, we have a new record and that is more Americans
own their own home than at any time in our history before. (Applause.)
I've watched as our schools have improved, with high standards and
accountability and increased funding so that every child in every
neighborhood can succeed. And I've watched as my husband has made the
tough decisions that have helped safeguard our children from terror and
have helped liberate people from tyranny. (Applause.)
We've been through some historic times together in the last four
years. And these are also times of change that require new ideas to
move America forward. Today, in many families, both parents are
working full time outside of the home. Two-thirds of all mothers now
work outside of the home. And more single parents are doing double
duty alone.
More entrepreneurs are starting their own businesses, while workers
are changing jobs more often and going back to school to keep up with
our changing economy. And we're also living longer.
In New York, President Bush outlined his agenda for a new term.
Helping families face the challenges of our changing world is at the
heart of the President's plan. And every one of us know that all
opportunity starts with education.
We all want our children to go to the best schools and to learn the
skills they need for a lifetime of success. And we want our students
in high schools to be well prepared to go on to college or to join the
work force. President Bush knows that we need to strengthen math and
science education and broaden Internet learning so that young people
can compete with the jobs of the 21st century.
For workers who want to go back to school to learn new skills, the
President will work with community colleges to make career training
available all over our country. (Applause.) And because higher
education is the dream of so many, he'll work to make Pell grants more
available so that all Americans can get a college diploma if they want
one. (Applause.)
And when these graduates enter the work force, I'm proud to say
that a lot of them will go to work for a woman boss. (Applause.) Ten
million women in America own their own business, and this sisterhood
just keeps growing. Women are opening businesses at twice the rate of
men. And they employ more than 19 million employees.
In August, I met Carmela Chifos, who is a woman in Iowa who owns a
tow truck company. Carmela spent nearly two decades with her father,
building their company from a part-time hobby with one truck to a
full-time business with two dozen trucks.
Carmela told me -- and I love this quote -- if you're determined
and you want to work hard, you can do anything you want to. That's the
beautiful thing about America. (Applause.)
Small business owners like Carmela are an inspiration to us all,
and my husband wants all Americans to be able to share their success.
The President knows that starts with keeping taxes low. (Applause.)
Already, small business owners have each saved an average of $3,000
this year alone. With capital gains tax relief passed last year,
Carmela was able to buy her business from her father and some day she
hopes to pass her business on to her two children.
Tax relief is critical to helping business owners save and invest
and expand their operations. Many of you know that small business
owners are either sole proprietorships or a sub-S corp and they are
taxed just with regular income tax. So when tax relief -- when you
talk about tax relief, these business owners are getting tax relief so
they can expand their operations and hire more people.
My husband also wants to provide workers with something we never
have enough of, and that's time -- time to play with our kids, to take
care of our parents, or to volunteer in our communities. President
Bush will work with Congress to make flex time and comp time more
available so that Americans can better manage the demands of work and
family. (Applause.)
President Bush also wants all families, especially families in
rural areas, to have access to the best and most affordable health
care. For too long, doctors in rural areas were paid less for their
services under Medicare than doctors who performed the same services in
bigger cities. Rural doctors were often forced to move their practice,
and hospitals couldn't attract talented physicians.
After Congress spent years arguing over Medicare, President Bush
brought Republicans and Democrats together to increase reimbursements
for doctors and hospitals in rural areas. (Applause.) And your
Senator Grassley was also instrumental in the Medicare Reform Act.
(Applause.)
Under the new Medicare law, hospitals in Des Moines will receive an
additional $56.5 million in Medicare payments over the next 10 years,
while hospitals across Iowa will receive an extra $141 million in
payments. This is vitally important for medical centers like
Broadlawns, which is here, where many patients are uninsured. Medicare
funding is essential to keeping hospitals open for Iowa families.
(Applause.)
America has the best health care in the world and my husband
believes that it's time to put care back into the hands of patients and
doctors. (Applause.)
Medical liability reform is also very important. When I traveled
to Philadelphia a few weeks ago, I met Erin Zezzo, who learned about
medical liability in the hard way. Erin had a trusting relationship
with her OB-GYN, who had delivered her first two children. Shortly
into her third pregnancy, Erin's doctor had to stop delivering babies
because he couldn't afford his medical liability insurance. Erin had
to find a new doctor while she was six months pregnant.
Frivolous lawsuits raise the cost of health care and they drive
good doctors out of practice. To help doctors and women like Erin,
President Bush will work to reform the medical liability system and
reduce junk lawsuits. (Applause.)
All of these issues are important in our country. But as we grieve
with the families in Russia and as we mark the third anniversary of
September 11th, I believe what's most important is my husband's work to
protect our country and to defeat terror around the world. (Applause.)
The terrible acts of September 11th showed us the threat we face,
but they also called us to the great work of promoting freedom and
democracy in far corners of the world. President Bush wants our men
and women in uniform and their families to know how much we appreciate
their service. We appreciate the dedication of courageous Americans
like retired Captain Kristin Macy of the 422nd Fourth Army hospital who
is with us today. (Applause.)
Captain Macy, you and all of our military families are in our
thoughts and prayers. As we do the hard work of confronting terror, we
can be proud that today 50 million more men, women and children live in
freedom thanks to the United States of America and our allies.
(Applause.)
After years of being treated as virtual prisoners in their own
homes by the Taliban, the women of Afghanistan can now walk outside of
their houses without a male escort. (Applause.) And after being
denied an education, even the chance to learn to read, little girls in
Afghanistan are now in school. More than 10 million Afghan citizens
have registered to vote in this fall's presidential election, and more
than 40 percent of that number are women. (Applause.)
Because we acted, the people of Iraq are now free from the tyranny
of a brutal dictator and the Iraqi interim government is preparing for
national elections in January. We still face many challenges in Iraq
and Afghanistan every day, but we know that the defeat of terror there
is vital to the defeat of terror around the world. And we have pledged
to stand with the Iraqi and Afghan people during this historic time for
their nations.
As we stand with the people of Iraq and Afghanistan, we must
remember that building a democracy takes time. Think how long it took
us in our country, even though we were given a perfect document by our
founders, it still took almost a hundred years after our founders
declared that all men are created equal to abolish slavery. And not
until 84 years ago did American women get the right to vote.
(Applause.)
Our nation has not always lived up to its ideals. Yet those ideals
have never ceased to guide us. We are the beneficiaries of the works
of generations before us and it's our responsibility to continue that
work.
My husband believes that there's more to do to make our country
safer and stronger and more hopeful. And he'll continue to work and do
the great and privileged work of leading America forward while holding
on to our timeless ideals.
I want to encourage each one of you to talk to your neighbors about
the President's accomplishments. Reach out to Democrats and
Independents who appreciate strong and optimistic leadership. Make
sure your friends are registered to vote and then turn them out at the
polls. Everything you do will be a huge help to the President's
campaign.
These are times of change for our nation and these are also years
of promise. We have great confidence in our ability to overcome
challenges. We gained a new appreciation of the many blessings of
America, and we've been reminded of the responsibilities we have to the
country we love.
George and I grew up in West Texas where the sky seems endless and
so do the possibilities. My husband brings that optimism, that sense
of purpose, that certainty that a better day is before us to his job
every day. And with your help, he'll do it for four more years.
(Applause.)
Thank you all so much. Thank you very much. (Applause.) Thank
you all, and may God bless America. Thank you so much. (Applause.)
3:22 P.M. CDT
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