For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
August 26, 2004
Remarks by the President at Albuquerque, New Mexico Rally
Albuquerque Convention Center
Albuquerque, New Mexico
3:00 P.M. MDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. (Applause.) Thanks for coming.
(Applause.) Thank you all. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all for coming. Gosh, I appreciate so
many coming out to say hello to Rudy. (Laughter.) We were in Las
Cruces, and Farmington, and here we end up in the great city of
Albuquerque. (Applause.) It's been a fantastic day in the Land of
Enchantment. (Applause.)
I want to thank you all for coming out. I told Rudy, you're going
to like it here. I said, you're going to see more cowboy hats than you
see ties. (Applause.) No, we're right here in the heart and soul of
America -- Albuquerque, New Mexico. (Applause.)
I'm proud to be traveling with this good man. He's a great leader,
a great friend, and a wonderful American. He showed the world great
courage during traumatic times, and I'm proud to be standing by him.
I'm proud he's out working for me. (Applause.) And I'm proud you all
are here, too. I'm here asking for your vote, and I'm here asking for
your help. (Applause.) I have no doubt in my mind with your help,
we'll carry New Mexico and win a great victory in November.
(Applause.)
I am sorry that Laura is not here. I kissed her good-bye in
Crawford this morning. I said, I'm heading west. (Applause.) I said
I got to go work. I'm anxious for people to hear my story. I want
people to know I've got more to do to lead this nation for four more
years. (Applause.) I'm really proud of Laura. I'm proud of her.
She's a great mom and a wonderful wife. And she's a wonderful First
Lady, as well. Today, I'm going to give you -- (applause) -- today,
I'm going to give you some reasons why I think you ought put me back in
there, but perhaps the most important one of all is so that Laura will
be First Lady for four more years. (Applause.)
I'm proud of my running mate, Dick Cheney. He might be short on
hair, but he's long on experience. He can get the job done.
(Applause.)
I appreciate -- listen, I enjoy working with Pete Domenici. What a
good man Pete is. He's a -- (Applause.) I'm proud to work with him.
I know you're proud to call him Senator. I'm also really pleased to be
here with Congresswoman Heather Wilson. (Applause.) She is as good as
they come in the United States Congress.
I want to thank all of my friends who are the grass roots activists
-- John Sanchez and Manny Lujan. I want to thank them for their work.
I appreciate the fact that Brooks and Dunn are here. What a great --
(Applause.) What great Americans they are, and not only that, they can
sing. (Applause.) Really proud to have them here. I want to thank
Tony Lynn for announcing the program. (Applause.)
Most of all, I want to thank you for being here. I just want you
to know I believe all of us in America have a duty to vote.
(Applause.) And I would like for you to encourage your neighbors to
register to vote. (Applause.) We have an obligation to do that, to
vote in our society, and one way you can help in this campaign is to
become a part of this massive registration campaign that we've got
going. And vote -- register Republicans and independents and
discerning Democrats. (Applause.) Remind them we've got more work to
do. Remind them that with four more years, America will be a safer,
stronger and better country. (Applause.)
We've been through a lot together, and we've accomplished a great
deal, but the only reason to look backward is to best determine who to
lead us forward, and that's what I'm here to talk about. We've done a
lot but there is more to do to move America forward. We've got more to
do to create jobs, more to do to improve our schools. We've got more
to do to fight terror. We have got more to do to spread liberty and
peace. (Applause.)
We've made much progress. I'm here to tell you I'm ready to lead
the country for four more years to do more for the people. (Applause.)
We have more to do to make our public schools the centers of
excellence we know they all can be so that no child is left behind in
America. (Applause.) 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 decided to try something
different. We said we'll send more money back to the states, but in
return, we expect results. We're challenging the soft bigotry of low
expectations. We're raising the bar. We're empowering parents. We
believe in local control of schools, and we're making progress.
(Applause.)
There is more work to be done. We've got to make sure we've got
more science and math courses for our high school kids. We've got to
bring the Internet in to bring the latest to our classrooms. We must
have intervention programs to make sure children do not slip behind.
We want to make sure a high school diploma means something. After four
more years, a rising generation will have the skills and the confidence
necessary to realize the American dream. (Applause.)
We have more to do to make quality health care available and
affordable. You might remember the old Medicare debates of the past.
Politician after politician, give us a chance to strengthen Medicare,
and nothing got done. We got the job done. (Applause.) We now have a
Medicare system -- (applause) -- Medicare system that will allow
seniors to make their own choices, to meet their own needs, and
starting in 2006, a Medicare system that will provide prescription
drugs for our seniors. (Applause.)
We've done more. We've expanded community health centers for
low-income Americans. We want people getting primary care in these
centers, not in emergency rooms. We've created health savings accounts
so families can save tax-free for their own health care needs. There
is more work to be done. Most people get their health care through
jobs, their jobs, and most new jobs are created by small businesses.
(Applause.) But many small businesses are having trouble affording
health care. In order to allow small businesses to afford health care
so American families get the help they need, we must allow small
employers to join together to be able to purchase health care at the
discounts that big companies get. (Applause.)
We will harness technology to reduce costs and reduce errors. We
will continue to expand research and find new cures. And in order to
make sure health care is available, affordable, in Albuquerque, New
Mexico, we must do something about the frivolous lawsuits that are
running up the cost of your medicine. (Applause.)
See, I don't think you can be pro-doctor and pro-patient and
pro-plaintiff attorney at the same time. I think you have to choose.
My opponent made his choice, and he put him on the ticket.
(Laughter.) I made my choice. I have made my choice. I'm standing
with the patients and the doctors, the nurses and the hospitals. I am
for medical liability reform -- now. (Applause.)
We've got more to do to make sure this economy is strong. Remember
what we've been through in a short period of time. We've been through
a recession, we've been through corporate scandals, we've been through
the terror attacks. But we've overcome those obstacles. (Applause.)
We've overcome the obstacles because the American worker is great.
We've overcome the obstacles because the entrepreneurial spirit is
strong in America. We've overcome the obstacles because small business
owners are dreaming about expanding and creating new jobs. We've
overcome the obstacles because our farmers and ranchers know what
they're doing. (Applause.) We have overcome those obstacles because
of two well-timed tax cuts. (Applause.) We didn't try to pick winners
or losers when it came to cutting taxes. We said if you pay taxes, you
ought to get relief. (Applause.) We also helped our families.
Remember, we raised the child credit. (Applause.) We reduced the
marriage penalty. (Applause.) The tax code ought to encourage
marriage, not penalize marriage. (Applause.)
We helped our small businesses. Because we acted, our economy
since last summer has grown at a rate as fast as nearly -- as any rate
in nearly 20 years. (Applause.) Over the last 12 months, we've added
nearly 1.5 million new jobs. The unemployment rate across our country
is 5.5 percent. That is well below the national average of the '70s,
the '80s and the '90s. (Applause.) The unemployment rate in the great
state of New Mexico is 5.3 percent. (Applause.)
We are moving forward. We're not going to go backward. There is
more work to be done. In order to keep jobs here in America, we must
make sure our regulations are reasonable and fair. In order to keep
jobs here in America, we need an energy policy that makes us less
dependent on foreign sources of energy. In order to keep jobs here,
we've got to do something about these junk lawsuits that are
threatening the small business job creators of America.
In order to make sure jobs stay here, we want other countries to
treat us the way we treat them. (Applause.) Listen, we can compete
with anybody, anytime, anywhere, so long as the playing field is
level. (Applause.) In order to make sure jobs are here, we've got to
have an education system that provides a lifetime of learning for
America's workers. Listen, the job base is changing. And some of
these new jobs that pay more require new skills. That's why I strongly
support helping people go back to the community colleges all across
America to gain the skills necessary to fill the jobs of the 21st
century. (Applause.)
In order to make sure jobs stay here and this economy continues to
grow, we've got to be wise about how we spend your money. (Applause.)
In order to keep jobs here and to keep the economy growing, we need to
keep your taxes low. (Applause.) I think taxes are an issue in this
campaign. My opponent has already promised over $2 trillion of new
spending.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: And we've still got the stretch run. (Laughter.)
We still got September and October to go. And so they said, how are
you going to pay for it. And he used that old, tired class warfare
line, we're just going to tax the rich.
But you know how that works, don't you?
AUDIENCE: Yes!
THE PRESIDENT: You've heard them say tax the rich. First of all,
you can't tax the rich enough to pay for all the promises. And
secondly, the rich are pretty good about hiring accountants and
lawyers. Generally, when you hear that, be careful because he's aiming
his tax increase at you. But we're not going to let him have it.
We're going to win in November. (Applause.)
We're doing some smart things. I passed an important law to
protect the residents of this state and the forests from catastrophic
wild fire.
AUDIENCE: Yes!
THE PRESIDENT: Our Healthy Forest Restoration Act is good law for
New Mexico. It's important law to help us preserve these national
treasures. The Cibolo National Forest will benefit from this important
legislation. We had a difference of opinion on this subject. My
opponent said that the Healthy Forest Act was -- really means we're
taking a chain saw to public forests. Then when he came out here to
campaign, he turned his position around, he says he likes part of the
law. (Laughter.) I guess it's not only the wild fires that shift in
the wind. (Laughter.)
I'm running again because I understand we have more to do to wage
and win the war against terrorism. (Applause.) Our future, America's
future depends on our willingness to lead in this world. (Applause.)
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 a terrible September morning, and since that
day, we changed the world. Before September the 11th, Afghanistan
served at the home base of al Qaeda, which trained and deployed
thousands of killers to set up cells around the world, including
America. Today, because we acted, Afghanistan is a rising democracy.
(Applause.) Over ten million people in that country have registered to
vote in the upcoming election. (Applause.) Because we acted,
Afghanistan is an ally in the war on terror. Because we acted, many
young girls go to school for the first time in Afghanistan.
(Applause.) Because we acted, 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, a message that's easy to
understand, the leader of Libya 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 and firing weapons at American
pilots who were enforcing the world's sanctions. He had used weapons
of mass destruction. He harbored terrorists, he invaded his neighbors,
he subsidized the families of suiciders. He had murdered tens of
thousands of his own people. He was a source of great instability in a
volatile part of the world. He was a threat. (Applause.) One of the
lessons of September the 11th that we must never forget is that we must
deal with threats before they fully materialize. (Applause.)
I went to the United States Congress. I said, this administration
sees a threat. They looked at the intelligence I looked at, they
remembered the history of Saddam Hussein, and they came to the same
conclusion I did, including my opponent, who came to the same
conclusion I did. (Applause.) Because I believe we ought to try
diplomacy before we ever commit troops, I went to the United Nations.
I said to the world, we see a threat. They looked at the same
intelligence and concluded, with a 15-0 vote in the Security Council
that Saddam Hussein must disclose, disarm or face serious
consequences. (Applause.) And as he had for over a decade, Saddam
Hussein refused to comply with the demands of the free world. As a
matter of fact, we sent in inspectors, he systematically deceived the
inspectors. So I had a choice to make: either trust the word of a
madman and forget the lessons of September the 11th, or take action to
defend our country. Given that choice, I will defend America.
(Applause.)
Even though we didn't find the stockpiles we expected to find,
Saddam had the capability to make weapons of mass destruction and he
could have passed that capability on to the terrorist enemy. That's a
risk we could not have afforded to take after September the 11th.
(Applause.) Knowing what we know today, I would have taken the same
action in Iraq. (Applause.)
America and the world are safer with Saddam Hussein sitting in a
prison cell. (Applause.) Now, almost two years after he voted for the
war in Iraq, and about seven months after switching positions to
declare himself the anti-war candidate, my opponent has found another
nuance. (Laughter.) See, he now agrees it was the right decision to
go into Iraq. After months of questioning my motives and even my
credibility, he now agrees with me that even though we have not found
the stockpiles we all thought he had, knowing everything we know today,
he would have voted to go into Iraq and remove Saddam from power. And
I want to thank him for clearing that up. (Applause.) There's still a
little over 60 days in this campaign for him to change his mind again.
(Laughter.)
I'm running because I understand we have more to do. We will
continue to work with our friends and allies around the world to
aggressively pursue the terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan and
elsewhere. See, you cannot talk sense into these people. You cannot
try to negotiate with them.
AUDIENCE: No!
THE PRESIDENT: You cannot hope for the best.
AUDIENCE: No!
THE PRESIDENT: We must engage these enemies overseas so we do not
have to face them here at home. (Applause.)
America will continue to lead the world with confidence and moral
clarity. See, we put together a strong coalition to help us. There's
nearly 40 nations involved in Afghanistan, some 30 nations involved in
Iraq. Over the next four years, we'll continue to build on our
alliances and work with our friends. But I'll never turn over
America's national security decisions to leaders of other countries.
(Applause.)
We'll keep our commitments to help the people of Afghanistan and
Iraq. We'll do so because when America says something, it better mean
what it says in order to make the world a more peaceful place.
(Applause.) We'll do so because it's in our interest they become
democracies and peaceful societies. These nations are now governed by
two strong leaders who believe in the hopes and aspirations of the
people that live in those countries. We set a clear goal. We're for
peaceful, democratic countries who can self-govern and who are allies
in the war against these terrorists. And so our military forces are
there to provide security as they head to elections, and we're there to
help train Afghan and Iraqi forces so they can defeat the terrorists
who are trying to stop and prevent the hopes of many from emerging.
Our military will complete this mission as quickly as possible so our
troops do not stay a day longer than necessary. (Applause.)
Our nation's commitments are kept by the men and women of our
military. At bases around the country, I have had the high privilege
of meeting with those who defend our country and spread the peace.
I've seen their great decency and their unselfish courage. I assure
you, ladies and gentlemen, the cause of freedom is in really good
hands. (Applause.)
I appreciate the veterans who are here today who have set such a
great example for those who wear the uniform. (Applause.) Our troops
must have the resources they need to fight and win the war on terror.
They must have the full support of our government. That's why last
September, while our troops were in combat in Afghanistan and in Iraq,
I proposed supplemental funding to support them in their missions. The
legislation provided money for body armor and vital equipment, hazard
pay, health benefits, ammunition, fuel and spare parts. (Applause.)
It was an important piece of legislation, and it received great
bipartisan support. As a matter of fact, the support was so strong
that only 12 members of the United States Senate voted against it.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: Two of those 12 senators are my opponent and his
running mate.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: When they asked him about that vote, he said, "I
actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it."
(Laughter.) Doesn't sound like the way people in Albuquerque, New
Mexico, talk to me, but -- (applause.) They pressed him further and he
said he was proud of his vote. And they kept pressing him, he said,
well, it was a complicated matter. 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
had hopelessness and resentment. See, a free and peaceful Iraq and a
free and peaceful Afghanistan will be powerful examples -- they'll be
powerful examples to their neighbors, they'll be powerful examples in
the part of the world that's desperate for liberty and freedom.
(Applause.)
Free countries do not export terror. Free countries do not stifle
the dreams 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 spreading the peace that we all
want. And by serving the ideal of liberty, we're serving the deepest
ideals of our nation. We understand 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.)
Now, we've got more to do to protect our country. There's an enemy
out there that still hates us. We have a difference of opinion on
this. The other day, he said that going to war with the terrorists is
actually improving their recruiting efforts. I think the logic is
upside-down. I think it shows a misunderstanding of the enemy we
face. See, during the 1990's, the terrorists were recruiting and they
were training for war with us long before we went to war with them.
They don't need an excuse for their hatred. Staying on the offense is
necessary to protect this country. See, you don't create terrorists by
fighting back; you defeat the terrorists by fighting back. (Applause.)
There's a lot of good people working on your behalf's, a lot of
good people at the federal level and the state level and the local
level responding to threats. We've got work to do and we'll continue
to do it to make sure that we get the best intelligence possible so we
can react to the threats. We need the Patriot Act renewed. Listen,
the Patriot Act is a vital tool for those who are working to disrupt
the terrorist networks. (Applause.) We created the Department of
Homeland Security. We're continuing to work to better safeguard our
borders and our ports. We're working better between levels of
government, but I got to tell you, reform isn't easy, particularly in
Washington, D.C. (Laughter.) There's a lot of entrenched interest
there. There's a lot of people who are willing to hold on to the
status quo. It's not enough to advocate reform, you've got to be able
to get the job done. So when you're out there campaigning, I want you
to remind people that when it comes to reforming our schools to provide
an excellent education for every child, we're getting the job done.
When it comes to health care reforms for our seniors and for our
families, we're getting the job done. (Applause.) When it comes to
improving our economy and creating jobs, we're getting the job done.
(Applause.) When it comes to better securing our homeland and fighting
the forces of terror and spreading freedom and peace, we're getting the
job done. (Applause.) And remind your friends and neighbors, when it
comes time to choose a President, put somebody back in there who can
get the job done. (Applause.)
We're living in a time of change, and I understand change can be
unsettling. It's an exciting time, but it's a time that government
needs to change its ways of thinking. Government needs to not be
giving dictates to people, government needs to be helping people. One
way to do so is to understand that a lot of moms are working these
days, and therefore, people need flex-time and comp-time so they can
adjust their work schedules to meet the demands of family. One way to
help people with changing times is to encourage an ownership society.
That's why we want people owning their own health care accounts, so
they can manage their own accounts and take them from job to job if
they need to. (Applause.)
These are changing times and they're exciting times. I see a lot
of younger folks out here today. I thank you for coming, but --
(applause) -- when it comes time to think about Social Security, baby
boomers like me are in good shape. (Laughter.) But some younger
workers are going to have a problem because there's a lot of baby
boomers, and the Social Security system needs to be made fiscally sound
for you. I believe the best way to do so is to let younger workers
take some of their own money in personal savings accounts so they can
carry it from one generation to the next. (Applause.)
We want more people owning their own business in America. You
know, there's some fantastic success stories right here in Albuquerque,
New Mexico, where people had a dream and they built their own companies
that they can call their own. In changing times, if you own your own
home, it can help provide stability. The home ownership rate is at an
all-time high in America. We'll continue to pursue policies to
encourage people to own their own home. There's nothing better than
somebody opening that front door and saying, welcome to my house.
Thank you for coming to my home. We understand in America that if you
own something, you have a vital stake in the future of our country.
In changing times, there are some things that won't change: our
belief in liberty, our belief in opportunity, and our belief in the
non-negotiable demands of human dignity. (Applause.) The individual
values we try to live by shouldn't change: courage and compassion,
reverence and integrity. We will continue to support the institutions
that give us direction and purpose -- our families, our schools, and
our religious congregations. (Applause.)
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. (Applause.) We stand for a
culture of responsibility in this country. Listen, the culture is
changing from one that has said, if it feels good, just go ahead and 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 mom or a dad, you're 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'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. (Applause.)
I'm running for four more years to continue to rally the armies of
compassion, which exist all across our country. Listen, the great
strength of America is the hearts and souls of the American citizens.
People are volunteering all over our country to help improve somebody's
life. I met with Bernice Young. She volunteered more than 11,000
hours at the Children's Hospital of New Mexico. She's taking time out
of her life to help make somebody else's life better. See, I believe
societies will change. I believe our country will change, one heart,
one soul, one conscience at a time, if we rally the great army of
compassion, which is willing to love a neighbor. (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. This is a
time where we need firm resolve, clear vision, and strong belief in the
values that make us a great nation. (Applause.)
None of us will ever forget that week when one era ended and
another began. Rudy and I were in the ruins of the Twin Towers on
September the 14th, 2001. It's a day I will never forget. It is a day
Rudy will never forget. I remember the workers in hard-hats yelling at
me, "Whatever it takes, President, whatever it takes!" I remember
shaking the hand of a man who had just gotten out of the rubble. He
had bloodshot eyes. He said, "Do not let me down." It was a --
(Applause.) I wake up every morning thinking about how to better
protect this country. I will never relent in defending America,
whatever it takes. (Applause.)
We have come through much together, and we've done a lot of hard
work, but there's more to be done. During the next four years, we will
spread ownership and opportunity to every corner of this country. We
will pass the enduring values of our country to another generation. We
will continue to lead the cause of freedom and peace, and we will
prevail. (Applause.)
With your support and prayers, I will be a leader America can count
on in a time of change. Four years ago, I traveled this great country
and your wonderful state asking for the vote. I said 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. With your help, I
will do so for the next four years. God bless. Thank you for coming.
Thank you all. (Applause.)
END 3:41 P.M. MDT
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