Text 26, 403 rader
Skriven 2004-11-01 23:33:24 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (041101k) for Mon, 2004 Nov 1
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Remarks by the President at Victory 2004 Rally
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
November 1, 2004

Remarks by the President at Victory 2004 Rally
Tysons Event Center
Sioux City, Iowa



4:41 P.M. CST

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. (Applause.) Thank you all for coming. We are
honored to be in Sioux land. Thanks for coming. It's good to be in a part
of the world where the cowboy hats outnumber the ties. (Applause.) Senator
Grassley is right, Laura and I feel right at home with folks like you all.
And thanks for coming out to lift our spirits. We're coming down the
stretch. I'm here to ask for your vote, I'm here to ask for your help.
(Applause.)

I'd like you to get your friends and neighbors to go to the polls tomorrow.
(Applause.) Turn out our fellow Republicans, wise independents, and
discerning Democrats. (Applause.) And when you get them headed to the
polls, remind them, if they want a safer America and a stronger America and
a better America, to put me and Dick Cheney back in office. (Applause.)

Perhaps the most important reason of all that I should be reelected is so
that Laura is the First Lady for four more years. (Applause.) And there's
nothing better than coming down the stretch in a presidential campaign with
two women I love -- our daughters, Barbara and Jenna. (Applause.)

I'm proud of my running mate, Dick Cheney. I don't want to offend anybody
here who is follically challenged, but I readily concede that Vice
President Cheney does not have the waviest hair in the race. (Laughter.)
But I'm confident that you'll appreciate the fact I didn't pick him because
of his hairdo. (Applause.) I picked him because of his judgment. I picked
him because of his experience. (Applause.)

I'm proud to call Chuck Grassley friend; I know you're proud to call him
United States Senator. (Applause.) He's a really fine Senator, and we have
done a lot of work together. I -- it's important that he remain the
Chairman of the Finance Committee, and one way to make sure he remains the
Chairman of the Finance Committee is for the people of South Dakota to
elect John Thune to the United States Senate. (Applause.) I know John
Thune, and there's no doubt in my mind that he will make a great United
States senator for the people of South Dakota. (Applause.)

I want to thank Congressman Steve King from the great state of Iowa for
being here. (Applause.) I want to thank Sioux City Mayor Dave Ferris for
being here today. (Applause.) I know the Mayor didn't ask me for any
advice, but I'm going to give him some -- fill the potholes. (Laughter and
applause.) Mr. Mayor, thank you for your service, Mr. Mayor. I appreciate
it.

I want to thank the Speaker of the House, Christopher Rants. I want to
thank all the state and local officials. I want to thank my friend, Ricky
Scaggs, for being here, and his band. (Applause.) But most of all, I want
to thank you all. Thanks for coming. Thanks for what you have done and
thanks for what you're going to do as we come down the stretch, putting up
the signs and making the phone calls and turning out the votes. No doubt in
my mind we'll carry Iowa and win a great victory in November. (Applause.)

I am excited about this election and I am optimistic about the future of
our country. I see a brighter day and a more hopeful America. One of my
favorite sayings comes from a fellow Texan named Tom Lea. He said, "Sarah
and I live on the east side of the mountain. It is the sunrise side, not
the sunset side. It is the side to see the day that is coming, not to see
the day that is gone." During the course of this campaign, my opponent has
spent much of the time talking about the day that is gone. I'm talking
about the day that's coming. (Applause.)

I see a great day coming for America. I see a day where prosperity reaches
every corner of our country. I see a day where every child is able to read
and write and add and subtract. I see a day in which this world becomes
more peaceful, where we achieve the peace we want for our children and our
grandchildren. And tomorrow, the people of America have a chance to bring
that better day by voting for strong, confident, optimistic leadership by
voting for Bush-Cheney. (Applause.)

The American President must lead with clarity and purpose. The role of the
President is not to follow the path of the latest polls. The role of the
President is to lead based upon principle, conviction, and conscience.
(Applause.) During the last four years, I've learned that whatever your
strengths are, you are going to need them, and whatever your shortcomings
are, the people are going to notice them. (Laughter.) Sometimes, I'm a
little too blunt. I get that from my mother. (Laughter.) Sometimes, I
mangle the English language. I get that from my father. (Laughter.) But all
the time, no matter whether you agree with me or not, you know where I
stand, what I believe, and where I'm going to lead this country.
(Applause.)

This election comes down to five clear choices for America's families. The
first clear choice concerns your family budget. When I ran for President
four years ago, I pledged to lower taxes for American families, and I have
kept my word. (Applause.) We doubled the child credit to help moms and dads
all across America. We reduced the marriage penalty. We believe the tax
code ought to encourage, not penalize marriage. (Applause.) We reduced
taxes on everybody who pays taxes. And as a result of these good policies,
our economy is growing as fast -- at rates as any -- as fast in nearly 20
years. Real after-tax income -- that's money in your pocket -- is up 10
percent since I have been the President. Our farmers and ranchers are
making a good living all across America. (Applause.)

Home ownership rate is at an all-time high. More minority owns -- more
minority families own a house than ever before in our nation's history.
(Applause.) The entrepreneurial spirit is strong in America. Our small
businesses all across the nation are doing well. We've added 1.9 million
new jobs in the last 13 months. The national unemployment rate is 5.4
percent. That's lower than the average rate of the 1970s, the 1980s, and
the 1990s. (Applause.) In the great state of Iowa, the unemployment rate is
4.7 percent. This economy is strong, and it is getting stronger.
(Applause.)

I've a message for the farmers and ranchers of Iowa and South Dakota and
Nebraska. We will continue to open up foreign markets for your products.
We'll promote renewables like ethanol and biodiesel. We will keep our farm
economy strong, and you can count on me to keep my word. (Applause.)

My opponent has an economic plan. I want you to remember he has voted to
increase taxes 98 times in 20 years as a United States senator.

AUDIENCE: Booo!

THE PRESIDENT: That is five times a year -- you might say that is a
predictable pattern, a leading indicator. (Applause.) In this campaign the
Senator has pledged to raise taxes on the top two brackets. But that's not
enough to pay for his priorities. See, he's promised $2.2 trillion in new
federal spending. That is trillion with a "T." That's a lot, even for a
senator from Massachusetts. (Applause.)

But raising those top two brackets, that penalizes your small business
owner, and at the same time, it doesn't even come close to paying for his
promises. There's a tax gap. That's a gap between what he has promised and
what he can deliver. And you know who usually fills that tax gap?
Middle-class families do. We're not going to let him tax you. We're going
to win on Tuesday. (Applause.)

The second clear choice in this election involves the quality of life for
our nation's families. I believe every child can learn, and that every
school must teach. I went to Washington to challenge the soft bigotry of
low expectations and to reform our public schools. I have kept my word.
(Applause.) We passed education reforms to bring high standards to the
classrooms. Math and reading scores are on the rise. We're closing the
achievement gap by helping minority students all across America. In a new
term, we will build on these reforms, extend them to our high schools so
that no child is left behind in America. (Applause.)

We'll continue to improve life for our families by making health care more
affordable and available. We will expand health savings accounts. We will
allow small businesses to join together so they can buy insurance at the
same discounts available to big companies. We will help families in need,
and we will help our patients and doctors all across America by doing
something about these junk lawsuits that are running up the cost of
medicine. (Applause.)

I have met too many OB/GYNs across our country that are having to stop
practicing medicine because these lawsuits are running up their premiums.
And I have met too many expectant moms who are desperately concerned about
their health and the health of their little one because they have to drive
miles to find a doctor. We have a national problem when it comes to these
frivolous lawsuits.

My opponent voted ten times against medical liability reform, and he put a
personal injury trial lawyer on the ticket.

AUDIENCE: Booo!

THE PRESIDENT: I'm standing with the doctors of America, I'm standing with
the patients of America. I am for real medical liability reform.
(Applause.) In all we do to improve health care, we will make sure that the
medical decisions are made by doctors and patients, not by officials in
Washington, D.C. (Applause.)

My opponent has got his ideas on health care. You might remember one of the
debates when they asked him about his health care plan. He looked right in
the camera, and he said, the government doesn't have anything to do with
it. I could barely contain myself. (Laughter.) The government has got a lot
to do with it. Eighty percent of the people end up on a government plan
under his vision. Federalizing health care is the wrong prescription for
American families. (Applause.)

The third clear choice in this campaign involves your retirement. Our
nation has made a solemn commitment to our seniors on Social Security and
Medicare. When I ran for President four years ago, I promised to keep that
commitment and improve Medicare by adding prescription drug coverage. I
have kept my word. (Applause.)

I remember campaigning in 2002 in Iowa with Senator Grassley. I remember
all those newspaper editorials saying that Iowa hospitals, rural hospitals
were being treated unfairly under Medicare. So I worked with the Senator.
Now, Iowa's hospitals are being treated fairly under Medicare because of
the work we have done. (Applause.) So are the rural hospitals in Nebraska
and South Dakota. And beginning in 2006, all seniors will be able to get
prescription drug coverage under Medicare. (Applause.)

My opponent has a record. He voted against the Medicare bill that included
prescription drug coverage. He also tries to scare seniors about Social
Security. But he forgets to tell you that he's the one who voted eight
times to tax Social Security benefits. He can run from his record, but he
cannot hide. (Applause.)

I have kept the promise for Social Security and I will always keep the
promise for Social Security for our seniors. And baby boomers like me, and
some other ones out there that I'm looking at, are in pretty good shape
when it comes to the Social Security trust. But we need to worry about our
children and our grandchildren when it comes to Social Security. We need to
worry about whether or not the Social Security system will be there when
they need it. And that is why I think younger workers ought to be allowed
to take some of their own payroll taxes ands set up a personal savings
account, an account that earns a better rate of return, an account they
call their own. (Applause.)

The fourth clear choice in this election is on the values that are crucial
to keeping our families strong. I stand for marriage and family, which are
the foundations of our society. (Applause.) I stand for a culture of life
in which every person matters and every being counts. And I proudly signed
the ban on partial birth abortion. (Applause.) I stand -- I stand for the
appointment of federal judges who know the difference between personal
opinion and the strict interpretation of the law. (Applause.)

On these issues, my opponent and I are miles apart. He was part of an
extreme minority that voted against the Defense of Marriage Act, and he
voted against the ban on partial birth abortion.

AUDIENCE: Booo!

THE PRESIDENT: There is a mainstream in American politics, and Senator John
Kerry sits on the far left bank. He ran run from his liberal record, but he
cannot hide. (Applause.)

The final choice in this election is the most important of all because it
concerns the security of your family. All progress on every other issue
depends on the safety of our citizens. The most solemn duty of the American
President is to protect the American people. (Applause.) If America shows
uncertainty or weakness in these troubled times, the world will drift
toward tragedy. This will not happen on my watch. (Applause.)

Our strategy is clear. We have strengthened the protections for our
homeland. We are reforming and strengthening our intelligence capabilities.
We are transforming our all-volunteer army. There will be no draft.
(Applause.) We are relentless, we are steadfast, we are determined to
protect the American people. We're staying on the offensive. We're fighting
the terrorists abroad so we do not have to face them here at home.
(Applause.)

We are succeeding. Afghanistan is an ally in the war on terror, Pakistan
and Saudi Arabia are making arrests and capturing terrorist leaders. Libya
is dismantling its weapons programs. The army of a free Iraq is defending
freedom. Al Qaeda no longer controls Afghanistan. We have shut down its
camps. We are systematically destroying the al Qaeda network. (Applause.)
More than three-quarters of al Qaeda's key members and associates have been
brought to justice, and the rest of them know that we're on their trail.
(Applause.)

One reason we're succeeding is because we have a great United States
military. (Applause.) I want to thank those who are here who wear our
nation's uniform. I want to thank the military families who are with us
today. And I want to thank all the veterans here who have set such a great
example for our military. (Applause.)

AUDIENCE: USA! USA! USA!

THE PRESIDENT: I have -- I have made a commitment to our military and to
the families of our military that our troops will have all that is
necessary to complete their missions. That is why in September of 2003, I
proposed $87 billion in funding for our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. It
was vital funding. Most of the people in Washington supported that funding.
My opponent, on national TV, initially said it would be irresponsible to
vote against the funding for the troops. And then his poll numbers went
down, and he voted against the funding for our troops.

AUDIENCE: Booo!

THE PRESIDENT: And then -- and then he entered the flip-flop hall of fame.
(Applause.) And he entered -- and he entered the flip-flop hall of fame by
saying this: "I actually did vote for the $87 billion right before I voted
against it." (Laughter.) I haven't spent much time in the coffee shops
around here, but I feel pretty comfortable in predicting that not many
people talk like that in Sioux land. (Applause.)

He's given several -- he's given several explanations of that vote since
then. But perhaps the most revealing of all is when he said the whole thing
is just a complicated matter. (Laughter.) My fellow Americans, there is
nothing complicated about supporting our troops in combat. (Applause.)

The problem with Senator Kerry's record on national security are deeper
than election-year reversals. For 20 years, on the largest national
security issues of our time, he has been consistently wrong. During the
Cold War, Senator Kerry voted against critical weapons systems and opposed
President Ronald Reagan's policy of peace through strength. History has
shown that Senator Kerry was wrong, and President Ronald Reagan was right.
(Applause.)

When former President Bush assembled an international coalition to drive
Saddam Hussein from Kuwait. Senator Kerry voted against the use of force to
liberate Kuwait. History has shown that Senator Kerry was wrong, and former
President Bush was right. (Applause.)

Only a year after the first bombing of the World Trade Center, the Senator
proposed massive cuts in America's intelligence, cuts so extreme that even
his fellow Massachusetts Senator, Ted Kennedy, would not support them.
History has shown that Senator Kerry was wrong, and -- we have got to be
fair about it -- Senator Kennedy was right. (Applause.)

We have a difference of opinion as to how to protect America. My opponent
says that America must submit to what he has called a global test before we
take action to defend ourselves.

AUDIENCE: Booo!

THE PRESIDENT: I'm not making that up. (Laughter.) I heard it during one of
the debates. As far as I can tell, my opponent's global test means America
must get permission to defend our country. I'll work with allies, and I'll
work with our friends, but I will never turn over America's national
security decisions to leaders of other countries. (Applause.)

Senator Kerry said recently that September the 11th did not change him much
at all. Well, it changed the way I look at the world. I'll never forget
going to the ruins of the Twin Towers on September the 14th, 2001. There
were workers in hard hats there yelling at me at the top of their lungs,
"Whatever it takes." I remember the fellow coming out of the rubble and he
grabbed me by the arm and he looked me in the eye, and he said, "Do not let
me down." Ever since that day, I wake up every morning trying to figure out
how to better protect the American people. I will never relent in defending
America, whatever it takes. (Applause.)

Over the next four years, we'll use every asset at our disposal to protect
the American people. And one of the most -- one of the strongest assets we
have is freedom. Free nations do not breed resentments and export terror.
Free nations become allies in the war on terror. By spreading freedom, it
helps us to achieve the peace we all want. I believe in the power of
liberty to transform society.

Just think about what's happened in Afghanistan in just three short years.
That country used to be the home base of al Qaeda and its training camps.
Little girls were not allowed to go to school because of the barbaric
vision of the Taliban. And if their mothers did not toe their line, their
ideological line, they were taken into the public squares and whipped, and
sometimes shot in a sports stadium. Because we acted to protect our
country, because we upheld the doctrine that I laid out that said, if you
harbor a terrorist, you're equally as guilty as the terrorist, millions of
people went to the polls to vote for a President of Afghanistan. And the
first voter was a 19-year-old woman. (Applause.)

It's an amazing story about the power of liberty to transform a society.
Iraq is still very dangerous, and the reason it is, is because democracy is
emerging; is because the society is becoming free and freedom scares these
terrorists. They can't stand the thought of a free society in their midst.
But think how far Iraq has come from the days of torture chambers and mass
graves, and the brutal reign of a barbaric tyrant.

I believe every soul in the world yearns to be free. I believe mothers and
dads want to raise their children in a free world. I believe all these
things, not because freedom is America's gift to the world; I believe it
because freedom is the Almighty God's gift to each man and woman in this
world. (Applause.)

My fellow citizens, these are historic times, and a lot is at stake in this
election. The future safety and prosperity of America are on the ballot.
But ultimately, this election comes down to who can you trust. Who can you
trust to protect your family? Who can you trust to put plans in place to
make sure prosperity spreads its wings?

If you believe that taxes should stay low so families can pay the bills and
small businesses can create new jobs, I ask you to come stand with me.
(Applause.) If you believe -- if you believe in high standards for our
public schools, I ask you, come stand with me. If you believe patients and
doctors should be in charge of health care, I ask you to come stand with
me. (Applause.) If you believe that this nation must honor the commitments
of Medicare and strengthen Social Security for generations to come, I ask
you to come stand with me. (Applause.) If you believe that this nation
should honor marriage and family and make a place for the weak and the
vulnerable, I ask you to come stand with me. (Applause.)

If you believe America should fight the war on terror with all our might
and lead with unwavering confidence in our ideals, I ask you to come stand
with me. (Applause.) If you are a Democratic who believes your party has
turned too far to the left this year, I ask you to come stand with me.
(Applause.) If you are a minority citizen and you believe in free
enterprise and good schools and the enduring values of family and faith,
and if you are tired of your vote being taken for granted, I ask you to
come stand with me. (Applause.) And if you are a voter who believes that
the President of the United States should say what he means and do what he
says and keep his word, I ask you to come stand with me. (Applause.)

AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!

THE PRESIDENT: Four years ago -- four years ago when I traveled throughout
Sioux land asking for the vote, I made this pledge, if elected I would
uphold the honor and the dignity of the office. With your help, with your
hard work, I will do so for four more years. God bless and thanks for
coming. Thank you all. (Applause.)

END 6:14 P.M. CST
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