[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1992, Book I)]
[July 18, 1992]
[Pages 1135-1138]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah

July 18, 1992
    Thank you very much. Thank you all for that warm welcome. And may I 
just single out your President. Mr. President--it sounds pretty good, 
doesn't it, for Rex--but to say to Rex Lee that I am delighted to have 
been introduced by him, a man who has served, first, his Government with 
such great distinction, integrity, and honor and now serves this 
wonderful university in a position of extraordinary leadership.
    Allow me for a moment just to acknowledge Senator Hatch; Governor 
Norman Bangerter, my friend over here; Val Oveson, the Lieutenant 
Governor; Mayor Joseph Jenkins. And may I just suggest that it is 
appropriate that I pay and you all pay a special tribute to Senator Jake 
Garn, who's retiring this fall after years of dedicated service to Utah 
and to the entire Nation. And again, to President Lee and Provost Hafen 
and Ron Hyde and Dee Andersen, B.Y.U. Vice President, let me just say 
thank you for inviting me here today. More than that, I want to thank 
you for extending an invitation to all the Presidential candidates to 
come to B.Y.U. and share their views. And this is appropriate, the 
university not pulling back but permitting people to have a fair say in 
this important election year. I salute you for that.
    I noticed that on your seal it says that the glory of God is 
intelligence. I would add that intelligence and education are absolutely 
necessary to fulfill your democratic obligation. So I salute you for 
your desire to learn more about all our candidates and where we want to 
lead this great Nation.
    In this spirit of free speech let me register one strongly held 
view. I want to change things. And one thing I want to change is the 
control of the House of Representatives in Washington. You talk about 
change, for 35 years, 36, one party has controlled that one institution, 
the House of Representatives. Enough of these bank scandals and post 
office scandals. We've got to change control, and that's why I want 
Richard Harrington in the United States Congress.
    Let me say I agree with him on this, and with the Senators, that a 
strong America has led the world to change. We have not surrendered one 
single ounce of our sovereignty. We are the leader of the free world, 
undisputed, on our terms. We're the United States of America.
    You know, B.Y.U. is a special place of physical beauty and spiritual 
strength, a place devoted to a simple creed: Enter to learn; go forth to 
serve. I happen to believe that there is no higher calling than serving 
humanity. So I say thank you for choosing B.Y.U. This home of the 
Cougars feels like my home. And thanks for that warm welcome.
    I spent 2 days this past week far away from TV and radio, didn't 
listen--watch one or listen to the other--up in Wyoming, trout fishing 
with Secretary of State Jim Baker and our sons, Jamie and Jeb. But I'm 
aware that something else was going on in America this week, something 
real important. This is the week when all across America, crowds of 
panting, sweating people overran their neighborhood video stores. 
[Laughter] From Tallahassee to Tempe, Americans turned on their TV and 
decided they'd rather watch ``Action Jackson'' than listen to--well, 
never mind. Now, look, don't get the idea that this is some kind of

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partisan attack. Stop by Rich's Video down on Freedom Boulevard, and I'm 
sure Rich will tell you, give it to you straight. Sales aren't all that 
bad during the Republican Convention either. [Laughter] So I want to be 
fair about this.
    I didn't get a chance, as I said, to see the other party on TV. But 
I couldn't help but notice one little comment made by one of the 
conventioneers. It was made by a man named McGovern. First name, same as 
mine, George. You remember him. Over the years Mr. McGovern hasn't 
always been my biggest fan. So I was kind of surprised by what he said 
in the newspaper. He called this year's Democratic ticket a Trojan 
horse. And he said, and I quote, ``They're much more liberal underneath 
and will prove it when they're elected.'' Now, I know I've never said 
this publicly, but, one, they won't be elected, and George McGovern is 
an incredibly insightful man. [Laughter]
    You may not believe this, but that's all I'm going to say about the 
other party. You didn't invite me here to talk about the other side. You 
want to know what I have to offer and what I believe and what's in my 
heart. Let me just start by explaining a little bit about where I see 
America today.
    Here at B.Y.U. you like to say that the world is your campus, your 
president telling me about the numbers of foreign languages that are 
taught and spoken by the students on this campus. Well, that campus, 
internationally, has been through incredible change in 4 years. Because 
of our leadership, because of America's sacrifice and commitment, 
millions more people breathe free today. When you go to bed tonight, you 
can sleep knowing that we are safer from nuclear destruction: safer than 
we were a decade ago, safer than we were a year ago, safer than we were 
even a month ago, before I met with Boris Yeltsin in the White House to 
get rid of some of these nuclear weapons.
    But this new world that we live in poses new challenges and new 
opportunities. The challenge is this: Can we compete now that so many 
other nations are playing our game? It's a tough question. But since the 
answer is, inevitably, yes, consider the opportunity we face: more of 
the world's people hungry for our products, more of the world's people 
eager for our services, more good jobs for you and all your classmates.
    What do we need to take advantage of this opportunity? The same 
values, the same principles, the same ideas that we used to change the 
world. To start, I believe we need to get to work today to create more 
opportunity for more people. You can't build a home without a hammer, 
and you can't build a dream without a job. Work isn't just good for our 
wallets. Work elevates us. It teaches us values. It gives us purpose.
    Some people tear down our economy. They say we're second-rate, 
second-class. But keep in mind just a few facts. We are still the 
world's largest and most vibrant economy. We've tamed the lion of 
inflation. And consider this: The last time interest rates stayed this 
low the ``Brady Bunch'' wasn't even on TV yet.
    Our factories produce a higher percentage of the world's 
manufactured goods than we did 20 years ago. We've emerged as the 
world's export champion. Last year the Japanese Government asked who 
leads the world in 143 critical technology industries. Japanese firms 
led in 33 and the United States in 43. And I wouldn't be surprised to 
learn if that report was put together on software made right here in 
Utah.
    But while our economy is growing today, it's not growing fast 
enough. Many of you are working your way through this great university. 
When you graduate, you don't want to get letters that say, ``We'll keep 
your resume on file.'' You want letters that say, ``How fast can you get 
here and take the job?''
    I used to run a business and meet a payroll. I learned the only way 
Government can create jobs is to help the people who create jobs. That 
means providing incentives so that businesses can create jobs. It means 
getting our own house in order by making like Paul Bunyan and taking an 
ax to the rotting tree that is the Federal budget deficit. Governor Norm 
Bangerter, just back from a trip to St. Petersburg, to Russia, came to 
have breakfast this morning. And this is his philosophy; it's the phi-

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losophy that Governor Bangerter follows and Utah follows. And we've got 
to bring some of that Utah attitude to Washington, DC. Like your 
Governor, we need a line-item veto. And we're going to get it. We're 
going to get the American people to insist we have it. Like you, we need 
a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. And we're going to get 
that, too.
    Thirty-one times in the past 3 years I've had to wield my veto pen, 
many times to cut away wasteful Government spending. With the help of 
Senator Orrin Hatch and then a new Congress coming in with him, we're 
going to continue to stand on principle and protect your pocketbooks. 
We're going to treat wasteful spending the way Carl Malone will treat 
another team's jump shot in Barcelona. We're going to swat it into the 
front row. [Laughter]
    I also believe that we need to restore the special values that have 
carried this Nation for 200 years. Americans need to understand 
something that you all know very, very well and that your lives 
epitomize: ``No other success can compensate for failure in the home.'' 
David O. McKay's words harken back to a different age. Today we can fly 
from Paris to New York and arrive earlier than we left, but do we too 
often leave behind the difference between right and wrong? We can 
explore a world beyond the stars, but do we too often ignore a neighbor 
down the street? We can turn natural ingredients into miracle medicines, 
but why do we feel the need to turn every argument into a lawsuit?
    By the way, I am not going to give up; I'm going to continue to 
fight for legislation that puts a stop to all these frivolous lawsuits. 
We need to give doctors the chance to practice medicine, dads and moms 
to coach the Little League without worrying that they're going to end up 
in a courtroom every single week.
    So where do we get our traditional values? Where do we get our 
traditional values? We learn them in our living rooms and in our 
churches. While religion and families help keep our lives together, 
Government can help keep our families together. Government can reward 
work, not welfare dependency. Welfare programs can and must encourage 
families not to fall apart, but to stay together. Government can and 
must, in my view, give families in Utah and every other State the option 
of deciding where their kids are educated. Whether it's a public school, 
a private school, or a church school, it doesn't matter. Let the parents 
choose. That is the American way.
    I also believe we need to restore respect for the law. Peace in the 
world, it's fine, but it's not enough. If people don't feel safe in 
their own backyard, it doesn't seem to matter. What do you say to an 
elderly woman who watches the Berlin Wall fall on television right 
before her eyes but is afraid to walk into her neighborhood grocery 
store? What do you say to kids in our cities who hear of the Russians 
reducing nuclear weapons but then have to walk through a metal detector 
at school every single morning? What do you say to these Americans? You 
say, ``Enough is enough.'' Let's put an end to the lawlessness. Let's 
get rid of the drugs. And let's say sayonara to the crack dealers and 
the criminals. We can help with legislation. You can help in your 
neighborhoods and in your local institutions. But let's pledge to make 
America safe again.
    As you know, this has been an important week in American politics 
for a couple of reasons. I met a guy in Wyoming yesterday who noted that 
the week I went fishing, one of my opponents dropped out of the race. 
And he wondered if I wanted to stay out West and bag another trophy 
hunting next week. [Laughter]
    But let me just make a serious observation. It's easy for me to 
stand here as an incumbent President of the United States and quietly 
applaud Ross Perot's withdrawal from the campaign, to salute the fact 
that this strange political year is suddenly much more, quote, normal, 
unquote. But I can't do that. The fervor of the Perot supporters, of 
those sensational volunteers, transcends politics as usual.
    There was an election in America this summer: no ballots cast, no 
polls open, but a referendum took place nonetheless. Nobody won, but 
politics lost. And politics lost because it is becoming irrelevant to 
more and more Americans. And for too many people, politics is now the 
opposite of progress. So my message to anyone dissatisfied with

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America is this: Don't quit. Don't walk away from the system. Don't 
believe that because there's no protest voice you have no vote at all.
    Ross Perot's supporters believe in the same principles in which I 
believe about cutting the size of Government, about letting parents 
choose their kids' day care and high schools. And most of all, we agree 
about the need to break the deadlock in Washington, DC.
    It is time to say ``So long'' to politics as usual. More than that, 
it's high time to shake up the system. If you'll excuse just one more 
political observation, you give me a Congress that shares my values and 
your values, and you'd see this system not just shaken but rattled and 
even rolled. And you will see real progress in our great country.
    I know that Provo is one of America's youngest cities. For years, 
more babies were born at Utah Valley Hospital than any other hospital in 
America, more than most hospitals in the world. I heard from some not-
so-reliable sources that lately some hospitals way up in northern Europe 
are surpassing your birth rates. But I guess that in Utah babies are 
born because of hope. Well, way up in northern Europe they are born 
because of hope and weather. [Laughter]
    Now, as I look out on this audience today, my guess is you're 
probably asking the question that every young generation asks: Will the 
future be bright? Will the dream stay alive? And despite all our 
challenges, I am betting on America. And I know you are, too. I still 
believe in America's capacity to confront any challenge and seize any 
opportunity. If we can topple the Berlin Wall and if we can reduce the 
threat of nuclear weapons and if we can do those things, we can build a 
strong economy. And if we can lift that Iron Curtain, we can bring the 
curtain down on immorality and indifference. And if we can help people 
walk free in Eastern Europe, we can take back the streets in the United 
States of America.
    So this then is our mission, and this is our crusade. And together I 
am absolutely confident that we can get the job done for the United 
States of America.
    God bless you. And may God bless our great country. Thank you very, 
very much.

                    Note: The President spoke at 11:20 a.m. at the 
                        Marriott Center. In his remarks, he referred to 
                        Ron Hyde, advancement vice president, and Dee 
                        Andersen, administrative vice president, Brigham 
                        Young University; and the late David O. McKay, 
                        president of the Church of Jesus Christ of 
                        Latter-day Saints during the 1950's.