[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1992-1993, Book II)]
[September 13, 1992]
[Pages 1548-1551]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at a Welcome Rally in Anaheim, California
September 13, 1992

    The President. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you very much, 
President Reagan. May I salute not only President Reagan but Governor 
Wilson, our master of ceremonies; Bob Dornan, our great Member of 
Congress, a loyal supporter. I want to thank the Gatlin Brothers, my old 
friends that are with us today. What a job they do for us. It's great to 
be in California. And it's especially great to be here with these three 
Members of the United States Congress, with Senator Seymour. We must 
reelect Senator Seymour, and we must elect Bruce Herschensohn to the 
Senate.
    Mr. President, last year I was honored to help dedicate your 
library. When I leave office I look forward to your dedicating mine. Not 
to be specific, but how are you fixed for 1997?
    I love Ronald Reagan for the same rea-

[[Page 1549]]

sons you do. First, his sense of humor. No wonder he took Washington by 
storm. Here was a politician who was funny on purpose. Quite different. 
[Laughter] I'm a Reagan fan for another reason: his eloquence. Ronald 
Reagan didn't just make the world believe in America again, he made 
Americans believe in themselves again.
    That Great Communicator was indeed the Great Liberator. Abroad, he 
helped free millions from tyranny. And at home, he helped free millions 
from a Government that's too big and spends too much of your money. He 
turned America around. And he turned the days of malaise into ``a 
shining city on a hill,'' and the American people will never forget it.
    Now, I'm not saying these nice things about Ronald Reagan in case he 
decides to run for President again in 1996. Though I'll confess, if it 
weren't for a little something called the 22d amendment, he'd be now 
well into his 12th year of the Presidency. And I'd be going to funerals 
halfway around the world.
    But I say these compliments because the President had that unique 
ability to peek around the corners of history. Look to Berlin, where a 
wall has crumbled. Look from Kuwait to Panama, where those once enslaved 
have been set free. President Reagan predicted communism would land in 
the dustbins of history, called it the ``evil empire.'' And today 
imperial communism is not merely E-V-I-L, it is D-E-A-D, dead. So, Mr. 
President, on behalf of all who love freedom--and look at these signs 
around here from different countries all over the world--we thank you 
very much.
    Now, as the President said, with the cold war over--and let me say 
this. Let me interrupt here and just say, I see these POW-MIA banners. 
We must never, ever forget the POW's and MIA's. And I can assure you 
we're not going to do that.
    With the cold war over, we face a world of transition. Last week in 
Detroit, I talked about some of those economic changes: the defense 
industry's adjustment to a more peaceful world; the competitive 
restructuring of our industry; and most important, the globalization of 
our economy. No State has felt this transition more than California. And 
I understand that.
    My opponent looks at all that is happening and says we are a nation 
in decline. He says we are ridiculed and that our economy is sliding 
below Germany, heading south toward Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka. Come on, 
Governor, stop picking on small southern states who can't help their 
leaders take them--can't tell where they take them.
    You know, Governor Clinton has it wrong, dead wrong. America is not 
a nation in decline. We are on the rise. And the lights in the shining 
city will still shine if we but make the right choices today.
    Last week I laid out my plan, my agenda for America's renewal, a 
comprehensive game plan to create a $10 trillion economy by early in the 
next century. And my agenda keeps faith with the crusade we called the 
Reagan revolution. It will decrease what Government must do and increase 
what individuals may do. It shows what the differences are in the 1992 
election: two candidates, two philosophies, two agendas, a Grand Canyon 
of a divide.
    And on the one hand--the left hand, naturally--stands my opponent, a 
man who started in politics with the McGovern campaign----
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. ----a politician nearly all of his adult life, a man 
who has known virtually no avocation beyond getting elected.
    And on the other hand, you're looking at a man proud to have spent 
half my life in the private sector working for a living, built a 
business, met a payroll. And from my own experience, I know that Ronald 
Reagan had it right: The American people aren't undertaxed; the 
Government in Washington is overfed. If we had more Congressmen like 
these sitting here, you wouldn't be yelling, ``Clean House!'', and I 
wouldn't be having the problems I'm having with this darned Congress. 
Send us more like these men.
    Take a look at how to get the economy moving again. Just last week, 
Governor Clinton was interviewed by Tom Brokaw. And his first words were 
advocating a tax increase. He wants at least, listen, he wants at least 
$220 billion in new spending, $150 billion in new taxes, just to start.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. His ideas could lead to a

[[Page 1550]]

new training tax and a new payroll tax for his health care scheme. They 
say that President Reagan thought every day was the Fourth of July. 
Well, Governor Clinton seems to believe that every day is April 15th. 
And when it comes to taxes, think of him as Willie Brown with a 
saxophone. We don't need that in Washington, DC.
    I want to take America in an entirely different direction. I have a 
specific plan to cut the growth of mandatory Government spending by 
almost $300 billion in the next 5 years. We'll get those taxes down, and 
we'll get this economy moving again.
    Audience members. Viva Bush! Viva Bush! Viva Bush!
    The President. What about foreign trade? Ronald Reagan's ``peace 
through strength'' made the United States the dominant military presence 
around the world. And now I want to build on that legacy with a 
strategic network of trade agreements to keep America an export 
superpower and an economic superpower. That's why we negotiated the 
North American free trade agreement, to build the world's largest free-
trade zone from Manitoba to Mexico, creating hundreds of thousands of 
new jobs for the working men and women in America.
    And my opponent's position on free trade? Well, first he was for it, 
and then he changed his mind. And now he says firmly: ``When I have a 
definitive opinion, I will say so.'' Governor Clinton, here's my 
opinion: Americans never retreat; we will always compete. And we will 
always win.
    Small business, small business is the backbone of the California 
economy, begging for relief from taxation, regulation, and litigation. 
Did you know that each year consumers and companies spend up to $200 
billion on direct payment to lawyers? Americans want to know: If an 
apple a day keeps a doctor away, what works with a lawyer? Well, I have 
a plan to give business and workers relief by getting rid of these crazy 
lawsuits. And as a nation, we must sue each other less and care for each 
other more.
    My opponent doesn't think this is a problem. Listen to the president 
of the Arkansas Trial Lawyers Association, and I quote, ``I can never 
remember an occasion where Governor Clinton failed to do the right thing 
where we trial lawyers were concerned.'' While Governor Clinton's in the 
corner sponging the trial lawyer's brow, I want to get in the ring and 
strike a blow against all those crazy lawsuits.
    And another thing. My opponent says that all this talk of family 
values is irrelevant. And he's been doing a lot of fearmongering lately, 
talking about how we want to divide America. You know what I mean when I 
talk about strengthening the American family. I don't mean to go back to 
the days of Ozzie and Harriet. Families are measured not by ``what 
kind'' but ``how close.'' I speak of strengthening the American family 
because I believe in dealing not with symptoms but with root causes. You 
ask Governor Wilson or any Governor, any mayor, any teacher, any 
preacher: The surest way to strengthen America is to strengthen the 
American family.
    And that's why I want parents, not the Government, to choose their 
kids' day care. And I want parents, not the Government, to choose your 
kids' schools. And Pete Wilson is right. We need a welfare system that 
convinces families to stick together and fathers to stick around.
    And about the military. Of America's place in the world, Governor 
Clinton talks the talk, says he's for a strong military. But he walks 
the walk of the liberals whose idea of high-tech weaponry is the super-
soaker squirt gun. And he wants to slash our budget, our defense budget. 
He wants to cut it $60 billion beyond what the military experts and our 
civilian experts tell me is right. These cuts would cost as many as one 
million jobs in defense, especially in California's hard-hit aerospace 
industry. He also wants to gut one of Ronald Reagan's greatest legacies, 
the Strategic Defense Initiative. And he shouldn't do that. We can't let 
him do that.
    Maybe Governor Clinton is simply confused about what exactly SDI 
does. After all, last week you heard him talk about Patriot missiles, 
the missiles we used to shoot down Saddam's Scud missiles. Here is what 
Governor Clinton said of our Scud busters: They go through doors or down 
chimneys. Whoops! That's not the Patriot. The Patriot shoots down other 
missiles. Governor Clinton may be a Rhodes scholar, but he is no

[[Page 1551]]

rocket scientist.
    And so here it is.
    Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
    The President. Here's the sum of it. We have a real clear choice in 
this election: on to the future with conservatives or back to the 
drawing board with the liberals; to build on the entrepreneurial 
policies that Ronald Reagan started or to go back to the liberal agenda 
that made America look finished.
    And I know we have big challenges before us. But following Governor 
Clinton's prescription for our economy would be like going back to the 
used car lot, picking up the lemon you sold 12 years before. Only this 
time it would have higher prices from inflation, skyrocketing interest 
rates for credit, and a hot air bag thrown in. America, this is not a 
deal for you.
    Like the whole world, America is going through an age of transition. 
But there's clear sailing ahead if we make the right choices today, if 
we put our faith in our people, not in Government, if we build to the 
future, not protect the past.
    President Reagan taught us many things. And his first lesson was the 
enduring power of ideas. In America, the best ideas always triumph. And 
yes, the polls tell me that we're behind today, but on November 3d, I 
have no doubt we will finish first. We will win it because our ideas are 
right for America, and our ideas offer the best hope of matching the 
peace around the world with the peace of mind here at home. If you 
believe in these ideas, I ask you to join this crusade to renew America, 
to make this fair Nation safer, stronger, and more secure.
    Thank you, and God bless the United States of America. Thank you all 
very much. You guys did great. Thank you.

                    Note: The President spoke at 2:25 p.m. at Yorba 
                        Regional Park. In his remarks, he referred to 
                        entertainers the Gatlin Brothers and to Willie 
                        Brown, Jr., speaker of the California State 
                        Assembly. A tape was not available for 
                        verification of the content of these remarks.