[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1992-1993, Book II)]
[September 26, 1992]
[Pages 1667-1669]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks to the Community in Plymouth, Michigan
September 26, 1992

    The President. All right. Great train trip. Thank you all very much. 
Thank you, Governor. What a great Governor the State of Michigan has. 
I'm so proud of John Engler. You know, Barbara and I are on a 233-mile 
train ride through the great heartland of America. We just came across 
the line into Michigan and let me tell you, Barbara and I think it is 
fantastic to be here in Plymouth and see this marvelous turnout. Thank 
you all very, very much. May I salute Michelle Engler, as well as the 
Governor; Mayor Robert Jones; your great State chairman, Dave Doyle. May 
I ask you a big favor. It's a favor for the whole country that you help 
me clean House in Washington and send Bob Geake to the United States 
Congress. We need him.
    Audience members. Clean the House! Clean the House! Clean the House!
    The President. Clean the House. Clean it out. Give the American 
people a break; clean that institution out. Thirty-eight years it's been 
controlled by those same liberal Democrats. Clean House! Send this man 
to Washington.
    You know, this is the last stop for tonight. For today, on this 
fantastic journey, filled with incredible sights and sounds, we've seen 
entire towns turned out beside the tracks to say hello to this train, 
this Spirit of America. We've seen the faces of young people, fresh 
faces, young faces; some waving flags, some with these great signs like 
we see here, all proud to be a part of America. And the election is 
about these young people's future, what kind of nation we want them to 
grow up in.
    I want an America where everyone can find a good job, because you 
can't build a home without a hammer, and you can't build a dream without 
a job. And if they do what I've been saying in terms of incentives, we 
would be creating jobs today. We need to do it. Another thing is we need 
to open foreign markets for our products so we can create good jobs in 
America, because the American worker never retreats; we always compete. 
And we always win.
    Help me get people in the Congress who will help reform a legal 
system that is careening out of control, faster than a lawyer

[[Page 1668]]

can chase an ambulance. [Laughter] As a nation, we've got too many of 
these crazy lawsuits. Doctors can't practice, people can't coach Little 
League for fear of these suits. As a nation we've got to sue each other 
less and care for each other more.
    And we have a plan to literally reinvent American education, to give 
these young people the very best schools in the entire world. I want to 
give every parent the right to choose their children's schools, public, 
private, or religious.
    I believe we need to reform our Government and make it serve you, 
not the other way around. Governor Clinton says he is the candidate of 
change, but he opposes the most important change this year: limiting the 
terms of the Members of the Congress. Let's limit those terms and get on 
with this.
    These are just some of the ideas I'm fighting for: health care 
reform, a sound environmental record, great energy strategy. But while 
I'm out there trying to find ways to rebuild America, build it up, Bill 
Clinton is spending his energy tearing down America. The only way he can 
win is if he convinces the American people that we're in decline. And we 
are not. We are the United States of America, the most respected nation 
on the face of the Earth. So don't listen to that gloom and doom. While 
I'm focusing on the future of these kids, he's out there distorting our 
record. I am proud of the record, and I will stand by it. But if 
candidate Clinton wants to talk about the past, that's okay. We pulled 
the train here this evening to blow the whistle on Governor Bill 
Clinton. Just like that sign says.
    And here's the record for you; just take a comparison. As Governor 
of Arkansas, Bill Clinton raised and extended the sales tax. He taxed 
groceries. He taxed mobile homes. He doubled the tax on gasoline. And he 
even raised the tax on beer. How do you like that one? And he says--
here's the really scary part--he says he wants to do for America what 
he's done for Arkansas. I don't know whether that's a promise or a 
threat. It's terrible, though. We can't have that. There's another sign, 
``We will not let Clinton do to the United States what he did to 
Arkansas.'' Lady, you are right.
    Hey, look, he has already proposed, just for openers, $150 billion 
in new taxes plus at least $220 billion in new spending. But don't 
worry, he says, don't you worry, it will all come from the rich guys, 
top 2 percent, people who make over $200,000. But here's the truth. To 
get the money he needs for his plan, the $150 billion that he's promised 
in new taxes, Governor Clinton would have to raise taxes on every 
individual with over $36,600 a year in taxable income. And we cannot let 
him do that. If you listen to Clinton and Gore, he thinks these people 
are the ones who hang out on the Riviera. They're not the ``Lifestyles 
of the Rich and Famous.'' These are good people who work hard all day, 
and they deserve a break, and you deserve a break. Do not get this 
Arkansas taxer in there.
    But it's even worse--I'm sorry to bring you gloomy news--it's even 
worse than this. Bill Clinton has promised a new program every time he 
makes a speech. But he hasn't said how he's going to pay for them. To 
pay for all these promises, he'll need hundreds of billions of dollars 
more beyond the tax increases he's already proposed. And you might say, 
where is he going to get the money?
    And listen to the newspaper from Governor Clinton's own State, the 
Pine Bluff Commercial. They said, and here's an exact quote, ``If 
Congress followed the example of Bill Clinton, the one he set as 
Governor of Arkansas, it would pass a program that hit the middle class 
the hardest.'' We cannot let that happen to the young families in this 
country. Bill Clinton says he wants to hit the rich, but the middle 
class will take it on the chin. And I'm not going to let him do it. The 
middle class will get the shaft, and we're not going to have that 
happen.
    And besides that, I think his ideas are all wrong for America. I 
want to put more power with the family and the American people and local 
governments. And he wants to put more with those codgy old subcommittee 
chairmen in Washington. Let's give the power back to the people here.
    And so, here's the difference on philosophy. You know what he wants 
to do on tax-and-spend. And I say Government is too big, and it spends 
too much of your money. And let's get something done about that in

[[Page 1669]]

the new Congress that's coming up. To give you more power--that's what 
it's about. To choose your own schools. I believe parents should be able 
to choose the schools, private, public, or religious. I believe parents 
ought to be able to choose day care centers, not have some mandated 
program out of Washington, DC. And I believe you ought to have more 
power to keep your hard-earned tax dollars.
    You know, Governor Clinton is already talking about pulling together 
the best and the brightest--all the lobbyists, economists, lawyers, all 
those guys, liberal guys that were hanging out with him in Oxford when 
some of you were over there fighting--and have them solve all of 
America's problems.
    I've got a very different vision: a responsible Government but a 
smaller Government, a Government that sees not every problem can be 
solved along the Potomac but understands that the real strength of 
America is right here in places like Plymouth, Michigan.
    We saw great sights today coming in here, rolling hills and golden 
cornfields, vivid proof of why our great Nation is the most bountiful 
and special place on the face of the Earth. And while America is a land 
of extraordinary physical beauty, America is even more a land of 
extraordinary people. Because Americans had the courage to stand for 
freedom, our children today do not know the fear of nuclear weapons. And 
I am proud to have been a part of that. Governor Clinton says that the 
United States is somewhere below Germany and just above Sri Lanka. And I 
say to him he ought to open his eyes. Because of what you did--and many 
of you here today--in Desert Storm, we are the most respected nation on 
the face of the Earth. And don't let him tear down America. Don't let 
him tear it down. Because we had the courage to stand for freedom, the 
world today now holds unprecedented opportunity. We've got to be ready 
for it. And in this election, I am proud of my record as Commander in 
Chief of the Armed Forces. I'm going to take the case to the American 
people that you can't be on both sides of every issue when you make a 
tough decision. You've got to do what is right for the United States.
    So the bottom line is freedom. And I bring my case to you, and I 
say, look, we have just begun to fight. We've accomplished a great deal. 
The world is a much more peaceful place. Our new education program is 
rolling. We've got a health care program to bring insurance to every 
family in this country without getting the Government to run our 
medicine. And we've got all these programs that work if you can get us 
some help in the Congress.
    Here's what's going to happen. Already we've got over a hundred, a 
hundred new Members of Congress will be there. And I'll sit down with 
them and say, look, the American people are tired of gridlock. Whether 
you're Democrat or Republican, here's my hand. Let's take this country 
forward once again. We can do it. We are a nation on the rise, not a 
nation in decline.
    And the last point I would make is this. The last point I would make 
is this: I hope I have earned your trust to be President of the United 
States. And I know very well we've got the best First Lady in the entire 
world, who has earned your trust to be the First Lady. And Barbara and I 
want to do everything we can to help strengthen the American family: 
back up our law enforcement officers, give parents choice, help these 
kids learn to read, strengthen the greatest institution we've got, which 
is the American family. Give me 4 more years to get the job done.
    Thank you very, very much. Thank you so much for this fantastic 
rally. This is great. Thank you so much.
    Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
    The President. Thanks a lot. The skies are clearing.

                    Note: The President spoke at 8:30 p.m. at the 
                        Plymouth train station. In his remarks, he 
                        referred to Dave Doyle, chairman of the Michigan 
                        Republican State committee.