[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1992-1993, Book II)]
[October 16, 1992]
[Pages 1844-1847]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks to the Community in Edison, New Jersey
October 16, 1992

    The President. Thank you very, very much. And I am delighted to be 
back here in New Jersey. Great to be in Middlesex County, and great to 
fly over in that helicopter with Governor Tom Kean. I wish he were still 
Governor of this State. While we're talking about good--whoops--got a 
Democratic bee here. [Laughter] Let me just say at the beginning that 
New Jersey needs Bob Franks and Al Palermo in Wash-

[[Page 1845]]

ington. We've got to clean House. Get Bob Franks and Al Palermo down 
there.
    You know, this week on your TV screens you saw a spectacle of 
intense competition, breathtaking battle of wits and courage, a spine-
tingling fight to the finish. I am talking about the Pirates-Braves 
game, of course. [Laughter] You know, I sort of identify with the 
Atlanta Braves, because politics is like baseball: It ain't over until 
the last batter swings. And we are going to win this election.
    We're going to surprise the pundits--what's this bee here?--surprise 
the pundits, annoy the media, and hit a home run on November 3d. The 
reason is clear: Our ideas are better for America. My opponents, sorry 
opponents, pathetic, try to tell you that America is in decline, and we 
are not in decline. Not so. Our people are still the best educated, and 
our economy is still the most dynamic. Our companies and our workers are 
still more productive than any other in the entire world.
    You know----
    Audience members. Bush! Bush! Bush! Four more years! Four more 
years! Four more years!
    The President. You know, if we'd have listened to this nuclear----
    Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
    The President. You know, we've led the United States through a very 
difficult global transition, and I am very proud that the world is safer 
for our kids. And does that matter? You bet it does. The fear of nuclear 
war is less.
    We've kept our economy afloat when many of those European economies 
are drowning, and the Europeans would trade with us in one minute. We've 
kept inflation down. We've kept interest rates down. We have made our 
industries stronger and more competitive. And I am proud of our 
leadership.
    For all his rhetoric about change, Bill Clinton offers a very old 
path: more Government, more regulation, and more taxes; more Government, 
more regulation, and more taxes.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. We must not let Clinton do this to our country.
    Audience members. We want Bush! We want Bush! We want Bush!
    The President. All right. Listen to this program. Let me tell you 
about Governor Clinton's program. In June, Governor Clinton promised 
$150 billion in new taxes, plus $220 billion in new spending. I thought 
that would satisfy his appetite, but that's just an hors d'oeuvre, 
because ever since then Bill Clinton has made new promises, $1 billion 
in new Government spending every single day.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. Who is going to pay Bill's bill? Of course, Governor 
Clinton says he's only going to tax the rich. But everybody out there 
with $22,000 in income better be ready, because he's going to sock it to 
the working people in this country.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. He'll go after the cab drivers and the teachers and 
the nurses and the middle class.
    Let me say this: Higher taxes do not create new jobs. They destroy 
that. You've seen it when their man, Governor Florio, was elected. 
Governor Florio has too much taxes. So does Governor Clinton. That 
Florio-Clinton combination, they kicked half a million jobs out of New 
Jersey. When Governor Kean was here, we were building jobs.
    But I have a very different agenda, a plan to control the growth of 
mandatory spending and get the taxes down so we can create good jobs, 
create them. We're going to win the new economic competition. Our Agenda 
for American Renewal includes the steps that we must take to create good 
jobs today and build a stronger America, and some of these ideas are 
being tried. But working with a new Congress, we're going to put this 
entire agenda into effect and get America moving, get rid of these 
Democrats from Congress and get them moving.
    Audience members. We want Bush! We want Bush! We want Bush!
    The President. One way to do it is to tear down barriers to free and 
fair trade so that we can create good jobs for American workers. In the 
past 3 years, our exports to Japan have increased 12 times faster than 
our imports from Japan. Whether you shop in

[[Page 1846]]

Tokyo or Trenton, chances are that the goods don't say ``Made in Japan'' 
or ``Made in Germany,'' they say ``Made in the United States of 
America.''
    Today in New Jersey one out of every six jobs is tied into foreign 
trade. And the average export-related job pays 17 percent more than the 
traditional job. So if we want the sons and daughters of steel workers 
to have good jobs, we've got to fight for free and fair trade. Do it the 
New Jersey way, more exports.
    We've already got a great new trade agreement--one that Governor 
Clinton has waffled on. He waffles on everything. He's on one side and 
then the other. We've got a good trade agreement, and I'm going to fight 
for more trade agreements. Just as we once used our military alliances 
to win the cold war, we will use our economic alliances to win the new 
business war.

[At this point, audience members interrupted the President's remarks.]

    I wish these draft dodgers would shut up so I can finish my speech. 
It's pathetic.
    Audience members. Where was George? Where was George? Where was 
George?
    Audience members. We want Bush! We want Bush! We want Bush!
    The President. You see--these guys. Where was Bill?
    Audience members. We want Clinton! We want Clinton! We want Clinton!
    The President. No. You see, I'm glad we've led in foreign policy, 
because now we'll use those alliances that have made the world more 
peaceful to bring more prosperity to the workers right here in America.
    I also want to do for the country what Governor Kean has tried to do 
when he was Governor here, change our schools. Make our education system 
better for all. I am proud of what we have done already. We have 
educational standards nationally for the first time in the history of 
this country. We want to let the parents choose the schools, public, 
private, or religious. Every parent should be able to choose his 
children's schools.
    You know, I believe that small business is the backbone of our 
economy creating two out of every three new jobs. Bill Clinton wants to 
slap a tax on small business. I say if we really want to help small 
business, let's give them relief from taxation, regulation, and 
litigation.
    Now, let me mention just another subject the New Jerseyans know 
about, and that is auto insurance. At the root of many of our problems 
is a legal system that is out of control. I want to do something about 
these crazy lawsuits. Governor Clinton and the trial lawyers do not want 
to do anything about it.
    You know, 15 percent of American companies report that they have 
laid off workers because of high premiums from liability insurance. 
Experts estimate that over $20 billion of our health care costs come 
from doctors and nurses doing unnecessary tests because they're afraid 
that a lawyer is going to sue them, and auto insurance costs continue to 
rise, as New Jerseyans know better than almost anyone. One big cause is 
our lawsuit-happy legal system. Thousands of people enter frivolous 
lawsuits for pain and suffering. But the lion's share of the benefits 
goes not to people who are injured but to the trial lawyers. I say we 
must reform our malpractice laws and our product liability laws.
    When Congress comes back, I'm going to introduce a new proposal to 
allow all Americans to opt out of the so-called pain and suffering 
standard. You know, this reform allows States to go even further than 
New Jersey's landmark insurance reforms.
    Audience members. Bill's a fake! Bill's a fake! Bill's a fake!
    The President. Thank you very much.
    But anyway, this proposal will save American drivers 20 to 30 
billion dollars in insurance premiums every year.
    So these are part of our Agenda for American Renewal. But the 
election is a lot more about other things, the best economic plan. It's 
about another virtue, and it's called trust. It's called trust. Who do 
you trust to be President of the United States?
    You know, I've got to tell you, I enjoyed last night's debate, and 
I'm grateful to have a chance to have Americans compare my views with my 
opponents'. But it's difficult to debate Clinton because he comes down 
on every side of every issue. You can't do that as President of the 
United States.

[[Page 1847]]

You've got to make a decision. You can't be popular to every group. And 
yes, he ought to tell the truth.
    Audience members. We want Bush! We want Bush! We want Bush!
    The President. Thank you. Look, a lot of being President is about 
respect for that office and about telling the truth and serving your 
country. You are all familiar with Governor Clinton's various stories on 
what he did to evade the draft. He still has not leveled with the 
American people. He still hasn't told the truth.
    Last night you heard Governor Clinton state that he was absolutely 
against allowing parents to use tax dollars to send their kids to 
private or religious schools. But he used to be for the idea.
    What about limiting the terms of Members of Congress? I am strongly 
for it. He said he was interested, and now he's against it. Let's limit 
the terms of Members of Congress.
    Just this morning in the Los Angeles Times, there's an article 
suggesting that Governor Clinton is already preparing yet another 
economic program, with billions of dollars more in new spending. But his 
advisers won't spell it out until after the election.
    Now, you might say, why is this important? Because there's a clear 
pattern to Governor Clinton's past, a pattern of deception. Character 
does matter. A pattern of deception is not right for the Oval Office. 
You cannot be leader of the world, you cannot be leader of this country 
if you have a pattern of deception.
    You know, last night Governor Clinton said he was not interested in 
my character. He said, I quote, ``I want to change the character of the 
Presidency.'' Well, let me tell you something. You cannot separate the 
character of the President from the character of the Presidency. They go 
together. You cannot be one kind of man and another kind of President. 
It is that simple.
    You know, I've been there. I've had to make some tough decisions in 
that Oval Office. I hope this doesn't happen, but the next President who 
may have to send our young men, women in harm's way. And the next 
President will have to stand up to the special interests and that big-
spending Congress. In the White House you cannot make everybody happy, 
and you have to level with the American people. He is not capable of 
doing that.
    So my problem is this pattern of deception. We cannot have this 
pattern of deception brought into the Oval Office. I believe you cannot 
lead the American people by misleading the American people.
    Now, you know, we've had Presidents from the South and from the 
North; Presidents who were rich, Presidents who were poor. But rich or 
poor, southern or northern, you must have integrity. And that's what it 
takes to lead this great land.
    I think the American people are beginning, as they focus in on the 
final part of this election, they're saying: Who do you trust? Who do 
you believe? Who do you trust to be in the Oval Office?
    You know, last night in that debate I asked the American people to 
imagine what would happen if a crisis occurred that could affect you and 
your family. Who would you prefer to lead in a crisis? And so this is 
the question that I'm going to ask all of you to ask when you go into 
that voting booth. I hope because of my character, my judgment, my 
ideas, that I have earned your trust to lead America again.
    Thank you all, and may God bless you. Thank you for a wonderful 
rally. Thanks a lot. Thank you so much.

                    Note: The President spoke at 4:23 p.m. at Middlesex 
                        County Community College.