[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1992-1993, Book II)]
[October 26, 1992]
[Pages 1993-1998]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



[[Page 1993]]


Remarks to the Ace Hardware Convention in Denver, Colorado
October 26, 1992

    What a great welcome. Thank you very, very much. Thank you all. That 
was just first-class. Please be seated. Roger, thank you. My heavens, 
what a wonderful--I'm kind of glad I'm running against Clinton instead 
of this guy, I'll tell you. [Laughter] No, but when he was citing those 
values and what you all stand for about hard work, it really resonates. 
I'm very grateful to Roger Peterson. I want to thank your chairman, who 
just met me, greeted us out there in the hall, Richard Laskowski; say to 
your executive vice president, David Hodnick--thank him for, I'm sure, a 
lot of the arrangements in all of this. And I am just really pleased to 
be here.
    I was accompanied here today by one of Colorado's Congressmen, 
Congressman Dan Schaefer, doing a great job for our country in the 
Congress, and also with Terry Considine, a great friend, who I'm 
convinced is going to be the next Senator from here. So we brought a 
little political clout to this nonpolitical meeting. Somewhere over here 
also is one of the unique characters in the whole United States Senate, 
a legend not only in this time but I expect will live forever as a great 
down-to-earth American. I'm talking about Wyoming's Al Simpson, who is 
here, one of the great, great U.S. Senators.
    So I'm delighted to be here. And, you know, hardware stores are 
viewed--I listened carefully to Roger, but I knew it--hardware stores 
are viewed as the typical small business, literally the foundation of 
our economy. When you talk hardware, okay, I've heard it, ``Ace is the 
place.'' So put it down this way: I'm the guy that's honored and I'm the 
one that's very, very pleased to share a few minutes here with you and 
to salute those men and women who really are the backbone of small 
business in this country.
    I would say that my friends over there in the national media--we've 
got a little bit of a thing going here, because I like holding up a 
bumper sticker. It says ``Annoy the Media. Reelect Bush.'' I say it with 
total good humor but great conviction, I might add. [Laughter] So I'm 
sure some of them want to know why I stopped by this convention. And the 
truth is, I need a few tools. You see--[laughter]--I've got some work to 
do around my house, and I don't plan moving out for another 4 years.
    Oh, heavens. But now let me just try to put things in perspective. 
One week from tomorrow, it's hard to believe that one week from tomorrow 
American voters are going to choose a President, not just the President 
of the United States but really the leader of the entire world, given 
the demise of international communism. In many ways we're going to be 
choosing a future.
    I believe that this election comes down to three fundamental 
questions. Who has the vision for America's future? Who has the road map 
to get us to that future? And then, fundamentally, who can you trust 
when we hit those unexpected bumps, those crises that lie ahead, 
inevitably?
    Let's begin by talking the question of philosophy. Whose vision 
makes more sense to you? My opponents say that this election is about 
change, and I agree. But being in favor of change is like being in favor 
of breathing. The real question is not who is for change, but whose 
change will make life better for all Americans.
    A philosopher once observed that ``those who cannot remember the 
past are condemned to repeat it.'' And so let's see where we've been 
over the past 4 years. We won a 50-year cold war because we stood up for 
ideals, communism versus freedom. Freedom finished first. You know, the 
cold war was defined for half a century in ways large and small. It 
claimed literally millions of lives and crushed the spirit of millions 
of others. And here in America, the cold war defined us, financially, 
economically, even psychologically. My kids, and many of you out here, 
grew up crawling under desks in these ``duck and cover'' drills. In the 
sixties during the Cuban missile crisis, we stood on the brink of 
Armageddon. In the eighties, families huddled together in

[[Page 1994]]

fear to watch a TV movie called ``The Day After.'' And always, the 
shadow of the cold war lingered right outside our windows.
    You talk change, well, all that has changed with our leadership. And 
because of that change, our children go to sleep tonight without that 
same fear of nuclear war. We should be proud that we gave this gift to 
them. But if we were the cold war victors, we have yet to receive the 
spoils. There's little celebration in America today; instead a nagging 
anxiety, a feeling that it's time to turn our attention to challenges at 
home, to creating new industries and better schools and affordable 
health care. And whose philosophy should we follow to get there?
    Well, we've seen in recent years the power of a tank or a gun, but 
the power of a simple idea is what we've really seen, an idea called 
freedom. In Asia, in Eastern Europe, South America, Mexico, people are 
coming to understand that government is neither superior nor savior. It 
is and must be their servant.
    In the midst of a worldwide economic slowdown, our free-market 
economy remains afloat, while many nations are drowning. We are growing 
faster than Japan, faster than Germany, faster than Canada. But here's 
the irony. At the very moment when the rest of the world is moving our 
way, my opponent, Governor Clinton, wants us to move their way.
    Governor Clinton says he is, quote, ``different'' than the old tax-
and-spend liberals. But if you look at the details of what he offers, 
you see $150 billion in new taxes, more than Mondale and Dukakis 
combined. You see at least $220 billion already in new spending, just to 
begin to pay for all the promises.
    With each program Governor Clinton puts forth, you see a philosophy 
where bureaucrats in Washington or some entrenched Members of Congress 
carve out the exact same programs to try and solve problems facing 
people in Denver and Dallas, or Dover, or Delaware. I believe Americans 
understand that these old liberal solutions are not right for our new 
postwar era.
    It does not make sense that hardware store owners will somehow get 
richer by giving more of your money to the IRS. It doesn't make sense 
that we will get this terrible deficit down by giving more money to the 
Government to spend. At a time when every organization is decentralizing 
power, why turn back to central bureaucracy in Washington?
    And yet, saying that is not enough because, of course, we have real 
problems. Our children won't be able to compete unless our schools are 
literally reinvented. The cost of health care is skyrocketing. We have 
to get it down. So Government can't just keep the tanks running. 
Government must help people.
    During this campaign, many have sought to portray the choice between 
a, quote, ``activist'' Government and a trickle-down approach to 
Government. But that is wrong. The real choice is not between activism 
and passivity. The real choice is between a liberal activist Government 
that seeks to impose solutions on individuals, families, and the private 
sector, and a conservative activist Government that gives individuals, 
businesses, and families the means to make their own choices through 
competition and economic opportunity.
    We know one size does not fit all. We know the American people are 
individuals, each with their own needs and skills and, yes, dreams. So 
our activist approach gives more power to individuals, families, and 
businesses, so you can choose what is best.
    Let me give you just a couple of specific examples here. Start with 
education. Governor Clinton worked with me, and I give him great credit 
for this, when we set six national education goals, the very first time 
in history that the Governors came together with the President to set 
these national education goals. And as I say, Governor Clinton deserves 
credit for that. But if elected President, Governor Clinton wants to 
pour more money into the same failed education system, a system where 
funds are controlled tightly by central bureaucracies, where powerful 
teachers unions block real reform, and where we spend as much per pupil 
as any nation but Switzerland, but don't get an adequate return on our 
investment.
    If the system is broken, tinkering around

[[Page 1995]]

the margins won't do the job. So I want to use competition to improve 
our schools. I want to provide scholarships for elementary and high 
school students so that every parent, rich and poor alike, can choose 
the best schools for their kids, public, private, or religious. Give the 
parents a choice, and competition will make all these schools better.
    This same principle, you live by this principle in your work. You 
see the same thing in health care. Governor Clinton has offered three 
plans in this campaign. One said to all of you, either offer care--small 
businesses, remember--either offer care on your own or pay a new payroll 
tax, at least 7 percent. Many experts said it was a back-door way to get 
Government directly involved in running health care.
    Now he offers a slightly different plan, but he still wants to 
control the price of health care by setting up a gigantic board in 
Washington, not unlike what the Government tried to do with gasoline in 
the 1970's. I say we don't need to sock you with a new tax, and we don't 
want to tell you what doctor to see, and we don't need to inflict you 
with any more mandates from Washington, DC.
    How about tax incentives for small businesses, so that you can 
afford to buy health care on your own, or let small businesses pool 
coverage, to get the advantage, so you can get the same price breaks as 
the AT&T's and IBM's. Government can't control prices by fiat, but 
competition can bring prices down. For people who are too poor to pay 
taxes, we will give vouchers. The poorest of the poor will receive 
vouchers so that they can choose the care that best suits them.
    Freedom, power, choice for people: You see the philosophical 
difference in every area. I trust you to choose the best child care for 
your kids. My opponent says trust the Government. I trust you, with the 
right incentives, to figure out how to give your employees parental 
leave. My opponent says Government should tell you how to do that. I 
favor parental leave. I do not favor more mandates on small business. I 
trust entrepreneurs to place their bets on the growth industries of the 
future. You've got a big difference here. My opponent thinks Government 
can do as good a job, if not better.
    Governor Clinton talks about Government, and here's the word he 
uses, ``investing'' your money. I talk about cutting capital gains 
taxes, investment tax allowances to small business, because you know 
what to do with your money better than any bureaucrat; a big difference 
between Government investment and investment in the private sector.
    Governor Clinton says we need professional politicians in 
Washington, who won't get anything done. I trust Americans' judgment so 
much that I want to limit the terms of Members of Congress and give the 
Government back to the people. The Republic's been able to survive with 
the Presidents having limited terms. I'd like to try it out on some of 
these old geezers in Congress; wouldn't hurt them a damn bit.
    No, you see, here's my point, there's a conservative agenda for 
helping people. It's an activist agenda that empowers people, not the 
bureaucracies. It gives people power to make their own choices, control 
their own lives, create their own destinies.
    I believe that even in these challenging times these ideas make more 
sense to the American people than the siren song of higher taxes, more 
spending, bigger Government in Washington. Now, it all sounds great, but 
how do you translate words into action? After all, people are sick and 
tired of gridlock, and they want to turn Washington into a ``bicker-
free'' zone.
    Well, many of the ideas that I've talked about are already underway. 
In child care, for example, we succeeded in passing legislation that 
literally allows parents to choose their kids' care, whether it's a 
government agency or a church down the street.
    But with a new Congress--and it's going to be new not just in the 
sense of reforming; a new Congress is going to have 150 new Members 
maybe; certainly over 100--we have a historic opportunity to push this 
agenda even further, literally to renew America.
    In September, I laid out what we call an Agenda for American 
Renewal. It's a comprehensive, integrated approach to fixing our 
schools, reforming health care, right-

[[Page 1996]]

sizing Government, and creating here in America the world's first $10 
trillion economy. My agenda includes 13 first-year priorities, but three 
really dwarf all others.
    First, America needs jobs. Not 2 years from now, not next fall, we 
need them today. I understand what it takes to create jobs. I built a 
business myself, small business, met a payroll. I have a big difference 
here because Governor Clinton wants you to send more of your money to 
Washington, remember, to invest, and say the Government will invest it 
for you. I say, let's cut out the middle man. We don't need that. We'll 
put together a package to give you incentives to grow, to further cut--
and I've got to do well on this one in the next 4 years; we've made some 
progress--but further cut redtape and regulation and make more credit 
available.
    Right now, we have $150 billion--one of the things we did get passed 
in the last Congress, Senator Simpson and Congressman Schaefer taking 
lead roles in this--$150 billion in money for highways. We'll make sure 
that that money gets to the States just as soon as possible and get 
those steamrollers moving quickly, so that your customers will have more 
money in their pockets.
    While we're strengthening our business, we must, and I will, open 
new markets for our products by winning congressional approval of our 
free trade treaty with Canada and Mexico. This is the bottom line: More 
trade creates more American high-paying jobs, jobs for all Americans. It 
is exports that have saved us in this global slowdown, global recession, 
and it is exports that are going to lead the way out of this with jobs 
for American manufacturers and American services.
    Our immediate third priority is health care. I already mentioned 
some of the ideas, but the need for action is urgent. We simply cannot 
control the deficit, we can't make our companies even more competitive 
until we make health care more affordable and more accessible for you 
and for all that work with you.
    As we are working on these priorities, we're going to be working on 
others. We'll take new steps to reform our education and legal system. 
Our children will not be able to compete unless we reinvent, literally 
reinvent our schools, K through 12.
    Our society will be drained of precious resources unless we start 
suing each other less and caring for each other more. It is a crying 
shame that these crazy lawsuits have gotten out of control. I have tried 
for 3 years to get the Congress to move on tort reform and on limiting 
some of these outrageous claims. Because when a doctor can't deliver a 
baby for fear of being sued or has to run the price of your health care 
up to protect against a suit, or when a Little League coach won't dare 
coach, or when a guy driving along the highway sees an accident on the 
side and says, well, I better not stop because somebody might sue me if 
I move this poor guy off the road, we've got to do something: Stand up 
to these trial lawyers, and get these lawsuits under control.
    My plan includes reducing the deficit, not by raising taxes but by 
getting control of spending. We need a balanced budget amendment. We 
need a line-item veto. And we need to cap the growth of these mandatory 
programs, except Social Security. We need a check-off on your tax 
return, so you, the taxpayer, can earmark up to 10 percent of your taxes 
to be used for nothing but to get the debt off our children's shoulders.
    Some of you are from urban America, and to you I say we must restore 
hope to our inner cities. So I will work with the new Congress to get 
tougher crime laws, to fight the drug problem, to reform the welfare 
system, and to attract and keep business, all using this principle of 
putting faith and power not in bureaucracies but in real people.
    We will further expand free trade, using our stature as world's 
number one superpower, to reach new trade agreements with countries in 
Europe and Asia.
    Perhaps most important, we'll reform and right-size the Government, 
subject it to the same discipline as every other large organization in 
America. We'll cut the White House staff by a third, and look to 
Congress to match our action. Until we get all these things under 
control, at the outset we will take 5 percent off the salary of the 
best-paid Federal employees. Unfortunately, that

[[Page 1997]]

includes the President, too, but I'll do my share. We will abolish these 
political action committees; get rid of them. We will limit the terms of 
Members of Congress, and we will try in every way to give the Government 
back to the people.
    I know some of you come from communities that have been heavily 
impacted by defense cuts. One of the great things about our performance 
in the cold war, yours and ours, has been that we've been able to cut 
back on some defense. But a critical part of this reorganization will be 
to help our defense industry adjust now to a peacetime economy. 
Immediately following the election, I will assemble a defense conversion 
council. It will include every necessary Cabinet Agency and work closely 
with key Members of the United States Congress.
    We're already directing more weapons research in our great labs, our 
great national labs, to civilian use and retraining military personnel. 
To support this plan, this effort, I plan to create in my next budget 
submission a fund for future generations. That fund would provide seed 
monies to help defense sector and civilian firms form joint partnerships 
to use the knowledge we've gained from building weapons to building a 
stronger economy.
    That is my immediate agenda, and it builds on the foundation that we 
have laid for the last 4 years. It's what I've been talking about on the 
campaign trail and what I will fight for in my second term.
    But I believe each candidate owes you more than his agenda, but what 
specifically will he do to get it done. As the support for Ross Perot 
has made clear, there is a strong desire for a new coalition in America, 
to overcome gridlock, to get the job done. With 150 new Members of 
Congress from both parties, we will move quickly to respond to the 
demands of the people. I plan to use the time from November 4th through 
convening of the new Congress to meet with all the new Members of 
Congress, regardless of party, and to shape a legislative package in a 
way that will guarantee swift passage.
    You know, the best time to move is when you're reelected. No more 
elections ahead. No worry about the future politics. Just get the 
people's business done and do it fast.
    A committee has been called a cul-de-sac down which ideas are lured 
and strangled to death. And if this is true, then the modern Congress 
has become a giant subdivision. Good ideas go in, and they never come 
out again. [Laughter] So we will seek agreement with the congressional 
leaders to form a steering group that can help ride herd over Congress, 
to make sure our legislative package does not get bogged down. We'll set 
deadlines for decisions, and we'll meet them. We can mobilize for war. 
We can mobilize for hurricanes. Let's mobilize for our economy, and get 
this country moving again.
    If we need to, we'll go beyond Washington. Already, our American 
2000 education reform effort involves parents, teachers, and business 
leaders in over 1,700 communities. This will be a model for other 
efforts. America's desire for positive change requires building new 
coalitions, taking advantage of grassroots power, and we will.
    Now, that's the action plan. But what about Governor Clinton? Well, 
in June, he promised to present his 100-day plan even before the 
election. It's 8 days away; we have not had a sighting yet. [Laughter] 
No plan has been sighted. And here's why: His plan simply does not add 
up. He's promised too much. And his new congressional friends want to 
raise the ante even higher. The result will be much higher spending and 
taxes and a much bigger deficit or continued gridlock in Washington.
    My agenda can break the gridlock without breaking the bank. It is 
ambitious, but it is doable. With it we can start to make progress on 
our fundamental challenges and match the peace of mind in the world, 
with the peace of mind right here at home.
    Finally, a word about character. In the final analysis, it is my 
view that this election is going to be decided on character and trust. 
Horace Greeley--I mentioned this in the debate out in Michigan--Horace 
Greeley once said that character is the only thing that endures. I think 
that's especially true in the Presidency. Character matters, not just 
because of the plans you make but the crises that you never foresee. A 
friend of mine says character is real simple. He says it's acting alone 
the way you would act

[[Page 1998]]

with a million people watching. As President, you're never more alone 
than at times of crisis. While nobody may be watching in the Oval 
Office, millions, literally millions, will feel the impact of your 
judgment.
    It is easy in the aftermath of Desert Storm to portray the decision 
to go to war as an easy one, but it was not. It was not uniformly 
popular. The Democratic Congress had spent much of the fall parading 
experts up there, if you'll remember, to Capitol Hill, who said we'd get 
into, quote, ``another Vietnam.'' The thing that hurt the most or that 
made me think the most was the horrible tales of the numbers of body 
bags that we would be responsible for if we made a commitment to send 
somebody else's son, somebody else's daughter to war. The critics said a 
war would kill any hope for peace in the Middle East. And the vote in 
the Congress, a cliffhanger, not overwhelming. Many said, ``Let's give 
sanctions more time.'' But I made a decision to go to war because I knew 
it was right, not because I knew it was popular.
    I remember well the cold, rainy February day at Camp David when 
ground war to liberate Kuwait began, and how fervently I prayed that our 
plans would work and our young men and women would return home, 
victorious and alive. This is an awesome responsibility to ask our young 
people to knock early on death's door. It is a responsibility I have 
tried to fulfill with honor and duty and, above all, honesty, integrity 
to the American people. But that's your call.
    That's the wonderful thing about this system. And yes, I confess 
it's been an ugly year. But that's the wonderful thing, because it is 
your call on November 3d. Then the polls and all these deadly talking 
heads we see on these Sunday television shows, each getting 500 bucks to 
tell us what we think, it doesn't matter anymore. They don't matter 
anymore. It's up to the American people.
    When you enter that voting booth, ask yourself three common sense 
questions: Who has the right vision for America's future? Who can get us 
from here to there? Which character has the character? And who would you 
trust with your family or with the United States of America in a crisis?
    Ideas, action, character: I have tried very hard to demonstrate all 
three. So I came out here to Ace to ask for your support on November 3d.
    Thank you, and may God bless our great country, the United States of 
America. Thank you very, very much.

                    Note: The President spoke at 10:55 a.m. at the 
                        Colorado Convention Center. In his remarks, he 
                        referred to Roger Peterson, president and chief 
                        executive officer, Ace Hardware.