Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book II)

[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book II)]
[September 23, 2004]
[Pages 2189-2198]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

Remarks in Bangor, Maine
September 23, 2004

The President. Thanks for coming. I'm honored to be back in this
beautiful State. I wasn't sure I'd be invited back after the last time I
came; I didn't make my bed. [Laughter] What a beautiful day in such a
glorious part of the world. I'm so honored you all came. I'm here to ask
for the vote. That's what I'm doing.
I believe you got to get out amongst the people and ask for the vote
and tell them why you're running. That's what I'm here to do today. I'm
also here to ask for your help. I'd like for you to register your
friends and neighbors. I'd like for you to remind people in the
community in which you live, we have a responsibility in a free society
to go to the polls.
When you're out there registering, make sure you register all
Republicans. Make sure you register independents. Don't overlook
discerning Democrats like Zell Miller. And then
once you get them registered, get them headed to the polls. And when you
get them headed to the polls, tell them, if they want a safer America, a
stronger America, and a better America, to put me and Dick
Cheney back in office.
My only regret is that Laura is not here with
me. She was a public school librarian in Texas when I asked her to marry
me. She said, ``Fine, I'll marry you, just so long as I never have to
give a political speech.'' [Laughter] I said, ``Okay.'' Fortunately, she
didn't hold me to the promise. The other night in New York City, the
American people got to see Laura at her best, her--decent, strong,
compassionate woman. She's a great mom, a great wife. She needs to be
the First Lady for 4 more years.
Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
The President. I'm proud of my runningmate, Dick Cheney. Now, listen, I admit he doesn't have the waviest hair in
the race. [Laughter] Some of you out there don't either. [Laughter] I
didn't pick him for his hair. I picked him for his judgment. I picked
him because he's a man of a lot of experience. I picked him because he
can get the job done on behalf of the American people.
I want to thank Peter Cianchette, my
chairman here in the State. I want to thank all of the grassroots
activists, people like Pete who are putting up the signs and making the
phone calls. It takes a lot of work to get this many people to show up
here in Bangor, Maine. I want to thank all of those who helped turn out
such a great crowd. I appreciate your effort. It means a lot.
I'm sorry the two United States Senators are--they're working for
you. I appreciate their friendship. I'm proud to call Olympia

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Snowe and Susan Collins friends. I know you're proud to call them Senator.
I want to thank all the statehouse people who are here. I appreciate
you serving your community. I appreciate your serving your State. I also
appreciate Brian Hamel. I flew down from
Washington, DC, with Brian Hamel. I had a chance to visit with him.
There's no doubt in my mind he should be the next Congressman from the
Second Congressional District. And I want to thank his wife,
Gail, and his daughters, Natalie, Abbie, and Molly, for supporting their dad when he's out running for the
Congress.
I want to thank Charlie Summers. He's
running the First Congressional District. When he wins, he's going to
have old 41 and Barbara as constituents. [Laughter]
I want to thank Jim Tobin, my regional
chairman.
I want to thank Mark Wills for being here.
Mark, thank you. Proud you're here. I want to thank the high school band
that's joined us today, John Bapst Band. Thank you for coming. I will
try to keep my speech short so you can get home and do your homework.
[Laughter]
I want to thank Steve Hanington. He's
the president of the American's Logger Council. I appreciate you coming.
I want to thank all the loggers who are here today. Thank you for
helping us put together the Healthy Forests Initiative, good piece of
legislation. I appreciate you working on it with us. I want to thank the
lobstermen who are here with us today. [Applause] Oh, yes.
I want to thank the Bangor Chapter of the Blue Star Mothers of
America for being here. Thank you for coming. The Freeport Flag Ladies
are with us. WAVES International is with us. Veterans of the Military
Order of the Purple Heart are with us.
I'm really looking forward to this campaign. I like to get out and
talk about what I believe, where I stand, and where I'm going to lead
this Nation for the next 4 years. I believe every child can learn and
every school should teach. I went to Washington, DC, to challenge the
soft bigotry of low expectation. We had a practice in this country
where, in some public schools, kids were just shuffled through grade
after grade, year after year, without learning the basics. And that
wasn't right. We need to raise the standards. We need to trust the local
people to design a curriculum that works best in the local community. We
need to support our teachers and principals. We need to measure early
and solve problems, before they're too late.
The reforms we passed are working. And the minority gap is closing.
The achievement gap amongst minority students is closing in America.
We're making progress, and we're not turning back.
I believe we have a moral responsibility to honor our citizens with
good health care. See, I went up to Washington to solve problems, not to
pass them on to future Presidents and future generations. I saw a
problem in Medicare. Medicine was changing, and Medicare wasn't. Take
this fact: Medicare would pay $100,000 for heart surgery but wouldn't
pay for the prescription drugs to prevent the heart surgery from being
needed in the first place. That wasn't fair for our seniors. It meant
the system needed to be changed for the better. I called the Republicans
and Democrats together. I signed a law that strengthened Medicare. Our
seniors will be getting prescription drugs in 2006, and we're not
turning back.
I believe in the energy, innovation, and spirit of our workers, our
loggers, our lobstermen, our small-business owners, our farmers and
ranchers. And that's why we unleashed that energy with the largest tax
cut in a generation.
We've been through a lot. This economy has been through a lot. When
you're out there rounding up the vote, remind people what we have been
through. That stock market started to go down about 5 months before we
showed up in Washington. Then we had a recession we had to live with.
Started to come out of that recession, and

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some citizens in this country forgot what it meant to be a responsible
citizen. They fudged the books. They didn't tell the truth. It created a
crisis of confidence. Those corporate scandals hurt our economy. We've
passed tough laws in Washington. It's abundantly clear now that we're
not going to tolerate dishonesty in the boardrooms of America. And then
the enemy hit us. Some estimate that it cost us a million jobs in the 3
months after September the 11th.
I mean, we've been through some tough times when it comes to this
economy. Yet, we're overcoming those obstacles. Our economy is strong,
and it is getting stronger. Our economy has been growing at rates as
fast as any in nearly 20 years. The national unemployment rate is 5.4
percent. That's lower than the average of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.
The unemployment rate in the State of Maine is 4.5 percent. This economy
is strong. It is getting stronger, and we're not going to turn back.
I believe the most solemn duty of the American President is to
protect the American people. If America shows uncertainty and weakness
in this decade, the world will drift toward tragedy. This will not
happen on my watch.
Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
The President. I am running for President with a clear and positive
plan to build a safer world and a more hopeful America. I'm running with
a compassionate conservative philosophy that Government should help
people improve their lives, not try to run their lives. I believe this
Nation wants steady, consistent, principled leadership. And that's why,
with your help, we'll carry Maine and win a great victory in November.
I understand the world we live in is changing. Think about what
happened over the past 30 years. You know, the workplace used to be a
place where a man would only show up, and they'd have one job, one
career, one pension plan, one health care plan. Today, the world is
different. People change jobs and careers quite often. And today, the
workplace is diversified. Women work in the house and, now, out of the
house. And yet, when you think about it, the most fundamental
institutions, our Tax Code, our health coverage, our pension plans, our
worker training programs, our labor laws, were created for the world of
yesterday, not tomorrow. I'm running to transform these systems so all
our citizens are equipped and prepared and thus truly free to make your
own choices and realize the great dreams of our country.
Listen, any hopeful society has got to have a growing economy. And I
have a plan to make sure this prosperity lasts. To create more jobs in
America, America must be the best place in the world to do business. If
you want jobs here, if you want people to be able to find a job, it's
got to be the best place in the world. And that means less regulations
on our small-business owners. That means we got to do something about
these junk lawsuits that are making it hard for employers to expand the
job base.
Listen, if you want to keep jobs here, we got to have us an energy
plan. I proposed a plan to the United States Congress 2 years ago. They
need to get it to my desk. If we want jobs to be created here, we got to
do a better job on conservation. We got to do a better job on promoting
renewables such as ethanol and biodiesel. We got to modernize our
electricity grid. We got to use our clean coal technology to make sure
we can use the energy here at home. We got to explore for natural gas in
environmentally friendly ways. If we want jobs here in America, this
country must become less dependent on foreign sources of energy.
Part of my plan to make sure jobs are here in America so people can
find work is to open up markets overseas. See, we open our markets. And
that's good for you as a consumer. If you have more products

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to choose from, you're likely to get that which you want at a better
price and higher quality. That's how the market works. So I'm saying to
places like China, ``You treat us the way we treat you. You open up your
markets just like we have ours.'' See, we can compete with anybody,
anytime, anywhere, so long as the rules are fair.
To make sure this economy grows, we got to be wise about how we
spend your money and keep your taxes low. Taxes are an issue in this
campaign. The fellow I'm running against has
proposed $2.2 trillion in new Federal spending so far.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. And we still got October to go. [Laughter] Two
trillion dollars is a lot, even for a Senator from Massachusetts.
[Laughter] So they asked him, they said, ``Well,
how are you going to pay for this?'' He said, ``I'll just tax the
rich.'' Now, you've heard that before, haven't you? First of all, you
can't raise enough money to pay for 2.2 trillion by taxing the rich.
There's a tax gap. Guess who gets to fill the tax gap in American
history. You do. Secondly, when they say ``tax the rich,'' be careful.
It's rich--rich hire lawyers and accountants for a reason, to stick you
with the bill. We're not going to let him raise your taxes. We're going
to carry Maine, and we're going to win in November.
Let me also say something about the Tax Code. The Tax Code is a
complicated mess. You realize, it's a million pages long. Americans
spend 6 billion hours a year on taxes. I think we need to simplify the
Tax Code. I think we need to make the Tax Code more fair. I'm going to
call Republicans and Democrats together in a new term to make sure this
Tax Code works for the people, not against the people.
Listen, in a changing world, the job base changes, and there's a
skills gap in America in some places. You know, I remember going down to
North Carolina where the textile industry had been hit hard and yet, the
health care industry was growing. And there's a skills gap, because a
lot of people in the textile industry who wanted to work didn't have the
skills necessary to be in the health care industry. That's why I'm such
a big believer in the community college system here in America. We need
to make our community colleges accessible so workers can gain the skills
they need to fill the jobs of the 21st century.
And most new jobs are filled by people with at least 2 years of
college. That's what the changing world demands. And yet, only about one
in four of our students gets there. That's why, in our high schools,
we'll fund early intervention programs to help students at risk. We'll
place a new focus on math and science. Over time, we'll require a
rigorous exam before graduation from high school. By raising performance
in our high schools and by expanding Pell grants for low- and middle-
income families, more Americans will start their careers with a college
degree.
We've got to do something about our health care system. We have a
fundamental difference in this campaign about health care. When it comes
to health care, my opponent wants Government to
dictate. I want you to decide. Half the uninsured in America work for
small businesses. Small businesses are having trouble affording health
care. One way to help small businesses, one way to help those who work
for small businesses is to allow small businesses to pool together to be
able to buy insurance at the same discounts big companies are able to
do. My opponent opposes such a plan. See, ours is commonsense plan. Ours
is a practical plan. Ours is a plan that doesn't let the Federal
Government decide everything for you.
I believe that we ought to expand tax-free health savings accounts.
I believe we ought to give small businesses tax credits, to encourage
them to put money in small--in health savings accounts, so small-
business employees can get coverage. I know we need to expand community
health centers all across America, places where the poor

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and the indigent can get good primary and preventative care.
I know--I'll tell you what else I know. In order to make sure we do
something about the rising cost of health care and the availability of
health care, we got to stop these junk lawsuits that are running good
docs out of practice. Ask your doctor what it's like to get sued all the
time. A lot of them are quitting practice. I met ob-gyns across the
country, all across the country who are quitting their practice. That
means a lot of women are hurting, all of it because these junk lawsuits
are running up the cost of staying in business. It doesn't make any
sense. You can't be pro-doctor, pro-patient, and pro-trial-lawyer at the
same time. I think you have to make a choice. My opponent has made his choice, and he put a trial lawyer on the ticket.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. I made my choice. I stand for medical liability
reform--now.
Now, there's a lot of--a big difference in this campaign. But
anything we do in this administration to make sure health care is
available and affordable will mean that the decisions will be made by
doctors and patients, not by bureaucrats and insurance companies and the
Government.
New term, let me tell you what else we're going to do. In a changing
times, ownership helps bring stability to people's life. During my
administration, more people own a home than ever before. More and more
people are owning their own home. What a hopeful sign that is. What a
stabilizing influence that is. Over the next 4 years, we'll continue to
expand homeownership. I like the thought of more and more people opening
up the door where they live and saying, ``Welcome to my piece of
property. Welcome to my home. Come on in to my place.''
I tell you what else we need to think about, and that is the
retirement systems. Let me talk about Social Security here for a minute.
If you're on Social Security, you'll be paid. Don't care what they say
in the course of the campaigns. The Government will honor its commitment
to you. The Social Security trust has got enough money to take care of
you. Baby boomers like me, we're in pretty good shape when it comes to
Social Security. But we need to think about the younger kids. We need to
think about our children and our grandchildren. I believe younger
workers ought to be allowed to take some of their own money and set
aside a personal savings account to make sure that Social Security
works, a personal savings account they call their own, a personal
savings account that Government cannot take away.
In a world of change, some things do not change, the values we try
to live by, courage and compassion, reverence and integrity. In times of
change, we must support the institutions that give our lives direction
and purpose, our families, our schools, our religious congregations.
We stand for a culture of life in which every person counts and
every being matters. We stand for marriage and family, which are the
foundations of our society. I stand for the appointment of Federal
judges who know the difference between personal opinion and the strict
interpretation of the law. I stand for supporting faith-based
organizations. Men and women of faith are performing works of hope and
compassion all across our country. They're renewing communities. They're
helping lift up lives, and they deserve fair treatment by our
Government.
That's a position I share with Republicans and Democrats from many
callings in life, including a fine citizen in Maine named John Kerry.
Now, Kerry runs Catholic Charities Maine in
Falmouth, which helps people all over this State. A few years ago, the
city of Portland denied Federal funding to Catholic Charities because
John Kerry refused to compromise his organization's beliefs. Here's what
he said: ``Just because you're religious doesn't mean you

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should be stopped from providing services.'' That's one John Kerry I
agree with.
For those of you involved in your communities, for those of you
who've heard the call to love a neighbor like you'd like to be loved
yourself, thank you for your works of compassion. Thank you for making a
difference in America.
This election will also determine how America responds to the
continuing danger of terrorism. Since the terrible morning of September
the 11th, 2001, we have fought the terrorists across the Earth, not for
pride, not for power, but because the lives of our citizens are at
stake. Our strategy is clear. We're defending the homeland. We're
transforming our military. We're strengthening our intelligence
services. We are staying on the offensive. We are striking the
terrorists abroad so we do not have to face them here at home. We will
work to advance liberty and freedom in the broader Middle East and
around the world, and we will prevail.
Our strategy is succeeding. Think about the world some 4 years ago.
Afghanistan was the home base of Al Qaida. Pakistan was a transit point
for terrorist groups. Saudi Arabia was fertile ground for terrorist
fundraising. Libya was secretly pursing nuclear weapons. Iraq was a
gathering threat. Al Qaida was largely unchallenged as it planned
attacks.
Today, because we acted, Afghanistan is fighting terror; Pakistan is
capturing terrorist leaders; Saudi Arabia is making raids and arrests;
Libya is dismantling its nuclear weapons programs; the army of a free
Iraq is fighting for freedom; and more than three-quarters of Al Qaida's
leaders and associates have been brought to justice. We have led. Many
have joined, and America and the world are safer.
This progress involved careful diplomacy, clear moral purpose, and
some tough decisions.
Audience member. That's what you have! Thank you!
The President. And the toughest decision came on Iraq. See, we knew
Saddam's record. We knew he harbored
terrorists like Abu Nidal. That's the leader of the terrorist
organization that carried out attacks in Europe and Asia. We knew he--
Saddam harbored Abu Abbas. He took--found refuge in Baghdad after he
killed an American, Leon Klinghoffer. Saddam paid the families of
suicide bombers. Saddam was a sworn enemy of America. Saddam not only
desired weapons of mass destruction; he used weapons of mass
destruction. Saddam was a threat. He was a threat. And after September
the 11th, our country must think differently. We must take threats
seriously before they fully materialize.
So I went to the Congress. They looked at the same intelligence I
looked at. They remembered the same history I remembered, and they
concluded Saddam Hussein was a threat and
authorized the use of force. My opponent looked
at the same intelligence, and he voted yes when it came to the
authorization of force.
Listen, before the Commander in Chief ever puts any troops into
harm's way, we must try all options--all options--to solve a problem.
That's why I went to the United Nations. I was hoping diplomacy would
work. I was hoping we could solve this problem peacefully. The toughest
decision a President ever has to make is to put our kids into harm's
way.
So I gave a speech to the United Nations. They looked at the same
intelligence I had looked at. They remembered the same history we
remembered. And they voted 15 to nothing to say to Saddam
Hussein, ``Disclose, disarm, or face serious
consequences.'' The other day in the United Nations I said, ``When an
international body say something, they better mean what they say. If you
don't mean it, don't say it.''
Saddam Hussein ignored the demands of the
free world--again. This wasn't the first resolution he ignored. He had
been ignoring resolutions for nearly a decade. He

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wasn't about to disarm. He wasn't about to listen to the world. As a
matter of fact, when the U.N. sent inspectors into that country, he
systematically deceived the inspectors.
So I have a choice at this point. Diplomacy has failed. We had given
Saddam Hussein his last chance, his decision
to make. Do I take the word of a madman and forget the lessons of
September the 11th, or take action to defend this country? Given that
choice, I will defend America every time.
Because we acted to defend ourself, because we mean--we meant what
we said, today, 50 million people in Afghanistan and Iraq live in
freedom. I want you to think about Afghanistan here for a minute. It
wasn't all that long ago that these poor people were subjected to the
brutal ways of the Taliban. These barbarians have a dark vision of the
world. As a matter of fact, they think exactly opposite of Americans.
They're against--they don't believe in freedom of religion, freedom of
speech, freedom of anything. They believe you either toe their line or
there will be reprisals.
Think about a society in which many young girls were not allowed to
go to school because of the Taliban or a society in which their mothers
were pulled out in the public square and whipped and in some cases
executed in the sports stadium because they wouldn't toe the line.
Today, because America acted, 10 million citizens, 41 percent of whom
are women, have registered to vote in the upcoming October Presidential
elections. It's an amazing thought, isn't it? It's an amazing statistic,
when you think about it.
There were some skeptics who thought, well, maybe people don't want
to be free. Everybody longs to be free. People yearn to be free in this
world. And those 10 million citizens are showing it as this election
comes closer. Of course, there's going to be violence, because these
dark-visioned people, these evil folks cannot stand the thought of a
free society emerging in that part of the world.
Today I met with Prime Minister Allawi, a
strong man. He does deserve our praise. He's a courageous fellow. In the
press conference I had with him today, I reminded the people that were
listening that Prime Minister Allawi woke up in an apartment one day in
London, England--see, he had been exiled out of Iraq; Saddam Hussein
wanted to get him--and he woke up in a bed--this is a true story I'm
telling you; he told me personally--he woke up in the middle of the
night. Two people were standing by his bed with axes. They had been sent
by Saddam Hussein. Fortunately, by the grace
of God, he woke up in time, rolled--got hurt pretty bad, recovered, went
back to his country because he believes in freedom. He's ready to do the
hard work. He is a strong man. There will be elections in January of
2005 in Iraq. And we're going to stand with the people of Afghanistan
and Iraq because when America gives its word, America must keep its
word.
We're also making our country safer. See, free societies in the
Middle East will be hopeful societies which no longer feed resentments
and breed violence for export. Free governments in the Middle East will
fight the terrorists instead of harboring them and supporting them.
Listen, our strategy is clear. We'll help the new leaders train armies
so that Iraq citizens and Afghan citizens can do the hard work of
defending their country against those who would stop the advance of
freedom. There are over 25 million people in that country who desire to
be free. There's only a few, relative to the 25 million, who are trying
to start--stop the march of freedom. We'll help them get on the path of
stability and democracy as quickly as possible, then our troops will
come home with the honor they have earned.
I am proud of the United States military. I'm proud of the men and
women who serve. I've seen their unselfish courage and

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their great decency. I want to thank the veterans who are here for
having set such a great example for those who wear the uniform. You
know, the airport here is often the first stop in the United States for
our troops returning home. No matter what hour they arrive or what the
weather is like, citizens of Maine come here to thank our troops for
their service. It's got to make them feel great. I thank you for doing
that.
I met Bill Knight. He organizes the Maine
Troop Greeters to welcome military personnel here. I appreciate Bill,
and I appreciate all those who work with Bill.
I want to thank the military families who are here today. I made a
commitment to our troops and to their loved ones: They'll have all the
resources they need to do their jobs. So I went to the Congress last
year and requested $87 billion of supplemental funding to support our
troops in combat in both Afghanistan and Iraq. This was really important
money. This was money for fuel, spare parts, body armor, hazard pay,
health benefits, that which is necessary to support people in harm's
way. And it was important. Fortunately, most Members of the Congress
understood how important it was. We got great bipartisan support, so
strong that only 12 Members--12 Members--of the United States Senate
voted against this important funding, 2 of whom are my opponent and his runningmate.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. When you're out gathering the vote, when you're out
convincing people to go to the polls and vote, remind them of this fact:
Only four United States Senators voted to authorize the use of force and
then voted against funding our troops, two of whom are my
opponent and his runningmate.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. Of course, they asked him, you
know, they said, ``Why?'' And he said, ``Well, I actually did vote for
the 87 billion, before I voted against it.'' I don't think a lot of
people speak that way in Bangor, Maine. They kept pressing him, and he
said he was proud of his vote. Finally, he said the whole thing was a
complicated matter. There's nothing complicated about supporting our
troops in combat.
There's hard work to do in Iraq. The Prime Minister told me they're making progress. Yet, as we're seeing on
our TV screens, the terrorists are desperately trying to block that
progress, is what they're trying to do. Our military cannot be beat in
Iraq. They can't beat us. They do have a weapon, though, and that is,
they're coldblooded killers. They'll behead somebody, and our prayers go
to the families here in America. Our hearts break when we see that on
our TV screens. These killers know that. See, they know we have a
conscience, and they don't. They're trying to shake our will.
We're going to help this Government in Iraq. We'll help them----

[At this point, there was a disturbance in the audience.]

The President. ----help them build their troops. We'll help them
build their infrastructure. We have a strategy that says to our
commanders, ``Adapt to the ways on the ground. You've got the support
your need to do what you need to do.'' The way to prevail, the way
toward the successful conclusion we all want, the way to secure Iraq and
bring our troops home is not to wilt or waver or send mixed signals to
the enemy. We can grieve, but we will not waver.
Incredibly, this week my opponent said he
would prefer the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein to the situation in Iraq today.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. You cannot lead the war on terror if you wilt when
times are tough. You cannot expect the Iraqi people to stand up and do
the hard work of democracy if you are pessimistic about their abilities.
You cannot expect the Iraqi people to do the hard work if you say that
they'd be better off with Saddam Hussein in
power.

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What kind of message does it send our troops, who are risking their
lives and who see firsthand the mission is hard but know the mission is
critical to our success? Mixed signals are the wrong signals. I will
continue to lead with clarity, and when I say something, I'll mean what
I say.
Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
The President. I appreciate the contributions of our friends and
allies. I appreciate what they've been doing, side by side with our
troops and the Iraqi troops. Listen, we got a--put together a broad
coalition of about 40 nations in Afghanistan and some 30 nations in
Iraq. Over the next 4 years, I'll continue to strengthen our alliances.
But I will never turn over America's national security decisions to
other countries.
I believe in the transformational power of liberty. The wisest use
of America's strength is to advance freedom. A couple of days ago in New
York, I was having a Diet Coke with my friend Prime Minister
Koizumi. He's the Prime Minister of Japan.
I said, ``You know, I've been talking about you on the campaign trail.''
He said, ``Fine.'' [Laughter] I said, ``Do you mind if I tell people
your favorite singer was Elvis?'' [Laughter] He said, ``Okay.''
It's amazing that I am having that discussion with Prime Minister
Koizumi, if you really think about it,
because it wasn't all that long ago in the march of history, some 60
years ago, Japan was a sworn enemy of the United States of America. My
dad fought them. Your dads and granddads
probably did as well. And it was a tough war. A lot of people lost their
life. But after we won World War II, Harry Truman, one of my
predecessors, believed in the power of liberty to transform societies
and said, ``We'll work with Japan to build a democracy.''
There were a lot of skeptics then, and you can imagine why. A lot of
families had been turned upside down because of loss of life in that
horrible war. A lot of people were still angry that the Japanese had
attacked us in Pearl Harbor. A lot of people didn't believe an enemy
could become a friend. But there were people like Harry Truman in this
country who believed in the power of liberty. And today, as a result of
their belief--think about this now--I sit down with Prime Minister
Koizumi, and we talk about the peace we
all want. We're talking about the peace. Someday, an American President
will be sitting down with a duly elected leader of Iraq talking about
the peace, and our children and our grandchildren will be better off for
it.
These are historic times--historic times--and the work is hard. But
we've done hard work before in this country. I believe that millions in
the Middle East plead in silence for their liberty. I believe that women
in the Middle East long to be free. I know that women in the Middle East
want their little girls and boys to be able to grow up and realize their
dreams. I believe that the people there, if given a chance, will embrace
the most honorable form of government ever devised by man. I believe
these things because freedom is not America's gift to the world; freedom
is the Almighty God's gift to each man and woman in this world.
This young century will be liberty's century. By promoting freedom
at home and abroad, we'll build a safer world and a more hopeful
America. By reforming our systems of Government, we'll help more
Americans realize their dreams. We'll spread ownership and opportunity
to every corner of America. We will pass the enduring values of our
country on to a young generation. We will continue to lead the cause of
freedom and peace.
For all Americans, these years in our history will always stand
apart. There are quiet times in the life of a nation when little is
expected of its leaders. This isn't one of those times. This is a time
that requires firm resolve, clear vision, and a deep faith in the values
that make this a great nation.
None of us will ever forget that week when one era ended and another
began.

[[Page 2198]]

I certainly won't. I was there in the ruins of the Twin Towers on
September the 14th, 2001. The workers there--I can still hear them--were
chanting at me, ``Whatever it takes.'' I was doing my best to console
folks who had just come out of the rubble. A guy grabbed me by the arm.
He looked me straight in the eye and said, ``You do not let me down.''
Ever since that day, I wake up trying to figure out how best to protect
our country. I will defend the security of America, whatever it takes.
Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
The President. Four years ago, as I traveled your great State asking
for the vote, I made a pledge. I said that if you gave me the chance to
serve, I would uphold the honor and the dignity of the office to which I
had been elected. With your help, with your hard work, I will do so for
4 more years.
God bless. Thanks for coming. Thank you all.

Note: The President spoke at 4:03 p.m. at the Bangor International
Airport. In his remarks, he referred to Senator Zell Miller of Georgia,
who made the keynote address at the 2004 Republican National Convention;
Peter Cianchette, Maine State chairman, and Jim Tobin, New England
regional chairman, Bush-Cheney '04, Inc.; Brian Hamel, candidate for
Maine's Second Congressional District; Charlie Summers, candidate for
Maine's First Congressional District; entertainer Mark Wills; senior Al
Qaida associate Abu Musab Al Zarqawi; Prime Minister Ayad Allawi of the
Iraqi Interim Government; and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan.