[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book II)]
[July 13, 2004]
[Pages 1301-1307]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Remarks in Duluth, Minnesota
July 13, 2004
The President. Thank you all very much. Thanks for inviting me, and
thanks for coming. Laura and I last came to
Duluth in November of 2000. It was a little colder that day. [Laughter]
Any day is a good day to be here in this beautiful part of the world,
and I'm really glad to be back.
I appreciate the good folks from Minnesota and Iron Ridge and
Northern Wisconsin who are with us today. Thanks for coming. And by the
look of things, I'm in Bush-Cheney country.
I'm here to ask for the vote. I'm here to ask for your help. I'm so
proud you all came. Thanks a lot. Here's what I want to tell you today:
To make sure America has strong, consistent, optimistic leadership, send
us back to the White House for 4 more years.
Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
The President. Today I want to explain how I want to continue to
lead this country, but perhaps the best reason to send me back to the
White House is so that Laura will be First Lady
for 4 more years. I'm a lucky man. I'm a lucky man when she said yes
when I asked her to marry me. What a fabulous lady and First Lady she
has become. I'm sorry she's not here. But I am proud that one of our
daughters, Barbara, is traveling with me
today. I love that you're here, darling. Thanks for coming.
I appreciate the fact that the Governor
was here. I'm proud to call him friend. I know you're proud to call him
Governor. I want to thank the Lieutenant Governor for being here today. Thanks for coming, Governor. I'm
proud you're here. I know the State auditor, Pat Anderson, is with us. Thanks for coming, Pat. I appreciate you
coming. I want to thank all those who serve the State and serve your
local community for your willingness to serve the people.
I appreciate so very much Lieutenant Colonel Joe Repya for being here today. Joe, thanks for coming,
sir. I'm proud to have the Minnesota veterans for me. Thank you for your
service.
I thank my friend Dan Urshan for being
here. He's in charge of the grassroots campaign. His job is to turn out
the vote, and so is yours. If you're interested in helping, get on the
Internet for georgewbush.com. It's a place where you can learn how to
volunteer. See, I'm here to nurture those grassroots. I'm here to say I
can't win it without your help. And I appreciate you coming.
I want to thank Bob Lessard, who's the
Minnesota Sportsmen for Bush chairman. I'm honored that so many
sportsmen, hunters, and fishermen are here. Thank you all for coming. I
want to thank the Minnesota Teen Challenge Choir for being here today.
Most of all, I want to thank you all. I'm so honored you came. We're
going to win.
Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
The President. When you're out rounding up the vote, remind the
folks that the last 3\1/2\ years have brought serious challenges, and we
have given serious answers. When we came to office, the stock market was
in decline and the economy was headed into a recession. We delivered
historic tax relief. And over the past 3 years, America has had the
fastest growing economy of any major industrialized nation in the world.
We saw war and grief arrive on a quiet September morning, so we have
pursued the terrorist enemy across the world. We've captured or killed
many key leaders of the Al Qaida network, and we will stay on the hunt
until justice is done and America is secure.
[[Page 1302]]
We confronted the dangers of state-sponsored terror and the spread
of weapons of mass destruction. We acted against two of the most violent
and dangerous regimes on Earth. We liberated over 50 million people.
America is once again proud to lead the armies of liberation.
When my really fine Vice President, Dick Cheney, and I came to Washington, the military was underfunded
and underappreciated, so we gave our Armed Forces the resources and
respect they deserve. And today, no one can question the skill and the
strength and the spirit of the United States military.
These accomplishments are important to the security and the
prosperity of America. It is the President's job to confront problems,
not to pass them on to future Presidents and future generations. A
President must make hard decisions and keep his commitments, and that is
how I will lead our country for 4 more years.
I'm ready for the race. I look forward to it, and it's going to be a
tough contest. Now, I'm running against an experienced United States
Senator. He's been in Washington a lot longer
than I have.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. He's been there long enough to
take both sides of just about every issue. He voted for the PATRIOT Act,
for NAFTA, for the No Child Left Behind Act, and for the use of force in
Iraq. Now, he opposes the PATRIOT Act, NAFTA, the No Child Left Behind
Act, and the liberation of Iraq.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. If you disagree with my----
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. If you disagree with my opponent on most any issue, you may just have caught him on the
wrong day. Recently here in the Midwest, he even tried to claim he was
the candidate with conservative values.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. I know--I know. But that's what he said. [Laughter] A bit hard to square that with my
opponent's previous statement when he said, ``I'm liberal and proud of
it.'' [Laughter]
Now he has a runningmate. Senator Kerry is rated as the most liberal Member of the
United States Senate, and he chose a fellow lawyer who is the fourth
most liberal Member of the United States Senate.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. Back in Massachusetts, that's what they call
balancing the ticket. [Laughter]
Great events will turn on this election. The person who sits in the
Oval Office will set the course of the war on terror and the direction
of our economy. I'm asking for your vote because I have a vision and a
strategy to win the war on terror and to extend peace and freedom
throughout the world. I'm asking for your vote because I have a plan to
continue to create jobs and opportunity for every single American. I'm
asking for your vote because I have a plan and a deep desire to rally
the compassionate spirit of America, so every single American has a
chance to realize his or her dreams. When the people give us 4 more
years, America will be safer, America will be stronger, and America will
be better.
Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
The President. A big issue in this campaign and a big issue for
every family in America is their tax burden----
[At this point, there was a disturbance in the audience.]
The President. By providing the largest tax relief since Ronald
Reagan was the President, we have left more money in the hands that
earned it. By spending and investing and helping create new jobs, the
American people have used their money far better than the Government
would have.
[[Page 1303]]
Our economy is strong, and it is getting stronger. Since last
summer, our economy has been growing at its fastest rate in nearly 20
years. In less than a year's time, we've added more than 1.5 million new
jobs. People are going back to work here in America. Here in the great
State of Minnesota, the unemployment rate has dropped to 4.3 percent.
Across this country, the manufacturing sector is growing stronger, with
64,000 jobs created since January. The homeownership rate is at an
alltime high. Business investment is growing. Consumer confidence is at
a 2-year high. Personal incomes are on the rise. The tax relief we
passed is working.
My opponents look at
all this progress and somehow conclude that the sky is falling.
[Laughter] But whether their message is delivered with a frown or a
smile, it's the same old pessimism. And to cheer us up, they propose
higher taxes, more Federal spending, and economic isolationism. The
surest way to end economic growth and put Americans out of work is their
plan. This Nation is on the path to progress, and we're not going there.
To sustain economic growth, we need to keep taxes low. Higher taxes
would undermine growth and destroy jobs. To help the American economy
and create more jobs for American workers, my message to Congress is
this: Make the tax relief permanent. Do not raise the taxes on the
American people.
In order to make sure this economy continues to grow, we've got to
be smart about how we spend your money. We need to set priorities. We
need to make sure we don't overpromise with the people's money. The best
way to make sure that we're wise with your money is to remember whose
money we spend in the first place. It is not the Government's money we
spend in Washington; it is the people's money.
And there's more we need to do. We need to stop the frivolous
lawsuits. You cannot be pro-small-business and pro-trial-lawyer at the
same time. You have to choose. My opponent has
made his choice, and he put him on the ticket. [Laughter] I made my
choice. I will continue to push Congress for reform to end the junk
lawsuits that are hurting our small businesses all across America.
In order to make sure people work in America and to make sure this
economy is strong, we've got to help more Americans better afford health
insurance by giving people better access to health care through
association health plans, giving Americans more control over their
health care through tax-free health savings accounts. And to make sure
you've got a doctor around here and to make sure the cost of health care
goes down, we need to pass medical liability reform in Washington, DC.
In order to make sure America is a good place to invest so people
can find work, we need to pass sound energy legislation. I submitted a
bill to the United States Congress 2 years ago. They need to get the
bill to my desk. It's a bill that will modernize our electricity system.
It is a bill that will encourage conservation. It is a bill that
encourages alternative sources of energy. But it is also a bill that
recognizes we can explore for coal and natural gas in environmentally
friendly ways. For the sake of economic security and national security,
we need to be less dependent on foreign sources of oil.
The Minnesota farmers are doing well. You know why? Because we're
selling farm products all over the world. When you're good at something,
you ought to encourage it. We're good at growing things. We're good at
building things. And we ought to be opening up markets rather than
falling prey to the false hopes of economic isolationism. This country
needs to have a President that's willing to knock down the barriers so
that we can compete anytime, anyplace, anywhere on a level playing
field.
What I'm telling you is in order to make sure this economy is robust
today and tomorrow, you need to put back in the White House a pro-
growth, a pro-entrepreneur, a
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pro-farmer, a pro-small-business President, and that's George W. Bush.
Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
The President. America's future also depends on our willingness to
lead in the world. The momentum of freedom in our time is strong, but we
still face serious dangers. Al Qaida is wounded but not broken.
Terrorists continue to attack in Afghanistan and Iraq. Regimes in North
Korea and Iran are challenging the peace. If America shows weakness or
uncertainty in this decade, the world will drift toward tragedy. That's
not going to happen on my watch.
After the attacks of September the 11th, 2001, this Nation resolved,
and I resolved, to fight the terrorists wherever they dwell. We resolved
to hold regimes that hide and sponsor terrorists to account. Afghanistan
was a terrorist state, a training camp for Al Qaida killers. Because we
acted, Afghanistan is a rising democracy and an ally in the war on
terror. Because we acted, many young girls go to school for the first
time in their life.
Iraq, only last year, was controlled by a dictator who threatened the civilized world and had used
weapons of mass destruction on his own people. For decades, he tormented
and tortured the people of Iraq. Because we acted, Iraq today is a free
and sovereign nation. Because we acted, the dictator is now in a prison
cell and will receive the justice he denied so many for so long.
September the 11th, 2001, taught a lesson this Nation must never
forget. It's a lesson I will never forget: America must confront threats
before they fully materialize. And so my administration, remembering the
history of Saddam Hussein, looked at the
intelligence, and we saw a threat. Members of the United States Congress
from both political parties looked at the same intelligence, and they
saw a threat. The United Nations Security Council looked at the
intelligence, and it saw a threat. The previous administration and the
Congress looked at the same intelligence and made regime change in Iraq
the policy of our Government.
In 2002, the United Nations Security Council yet again demanded a
full accounting of Saddam Hussein's weapons
programs. The world came together. The world saw a threat and said,
``Declare, disarm, or face serious consequences.'' As he had for over a
decade, he defied the free world. He refused to comply. As a matter of
fact, he systematically deceived the inspectors. What was he trying to
hide?
So we had a choice to make--I had a choice to make: Either take the
word of a madman, or defend our country. Given that choice, I will
defend America every time.
Although we have not found stockpiles of weapons of mass
destruction, we were right to go into Iraq. America and the world is
safer because we did. We removed a declared enemy of America who had the
capability of producing weapons of mass destruction and could have
passed that capability to terrorists bent on acquiring them. In the
world after September the 11th, that was a risk we could not afford to
take.
We still have important and difficult work to do. Our immediate task
in Iraq and Afghanistan is to capture or kill the terrorists and foreign
fighters. You see, you can't talk sense to them. You can't negotiate
with these people. You can't sit back and hope for the best. We must
engage our enemies in Afghanistan and Iraq and around the world so we do
not have to face them here at home.
In a country as big as ours, there's no such thing as perfect
security, and threats to our homeland are real. We know that the
terrorists want to strike the United States again to spread fear and
disrupt our way of life. So we have reorganized our Government to better
protect the homeland. And a lot of good people--I mean, a lot of good
people--are working long
[[Page 1305]]
hours to protect you and the American people. I know I speak for
everybody here when I thank the Nation's first-responders--the police
and firefighters and emergency teams of Duluth, Minnesota.
We're defending our homeland. We're defeating the terrorists abroad.
Yet, in the long run, our safety requires something more. We must work
to change the conditions that give rise to terror in the Middle East,
the poverty and the hopelessness and the resentment that terrorists can
exploit. Life in that region will be far more hopeful and peaceful when
men and women can choose their own leaders and the people can decide
their own future. By serving the ideal of liberty, we are bringing hope
to others, and that makes America more secure. By serving the ideal of
liberty, we're also serving the deepest ideals of our country. We
understand that freedom is not America's gift to the world; freedom is
the Almighty God's gift to each man and woman in this world.
The world is changing because of our leadership. Three years ago,
Afghanistan was the home base of Al Qaida. Now the terror camps are
closed, and democracy is rising, and the American people are safer.
Three years ago, Pakistan was a safe transit point for terrorists on
missions of murder. Now Pakistani forces are rounding up the terrorists.
They're joining us in the war on terror, and the American people are
safer. Three years ago in Saudi Arabia, the terrorists were finding
little opposition. Now the Saudi Government is taking the fight to Al
Qaida, and America is safer for it. Three years ago, Libya was spending
millions to acquire weapons of mass destruction. Now thousands of
Libya's chemical munitions have been destroyed. Libya has given up
nuclear processing equipment, and the American people are safer for it.
The world is changing for the better. Three years ago, a dictator in
Iraq had the capability of producing weapons of mass destruction. He had
ties to terrorist organizations. He hated America. He was paying
families of suicide bombers. That dictator is no longer a threat, and
the American people are safer.
We have more work to do. We're determined to finish the work of
democracy in Afghanistan and Iraq. Those nations now have courageous and
responsible leaders. And nations around the world are rallying to help.
The NATO Alliance, the EU, and United Nations are standing behind the
newly liberated people of Iraq and Afghanistan. These good people are
taking more and more responsibility for their own security. They want to
live in freedom, just like you and I love to live in freedom. And those
people need to know they can count on America. We promised to help
deliver them from tyranny, to restore their sovereignty, and to set them
on the path to democracy. When America gives its word, America keeps its
word.
Our men and women in the military are keeping America's commitment.
They're taking great risks on our behalf. At bases across our country
and the world, I've had the privilege of meeting with those who defend
our country and those who sacrifice for our country. I've had the
privilege of meeting the family members of those who have been lost in
combat. The best way to honor their memory is to complete the work
before us.
We've got a fantastic military because we've got fantastic people in
the military. I've seen their great decency and their unselfish courage.
I assure you, ladies and gentlemen, the cause of freedom is in really
good hands.
And we better make sure they have all they need. Last September, I
proposed what we call supplemental funding to support our military in
its mission. The legislation provided funding for body armament and
vital equipment, for hazard pay, health benefits, ammunition, fuel, and
spare parts for our military. This was an important vote. In the United
States Senate only a
[[Page 1306]]
small, out-of-the-mainstream minority* voted against the legislation.
And 2 of those 12 Senators are my opponent and
his runningmate.
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*White House correction.
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Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. Senator Kerry tried to explain
his vote by saying this: ``I actually did vote for the $87 billion,
before I voted against it,'' end quote. [Laughter] That really clears it
up. [Laughter] Now he is offering a different explanation. Yesterday,
Senator Kerry said he is proud that he and his runningmate voted against
the funding for the troops. Now listen, he's entitled to his view. But
Members of Congress should not vote to send troops into battle and then
vote against funding them.
America is leading the world with confidence and moral clarity. We
have built strong coalitions to make the world a safer place. We've got
over 60 nations in the Proliferation Security Initiative; nearly 40
nations are in Afghanistan; more than 30 countries are in Iraq. As your
President, I will continue to build our alliances and work with our
friends in the cause of peace and freedom and security. But I will never
turn over America's national security decisions to leaders of other
countries.
This Nation is prosperous and strong, yet we need to remember that
our greatest strength is in the character of our citizens. The other
day, my opponent said that a bunch of
entertainers from Hollywood conveyed the heart and soul of America.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. I believe the heart and soul of America is found in
places like Duluth, Minnesota.
Our Nation is strong because of the values we try to live by:
courage and compassion, reverence and integrity. We're strong because of
the institution that helped to give us direction and purpose: our
families, our schools, and our religious congregations. These values and
institutions are fundamental to our lives, and they deserve the respect
of our Government.
We stand for high standards in our public schools, local control of
our public schools, accountability in our public schools, so no child is
left behind in America. We stand for the fair treatment of faith-based
groups so they can receive Federal support for their works of compassion
and healing. We stand for welfare reforms that require work and
strengthen marriage, which would help millions of Americans find
independence and dignity. We stand for institutions like marriage and
family, which are the foundations of our society. We stand for judges
who strictly and faithfully interpret the law, instead of legislating
from the bench.
We stand for a culture of life in which every person matters and
every person counts. We're making progress on building that culture of
life here in America. Members of both parties believe that moms and dads
should be involved in important decisions by their minor daughters.
Members of parties came together to pass the Unborn Victims of Violence
Act, to punish violent crimes against mothers and their unborn children.
Members of both parties voted to end the brutal practice of partial-
birth abortion.
Republicans and Democrats can agree on these issues. Yet on the
positions that so many Americans share, my opponent is on the other
side. That's not the mainstream of this country. We stand for a culture
of responsibility in America. The culture of this country is changing
from one that has said, ``If it feels good, do it,'' and ``If you've got
a problem, blame somebody else,'' to a culture in which each of us
understands we are responsible for the decisions we make in life.
If you are fortunate enough to be a mother or a father, you're
responsible for loving your child with all your heart and all your soul.
If you're worried about the quality of the education in the community in
which you live, you're responsible for
[[Page 1307]]
doing something about it. If you're a CEO in corporate America, you're
responsible for telling the truth to your shareholders and your
employees. And in a responsibility society, each of us is responsible
for loving our neighbor just like we'd like to be loved ourself.
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. You and I are
living in a period when the stakes are high and the challenges are
difficult, a time when firm resolve is needed.
None of us will ever forget that week when one era ended and another
began. September the 14th, 2001, I stood in the ruins of the Twin
Towers. I'll never forget that day. Workers in hardhats were chanting,
``Whatever it takes.'' I remember working--trying to console people, and
either a firefighter or a policeman said, ``Do not let me down.''
As we all did that day, these men and women searching through the
rubble took it personally. I took it personally. I have a responsibility
that goes on. I will never relent in bringing justice to our enemies. I
will defend the security of America, whatever it takes.
Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
The President. In these times, I have seen the--witness--I have been
witness to the character of this Nation. I've seen the unselfish courage
of our troops. I've seen the heroism of Americans in the face of danger.
I've seen the spirit of service and compassion renewed in our country.
And we've all seen our Nation unite in common purpose when it mattered
most.
We will need all these qualities for the work ahead. We have a war
to win. And the world is counting on us to lead the cause of freedom and
peace. We have the duty to spread opportunity to every corner of this
country. This is the work that history has set before us. We welcome it.
And we know that for our blessed country, the best days lie ahead.
God bless. Thank you for coming. Thank you all.
Note: The President spoke at 6 p.m. in the Duluth Entertainment
Convention Center. In his remarks, he referred to Gov. Tim Pawlenty and
Lt. Gov. Carol Molnau of Minnesota; Lt. Col. Joe Repya, USA (Ret.),
Minnesota veterans cochair, and Dan Urshan, Minnesota leadership team,
Bush-Cheney '04, Inc.; and former President Saddam Hussein of Iraq. A
portion of these remarks could not be verified because the tape was
incomplete.