[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book II)]
[August 6, 2004]
[Pages 1534-1543]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks in Stratham, New Hampshire
August 6, 2004

    The President. Thanks for coming. Listen, there's no better way to 
spend a Friday afternoon than at a picnic in New Hampshire. Thanks for 
coming. Gosh, what a fine gathering. Thanks for coming. I'm thrilled to 
be here.
    I'm here to ask for your vote. I'm back in your important State one 
more time, saying I've got something to do on behalf of your country. 
I'd like your vote, and I'd like your help. We won New Hampshire last 
time; we're going to win it this time. We're on our way to a great 
victory in November.
    I'm sorry Laura is not here.
    Audience members. Aw-w-w!
    The President. That's generally the reaction: Why didn't you send 
her instead of yourself? [Laughter] But what a great First Lady she is. 
She is a wonderful mother, a wonderful wife. 
She's doing a wonderful job for the American people. I'm going to

[[Page 1535]]

give you some reasons to put me back in office, but perhaps the most 
important one of all is so that Laura has 4 more years as the First 
Lady.
    We're working our way up the coast here. Brother Jeb's son, George P., who spent a 
lot of time here in New Hampshire, is getting married tomorrow.
    Audience member. Oh.
    The President. Yes, so we're having a little family wedding. My 
brother Marvin is with me today. I can't wait to 
say--see old number 41. You might remember 
him. He's got a lot of friends in New Hampshire. And Mother, of course, will be there. She can't wait for me to 
arrive so she can tell me what to do. [Laughter] I'm still listening 
too.
    I want to thank Doug Scamman and 
Stella Scamman for their beautiful 
hospitality. Thanks for opening up your farm. What a beautiful place. 
You know, the amazing thing about the Scammans is they're both 
candidates for the statehouse. They're not running against each other; 
that's the good news. Otherwise Stella would win. [Laughter] But I 
appreciate Doug, a onetime speaker of the house, going back into office. 
It's such a good example for somebody willing to serve. And I appreciate 
Stella serving as well. I wish them all the best in their race. If they 
want my help, they can have it. If it helps me--not to be for them, I'll 
try there too. I just want them to win.
    But I do appreciate their hospitality. I love families, and this is 
a great farm family. I say every day is Earth Day when you own a piece 
of the land. These people are taking care of their property, and you can 
see it when you look around at what a beautiful spot.
    I appreciate my friend Judd Gregg. You know, 
he is an amazing Senator. He gets the work done. He is a serious-minded 
guy who I find a lot of fun to be around. He is a----
    Audience member. Six more years!
    The President. That's right, 6 more years; you need to put him back 
up there. [Laughter] You're lucky to have had him representing you; you 
really are. He's a good, sound man, as is Sununu, Jr. John 
Sununu is doing a great job as well. I 
enjoy working with the two United States Senators from New Hampshire.
    I appreciate your Governor, Craig Benson, 
being here. I'm honored that he has agreed to serve. He's a good fellow, 
as is Congressman Jeb Bradley, running for the 
United States Congress. We've got to make sure you put him back in. And 
I know his mother, Helen, is here. That's 
good, Jeb, you listen to your mother too. [Laughter]
    And then my friend Charlie Bass is with 
us today. He's a congressman--the other congressman from New Hampshire 
who's doing a great job for the people of this State. I'm proud they're 
here.
    It's good to see my friend Ruth Griffin 
and ``Wiz'' Wieczorek. These are people 
I've known for--you might remember, I was knocking on doors here a while 
ago--like, 4 years ago. [Laughter] And I met a lot of good folks in New 
Hampshire, people that I've never forgotten. The Scammans, for example, 
hosted a deal for Laura and me here. It's kind of 
like old home week, and it's very nostalgic for us to come back and--for 
me to come back and look around and see many of the folks that worked so 
hard in 2000. I appreciate you staying with it.
    We've got work to do. There's a reason I'm running for office. I 
want this country to be safer, stronger, and better for the American 
people.
    I want to thank all the State folks who are here, the elected 
officials. I want to thank Cheryl McGuinness, the widow of American Flight 11 pilot. Cheryl is a 
woman of deep faith who has taken on, you know, an incredible burden on 
that day of September the 11th, and has dealt with it in such a strong 
fashion that she

[[Page 1536]]

shines in her courage and strength. We love you, Cheryl. Thank you for 
being here.
    I want to thank Jayne Millerick and 
Nancy Merrill and my old buddy Tom Rath for being in charge of the grassroots organization. These 
are the people who put up the signs, people who do all the heavy lifting 
in a political campaign. I want to thank you for what you're doing. I 
want to thank you for what you're going to do. It's really important we 
turn the vote out. And I'm counting on you. I'm counting on your help.
    Every incumbent who comes to ask for the vote has got to answer one 
sensible question of why--why should the people put me back in office 
for 4 more years? In the past few years, we've been through a lot 
together and we have accomplished a lot. But the only reason to look 
backward is to best tell who to lead us forward.
    And that's what I'm here to tell you. We've got more to do for our 
country. I'm running for a reason. I want to make our country the best 
country it can be by improving jobs and improving our schools. I will 
continue to fight the war against terror. But you've got to know I'm 
going to continue to push for the peace. I'm going to continue to make 
this world a more peaceful place.
    We have done a lot. I'm here to ask for your help, because there's 
more to do. I'm running with a good Vice President, a really good Vice 
President. I admit, he's not the prettiest face 
on the ticket. [Laughter] I'm sure Lynne got a 
little upset with me when she hears me say that. I didn't pick him for 
his looks. [Laughter] I picked him because he's a man of sound judgment 
and great experience and a man who can do the job.
    Dick Cheney and I understand we have more to 
do for our country to achieve big goals and big objectives. We've got 
more to do to make our public schools the centers of excellence we all 
know they can be, so that no child is left behind in America. When we 
came to office 3\1/2\ years ago--remember back--too many kids were 
getting shuffled from grade to grade, year after year, without learning 
the basics. So we challenged what I've called the soft bigotry of low 
expectations. We're raising the bar. We believe every child can learn to 
read and write and add and subtract, and we expect every child to learn 
the basics.
    So we believe in accountability. We believe in empowering parents. 
We believe in local control of schools. And today, children across 
America are showing real progress in reading and math. When it comes to 
improving our public schools, we're turning the corner, and we're not 
turning back.
    We've got more to do. See, the jobs of the future will require 
greater knowledge and higher level skills. And so we've got to reform 
our high schools to make sure a high school diploma means something. We 
want to make sure math and science education are spread throughout our 
schools to give our kids the skills necessary to compete. We'll use the 
Internet to bring high-level training into classrooms. What I'm telling 
you is, is that after 4 more years, a rising generation will have more 
skills and more confidence so they can realize the great promise of our 
country.
    We've got more to do to make quality health care available and 
affordable. Remember, when we came to office, too many older Americans 
had trouble with prescription drugs and Medicare didn't pay for them. 
You might remember previous campaigns where you heard, time in and time 
out, ``Oh, don't worry, I'll do something about Medicare,'' and nothing 
happened. We got the job done.
    More than 4 million seniors have signed up for drug discount cards 
that provide real savings. You need to sign up if you're eligible. It 
will make a difference for you. Beginning in 2006, all seniors on 
Medicare will be able to choose a plan that suits their needs and will 
give--and that gives them prescription drug coverage. To help people 
have access to quality care, we've

[[Page 1537]]

expanded community health centers for low-income Americans. We want 
those citizens getting health care in these centers, not in emergency 
rooms. We've created health savings accounts so families can save tax 
free for their own health care needs.
    Let me--hear this: When it comes to giving Americans more choices 
about health care and making health care more affordable, we're moving 
forward, and we're not going backwards.
    Most people get their health care coverage through their businesses. 
Most new jobs are created by small businesses today. And many small 
businesses too often cannot afford to provide health coverage. So to 
help our families get health coverage, we must allow small employers to 
join together to be able to purchase insurance at the discounts 
available to big companies.
    Let me tell you what else we need to do to make sure you've got 
affordable health care and available health care. We need to get rid of 
these frivolous and junk lawsuits. You can't be pro-patient and pro-
doctor and pro-trial-lawyer at the same time. You have to choose. My 
opponent made his choice, and he put him on the ticket. [Laughter] I 
made my choice: I'm standing with the docs and the patients. I strongly 
support medical liability reform.
    Listen, we're going to harness technology to reduce costs and 
prevent mistakes. We'll expand research to seek new cures for terrible 
disease. In all we do to improve health care in America, we will make 
sure the health decisions are made by doctors and patients, not by 
bureaucrats in Washington, DC.
    There's more work to do to make this economy stronger. Remember what 
we've been through. We've been through a lot. We've been through a 
recession. We've been through corporate scandals. We've been through a 
terrorist attack. But we've overcome these obstacles because our workers 
are great, because our farmers are really good at what they do. We've 
overcome these obstacles because the entrepreneurial spirit is strong. 
And we've overcome these obstacles because of well-timed tax cuts.
    Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
    The President. Listen, we didn't pick winners or losers when it came 
to tax relief. We felt that if you're paying Federal income taxes, you 
ought to get relief. It's the only fair way to do it. And so families 
with children got relief. We provided relief for married couples. You 
know, we've got a Tax Code that says there is a marriage penalty.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. No, that's not--we ought to be encouraging marriage, 
not penalizing marriage.
    We helped our small-business owners. That tax relief helped small-
business owners. And this time, the check was really in the mail. 
[Laughter]
    Our economy has been through a lot. Today's employment report shows 
our economy is continuing to move forward. And it reminds us that we're 
in a changing economy, and we've got more to do. I'm not going to be 
satisfied until everybody who wants to work can find a job. I'm running 
because I understand how to take a strong economy and make it stronger. 
I say we have a strong economy, and it's getting stronger. Our economy 
since last summer has grown at a rate as fast as any in nearly 20 years.
    In the last year, we've added about 1.5 million new jobs. The 
unemployment rate is down to 5.5 percent. Here in New Hampshire, your 
unemployment rate is 3.9 percent. Listen, when it comes to creating jobs 
for American workers, in places like New Hampshire you've proved that 
we're moving Americans forward, and we're not turning back.
    Let me tell you what else we need to do. We need to make sure our 
regulations are reasonable on our employers. I know

[[Page 1538]]

some of you file out--file a lot of paperwork. I can't promise anybody 
in Government has ever read it. [Laughter] We need tort reform if we 
want to keep our jobs in America. We need a fair and balanced legal 
system. If we want to keep our jobs in America, we need an energy policy 
that is wise, that encourages conservation, that encourages renewable 
sources of energy, that encourages exploration in environmentally 
friendly ways. To keep jobs here, we need to become less dependent on 
foreign sources of energy.
    To keep jobs here in America, we need reasonable trade policy. See, 
here's what I believe. I believe America's workers, farmers, 
manufacturers, and entrepreneurs can compete with anybody, anytime, 
anywhere, so long as the playing field is level. We're going to be 
opening up markets for the good people of New Hampshire. We want you 
selling New Hampshire goods not only in the United States of America but 
all around the world. And my administration will give you a chance to 
compete in a fair way.
    In order to make sure we keep jobs here, we've got to be wise about 
how we spend your money. We've got to set priorities and not overspend 
it. You know how to start? The best way to start with understanding 
fiscal responsibility in Washington is to understand we're not spending 
the Government's money. You listen closely to the rhetoric of these 
campaigns, you hear, ``Well, we're going to spend the Government's 
money.'' That's not what I think. I know whose money we spend. We spend 
the people's money.
    In order to make sure jobs stay here, we're going to keep your taxes 
low. This campaign is just getting started, and the other fellow has already promised over $2 trillion of new programs. 
Imagine what's going to be coming down the stretch. [Laughter] And the 
problem is, he hasn't told us how he's going to pay for it. But given 
his record, I bet we can figure out how he's going to pay for it. He's 
going to raise your taxes. But we're not going to let him.
    Audience members. No-o-o!
    The President. I'll tell you what else we've got to do to make sure 
jobs stay here, is to make sure our workers have the skills necessary to 
fill the jobs of the 21st century. We're going to offer American workers 
a lifetime of learning. We're going to make sure our community colleges 
are accessible and affordable so people who need to can be retrained for 
the jobs which will exist. Listen, education is crucial to making sure 
the jobs stay here at home.
    I'll tell you what else we're going to do. We're going to make sure 
American families keep more of something they do not have enough of, and 
that's time--time to coach your kids. I want to thank the football 
coaches, the youth football coaches who are here today. I told the 
coaches, I said, ``Thanks for passing on values to our children.'' I 
want to thank those of you who work with the kids in the community here. 
Thanks for being good moms and dads. I want to thank the 4-H Clubs that 
were here, doing good work to help others.
    See, I'm going to work with Senator Gregg. 
He's proposed legislation to allow workers to have flex-time. That means 
they can adjust their schedules to meet their needs so they can do their 
duty as a mom or a dad or as a community activist. Senator Gregg makes 
good sense in his legislation; I strongly embrace it. Government needs 
to stand side by side with the families of America.
    I'm running for 4 more years because I want this economy to be 
stronger. I want our farm economy stronger. I want the entrepreneurial 
spirit stronger. I want there to be higher and better paying jobs. I'm 
running for 4 more years to continue to work for a pro-growth, pro-
entrepreneur, pro-small-business economic agenda that is good for 
America.
    We have more to do to wage and win the war on terror. America's 
future depends

[[Page 1539]]

on our willingness to lead in this world. If America shows uncertainty 
and weakness in this decade, the world will drift toward tragedy. This 
will not happen on my watch.
    The world changed on a terrible September morning. And since that 
day, we have changed the world. Before September the 11th, Afghanistan 
served as the home base of Al Qaida, which trained and deployed 
thousands of killers to set up terror cells around the world, including 
our country. Today, Afghanistan is a rising democracy. Afghanistan is an 
ally in the war against these thugs. Many young girls now go to school 
in Afghanistan for the first time. Afghanistan is becoming free, and 
America and the world are safer for it.
    Before September the 11th, Pakistan was a safe transit point for 
terrorists. Today, Pakistan is an ally in the war against terror. 
Pakistani forces are aggressively to--helping round up Al Qaida and 
their friends and associates, and America and the world are safer.
    In Saudi Arabia, before September the 11th, terrorists were raising 
money and they were recruiting and they were operating with little 
opposition. Today, the Saudi Government is taking the fight to Al Qaida, 
and America and the world are safer.
    Before September the 11th, Libya was spending millions to acquire 
weapons of mass destruction. Today, because America and our allies have 
sent a strong and clear message, the leader of Libya has abandoned his pursuit of weapons of mass 
destruction, and America and the world are safer.
    Before September the 11th, the ruler of Iraq was a sworn enemy of America. He was defying the 
world. He was firing weapons at American pilots which were enforcing the 
world's sanctions. He had pursued and he had used weapons of mass 
destruction. He harbored terrorists. He invaded his neighbors. He 
subsidized families of suicide bombers. He had murdered tens of 
thousands of his own citizens. He was a source of great instability in 
the world's most volatile region. He was a threat.
    After September the 11th, we looked at all the threats of the world 
in a new light. I want you to remember, a lesson of September the 11th 
was that we must take threats seriously, before they fully materialize. 
The September the 11th Commission concluded our institutions of 
Government had failed to imagine the horror of that day. After September 
the 11th, we could not fail to imagine that a brutal tyrant who hated America, who had ties to terror, who had 
used weapons of mass destruction might use those weapons or share his 
capabilities with enemies.
    See, we saw a threat. We looked at the intelligence of the day and 
saw a threat. The United States Congress--members of both political 
parties, including my opponent--looked at the 
same intelligence and came to the same conclusion. The United Nations 
looked at the intelligence and recognized Saddam was a threat. They 
unanimously passed a resolution--unanimously passed a resolution--which 
said, ``Disclose, disarm, or face serious consequences.'' After defying 
the free world for 12 years, he did so again. 
He deceived the weapons inspectors. And so I had a choice to make: Do I 
forget the lessons of September the 11th?
    Audience members. No-o-o!
    The President. Do I trust a madman? Or do I take action necessary to 
defend our country? Given that choice, I will defend America every time.
    Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
    The President. And because Saddam Hussein 
sits in a prison cell, America and the world are safer.
    Even though we did not find the stockpiles that we thought we would 
find, we did the right thing. He had the capability, and he could have 
passed that capability on to our enemies.
    Now, there are some questions that a Commander in Chief needs to 
answer with

[[Page 1540]]

a clear yes or no. My opponent hasn't answered the question of whether, 
knowing what we know now, he would have supported going into Iraq. 
That's an important question, and the American people deserve a clear 
yes or no answer. I have given my answer. We did the right thing, and 
the world is better off for it.
    Over the next 4 years, we'll continue to work with friends and 
allies around the world to aggressively pursue the enemy in Iraq and 
Afghanistan and elsewhere. See, you can't talk sense to these people. 
You can't negotiate with them. You can't hope for the best with people 
who take airplanes and killed thousands of our citizens. We must engage 
these enemies around the world so we do not have to face them here at 
home.
    America will continue to lead the world with confidence and moral 
clarity. We put together a strong coalition. We're working together--
there's over 60 nations involved with the Proliferation Security 
Initiative, 40 nations involved in Afghanistan, nearly 30 nations 
involved in Iraq. These are good people leading these countries. Our 
friends and allies will continue to work together for the cause of 
security and peace, but I will never turn America's national security 
decisions over to the leaders of other countries.
    We will keep our commitments to help Afghanistan and Iraq become 
peaceful and democratic societies. This is important work; it's hard 
work, to go from being brutalized by a tyrant to having confidence 
enough to live in a free world. These two countries are now governed by 
strong leaders. Prime Minister Allawi in Iraq 
and President Karzai in Afghanistan are strong 
leaders who believe in the hopes and aspirations of their people. They 
want freedom, and so do the people of their countries. More and more of 
their folks are stepping up and taking responsibility. More people are 
becoming trained to defend their country against those who hate freedom. 
And the people of those countries can count on the United States and our 
coalition. See, when we acted to protect our own security, we promised 
to help deliver them from tyranny, to restore their sovereignty, and to 
set them on the path of liberty. And when America gives its word, 
America keeps its word.
    In these crucial times, our commitments are kept by the men and 
women of our military. I want to thank the 94th Military Police Army 
Reserve Unit of New Hampshire for their service. I've had the privilege 
of meeting with those who defend our country. I've seen their unselfish 
courage and their great decency. The cause of freedom is in really good 
hands.
    And I have an obligation and our Government has an obligation to 
make sure those who defend us have the very best pay, training, and 
equipment. Last September, while our troops were in combat in 
Afghanistan and Iraq, I proposed supplemental funding to support them in 
their mission. This important legislation provided funding for body 
armor and vital equipment, for hazard pay and health benefits, for 
ammunition, fuel, and spare parts. Only a handful of United States 
Senators voted against the help to our military.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. Two of those twelve Senators are my opponent and his runningmate.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. Here's how he tried to explain 
his vote--[laughter]--``I actually did vote for the 87 billion, before I 
voted against it.'' [Laughter] Listen, I've spent a lot of quality time 
in New Hampshire. That's not how the people of New Hampshire talk. Now 
he's offering a different explanation. He said he's proud of his vote, 
and he said the whole thing is a complicated matter. [Laughter] There's 
nothing complicated about supporting our troops in harm's way.
    No, as Commander in Chief of these folks, I'm proud to stand with 
them. I'm proud of the veterans who have served so

[[Page 1541]]

well and set such a great example to those who serve.
    In the long run, our security is not guaranteed by force alone. We 
must work to change the conditions that give rise to terror: poverty and 
hopelessness and resentment. See, a free and peaceful Iraq and a free 
and peaceful Afghanistan will be powerful examples to their neighbors. 
They live in a part of the world that is desperate for freedom. We 
believe in America--we know in America that free societies are peaceful 
societies. Free societies do not export terror. See, by serving the 
ideal of liberty, we're serving our own national interests. As freedom 
spreads, America becomes more secure, and the world will be more 
peaceful. By serving the ideal of liberty, we're serving the deepest 
beliefs of our country. Freedom is not America's gift to the world; 
freedom is the Almighty God's gift to every man and woman in this world.
    I'm running for 4 more years to make our country more secure and to 
help spread peace throughout the world. And we've got to do more to 
protect our country. You've read recently the threats. They're real, 
because there's an enemy that still wants to harm us. My opponent said something the other day I strongly disagree with. 
He said that going to war with the terrorists is actually improving 
their recruiting efforts. No, it's upside-down logic. It shows a 
misunderstanding of the enemy. During the nineties, these people were 
recruiting and training and preparing long before--long before--we went 
to war with them. They don't need an excuse for their hatred, and it is 
wrong to blame America for the anger and the evil of the killers. We 
don't create terrorists by fighting back. We defeat the terrorists by 
fighting back.
    I agree with the conclusion of the 9/11 Commission that said the 
homeland is safer because of the actions we've taken, but not yet safe. 
And so we've got work to do to make this country more secure. We'll stay 
on the offense, but we've got work here at home. And we've started the 
process of reform. We've transformed our defenses. We've created a new 
Department of Homeland Security. We passed the PATRIOT Act. It's a very 
important piece of legislation to give law enforcement the tools 
necessary to disrupt and find terrorist cells.
    The mission of the FBI is now focused on preventing terror. We're 
integrating intelligence and law enforcement better than ever before. 
We're taking action on a lot of this important Commission's 
recommendations. We've got more to do to better secure our ports and 
borders, to train first-responders. I want to thank the first-responders 
who are here, by the way--those are your police and firefighters and 
emergency teams.
    I called on Congress to create a position of National Intelligence 
Director to dramatically improve our coordination and gathering efforts. 
Listen, these reforms aren't going to be easy. It's never easy in 
Washington. [Laughter] There's a lot of entrenched interests, a lot of 
people defending the status quo. It's not enough to advocate reform; 
you've got to be able to get the job done. And that's what we've done in 
this administration.
    When it comes to reforming schools to provide excellent education, 
we got the job done, and results matter. When it comes to health care 
reforms to give families more access and more choices, results matter. 
When it comes to improving our economy and creating quality jobs, 
results matter. When it comes to better securing our homeland and 
spreading the peace, results matter. When it comes to electing a 
President, results matter. This world we're in is a----
    Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
    The President. This is an exciting time to be an American, in many 
ways. It's a changing world, and Government has got to understand that. 
You know, you've got workers--when most of our dads were

[[Page 1542]]

coming up, they worked for the same company, didn't change jobs, and so 
the pension plans or the health care plans were adjusted for that. Now 
it's a different world. People are changing jobs; people are working out 
of their homes. Oftentimes, moms and dads are both working. And policy 
has got to reflect these changing times, which means, it seems like to 
me, the best way to do so is to encourage an ownership society. For 
example, we want people owning and managing their own health care 
accounts that they can take with them job to job or go from job to home.
    In terms of pensions, you know, older guys like me are set for 
Social Security, but younger workers needed a different approach for 
Social Security. We ought to allow younger workers to manage their own 
personal retirement accounts that they can pass from one generation to 
the next.
    When people tell me the number of small-businesses owners in America 
are increasing, that's really good news. I want people to own something 
in our country. I'm going to continue to work for an ownership society. 
Homeownership is at an alltime high now in America. That's fantastic 
news. Isn't it wonderful to have somebody for the first time be able to 
say, ``Welcome to my home. I'm glad you're here at my piece of 
property.''
    This administration understands that when you own something, you 
have a vital stake in the future of our country. Now, in times of 
change, some things will never change: our belief in liberty, our belief 
in opportunity for every citizen, our nonnegotiable demands of human 
dignity. We believe in the individual values that we try to live by, 
courage and compassion, reverence and integrity. We believe in the 
institutions that give us direction and purpose, our families, our 
schools, and our religious congregations. These are fundamental to our 
lives, and they deserve the respect of Government.
    We stand for institutions like marriage and family, which are the 
foundation of society. We stand for a culture of life in which every 
person matters and every being counts. We stand for judges who 
faithfully interpret the law instead of legislating from the bench.
    And we stand for a culture of responsibility in our country. The 
culture of this country is changing from one that has said, ``If it 
feels good, just go ahead and do it,'' and ``If you've got a problem, 
blame somebody else,'' to a culture in which each of us understands 
we're 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 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 era, each of us 
is responsible for loving our neighbor just like we'd like to be loved 
ourselves.
    I'm running for 4 more years to continue to rally the armies of 
compassion. See, I understand Government can hand out money. We do a 
pretty good job of it in Washington. [Laughter] But what Government 
cannot do is put hope in a person's heart or a sense of purpose in a 
person's life. That's done when a loving soul puts his arm around 
somebody in need and says, ``Brother,'' or ``Sister, I love you. How can 
I help you?''
    Listen, we can rally the armies of compassion. The great strength of 
America is the heart and soul of our people, and we can change this 
blessed country one heart, one soul, one conscience at a time.
    For all Americans, these years in 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. It's a time that requires 
firm resolve, clear vision, dedication to freedom and peace.

[[Page 1543]]

    None of us will ever forget that week when one era ended and another 
began. As Judd said, I stood in the Twin Towers 
on September the 14th, 2001. It's a day I'll never forget. There were 
workers in hardhats yelling at me, ``Whatever it takes.'' I remember a 
guy grabbing me by the arm--I don't know if he was a firefighter or a 
policeman; I do know that he had been searching in the rubble for a 
loved one. He looked at me with bloodshot eyes and said, ``Do not let me 
down.''
    These are vivid impressions I will never forget. Obviously, he took 
it personally. The people searching through the rubble took that day 
personally. You took it personally. I took it personally. I have a duty 
that goes on. It is a solemn duty to defend our country, which I will 
do, whatever it takes.
    We have come through much together. We have done a lot of hard work. 
But there's more to do. There's more to do to spread opportunity and 
freedom and peace. During the next 4 years, I will work to make sure the 
American Dream shines brightly for everybody and that we encourage an 
ownership society. We will pass enduring values of our country to the 
next generation. We will lead the cause of freedom and peace. And we 
will prevail.
    Four years ago, I traveled your great State. I said if you gave me 
the honor of serving, I would uphold the dignity and the honor of the 
office to which I had been elected. And with your help--and with your 
help, I will do so for 4 more years.
    May God bless you all. Thanks for coming. Thank you very much. Thank 
you all.

Note: The President spoke at 1:07 p.m. at Bittersweet Farm. In his 
remarks, he referred to Jayne Millerick, chairman, Nancy Merrill, 
national committeewoman, and Tom Rath, national committeeman, New 
Hampshire Republican State Committee; Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-
Qadhafi, leader of Libya; former President Saddam Hussein of Iraq; and 
the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (9/
11 Commission).