[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book II)]
[August 14, 2004]
[Pages 1658-1667]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks in Sioux City, Iowa
August 14, 2004

    The President. Thank you all. Thank you all very much. Thanks for 
coming. I've got an interesting line of work, don't I. Yes, it's a line 
of work where you get introduced by your wife. 
[Laughter] Thankfully, she said yes when I said, ``Will you marry me?'' 
What a great First Lady she is, a fabulous mom, and a wonderful wife. 
I'm going to

[[Page 1659]]

give you some reasons today why I think you ought to put me back into 
office, but perhaps the most important one of all is so that Laura will 
be the First Lady for 4 more years.
    We're glad to be in Sioux land, and we thank you all for coming. I'm 
here to ask for the vote. I'm here traveling this important State to 
say, there's more to do to make this country a safer, stronger, and 
better nation for all of our citizens. And I'd like your help. I'd like 
you to register your friends and neighbors. See, we have an obligation 
in this free land to vote. And I'd like my supporters to encourage all 
your citizens to register to vote and to do our duty. And when you get 
them headed to the polls, you might just tell them, for the sake of a 
better nation, George Bush and Dick Cheney are 
ready to lead for 4 more years.
    Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
    The President. We're coming off a swing around the West. It's been a 
great trip. The crowds are large. The enthusiasm is strong. And there's 
no doubt in my mind with your help, we will carry Iowa, and we will win 
a great national victory in 2004.
    Tomorrow I'm going to travel down to Florida to visit with those 
whose lives have been hurt by Hurricane Charley. I just want them to 
know that our Federal Government is responding quickly. We have got aid 
stations in place. FEMA Federal officials are on the ground working with 
State and local officials. Many lives have been affected by this 
hurricane. And I know you join me in sending our prayers to those people 
who look for solace and help.
    I'm running with a really good man in Vice President Cheney. Look, I didn't pick him because he's the prettiest guy 
in--[laughter]--I picked him because he can do the job. I picked him for 
his advice and his sound judgment. And we're ready to go. I'm looking 
forward to it. There are big differences, and I'm looking forward to 
making those differences clear to the American people.
    I want to thank my friend Congressman Steve King. I appreciate his leadership. I look forward to working 
with him for 4 more years for the good of this country.
    I know the State auditor, David Vaudt, is 
here. I know the speaker is with us today, Christopher Rants. And I want to thank Ralph Klemme for coming. I want to thank all the State officials who 
are serving the State of Iowa and those from Nebraska. Those good souls 
from South Dakota who have come down here. Let me make something clear 
about South Dakota: John Thune needs to be the 
United States Senator.
    I want to thank the mayor, Dave Ferris, here 
from Sioux City. Mr. Mayor, thanks for coming. Fill the potholes. 
[Laughter] I want to thank my friend Dave Roederer, who is the State campaign chairman for Iowa. He knows 
what I know; we're going to carry this State.
    Backstage, I had the honor of meeting Jeff Fortenberry. He's running for the United States Congress for 
Nebraska. I want to thank the Blue County band for being here. I 
appreciate you lending your talents. I thank the All-American Concert 
Band for being here. Most of all, I want to thank you all for being 
here. Thanks for taking time out of your weekend to come.
    You know, in the past few years, Americans have been through a lot 
together. These have been hard times. We've accomplished a great deal. 
But there's only one reason to look backwards, and that is to determine 
who best to lead us forward. See, that's the only reason to look 
backwards, is who best to get the job done for the American people.
    I'm asking for the vote, and I'm working hard to ask for the vote 
because so much is at stake in this election. We have much more to do to 
move this country forward. I'm running again because I want to work to 
continue to create jobs and improve our

[[Page 1660]]

schools. I'm running again because I know we've got to continue to fight 
the terrorists to secure our homeland. I'm running again to spread the 
peace. I'm running again--what I'm here to tell you is, we have made 
much progress, and there is more work to be done.
    We have 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. You might remember, 3\1/2\ years ago, there was--when we came 
to office, too many of our children were being shuffled from grade to 
grade, year after year, without learning the basics. We have challenged 
the soft bigotry of low expectations. We have raised the bar. We believe 
in accountability because we want to know whether or not our children 
are learning to read and write and add and subtract. We believe in local 
control of schools. When we find schools that will not teach and will 
not change, we are bold enough to challenge the status quo.
    There's more work to be done. We want our high school diplomas to 
mean something. We want to intervene early, before it's too late. We 
want to make sure that technology is in the classrooms so that we can 
bring high-level training to our kids. We want to emphasize math and 
science. What I'm telling you is after 4 more years, a rising generation 
will have skills and confidence necessary to compete in the 21st 
century.
    We have more to do to make quality health care affordable and 
available. You might remember those Medicare debates. You might remember 
campaign after campaign, people would travel this State saying, ``Don't 
worry. We'll strengthen Medicare.'' We got the job done. Drug discount 
cards that provide real savings are available for our seniors. Beginning 
in 2006, all seniors on Medicare will be able to choose a plan that 
suits their needs and gives them coverage for prescription drugs.
    I was working with--I remember campaigning in this State in 2002. 
There were a lot of skeptics. People would say, ``Well, you know, they 
talk a good game in Washington.'' Do you remember what was happening to 
the rural hospitals of Iowa? Do you remember what it was like when the 
reimbursement levels didn't support health care in this important State? 
I stood up for Charles Grassley, the 
fine United States Senator from Iowa. I said, ``We're going to work 
together to get the job done,'' and we got the job done for the people 
of this State.
    We're helping low-income seniors by expanding community health 
centers. We've created health savings accounts so families can save tax-
free for their own health care needs. We're getting the job done in 
America for health care, and there's more to do. We want our small 
businesses to be able to pool across jurisdictional boundaries so they 
can afford insurance just like big companies are able to do.
    In order to make sure you've got health care available and 
affordable in Iowa and Nebraska and South Dakota, we need medical 
liability reform now. See, I don't think you can be pro-patient and pro-
doctor and pro-trial-lawyer at the same time. I think you have to 
choose. My opponent made his choice, and he put 
him on the ticket. [Laughter] I made my choice. 
We need medical liability reform now.
    We will expand research and seek cures for diseases. We will harness 
technology to reduce costs. And in all we do to improve health care in 
America, I'll make sure that the health decisions are made by doctors 
and patients, not by Washington, DC, bureaucrats.
    Listen, there's more work to be done to keep our economy strong. 
We've been through a lot. Think about what this economy has been 
through. We've been through a recession, corporate scandals, a terror 
attack; yet we've overcome those obstacles. We've overcome them because 
our workers are great. We've overcome them because our farmers and 
ranchers are really good

[[Page 1661]]

at what they do. We've overcome them because the entrepreneurial spirit 
of this country is really strong. We've overcome it because small 
businesses are vibrant and healthy and expanding. And we've overcome it 
because of well-timed tax cuts.
    When it came time for providing tax relief, when it came time--which 
really means just letting you keep more of your own money. Sometimes you 
hear them in Washington say, ``Well, we're going to give them some 
Government money.'' [Laughter] That's not Government money. No, that's 
the people's money. That's whose money it is. We said, ``If you pay tax, 
you ought to get relief.'' It seems like to be the fair way to do 
things, instead of trying to pick winners and losers. If you're a mom or 
a dad, you got relief. We increased the child credit. We provided relief 
from the marriage penalty. I never quite understood a Tax Code that 
penalizes marriage. It seems like policy ought to encourage marriage in 
America. We helped our small businesses, and this time, the check 
actually was in the mail. [Laughter]
    Because we acted, our economy, since last summer, has grown at a 
rate as fast as any in nearly 20 years. This economy is strong. It's 
getting stronger. We've added about 1.5 million new jobs. The national 
unemployment rate is 5.5 percent, and right here in the State of Iowa, 
your unemployment rate is 4.3 percent.
    And there's more work to be done. I'm running because I understand 
that we've got to continue with a pro-growth, pro-entrepreneur, pro-
agricultural policy in order to make sure this economy stays strong and 
people can find work. You know, when I campaigned before, I said, ``Give 
me a chance, and I'll stay focused on the agricultural economy of 
America.'' See, I understand, good agricultural policy is good economic 
policy for this country.
    We passed a good farm bill, and it's working. Farm income is up. 
Property values are up. Our farmers and ranchers are making a good 
living, and that's good for the American economy. And we also did 
something else to help our farm economy, put the death tax on its way to 
extinction. The problem is, unless you have a President and Congress who 
understands how devastating the death tax is to our agricultural economy 
and our small-business economy, it's going to come back to life in 2011. 
It's going to make it kind of strange in 2010. I believe we ought to get 
rid of the death tax forever.
    In order to make sure jobs stay here in America and people can find 
work, we need an energy policy which makes us less dependent on foreign 
sources of energy. That's why I am a strong supporter of alternative 
sources of energy like ethanol and biodiesel. Someday my hope is that 
somebody walks in the Oval Office and plops a report right in front of 
the President and says, ``The corn crop is up, and we're less dependent 
on foreign sources of energy.''
    In order to make sure we've got jobs here, we must have wise trade 
policy. See, I believe in free trade, and I believe in fair trade. I 
believe the job of this administration is to reject economic 
isolationism and open up markets. One reason the farm economy is high is 
because not only are our farmers feeding Americans; they're feeding 
people all around the world.
    In order to make sure we've got jobs here, we need less regulations 
and less lawsuits against our employers. In order to make sure we've got 
jobs here, we must not overspend your money, and we must keep your taxes 
low. And that's an issue in this campaign.
    We've still got about 80 days to go in this campaign, and the fellow 
I'm running against has already made over $2.2 trillion of new promises. 
And so I said, ``Well, how are you going to pay for it?'' He said, ``Oh, 
don't worry, we'll tax the rich.'' You've heard that rhetoric before, 
haven't you? It's why the rich have got accountants--[laughter]--figure 
out how he can't tax them. In order to make sure he fulfills all his 
promises, guess who is going to pay? You are.

[[Page 1662]]

But the good news is we're not going to let him 
get in office in the first place.
    Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
    The President. I'm running because I know we need to continue with a 
pro-growth, pro-entrepreneur, pro-farmer economic agenda to make sure 
people can find a decent wage in this country and to make sure this 
country is the strongest economy in the industrialized world.
    We have more to do to wage and win the war against terror. Our 
future depends on our willingness to lead in this world. See, 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 that 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 terrorist cells around the world, 
including our own country. Because we acted, Afghanistan is a rising 
democracy. Because we acted, Afghanistan is an ally in the war on 
terror. Because we acted, many young girls now go to school for the 
first time. Because we acted, America and the world are safer.
    Before September the 11th, Pakistan was a safe transit point for 
terrorists. Today, Pakistan is an ally in the war on terror, and America 
and the world are safer.
    Before September the 11th, in Saudi Arabia, the terrorists were 
raising money and recruiting and operating with little opposition. 
Today, the Government, the Saudi Government, is after Al Qaida. 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 sent 
a clear and strong message, the leader of Libya has abandoned his pursuit of weapons of mass 
destruction. 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 who were enforcing the 
world's sanctions. He had pursued and he had used weapons of mass 
destruction. He had harbored terrorists. He invaded his neighbors. He 
subsidized the families of suicide bombers. Saddam Hussein murdered tens 
of thousands of his own citizens. He was a source of instability in the 
world's most volatile region. He was a threat.
    We looked at intelligence. Not only did we look at the facts, we 
looked at intelligence as we had it and saw a threat. I knew it was 
important to bring the Congress in, so I called on Congress to give me 
its judgment. The Congress remembered the facts and looked at the 
intelligence and saw a threat. You see, both of us saw a threat--me and 
the Congress saw a threat--because we remembered one of the lessons of 
September the 11th was, is that when we saw a threat we must deal with 
it before it fully materializes. It's a different world we're in. So 
Members of Congress--like me--saw that lesson and voted overwhelmingly 
to use force, if necessary, to protect America. Members of both 
political parties looked at the intelligence and made that declaration. 
My opponent looked at the same intelligence and came to the same 
conclusion I did.
    I then went to the United Nations. See, I do think it's important 
always to have war as the last resort and that we must try diplomacy as 
first resort in order to bring the peace. So I went to the U.N. They 
agreed with our assessment that Saddam Hussein was a threat. You might remember they voted 
overwhelmingly in the U.N. Security Council to say to Saddam Hussein, 
``Disclose. Disarm, or face serious consequences.''
    As he had for over a decade--he didn't 
care what the free world said. Remember, he defied the world, resolution 
after resolution after resolution. He did so again. As a matter of fact, 
when we sent inspectors

[[Page 1663]]

in to find out the facts, he systematically deceived them. So I had a 
choice to make: Either forget the lessons of September the 11th and 
trust the word of a madman, or take action to defend our country. Given 
that choice, I will defend America every time.
    Even though we did not find the stockpiles that we thought we would 
find, you need to remember that Saddam Hussein had the capability to make weapons of mass 
destruction, and he could have passed that capability on to our enemies. 
And that's not a risk, after September the 11th, that we could afford to 
take. Knowing what I know today, I would have taken the same action. 
America and the world are safer because Saddam is in a prison cell.
    Now--and now, almost 2 years after he voted for the war in Iraq and 
about 220 days after switching positions to declare himself the antiwar 
candidate, my opponent has found a new nuance. 
[Laughter] He now agrees it was the right decision to go into Iraq. See, 
after months of questioning my motives and my credibility, the Senator 
from Massachusetts now agrees with me that even though we have not found 
the stockpile of weapons we all believed were there, knowing everything 
we know today, he would have voted to go into Iraq and remove Saddam 
Hussein from power. And I want to thank 
Senator Kerry for clearing that up. [Laughter] Although, I caution you, 
there are still 80 days left where he could change his mind again.
    I'm running because I know we must continue to work with friends and 
allies around the world to aggressively pursue the terrorists in Iraq 
and Afghanistan and elsewhere. See, you can't talk sense to these 
people. You cannot negotiate with them. In this post-9/11 world, we 
cannot simply hope for the best. We must aggressively pursue them and 
defeat them in foreign lands so we do not have to face them here at 
home.
    During the next 4 years, America will continue to lead the world 
with confidence and moral clarity. We have put together a strong 
coalition to help us in the pursuit of the terrorists and to spread 
peace. There are nearly 40 nations involved in Afghanistan, and some 30 
nations involved in Iraq. I really appreciate the moms and dads in those 
countries who share the same sacrifices that the moms and dads and 
husbands and wives in our country share, knowing a loved one is serving 
a noble cause during historic times. I will continue to build alliances 
and strengthen alliances and work with our friends for the cause of 
security and peace, but I will never turn over America's national 
security decisions to leaders of other countries.
    These are crucial time. They're crucial times, and we're doing the 
hard work to secure our country and to spread peace. And our commitments 
are being kept by our men and women of the military. I want to thank the 
veterans who are here for setting such a good example to those who wear 
the uniform today. I appreciate you all coming.
    I've had the privilege of traveling to bases in our country and 
around the world. I've met those--with those who defend our security. 
I've seen their great decency and their unselfish courage. I can assure 
you, ladies and gentlemen, the cause of freedom is in really good hands.
    And those who wear our uniform deserve the full support of our 
Government. Last September, while our troops were in combat in both 
Afghanistan and Iraq, I proposed supplemental funding to support them in 
their missions. The legislation provided funding for body armor and 
vital equipment, hazard pay, health benefits, ammunition, fuel, spare 
parts. I appreciated the bipartisan support my request received in the 
House and the Senate. It was a strong support in the United States 
Senate. As a matter of fact, only a small, what I would call, out-of-
the-mainstream minority of 12 voted against the funding, and 2 of those 
12 are my opponent and his runningmate.

[[Page 1664]]

    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. You might remember his initial explanation. He said, ``I actually did vote for the $87 billion, before 
I voted against it.'' [Laughter] That doesn't sound like the way people 
in Sioux land talk. The pressure got on a little bit about that vote. 
Then he said, well, he's proud of the vote, and he went on to say the 
whole thing is a complicated matter. [Laughter] There's nothing 
complicated about supporting our troops in combat.
    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. These are historic times. A free and 
peaceful Iraq and a free and peaceful Afghanistan will be powerful 
examples in a neighborhood that is desperate for freedom. See, Americans 
believe that peaceful societies emerge when governments listen to the 
hopes and aspirations of their people. In Iraq and Afghanistan, there 
are strong leaders who have emerged who believe in the hopes and 
aspirations of their people.
    Success in Iraq will be achieved when more Iraqis are trained to 
defeat those who want to stop the advance of freedom. Our job is to 
stand with the Government that is heading toward elections and preparing 
the Iraqis for a day of security and freedom. That's what we're doing in 
Iraq.
    And it's important work. It's important work because by serving the 
ideal of liberty, we're bringing hope to others, and we're making our 
own country more secure. By serving the ideal of liberty, we're 
spreading peace. Free countries are peaceful countries. By serving the 
ideal of liberty, we're serving our deepest ideals as Americans. We 
believe that freedom is the Almighty God's gift to each man and woman in 
this world.
    Let me share a story with you right quick, tell you what I'm talking 
about. Laura and I were having dinner with Prime Minister of 
Japan, and--Prime Minister Koizumi--in 
Tokyo. And we're talking, and during the course of the conversation, it 
dawned on me that it's really interesting that I was having a meeting 
with the leader of a former enemy. My dad 
fought in World War II. Many of your dads fought against the Japanese, 
and here we were sitting down to dinner. What was remarkable about the 
conversation is, we were talking about how to keep the peace.
    Fortunately, my predecessor and others in our Government after World 
War II believed in the power of liberty to transform enemies into allies 
and friends. They believed that liberty had the capacity to take a 
former enemy and help them become a peaceful advocate for freedom, and 
that's what happened. And fortunately, they defied the pessimists. They 
didn't listen to the doubters. They didn't listen to the naysayers. They 
held deep in their hearts this conviction that we hold in America that 
freedom is a right of people all around the world, and freedom is an 
amazingly powerful, transforming philosophy.
    And so we were talking about the peace. We were talking about how to 
deal with North Korea, as allies in peace. Someday, when we complete our 
mission, an American President will be sitting down with a duly elected 
leader of Iraq, saying to himself or herself, thank God America didn't 
forget its values, and they'll be talking about how to keep the peace.
    We have more work to do. We have more work to do to protect our 
country. There's enemies who hate us. They still plot to harm us. You 
know, there's a debate about the course of action I've taken. They say--
he says that going to war with the terrorists is actually improving 
their recruiting efforts. I strongly disagree with that. There's 
obviously a clear difference of opinion. I think it shows a 
misunderstanding of the nature of the enemy. I want you to remember, 
during the 1990s, the terrorists were recruiting and training for war 
with us long before we went to war with them. I don't think they need an 
excuse

[[Page 1665]]

for their hatred and their evil hearts. You do not create terrorists by 
fighting back; you defeat the terrorists by fighting back.
    We're reforming how we protect our homeland. It's hard work to 
reform how you protect your homeland. It's hard work to reform at all in 
Washington--a lot of entrenched interests there. But we're making 
progress. You just need to know there's a lot of really good people 
working hard on your behalf to find terrorists before they can hurt us. 
We've created a new Department of Homeland Security. We passed the 
PATRIOT Act. Listen, the PATRIOT Act is a vital piece of legislation 
which gives our law enforcement the tools necessary to crack these 
terrorist networks. And they do so without compromising your 
constitutional rights as an American. We're integrating intelligence and 
law enforcement better than ever before. We're taking action on a large 
majority of the 9/11 Commission recommendations, which I found to be a 
very helpful report and a good report.
    We've got more to do to secure our ports and borders and to train 
our first-responders and dramatically improve intelligence gathering 
capability. When Congress comes back in, we'll continue to work with 
them on the National Intelligence Director, so one person is in charge 
of coordinating intelligence overseas and at home. We're working hard. A 
lot of people are working hard, and I'm proud to be associated with 
great people at the Federal level and at the State level and the first-
responders here at the local level who are doing their duty to the 
American citizens--for the American citizens.
    I told you reform is hard. It's easy to advocate it in Washington, 
but you have to get the job done. When you're out campaigning and 
rounding up the voters, remind them, when it comes to reforming public 
schools and improving education for every child, we're getting the job 
done. When it comes to health care reforms and giving families more 
access and more choices in health care, we're getting the job done. When 
it comes to a strong agricultural economy, we're getting the job done. 
When it comes to growing our economy and creating quality jobs, we're 
getting the job done. When it comes to securing our Nation and spreading 
the peace, we're getting the job done. When it comes to electing a 
President, put a man in there who can get the job done.
    Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
    The President. These are exciting times we live in, and they're a 
time of change. And I think one of the ways that Government can help 
people during a time of change is to encourage an ownership society. We 
want more people owning their own health care accounts, so that if they 
change jobs, they can take the health care accounts with them. We want--
look, I've got to tell you, I'm concerned about Social Security. For old 
guys like me, Social Security is fine. [Laughter] It's for the younger 
workers, those who are just starting to work, we've got to worry about 
the fiscal solvency of the Social Security system. That's why I believe 
we ought to allow younger workers to own their own personal retirement 
account in Social Security.
    I love the fact, in a changing world, more people own their own 
home. The homeownership rate is at an alltime high in America. There's 
nothing better than thinking about somebody opening a door, say, 
``Welcome to my home. Come into my piece of property.'' You know, the 
entrepreneurial sector of America is strong and vibrant. More people are 
owning their own business. The reason I believe in an ownership society 
is not only to provide stability during changing times, I also 
understand that if you own something, you have a vital stake in the 
future of our country.
    During changing times, though, there are some things that won't 
change, our belief in liberty, opportunity, and the nonnegotiable 
demands of human dignity. Individual values we try to live by won't 
change, courage, compassion, reverence,

[[Page 1666]]

and integrity; the institutions that give us direction and purpose, our 
families, our schools, our religious congregations. By the way, these 
institutions are fundamental to our lives. They deserve the respect of 
Government.
    We stand for institutions like marriage and family, which are the 
foundations of society. We stand for a culture of life, in which every 
person matters and every person counts. We stand for judges who 
faithfully interpret the law, instead of legislating from the bench.
    We stand for a culture of responsibility in America. The culture of 
this country is changing from one that has said, you know, ``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. Listen, if you're fortunate enough to be a 
mother or a father, you are responsible for loving your child with all 
your heart and all your soul. If you're worried about the quality of the 
education in Sioux City, Iowa, you're responsible for doing something 
about it. If you're a CEO in corporate America, you are 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.
    No, I understand the strength of this country is in the hearts and 
souls of our citizens. Government can hand out money, but Government 
cannot put hope in a person's heart or a sense of purpose in a person's 
life. Compassion* happens when a loving neighbor puts their arm around 
somebody who hurts and says, ``I love you,'' and ``Can I help you?'' I 
will continue to rally the armies of compassion so that we change 
America one heart, one soul, one conscience at a time.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    *White House correction.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    For all Americans these years in our history will always stand 
apart. There are quiet times in the life of nations when little is 
expected of its leaders. This isn't one of those times. This is the 
times where we need firm resolve and clear vision, strong belief in the 
values that make us such a wonderful country.
    None of us will ever forget that week when one era ended and another 
began. I stood in the ruins of the Twin Towers on September the 14th, 
2001. It's a day that I'll never forget. Amidst all the scenes in my 
memory that day, a couple stand out--the workers in hardhats that were 
chanting, ``Whatever it takes.'' I was working the ropeline. A guy grabs 
me. His eyes were bloodshot. He says, ``Do not let me down.'' I remember 
meeting with the victims' families who had this great hope of all hopes 
that somehow a loved one who had rushed in the rubble to save life would 
still be alive. All of us there took that day personally. I took it 
personally. I know you took it personally.
    I have a duty that goes on. Every day that I wake up, I think of 
best how to defend our country. I will never relent. I will stay firm in 
my desire to bring justice to the enemies, to keep America safe and 
secure, whatever it takes.
    We've come through a lot. We've come through a lot together, and 
we've done hard work and important work. But there's more to be done. 
During the next 4 years, 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'll stay focused and firm in our resolve to secure 
America and to spread the peace.
    You know, when I campaigned through your State in 2004, I said that 
if I had the high honor of holding this office, I would pledge to you 
that I would uphold the dignity and the honor of the office of the 
Presidency. And with your help, during the next 4 years, I will continue 
to do so.
    May God bless you all. Thanks for coming. God bless. Thank you all.

[[Page 1667]]

Note: The President spoke at approximately 1:15 p.m. at the Tyson Events 
Center. In his remarks, he referred to Iowa State Auditor David A. 
Vaudt; Speaker Christopher Rants and State Representative Ralph Klemme, 
Iowa State House of Representatives; former Representative John R. 
Thune, senatorial candidate in South Dakota; Mayor Dave Ferris of Sioux 
City, IA; Jeff Fortenberry, candidate for Nebraska's First Congressional 
District; former President Saddam Hussein of Iraq; and Prime Minister 
Junichiro Koizumi of Japan. The transcript released by the Office of the 
Press Secretary also included the remarks of the First Lady, who 
introduced the President.