[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book II)]
[August 27, 2004]
[Pages 1756-1763]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks in Miami
August 27, 2004

    The President. Thank you all for coming. Vamos a ganar en Noviembre. 
Thanks for coming. I like a line of work where you get introduced by 
your wife. I love her dearly. She's a great wife, 
a wonderful mother, and she is a terrific First Lady. I'm going to give 
you some reasons why I think you need to put me back in, but perhaps the 
most important one of all is so that Laura is the First Lady for 4 more 
years.
    Listen, Laura and I are thrilled to be here 
with our friend Zell Miller from Georgia. He 
is--I've asked him to give a big speech next week. He's the keynote 
speaker for our convention. I asked him because he puts his country 
above partisan politics. I asked him because he's a man of--he's got a 
great heart, and he cares about people from all walks of life. I picked 
the right guy to give a big speech for us next Wednesday night.
    I'm sorry my brother is not here, mi hermanito. 
He's working. He's doing what the people of Florida expect him to do, 
and that is to do his job. I just saw him, and we were talking about the 
damage done by Hurricane Charley and the response by the Federal 
Government and the State government, which has been swift and sure. 
We're helping the people that need help on the west coast and throughout 
the

[[Page 1757]]

interior of your State. We're doing our jobs as public servants.
    I was just talking to the chairman of the Appropriations Committee. 
He was with us. He happens to be from Florida as well, Chairman 
Young, and we both agreed we'll provide the 
money necessary to help people with their housing and small-business 
loans and Government assistance as well to help the citrus growers and 
vegetable growers and nursery men and women who've been hurt by this 
storm. I want to thank them for their hard work.
    I appreciate Congressman Mark Foley who's 
with us today--Congressman Foley. I want to thank my friend Mario Diaz-
Balart, who's with us today. Mario--
bienvenidos, Mario.
    I want to appreciate David Dermer, who 
happens to be the mayor of Miami Beach. I appreciate him being here. Mr. 
Mayor, gracias por su apoyo. Su apoyo es muy importante.
    I appreciate my friend Lynn Swann. He's 
the head of the President's Council on Physical Fitness, and he is an--
he sets an important message: Exercise. [Laughter] Take care of your 
bodies. Get out and move around. He just warned me, he forgot to tell me 
what it means to fall off a mountain bike. [Laughter] But I'm proud of 
my friendship with Lynn. I want to thank him.
    I want to thank all the grassroots activists who are here, the 
people who are participating in the political process. We have a duty in 
this country to vote. See, we have a duty in a free country to go to the 
polls. I'm asking you to register your friends and neighbors to vote. 
See, reach out to people from all walks of life. You can find 
Republicans who need to register. You'll find some discerning 
independents who need to register. You can find some Democrats just like 
Zell who need to register. And get them to the 
poll and remind them that if they're interested in this country being 
safer, stronger, and better, put Dick Cheney and 
me back in office.
    Now, I want to thank you for what you have done. I want to thank you 
for what you're going to do, which is to turn out that vote. When we're 
coming down the stretch, get your friends and neighbors to the polls and 
remind them that we've been through a lot together during the past years 
and we've accomplished a lot. But there's only one reason to look 
backward, and that is to determine who best to lead us forward. I'm here 
to tell you, I'm ready to lead this country for 4 more years. I've got 
an agenda.
    Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
    The President. We have more to do. We have more to do to make sure 
our public schools are the centers of excellence we know they all can 
be. You might remember what it was like 3\1/2\ years ago. We had a 
system that just shuffled the children through, grade after grade, year 
after year, without them learning the basics. We came to Washington to 
challenge that system. Listen, we provided more Federal funding to help 
the schools down here, but we now expect results. We're challenging the 
soft bigotry of low expectations. We're raising the bar. We believe in 
accountability. We're helping kids early, before it's too late.
    We're making progress. And at my speech next week, I'm going to talk 
about how to continue to build on the foundation of excellence we laid. 
We want more high school kids taking math and sciences so they can 
compete in the 21st century. We're going to have problems--we'll be 
solving problems early so every child has a chance to succeed. We want 
to make sure a high school diploma means something. What I'm telling you 
is, after 4 more years, a rising generation will have the skills and 
confidence necessary to compete in the 21st century.
    There's more work to be done to make sure health care is available 
and affordable. I know some seniors in this State have heard that old 
Medicare debate campaign after campaign after campaign, and nothing

[[Page 1758]]

ever got done. The system needed to be changed to help our seniors. I 
went to Washington with an idea and a plan to strengthen Medicare for 
our seniors, and we got the job done.
    We've not only helped our seniors, we've helped low-income Americans 
by expanding community health centers all across our country. We 
provided health savings accounts so families can save tax-free for their 
own health care needs. But there's more to be done. Listen, I fully 
understand most new jobs in this country are created by small 
businesses. Most small businesses are having trouble--many small 
businesses are having trouble affording health insurance for their 
employees. It seems to make sense to me to allow small businesses to 
join together to purchase insurance at the rate, the discounts that big 
companies are able to do.
    There is more work to be done in order to make sure health care is 
available and affordable here in south Florida. We need to stop those 
junk lawsuits that are running up the cost of medicine.
    Audience member. Kerry won't do it.
    The President. Right. See, I don't think you can be pro-patient and 
pro-doctor and pro-plaintiff-attorney at the same time. I think you have 
to make a choice. My opponent made his choice. He 
put him on the ticket.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. I made my choice. I'm standing with the patients and 
docs and hospitals for medical liability reform. In all we do to improve 
health care in America, we will make sure the health decisions are made 
by patients and doctors, and not by Government bureaucrats in 
Washington, DC.
    We've got more to do to keep this economy growing. Remind your 
friends and neighbors what this--what we've been through. We've been 
through a recession. We've been through an attack. We've been through 
corporate scandals. And yet, we've overcome these obstacles. You know 
why? We've got the best workers in the world. We've overcome these 
obstacles because we've got great entrepreneurs in America. The 
entrepreneurial spirit is strong. The small-business sector of our 
economy is doing well. We've overcome these obstacles because of our 
farmers and ranchers. We've also overcome these obstacles because of 
well-timed tax cuts.
    You might remember that we--our theory was, if you pay taxes, you 
get relief. We didn't try to pick or choose winners. We reduced the 
rates of everybody. We also increased the child credit. If you're a mom 
or dad, we wanted to help you out. We reduced the marriage penalty. See, 
we believe the Tax Code ought to encourage marriage, not discourage 
marriage. We helped our small businesses.
    Because we acted, our economy has been growing at rates as fast as 
any in nearly 20 years. Because we acted, America has added about 1.5 
million new jobs over the last 12 months. Because we acted, the national 
unemployment rate is down to 5.5 percent, below the national average of 
the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Because we acted, the unemployment rate in 
the State of Florida is 4.4 percent.
    Listen, there's more work to be done to keep this economy growing. 
To keep jobs here in America, we need to reduce the regulatory burden on 
the employers of America. We need tort reform so that small businesses 
are able to keep their doors open. We need to make sure that trade 
around the world is fair. We just want countries to treat us like we 
treat them, because we can compete with anybody, anytime, anywhere when 
the rules are fair.
    Audience members. U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!
    The President. In order to make sure we have jobs here in America 
and the economy continues to grow, we need an energy plan. I submitted a 
plan to the Congress 2 years ago. It's a plan that encourages 
conservation and encourages renewable sources of

[[Page 1759]]

energy. It encourages exploration for natural gas in environmentally 
friendly ways. It encourages clean coal technology. What it says is in 
order to grow this economy, we must be less dependent on foreign sources 
of energy.
    In order to make sure this economy continues to grow and people can 
find work here at home, we need to be wise about how we spend your money 
and we need to keep your taxes low. I'm running against a fellow--
he's already made over $2 trillion worth of 
promises. [Laughter] And we're just coming down the stretch. We have 2 
more months to go. Imagine what it's going to be like. And so they said, 
``How are you going to pay for it?'' And he put out that same old, tired 
slogan, ``Oh, I'm going to pay for it by taxing the rich.''
    Audience members. [Inaudible]
    The President. Yes. But you've heard that before, haven't you?
    Audience members. [Inaudible]
    The President. Yes. You know how the system works. They say they're 
going to tax the rich, but they hire lawyers and accountants, and then 
you get stuck with the bill. But we're not going to let him tax you because I'm going to win.
    We have more to do. We have more to do to wage and win the war 
against terror. America's future depends on our willingness to lead in 
the world. If America shows uncertainty or 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've changed the world. Before September the 11th, Afghanistan 
served as the home base of Al Qaida, which trained and deployed 
thousands of killers in cells around the world, including the United 
States. Because we acted, Afghanistan is a rising democracy. Over 10 
million people in that country have registered to vote. Afghanistan is 
an ally in the war on terror. Because we acted, many young girls now go 
to school for the first time in their lives. Because we acted, 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 pilots 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 the families of 
suicide bombers. He murdered tens of thousands of his own citizens. He 
was the source of great instability in a world's volatile region, and 
so, I saw a threat.
    One of the lessons of September the 11th that we must never forget 
is that this Nation must deal with threats before they fully 
materialize. It's an important lesson. So with that in mind, I went to 
the United States Congress--I went to the Congress. I said, ``I see a 
threat. My administration sees a threat.'' They looked at the same 
intelligence I did. They remembered the same history of the 
dictator, and they saw a threat, including my 
opponent. He saw a threat. He saw a threat and, 
along with many, authorized the use of force.
    Committing our troops into combat is the last choice of a 
President--it must be the last choice, so I went to the United Nations. 
And I said, ``We see a threat.'' They looked at the intelligence. They 
remembered the history, and they saw a threat. Remember, they passed a 
resolution 15 to nothing that said, ``Saddam Hussein, disclose, disarm, or face serious consequences.''
    But as he had for over a decade, he 
refused to comply with the demands of the free world. He chose defiance 
once again. As a matter of fact, when we tried to send

[[Page 1760]]

inspectors into the country, he systematically deceived the inspectors. 
So I had a choice to make. The choice was: Do I trust a madman and 
forget the lessons of September the 11th, or take actions to defend 
America? I will defend America every time.
    Even though we did not find the stockpiles we expected to find, 
Saddam had the capability of making weapons 
of mass destruction, and he could have passed that capability on to 
others, including our enemy. Knowing what I know today, I would have 
made the same decision. America and the world are safer with Saddam 
Hussein sitting in a prison cell.
    I'm running because I understand we have more to do to defend this 
country. It's the most solemn duty of Government, is to defend the 
American people. So we'll continue to work with our friends and allies 
to aggressively pursue these terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan and 
elsewhere around the world. You cannot talk sense to these people. You 
can't rationalize with them. You cannot hope for the best. We must 
aggressively pursue them and defeat them around the world so we do not 
face them here at home.
    We will continue to lead the world with confidence and moral 
clarity. See, we put together a strong coalition. Nearly 40 nations are 
involved in Afghanistan. Some 30 nations are involved in Iraq. We will 
continue to work with our alliances and our friends for the sake of 
freedom and peace, but I will never turn over America's national 
security decisions to leaders of other countries.
    We will keep our commitments to help Afghanistan and Iraq become 
peaceful democratic societies. That's what we're going to do. You see, 
these two nations are now governed by strong leaders. They're on the 
path to elections. In Afghanistan and Iraq, we've set a clear goal, 
peaceful and democratic countries that are allies in the war on terror. 
Our military forces will help them meet that goal by training Afghan and 
Iraqi forces so they can defend their own countries. Our military will 
complete--un momento--we will complete our mission as quickly as 
possible so our troops do not stay a day longer than necessary.
    Our commitments are being kept by a fantastic military. I am so 
proud----
    Audience members. U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!
    The President. At bases across the country and around the world, 
I've seen the great decency and the unselfish courage of our service men 
and women. I want to thank the veterans who are here for setting such a 
great example for those who wear the uniform. I made a commitment to our 
troops and to the loved ones of our troops that they will have the 
resources they need to fight and win the war on terror. That's why last 
September, while our troops were in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq, I 
proposed supplemental funding to support them in their mission. This was 
legislation that provided funding for body armor and vital equipment, 
for hazard pay, health benefits, ammunition, fuel, and spare parts. This 
was necessary funding. We received great bipartisan support. In the 
Senate, matter of fact, the bipartisan support was so strong only 12 
Members voted against it.
    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. He said--they asked him, they 
said, ``Why did you do that?'' He said, ``Well, I actually did vote for 
the 87 billion, right before I voted against it.'' ``Voto si, y despues 
voto no.'' Muy claro. [Laughter]
    And so they said, ``Well, wait a minute.'' And they kept pressing. 
And he said, ``Well, I was proud of the vote.'' And then finally 
he said, ``It's just a complicated matter.'' 
There's nothing complicated about supporting our troops in combat.
    In the long run, our security is not guaranteed by force alone. We 
will work to

[[Page 1761]]

change the conditions that give rise to terror, poverty and hopelessness 
and resentment. A free and peaceful Iraq and a free and peaceful 
Afghanistan will be powerful examples in their neighborhood. See, we 
believe in America that free countries do not export terror; free 
countries do not stifle the dreams of their citizens.
    By serving the ideal of liberty, we're bringing hope to others, and 
that makes America more secure. By serving the ideal of liberty, we're 
spreading the peace that we all long for. By serving the ideal of 
liberty, we're serving the deepest ideals of our national soul. Freedom 
is not America's gift to the world; freedom is the Almighty God's gift 
to each man and woman in this world.
    And over the next 4 years, I will continue to work to ensure that 
gift of freedom reaches the men and women of Cuba. Last weekend, we're 
continuing to implement our strategy of la verdad, the truth. We took 
action to continue breaking the dictator's 
information blockade. We launched the first of what will be regular 
airborne broadcasts into Cuba. We will continue those broadcasts. The 
Cuban people are hearing the truth once again.
    I believe and strongly believe the people of Cuba should be free 
from the tyrant. And I believe that enforcing the embargo is a necessary 
part of that strategy. My opponent has a different approach. Last year, 
after Castro launched a brutal crackdown on 
dissidents, my opponent responded by voting to 
reward the dictator by lifting the tourism travel ban.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. He even criticized some of the 
dissidents. He said their efforts to promote democracy were 
counterproductive.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. And he said they had brought 
down the hammer on themselves.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. Sus palabra. A few years earlier in 2000, he said the only reason we don't change the embargo is 
because of the politics of Florida.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. Now he's changing his tune. 
Earlier this year, he came down here, and he explained his position on 
the Helms-Burton law. It's a tough measure that has succeeded in denying 
hard currency into Cuba to the Castro regime so he can exploit the 
people. He said, and I quote, ``I voted for the Helms-Burton 
legislation,'' end quote. That's what he said. But there's one problem. 
He voted against it.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. To clear things up, his campaign said that while he 
did vote against final passage, he had voted for 
it months earlier.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. In other words, he voted for 
it before he voted against it. ``Voto si, y despues voto no.''
    When I say something, I mean it. We will not rest until the Cuban 
people enjoy the same freedoms in Havana that they receive here in 
America.
    There's more work to be done to protect the homeland. We've got more 
work to do. I just want you to know there's a lot of really good people 
who are working hard and long hours to protect you, people at the 
Federal level, people at the State level, first-responders here at the 
local level. We're spending a lot of time. I appreciate the firefighters 
and police officers and emergency teams that are here with us today.
    There's more work to be done. You know, we created the Department of 
Homeland Security. We're now reforming our intelligence service so we 
can get better intelligence and share the intelligence better to disrupt 
terrorist plots. We've got to do better in our ports and on our borders. 
We've got a lot of work to do. But I just want to warn you, reform isn't 
easy in Washington. There's a lot of entrenched interests up there. A 
lot of people say they

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like the status quo. It's not enough to advocate reform. You've got to 
be able to get the job done.
    So when you go out and work on our behalf, you tell them that when 
it comes to reforming our schools and raising the standards and 
improving the lives of our children, we're getting the job done. When it 
comes to health care reforms that helps our seniors and our families, 
we're getting the job done. When it comes to improving our economy and 
creating quality jobs, we are getting the job done. When it comes to 
better securing our homeland and fighting the forces of terror and 
spreading peace and freedom, we're getting the job done. When it comes 
to a firm policy on Cuba, we're getting the job done. When it comes to 
electing a President, put somebody back in office who can get the job 
done.
    Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
    The President. These are changing times we live in. These are 
changing times, and they're challenging times. They're exciting times as 
well. But in these changing times, there are--some things will never 
change: Our belief in liberty and opportunity and the nonnegotiable 
demands of human dignity; our belief in the values we try to live by, 
courage and compassion, reverence and integrity. In changing times, we 
will honor our families, our schools, and our religious congregations.
    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. Our culture is 
changing from one that has said, ``If it feels good, do it,'' ``You 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'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 the community in which you 
live, 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 ourselves.
    For all Americans, these years in our history will stand apart. 
There are quiet times in the life of a nation when little is expected of 
its leaders. This isn't one of those times. This is a time where we need 
firm resolve, clear vision, and deep belief in the values that make this 
country such a wonderful country.
    Audience members. U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!
    The President. None of us will ever forget that week when one era 
ended and another began. I was traveling with Rudy Giuliani yesterday in New Mexico, and I--it reminded me of 
the day we spent together, September the 14th, 2001, the day I stood in 
the ruins of the Twin Towers, the day that, obviously, I'll never 
forget. There were workers in hardhats yelling, ``Whatever it takes.'' I 
was walking down, thanking people, and a fellow looked me and said, ``Do 
not let me down.'' This is one of these memories that have been 
indelibly etched in my mind. I wake up every day in this great job of 
mine thinking about how best to protect America. I will never relent in 
defending our country, whatever it takes.
    We have done a lot together. We have done a lot together, and we've 
done a lot of hard work. We've done a lot of hard work. There's more 
work to be done. We will spread ownership and opportunity to every 
corner of this country--I mean every corner. I want everybody, no matter 
where they're from, where they were raised, to be able to realize the 
great potential, the

[[Page 1763]]

great dream of America. We'll pass the enduring values of our country on 
to another generation. During the next 4 years, we will continue to lead 
the cause of freedom and peace.
    When I campaigned in your great State 4 years ago and around our 
Nation, I made a pledge to my fellow Americans, if you honored me with 
the great responsibility of being President, I would uphold the honor 
and the dignity of the office to which I had been elected. Y con su 
apoyo--and with your help, I will do so por quatro mas anos.
    Thank you all for coming. Vamos a ganar. Thank you all. God bless.

Note: The President spoke at approximately 5:13 p.m. at the Miami Arena. 
In his remarks, he referred to Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida; Col. Muammar 
Abu Minyar al-Qadhafi, leader of Libya; President Fidel Castro of Cuba; 
and Rudolph W. Giuliani, former mayor of New York City. The transcript 
released by the Office of the Press Secretary also included the remarks 
of the First Lady, who introduced the President.