[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book II)]
[September 30, 2004]
[Pages 2271-2272]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at a Debate Watch Party in Coral Gables, Florida
September 30, 2004

    The President. Thank you all for being here. Anything worthwhile on 
TV tonight? [Laughter] I enjoyed it. I had a good time up there talking 
about what I believe. No, it's not hard to debate if you know what's in 
your heart, know where you want to lead this country.
    Listen, I too want to thank the people of this State for their 
courage, compassion, and decency in the face of incredible suffering. 
These four hurricanes came to this State, and the people of this State 
have risen up. And when they found a neighbor in need, they provided 
compassion and help. When they found somebody who's hurting, they 
provided succor needed. And I thank the people of this State so very 
much for setting such a great example for the rest of our country.
    There I was, standing there on the stage, and guess who I was 
looking at the whole time? Laura. If you could 
see a smile occasionally come across my face, that's because I was 
looking at a lady I love. Then occasionally I'd glance over and see 
Barbara and Jenna. I 
love them too. Oh, yes, I want to thank Jenna and Barbara for working so 
hard in this campaign. I want to thank Laura for her great compassion 
and composure.
    I want to thank my brother Jeb for being such a 
great Governor for Florida. I mean, when this State needed him, needed 
his leadership, he showed up. He'd been every--he's been all over this 
State, working hard to make sure that those who have suffered realize 
that help is around the corner, that we're doing everything we can to 
protect people.
    Listen, I'm honored to be here with the next United States Senator, 
Mel Martinez. This man needs to be in the 
United States Senate. He not only had a fantastic past--as a matter of 
fact, he's a member of Pedro Pan--but he's got a great future, and the 
people of Florida will benefit by having Mel Martinez in the U.S. 
Senate. We love Kitty, Kitty Martinez. She's 
one of our favorites.
    I want to thank--before I went out there to debate, I saw two of the 
preprogram participants--it's kind of hard for a Texan to say--
[laughter]--preprogram participants. That would be Rudy 
Giuliani. I want to thank him for being 
here.
    Audience members. Rudy! Rudy! Rudy!
    The President. And I want to thank my friend General Tommy 
Franks for being here as well.
    Now, we've got two more campaigns to go--I mean, two more debates to 
go. No more campaigns except this one, two more debates to go and a lot 
of hard work. There's no doubt in my mind, with your help, we're going 
to carry Florida again.
    I was only disappointed in one thing about the debate tonight: There 
was not one question on Cuba. Let me tell you my question: Cuba libre. 
[Applause] Quatro mas anos. No, people know where I stand. People know 
what I believe. I've got a plan

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to fight these terrorists, to keep this country secure. I've got a plan 
to spread freedom, not only in the greater Middle East but in our own 
hemisphere, in places like Cuba. I've got a plan to make this world more 
peaceful.
    I'm looking forward to the debate on domestic policy too. There's 
some big differences. He's going to run up your 
taxes.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. I'm going to keep them low. We've got a plan to 
continue growing this economy, a plan to make sure our children get a 
good education, a plan to make sure health care works, but a plan that 
recognizes this: The role of Government is to help people realize their 
dreams, not to tell people how to live their lives.
    Now, I'm honored you all came out. As you know, I'm kind of getting 
older, so I need to get my sleep. [Laughter] We have come to thank you 
for your steadfast support. Tomorrow morning, first thing, I'm getting 
up and heading to Pennsylvania, and then I'm going to New Hampshire. 
What I'm telling you is, I'm going to keep campaigning as hard as I 
possibly can, carrying our message of a better tomorrow, and we're going 
to win in November.
    God bless. God bless America. Thank you all.

Note: The President spoke at 11:04 p.m. at the Coconut Grove Expo 
Center. In his remarks, he referred to Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida; Kitty 
Martinez, wife of Florida senatorial candidate Mel R. Martinez; Rudolph 
W. Giuliani, former mayor of New York City; and Gen. Tommy R. Franks, 
USA (Ret.), former combatant commander, U.S. Central Command.