[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book III)]
[October 16, 2004]
[Pages 2543-2551]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Remarks in Sunrise, Florida
October 16, 2004
The President. Thank you all. Nothing like spending a Saturday
morning in Florida. Thank you. I'm proud you all are here. Thanks for
coming.
I'm really proud of my brother Jeb. Your State
has been tested recently--not one hurricane but four hurricanes. Jeb was
a strong leader during these times. I had the honor of visiting
Florida's families with him, those who hurt with him. I had an honor of
traveling your State and seeing the great compassion of Florida arise as
people hurt and suffered. You know, when times are tough is when you see
where strong leaders emerge. Strong leadership emerged not only in your
Governor, but strong leadership emerged all throughout your great State.
We'll continue to help Florida rebuild. But one thing about this State
you never have to worry about is the spirit of the people.
Listen, Laura and I are here to ask for the
vote. We're traveling in Florida, and we're here to ask for your help.
Make sure you get people to the polls. Starting Monday, people can vote.
Listen, don't overlook discerning Democrats when you get them headed to
the polls, people like Zell Miller. Remind
people that if they want a safer America, a stronger America, and a
better America, to put me and Dick Cheney back
in office.
And one reason you need to put me back in office is so that
Laura will have 4 more years as the First Lady.
When I asked her to marry me, she said, ``Fine, I'll marry you, just so
long as I never have to give a political speech.'' [Laughter] I said,
``Okay, you've got a deal.'' Fortunately, she didn't hold me to that
deal. When people see her speak, they see a compassionate, strong, warm
First Lady. I am really proud of her.
And I am really proud of my runningmate, Dick Cheney. Now, look, I admit he doesn't have the waviest hair in
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the race. [Laughter] I didn't pick him because of his hair. I picked him
because of his judgment, his experience, and his ability to get the job
done.
I appreciate so very much Wendell Hays
joining me, Laura, and Jeb
up here. Wendell, thank you for your service. Thank you for your
courage, and thank you for your understanding the vision of peace that
we're spreading.
I appreciate Congressman Clay Shaw
joining us today. I want to thank Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen for joining us today. My friend Mel
Martinez is not here, but you need to put
him in the United States Senate. I want to thank Attorney General
Charlie Crist joining us today. Mr. General, I
appreciate you being here. Listen, the mayor of Fort Lauderdale is with
us today--Mr. Mayor.
I thank all the grassroots activists. You never get thanked enough
for putting up the signs or making the phone calls. I'm here to thank
you for what you're going to do over the next 2 weeks. Turn out the
vote. We'll win Florida again and win a great victory in November.
Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
The President. In the last few years, the American people have
gotten to know me. They know my blunt way of speaking. I get that from
my mom. They know that I sometimes mangle the
English language. [Laughter] I get that from my dad. [Laughter] Americans also know that I tell you exactly
what I'm going to do, and I keep my word.
Those debates were interesting experiences. I enjoyed them. They
highlighted the stark differences between my opponent and me. We have very different records and very different
plans for the future. My record is one of reforming education, of
lowering taxes, of providing prescription drug coverage for our seniors,
for improving homeland security, and for waging an aggressive war
against the ideologues of hate.
The Senator's record is 20 years of out-
of-the-mainstream votes without many significant reforms or results.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. When I came into office, the stock market had been in
serious decline for 6 months. And then the country was headed into a
recession. To help families and to get this economy growing again, I
pledged to reduce taxes. I kept my word.
Because we acted, the recession was one of the shallowest in
American history. Over the last 3 years, our economy has grown at the
fastest rate of any major industrialized nation. Today, the
homeownership rate in America is at an alltime high. More minorities own
a home than ever before in our Nation's history. Farm income is up. Our
ranchers are doing well.
In the past 13 months, we've added more than 1.9 million new jobs.
The unemployment rate in America is at 5.4 percent. That is lower than
the average rate of the 1970s, the 1980s, and the 1990s. The
unemployment rate in your State is at 4.5 percent. This economy is
moving forward, and we're not going to go back to the days of tax and
spend.
To make sure quality jobs are created right here in America, we've
got to make sure America is the best place in the world to do business.
We need to reduce the burden of regulations on our job creators. We must
end the junk lawsuits that are threatening our small businesses, which
create most new jobs.
To create jobs here, Congress must pass my energy plan. The plan
encourages conservation. It encourages the use of renewables like
ethanol and biodiesel. It encourages new technologies. It encourages
clean coal technology and increased domestic production in
environmentally friendly ways. To keep jobs here, we must become less
dependent on foreign sources of energy.
To keep jobs here, we've got to reject economic isolationism and
open up markets for U.S. products. We've opened up our
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market for products from overseas, and that's good for you as a
consumer. If you've got more products to choose from, you're likely to
get that which you want at a better price and higher quality. That's how
the marketplace works. That's why I'm saying to China, ``You treat us
the way we treat you.'' See, we can compete with anybody, anytime,
anywhere, if the markets are open and the rules are fair.
To create jobs, we got to be wise about how we spend your money, and
we've got to keep your taxes low. My opponent
has his own history on the economy. [Laughter] In 20 years as Senator
from Massachusetts, he's built a record of a Senator from Massachusetts.
[Laughter] He's voted to raise taxes 98 times in the Senate.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. Now, he's been there 20
years. That means, on average, he's voted nearly five times a year to
raise taxes. I'd call that a pattern. [Laughter] He can't run--he can
run from his record, but he cannot hide.
Now the Senator is promising not to raise
taxes for anyone who earns less than $200,000 a year. The problem is, to
keep that promise he would have to break almost all of his other ones.
[Laughter] See, he's proposed $2.2 trillion in new spending. That's with
a ``T.'' Yet, his plan to tax the rich only raises about 600 billion or
800 billion. See, there's a gap. There's a gap between the difference of
what he's promising and what he can raise. And guess who usually gets to
fill that gap?
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. Let me say one other thing about taxing the rich.
You've heard that language all the time, but the rich hire lawyers and
accountants for a reason: to slip the bill and pass it to you. We're not
going to let him tax you; we're going to carry
Florida and win a great victory.
When I came into office, our public schools had been waiting decades
for hopeful reform. Too many of our children were shuffled through
school, year after year, grade after grade, without learning the basics.
I pledged to restore accountability to the schools and end the soft
bigotry of low expectations. I kept my word. We're seeing results. Our
children are making sustained gains in reading and math. We're closing
an achievement gap all across this country. We're making progress for
our families. We will leave no child behind in America.
To build a more hopeful America, we must have the best prepared,
most highly skilled workforce in the world. See, most new jobs are
filled by people with at least 2 years of college education, yet only
one in four of our students gets there. That's why we'll fund early
intervention programs in our high schools to help at-risk students.
We'll emphasize math and science. Over time, we'll require a rigorous
exam before graduation. By raising performance in our high schools and
expanding Pell grants for low- and middle-income families, more of our
students will start their career with a college diploma.
My opponent has a history on education
issues, a history of doing almost nothing. [Laughter] The Senator has
pledged to weaken the No Child Left Behind Act.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. See, he's proposed diluting
the accountability standards and looking at measures like teacher
attendance to judge whether or not our students are learning. His
proposals would undermine high standards and accountability. We've moved
beyond the old days of failure and mediocrity and low standards, and
we're not going back.
When I came into office, we had a problem in Medicare. See, medicine
was modernizing and medicine was changing, but Medicare was not. Let me
give you this example. Medicare would pay tens of thousands of dollars
for heart surgery but wouldn't pay a dime for the prescription drugs
that could prevent the heart surgery from being needed in the first
place. That was not fair to our seniors. It wasn't fair
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to the taxpayers. I pledged to bring Republicans and Democrats together
to strengthen and modernize Medicare for our seniors, and I kept my
word. The results are clear. Seniors are already getting discount on
their medicines. Rural hospitals are being treated more fairly. And
beginning in 2006, all seniors will be able to get prescription drug
coverage under Medicare.
We're moving forward on health care, and there's more to do. We need
to make sure health care is available and affordable to all our people.
I believe in a safety net for those with the greatest needs. I believe
in community health centers, places where the poor and the indigent can
get primary and preventative care. I believe every poor county in
America ought to have a community health center. We will do more to make
sure poor children are fully subscribed in our programs for low-income
families.
We will do more to make sure health care is affordable. Most of the
uninsured work for small businesses. Small businesses are having trouble
affording health care insurance. We ought to allow small businesses to
pool together so they can buy insurance at the same discounts that big
businesses can do. We must expand health savings accounts so workers and
small businesses are able to pay lower premiums and people can save tax-
free in a health care account they call their own.
To make sure health care is available and affordable, we must do
something about the junk lawsuits that are running up the cost of health
care. By forcing doctors to practice defensive medicine, medical
lawsuits cost the Federal Government about $28 billion a year. That
means it costs you $28 billion a year. It costs our economy anywhere
from 60 to 100 billion dollars a year. They drive up insurance premiums,
which drives good doctors out of business. I've met many ob-gyns and
patients of ob-gyns who understand the harm that lawsuits are doing to
our system. I've met women who have had to drive miles to go see an ob-
gyn. See, you cannot be pro-patient and pro-doctor and pro-personal-
injury-lawyer at the same time. You have to choose. My opponent made his choice, and he put a personal injury
lawyer on the ticket.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. I made my choice. I'm standing with the doctors, and
I'm standing with the patients. We're for medical liability reform--now.
My opponent has a health care proposal of
his own, and it's a plan for a bigger and more intrusive role for the
Federal Government. The other day, he looked in the television camera
and he said the Government has nothing to do with his health care plan.
I could barely contain myself. [Laughter] Of course his plan has got
something to do with the Federal Government. Eight out of ten people who
get health care under Senator Kerry's plan would be placed on a
Government program.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. Eight million Americans would lose their private
insurance at work, and most would have to go on a Government plan.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. He claimed his plan would
help small businesses, yet groups who've studied his plan have called it
an overpriced albatross that would saddle small businesses with 225 new
mandates.
I have a different view. Instead of moving health care to the
Federal Government, I believe health care decisions ought to be made by
doctors and patients, not by officials in Washington, DC.
I've set out policies that move America toward a positive and
optimistic future. I believe our country can be an ownership society.
You know, there's a saying that says: No one ever washes a rental car.
[Laughter] There's some wisdom in that statement. When you own
something, you care about it. When you own something, you have a vital
stake in the future of the United States of America.
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Our policies encourage entrepreneurship because every time a small
business is started, someone is achieving the American Dream. We are
encouraging health savings accounts so people have the security of
owning and managing their own health care account. We're continuing to
spread ownership. I love the idea when more and more Americans from all
walks of life open up the door where they live and say, ``Welcome to my
home. Welcome to my piece of property.''
In a new term, I'll take the next great step to build an ownership
society by strengthening Social Security. Our Social Security system
needs fixing. You might remember the 2000 campaign, all those ads that
told our seniors, ``If George W. gets elected, he's going to take away
your check.'' I want the seniors to remember they got their checks. No
one is going to take away our seniors' checks. The Social Security
system is solvent for those who relied upon Social Security. And baby
boomers like me are in pretty good shape when it comes to Social
Security.
We need to worry about our children and our grandchildren. We need
to be worried--and many are--about whether Social Security will be
around when they need it. For the sake of our children, we must
strengthen Social Security by allowing younger workers to save some of
their payroll taxes in a personal account, an account they can call
their own, an account the Government cannot take away.
When it comes to Social Security, you heard my opponent the other night. He wants to maintain the status quo.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. He's against these Social
Security reforms I talk about, and he's against just about every other
reform that gives more authority and more control to the individual. On
issue after issue, from Medicare without choices to schools with less
accountability to higher taxes, he takes the side of more centralized
control and more Government. There's a word for that attitude. It's
called liberalism.
He dismisses that word as a label, but he
must have seen it differently when he told a newspaper, ``I am a
liberal, and I am proud of it.'' The nonpartisan National Journal
magazine did a study and named him the most liberal Member of the United
States Senate. That takes hard work. [Laughter] That's an
accomplishment, if you're more liberal than Ted Kennedy. [Laughter]
I have a different record and a different philosophy. I do not
believe in big Government, and I do not believe that Government should
be indifferent. That's called compassionate conservatism. I believe in
policies that empower people to improve their lives. I reject policies
that tell people how to run their lives. We're helping men and women
find the skills and tools to prosper in a time of change. We're helping
all Americans to have a future of dignity and independence. And that's
how I will continue to lead our Nation for 4 more years.
Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
The President. In a time of change, some things do not change, the
values we try to live by, courage and compassion, reverence and
integrity. In a time of change, we must support the institutions that
give our lives direction and purpose, our families, our schools, our
religious congregations. We stand for a culture of life in which every
person matters and every being counts. We stand for marriage and family,
which are the foundations of our society. We stand for the appointment
of Federal judges who know the difference between personal opinion and
the strict interpretation of the law.
My opponent's words on these issues are a
little muddy, but his record is plenty clear. [Laughter] He says he
supports the institution of marriage, but he voted against the Defense
of Marriage Act, which my predecessor
signed.
[[Page 2548]]
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. He voted against the ban on
the brutal practice of partial-birth abortion.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. One time in this campaign, he claimed he was a candidate of conservative values, but
he's described the Reagan years as a time of moral darkness.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. There is a mainstream in American politics, and my
opponent sits on the far left bank. He can
run, but he cannot hide.
This election will also determine how America responds to the
continuing danger of terrorism. I believe the most solemn duty of the
American President is to protect the American people. If America shows
uncertainty or weakness in this decade, the world will drift toward
tragedy. This will not happen on my watch.
Since that terrible morning of September the 11th, 2001, we have
fought the terrorists across the Earth, not for pride, not for power,
but because the lives of our citizens are at stake. Our strategy is
clear. We're defending the homeland. We're transforming our military. We
will keep the All-Volunteer Army an all-volunteer army. We're
strengthening our intelligence capacities. We're staying on the
offensive. We will strike the terrorists abroad so we do not have to
face them here at home. We will spread freedom and liberty. And we will
prevail.
Our strategy is succeeding. Think about the world as it was 3\1/2\
years ago. Afghanistan was the home base of Al Qaida. Pakistan was a
transit point for terrorist groups. Saudi Arabia was fertile ground for
terrorist fundraising. Libya was secretly pursuing nuclear weapons. Iraq
was a dangerous place and a gathering threat. Al Qaida was largely
unchallenged as it planned attacks.
Because we led, Afghanistan is an ally in the war on terror;
Afghanistan held elections; Pakistan is capturing terrorist leaders;
Saudi Arabia is making raids and arrests; Libya is dismantling its
weapons programs; the army of a free Iraq is fighting for freedom; and
more than three-quarters of Al Qaida's key members and associates have
been brought to justice.
In defending ourselves, in upholding doctrine, 50 million people in
Afghanistan and Iraq are free. And that's important to our security.
Free nations will be peaceful nations. Free nations will help us reject
terror. Free nations will no longer feed resentments and breed violence
for export. When America gives its word, America must keep its word. And
that's why we're standing with the people of Afghanistan and Iraq.
I want the youngsters here to recognize what's happened in the
world. It wasn't all that long ago in Afghanistan that people lived
under the brutal dictatorship of the Taliban. The Taliban had this grim
ideology of hate. People lived in darkness. Young girls weren't allowed
to go to school. Their mothers were taken into the public square and
whipped if they wouldn't toe the ideological line. Because we acted in
our own self-interest, millions of Afghan citizens went to vote for a
President. The first voter was a 19-year-old woman. Freedom is on the march. That society has gone from
darkness to light because of freedom.
And the same thing is happening in Iraq. The terrorists are trying
to stop the advance of freedom because they understand a free society in
the midst of the Middle East will defeat their ideology of hate. But
freedom is on the march. There will be elections in Iraq in January.
Think how far that society has come from the days of mass graves and
torture chambers.
Our mission is clear. We'll help these countries train armies so
their people can do the hard work of defending democracy. We'll help
them get on the path to stability and self-government as quickly as
possible, and then our troops will come home with the honor they have
earned.
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I'm proud to be the Commander in Chief of such a great United States
military. And it's a great military because of the character of those
who serve. I want to thank the veterans who are here today for having
set such a great example for those who wear the uniform. I want to thank
the military families who are here today.
And we will make sure that your loved ones have all the resources
they need to win the war on terror. And that's why I went to the United
States Congress in September of 2003 and requested $87 billion in
funding for our troops in harm's way. It was important funding. It was
necessary funding, so necessary that the bipartisan support was
overwhelming. As a matter of fact, only 12 United States Senators voted
against supporting our troops in harm's way, 2 of whom are my
opponent and his runningmate.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. When you're out there getting people to vote, remind
people of this startling statistic: There were only four Members of the
United States Senate who voted to authorize the use of force and then
voted against funding our troops in combat--only four--two of whom are
my opponent and his runningmate.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. You might remember perhaps the most famous quote of
the 2004 campaign. When asked why he made his
vote, my opponent said, ``I actually did vote for the 87 billion, right
before I voted against it.''
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. He's been giving a lot of
explanations since that explanation. One of the most interesting of all
is he said, ``The whole thing was a complicated matter.'' There's
nothing complicated about supporting our troops in combat.
Tomorrow is the one-year anniversary of Senator Kerry's vote against funding our troops. He's had many and
conflicting positions on the issue, and it's a case study into why his
contradictions call into question his credibility and his ability to
lead our Nation. In September 2003, as the $87 billion funding package
was being debated, Senator Kerry said, ``It would be irresponsible to
abandon our troops by voting against the measure.'' Just one month
later, he did exactly that irresponsible thing, and he abandoned our
troops in combat by voting against the funding.
Audience members. Boo-o-o! Flip-flop! Flip-flop! Flip-flop!
The President. What happened to change the Senator's mind so abruptly in one short month? His opponent in the
Democrat primary, Howard Dean, was gaining
ground as an antiwar candidate. Senator Kerry apparently decided
supporting the troops, even while they were in harm's way, was not as
important as shoring up his own political position.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. At a time of great threat to our country, at a time
of great challenge in the world, the Commander in Chief must stand on
principle, not the shifting sands of political convenience.
We have differences when it comes to defending our country. Take,
for example, the proposed ``global test'' that the Senator proposed before we defend ourselves.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. The problem with his ``global test'' is that the
Senator can never pass it. [Laughter] In 1990, the United Nations
Security Council passed a resolution supporting action to remove Saddam
Hussein from Kuwait. The international
community was united. Countries throughout the world joined the
coalition. Yet, even after United Nations approval, in the United States
Senate, Senator Kerry voted against the
authorization for the use of force.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. If that action didn't pass his ``global test,'' nothing will pass his ``global test.''
[[Page 2550]]
In this campaign, in one of our debates, you might remember that
he said removing Saddam Hussein was a ``mistake.'' When he said how he would have done
it differently, he said, ``Well, all we needed to do was pass another
United Nations Security Council resolution.''
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. If the Senator had his way,
not only would Saddam Hussein be still
sitting in a palace in Baghdad, he'd be occupying Kuwait. The world is
better off with Saddam Hussein sitting in a prison cell.
We will continue to build strong alliances. We'll continue to work
to strengthen our coalitions. But I will never turn over America's
national security decisions to leaders of other countries.
I believe in the transformational power of liberty. I'll tell you
what I mean by that. One of our friends--I say ``our''--Laura and my friends--is Prime Minister Koizumi of Japan. That doesn't sound like much, except when
you think about it wasn't all that long ago that we were at war with the
Japanese. In the march of history, 60 years isn't much. My dad fought against the Japanese. Your dads fought
against--and granddads fought against the Japanese. They were the sworn
enemy of America.
After World War II, President Harry S. Truman believed in the power
of liberty to transform an enemy into an ally. There was a lot of
skeptics then; a lot of people doubted that. You can understand why. Why
would you want to waste time on an enemy? Many lives had been upset as a
result of that war, and people were bitter. Some people just said the
Japanese couldn't possibly self-govern. But we worked to help them build
a democracy.
And today, I sit down at the table with Prime Minister
Koizumi, talking about how to keep the
peace. Someday, an American President will be sitting down with a duly
elected leader of Iraq, talking about the peace in the Middle East. And
our children and our grandchildren will be better off for it.
See, I believe that millions in the Middle East plead in silence for
their freedom. I believe women want to live in a free society. I believe
that moms and dads want to raise their children in freedom and peace. I
believe all these things, because freedom is not America's gift to the
world; freedom is the Almighty God's gift to each man and woman in this
world.
Extending freedom also means confronting the evil of anti-Semitism.
Today I signed the Global Anti-Semitism Review Act of 2004. This law
commits a government to keep a record of anti-Semitic acts throughout
the world and also a record of responses to those acts. This Nation will
keep watch. We will make sure that the ancient impulse of anti-Semitism
never finds a home in the modern world.
For all Americans, these years in our history will always stand
apart. There are quiet times in the life of a nation when little is
expected of its leaders. This isn't one of those times. This is a time
that requires firm resolve, clear vision, and a deep faith in the values
that make us a great nation.
None of us will ever forget that week when one era ended and another
began. On September the 14th, 2001, I stood in the ruins of the Twin
Towers. It's a day I will never forget. There were workers in hardhats
there yelling at the top of their lungs, ``Whatever it takes.'' I
remember trying to do my best to console those coming out of the rubble.
A guy grabbed me by the arm, and he looked me square in the eye, and he
said, ``Do not let me down.'' Ever since that day, I wake up thinking
about how to better protect our country. I will never relent in
defending America, whatever it takes.
Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
The President. Four years ago, when I traveled your great State, I
made a pledge that if you gave me a chance to serve, I would uphold the
honor and the dignity
[[Page 2551]]
of the office to which I had been elected. With your help, I will do so
for 4 more years.
Thanks for coming. God bless. Thank you all.
Note: The President spoke at 10:33 a.m. at the Office Depot Center. In
his remarks, he referred to Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida; Senator Zell
Miller of Georgia, who made the keynote address at the 2004 Republican
National Convention; Wendell B. Hays, 1st Lt., Florida Army National
Guard; Mel R. Martinez, senatorial candidate in Florida; Florida State
Attorney General Charlie Crist; Mayor Jim Naugle of Fort Lauderdale, FL;
and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan.