[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book III)]
[October 28, 2004]
[Pages 2783-2791]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Remarks in Saginaw, Michigan
October 28, 2004
The President. Thank you all. Thanks for coming out to say hello. I
got to tell me, you have lifted my spirits, for which I am grateful.
It's good to be back in Saginaw. I'm grateful so many of you came out to
say hello.
Listen, I'm traveling your State asking for the vote and asking for
your help. It is close to voting day. We have a duty in
[[Page 2784]]
our country to vote. In our free land, free citizens must vote. And so
I'm asking you to get your friends and neighbors to go to the polls,
turn out our fellow Republicans, find independents who understand we
have a better tomorrow ahead of us, and don't overlook discerning
Democrats. Tell your fellow citizens that if they want a safer country,
a stronger country, and a better country, to put me and Dick
Cheney back in office.
My only regret is that Laura is not here to
see this fantastic crowd. She headed off to campaign today in Florida.
You know, when I asked her to marry me, she said, ``I'll marry you, but
make me a promise.'' I said, ``What is it?'' She said, ``Promise me I
will never have to give a political speech.'' [Laughter] I'm sure some
of you can relate to that. I said, ``Okay, you got a deal.''
Fortunately, she didn't hold me to that deal. She is giving a lot of
speeches, and when she does, the American people see a strong,
compassionate, great First Lady. Perhaps the most important reason why
people ought to put me back in office is so that Laura will be the First
Lady for 4 more years.
Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
The President. I am proud of my runningmate, Dick Cheney. He is doing a great job. Although, I admit, he does not
have the waviest hair in the race. [Laughter] You will be pleased I
didn't pick him because of his hairdo. I picked him because of his
experience. I picked him because of his judgment. I picked him because
he can get the job done for the American people.
I'm proud to call Dave Camp my friend, and I
know you're proud to call him Congressman. And I want to thank Terri
Lynn Land for joining us, the secretary of
state for the great State of Michigan. And I wish Myrah
Kirkwood all the best in her run for the
United States Congress. I want to thank Betsy DeVos and all the grassroots activists who are here. I want to
thank the Saline Fiddlers. I want to thank the Saginaw Area Band. I want
to thank the Wil Gravatt Band for joining us.
Thank you for entertaining this good crowd.
Most of all, I want to thank you all. I want to thank you for what
you have done on behalf of my candidacy and what you're going to do. By
working the phones, by getting people to--by reminding people of their
duty to vote, by putting up the signs, by turning out that vote, there
is no doubt in my mind, we will carry Michigan and win a great victory
in November.
Five days from now, the people go to the polls. We are choosing the
leader of our country at a time of great consequence to our Nation.
We're at war against a terrorist enemy unlike any we have ever seen. We
have much more to do to win a decisive victory against the terrorists.
The most important duty of the American President is to protect the
American people. If America shows uncertainty or weakness in these
troubling times, the world will drift toward tragedy. This will not
happen on my watch.
Our economy is in the midst of change and challenge. It can be a
great time of opportunity if we have the right policies that strengthen
rather than stall our economic growth. We have much more to do to create
jobs, to improve our children's education, to make health care available
and affordable, and to strengthen Social Security for our seniors and
for generations to come. And I am ready for the job.
My years as your President have confirmed some lessons and have
taught me some new ones. A President must have a vision. A President
must set goals and bring people together to achieve those goals. A
President must surround himself with strong, capable people. And I have
done so. A President must make America's priorities crystal-clear in
this uncertain world. I've learned to expect the unexpected, because
history can deliver sudden horror from a soft autumn sky. I found you
better know what you believe or risk being tossed
[[Page 2785]]
to-and-fro by the flattery of friends or the chorus of the critics.
I've been grateful for the lessons I have learned from my parents:
Respect every person; do your best; and live every day to its fullest. I
have been strengthened by my faith and humbled by its reminder that my
life is part of a much bigger story. I've learned firsthand how hard it
is to send young men and women into battle, even when the cause is
right. I've been reminded that the world looks to America for leadership
and that it is crucial for an American President to be consistent.
Perhaps most of all, I've learned the American President must make
decisions on principle, core convictions from which you must not waver.
The issues vary; the challenges are different every day. Tactics and
strategy must be flexible, but a President's convictions must be steady
and true. As Presidents from Abraham Lincoln to Franklin Roosevelt to
Ronald Reagan so clearly demonstrated, a President cannot blow in the
wind. A President has to make tough decisions and stand by them.
A President must follow the--must not follow the path of the latest
polls. A President must lead based on conviction and conscience.
Especially in a time of war, mixed signals only confuse our friends,
embolden our enemies. Mixed signals are the wrong signals for the
American President to send.
When America chooses a President, you choose not just a set of
positions on issues or a philosophy or record; you choose a human being
who comes with strengths and weaknesses. One of the things I've learned
about the Presidency is, whatever your strengths are, you're going to
need them, and whatever your shortcomings are, people are going to
notice them. Sometimes I'm a little too blunt. I get that from my
mother. Sometimes I mangle the English
language. [Laughter] I get that from my dad. [Laughter] But Americans have learned that when you
disagree with me, at least you know what I believe and where I stand.
Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
The President. You cannot say that about my opponent. [Laughter] Senator Kerry has taken a lot of different
positions, but he rarely takes a stand. He's run a campaign of
contradictions. I think it's fair to say consistency is not the
Senator's strong suit. [Laughter] He was for the PATRIOT Act and the No
Child Left Behind Act, until he was against key provisions of both of
them. He voted to authorize the use of force in Iraq and then said I was
wrong to use that force.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. When I sent troops into Iraq to remove Saddam
Hussein from power, he said it was the right decision. Now he says it was the
``wrong war.''
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. During one of our debates, he said Saddam Hussein was a
threat. And then a couple of answers later, he said there was no threat
in Iraq.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. Just last year, American troops in Afghanistan and
Iraq needed $87 billion for body armor, hazard pay, vehicles, weapons,
and bullets--necessary funding, funding that would keep a commitment we
have made to our soldiers and their loved ones. They will have what is
necessary to complete their mission. Something the veterans in this
crowd understand, the Government must support those in harm's way. And I
say thanks to our veterans from the bottom of a grateful heart.
Back to the 87 billion. First Senator Kerry said, ``It would be irresponsible to vote against the
troops.'' That's what he said on TV, national TV. Then he did the
irresponsible thing and voted against the funding for our troops.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. Now, they asked him about
that vote, and you might remember perhaps the most famous quote of the
2004
[[Page 2786]]
campaign when he said, ``I actually did vote for the 87 billion, before
I voted against it.'' Pressed further to explain his vote, he's given
several explanations. One of the most interesting was this: ``The whole
thing was a complicated matter.'' [Laughter] There's nothing complicated
about supporting our troops in combat.
You have to wonder why my opponent has
taken such different positions at different places and different times
in this campaign. I think you'll find two reasons why. Senator Kerry
changes positions because he's willing to say anything he thinks will
help him politically at the time. And he does so to try to obscure a 20-
year record, 20 years of out-of-the-mainstream votes. That leads to an
inescapable conclusion. Senator Kerry has been wrong--on the wrong side
of the defining national security and domestic policy debates for the
last two decades. He can run from his record, but he cannot hide.
Several times during the course of this campaign, the Senator has changed his positions for political convenience.
The Senator recognized Saddam Hussein was a
threat and authorized force to remove him, until his Democratic opponent
Howard Dean began gaining ground as an antiwar
candidate. And then he decided he had to appeal to that wing of his
party, so he voted against the troops--after voting to put them at risk
in the first place. See, he looked at the polls and changed positions.
The Senator was all for removing Saddam Hussein when we went into
Baghdad. He was very supportive when we captured him. After all, the
polls showed that that was very popular at the time. When the going got
tough and when we faced determined opposition and things weren't quite
so popular, the Senator suddenly wasn't quite so supportive. In fact, he
changed his mind entirely, deciding it was the ``wrong war at the wrong
place at the wrong time.''
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. It's important for the citizens of Michigan to think
about this. What does that lack of conviction say to our troops who are
risking their lives in a vital cause? What does it say to our allies who
have joined us in that cause? What does that lack of conviction signal
to our enemies, that if you make things uncomfortable, if you stir up
trouble, John Kerry will back off? And that's
a very dangerous signal to send during this time.
This week Senator Kerry is again attacking
the actions of our military in Iraq, with complete disregard for the
facts. Senator Kerry will say anything to get elected. The Senator's
willingness to trade principle for political convenience makes it clear
that John Kerry is the wrong man for the wrong job at the wrong time.
And there's another reason the Senator
changes positions. He doesn't want you to know where he really stands.
[Laughter] He doesn't want you to know where he stands on national
security, because he has a record of weakness. When Ronald Reagan was
confronting the Soviet Union at the height of the cold war, Senator
Kerry proposed cancellation of critical defense weapons systems and said
that President Reagan's policy of peace through strength was making
America less safe.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. History has shown that Senator Kerry was wrong and President Ronald Reagan was right.
Former President Bush led a coalition
against Saddam Hussein in 1991. Senator
Kerry voted against using force to liberate
Kuwait. If his view had prevailed, Saddam Hussein today would dominate
the Middle East, possess the world's most dangerous weapons. History has
shown that John Kerry was wrong and former President Bush was right.
In 1994, just one year after the first bombing of the World Trade
Center, Senator Kerry proposed massive cuts in
America's intelligence budgets, cuts so extreme that even his
Massachusetts colleague, Ted
[[Page 2787]]
Kennedy, opposed them. History has shown
that Senator Kerry was wrong and--we have got to be fair--Senator
Kennedy was right. [Laughter]
When you are one Senator among 100, you can be wrong without
consequence. But the President's opinion decides the security and the
fate of our country. And while the Senator's
20-year record of votes is long, it's also lacking of significant reform
or achievement. He talks about bringing new allies to the war against
terror--if somehow countries that have not yet been involved might want
to join what he calls the ``wrong war.'' [Laughter] Yet he has no
history of convincing even his colleagues in the United States Senate to
join him on signature reforms or achievements.
The next 4 years, I will work with our friends and allies. We will
strengthen our coalition, but I will never turn over America's national
security decisions to leaders of other countries.
Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
The President. The security of our country is at stake. Senator
Kerry says September the 11th, in his words,
``did not change him much at all.'' That's what he said.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. And his policies make that clear. The Senator says the war on terror is primarily a law enforcement
and intelligence gathering operation. He says his goal is to go back to
the days of the 1990s when terrorism was seen as a ``nuisance''----
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. ----fought with subpoenas and cruise missiles.
Well, September the 11th changed my outlook for the world. It made
it crystal-clear to me the dangers we face. A few days after the
attacks, I went to Ground Zero, September 14th, 2001. I stood in the
ruins of the Twin Towers. It's a day I will never forget. The sights and
sounds of that day are always in my mind. Workers in hardhats there
yelling at the top of their lungs, ``Whatever it takes.'' A man coming
out of the rubble grabbed me by the arm. He looked me in the eye, and he
said, ``Do not let me down.'' Ever since that day, I wake up every
morning thinking how to--thinking about how to better protect our
country. I will never relent in defending America, whatever it takes.
There are other things about his views and his ideas the
Senator really doesn't want you to know about.
You might remember the debate when they asked him about his health care
plan. He looked straight in the camera and said, ``The Government
doesn't have anything to do with it.'' I could barely contain myself.
[Laughter]
The Government has got a lot to do with it. Eighty percent of the
people end up, under his idea, on a Government
plan. When you increase Medicaid eligibility, it means small businesses
will likely stop writing insurance because the Government will provide
the insurance. That moves people from the private sector to the public
sector when it comes to health care. And see, when the Government starts
paying the money, the Government starts writing the rules. And when the
Government starts writing the rules when it comes to your health care,
the Government starts making decisions for you and decisions for your
doctors and rationing care. Senator Kerry's plan for health care for
America is the wrong prescription.
We will make health care more affordable and available for our
citizens. We will expand community health centers to help the poor and
the indigent. We'll make sure our program for low-income children is
fully subscribed. We'll expand health savings accounts to help our
businesses and families with innovative ways to manage--so you can
manage your own health care account. We understand small businesses
provide important insurance to the workers, and yet, many small
businesses are having trouble affording health care, so we'll allow
[[Page 2788]]
small businesses to join together so they can buy insurance at the same
discounts that big companies are able to do.
And we understand that these frivolous lawsuits are running up the
cost of health care for small businesses, for patients, and they're
running good doctors out of practice. You cannot be pro-doctor, pro-
patient and pro-personal-injury-trial-lawyer at the same time. You have
to make a choice. My opponent made his choice,
and he put a personal-injury trial lawyer on
the ticket.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. I made my choice. I'm standing with the doctors of
Michigan. I'm standing with the patients of Michigan. I am for medical
liability reform--now.
This campaign, the Senator doesn't want
you to know where he really stands on taxes. He's going to raise them.
To be fair, raising taxes is one of the few things that he's been
consistent about. You might say he's made a habit out of it. See, he's
been in the United States Senate 20 years, and he's voted to raise taxes
98 times. That's five times for every year he's been in the Senate. I'd
call it a predictable pattern, an early-warning indicator. [Laughter]
You know, when we reduced the taxes for our families by raising the
child credit and doing something about the marriage penalty, he voted against it. He voted against that tax relief at
a vital time. Plus, he's decided to raise $2.2 trillion* in new Federal
spending. He's going to spend it. That's what he said. He said, ``I'm
going to spend 2.2 trillion new money,'' when you add up all his
promises. He doesn't really want to clarify that. That's 2.2 trillion
with a ``T.'' That's a lot. That is a lot even for a Senator from
Massachusetts. [Laughter]
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*White House correction.
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And so they asked him, ``How are you going
to pay for it?'' They said, ``How are you going to pay for it?'' He
said, ``Oh, I'm just going to tax the rich.'' Now, people in Saginaw,
Michigan, have heard that before. You see, if you raise the top two
brackets, it raises 600 to 800 billion dollars. That is short of the 2.2
trillion. That's called a tax gap. [Laughter] And guess who usually has
to fill that tax gap?
Audience member. We do!
The President. Yes, you do. The good news is, we're not going to let
him tax you; we're going to carry Michigan and
win a victory.
No, the Senator doesn't really want to
talk about his record, and there is a reason why. There is a mainstream
in American politics, and he sits on the far left bank. I'm a
compassionate conservative and proudly so. I'm more than happy to travel
our country talking about my record, talking about a record that has
made America a stronger place and a safer place and a better place.
When you're rounding up the vote, remind people what this economy
has been through. Six months prior to my arrival in Washington, the
stock market was in serious decline, which foretold a recession. And
then we had some corporate scandals, passed--we passed tough laws, and
we have made it abundantly clear that we're not going to tolerate
dishonesty in the boardrooms of America. And then the attacks came, and
they cost us about a million jobs in the 3 months after September the
11th.
But we acted. I led the Congress to cut the taxes on the American
people to encourage consumption and investment, to stimulate the small-
business sector of our economy. And our policies are paying off. We're
growing at rates as fast as any in nearly 20 years. We have added 1.9
million jobs in the last 13 months. The farmers in Michigan are making a
living. The small-business owners are alive and well. The
entrepreneurial spirit is strong. The homeownership rate in America is
at an alltime high. More minorities own a home than ever before in our
Nation's history. The national unemployment rate is 5.4 percent. Let me
put that in perspective for you:
[[Page 2789]]
That is lower than the average rate of the 1970s and the 1980s and the
1990s.
I understand there are some people hurting in Michigan, but that's
not a reason to go back to tax and spend. The best way to make sure
people can find work is to continue to promote a pro-growth, pro-
entrepreneur, pro-small-business economic policy, which is what we have
done. Our economy is strong, and it is getting stronger.
When I ran--when I was running for President 4 years ago, I promised
to do something about the public schools. I told the American people I
was troubled by a system that would shuffle children through, grade
after grade, year after year, without teaching the basics. I call that
the soft bigotry of low expectations. So I promised to reform our
system. I kept my word. We've increased spending, particularly for
minority students and poor students. But in return, we've now said,
``Show us whether or not a child can read and write and add and
subtract.'' See, you can't solve a problem until you diagnose the
problem. And as a result of the system in place, the system that says
we're going to set high standards for every child, we're diagnosing
problems and we're solving them. Math and reading scores are up across
this country. We are closing an achievement gap for minority students.
And we're not going to go back to the days of mediocrity and excuses for
failure in our public schools.
When I ran for President 4 years ago, I promised to improve Medicare
by adding prescription drugs. I kept my word. You might remember the old
Medicare debates. They would call it ``Medi-scare'' because politicians
wouldn't talk about it. I came to Washington to solve problems. We had a
problem in Medicare. Medicare would pay thousands of dollars for the
heart surgery but not one dime for the prescription drugs that could
prevent the heart surgery from being needed in the first place. Now
we've strengthened Medicare. We've modernized Medicare. Beginning in
2006, all seniors will be able to get prescription drug coverage under
Medicare.
My opponent voted against that bill that
provided prescription drug coverage for our seniors----
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. ----even though AARP and other senior groups
supported it. As your President the next 4 years, I will defend the
reforms we put in place for our seniors. We will keep our promise to
America's seniors with modern medicine.
When I ran for President, I said we would help those who need help
in America, we would help those who could not help themselves. I said
Government should not discriminate against faith-based and community
groups who provide compassionate care for the broken heart. And now our
Government welcomes those groups as partners in meeting the needs of
those who need hope and those who need help.
I said we would help the poor and the indigent with health care, and
we've expanded community health centers all across this country, and we
will continue to do so. We've doubled funding for medical research into
new cures and diseases, just like I said I would do during the campaign.
As we pursued threats around the world, as we have used our might to
protect ourselves and to protect others, we have also delivered American
compassion. We've dramatically increased funding to combat AIDS and to
help developing countries who are making good governance decisions and
investing in their future.
We're pursuing a forward strategy of freedom around the world. We're
promoting democracy. I want you to tell your children about what has
taken place in a brief period of time in this world. You know, it wasn't
all that long ago that young girls couldn't go to school in Afghanistan
because the country was run by ideologues of hate called the Taliban.
And if their mothers didn't toe the line, they would be pulled into the
public squares and whipped and sometimes shot in a sports stadium.
[[Page 2790]]
They were backward. The society was grim and dark. Because we acted to
defend ourselves, because we upheld the doctrine that said, ``If you
harbor a terrorist, you're equally as guilty as the terrorist,''
millions of people in Afghanistan went to the polls to vote for a
President. And the first voter was a 19-year-old woman.
There will be elections in Iraq in January. Think how far that
society has come from the days of torture chambers and mass graves.
Freedom is on the march. Liberty will transform societies. I believe
everybody yearns to be free. I believe this not because freedom is
America's gift to the world, I believe this because freedom is the
Almighty God's gift to each man and woman in this world.
The role of a President is to confront problems, not to pass them on
to future generations and future Presidents. That is how I have led, and
that is how I will continue to lead our great Nation. We will keep your
taxes low so this economy continues to grow. We will work on the
education reforms and take them to our high schools. We will expand Pell
grants for low- and middle-income families so more of our children can
start their career with a college degree. We'll make sure that health
decisions are made by doctors and patients, not by officials in
Washington, DC.
We'll keep the promise of Social Security for our seniors. You might
remember the 2000 campaign. Perhaps the same thing is happening in this
campaign. It's kind of the old, tired scare tactics. They said, ``If
George W. gets elected, our seniors aren't going to get their checks.''
That's what they said 4 years ago. Please tell your friends and
neighbors, George W. did get elected, and our seniors did get their
checks. Our seniors will continue to get their checks. Baby boomers like
me and a couple others out there I see--we're in pretty good shape when
it comes to the Social Security trust.
But we need to worry about our children and our grandchildren. We
need to worry about whether or not a--Social Security will be available
for them when they retire. I believe younger workers ought to be able to
take some of their payroll taxes and set up a personal savings account,
a personal savings account that earns a better rate of return than the
Social Security trust, an account they call their own, an account the
Government cannot take away.
Over the next 4 years, I'm going to work with Republicans and
Democrats to do something about the Tax Code. It is a complicated mess.
It is a million pages long. We need to make the Tax Code easier to
understand and more fair for the American people.
Over the next 4 years, I will defend the values that are important
for our families and our Nation. Marriage and family are the foundations
of our society, and we will keep them strong. I believe that this
society must promote a culture of life. I was proud to sign the ban on
partial-birth abortion. I stand and will continue to stand for the
appointment of Federal judges who know the difference between personal
opinion and the strict interpretation of the law.
My opponent and I differ on these issues.
Look at his record. He voted against the Defense of Marriage Act and
voted against the ban on partial-birth abortion.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. He said he--he said there
would be a litmus test for his judges. And at one point in this
campaign, he said that you can find the heart and soul of America in
Hollywood.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. The heart and soul of America is found in caring
communities like Saginaw, Michigan.
Now, I'm looking forward to the rest of this campaign. I like
talking about what we have done to make it clear to the American people
I intend to do what I say I'm going to do during the next 4 years. I got
a hopeful vision for this country. I see a better day coming. That
stands in contrast with my opponent, who has
offered a long
[[Page 2791]]
litany of complaints without a significant record.
One of my favorite quotes that I hope helps you understand how I
feel about our great country comes from a fellow Texan named Tom
Lea. He said, ``Sarah and I live on the east
side of the mountain. It's the sunrise side, not the sunset side. It is
the side to see the day that is coming, not to see the day that is
gone.'' During the course of this campaign, my opponent has spent much time talking about the day that is gone.
I'm talking about the day that is coming.
I see a prosperous America where people are able to realize their
dreams. I see an education system that challenges our children so that
no child is left behind. I see a compassionate health care system run by
you, where doctors aren't being sued every day. I see a world that is
free and therefore peaceful. I see the peace that we all long for our
children and our grandchildren.
When I traveled your State 4 years ago, I made you this pledge, that
if I was elected, I would uphold the honor and the dignity of the
office. With your help and with your hard work, I will do so for 4 more
years.
Thanks for coming. God bless. Thank you all.
Note: The President spoke at 9:16 a.m. at the Dow Event Center. In his
remarks, he referred to Myrah Kirkwood, candidate in Michigan's Fifth
Congressional District; Betsy DeVos, chairman, Michigan Republican
Party; the Saline Fiddlers, a student musical group from Saline High
School, Saline, MI; and former President Saddam Hussein of Iraq.