[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book III)]
[October 12, 2004]
[Pages 2466-2475]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks in Colorado Springs, Colorado
October 12, 2004

    The President. Thank you all for coming. It's great to be back in 
Colorado Springs. I've come back to ask for your vote. I've come back to 
ask for your help in getting people to the polls on November the 2d. We 
have a duty in this country to participate in the democratic system. 
Remind your friends and neighbors about that duty. Get people from all 
the neighborhoods in Colorado Springs to show up to vote. Get them to do 
what all of us must do, to vote on election day. And when you get them 
headed to the polls, remind them if they want a stronger America, a 
safer

[[Page 2467]]

America, and a better America, to put me and Dick Cheney back in office.
    It's an amazing line of work, isn't it, where you get your daughter 
to introduce you in front of thousands of people. I'm really proud of 
Jenna and Barbara. 
Laura and I love them dearly. I want to thank 
them for their help on the campaign trail. And it warms my heart and 
strengthens my spirit to be campaigning with somebody I love a lot.
    I wish Laura were here today, speaking about 
loving somebody a lot. When I asked her to marry me, she was a public 
school librarian, didn't much care for politics or politicians. 
[Laughter] She said, ``Fine, I'll marry you, just so long as I never 
have to give a speech.'' [Laughter] I said, ``Okay, you've got a deal.'' 
Fortunately, she didn't hold me to that pledge. She's speaking a lot, 
and when she does, the American people get to see a compassionate, 
strong, great First Lady in Laura Bush.
    I'm proud of my runningmate, Dick Cheney. He 
did a great job in his debate the other night. I admit it, he doesn't 
have the waviest hair. [Laughter] But I didn't pick him for his hairdo. 
I picked him because he's a man of sound judgment and great experience. 
I picked him because he's getting the job done for the American people.
    I'm honored to be on the platform with the next United States 
Senator from Colorado, Pete Coors. I hope when 
you're turning out the vote for me, you turn out the vote for Pete as 
well. He'll be taking the place of a really fine fellow in Ben 
Nighthorse Campbell. I've enjoyed 
working with Senator Campbell. He's served your State well. And Pete 
will be serving alongside another fine United States Senator in Wayne 
Allard. I appreciate Wayne being here. Thanks 
for coming, Joan. It's good to see you.
    I'm honored to be on the stage with a great Governor of the State of 
Colorado, Bill Owens. He's doing a fine job. I 
know something about being a Governor. I was one.
    You've got a great Congressman from this district in Joel 
Hefley. I'm proud that he's here, and how about 
his wife, State Representative Lynn Hefley. I 
told Joel the other day, he better hope Lynn doesn't run him in the 
Republican primary. [Laughter]
    You know, I got to meet your mayor when I came to give the 
graduation speech at the Air Force Academy, and I was very impressed by 
Lionel Rivera, Mr. Mayor. What a good man he 
is. And I want to thank his wife, Lynn, for 
being here as well. I want to thank all the State and local officials 
who have joined us.
    I want to thank Sammy Kershaw for being 
here and entertaining. I want to thank The Walker Williams Band for being here and entertaining everybody. I 
appreciate the members of the Olympic team who've joined us today, Shane 
Hamman and Matt Emmons. 
I'm honored you all are here.
    I appreciate those who are here serving in our United States 
military. I want to thank your families--of the men and women who wear 
the uniform. Thank you for your sacrifice and your dedication. I want to 
thank all the veterans who are here today. Thank you all for coming. 
Thank you all.
    I want to thank the grassroots activists for what you're going to 
do, to put up the signs and make the phone calls, turn out the vote. 
There's no doubt we'll carry Colorado again and win a great victory in 
November.
    I'm on my way to Arizona for the final debate. Those debates have 
highlighted the clear differences between the Senator and me on issues ranging from jobs to taxes to health care 
to the war on terror. Much as he's tried to obscure it, on issue after 
issue, my opponent has showed why he earned his ranking as the most 
liberal Member of the United States Senate.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!

[[Page 2468]]

    The President. And several of his statements he made in the last debate simply do not pass the credibility 
test. With a straight face, he said he'd had only one position on Iraq. 
[Laughter] I could barely contain myself. In the spring of 2003, Senator 
Kerry said, ``It was the right decision to remove Saddam Hussein from 
power.'' Now, he says, ``It's the wrong war.'' In the same debate, he 
said Saddam was a threat, and then a few 
minutes later, he said there wasn't a threat in Iraq. And he tries to 
tell us he's had only one position. Who's he trying to kid? See, he can 
run from his record, but he cannot hide.
    With another straight face, he tried to 
tell Americans that when it comes to his health care plan, and I quote, 
``The Government has nothing to do with it.'' The facts are, 8 out of 10 
people who get health care under Senator Kerry's plan would be placed on 
a Government program, see. He can run, but he cannot hide.
    Then he was asked to look into the 
camera--[laughter]--and promise he would not 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] His plan 
to raise taxes on the top two brackets would raise, we think, about $600 
billion. But his spending plan costs almost 4 times that much, about 
$2.2 trillion. See, you can't have it both ways. To pay for all the big 
spending programs he's outlined during his campaign, he's going to have 
to raise your taxes. He can run, but he cannot hide.
    You know, after listening to the litany of complaints and the dour 
pessimism, it took all I could do not to make a face. [Laughter] See, I 
have a different philosophy. I'm a compassionate conservative. I think 
Government ought to help people realize their dreams, not tell them how 
to live their lives. I've led this country with principle and resolve, 
and that's how I'm going to lead it, with your help, for 4 more years.
    Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
    The President. My plan for a more hopeful America begins with a 
growing economy that creates good jobs. See, I believe in the energy and 
innovation and spirit of our workers, our small-business owners, our 
farmers, our ranchers. And that's why we unleashed that energy with the 
largest tax relief in a generation.
    When you're out convincing people to vote and to come our way, 
remind them what this economy and this country has been through. Six 
months before we got to Washington, the stock market was in serious 
decline. It foreshadowed a recession. Then we found out some of our 
citizens forgot what it meant to be a responsible American, and they 
didn't tell the truth. We passed tough laws to make it abundantly clear 
we won't tolerate dishonesty in the boardrooms of America. Those 
scandals hurt our economy. And then we got attacked. And the attack cost 
America 1 million jobs in the 3 months after September the 11th.
    But we acted. We put tax relief in place, and this recession was one 
of the shallowest in American history. The tax relief spurred 
consumption and investment. And as a result, our economy has been 
growing at rates as fast as any in nearly 20 years. In the past 13 
months, we've added 1.9 million new jobs. The unemployment rate 
nationally is 5.4 percent--lower than the average rate of the 1970s, 
1980s, and 1990s. The unemployment rate in the State of Colorado is 5.1 
percent. The homeownership rate is at alltime high in America. More 
minorities own a home than ever before in the history of this country. 
The entrepreneurial spirit is strong. We're moving forward, but there's 
more work to be done.
    In order to make sure jobs are here in America, in order to make 
sure there's hope in this country when it comes to finding work, America 
must be the best place in the world to do business. That means less 
regulations on our employers. That

[[Page 2469]]

means legal reforms so these junk lawsuits don't make it hard for people 
to find a job.
    In order to make sure jobs stay here, Congress needed to pass my 
energy plan. See, it's a plan that encourages conservation. We spend 
money on research and development to expand the use of renewables, 
technologies to help us live different ways at the same lifestyle we're 
accustomed to, technologies to help us use coal in environmentally 
friendly ways. I believe we can explore for hydrocarbons in 
environmentally friendly ways. What I'm telling you is, to keep jobs 
here, we must become less dependent on foreign sources of energy.
    To keep jobs here, we got to open up markets for U.S. products. See, 
we don't want to be closing down markets. We're going to be opening 
markets. It's to your advantage that our market is open from products 
for overseas. See, if you've got more choices 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. So I'm telling places like China, 
``You treat us the way we treat you. You treat us in a way that opens up 
your markets,'' because we can compete with anybody, anytime, anywhere, 
so long as the rules are fair.
    In order to make sure this economy grows, we've got to keep your 
taxes low. Raising taxes would be the wrong prescription for economic 
growth. You've heard my opponent--I talked a little bit a while ago 
about it--he said, oh, he's going to pay for all his programs by taxing 
the rich. We've heard that kind of rhetoric before. The rich hire 
lawyers and accountants for a reason--[laughter]--to pass the tax bill 
on to you. We're not going to let him tax you, 
because we're going to win in November.
    Speaking about the Tax Code, it is a complicated mess. It's a 
million pages long. We spend 6 billion hours a year filling out taxes. 
I'm going to bring Republicans and Democrats together in a new term to 
simplify the Tax Code and make it more fair for the American people.
    Listen, in order to make sure we can compete in a global war, we've 
got to educate our workforce. It all starts with making sure our 
youngsters can read and write and add and subtract. I went to 
Washington, DC, to challenge the soft bigotry of low expectations. 
That's what happened in too many classrooms in America, where they would 
just shuffle the kid through, you know, the so-called hard-to-educate, 
an inner-city kid, shuffle him through, or maybe a child whose parents 
didn't speak English as a first language. ``Let's just move him 
through.'' See, that's not the America I know. I believe every child can 
learn. I expect every school to teach. That is why we now measure, so we 
can solve problems early, before they are too late--before it is too 
late. We can't have children coming out the back end of the school 
system that can't read and write and add and subtract anymore, if we 
expect to compete in the 21st century. Do you realize we're closing an 
achievement gap in America, and we're not going to go back to the days 
of mediocrity in our schools.
    There is more work to be done. I believe we ought to fund at-risk 
programs in our high schools. I believe we ought to emphasize math and 
science. I believe, over time, we ought to have a rigorous exam before 
graduation. I know we'll continue to expand Pell grants for low- and 
middle-income families. We want more of our kids who graduate to start 
their career with a college diploma.
    To build a more hopeful America, we've got to make sure health care 
is more available and affordable. We'll have a safety net for those with 
the greatest need. I'm a strong proponent of community health centers. 
These are places where the poor and the indigent can get preventative 
and primary care. It's best they get the care in these centers and not 
in the emergency

[[Page 2470]]

rooms around our country. It is a compassionate way to make sure people 
get the help they need. We will continue to make sure our health 
programs for low-income children are fully subscribed to. But we also 
must address this issue of affordability.
    Most of the uninsured are employees of small businesses. Small 
businesses are having trouble affording health care. We should allow 
small businesses to pool together so they can buy insurance at the same 
discounts that big companies can do. I know we need to continue to 
expand health savings accounts, accounts where people can buy low-
premium policies to cover major medical expenses and can set money aside 
on a tax-free basis to be able to cover their health care needs.
    These are vital plans which will help our small businesses, help our 
young uninsured. These are plans where workers will own their own 
accounts, so they can base their medical decisions on the advice from 
their doctor, not in negotiations with an HMO. These are some 
commonsense, practical ways to make sure health care is available and 
affordable, without increasing the reach of the Federal Government.
    Let me tell you one other practical way to deal with the cost of 
health care. We've got to do something about these frivolous lawsuits 
that are running good docs out of practice, frivolous lawsuits that are 
running up the cost of health care. See, you can't be pro-lawyer--I 
mean, pro-doctor, pro-patient, and pro-trial-lawyer at the same time. 
You have to choose. My opponent made his 
choice, and he put a trial lawyer on the 
ticket.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. I made my choice. I'm standing with the doctors and 
the patients. I'm for medical liability reform--now. In all we'll do to 
improve health care, this administration will make sure that the 
decisions are made by patients and doctors, not by Government officials 
in Washington, DC.
    You know, I went to Washington to solve problems, not to pass them 
on to future Presidents and future generations. And I saw a problem in 
Medicare. Medicine was modernizing, but Medicare wasn't. And I believe 
we have a moral responsibility to honor our seniors with good health 
care. Let me tell you what I'm talking about, about modernizing and 
Medicare wasn't. You realize we would pay thousands of dollars for heart 
surgery under Medicare but not one dime for the prescription drug that 
could prevent the heart surgery from being needed in the first place. 
That did not make any sense for our seniors, and it didn't make any 
sense for the taxpayers. And so I worked with Republicans and Democrats 
to modernize Medicare. And now, in 2006, our seniors will get 
prescription drug coverage for the first time under Medicare.
    Let me talk about Social Security. You might remember the campaign 
rhetoric of 2000 when they said, ``If old George W. gets elected, 
they're going to take away your check,'' to our seniors. You still got 
your check, didn't you? Just remember that, when we talk about how to 
make sure the Social Security system works for our youngsters. See, baby 
boomers are okay when it comes to the Social Security trust.
    But we need to worry about our children and our grandchildren if we 
want to make sure Social Security is available to them. We've got to 
think differently. And so one of the good ideas that I believe is 
necessary--an idea by the way, that came out of a Commission I formed to 
take a look at Social Security, headed by the late Senator Daniel 
Patrick Moynihan, Democrat from New York--was that younger workers ought 
to be allowed to take some of their own tax money and set aside a 
personal savings account that will earn a better rate of return than the 
current Social Security system does, so they will have the capacity to 
be able to realize benefits from a retirement system, a personal account 
they call

[[Page 2471]]

their own, and a personal account the Government cannot take away.
    We're living in changing times, and that can be unsettling. That's 
why I've promoted an ownership society throughout our country. We're 
living in changing times, but there's some things that don't change, 
reverence and integrity, compassion and courage. The values we try to 
live by don't change. In changing times, 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 counts and every being matters. 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.
    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. We've got a clear 
strategy. We'll defend the homeland. We'll strengthen our intelligence 
gathering services. We'll transform our military so it can do its job. 
The All-Volunteer Army will remain an all-volunteer army. 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 continue to work to spread liberty 
and peace. And we will prevail.
    Our strategy is succeeding. Think of the world the way it was 3\1/2\ 
years ago. Afghanistan was the home base of Al Qaida. Pakistan was a 
transit point for terrorist groups. Al Qaida--Saudi Arabia was fertile 
ground for terrorist fundraising. Libya was secretly pursuing nuclear 
weapons. Iraq was a dangerous place, run by a sworn enemy of America. Al 
Qaida was largely unchallenged as it planned attacks.
    Because we acted, the Government of Afghanistan is an ally in the 
war on terror, and they held Presidential elections last weekend. 
Because we acted, 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.
    This progress involved careful diplomacy, clear moral purpose, and 
some tough decisions. And the toughest came on Iraq. We knew Saddam 
Hussein's record of aggression and his 
support for terror. We knew he hated our country. We knew he had invaded 
another country. We knew he was shooting missiles at American pilots who 
were enforcing the sanctions of the world. We knew he had a long history 
of pursuing and even using weapons of mass destruction. And we knew that 
after September the 11th, we must take threats seriously before they 
fully materialize. That's one of the key lessons that we must never 
forget in order to protect the American people.
    In Saddam Hussein, I saw a threat. And I 
went to the United States Congress. They looked at the same intelligence 
I looked at. They remembered the same history my administration 
remembered. And they concluded that Saddam Hussein was a threat and 
authorized the use of force. My opponent 
looked at the same intelligence I looked at. And he came to the same 
conclusion, and he voted yes when it came time to authorize the use of 
force.
    Before I ever commit troops into harm's way, or any President, we 
must try all means to deal with the threat. No President ever wants to 
send our young into harm's way. No President ever wants to have to do 
that. So I went to the United Nations in hopes that diplomacy would 
work. That

[[Page 2472]]

was my hope. I hoped that the free world would come together and make 
its voice clear, which it did. The Security Council voted 15 to nothing 
and said to Saddam Hussein, ``Disclose, 
disarm, or face serious consequences.'' Now, I believe that when an 
international body speaks, it must mean what it says. And that goes for 
the President as well.
    Saddam Hussein had no intention of 
listening to the demands of the free world. He ignored the resolution. 
He deceived the inspectors that were trying to get into--that were in 
his country. Why should he change? This is resolution number 17. 
Resolution after resolution after resolution had been passed, and 
nothing happened. He wasn't about to listen. As a matter of fact, when 
we gave him the final chance, he continued to deceive and evade. So I 
have a choice to make at this point in our history: Do I forget the 
lessons of September the 11th and take the word of a madman, or do I 
take action to defend this country? Given that choice, I will defend 
America every time.
    We did not find the stockpiles that we all thought were there. But I 
want to remind you what the Duelfer 
report said. It said that Saddam Hussein 
retained the intent, the knowledge, and therefore, the capability to 
rebuild his weapons programs. Now, think about that. It also said that 
he was gaming the system, using the Oil for Food Programme to try to 
convince--the polite way of saying it--[laughter]--officials of other 
nations to get rid of the sanctions that were already weakening. And why 
would he do that? Well, because he wanted the world to look the other 
way so he could restart his weapons programs. The greatest danger we 
face is weapons of mass destruction in the hands of a terrorist enemy. 
Knowing what I know today, I would have made the same decision. America 
and the world are safer with Saddam Hussein in a prison cell.
    Because we acted in Afghanistan and Iraq, America is safer and 50 
million people now live in freedom. Think about what happened in 
Afghanistan over the past weekend. You know, it wasn't all that long ago 
that young girls were not allowed to go to school. Their mothers were 
pulled out in the public square and whipped if they didn't toe the line 
of these ideologues of hate. The Taliban were backward and barbaric. 
They had a dark view of the world. This past weekend, millions of Afghan 
citizens voted for their President. The first voter was an Afghan woman, 
a 19-year-old woman. That society has gone 
from darkness to light because of freedom. Freedom is powerful.
    Iraq will have elections in January. They got a strong Prime 
Minister. We're fighting off the terrorists who 
are trying to prevent the elections from happening. Freedom frightens 
these ideologues of hatred. They can't stand the thought of free 
societies.
    It's in our interest that we expand freedom. It's in our interest 
that when we tell the Afghan people and the Iraq people we'll stand with 
them, that we keep our word. It's in our interest that free societies 
emerge in the broader Middle East, because they will be hopeful 
societies, societies which no longer feed resentments and breed violence 
for export. Free governments in the Middle East will fight the 
terrorists instead of harboring them. And that helps us keep the peace. 
Free societies are peaceful societies.
    And so our mission is clear. We will help these countries, 
Afghanistan and Iraq, train their armies and their police so they can do 
the hard work of defending democracy. We'll help them get on the path of 
stability and democracy as quickly as possible, and then our troops will 
come home with the honor they have earned.
    I made a commitment to our troops and their families that we'll make 
sure they have the resources they need to complete their missions. 
That's why I went to the United States Congress in September of 2003 and 
requested $87 billion of supplemental funding. This is really important

[[Page 2473]]

money. This is money to help our troops in harm's way in both 
Afghanistan and Iraq. And I was pleased that we received strong 
bipartisan support for the funding request. It was so strong that only 
12 Senators--United States Senators voted against it, 2 of whom are my 
opponent and his runningmate. [Laughter] Now, I want to tell you another 
statistic. Let me just tell you another revealing statistic. There were 
4 United States Senators who voted to authorize the use of force and 
then voted against funding for our troops in harm's way, only 4 out of 
100, 2 of whom are my opponent and his 
runningmate.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. That's got to tell you something. So they asked 
him why, and he issued perhaps the most famous 
quote of the 2004 campaign, ``I actually did vote for the $87 billion, 
before I voted against it.'' [Laughter] Now, since then, he's given 
numerous explanations for why he made the vote. One of the most 
interesting was he just finally said, ``The whole thing is a complicated 
matter.'' [Laughter] There's nothing complicated about supporting our 
troops in combat.
    Listen, on national security, just like domestic policy, we've got 
big differences between us. I want you to remember that my 
opponent has had a record--a record in 20 
years in the United States Senate. He's had a record of voting against 
the weapons systems that helped our country win the cold war. He had a 
record--in 1993, after we got the first World Trade Center attack, he 
voted to cut the intelligence budget by $7.5 billion. See, that's part 
of his thinking. That's record. That happened. He now says he wants a 
``global test'' before taking action to defend America's security.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. Think about that, a ``global test.'' The problem is 
he could never pass his own test. [Laughter] I 
want you to remember this, now, when you're out gathering people to 
vote. 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, in the United States 
Senate, after the Security Council resolution, after it became clear 
there was international support, Senator Kerry voted against the 
authorization of force. Listen, if driving Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait 
with the support of the international community does not meet his test, 
nothing will.
    And that is dangerous, a dangerous way of thinking in the world in 
which we live. We have a different view of our role confronting threats. 
Just this weekend we saw new evidence that the Senator fundamentally misunderstands the war against terror. See, 
earlier he questioned whether this is really a war at all, describing it 
as primarily a law enforcement and intelligence gathering operation, 
instead of a threat that demands the full use of American power. And 
this weekend he talked of reducing terrorism to, quote, ``nuisance''--
his word--and compared it to prostitution and illegal gambling.
    Our goal is not to reduce terror to some acceptable level of 
nuisance. Our goal is to defeat terror by staying on the offensive, 
destroying the networks, and spreading freedom and liberty.
    During the next 4 years, I will work with our friends and allies. 
We'll continue to build strong 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 like to use my 
friend Prime Minister Koizumi to explain 
what I mean by the transformational power of liberty. I saw him in New 
York in early September, and I--at the United Nations--and I said, ``By 
the way, I'm talking about you on the campaign trail. Do you mind if I 
continue to do so?'' He said, ``Not at all.'' I didn't ask him whether 
or not I could tell you whether or not Elvis was his favorite singer.

[[Page 2474]]

[Laughter] It's true. [Laughter] One of his favorite movies is ``High 
Noon,'' by the way.
    Anyway--[laughter]--so I like to bring him up because he's the head of a country that some 60 years ago we 
were at war with. My dad fought against the 
Japanese. I'm sure there's some in this audience who did so, and I know 
some dads and granddads did as well.
    And after the war, Harry S. Truman, President of the United States, 
believed in the transformational power of liberty to convert an enemy 
into an ally. That's what he believed. So did a lot of other Americans. 
But there was some great skepticism of what that could mean. You know, 
we were working for democracy in Japan. A lot of people in this country 
said, ``Why do it? Why bother? Why should we care? They were the 
enemy.'' You could understand; families' lives had been turned upside 
down because of the death of a loved one during that war. People were 
questioning whether or not it was worthwhile.
    But fortunately, they believed in the power of liberty, and today, I 
sit down at the table with Prime Minister Koizumi, the head of Japan, talking about the peace, talking 
about how the United States and Japan, former enemies and now allies, 
can work together to achieve the peace we all want for our children and 
our grandchildren.
    I believe we'll succeed in Iraq. I believe there will be a 
democracy. And I envision the day, someday, when an American President 
and a duly elected leader of Iraq are sitting down at the table talking 
about achieving the peace, and our children and our grandchildren will 
be better off for it.
    I believe that millions plead in silence in the Middle East for 
freedom. I believe that women in the Middle East want to have a free 
society and have their children grow up in a free society. I believe 
that if given a chance, the people in the Middle East will embrace the 
most honorable form of government ever devised by man. 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.
    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 and clear vision and a deep faith in the 
values that make this 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'll never forget. There was workers in hardhats 
there, yelling at me at the top of their lungs, ``Whatever it takes.'' I 
remember doing my best to console those people coming out of the rubble. 
They were there lined up, and we were heading down the ropeline--Rudy 
Giuliani and Governor Pataki and I were going down the line thanking people and 
hugging them. And a guy grabbed me by the arm, and he said, ``Do not let 
me down.'' Ever since that day, I wake up every morning thinking about 
how to better protect our country. I will never relent in defending 
America, whatever it takes.
    Four years ago, when I traveled your great State, I made a pledge 
that if you gave me the chance to serve, I would uphold the honor and 
the dignity of the office to which I had been elected. With your help, I 
will do so for 4 more years.
    God bless. Thank you all for coming. Thank you all.

Note: The President spoke at 9:37 a.m. at the Colorado Springs World 
Arena and Ice Hall. In his remarks, he referred to Joan Allard, wife of 
Senator Wayne Allard; Gov. Bill Owens of Colorado; Mayor Lionel Rivera 
of Colorado Springs, CO, and his wife, Lynn; entertainers Sammy Kershaw 
and the Walker Williams Band; Shane Hamman, weightlifter, and Matt 
Emmons, shooter,


[[Page 2475]]

U.S. Olympic team; Charles Duelfer, Special Advisor to the Director of 
Central Intelligence; Prime Minister Ayad Allawi of the Iraqi Interim 
Government; Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan; Rudolph W. 
Giuliani, former mayor of New York City; and Gov. George E. Pataki of 
New York. He also referred to the ``Comprehensive Report of the Special 
Advisor to the DCI on Iraq's WMD,'' issued September 30.