[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book III)]
[October 15, 2004]
[Pages 2534-2541]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Remarks in Oshkosh, Wisconsin
October 15, 2004
The President. Thank you all. Okay. It's great to be back in
Oshkosh. My only regret is I don't have time to drive by Leon's.
Laura and I are thrilled to be here. We're glad
to be back in Wisconsin. The enthusiasm in this State is high. With your
help, with your hard work, there is no doubt in my mind we will carry
Wisconsin on November the 2d.
I want to--I am traveling with very good company today. So when I
asked Laura to marry me, when I asked her to
marry me, she said, ``Okay, I will, just so long as I never have to give
a speech.'' [Laughter] I said, ``Okay, you got a deal.'' Fortunately,
she didn't hold me to the deal. She's giving a lot of speeches. The
American people have come to know Laura as a compassionate, warm, great
First Lady.
Audience members. Laura! Laura! Laura!
The President. I know my opponent* has
been in the neighborhood recently.
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*White House correction.
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Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. He thought he was going
over to Lambert Field. [Laughter] One of these days I'm going to make it
to Lambeau Field and thank the Packers for being--setting such good
examples for our kids.
I'm proud of Dick Cheney. Now, look, I admit
it, he doesn't have the waviest hair in the race. [Laughter] I didn't
pick him because of his hair. I picked him because of his judgment, his
experience, his ability to get the job done for the American people.
I want to thank your Congressman, Tom Petri. He's a fine man. I appreciate you coming, Congressman. I
see the chairman over there, Jim Sensenbrenner. Thanks for coming, Chairman. Finely, we're proud to be
here with Mark Green, Congressman Mark Green. I
appreciate you guys coming.
You need to vote for Tim Michels for the
United States Senate. He wisely married Barbara. [Laughter] I know somebody else who made the right
choice. [Laughter]
I really appreciate the Experimental Aircraft Association for
allowing us to use this hangar. You're famous in Oshkosh, by gosh.
[Laughter] One reason why is your airplanes. Another reason why is
because of the good people who live here. I'm honored you all came out
to say hello. Thanks for being here.
I want to thank Jack Voight, the State
treasurer. I appreciate the speaker being here. I
want to thank all the local officials.
I want to thank my friend Rick Graber.
I want to thank the grassroots politics--politicians, the people who are
putting up the signs and making the phone calls, the volunteers. I know
many of you are working hard, and I thank you for that. It's takes a lot
of hard work to get this many people out. But there's more hard work to
be done. Laura and I will be campaigning
alongside of you. Work hard. We will win in November.
Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
The President. We're working--we're coming from the West. We were in
Oregon this morning. Then we stopped off in Iowa, and fortunately, get
to come to Wisconsin today. And one of the reasons we're coming west to
east is, you might remember, we had a debate or two recently. I enjoyed
those debates. Those debates give us a chance to express our opinions,
and they show the stark differences between my opponent and me. See, we have different records, and we have
different plans for the future.
My record is one of reforming education, lowering taxes, providing
prescription drugs for our seniors, improving homeland protections, and
waging aggressive war against
[[Page 2535]]
the ideologues of hate. The Senator's record is 20 years of out-of-the-
mainstream politics, out-of-the-mainstream votes without many
significant reforms or results to show for it. The records are important
because our country faces many challenges, and the next President must
recognize the need to reform and to be able to achieve reform. On issue
after issue, from jobs to health care to the need to strengthen Social
Security, my opponent has failed to recognize
the changing realities of today's world and the need for fundamental
reforms.
You know, in the final debate, I talked about the link between jobs
and education. I believe when you're talking about jobs, you need to be
talking about educating the people so they can fill the jobs of the 21st
century. He said during that debate, I
switched away from jobs and started talking about education. Well, yes,
good jobs start with good education in America.
When it comes to health care, once again, the other night, he said with a straight face that his health care plan
was not a Government plan. I could barely contain myself. Twenty-two
million new people would enroll on a Government program under his plan.
That would be the largest increase in Government health care ever.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
Audience member. Who pays for it?
The President. Yes. Eighty percent of the newly insured for
his plan would be placed on a Government
program like Medicaid. That's not the way to handle health care in
America.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. He said, well, his plan
would help small businesses. Yet when you look at his plan, just like
some of these analysts have done, they concluded that Senator Kerry's
plan would be an overpriced albatross which would saddle small
businesses with 225 new mandates.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. I have a different view. Health care must be
available and affordable and portable to help small businesses, and we
don't need to saddle them with a bunch of Government rules.
Finally, talking about change, we need to do something about Social
Security. And yet in the debate, my opponent
said if later on, after a period of time, we find that Social Security
is in trouble, well, then he'll call a meeting of experts. [Laughter]
Social Security is fine for our seniors. You might remember the 2000
campaign here in Wisconsin, when they said, ``If George W. gets elected,
the seniors won't get their checks.'' Do you remember that?
Audience members. Yes!
The President. Well, the seniors got their checks, and the seniors
will continue to get their checks.
But we have trouble for our children and our grandchildren when it
comes to Social Security. I think we need to think differently from the
status quo. Youngsters ought to be able to take some of their own
payroll taxes and set up a personal savings account, an account they
call their own. It is the President's job to confront problems, not to
pass them on to future generations and future Presidents.
The last few years, the American people have got to know me. They
know my blunt way of speaking. I get that from my mother. [Laughter] They know I sometimes mangle the English
language. [Laughter] I get that from my father. [Laughter] Americans also know I tell you exactly what
I'm going to do, and I keep my word.
When I came into office, the stock market had been in serious
decline for 6 months, and the economy was headed into a recession. To
help families and to get this economy going again, I pledged to reduce
taxes. I kept my word. 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. The homeownership rate in America is at
an alltime high. Incomes are up. Farm incomes are up. The past 13
months, we've added 1.9 million
[[Page 2536]]
new jobs. The unemployment rate across America is 5.4 percent. That's
lower than the average of the 1970s, the 1980s, and the 1990s. The
unemployment rate in the great State of Wisconsin is 4.8 percent.
This economy is moving forward, and we have more work to do. To keep
this economy strong, I'll continue to stand behind our farmers, like our
dairy farmers. I signed a good farm bill. It's a farm bill that promoted
conservation on our farms and ranches. It's a farm bill that recognizes
that by opening up markets, our farmers can make a good living. We want
to be selling Wisconsin products all around the world. I'll continue to
promote good agricultural policy. I'll work with Congress to renew the
milk-income-loss contract, the milk program, which is vital to
Wisconsin's dairy farmers.
We'll also make sure America is the best place in the world to do
business. If you want jobs here in America, it's got to be the best
place in the world to do business. That means less regulations on our
job creators. We've got to do something about the junk lawsuits that are
threatening the job creators in America.
To keep jobs here, we need an energy plan. The Congress needs to
pass the plan I sent up there a couple of years ago. It is a plan that
encourages conservation. It's a plan that encourages the use of
renewables like ethanol and biodiesel. It encourages clean coal
technology. It encourages increased domestic production in
environmentally friendly ways. To keep jobs here in America, we must be
less dependent on foreign sources of energy.
To keep jobs here, we've got to reject economic isolationism and
open up markets. We've opened up our markets for products from overseas,
and it's good for you as a consumer. If you've got more to choose from
in the marketplace, you're likely to get that which you want at a better
price and higher quality. That's how the market works. That's why I'm
saying to places like China, ``You treat us the way we treat you. You
open up your markets.'' See, we can compete with anybody, anytime,
anywhere, so long as the rules are fair.
To create jobs here and to keep this economy growing, we've got to
be wise about how we spend your money and we've got to keep your taxes
low.
Now, my opponent has his own history on
the economy.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. In 20 years as a Senator from Massachusetts,
he has built the record of a Senator from
Massachusetts. [Laughter] He has voted to raise taxes 98 times.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. That's in 20 years. That's nearly five times a year.
I'd call that a pattern. [Laughter] See, he
can run from his record, but he cannot hide. Now he's promising not to
raise taxes for anyone who earns less than $200,000 a year. The problem
is, to keep that promise he'd have to break all of his other ones.
[Laughter] You see, he's proposed $2.2 trillion in new Federal spending.
That's with a ``T.'' And yet he says he's going to raise it by taxing
the rich. That only raises between 600 billion and 800 billion dollars.
And so you can see there's a tax gap. [Laughter] Guess who usually fills
the tax gap?
Audience members. We do!
The President. Yes. Let me say one other thing about this business
about taxing the rich. The rich hire lawyers and accountants for a
reason: to stick you with the tab. We're not going to let him tax you; we're going to carry Wisconsin and win a
great victory.
Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
The President. When I came into office, our public schools had been
waiting for decades for hopeful reform. Too many of our children were
being shuffled through, grade after grade, year after year, without
learning the basics. I pledged to restore accountability in our schools
and end the soft bigotry of low expectations, and I kept
[[Page 2537]]
my word. The No Child Left Behind Act is working. Our children are
making sustained gains in reading and math. We're closing achievement
gaps all around this country. We're making progress for our families. We
will leave no child behind.
There is more work to do. We'll fund early intervention programs in
our high schools to help at-risk students. We'll place a new focus on
math and science. Over time, we'll require a rigorous exam before
graduation. By raising performance in our high schools and by expanding
Pell grants for low- and middle-income families, we will help more
Americans start their careers with a college diploma.
My opponent has a history on education
issues, a history of doing almost nothing. The Senator's pledged to
weaken the No Child Left Behind Act.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. He's proposed diluting the
accountability standards and looking at measures like teacher attendance
to judge whether students are learning.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. We must have high standards. We must have strong
accountability measures. We must not undermine what we have passed. We
have worked to move beyond the old days of mediocrity and excuses, and
we're not going to go back.
When I came into office, we had a problem with Medicare. Medicine
was changing. Medicare wasn't. Take, for example this: Medicare would
pay hundreds--nearly $100,000 for a heart surgery but would not pay one
dime for the prescription drugs that could prevent the heart surgery
from being needed in the first place. Think about that. It's not right
for our seniors. It's certainly not right for our taxpayers. I pledged
to bring Republicans and Democrats together to strengthen and modernize
Medicare for our seniors, and I kept my word. Seniors are already
getting discounts on their medicines. Rural doctors and rural hospitals
are being treated more fairly. And beginning in 2006, all seniors will
be able to get prescription drug coverage in Medicare.
We're moving forward on health care, and there's more to do. We need
to make sure health care is affordable and available for all our people.
We need a safety net for those with the greatest needs. I'm a big
believer in community health centers, where the poor and the indigent
can get good primary and preventative care. We'd much rather them
getting care in a community health center than an emergency room of a
local hospital. We'll do more to make sure poor children are fully
subscribed in our programs for low-income families.
Most of the uninsured here in America work for small businesses.
Small businesses are having trouble affording health care. In order to
help our small businesses and help their workers and their families,
small businesses ought to be able to pool together to be able to--so
they can buy insurance at the same discounts big businesses are able to
do. We'll 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.
In order to make sure health care is available and affordable, we
will do something about the junk lawsuits that are running up the cost
to your health care. To make sure health care works, we've got to do
something about the lawsuits that cause the Federal Government's tab to
go up. You see, doctors practice what's called defensive medicine
because of all the lawsuits. It costs our Government about $28 billion a
year. It costs our economy 60 to 100 billion dollars a year.
I don't think you can be pro-doctor, pro-patient, and pro-plaintiff-
attorney 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
the patients. I am for medical liability reform-now. In
[[Page 2538]]
all we do to reform health care, this administration will make sure the
decisions are made by doctors and patients, not by officials in
Washington, DC.
You know, there's an old saying here: No one ever washes a rental
car. [Laughter] A lot of wisdom in that statement. [Laughter] When you
own something, you care about it. When you own something, you have a
vital stake in the future of your country. That's why I will continue to
promote an ownership society in America. We want our younger workers to
be able to own a piece of the Social Security system so it will be
available for them when they retire. We want more people owning their
own business. Every time somebody starts a small business in America,
they are achieving a piece of the American Dream. We will continue to
expand ownership to every corner of our country. I've told you
homeownership rates are at an alltime high. We want more people opening
up the door where they live, saying, ``Welcome to my home. Welcome to my
piece of property.''
On issue after issue, from Medicare without choices to schools with
less accountability to higher taxes, my opponent takes the side of more centralized Government. There's a
word for that attitude. It's called liberalism.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. Now, he dismisses that as a
label. He must have seen it differently when he told a newspaper, ``I'm
a liberal, and I'm proud of it.'' [Laughter] The nonpartisan National
Journal did a study that named him the most liberal Member of the United
States Senate. And that's going a long way with that bunch. [Laughter]
I have a different record and a different view and a different
philosophy. I don't believe in big Government, and I don't believe in
indifferent Government. I'm what you would call a compassionate
conservative. I believe in policies that empower people to improve their
lives. I don't believe in policies that try to run people's lives. I
trust the people. My opponent trusts the
Government.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. We've done everything we can to help people, stand
beside people, to help them have a future of dignity and independence.
And that's how I'll continue to lead our Nation for 4 more years.
Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
The President. In this time of change, there are some things that do
not change, the values we try to live by, reverence and integrity,
courage and compassion. In a time of change, we all must support the
institutions that give our lives direction and purpose, our families,
our schools, and 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. He says he supports the
institution of marriage, but he voted against the Defense of Marriage
Act. He voted against the ban on partial-birth abortions.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. One time on his campaign, he called himself the candidate of conservative values, but
he described the Reagan years as a period 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. 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.
[[Page 2539]]
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'll protect the homeland. We'll strengthen our intelligence.
We'll transform our All-Volunteer Army and keep it 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
spread freedom and liberty. And we will prevail.
Our strategy is succeeding. Think about the world as it was some
3\1/2\ years ago. Afghanistan was the home base of Al Qaida. Pakistan
was a transit point for terrorists. Saudi Arabia was fertile ground for
terrorist fundraising. Libya was secretly pursuing nuclear weapons. Iraq
was a dangerous place and a gathering threat. And Al Qaida was largely
unchallenged as it planned attacks.
Because we acted, because the United States of America led,
Afghanistan is free and is now an ally in the war on terror; Pakistan is
capturing terrorist leaders; Saudi Arabia is making raids and arrests;
Libya is dismantling its weapons programs; and an 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.
We are conducting a broad strategy to keep America safe. By
defending ourselves, 50 million people in Afghanistan and Iraq are now
free. Think about that. I want our youngsters here to recognize they're
watching incredible history unfold.
Take a look at Afghanistan. It wasn't all that long ago that many
young girls were not allowed to go to school. That country was run by
barbarians. They were backwards. They had an ideology based upon hatred.
Their mothers would be pulled into the public square and whipped, some
of them killed in a sports stadium because they wouldn't toe the line of
their ideology. It was a dim and dark society. But because we acted in
our self-interest, we freed the people of Afghanistan. And they had
Presidential elections. Thousands of people came out to vote. The first
voter in the Presidential elections in Afghanistan was a 19-year-old
woman. Think about that. Freedom is on the
march, and the world is better for it.
In Iraq, elections are scheduled for January. Think about how far
that society has come from the days of torture chambers and mass graves.
See, it's in our interests. It's in our security interests that we stand
with the people of Afghanistan and Iraq. Free societies in the Middle
East will be hopeful 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 will help us
keep the peace.
So the mission is clear. We will help these countries train armies
and police and security forces, so the people of Afghanistan and Iraq
can do the hard work of defending their freedom and democracy. We will
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.
I am proud to be the Commander in Chief of a great military. And it
is a great military because of the character and the decency of those
who wear our Nation's uniform. I want to thank the veterans who are here
tonight for having set such a good example for those who wear the
uniform. I want to thank the military families who are here for having
made such great sacrifices for our freedom.
We will continue to make sure that our military has all the
resources they need to complete their missions. That is why I went to
the United States Congress and asked for $87 billion of supplemental
funding to support our troops in combat in both Iraq and Afghanistan. It
was a really important request, and it received great bipartisan
support. As a matter of fact, only 12 United States Senators voted
against the funding
[[Page 2540]]
request, 2 of whom are my opponent and his
runningmate.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. And when you're out there gathering up the vote,
remind people of this fact: Only 4 Members of the United States Senate--
only 4 out of 100--voted to authorize the use of force and then voted
against funding the troops sent into harm's way, 2 of whom are my
opponent and his runningmate.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. So they asked him, how
could he have made that vote? And perhaps the most famous quote of the
2004 campaign--[laughter]--he said, ``I actually did vote for the $87
billion, before I voted against it.''
Audience members. ----before I voted against it! [Laughter]
The President. Now, he's given a lot of
answers since then. One of the most interesting ones is when he said,
``Well, the whole thing was just a complicated matter.'' [Laughter]
There's nothing complicated about supporting our troops in combat.
We have a difference of opinion when it comes to making this country
secure. And in one of our debates, Senator Kerry proposed that this Nation should pass a ``global test''
before we send our troops.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. You know, the problem with his ``global test'' is
that he could 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 our
coalition. Yet even after United Nations approval, in the United States
Senate, Senator Kerry voted against the
authorization of the use of force.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. Think about that, and think about what he said in one
of the debates when he said it was a
``mistake'' to remove Saddam Hussein. He said
he would have tried it differently. He would have had another United
Nations Security Council resolution. That's exactly what Saddam Hussein
would have wanted. The truth of the matter is, Saddam would still be in
power in Baghdad if Senator Kerry had his way, and he would have been in
Kuwait.
Audience members. Yes!
The President. And the world would be worse off. The world is better
off with Saddam sitting in a prison cell.
Listen, I'll continue to build strong alliances during the next 4
years. Today, when I was flying in from out west, I had a good visit
with Tony Blair, our strong ally. Alliances are
important. Coalitions are important. 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. I believe in the transformational power of liberty.
I'll tell you what I mean by that. I'll use an example. Prime Minister
Koizumi of Japan is my friend. He's
Laura's friend as well. That probably doesn't
seem unusual to some, but think about this. It wasn't all that long ago
in the march of history that we were at war with Japan. They were the
sworn enemy of the United States of America. They attacked us. My
dad fought against the Japanese. I'm
confident people's relatives out here went to World War II against the
Japanese.
And after we won that war, President Harry S. Truman believed in the
transformational power of liberty to convert an enemy into an ally. And
so they worked to build a democracy in Japan. And there were a lot of
skeptics in America then. You can imagine why. Japan was the enemy. How
could an enemy possibly become a democracy? Why do we want to work with
somebody who killed our sons--great skepticism.
But fortunately, he believed in the power of liberty to transform.
And as a result of
[[Page 2541]]
that belief, I sit down at the table today with Prime Minister
Koizumi of Japan, talking about the peace
we all want, talking about how we can work together to confront the
problems of the world so our children can live in a more peaceful world.
We will succeed in Iraq, and someday, an American President will sit
down with a duly elected leader of Iraq, and they'll be talking about
the peace in the Middle East, and our children and our grandchildren
will be better off for it.
I believe that millions plead in silence for their freedom in the
Middle East. I believe women want to live in a free society. I believe
the moms in the Middle East want their children to grow up in a free
world. I believe that if given a chance, the people of the Middle East
will embrace the most honorable form of government ever devised by man:
democracy. 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 is not one of those times. This is a time
that requires firm resolve, clear vision, and a deep faith that makes us
a great nation.
None of us will ever forget that week when one era ended and another
began. 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 me at the top of their lungs, ``Whatever it takes.'' I
remember trying to console a fellow. He looked me in the eye, 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.
When I traveled your great State 4 years ago, I made a pledge that
if I had a chance to serve, I would uphold the honor and the dignity of
the office to which I had been elected. With your help, with your hard
work, I will do so for 4 more years.
God bless. Thank you all for coming. Thank you all.
Note: The President spoke at 4:58 p.m. at the Experimental Aircraft
Association, Exhibit Hangar B. In his remarks, he referred to Tim
Michels, senatorial candidate in Wisconsin, and his wife, Barbara;
Wisconsin State Treasurer Jack C. Voight; John Gard, speaker, Wisconsin
State Assembly; Richard W. Graber, chairman, Republican Party of
Wisconsin; Prime Minister Tony Blair of the United Kingdom; and Prime
Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan.