[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book III)]
[October 28, 2004]
[Pages 2791-2798]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks in Dayton, Ohio
October 28, 2004

    The President. Thank you all. Thanks for coming. Thanks for coming 
out today. You're lifting my spirits. I'm honored you're here. I have 
come back to the great city of Dayton, Ohio, to ask for your vote and 
ask for your help. We have a duty in our country to vote. I'm asking for 
you to remind your friends and neighbors of that duty. We have an 
obligation in a free society to show up to the polls.

    I've come to Dayton to ask you to get our fellow Republicans to 
vote, to find independents to go to the polls, and don't overlook 
discerning Democrats like Mayor McKelvey 
from the great city of Youngstown, Ohio. And when you get them headed to 
the polls, remind them, if they want a safer America, a stronger 
America, and a better America for all of us, to put me and Dick 
Cheney back in office.
    My regret is that Laura is not with me today.
    Audience members. Aw-w-w!
    The President. It's obviously your regret as well. [Laughter] So we 
were in the seventh grade together at San Jacinto Junior High in 
Midland, Texas. And then we became reacquainted when she was a public school librarian. And I asked her to marry 
me, and she said, ``Fine, but make me a promise.'' I said, ``Okay, what 
is it?'' She said, ``Promise me I'll never have to give a political 
speech.'' [Laughter] I said, ``Okay, you got a deal.'' Fortunately, she 
is not holding me to that promise. She is giving a lot of speeches, and 
when she does, the American people see a strong, a warm, a compassionate 
First Lady. I love her dearly. And, as a matter of fact, just as we 
pulled into the parking lot I got a phone call from three other members

[[Page 2792]]

of my family. Barbara and Jenna, our twins, are out campaigning, and guess who they're 
with? They're with old Number 41. That 
would be former President Bush. And they send their best to the good 
people of Dayton, Ohio.
    And they send their best to my buddy, the Senator from Ohio, George 
Voinovich. I tell you, you're lucky to 
have a man of this caliber serving you in the United States Senate. What 
a fine American, and I hope you put him back in office with a resounding 
vote. Plus he married well.
    I want to thank my friend George 
McKelvey, the--from Youngstown, Ohio. We had a rally there yesterday. A 
lot of people showed up to see the Mayor. [Laughter] They wanted to see 
their leader. I'm proud that George has stood up by me--by side--side by 
side with me. There's a lot of Democrats that are for my candidacy. 
There's a lot of people around this country who know that the Democrat 
Party has left them. And I welcome every Democrat's support. You are 
welcome on our team.
    I want to thank the other United States Senator from Ohio for 
joining us today. Mike DeWine and his wife, 
Fran, are with us. Thanks, Mike, for coming. 
I know you're proud of Congressman Mike Turner. Mike, you're doing a great job. And my friend John 
Boehner is with us, Congressman John 
Boehner--and his wife, Debbie--the author of 
the No Child Left Behind Act in the House of Representatives.
    I want to thank Chief Justice Tom Moyer 
for joining us today. Mr. Judge, thanks for being here. I want to thank 
your mayor, the mayor of Trotwood, Ohio, 
for joining us today. Thanks for coming, Don. I'm proud you're here. I 
want to thank all the local and State officials, all the candidates.
    But most of all, I want to thank you all. I want to thank the 
grassroots activists, the people putting up the signs, the people making 
the phone calls, the people doing all the hard work. I want to thank you 
for what you have done, and I want to thank you for what you're going to 
do. With your help, with your hard work in turning out that vote, there 
is no doubt in my mind we'll carry Ohio again and win a great victory on 
November the 2d.
    Five days from today, the people of America will go to the polls. 
We're choosing the leader of our country at a time of great consequence 
in our world. We're at war against a terrorist enemy unlike any we have 
seen. We have much more to do to win a decisive victory in the war on 
terror. The most solemn duty of the American President is to protect the 
American people. If America shows uncertainty or weakness in these 
troubled times, the world will drift toward tragedy. This is not going 
to happen on my watch.
    Our economy is in the midst of change and challenge. It can be a 
time of great opportunity if we have the right policies to strengthen 
rather than stall our economic recovery. We have much more to do to 
improve our children's education, to make health care more accessible 
and affordable, to strengthen our Social Security for our children and 
our grandchildren. And I'm ready for the job.
    My 4 years as your President have confirmed some lessons and have 
taught some new ones. A President must have a vision in order to lead 
this country. You cannot lead if you don't know where you're going. A 
President must set clear goals and bring people together to achieve 
those goals. A President must surround himself with smart and capable 
people who are willing to express their opinion. I have surrounded 
myself with smart and capable people.
    A President must make America's priorities crystal-clear, especially 
in an uncertain world. I've learned to expect the unexpected, because 
history can deliver sudden horror from a soft autumn sky. I have found 
you better know what you believe or risk being tossed to-and-fro by the 
flattery of friends or the chorus of critics. I've been grateful for the 
lessons I've learned

[[Page 2793]]

from my parents: Respect every person; do your best; live every day to 
its fullest. And I've been strengthened by my faith and humbled by its 
reminder that my life is part of a much bigger story.
    I have 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 the 
American President to be consistent. I have learned America's President 
must base decisions on principle, core convictions from which you will 
never waver. The issues vary; the challenges are different every day in 
this job. 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 the tough 
decisions and stand by them.
    The President must not follow the path of the latest polls. The 
President must lead based on conviction and conscience. Especially at a 
time of war, mixed signals only confuse our friends, embolden our 
enemies. Mixed signals are the wrong signals for an American President 
to send.
    When America chooses a President, you choose not just a set of 
positions on issues of 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. [Laughter] 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. But Americans have learned this, that even when you 
disagree with me, at least you know what I believe and where I stand. 
And you cannot say that about my opponent.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. Senator Kerry has taken a 
lot of different positions, but he rarely takes a stand. He has run a 
campaign of contradictions. I think it's fair to say that consistency 
has not been the Senator's long 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, then said I was wrong to use that force. 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. Then a couple of answers later, he said there was no threat in 
Iraq. Just last year, American troops in Afghanistan and Iraq needed $87 
billion to help them complete their missions. This was vital support. 
First, Senator Kerry said, ``It would be irresponsible to vote against 
the troops.'' He said that on national TV. Then he did that 
irresponsible thing and he voted against the funding for our troops.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. You might remember perhaps the most famous quote of 
the 2004 campaign. When they asked him about 
his vote, he said, ``I actually did vote for the 87 billion, before I 
voted against it.'' He's given several explanations of that vote since 
then, but perhaps one of the most interesting is, he said, ``The whole 
thing was a complicated matter.'' There's nothing complicated about 
supporting our troops in combat.
    I will always stand with our troops. I want to thank the military 
families who have joined us today. And I want to thank the veterans who 
have set such a great example to those who wear the uniform.
    Now, you have to wonder why the Senator 
has taken such different positions at different places and different 
times in this campaign. Well, let me give you two reasons. It's 
important for the people of

[[Page 2794]]

Ohio to understand this. Senator Kerry changes positions because he's 
willing to say anything he thinks that will help him politically at the 
time. And he does so to try to obscure a 20-year trail of out-of-the-
mainstream votes that leads to an inescapable conclusion: Senator Kerry 
has been on the wrong side of the defining national security and 
domestic policy debates of the last 2 years. He can run, but he cannot 
hide.
     Several times during the course of the 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. The Senator decided he had to appeal to that wing 
of his party, so he voted against the troops--after voting to put them 
in risk in the first place.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. The Senator was all for 
removing Saddam Hussein when we went into 
Baghdad, and he was very supportive when we captured him. After all, the 
polls showed that he was--that that was very popular at the time. People 
liked that. 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, 
saying that Iraq was the ``wrong war at the wrong place at the wrong 
time.''
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. What does that lack of conviction say to our troops 
who are risking their lives in this vital cause? Think about what that 
says to our allies who have joined our cause. Think about what that 
says, that lack of conviction, say 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 in the 
world in which we live.
    Just this week Senator Kerry showed his 
willingness to put politics ahead of facts and the truth. He criticized 
our military's handling of explosives in Iraq, when his own advisers 
admitted he didn't know what had happened. His spokesman has now had to 
acknowledge that the explosives may have been moved before our troops 
arrived. A President needs to get all the facts before jumping to 
politically motivated conclusions. 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.
    There's another reason the Senator changes 
positions. He doesn't want you to know where he stands. He has a 
history. He doesn't want you to know where he really 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.
    When former President Bush led a 
coalition against Saddam Hussein in 1991, 
Senator Kerry voted against using force to 
liberate Kuwait.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. History has shown that Senator 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 budget, cuts so extreme that even his 
Massachusetts colleague, Ted Kennedy, 
opposed them. History has shown that Senator Kerry was wrong and--we've 
got to be fair--Senator Kennedy was right.
    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 the American people.

[[Page 2795]]

    We have a different point of view when it comes to your security. 
Senator Kerry says September the 11th did not 
change him much. 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.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. September the 11th changed me a lot. In the days 
after the attacks, I went to Ground Zero. On September the 14th, 2001, I 
stood where those buildings used to stand. I'll never forget that day, 
workers in hardhats yelling at me at the top of their lungs, ``Whatever 
it takes.'' I remember the man--I remember one person in particular, who 
grabbed me by the arm. His eyes were bloodshot, and he looked me square 
in the eye and he said, ``Do not let me down.'' Ever since that day, 
I've gotten up every morning thinking about how to better protect our 
country. I will never relent in defending America, whatever it takes.
    There are other things about my opponent's 
positions he doesn't want you to know. I don't know if you remember the 
debate--one of the debates, they were talking about health care. And he 
looked square in the camera and he said, ``My plan--the Government 
doesn't have anything to do with it.'' [Laughter] I could barely contain 
myself. [Laughter]
    The Government has got a lot to do with it. Eighty percent of the 
people in his plan end up on a Government 
plan. You see, if you make it easier for people to get on Medicaid, 
small businesses will drop coverage for their employees because the 
Government will provide the insurance. That's moving people from the 
private sector to the public sector. When the Government starts writing 
the checks, the Government starts making the rules. And when it comes to 
your health care, when the Government starts making the rules, the 
Government starts making your decisions, and they start deciding for the 
docs. Federal control of health care is the wrong prescription for 
American families.
    I've got a better idea. We'll make sure health care is available and 
affordable. We'd take care of the poor and the indigent by expanding 
community health centers across this country. We'll help make sure low-
income children are signed up for the health programs available for 
them. We're also going to help our families. We'll expand health savings 
accounts so small businesses and families can better afford insurance 
and manage their own account. We will allow small businesses to come 
together so they can buy insurance at the same discounts that big 
companies are able to do.
    And to make sure health care is available and affordable, we're 
going to do something about these frivolous lawsuits that are running up 
the cost of medicine. I have met too many doctors, here in Ohio and 
elsewhere, too many ob-gyns that are getting run out of practice because 
these lawsuits are causing their premiums to go up. And that hurts the 
people of Ohio when that happens. I have met too many expectant moms who 
are worried about the quality of the health care for their baby. See, 
these lawsuits are making it hard for you to afford health care. You 
cannot be pro-doctor and pro-patient and pro-personal-injury-trial-
lawyer at the same time. You have to choose. My opponent made his choice, and he put a personal-injury trial 
lawyer on the ticket.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. I have made my choice. I'm standing with the patients 
of Ohio. I'm standing with the doctors of Ohio. I am for medical 
liability reform--now.
    The Senator really doesn't want you to 
know where he stands on taxes, because he's going to raise them. Listen, 
to be fair, raising taxes is one of the few things that he has been 
consistent about. You might say he's made a habit of it. He's been in 
the Senate for 20 years. He's voted to raise taxes 98 times.

[[Page 2796]]

    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. That is five times for every year he's been in the Senate. I would call that a predictable 
pattern, a leading indicator. [Laughter] During the campaign, he's 
promised a lot of new spending, $2.2 trillion of new spending. That's 
trillion with a ``T.'' That's a lot even for a Senator from 
Massachusetts. They asked him how he's going to pay for it, and he said, 
``That's simple. We'll just tax the rich.'' Most small businesses in 
Ohio pay tax at the individual income tax. One of the reasons why people 
are finding work here is because the small-business sector of your 
economy is strong and getting stronger. Seventy percent of new jobs are 
created by small businesses. And by raising the top two brackets, my 
opponent would be taxing the job creators of Ohio, and that's bad 
economic policy.
    The other thing is, is that by raising the top brackets, you only 
raise between 600 and 800 billion. That is far short of 2.2 trillion. I 
would call that a tax gap. That would be the difference between what 
he has promised to spend and what he can 
deliver. Guess who usually gets to fill the tax gap? You do. But the 
good news is, we're not going to let him tax you; we're going to carry 
Ohio and win nationally on November the 2d.
    You know where I stand when it comes to taxes. When I campaigned for 
the Presidency in 2000, I said we're going to provide our families tax 
relief. I kept my word. We increased the child tax credit to help our 
families. We reduced the marriage penalty. We believe the Tax Code 
should encourage marriage, not penalize marriage. We provided help for 
our small businesses.
    This economy of ours is strong, and it is getting stronger. We're 
growing at rates as fast as any in nearly 20 years. The number of jobs 
have been increased by 1.9 million since August of 2003. The national 
unemployment rate is 5.4 percent. Let me put that in perspective for 
you: That's lower than the average rate of the 1970s, the 1980s, and the 
1990s. Ohio's farmers are making a living. The entrepreneurial spirit is 
strong in the State of Ohio. Homeownership rate is at an alltime high. 
More minority families own a home today than ever before in our Nation's 
history.
    I understand times are tough here in Ohio in certain parts of your 
State. I know that. That's why I've been coming to your State, listening 
to people, talking about how to make sure this economy continues to 
grow. The unemployment rate went from 6.3 percent to 6 percent last 
month. Ohio added 5,500 new jobs last month. We're on our way to 
recovery. And the question the Ohio people have got to answer: Who's got 
the plan to make sure this economy continues to grow? I do: Low taxes; 
less regulation; and tort reform.
    When I ran for President 4 years ago, I promised to challenge the 
soft bigotry of low expectations in our public schools. And I kept my 
word. We passed the No Child Left Behind Act. We are spending more money 
for Title I students, trying to help low-income students. But now we're 
asking the question, ``Can you read and write and add and subtract?'' 
See, in return for excess money, we want to know whether or not people 
are learning. We believe every child can learn. We believe everybody has 
got potential, and we expect every child to learn in America.
    You cannot solve a problem until you diagnose the problem. And now 
we're diagnosing, and we're beginning to solve them. Math and reading 
scores are going up. The achievement gap amongst minority students is 
closing in America. And we're not going to go back to the old days of 
low expectations and mediocrity in our schoolhouses.
    When I ran for President 4 years ago, I promised to improve Medicare 
by adding prescription drug coverage for our seniors. I kept my word. 
You might remember the old debates of Medicare. They called it ``Medi-
scare.'' [Laughter] People weren't willing to really take on the issue. 
I took on the issue. I was joined by Senator

[[Page 2797]]

Voinovich and Senator DeWine, Congressman Boehner, 
Congressman Turner. We go to Washington to 
do things for the people. Medicare needed to be strengthened. Medicare 
needed to be modernized. You see, Medicare would pay thousands of 
dollars for a heart surgery but not one dime for the prescription drugs 
that could prevent the heart surgery from being needed in the first 
place. That wasn't fair to our seniors. We got the job done, and 
beginning in 2006, all seniors will be able to get prescription drug 
coverage in Medicare.
    My opponent voted against the Medicare 
bill.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. In a new term, I will defend the reforms we have put 
in place and keep our promise to our America's seniors.
    And speaking about our seniors, let me talk about Social Security, 
now that you got me on a roll. [Laughter] When you're out gathering up 
the vote, remind your friends and neighbors that in the 2000 campaign, 
it was said that if George W. got elected, the seniors would not get 
their checks. I don't know if you remember that. It may be happening 
here in Ohio now. You remind them that George W. did get elected, and 
our seniors got their checks. And our seniors will continue to get their 
checks. And baby boomers like me, we'll probably get our checks.
    But we need to worry about our children and our grandchildren. We 
need to worry about whether or not Social Security will be there for 
them when they retire. I believe younger workers ought to be allowed to 
take some of their payroll taxes and set up a personal savings account, 
an account they call their own, an account the Government cannot take 
away.
    The job of a President is to confront problems, not to pass them on 
to future Presidents and future generations. My opponent said he's going to protect Social Security, but remind 
your friends and neighbors, he voted eight times to tax Social Security 
benefits.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. And he's offered nothing 
for the younger generation. In a new term, I'll bring Republicans and 
Democrats together to strengthen Social Security for generations to 
come.
    Let me tell you what else we're going to do in a new term. We're 
going to simplify the Tax Code. It is a complicated mess. It's a million 
pages thick. We're going to make it fair for our workers, fair for our 
business, and fair for America.
    Now, there's more to do. I'm asking for your vote because I know 
where I want to lead this country. I see a more hopeful America. I want 
to work with you to make sure our education system fulfills its promise 
and to make sure health care is available and affordable without the 
Federal Government taking it over. I want to make sure we do our duty to 
younger generations of Americans, and I want to continue to work to 
spread freedom and liberty so the world is more peaceful.
    I want you to understand what has taken place in a brief period of 
time, particularly the youngsters who are here. The Taliban ran 
Afghanistan, and young girls could not go to school because they had a 
dark vision of the world. And if their mothers did not toe their 
ideological line of hatred, they would be pulled in the public square 
and whipped and sometimes killed in a sports stadium. These people were 
barbaric people. Because we acted to defend ourselves, because we upheld 
doctrine that said, ``If you harbor a terrorist, you're equally as 
guilty as the terrorist,'' because we acted in our self-interest to 
defend ourselves and eradicated those Al Qaida training camps that were 
in Afghanistan, millions of people were able to go to the polls and vote 
for a President of Afghanistan. And the first voter was a 19-year-old 
woman. Think about that.
    There will be elections in Iraq. Think how far Iraq has come from 
the days of torture chambers and mass graves. Freedom is on the march, 
and we're better off

[[Page 2798]]

for it. We believe that people want to be free. Freedom is not America's 
gift to the world; freedom is the Almighty God's gift to each man and 
woman in this world.
    Over the next 4 years, we've got work to do to make sure our 
families are secure and prosperous and our children are educated. And 
we've also got work to do to defend the values that are important for 
our country. I believe marriage is a sacred commitment. I believe 
marriage and family are the foundations of our society. I believe in a 
culture of life in America. I proudly signed the ban on partial-birth 
abortion. I will name judges who know the difference between personal 
opinion and the strict interpretation of the law.
    My opponent has a different view. He voted 
against the Defense of Marriage Act, and he voted against the ban on 
partial-birth abortion.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. The way I heard it, he says 
he's going to have a litmus test for his judges. He also went on to say 
that, one time in this campaign, that the heart and soul of America can 
be found in Hollywood.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. The heart and soul of America is found in caring 
communities like Dayton, Ohio.
    I'm optimistic about the future of this country. I know we can 
overcome any problem that faces us, because I know the American people. 
I know the strength and courage and compassion of the people who live in 
this land.
    You know, one of my favorite quotes is written by a fellow Texan 
named Tom Lea. He said, ``Sarah and I live on 
the east side of the mountain. It is 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.'' You know, in the course of this campaign, my 
opponent has been talking about the day that 
is gone. I'm talking about the day that is coming.
    And I see a great day coming for America. I see a hopeful day. And I 
see the fact that the hard work we've done is paying off. I see peace 
coming as well, peace for our children and our grandchildren.
    You know, when I campaigned across your State, I made this pledge, 
that if I won in 2000, 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 for coming. Thank you all.

Note: The President spoke at 12:10 p.m. at the Hara Complex. In his 
remarks, he referred to Mayor George M. McKelvey of Youngstown, OH; 
Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer of the Supreme Court of Ohio; Mayor Donald 
K. McLaurin of Trotwood, OH; and former President Saddam Hussein of 
Iraq.