[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book III)]
[October 29, 2004]
[Pages 2835-2841]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks in Columbus, Ohio
October 29, 2004

    The President. Thank you all. Thanks for coming. Thank you all for 
being here. Thank you all for coming. Laura and I 
are honored so many of you came out to say hello. You've lifted our 
spirits.
    I also want to thank Governor Schwarzenegger for coming. It's such an honor to have him here in 
Columbus and campaigning on my behalf. You know, he and I share some 
things in common. We both married well. [Laughter] We both have trouble 
speaking the English language. [Laughter] We both got big biceps. 
[Laughter] Well, two out of three ain't bad. [Laughter]
    It's great to be back in Columbus. I don't know if you know this or 
not, but my grandfather was raised here. So why don't you send a home 
boy back to Washington? We love campaigning in your State. Ohio is a 
wonderful place. I'm campaigning hard to let people know that I've got 
an agenda for 4 more years.
    Perhaps the most important reason why you ought to put me back into 
office is so that Laura is the First Lady for 4 
more years.
    I'm proud of my runningmate, Dick Cheney. I 
readily concede that he does not have the waviest hair in the race. 
You'll be happy to hear I didn't pick him because of his hairdo. 
[Laughter] I picked him because he's a man of sound judgment, excellent 
experience. He's getting the job done for the American people.
    Laura and I are pleased that your Governor, 
Bob Taft, and First Lady Hope Taft are with us today. Thank you all for coming.
    Senator Mike DeWine is with us. Senator, 
thank you for being here. You need to put George Voinovich back in the United States Senate. I want to thank 
Congressman Pat Tiberi for his leadership. 
I want to thank Congressman Dave Hobson and 
Carolyn for being with us today. We're 
honored you are here. I want to thank my friend Deborah Pryce in the United States Congress, who is here.
    I want to thank the Lieutenant Governor, who is with us. The Supreme Court of Ohio Chief 
Justice is with us. We've got a lot of State 
and local officials here. We are honored with your presence.
    I want to thank all the grassroots activists who are here. I want to 
thank my friend Jo Ann Davidson and Doug 
Preisse. I want to thank you all, all of you 
who are making

[[Page 2836]]

the phone calls, putting up the signs, and turning out the vote.
    I'm here to not only ask for your vote; I'm here to ask for your 
help. I'm here to ask you to get your friends and neighbors to go to the 
polls. Turn out our fellow Republicans, fine independents, and 
discerning Democrats. Four days to go, and we're counting on your help. 
There's no doubt in my mind, with your help, we will carry Ohio again 
and win a great victory on Tuesday.
    We have a clear choice--or you have a clear choice in this campaign, 
a clear choice between two very different candidates, dramatically 
different approaches and different records. You know where I stand, and 
sometimes, you even know where my opponent 
stands. [Laughter] We both have records. I am proudly running on mine.
    This election comes down to some clear choices for America's 
families. The first choice is the most important because it concerns the 
security of your family. All progress on every issue depends on the 
safety of our families. Americans will go to the polls in a time of war 
and ongoing threats unlike any we have faced before. The terrorists who 
killed thousands of innocent people are still dangerous and determined 
to strike. The outcome of this election will set the direction of the 
war against terror. 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, 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 have strengthened our 
homeland. We're reforming and strengthening our intelligence 
capabilities. We are transforming the All-Volunteer Army. There will be 
no draft. We are relentless. We are determined. We are staying on the 
offense. We're chasing the terrorists across the globe so we do not have 
to face them here at home.
    Because we led, Afghanistan is a free Nation and an ally in the war 
on terror; Pakistan is capturing terrorist leaders; Saudi Arabia is 
making raids and arrests. Because we led, 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.
    And we've got another asset at our disposal: freedom. We believe--I 
believe in the power of liberty. Think about what has happened in a 
short period of time. Young girls in Afghanistan couldn't go to school 
because the Taliban was so barbaric and backward. And if their mothers 
didn't toe the line of ideological hatred, they were taken into the 
public square and whipped and sometimes executed in a sports stadium. 
Because we acted in our own interests, because we acted to protect 
ourselves, because we upheld a doctrine that said, ``If you harbor a 
terrorist, you're just as guilty as the terrorist,'' millions of people 
went to the polls to vote for the President of Afghanistan. The first 
voter was a 19-year-old woman.
    Iraq will have elections in January. Think how far that country has 
come from the days of torture chambers and mass graves. Freedom is on 
the march. Freedom is taking place around this world, and America is 
more secure for it. I believe everybody longs to be free. I believe deep 
in everybody's soul, there's a yearning to live in a free society. 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.
    A President has to lead our country with consistency and strength. 
In a war, sometimes your tactics change but not your principles. 
Americans have seen how I do my job. Even when you might not agree with 
me, you know what I believe and where I stand and where I intend to lead 
this

[[Page 2837]]

country. On good days and on bad days, whether the polls are up or the 
polls are down, I am determined to lead this Nation and win the war on 
terror.
    And I will always support the United States military. I want to 
thank those who wear our Nation's uniform. I want to thank our military 
families who are here. I want to thank the veterans who have set such a 
great example for our military. And I want to assure our military and 
their families and our veterans, we will make sure our troops have that 
which they need to complete their missions.
    That's why I went to the United States Congress and asked for $87 
billion of supplemental funding, necessary funding to support our troops 
in harm's way. We got great bipartisan support for that request. Only 12 
United States Senators voted against the funding for our troops, 2 of 
whom were my opponent and his 
runningmate.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. When you're out gathering the vote over the next 4 
days, when you're rounding up people to go to the polls, remind them of 
this statistic: Only four Members of the United States Senate voted to 
authorize the use of force and then voted against providing the funding 
necessary for our troops in combat. Two of those four were my 
opponent and his runningmate.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. You might remember the most famous quote of the 2004 
campaign. When asked about his vote on the $87 billion, Senator 
Kerry said, ``I actually did vote for the 87 
billion, before I voted against it.''
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. Now, I haven't spent a lot of time in Columbus, but I 
doubt we're going to find many people here who talk that way. [Laughter] 
He's given several explanations since about 
his $87 billion vote. Perhaps the most illustrative one of them all was 
when he said, ``The whole thing was a complicated matter.'' [Laughter] 
My fellow citizens, there is nothing complicated about supporting our 
troops in combat.
    Unfortunately, my opponent, tonight, 
continued to say things he knows are not true, accusing our military of 
passing up a chance to get Usama bin Laden 
in Tora Bora. As the commander in charge of that operation, Tommy 
Franks, has said, ``It's simply not the 
case.'' It's the worst kind of Monday morning quarterbacking. It is 
especially shameful in the light of a new tape from America's enemy. Our 
commander in Afghanistan, Tommy Franks, recently said, ``The Senator's 
understanding of events does not square with reality.'' General Franks 
said America's Special Forces were actively involved in the search for 
the terrorists in Tora Bora. And intelligence reports at the time placed 
bin Laden in any of several different countries. As General Franks said, 
``If we'd ever known where bin Laden was, we would have gotten him.''
    Before Senator Kerry got into political 
difficulty and revised his views, he saw our actions in Tora Bora 
differently. In the fall of 2001, on national TV, he said, quote, ``I 
think we have been doing this pretty effectively, and we should continue 
to do it that way.'' Senator Kerry also went on to say about Tora Bora 
on national TV, ``I think we've been smart. I think the administration 
leadership has done it well, and we are on the right track.'' I couldn't 
have said it better myself.
    Senator Kerry's record on national 
security has a far deeper problem than election-year flip-flopping. On 
the largest national security issues of our time, he has been 
consistently wrong. When Ronald Reagan was confronting the Soviet Union 
at the height of the cold war, Senator Kerry said that President 
Reagan's policy of peace through strength was making America less safe.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!

[[Page 2838]]

    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 the use of 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, so massive that even his Massachusetts 
colleague, Ted Kennedy, opposed them.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. History has shown that Senator Kerry was wrong--and we have got to be fair--Senator 
Kennedy was right. [Laughter]
    During the last 20 years, in key moments of challenge and decision 
for America, Senator Kerry has chosen the 
position of weakness and inaction. With that record, he stands in 
opposition not just to me but to the great tradition of the Democratic 
Party. The party of Franklin Roosevelt, the party of Harry Truman, the 
party of John Kennedy is rightly remembered for confidence and resolve 
in times of war and hours of crisis. Senator Kerry has turned his back 
on ``pay any price'' and ``bear any burden,'' and he's replaced those 
commitments with ``wait and see'' and ``cut and run.''
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. Many Democrats in this country do not recognize their 
party anymore, and today, I want to speak to every once of them: If you 
believe that America should lead with strength and purpose and 
confidence in our ideals, I would be honored to have your support, and I 
am asking for your vote.
    We have a difference of opinion. We have a difference of opinion 
how--as how to protect our families. My opponent said America must submit to what he calls a ``global 
test'' before we commit our troops.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. I'm not making that up. [Laughter] He was standing about three yards away when he said it. I 
couldn't believe it either. As far as I tell, that means our country 
must get permission before we act in our own defense. As President, I'll 
build on alliances. We'll continue to work with our friends and allies, 
but I will never turn over America's national security decisions to 
leaders of other countries.
    We have a difference of opinion as to how to protect you on this 
crucial issue. My opponent said that September 
the 11th did not change him much at all. September the 11th changed me a 
lot. I'll never forget the day I stood in the ruins of the Twin Towers 
on September the 14th, 2001. I'll never forget the sights and sounds of 
that day, the workers in hardhats who were yelling at me at the top of 
their lungs, ``Whatever it takes.'' The worker came out of the rubble--
policeman or a fireman, I'm not sure which one--who grabbed me by the 
arm. He looked me square in the eye. He said, ``Do not let me down.'' 
From that day forward, I get up every morning thinking about how to 
better protect our families. I will never relent in defending America, 
whatever it takes.
    The second clear choice in this election concerns your family's 
budget. When I ran for President 4 years ago, I pledged to lower taxes 
for America's families. I kept my word. We doubled the child credit to 
$1,000 per child to help moms and dads. We reduced the marriage penalty. 
We believe the Tax Code ought to encourage, not penalize marriage. We 
dropped the lowest tax bracket to 10 percent. We reduced income taxes on 
everybody who pays income taxes.
    I want you to remind your friends and neighbors about this fact: 
When I came into office, the stock market had been in serious decline 
for 6 months; and we faced a recession and corporate scandals; and the

[[Page 2839]]

attacks of September the 11th cost us about a million jobs in the 3 
months after that fateful day.
    But our economic policies are working. Because we increased 
consumption and encouraged investment, our economy is growing at rates 
as fast as any in nearly 20 years. We added 1.9 million new jobs in the 
last 13 months. The entrepreneurial spirit in America is strong. Small 
businesses are flourishing all across Ohio. Farm income is up in Ohio. 
The homeownership rate is at an alltime high. More minority families 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: That's lower than the average rate of the 1970s, the 1980s, and the 
1990s.
    I fully understand there are still people hurting in the great State 
of Ohio, but we're heading in the right direction. Your unemployment 
rate dropped from 6.3 percent to 6 percent in the month of September, 
and we added 5,500 new jobs. We're headed in the right direction.
    My opponent has plans for your family 
budget. He intends to take a big chunk out of it.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. He voted against the higher 
child tax credit. He voted against marriage penalty relief. He voted 
against lower taxes. If he'd have had his way, the average American 
family would be paying $2,000 more in Federal taxes.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. That may not sound like a lot to some of them in 
Washington, but it's a lot for families right here in Columbus, Ohio. It 
helps moms and dads. It helps the small-business owners. You know, my 
opponent has been in the Senate for 20 years 
and he voted to raise taxes 98 times.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. That's five times for every year in the Senate. I'd 
call that a predictable pattern, a leading indicator. During this 
campaign, he's also made a lot of promises. 
He's promised $2.2 trillion in new Federal spending. That's trillion 
with a ``T.'' That's a lot even for a Senator from Massachusetts.
    So they asked him, ``How are you going to 
pay for it?'' And he said, ``Oh, we'll just tax the rich.'' You've heard 
that before. Be wary. See, you raise, when you run up the top two 
brackets, between 600 and 800 billion dollars. That is far short of the 
2.2 trillion he's promised. I would call that a tax gap. That's the gap 
between what he's promised and what he says he can deliver. And guess 
who usually gets to fill the tax gap?
    Audience members. We do!
    The President. Yes, you do. The good news is, he is not going to tax you; we're going to carry Ohio and win 
a great victory.
    Third--the third clear choice in this election involves the quality 
of life for our Nation's families. A good education and quality health 
care are important to a successful life. As candidate for President, I 
pledged to end the soft bigotry of low expectations by reforming our 
public schools. I kept my word. We passed good education reforms. We 
believe every child can learn, and we expect every child, every school 
to teach. We increased Federal spending. But in return for Federal 
increases, we now expect State and local jurisdictions to measure. We 
understand you cannot solve a problem until you diagnose the problem. 
And we are diagnosing and we are solving problems all across America. 
Test scores are up in reading and math. We're closing an achievement gap 
for minority students. And we will not go back to the days of low 
expectations and mediocrity in our classrooms.
    We'll continue to improve life for our families by making health 
care affordable and accessible. We'll make sure the poor and the 
indigent get good health care in community health centers. We'll make 
sure our program for children of low-income families is fully 
subscribed. To make sure health care is affordable, we must allow

[[Page 2840]]

small businesses to join together across jurisdictional boundaries so 
they can buy insurance at the same discounts big companies are able to 
do. We will expand health savings accounts to help our small businesses 
and our families.
    And to make sure health care is available and affordable for 
citizens of Ohio, we will do something about the frivolous lawsuits that 
are running up the cost of health care. I have met too many ob-gyns who 
are having to leave practice because of increased premiums due to 
lawsuits. I have met too many expectant moms who are deeply concerned 
about getting the health care they need. This litigation problem is a 
national problem. You cannot be pro-doctor, pro-patient, and pro-
personal-injury-trial-lawyer at the same time. My opponent has made his choice. He voted against medical liability 
reform 10 times 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 doctors 
of Ohio. I'm standing with the families of Ohio. I'm for medical 
liability reform.
    Senator Kerry has got a different idea 
about health care. You might remember in the debate when he looked 
square in the camera and he said about his health care plan, ``The 
Government didn'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 who are signed up under his program end up on a 
Government plan. If you make it easier for people to be on Medicaid, it 
is likely small-business owners will drop insurance for their employees 
because the Government will provide it. See, you're moving people from 
the private sector to Government plans. When the Government writes the 
check, the Government makes the rules. And when the Government is making 
the rules about your health care, the Government starts making decisions 
for you and they make decisions for your doctors. The wrong prescription 
for American families is to federalize our health care. In all we do to 
improve our family's health care, we will make sure the decisions are 
made by doctors and patients, not by officials in Washington, DC.
    The fourth clear choice involves your retirement. Our Nation has 
made a solemn commitment to America's seniors on Social Security and 
Medicare. When I ran for President 4 years ago, I promised to keep that 
commitment and improve Medicare by adding prescription drug coverage. I 
kept my word. Medicare needed to be changed. See, we 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 didn't make any sense to our seniors. So I brought 
Republicans and Democrats together. We modernized Medicare for our 
seniors, and beginning in 2006, seniors will get prescription drug 
coverage under Medicare.
    And we'll keep the promise of Social Security for our seniors, and 
we will strengthen Social Security for generations to come. Now, you 
might remember the 2000 campaign when they started running those ads and 
putting out the leaflets and flyers that said this to our seniors: ``If 
George W. gets elected, our seniors will not get their checks.'' So when 
you're out there rounding up the vote, when you're working hard over the 
next 4 days, remind your friends and neighbors that George W. did get 
elected, and the seniors did get their checks. And our seniors will 
continue to get their checks. And baby boomers like me 
and Arnold--[laughter]--we're in 
pretty good shape when it comes to Social Security.
    But we need to worry about our children and our grandchildren. We 
need to worry about whether Social Security will be there for them. And 
that is why I believe younger workers ought to be allowed to take some 
of their payroll taxes and set up a personal savings account, an account 
that earns a greater rate of interest, an account you own

[[Page 2841]]

and an account the Government can never take away.
    My opponent takes a different approach. 
You know, he said he's going to protect Social Security. But tell your 
friends and neighbors that he voted eight times for higher taxes on 
Social Security benefits.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. Like on other issues, he 
can run, but he cannot hide.
    And he's offered nothing for the next 
generation when it comes to Social Security. The job of the President is 
to confront problems, not to pass them on to future Presidents and 
future generations. In a new term, I will bring people together so that 
we modernize and strengthen Social Security for generations to come.
    The final choice in this election is on the values that are crucial 
to keeping our families strong. I believe marriage is a sacred 
institution. I will promote a culture of life and proudly signed the ban 
on partial-birth abortion. And I stand for the appointment of Federal 
judges who know the difference between personal opinion and the strict 
interpretation of the law.
    All these choices make this one of the most important elections in 
our history. The security and prosperity of our country are at stake. 
The health of our families is at stake. The education of our children is 
at stake. And the direction of our culture is at stake. And the decision 
is in the best of hands. The decision is in the hands of the American 
people.
    One of my favorite quotes was 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.'' My opponent has spent much of this campaign talking about the day 
that is gone. I'm talking about the day that's coming.
    I see a day where prosperity reaches every corner of America. I see 
a day where every child is able to read and write and add and subtract. 
I see a day in which this world becomes more peaceful and we're able to 
achieve the peace we all dream for for our children and our 
grandchildren.
    When I campaigned across your State in 2000, I made you this pledge, 
that if I got elected, I would uphold the honor and the integrity of the 
office. With your help, with your hard work, I will do so for 4 more 
years.
    God bless. Thanks for coming. Thank you all.

Note: The President spoke at 7:27 p.m. at the Nationwide Arena. In his 
remarks, he referred to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California; Gov. 
Bob Taft of Ohio and his wife, Hope; Carolyn Hobson, wife of 
Representative David Hobson; Lt. Gov. Jennette B. Bradley of Ohio; Chief 
Justice Thomas J. Moyer of the Supreme Court of Ohio; Jo Ann Davidson, 
Ohio Valley regional chairman, Bush-Cheney '04, Inc.; Doug Preisse, 
chairman, Franklin County Republican Party Executive Committee; Gen. 
Tommy R. Franks, USA (Ret.), former combatant commander, U.S. Central 
Command; Usama bin Laden, leader of the Al Qaida terrorist organization; 
and former President Saddam Hussein of Iraq.