[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book III)]
[October 31, 2004]
[Pages 2877-2883]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Remarks in Tampa, Florida
October 31, 2004
The President. Thank you all for coming. We really appreciate you
coming out on a Sunday afternoon. I'm here to ask for your vote, and I'm
here to ask for your help. Find your friends and neighbors and tell them
we have a duty to vote, and get them going to the polls. Turn the
Republicans out. Turn the independents out. Find discerning Democrats
like my friend the former mayor of Tampa, who is a Bush supporter, Dick
Greco, like Senator Zell Miller from Georgia. When you get them going to the polls, tell
them, if they want a safer America, a stronger America, and a better
America, to put me and Dick Cheney back in
office.
Perhaps the most important reason why you should put me back in is
so that Laura will be the First Lady for 4 more
years.
Audience members. Laura! Laura! Laura!
The President. I'm proud of my runningmate, Dick Cheney. I readily concede he doesn't have the waviest hair in
the race. [Laughter] You'll be happy to hear I didn't pick him because
of his hairdo. I picked him because of his experience. I picked him
because of his judgment. He's
[[Page 2878]]
getting the job done for the American people.
I am proud of your Governor, my brother Jeb Bush. He is doing a fabulous job. We both share the same
campaign consultant: Mother. [Laughter] My
brother Marvin is with us too, and I want to
thank Marv for coming. He's the good-looking one. [Laughter]
I'm proud to be introduced by General Norman
Schwarzkopf, a great American and a
great general. I want to thank his daughter, Jessica, for joining us today. I want to thank my friend
Congressman Mike Bilirakis for being here
today. I want to thank Congressman Adam Putnam for being here today. I want to thank the Lieutenant
Governor and the attorney general for being with us today. I want to urge you, when you
go to the polls, make sure you vote for Mel Martinez as the United States Senator. And I appreciate his wife,
Kitty, joining us. I want to thank my friend
Mayor Greco for joining us. I want to thank
Mel Tillis for being here. Mel, I'm proud you're
here. Tino Martinez--how good does that get?
Thanks for coming, Tino.
I want to thank all the grassroots activists who are here, the
people putting up the signs, the people making the phone calls. I want
to thank you for what you have done. I want to thank you for what you're
going to do over the next 48 hours. You're going to turn out the vote.
We'll win Florida again and win a great victory in November.
This election takes place in a time of great consequence. The person
who sits in the Oval Office for the next 4 years will set the course in
the war on terror and the direction of our economy. This country needs
strong, determined, optimistic leadership, and I'm ready for the job.
My 4 years as your President have confirmed some lessons and taught
me some new ones. I have learned to expect the unexpected because horror
can arrive quietly--quickly on a quiet morning. I've learned firsthand
how hard it is to send young men and women into battle, even when the
cause is right. I'm grateful for the lessons I've learned 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 every life is part of a larger story.
The American President must lead with clarity and purpose. As
Presidents from Lincoln to Roosevelt to Reagan so clearly demonstrated,
a President must not shift with the wind. The President has to make
tough decisions and stand by them. The role of a President is not to
follow the path of the latest polls. The role of the President is to
lead based on principle, conviction, and conscience.
During these 4 years, I've learned that whatever your strengths are,
you're going to need them. And whatever your shortcomings are, the
people will notice them. [Laughter] Sometimes I am a little too blunt. I
get that from my mother. Sometimes I mangle the
English language. I get that from my father. But all the time, whether you agree with me or not, you
know where I stand, what I believe, and where I'm going to lead.
You can't say that about my opponent.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. It is fair to say that consistency is not his long
suit. I look at an issue and take a principled stand. My opponent looks at an issue and tries to take every side. And
the people of Florida know the difference. And Tuesday, Florida will
vote for strong, consistent, convicted--conviction and new--and our
leadership. Florida will go to the polls and make sure that Bush-Cheney
has got 4 more years.
Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
The President. This election comes down to some clear choices on
vital issues for American families. The first clear choice concerns your
family budget. When I ran for President 4 years ago, I pledged to lower
taxes for American families. I kept
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my word. We doubled the child credit. We reduced the marriage penalty.
We dropped the lowest bracket to 10 percent so working families can have
more money to spend. As a result of these policies, real after-tax
income--that would be money in your pocket--is up by about 10 percent
since I took office.
We've been through a lot. When you're out rounding up the vote,
remind people that the stock market was in serious decline 6 months
prior to my arrival. Then we had a recession and corporate scandals and
the attack on our country that cost us a million jobs in 3 months.
But we acted. And because we acted, our economy is growing again.
We're creating new jobs. 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.
Homeownership rate is at an alltime high. More minority families own a
home than ever before in our history. The entrepreneurial spirit is
strong in America. Small businesses are flourishing. The national
unemployment rate is 5.4 percent. That's lower than the average rate of
the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. And in Florida, the unemployment rate is
4.5 percent. This economy is strong, and it is getting stronger.
My opponent has an economic plan. It
involves the promises he makes and the money he intends to take from
you.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. He's got a record. He's got
a record. He's voted to increase taxes 98 times in the 20 years he was
in the Senate. That's five times every year he was in the Senate. That's
a predictable pattern. That's a leading indicator. He's also promised
$2.2 trillion in new Federal spending. That's trillion with a ``T.''
That's a lot. That's a lot even for a Senator from Massachusetts.
They asked him how he's going to pay for
it. He said, ``Oh, don't worry, we'll just tax the rich.'' You have
heard that before. The problem is, when you raise the top two brackets,
you only raise between 600 and 800 billion dollars. That is far short of
the 2.2 trillion he has promised. That's a tax gap. Given his record,
guess who's going to get to fill the tax gap? You are. We're not going
to let him tax you; we're going to carry Florida and win on November the
2d.
Second clear choice involves the quality of life for our Nation's
families. I ran for President to challenge the soft bigotry of low
expectations by reforming our public schools. I have kept my word. We
passed education reforms to bring high standards to our classrooms.
Reading and math scores are on the rise. We're closing the achievement
gap by helping our minority students. My vision for a new term is to
build on these reforms and extend them still to our high schools so that
no child is left behind in America.
We'll continue to improve life for our families by making health
care more affordable and available. We will expand health savings
accounts so more small businesses can cover their workers and more
families are able to save tax-free for health care accounts they manage
and call their own. We will expand association health plans to help
small businesses. They should be allowed to join together to share risk
so they can buy insurance at the same discounts big companies do. We
will expand community health centers to help the poor and the indigent,
and we'll make sure every eligible child is enrolled in our low-income
health insurance program.
And to make sure health care is available and affordable, we will do
something about the junk lawsuits that are running good doctors out of
practice and running up the cost of health care. I am for medical
liability reform--now. In all we do to reform health care, the decisions
will be made by doctors and patients, not by officials in Washington,
DC.
My opponent has a different approach. He
voted for education reform but now
[[Page 2880]]
wants to weaken the accountability standards. He has proposed a big-
Government health care plan. You might remember one of our debates when
he looked square in the camera and said--when they asked him about his
health care plan, he said, ``The Government doesn't have anything to do
with it.'' I could barely contain myself. [Laughter] The Government has
got a lot to do with it. Eighty percent of the people would be signed up
to a Government program under his plan. Eight million Americans would
lose their private health insurance and end up on a Government program.
He's voted against medical liability reform 10 times. He put a personal-
injury trial lawyer on the ticket.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. Federalizing health care is the wrong prescription
for American families. He can run, but he cannot hide.
The third clear choice in this election 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. Seniors are already getting discounts on
medicine with drug discount cards. Low-income seniors are getting direct
help to pay for prescription drugs. And beginning in 2006, all seniors
will be able to get prescription drug coverage under Medicare.
My opponent has a record. He voted against
the Medicare bill that included prescription drug coverage. Remind your
friends and neighbors of that when they're headed to the polls. In this
campaign, he promised to repeal the Medicare bill, and then he's
promised to keep it. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
Audience members. Flip-flop! Flip-flop! Flip-flop!
The President. He tries to scare seniors
about their Social Security. But he forgot to mention he's the one who
voted to tax Social Security benefits eight times.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. I have kept the promise of Social Security for our
seniors, and I will always keep the promise of Social Security for our
seniors.
But I also know the job of a President is to confront problems, not
to pass them on to future Presidents and future generations. That's why
in a new term, I'll work with members of both political parties to make
sure the Social Security system is strengthened for a younger generation
to come.
The fourth clear choice in this election is on the values that are
crucial to keeping our families strong. I stand for marriage and family,
which are the foundations of our society. I stand for a culture of life
in which every person matters and every being counts. And I proudly
signed the ban on partial-birth abortions. I stand for the appointment
of Federal judges who know the difference between personal opinion and
the strict interpretation of the law.
On these issues, my opponent and I are
miles apart. He said he would only appoint judges who pass a liberal
litmus test. He was part of the extreme minority who voted against the
Defense of Marriage Act. He voted against the ban on partial-birth
abortion. There is a mainstream in American politics, and John Kerry
sits on the far left bank. He can run from that liberal record, but he
cannot hide.
The final choice in this election is the most important of all
because it concerns the security of your family. All progress on every
other issue depends on the safety of our citizens. The most solemn duty
of the American President is to protect the American people. If America
shows uncertainty or weakness during these troubling times, the world
will drift toward tragedy. This is not going to happen on my watch.
Our strategy is clear. We're strengthening our homeland. We're
reforming and strengthening the intelligence capabilities. We will
transform our military. There will be no draft. The All-Volunteer Army
will
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remain an all-volunteer army. We are steadfast. We are determined. We
are staying on the offensive so we do not have to face the terrorists
here at home.
And we're making progress. Afghanistan is an ally in the war on
terror. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are making raids and arrests. Libya is
dismantling its weapons program. The army of a free Iraq is fighting for
freedom. Al Qaida no longer controls territory like it did in
Afghanistan. We have shut down its camps. We are systematically
destroying the Al Qaida network across the world. More than three-
quarters of Al Qaida's key members and associates have been brought to
justice. And the rest of them know we're on their trail.
My opponent has taken a different
approach--except when he hadn't. [Laughter] Consistency is not his long
suit, as I mentioned. Senator Kerry says we're better off with Saddam
out of power--except when he said that removing Saddam made us less
safe. He said in our second debate that he always believed Saddam was a
threat--except, a few questions later, when he insisted Saddam
Hussein was not a threat. He says he was
right when he voted to authorize the use force against Saddam Hussein
but I was wrong to use force against Saddam Hussein.
The problems with--the problem with my opponent's record on national
security are deeper than election-year reversals. For 20 years, on the
largest national security issues of our time, he has been consistently
wrong. During the cold war, Senator Kerry
voted against critical weapons systems and opposed President Reagan's
policy of peace through strength. History has shown that Senator Kerry
was wrong and President Ronald Reagan was right.
When President--when former President Bush assembled an international coalition led by General
Norman Schwarzkopf to drive Saddam
Hussein from Kuwait, 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.
One year after the first bombing of the World Trade Center, the
Senator proposed massive cuts in America's
intelligence. The cuts were so extreme that even his fellow
Massachusetts Senator, Ted Kennedy, voted
against them. History has shown that Senator Kerry was wrong and--let's
be fair--Senator Kennedy was right.
I know there are some members of the military with us today, and I
want to thank you for your dedication. I want to thank you for your
service. I want to thank the military families who are with us today.
And I want to thank the veterans who have joined us today. I want to
thank our veterans for having set such a great example to those who wear
our Nation's uniform. And I want to assure you like I've assured
families all across our country, we will make sure our troops have that
which they need to complete their missions.
That is why I went to the United States Congress last September--
September of 2003--and asked for $87 billion in funding to support our
troops in both Afghanistan and Iraq. On national TV, my opponent said it would be irresponsible to vote against the
troops. And then he did the irresponsible thing and he voted against the
funding for our troops.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. And then he entered the
flip-flop hall of fame by saying, quote, ``I actually did vote for the
87 billion, right before I voted against it.''
Audience members. Flip-flop! Flip-flop! Flip-flop!
The President. He's given several answers
since then, but perhaps the most illustrative is when he said, ``The
whole thing is a complicated matter.'' My fellow Americans, there's
nothing complicated about supporting our troops in combat.
We have a difference of opinion on how to protect our families. You
might remember in one of the debates, my opponent
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said there must be a ``global test'' before we commit troops.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. I'm not making that up. I heard him loud and clear. As far as I can tell, that means America
must submit to the will of others before we defend ourselves. Listen,
I'll work to build alliances. I will strengthen our coalitions. But I
will never turn over America's national security decisions to leaders of
other countries.
My opponent was--recently said that
September the 11th didn't change him much at all. Well, September the
11th changed me. It changed my outlook about what we need to do to
protect the American people. I remember standing in the ruins of the
Twin Towers on September the 14th, 2001. I remember the sights and
sounds of that day. There were workers in hardhats yelling at me at the
top of their lungs, ``Whatever it takes.'' I remember the man who
grabbed me by the arm. He looked me square in the eye, and he said, ``Do
not let me down.'' Ever since that day, I wake up every morning trying
to better figure--figure out how to better protect the American people.
I will never relent in defending our country, whatever it takes.
We will use all our assets to protect the American people. We will
wage a comprehensive strategy to protect you. Perhaps the biggest asset
we have of all is freedom. I believe in the power of liberty to
transform nations. Free nations do not breed resentment and export
terror. Free nations become allies in the war on terror.
Think about what's happening in Afghanistan in a relatively brief
period of time. I want the youngsters to hear what life was like in that
country 3\1/2\ years ago. Young girls couldn't go to school. And if
their mothers didn't toe the line of the ideologues of hate, they were
taken into the public square and whipped and sometimes killed in a
sports stadium.
Because we acted in our self-defense, because we upheld a doctrine
that I clearly laid out that said, ``If you harbor a terrorist, you're
equally as guilty as the terrorist,'' millions of citizens in
Afghanistan voted in a Presidential election. And the first voter was a
19-year-old woman.
Iraq is dangerous. It's dangerous because Iraq is heading toward a
free society. There will be Presidential elections in January. Think how
far that country has come from the days of torture chambers and mass
graves. Freedom is on the march, and America is more secure for it. I
believe that everybody yearns 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.
These are historic times, and there is a lot at stake in this
election. The future and safety--the future safety and prosperity of
America are on the ballot. Ultimately, this election comes down to who
do you trust--who do you trust to lead this Nation? I offer a record of
leadership and results at a time of threat and challenge.
If you believe that taxes should stay low so families can pay their
bills and small businesses can create new jobs, I ask you, come stand
with me.
If you believe in high standards for our public schools, I ask you,
come stand with me.
If you believe patients and doctors should be in charge of the
health care system, I ask you, come stand with me.
If you believe that this Nation must honor the commitments of
Medicare and strengthen Social Security for the generations to come, I
ask you, come stand with me.
If you believe that this Nation should honor marriage and family and
make a place for the weak and the vulnerable, I ask you to come stand
with me.
If you believe America should fight the war on terror with all our
might and lead with unwavering confidence in our ideals, I ask you to
come stand with me.
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If you are a Democrat who believes your party has turned too far to
the left this year, I ask you to come stand with me.
If you're a minority citizen and you believe in free enterprise and
good schools and the enduring values of faith and family, if you are
tired of your vote being taken for granted, I ask you to come stand with
me.
And if you are a voter who believes that the American President
should say what he means and do what he says and keep his word, I ask
you to come stand with me.
Four years ago, when I traveled your State, I made this pledge, that
if I won the election, 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.
Thanks for coming. On to victory. Thank you all.
Note: The President spoke at 2:35 p.m. at Legends Field. In his remarks,
he referred to Gov. Jeb Bush, Lt. Gov. Toni Jennings, and State Attorney
General Charlie Crist of Florida; Mel R. Martinez, senatorial candidate
in Florida, and his wife, Kitty; entertainer Mel Tillis; Tino Martinez,
first baseman, Major League Baseball Tampa Bay Devil Rays; and former
President Saddam Hussein of Iraq.