[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book III)]
[October 31, 2004]
[Pages 2889-2895]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks in Cincinnati, Ohio
October 31, 2004

    The President. Thank you all. Thank you all for coming. I am here to 
ask for your vote, and I am here to ask for your help. We have come to 
the great city of Cincinnati, Ohio, asking for you to turn your friends 
and neighbors out to the polls on Tuesday. With your help, we will carry 
Ohio again and win a great victory on Tuesday.
    Perhaps the most important reason of all to put me back into office 
is so that Laura will be the First Lady for 4 
more years.
    I'm proud of my runningmate, Dick Cheney. I 
admit it, he does not have the waviest hair in the race. [Laughter] You 
all will be happy to know I didn't pick him because of his hairdo. I 
picked him because of his judgment, his experience. He's getting the job 
done for the American people.
    I want to thank one of Cincinnati's great citizens, Johnny 
Bench, for having introduced me today. We can 
judge a person by the company he keeps, and I'm keeping good company up 
here on this stage. I'm proud you're here, Johnny. Thank you very much.
    I'm proud to be here with some elected officials from the great 
State of Ohio. Governor Bob Taft and First Lady 
Hope Taft are with us. Thank you for coming. 
Senator Mike DeWine. Senator George 
Voinovich is out campaigning, but put 
him back into office for 6 more years.
    I'm proud to be here with Senator Jim Bunning from Kentucky, and I hope the citizens of Kentucky put 
him back into office. And we love Mary as well.
    Steve Chabot, the Congressman from this 
district, is with us. Congressman, thank you. My friend Congressman Rob 
Portman is with us tonight. Thank you for being 
here, Rob.
    The Lieutenant Governor from Ohio, Jennette Bradley, is with us. State Treasurer Joe ``Write in My 
Name'' Deters is with us. I want to thank 
Betty Montgomery. I want to thank all the 
State and local officials. I want to thank Mike Sodrel, who is from the Indiana Ninth Congressional District. I 
strongly support Mike's bid for the United States Congress. And I 
strongly support the bid of Geoff Davis from 
Kentucky's Fourth Congressional District.
    I want to thank my friend Anthony Munoz 
for being here today. I'm proud to call him friend. Marty 
Brennaman. I want to thank my friend Larry 
Gatlin and brother Rudy 
for joining us today. Yes. I want to thank the Wil Gravatt Band.
    But most of all, I want to thank you all. I want to thank the people 
who have been putting up the signs and making the phone calls and doing 
all the hard work. You're turning out this vote on Tuesday.
    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 of 
the war on terror and

[[Page 2890]]

the direction of our economy. America will need strong, determined, 
optimistic leadership, and I am ready to get the job done for 4 more 
years.
    Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
    The President. My 4 years as your President confirmed some lessons 
and taught some new ones. I've learned to expect the unexpected. I've 
learned firsthand how hard it is to send young men and women into 
battle. I am grateful for the lessons I have learned from my parents: 
Respect every person; do your best; live every day to its fullest. I've 
been strengthened by my faith and humbled by its reminder that every 
life is part of a larger story. I understand how crucial it is for the 
American President to lead with clarity and purpose. As Presidents from 
Lincoln to Roosevelt to Reagan so clearly demonstrated, a President must 
not shift with the wind. A President has to make tough decisions and 
stand by them.
    The role of the President is not to follow the path of the latest 
polls. The role of a President is to lead based on principle and 
conviction and conscience. During these 4 years, I've learned that 
whatever your strengths are, you are going to need them, and whatever 
your shortcomings are, people will notice them. Sometimes I'm a little 
too blunt. I get that from my mother. 
[Laughter] Sometimes I mangle the English language. I get that from my 
dad. [Laughter] 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 cannot say that about my opponent.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. I think it's fair to say that consistency is not 
his strong suit. [Laughter] 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 Ohio know the difference. And that's 
one of the reasons why on Tuesday we're going to carry your great State.
    This election comes down to clear choices on five vital issues 
facing every American family. The first clear choice concerns your 
family's budget. When I ran for President 4 years ago, I pledged to 
lower taxes for American families. I kept my word. We doubled the child 
credit. We reduced the marriage penalty. We believe the Tax Code ought 
to encourage, not penalize marriage. We reduced taxes on everybody who 
pays taxes. As a result of these good policies, real after-tax income--
the money in your pocket to spend on groceries or house payments or 
rent--is up 10 percent since I took office.
    When you're out there convincing your friends and neighbors to vote, 
remind them what our economy has been through. Six months prior to my 
arrival in Washington, the stock market was in serious decline. And then 
we faced the recession and corporate scandals and an attack on our 
country that cost us a million jobs in just 3 months after the attack.
    But we acted. Our economy is creating jobs and growing faster than 
any major economy in the world. We've added--homeownership rate is at an 
alltime high in America. More minorities own a home today than ever 
before in our Nation's history. The entrepreneurial spirit is strong. 
Small businesses are flourishing all across the State of Ohio. Ohio 
farmers are making a living. We added more than 1.9 million new jobs in 
the last 13 months. The national unemployment rate is 5.4 percent. 
That's lower than the average rate of the 1970s, the 1980s, and the 
1990s.
    I've traveled your State a lot. I know that in certain areas of this 
State, people are struggling. But we're making progress. Ohio added 
5,500 new jobs last month. Your unemployment rate has gone from 6.3 to 6 
percent in one month. This economy is strong, and it is getting 
stronger.
    My opponent has an economic plan too. He 
voted to increase taxes 98 times in the 20 years he's been in the United 
States Senate.

[[Page 2891]]

    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. That's five times every year he's been in the Senate. I would call that a leading 
indicator--[laughter]--a predictable pattern. Couple that with the fact 
that he's promised $2.2 trillion in new Federal spending--that's 
trillion with a ``T.'' That's a lot--[laughter]--even for a Senator from 
Massachusetts. [Laughter]
    They asked him how he's going to pay for 
it. He said, ``Oh, we'll just tax the rich.'' The problem is, is that by 
raising the top two brackets, one, you penalize the small-business 
sector of this country, and secondly, you only raise between 600 and 800 
billion dollars. That's far short of the 2.2 trillion. That's what I 
would call a tax gap. Given his record, it's not hard to figure out 
who's going to fill that tax gap. You are. But the good news is, we're 
not going to let him tax you; we're going to win Ohio, Kentucky, and 
Indiana.
    Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
    The President. The second clear choice in this election 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 kept my word. We passed education reforms to bring high 
standards to the classroom. Math and reading scores are now on the rise. 
We're closing the achievement gap for minority children all across this 
country. My vision for a new term is to build on these reforms and 
extend them 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'll expand health savings 
accounts. We'll allow small businesses to join together and buy 
insurance at the same discounts that big companies are able to buy 
insurance for. We'll help our families in need by expanding community 
health centers.
    And we will help Ohio families and patients and doctors by getting 
rid of the frivolous and junk lawsuits that make health care too 
expensive. In all we do to improve health care, we will make sure the 
medical decisions are made by doctors and patients, not by officials in 
Washington, DC.
    As you can imagine, my opponent has a 
different approach. He voted for the education reform but now wants to 
weaken the accountability standards. He's proposing a big-Government 
health care plan. I don't know if you remember the debate when they 
said, ``Tell us about your health care plan.'' And one of the things he 
said was, ``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 end up on the Government 
plan with his vision. And that is the wrong prescription for American 
families.
    Now, we got a different point of view when it comes to our docs and 
patients. 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. 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 prescriptions. And beginning in 2006, all seniors will 
be able to get prescription drug coverage under Medicare.
    My opponent has got a record on that. He 
voted against the Medicare bill that included prescription drugs. In the 
campaign, he's promised to repeal the bill, and then shortly thereafter, 
he promised to keep it. Sounds familiar. He tries to scare seniors about 
their Social Security. But he forgets

[[Page 2892]]

to mention that he is the one who voted eight times to raise taxes on 
Social Security benefits.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. I have kept the promise of Social Security for our 
seniors. And I'll always keep the promise of Social Security for our 
seniors. And the Social Security trust is in pretty good shape for baby 
boomers like me and a couple of other folks I see out there.
    But we need to worry about our children and our grandchildren when 
it comes to Social Security. We need to worry about whether or not the 
Social Security system will be there when they retire. And that is why I 
believe younger workers ought to be allowed to take some of their 
payroll taxes and put it in a personal savings account, an account that 
earns a better interest, an account they call their own.
    The fourth clear choice in this election is on the values that are 
so 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 abortion. And 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 an extreme minority that voted against the 
Defense of Marriage Act. He voted against the ban on partial-birth 
abortion.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. There is a mainstream in American politics, and my 
opponent sits on the far left bank. [Laughter] 
He can run from his 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 troubled times, this world 
will drift toward tragedy. This is not going to happen on my watch.
    Since that terrible morning of September the 11th, 2001, we've 
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've strengthened protections for the homeland. We're reforming and 
strengthening our intelligence services. We're transforming our 
military. There will be no draft. The All-Volunteer Army will remain an 
all-volunteer army. We are fighting the terrorists abroad so we do not 
have to face them here at home. We are determined. We are relentless. 
And we are succeeding.
    Afghanistan is free and is an ally in the war on terror. Pakistan 
and Saudi Arabia are making raids and capturing terrorist leaders. Libya 
is dismantling its weapons programs. The army of a free Iraq is fighting 
for freedom. And Al Qaida no longer controls Afghanistan. We've shut 
down its camps. We are systematically destroying the Al Qaida network 
across the world. More than three-quarters of Al Qaida's known leaders 
and associates have been brought to justice. And the rest of them know 
we're on their trail.
    And one of the reasons we're protecting America better than we have 
in the past is because we've got a great United States military. I'm 
proud to be the Commander in Chief of such a fine group of people. I 
want to thank the military families who have joined us today for your 
sacrifices. I want to thank the veterans who are here for having set 
such a great example to those who wear the uniform. And I assure you, 
we'll keep our commitment to our troops. We'll make sure they have that 
which they need to complete their missions.
    That's why I went to the United States Congress in September of 2003 
and asked for $87 billion of supplemental funding. That was vital 
funding. That was necessary

[[Page 2893]]

funding. That was important funding. And we received great support. As a 
matter of fact, only 12 Members of the United States Senate voted 
against that funding, 2 of whom were my opponent and his runningmate.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. On national TV, Senator Kerry said it would be irresponsible to vote against the troops. 
And then when the vote came around, he did the irresponsible thing and 
voted against the troops.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. And then he entered the 
flip-flop hall of fame by saying this--[laughter]--``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 
explanations for that vote since, but perhaps the most revealing of all 
was when he said, ``The whole thing was a complicated matter.'' My 
fellow Americans, there is nothing complicated about supporting our 
troops in combat.
    Senator Kerry has a pattern of switching 
positions in this campaign. In the second debate, he said he always 
believed Saddam Hussein was a threat--except, 
a few questions later, when he insisted Saddam Hussein was not a threat. 
He said he was right when he voted to authorize the use of force against 
Saddam Hussein but that I was wrong to use force against Saddam Hussein.
    Yet, the problems with Senator Kerry'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 weapon systems and opposed President Ronald Reagan's 
policy of peace through strength. History has shown that Senator Kerry 
was wrong and President Ronald Reagan was right.
    When former President Bush assembled an 
international coalition to drive Saddam Hussein from Kuwait, Senator Kerry 
voted against the use of force to liberate that country.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. History has shown that Senator Kerry was wrong and former President Bush was right.
    Only a year after the first bombing of the World Trade Center, the 
Senator proposed massive cuts in America's 
intelligence, cuts so extreme that his fellow Massachusetts Senator 
opposed them. History has shown that Senator Kerry was wrong--and we've 
got to be fair--Senator Kennedy was right. 
[Laughter]
    We have big differences about how to protect you, about how to 
protect America's families. In one of the debates, Senator Kerry said we must be subject to a ``global test'' before 
we commit troops.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. I'm not making that up. [Laughter] He wasn't standing that far away from me when he said it. 
[Laughter] The best I can tell, my opponent's ``global test'' means that 
America must get permission from foreign capitals before taking action 
to defend our country.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. I'll build on our alliances. I will work with our 
friends and allies to protect ourselves and to protect freedom. But I 
will never submit America's national security decisions to leaders of 
other countries.
    Senator Kerry the other day said that 
September the 11th didn't change him much. September the 11th changed my 
outlook. I remember standing in the ruins of the Twin Towers on 
September the 14th, 2001. It's a day I will never forget. There were 
workers in hardhats yelling at me at the top of their lungs, ``Whatever 
it takes.'' I remember the first-responder who had just come out of the 
rubble who grabbed me by the arm, and he looked me square in the eye, 
and he said, ``Don't let me down.'' Ever since that day, I wake up every 
morning trying to figure out how

[[Page 2894]]

to better protect our country. I will never relent in defending America, 
whatever it takes.
    Audience members. U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!
    The President. We will continue to use all our Nation's assets to 
protect the American people. We will wage a comprehensive strategy to 
protect you. Perhaps the strongest asset we have is freedom. See, I 
believe in the power of liberty to transform societies. I believe free 
nations do not breed resentments and export terror. Free nations become 
allies in the war on terror. Freedom will help us keep the peace we all 
long for for our children.
    Think about what's happened in the recent history of the world. It 
wasn't all that long ago that young girls couldn't go to school in 
Afghanistan because that country was run by the barbarians called the 
Taliban. And if their mothers didn't toe their line of ideological 
hatred, they would be whipped in the public square and sometimes 
executed in the sports stadium. But because we acted to defend 
ourselves, because we acted to uphold a doctrine which said, ``If you 
harbor a terrorist, you're equally as guilty as the terrorist,'' 
millions of people went to the polls to vote for a President in 
Afghanistan. The first voter was a 19-year-old woman.
    Iraq is a dangerous place today because Iraq is moving toward 
freedom. There will be elections in Iraq in January. And think how far 
that society has come from the days of torture chambers and mass graves. 
Freedom is on the march in this world, and America is more secure 
because of it. Much of our foreign policy is driven by my deep belief 
that everybody yearns to be free. See, 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 a lot is at stake in this election. 
The future safety and prosperity of America are on the ballot. But 
ultimately, this election comes down to who can you trust--who can you 
trust to provide security for your family? Who can you trust to make 
sure this economy continues to grow?
    If you believe that taxes should stay low so families can pay the 
bills and small businesses can create jobs, I ask, come stand with me.
    If you believe in high standards for our public schools, I ask you 
to come stand with me.
    If you believe that patients and doctors should be in charge of the 
health care, I ask you to come stand with me.
    If you believe this Nation must honor the commitments of Medicare 
and strengthen Social Security for generations to come, I ask you, come 
stand with me.
    If you believe 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 that 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.
    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 are a minority citizen and you believe in free enterprise and 
good schools and the enduring values of family and faith, and if you're 
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 President of the United 
States should say what he means and do what he says and keep his word, I 
ask you to come stand with me.
    In 2000, when I campaigned across the State of Ohio and Indiana and 
Kentucky, I made this pledge: I said if I got elected, 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, and thanks for coming. Thank you all.

[[Page 2895]]

Note: The President spoke at 8:07 p.m. at the Great American Ball Park. 
In his remarks, he referred to pro baseball Hall of Famer Johnny Bench; 
Mary Bunning, wife of Senator Jim Bunning; Ohio State Treasurer Joseph 
T. Deters, write-in candidate for county prosecutor, Hamilton County, 
OH; Auditor of State Betty Montgomery of Ohio; pro football Hall of 
Famer Anthony Munoz; Marty Brennaman, broadcaster, Major League Baseball 
Cincinnati Reds; entertainers the Gatlin Brothers and the Wil Gravatt 
Band; and former President Saddam Hussein of Iraq.