[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book III)]
[November 1, 2004]
[Pages 2924-2930]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks in Albuquerque, New Mexico
November 1, 2004

    The President. Thank you all. Thank you all for coming. We're coming 
down the stretch, and there's no better place to come than Albuquerque, 
New Mexico. We are honored you've come out tonight. Thanks for being 
here. Laura and I are so thrilled that so many 
have come out to say hello. You're lifting our spirits.

[[Page 2925]]

    And we are here to ask for your vote and to ask for your help. 
Tomorrow is voting day, and I'm asking you to get your friends and 
neighbors to go to the polls. Turn out our fellow Republicans, wise 
independents, and discerning Democrats. And tell them, if they want a 
safer America and a stronger America and a better America, to put me and 
Dick Cheney back in office.
    Perhaps the most important reason to put me back in is so that 
Laura will be First Lady for 4 more years. And 
there's no better way to come down the stretch with two women I love, 
our twins, Barbara and Jenna.
    I'm proud of my runningmate, Dick Cheney. I 
readily concede he does not have the waviest hair in the race. 
[Laughter] You all will be pleased I didn't pick him because of his 
hairdo. [Laughter] I picked him because of his experience. I picked him 
because of his judgment.
    I'm really proud of your Senator, Pete Domenici. What a fantastic man. He's as good as they come in public 
service. He does a fabulous job for New Mexico, and like me, he married 
well when he married Nancy.
    I'm also proud to know a fantastic Congresswoman in Heather 
Wilson. I want to thank Heather's husband, 
Jay, for joining us today. I can't tell you how 
important it is to send Heather Wilson back to the United States 
Congress.
    It is such an honor to be here with Little Texas and Ricochet. Thank 
you all for playing. I want to thank my friend Bob Martinez of the New Mexico Fraternal Order of Police. I was so 
proud to get the endorsement of the FOP across this country. Thank you 
for coming, Bob.
    I want to thank Allen and John and Ken and all the grassroots 
activists who are here. I want to thank you for putting up the signs. I 
want to thank you for making the phone calls. Con su apoyo, vamos a 
ganar. Tomorrow we're going to carry New Mexico.
    Audience members. Viva Bush! Viva Bush! Viva Bush!
    The President. Thank you. I feel so incredibly optimistic about the 
future of our country. I see a brighter and more hopeful day for every 
American. One of my favorite sayings comes from a fellow Texan named Tom 
Lea. He was from El Paso, right across the line, I might add. 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.'' During the course of this campaign, 
my opponent has spent much of the time talking 
about the day that is gone. I'm talking about the day that's coming.
    I see a great day coming for this country, a day where prosperity 
reaches every corner of America, a day when every child is able to read 
and write and add and subtract, a day in which this world becomes more 
free and so we're able to achieve the peace we want for our children and 
our grandchildren. Tomorrow the people of America have a chance to bring 
that better day by voting for strong, confident, optimistic leadership, 
by voting Bush-Cheney.
    Audience members. We want Bush! We want Bush! We want Bush!
    The President. The American President must lead with clarity and 
purpose. The role of a President is not to follow the path of the latest 
polls. The role of the President is to lead based upon principle and 
conviction and conscience. During these 4 years, I have learned that 
whatever your strengths are, you are going to need them; whatever your 
shortcomings are, the people are going to notice them. Sometimes, I am a 
little too blunt. I get that from my mother. 
Sometimes I mangle the English language. [Laughter] I get that from my 
dad. But all times, whether you agree with 
me or not, you know where I stand, what I believe.
    This election comes down to five vital issues for our families. The 
first clear choice concerns your family's budget.

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When I ran for President 4 years ago, I pledged to lower taxes for 
America's families. I kept my word. As a result of our good policies, 
our economy is growing at rates as fast as any in nearly 20 years. We've 
added 1.9 million new jobs in the last 13 months. Our farmers and our 
ranchers are making a living. The entrepreneurial spirit is strong in 
America. Small businesses are flourishing. Homeownership rates are 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, which 
is lower than the average rate of the 1970s, the 1980s, and the 1990s. 
And the unemployment rate in New Mexico is 5.3 percent. This economy is 
strong, and it is getting stronger.
    My opponent has got plans for your family 
budget, and that's to take a big chunk out of it.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. He's been in the Senate for 
20 years, and he's voted to raise taxes 98 times.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. That's nearly five times every year he's been in the Senate. I would call that a predictable 
pattern. I'd call that a leading indicator. And when you couple that 
with the fact that he's promised to raise $2.2 trillion--he said he's 
going to pay for it by raising the--by taxing the rich. You can't raise 
enough money by running up the top two brackets to pay for 2.2 trillion. 
You raise about 6 to 800 billion. That's way short of what he has 
promised. I would call that a tax gap. [Laughter] And given his record, 
guess who's going to have to fill that tax gap.
    Audience members. We are!
    The President. You are. The good news is, we're going to carry New 
Mexico tomorrow and win.
    The second clear choice in this election involves the quality of 
life for our families. Every school must teach, and I believe every 
child can learn. I went to Washington to challenge the soft bigotry of 
low expectations and reform our public schools. I kept my word. We're 
raising standards. We're raising standards. Math and reading scores are 
on the rise. We're closing the achievement gap by helping minority 
children. In a new term, we'll build on these reforms and extend them to 
our high schools so that no child is left behind in America.
     We will work to make sure our families have got good health care by 
making health care more affordable and available. We'll expand health 
savings accounts. We'll allow small businesses to join together so they 
can buy insurance at the same discounts that big companies are able to 
do. We will help our families in need, and we will do something about 
these junk lawsuits that are running up the cost of health care and 
running good docs out of practice.
    We have got a national problem when it comes to these lawsuits. I 
have met too many ob-gyns during the course of this campaign who have 
had to quit practice because their premiums are too high as a result of 
lawsuits. I have met too many expectant moms who are desperately worried 
about whether they're not going to get the health care they need. See, 
you can't be pro-doctor, pro-patient, and pro-personal-injury-trial-
lawyer at the same time. My opponent veto--
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 am standing with the patients of New Mexico and the 
doctors of New Mexico. I'm standing for medical liability reform--now.
    My opponent's got an idea about health 
care. You might remember one of the debates when he said that the 
Government didn't have anything to do with his plan. I could barely 
contain myself. [Laughter] The Government has got a lot to do with it. 
Eight out of ten people end up on the Federal plan under his vision, and 
that is the wrong prescription for American families. In all we do to 
reform health care,

[[Page 2927]]

we will make sure the decisions are made by doctors and patients, not by 
officials in Washington, DC.
    The third clear choice in this election involves your retirement. We 
have made a solemn commitment to America's seniors on Social Security 
and Medicare. And when I ran for President 4 years ago, I promised to 
keep that commitment and improve Medicare by adding prescription drugs 
for our seniors, and I kept my word. Beginning in 2006, all seniors will 
be able to get prescription drug coverage under Medicare.
     And I have kept the word on Social Security. I remember those 
campaigns when they said, ``If George W. gets elected, you're not going 
to get your checks.'' Well, I got elected, and our seniors got their 
checks. And they will continue to get their checks.
    But we need to do something about the youngsters. We need to do 
something about Social Security--reforming Social Security for our 
children and our grandchildren. That's why I'm for personal savings 
accounts. I believe younger workers ought to take some of their own 
payroll taxes and set up a personal savings account that will earn a 
better rate of return, a personal savings 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 generations and future 
Presidents. In a new term, I'll bring people together to make sure 
Social Security is sound and secure for generations 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. I proudly signed 
the ban on partial-birth abortions. And I stand for the appointment of 
Federal judges who know the difference between personal opinion and the 
strict interpretation of the law.
    My opponent has a different opinion. He 
was part of an extreme minority that voted against the Defense of 
Marriage Act that President Clinton 
signed into law. He voted against the ban on partial-birth abortion.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. There is a mainstream in American politics, and John 
Kerry sits on the far left bank. He can run 
from his 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 our 
country shows any uncertainty or weakness in this decade, the world will 
drift toward tragedy. This is not going to happen on my watch.
    Our strategy is clear. We have strengthened protections for the 
homeland. We're reforming and strengthening our intelligence 
capabilities. We are transforming our military. There will be no draft. 
The All-Volunteer Army will remain an all-volunteer army. We are 
resolute. We are determined. We are staying on the offensive. We are 
fighting the terrorists abroad so we do not have to face them here at 
home.
    And we are succeeding. Afghanistan 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 defending freedom. Al Qaida no longer has training camps in 
Afghanistan. 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 that 
we're on their trails.
    And one reason we're succeeding is we've got a fantastic military, 
and I want to thank those who wear our Nation's uniform for your 
service. And I thank the military families who are here tonight, and 
thank you for your service to our country.

[[Page 2928]]

And I thank the veterans who are here, who have set such a great example 
for those who wear the uniform. And I want to assure you all, we'll keep 
our commitment I have made to our troops and their families they will 
have that which is necessary to complete their missions.
    That's why I went to the United States Congress and asked for $87 
billion in supplemental funding to support our troops in combat. It was 
an important piece of legislation, and we got widespread support. As a 
matter of fact, Senator Kerry, on national TV, 
at one time said, ``It would be irresponsible to vote against the 
funding for our troops.'' And then his poll numbers went down, and he 
did the irresponsible thing. He voted against the funding.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. And then he entered the 
flip-flop hall of fame. And as he entered the hall of fame, he said 
this: ``I actually did vote for the 87 billion, before I voted against 
it.''
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. I have spent a lot of time in New Mexico, and I've 
never heard a person talk that way. [Laughter] He's given a lot of reasons why he voted the way he did, but 
the most telling of all was when he said, ``The whole thing was a 
complicated matter.'' [Laughter] There's nothing complicated about 
supporting our troops in combat.
    We have a difference of opinion when it comes to protecting the 
homeland. My opponent believes that America 
must submit to what he calls a ``global test'' before we commit troops.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. I'm not making that up. [Laughter] He actually said that. I was standing pretty close to him 
when he did. [Laughter] As far as I can tell, that ``global test'' means 
that America must get permission before we defend ourselves. Listen, 
I'll work with our allies. I will strengthen our alliances. But I will 
never turn over America's national security decisions to leaders of 
other countries.
    Recently, my opponent said that September 
the 11th did not change him much at all.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. September the 11th changed me, and it changed my 
outlook on how to defend this country. I will never forget standing in 
the ruins of the Twin Towers on September the 14th, 2001. There were 
workers in hardhats there yelling at me at the top of their lungs, 
``Whatever it takes.'' I remember the person that came out, had been in 
the rubble, and he grabbed me by the arm. He looked me in the eye, and 
he said, ``Do not let me down.'' Ever since that day, I wake up every 
morning trying to figure out how 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. During the next 4 years, we'll wage a comprehensive 
strategy to defend our country, and we will use every asset at our 
disposal. And one of the most powerful assets we have is freedom. Free 
nations do not breed resentment. Free nations do not export terror. Free 
nations become allies in the war against terror. By spreading freedom, 
we help keep the peace. I believe in the power of liberty to transform 
societies.
    I want the younger folks here to realize what has taken place in a 
brief period of time. Think about what's taken place in the last 3\1/2\ 
years of your life. Take Afghanistan. Afghanistan used to be the home 
base of Al Qaida, where they could train. Young girls could not go to 
school in that country because the Taliban were so backward and 
barbaric. And if their mothers did not toe their line of ideological 
hatred, they were taken into the public squares and whipped and 
sometimes executed in a sports stadium. But because we acted to

[[Page 2929]]

defend ourselves, because we acted to uphold a doctrine that I declared 
which said, ``If you harbor a terrorist, you are equally as guilty as 
the terrorist,'' millions of people in Afghanistan--because we upheld 
that doctrine, millions of people in Afghanistan voted in a Presidential 
election. And the first voter was a 19-year-old woman. Think about that. Freedom is on the march, and we're 
safer because of it.
    Iraq is still dangerous. It is dangerous because that society is 
becoming more free and heading toward democracy. And think about how far 
that country has come since the days of a rule of a brutal 
tyrant who had torture chambers and mass 
graves, who used weapons of mass destruction on his own people. Freedom 
is on the march, and the world is better off for it.
    I believe that everybody yearns to be free. I believe that mothers 
and dads want to raise their children in a free society. I believe all 
this not because freedom is 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. The truth 
of the matter is this election ultimately comes down to who you can 
trust. Who can you trust to make this country secure? Who can you trust 
to make this society a more hopeful place?
    If you believe that taxes should stay low so families can pay the 
bills and small businesses can continue to create jobs, I ask you to 
come stand with me. If you believe in high standards for public schools, 
I ask you to come stand with me. If you believe patients and doctors 
should be in charge of health care, I ask you, come stand with me. If 
you believe that this Nation must honor the commitments of Medicare and 
strengthen Social Security for generations to come, I ask you to 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.
    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 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 President of the United States 
should say what he means and does what he says--do what he says and 
keeps his word, I ask you to come stand with me.
    Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
    The President. When I traveled your great State 4 years ago, I made 
this pledge, that 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, we're going to win tomorrow, and I will carry that honor 
and dignity for 4 more years.
    God bless, and thank you for coming. Thank you all.

Note: The President spoke at 6:55 p.m. at the Journal Pavilion. In his 
remarks, he referred to Nancy Domenici, wife of Senator Pete Domenici; 
Jay Hone, husband of Representative Heather Wilson; Bob Martinez, State 
president, New Mexico Fraternal Order of Police; Col. Allen Weh, USMC 
(Ret.), chairman, New Mexico Republican Party; John Sanchez, southwest 
regional chairman, Bush-Cheney '04, Inc.; and Ken Zangara, New Mexico 
State chairman, Bush-Cheney '04, Inc., and chairman, Bernalillo County 
Republican Party.

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