[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 32 (Monday, August 9, 2004)]
[Pages 1435-1442]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks in Davenport, Iowa

August 4, 2004

    The President. Thank you all so very much for coming. Thanks for 
having me. It's great to be back here in the Quad Cities area.

[[Page 1436]]

It's a great place to work and raise your family. It's what I would call 
the heart and soul of the country. We have a little difference of 
opinion about the heart and soul--some of them think you can find it in 
Hollywood.
    Audience members. No-o-o!
    The President. I think you find it right here in Davenport, Iowa.
    I'm looking forward to the race. I'm here to ask for your vote and 
ask for your help. Everywhere we're going, the crowds are big, the 
enthusiasm is high, the signs are good. With your help, Dick Cheney and 
I will have 4 more years.
    I regret that Laura is not here to see this significant crowd. She 
is a fabulous First Lady. She is a great mother and a wonderful wife. 
Today I'm going to give you some reasons for you to put me back in 
office, but perhaps the most important reason of all is so that Laura 
will be the First Lady for 4 more years.
    I'm proud to be running with Dick Cheney. I admit he's not the 
prettiest one on the ticket. [Laughter] I didn't pick him for his looks. 
[Laughter] I picked him for his judgment and his experience. Dick Cheney 
is a great Vice President.
    I want to thank my friend Jim Nussle. I appreciate his leadership in 
the United States Congress. He's the budget man. He's looking out after 
your money. He and I understand when we spend money in Washington, it's 
not the Government's money; it's the people's money.
    I appreciate my friend Jim Leach joining us today. What a fine, fine 
citizen of the State of Iowa. I want to thank my friend Tom Latham for 
joining us, the Congressman from the other part of the State. Thanks for 
inviting him here to eastern Iowa. It's good for your Congressmen to get 
a taste for the decency of the folks that live in this part of the 
State.
    I want to thank Chuck Gipp, David Vaudt, all the State officials 
here. I appreciate the mayor coming. Mr. Mayor, we're proud you're here. 
Fill the potholes. [Laughter]
    I want to thank Mayor Freemire of Bettendorf as well. I'm proud 
you're here. I want to thank my friend David Roederer, who is the 
campaign chairman for this great State of Iowa. I appreciate my friend 
Larry Gatlin. We were both raised in west Texas together. I was in 
Midland; he was in Odessa. I can't sing; he can. [Laughter]
    Listen, I want to thank all the grassroots activists who are here. I 
appreciate you coming. I want to thank you for what you are going to do, 
which is to register the voters. We have a duty in this country to vote. 
Make sure you register people. Don't worry about what party they're in; 
we want everybody voting in America. However, now when you're convincing 
them who to vote for, don't overlook discerning Democrats and wise 
independents. [Laughter] When you get them headed toward the poll, nudge 
them our way. I'm counting on your help, and together we're going to win 
not only Iowa, but it's going to be a great victory in November 
nationwide. We were close in Iowa last time--not this time; we're going 
to carry it.
    Every incumbent who's asking for the vote has to answer a question 
why--why should the American people give me the great privilege of 
serving as your President for 4 more years? In the past years we've been 
through a lot together. We've been through a whole lot together, and 
we've accomplished a great deal. But there's only one reason to look 
backward at the record, and that is to determine who best to lead our 
Nation forward.
    I'm asking for your vote because so much is at stake. We have more 
to do. We must work to move America forward. I want to be your President 
for 4 more years to make our country safer.
    Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
    The President. I want to be your President for 4 more years to make 
our economy stronger. I want to be your President for 4 more years to 
make our future brighter and better for every one of our citizens. From 
creating jobs to improving schools, from fighting terror to spreading 
the peace, we have made much progress, and there is still more to do.
    We have more to do to make our public schools the centers of 
excellence we know that they can be, so that no child is left behind in 
this country. When we came to office 3\1/2\ years ago, too many children 
were being shuffled from grade to grade, year after year,

[[Page 1437]]

without learning the basics. So we've challenged the soft bigotry of low 
expectations. We've raised the bar. We believe in accountability. We 
believe in making sure local folks are in charge of public schools. We 
believe in empowering parents. And today, children across America are 
showing real progress in reading and math. When it comes to improving 
America's public schools, we're turning the corner, and we're not 
turning back.
    Listen, we've got more to do. The world we're in is changing. The 
jobs of the future will require greater knowledge and a higher-level 
skills, so we've got to reform our high schools to make sure a high 
school diploma means something. We're going to expand math and science 
so young people can compete in our high-tech world. We will expand the 
use of the Internet to bring high-level training into classrooms. With 4 
more years, we will help a rising generation gain the skills and 
confidence they need to realize the American Dream.
    We have more to do to make quality health care available and 
affordable. When we came to office, too many older Americans could not 
afford prescription drugs, and Medicare didn't pay for them. Leaders in 
both political parties for years had promised prescription drug coverage 
for our seniors; we got it done. Already, more than 4 million seniors 
have signed up for drug discount cards that provide real savings. 
Beginning in 2006, all seniors on Medicare will be able to choose a plan 
that suits their needs and gives them coverage for prescription drugs.
    I remember campaigning with Nussle and Leach and Latham and your 
fine United States Senator, Charles Grassley. I said, ``We're going to 
strengthen Medicare to make sure rural hospitals in Iowa get the help 
they need,'' so we provided more funds to hospitals healing--handling a 
low volume of patients. We've increased payments for ambulance providers 
and suppliers in rural areas. We're giving better bonuses to physicians, 
so we can keep good doctors practicing in rural America. In other words, 
we delivered on our promise to the people of Iowa. The other folks talk 
a good game; we deliver.
    To help people get access to quality care, we've expanded community 
health centers for low-income Americans. We've created health savings 
accounts so families can save, tax-free, for their own health care 
needs. When it comes to giving Americans more choices about their health 
care and making health care more affordable, we're moving America 
forward, and we're not going to turn back.
    This world is changing. Most Americans get their health care 
coverage through their work. Most of today's new jobs are created by 
small businesses, which too often cannot afford to provide health 
coverage. To help more American families get health insurance, we must 
allow small employers to join together to purchase insurance at the 
discounts available to big companies.
    To improve health care, we must end the frivolous lawsuits that 
raise health care costs and drive doctors out of medicine. You cannot be 
pro-patient and pro-doctor and pro-trial-lawyer at the same time. You 
have to choose. My opponent made his choice, and he put him on the 
ticket. [Laughter] I made my choice: I will continue to work with 
Congress to pass medical liability reform for the patients of America.
    We can do more to harness technology to reduce costs and prevent 
health care mistakes. We can do more to expand research and seek new 
cures for terrible diseases. And in all we do to improve health care in 
America, we'll make sure the health decisions are made by doctors and 
patients, not by bureaucrats in Washington, DC.
    We have more to do to make our economy stronger. Listen, we've come 
through a recession and terror attacks and corporate scandals and a 
stock market decline. We overcame these obstacles because of the hard 
work of Iowa's small-business people, because we've got the best workers 
in the world. We've overcome these obstacles because we've got the best 
farmers in the world.
    And we've overcome these obstacles because of well-timed tax relief 
for the American people. Listen, we didn't pick winners and losers when 
it came to tax relief. We gave tax relief to every American who pays 
Federal income taxes. We gave tax relief for families with children. We 
gave tax relief for married couples. What kind of Tax Code is it that 
penalizes marriage? It's a Tax Code that needs to be changed. We gave 
tax relief

[[Page 1438]]

for every small business that purchases equipment. And this time, the 
check really was in the mail.
    Because we acted, our economy since last summer has grown at a rate 
as fast as any in nearly 20 years. Because we acted, America has added 
more than 1.5 million new jobs since last August. Because we acted, Iowa 
has added more than 11,000 jobs over the past year. Because we acted, 
Iowa's unemployment rate now is 4.3 percent. When it comes to creating 
jobs for American workers, we are turning the corner, and we're not 
going back.
    We worked to strengthen our farmers and ranchers. We passed a good 
farm bill; I was proud to sign it. We phased out the death tax so 
America's family farmers can stay in the family. We've opened up foreign 
markets for Iowa's and Illinois farmers. You see, if you're good at 
something, you ought to have the opportunity to sell that which you're 
good at around the world.
    Listen, this country needs an energy strategy. We must become less 
dependent on foreign sources of energy if we want to keep jobs here in 
America. And one way to become less dependent on foreign sources of 
energy is to promote alternative sources of fuel like biodiesel and 
ethanol. I told the people of this State when I was running in 2000, I 
support ethanol. I have kept my promise to Iowa's farmers. In the last 3 
years, America's farmers have posted record net-cash farm income--
record--record exports, record farm equity and land values. I have made 
the success of America's farmers and ranchers a priority, and America is 
better off for it.
    To keep jobs in America, regulations need to be reasonable and fair. 
To keep jobs in America, we must end the junk lawsuits which threaten 
our small businesses. To keep jobs in America, we will not overspend 
your money, and we will keep your taxes low. To keep jobs in America, we 
will offer our workers a lifetime of learning and to make sure they get 
training for the jobs of the future, at our community colleges. The 
education and training community colleges offer can be the bridge 
between people's lives as they are and people's lives as they want them 
to be.
    And we're going to make sure America's families keep more of 
something they never have enough of, and that is time--time to be with 
your kids, time to take care of your parents, time to go to class to 
improve yourselves. Congress needs to work with the administration to 
enact comp-time and flex-time to help America's families better juggle 
their home needs and their work needs.
    What I'm telling you is, after 4 more years, the economy will be 
better, more small-business owners will be in America, better and higher 
paying jobs will exist here, and our farmers will be able to put 
something aside for the future generations.
    We have more to do to wage and win the war against terror. America's 
future depends on our willingness to lead in this world. If America 
shows uncertainty and weakness in this decade, the world will drift 
toward tragedy. This is not going to happen on my watch.
    Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
    The President. The world changed on a terrible September morning, 
and since that day, we have changed the world. Before September the 
11th, Afghanistan served as the home base for Al Qaida, which trained 
and deployed thousands of killers to set up terror cells in dozens of 
countries, including our own. Today, Afghanistan is a rising democracy. 
Afghanistan is a place where many young girls now go to school for the 
first time. Afghanistan is an ally in the war against terror, and 
America and the world are safer.
    Before September the 11th, Pakistan was a safe transit point for 
terrorists. Today, Pakistan is an ally in the war on terror. Pakistani 
forces are aggressively helping to round up the terrorists. America and 
the world are safer.
    In Saudi Arabia, before September the 11th, terrorists were raising 
money and recruiting and operating with little opposition. Today, the 
Saudi Government is taking the fight to Al Qaida. America and the world 
are safer.
    Before September the 11th, Libya was spending millions to acquire 
weapons of mass destruction. Today, because America and our allies have 
sent a strong and clear message, the leader of Libya has abandoned his 
pursuit

[[Page 1439]]

of weapons of mass destruction, and America and the world are safer.
    Before September the 11th, the ruler of Iraq was a sworn enemy of 
America. He was defying the world. He was firing weapons at American 
pilots enforcing the world's sanctions. He had pursued and used weapons 
of mass destruction against his own people. He had harbored terrorists. 
He invaded his neighbors. He subsidized families of suicide bombers. He 
had murdered tens of thousands of his own citizens. He was a source of 
great instability in a volatile part of the world.
    After September the 11th, we looked at all the threats in a new 
light. One of the lessons of September the 11th is, this country must 
take threats seriously before they fully materialize. The September the 
11th Commission concluded that our institutions of Government had failed 
to imagine the horror of that day.
    After September the 11th, we could not fail to imagine that a brutal 
tyrant who hated America, had ties to terror, had used weapons of mass 
destruction might use those weapons or share his deadly capabilities 
with our enemies. We saw a threat. The United States Congress--members 
of both political parties, including my opponent--looked at the same 
intelligence and saw a threat to America. The United Nations looked at 
the same intelligence, and it saw a threat and unanimously demanded a 
full accounting of Saddam Hussein's weapons and weapons programs or face 
serious consequences. That's what the free world demanded.
    After 12 years of defiance, the tyrant refused to comply. He 
continued to deceive the world. He deceived the weapons inspectors that 
the world had sent into Iraq. Now, I had a choice to make: Do I forget 
the lessons of September the 11th and trust a madman----
    Audience members. No-o-o!
    The President. ----or do I take action to defend America? Given that 
choice, I will defend our country.
    Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
    The President. Because the dictator sits in a prison cell, the 
people of Iraq are better off. America and the world are safer.
    When it comes to fighting the threats of our world, when it comes to 
making America safer, when it comes to spreading peace, we're moving 
forward, and we're not turning back.
    We've got more to do. I'm running for 4 more years because we've got 
more to do. We must continue to work with our friends and allies around 
the world to aggressively pursue the terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan 
and elsewhere. See, you can't talk sense to the terrorists.
    Audience members. No-o-o!
    The President. You cannot negotiate with them.
    Audience members. No-o-o!
    The President. You cannot hope for the best. We must engage the 
enemies around the world so we do not have to face them here at home.
    America will continue to lead the world with confidence and moral 
clarity. We put together a strong coalition to help us defeat terror, 
and that's necessary. Over 60 nations are involved with the 
Proliferation Security Initiative. Nearly 40 nations are involved in 
Afghanistan. Some 30 nations are involved in Iraq. We will continue to 
build our alliances. We will continue to work with our friends for the 
cause of security and peace. But I will never turn over America's 
national security decisions to leaders of other countries.
    We will keep our commitments to help Afghanistan and Iraq become 
peaceful, democratic societies. These two nations are now governed by 
strong leaders, people who want the boys and girls of their respective 
countries to grow up in peace. They know what we know in America: Moms 
and dads long for a peaceful society; they long for their children to be 
able to be educated and realize their dreams. The people of these 
countries are stepping up, providing security for their own people. 
After years of brutality, they see a glimmer of hope, a chance to live 
in a free society. And these people can count on our help and the help 
of our coalition.
    You see, when we acted to protect our own security, we also promised 
to help deliver

[[Page 1440]]

them from tyranny, to restore their sovereignty, to help set them on the 
path to liberty. And when America gives its word, America will keep its 
word.
    In these crucial times, our commitments are kept by the men and 
women of our military. At bases across our country and the world, I've 
had the privilege of meeting with those who defend our country and 
sacrifice for our security. I've seen their great decency and their 
unselfish courage. The cause of freedom is in really good hands.
    And our men and women in uniform deserve the full support of our 
Government. Last September, while our troops were in combat in both 
Afghanistan and Iraq, I proposed supplemental funding to support our 
military and its mission. This legislation provided funding for body 
armor and vital equipment, hazard pay, health benefits, ammunition, 
fuel, and spare parts for our military. In the Senate, only a small, 
out-of-the-mainstream minority of 12 voted against the legislation. Two 
of those twelve Senators are my opponent and his runningmate.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. Here's how my opponent tried to explain his vote. He 
said, ``I actually did vote for the $87 billion, before I voted against 
it.'' [Laughter] End quote. [Laughter] Then he went on to say, he was 
proud that he and his runningmate voted against it, and he further said 
the whole thing is a complicated matter. There is nothing complicated 
about supporting our troops in combat.
    In the long run, our security is not guaranteed by force alone. We 
must work to change the conditions that give rise to terror--that's 
poverty and hopelessness and resentment. A free and peaceful Iraq and a 
free and peaceful Afghanistan will be a powerful example to their 
neighbors in a part of the world that is desperate for freedom.
    Free countries do not export terror. Free countries listen to the 
dreams and aspirations of their citizens. By serving the ideal of 
liberty, we're bringing hope to others, and that makes America more 
secure. By serving the ideal of liberty, we're making the world a more 
peaceful place. By serving the ideal of liberty, we serve the deepest 
ideals of our country. Freedom is not America's gift to the world; 
freedom is the Almighty God's gift to each man and woman in this world.
    We have more to do to protect us. Enemies who hate us are still 
plotting to harm us. Those who claim that America's war on terror is to 
blame for terror threats against the United States have a fundamental 
misunderstanding of the nature of the enemy. See, the 9/11 Commission 
said something wise: Our homeland is safer, but we are not yet safe.
    Beginning immediately after September the 11th, we've started the 
hard process of reform. We transformed our defenses. We've created a new 
Department of Homeland Security. We passed the PATRIOT Act to give law 
enforcement the tools they need to help make America more secure. The 
mission of the FBI is now focused on preventing terror. We're 
integrating intelligence and law enforcement better than we ever have 
before. We've taken action on a large majority of the Commission's 
recommendations.
    We have more to do to better secure our ports and borders, to train 
first-responders, to dramatically improve our intelligence-gathering 
capability. That's why this week I called on Congress to create a 
position of National Intelligence Director, so that one person is in 
charge of coordinating all our intelligence efforts overseas and here at 
home.
    These reforms are not going to be easy. I understand that. You see, 
reform is never easy in Washington. [Laughter] There's a lot of 
entrenched interests there. People don't like to have the status quo 
challenged. It's not enough, though, to advocate reform; you have to be 
able to get it done.
    And we're getting it done on behalf of the people of this country. 
When it comes to reforming schools to provide an excellent education for 
all our children, results matter. When it comes to health care reforms 
that give families more access and more choices, results matter. When it 
comes to improving our economy and creating quality jobs, results 
matter. When it comes to a strong farm economy, results matter. When it 
comes to better securing our homeland, fighting the forces of terror, 
and promoting the peace, results matter. When it comes to electing a 
President, results matter.

[[Page 1441]]

    Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
    The President. No, there's a lot of big talkers in the Nation's 
Capital. We just like to be known as the people who can get the job 
done. We're living in a time of great change. And it's an exciting 
time--it really is--to be an American. We got to make sure Government 
responds to these times by standing side by side with people, side by 
side with our workers, and side by side with our families.
    The best way to do so, in my judgment, is to encourage people to own 
something, to encourage people to own their own homes. Listen, the 
homeownership rate in America is at an alltime high, and that's good 
news for our country. We want our workers to be able to own their own 
health care accounts so they can take them from job to job. We want 
younger workers to be able to own a Social Security personal retirement 
account that they can call their own and pass on from one generation to 
the next. We want people owning their own farm and their own small 
business. See, we understand when you own something, you have a vital 
stake in the future of this country.
    The world is--times have changed, but some things are not going to 
change. Our belief in liberty will not change. Our belief in the 
nonnegotiable demands of human dignity will not change. Our desire to 
make sure opportunity, the great American experience, is spread 
throughout every corner of this country, will not change. The individual 
values we try to live by won't change, courage and compassion, reverence 
and integrity. The institutions that give us direction and purpose are 
important, our families, our schools, our religious congregation. They 
are so important and so fundamental; they deserve the respect of 
Government.
    We stand for things. We stand for something. We stand for 
institutions like marriage and family, which are the foundations of our 
society. We stand for a culture of life in which every person matters 
and every person counts. We stand for judges who faithfully interpret 
the law instead of legislating from the bench.
    And we stand for a culture of responsibility in America. This 
culture of ours is changing from one that has said, ``If it feels good, 
do it,'' and ``If you've got a problem, blame somebody else,'' to a 
culture in which each of us understands we're responsible for the 
decisions we make in life. If you're fortunate enough to be a mother or 
a father, you are responsible for loving your child with all your heart 
and all your soul. If you're worried about the quality of the education 
in the community in which you live, you are responsible for doing 
something about it. If you are a CEO in corporate America, you're 
responsible for telling the truth to your shareholders and your 
employees. And in a responsibility society, each of us is responsible 
for loving our neighbor just like we'd like to be loved ourself.
    Listen, the strength of this country is not our military. The 
strength of this country is not our wallets. The strength of this 
country is the heart and soul of the American people.
    I want to be your President for 4 more years so we can continue to 
rally the armies of compassion, so we can help change America one heart, 
one soul, one conscience at a time.
    For all Americans, these years in our history will always stand 
apart. There are quiet times in the life of a nation when little is 
expected of its leaders. This isn't one of those times. It's a time that 
requires strength and firm resolve. This is a time that requires courage 
and our willingness to lead.
    Audience member. That's why we love you!
    The President. None of us will ever forget that era--that week when 
one era ended and another one began. On September the 14th, 2001, I 
stood in the ruins of the Twin Towers. It's a day I will never forget. 
There were workers in hardhats yelling at me, ``Whatever it takes.'' A 
guy grabbed me by the arm. He had tears in his eyes; he was exhausted 
from searching through the rubble to find his friend. He said, ``Do not 
let me down.''
    He took it personally. The people searching through the rubble took 
that day personally. You took it personally, and so did I. I wake up 
every morning thinking about how to better protect our people. I will 
never relent in defending America, whatever it takes.
    Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!

[[Page 1442]]

    The President. No, we've come through much together. We've done hard 
work. During the next 4 years, we will spread ownership and opportunity 
all throughout our land. We'll pass the enduring values of our country 
to another generation. And during the next 4 years, we'll continue to 
lead in the cause of freedom so the world will be a more peaceful place.
    You know, 4 years ago I traveled your great State asking for the 
vote, and I made a pledge that if you honored me with this great 
responsibility, I would uphold the dignity and the honor of the office 
to which I had been elected, so help me God. And with your help, I will 
do so during the next 4 years.
    May God bless you. Thanks for coming. Thank you all.

Note: The President spoke at 11:27 a.m. at LeClaire Park and Bandshell. 
In his remarks, he referred to Iowa State Representative Chuck Gipp; 
Iowa State Auditor David A. Vaudt; Mayor Charles W. Brooke of Davenport, 
IA; Mayor Michael J. Freemire of Bettendorf, IA; country music 
entertainer Larry Gatlin; Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-Qadhafi, leader of 
Libya; former President Saddam Hussein of Iraq; and the National 
Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (9/11 
Commission).