[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 37 (Monday, September 13, 2004)]
[Pages 1863-1869]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks in Lee's Summit, Missouri

September 7, 2004

    The President. Thanks for coming.
    Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
    The President. Thank you all very much for coming this morning. 
We're starting a bus trip here in your important State, and a great 
place to start right here in Lee's Summit. I appreciate you coming out.
    And I want to thank the good folks here at Lee's Summit High for 
opening up this beautiful facility. I want to thank Tony Stansberry, who 
is the superintendent, and John Faulkenberry, who is the principal. I 
want to thank all the teachers who are here for teaching. I want to 
thank the students who are here. Listen, study more than you watch TV.
    Thanks for coming out to say hello. I'm here to ask for your vote. I 
think you've got to get out amongst the people and give them a reason 
why, and that's what I'm here to do today and to ask for that vote. We 
carried Missouri last time, and with your help, we'll carry it this 
time.
    I'm sorry Laura is not with me today.
    Audience members. Aw-w-w!
    The President. Yes, I know. [Laughter] When I asked her to marry me, 
she said, ``Fine, I will, so long as I don't ever have to give a 
political speech.'' [Laughter] I said, ``Okay.'' [Laughter] Fortunately, 
she didn't hold me to the promise. She did a magnificent job last week 
in New York City. I'm not surprised. She's a great person, a wonderful 
wife, great mom. I'm going to give you some reasons to put me back in, 
but perhaps the most important one of all is so that Laura has 4 more 
years as the First Lady.
    I appreciate my runningmate, Dick Cheney. He's a fine guy. I admit 
he doesn't have the prettiest hairdo in the race. [Laughter] I didn't 
pick him for his hair. [Laughter] I picked him because he can get the 
job done.
    I want to thank my friend Kit Bond, the United States Senator from 
the State of Missouri, for his leadership. Put him back in there for 6 
more years. Reelect this good man. And he's working with a good fellow 
in Jim Talent, the other United States Senator from Missouri. I really 
appreciate working with him. I also appreciate working with Congressman 
Sam Graves, who is with us today.
    I wish Jeanne Patterson all the best in her run for the United 
States Congress. Chris Byrd is here. Madame Mayor is with us today, 
Mayor Karen Messerli. I appreciate her coming. Madame Mayor, I'm honored 
you're here. Thanks for taking time to be here today. Appreciate your 
support. Fill the potholes. [Laughter] I want to thank Mark Wills for 
being here, the country and western singer.

[[Page 1864]]

    I want to thank all the grassroots activists who are here. These are 
the people who are out putting up the signs and making the phone calls 
and registering the voters. I particularly urge you to register people 
to vote over the next weeks. See, it's really important in this country 
to vote. I want the high school kids who are here to understand, if you 
live in a free country, I believe you need to vote. I believe you need 
to participate. So make sure you go register to vote, and I want to 
thank the people here who are registering people to vote.
    And when you register people to vote, remember that example Zell 
Miller set the other night. There are plenty of Democrats who are coming 
our way, plenty of people who understand if you put Dick Cheney and me 
back in office, this country will be safer, stronger, and better for 
every American.
    I'm looking forward to this campaign. I'm looking forward to 
continuing to travel your State and all across the country. I'm going to 
tell people where I stand, what I believe, and where I'll lead this 
country.
    I believe every child can learn and every school must teach. That's 
why we've raised the standards. That's why we believe we ought to 
measure early and correct problems before they're too late. That's why I 
believe we ought to stop this practice of just shuffling kids through 
school whether they can read or write or not. We're closing the 
achievement gap here in America, and we're not turning back.
    I believe we have a moral responsibility to honor our seniors with 
good health care. When I got elected, I told the people that I'd try to 
strengthen Medicare. See, the old system was working fine for a while, 
but medicine changed and Medicare didn't. For example, they pay about 
$100,000 for heart surgery but not the prescription drugs necessary to 
prevent the heart surgery from happening. That didn't make sense for our 
seniors, and it certainly doesn't make sense for our taxpayers. So I led 
the United States Congress. We strengthened Medicare. We're helping our 
seniors, and we're not turning back.
    I believe in the energy, innovation, and spirit of America's workers 
and small-business owners, farmers and ranchers. And that is why we 
unleashed that spirit with the largest tax cut in a generation. We've 
overcome a lot. You know, I like to say this economy is strong and 
getting stronger. I say so because I know where we have come from. We've 
endured a recession, corporate scandals, a terrorist attack. And yet, 
this economy is growing. It's growing because our workers are great. 
It's growing because the small-business sector of America is strong. 
It's growing because our economic stimulus plan is working.
    Last Friday, the jobs report for August showed we added 144,000 new 
jobs. That's 1.7 million over the last 12 months. The national 
unemployment rate is 5.4 percent. That's fully a point below the peak 
last summer. It is lower than the average rate of the 1970s, 1980s, and 
1990s.
    I believe a President must confront problems, not pass them on to 
future Presidents and future generations. I believe the most solemn duty 
of the American President is to protect the American people. If America 
shows weakness or uncertainty in this decade, the world will drift 
toward tragedy. This will not happen on my watch.
    Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
    The President. I'm running for President with a clear and positive 
plan to build a safer world and a more hopeful America. I'm running with 
a compassionate conservative philosophy that Government should help 
people improve their lives, not try to run their lives. And I believe 
this Nation wants steady, consistent, principled leadership, and that is 
why, with your help, we're going to win a great victory in November.
    Listen, the world in which we live and work is a changing world. You 
know, the generation of our dads and granddads was one where the male 
worked outside the home and generally at one job and one career, 
therefore, had one health care plan and one pension plan. This world of 
ours has changed. The workforce has changed. Many women not only work 
inside the home; they work outside the home. And people are changing 
jobs quite frequently here in America, and they're changing careers.
    Yet the most fundamental systems, the Tax Code and health coverage 
and pension plans

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and worker training, were created for the world of yesterday, not the 
world of tomorrow. We're going to transform those systems. We will 
change those systems so all citizens are equipped and prepared and thus 
truly free to make your own choices so you can pursue your dreams.
    Any hopeful society must be a society that keeps the economy moving 
forward, and I've got a plan. To create more jobs in America, America 
must be the best place in the world to do business. To create more jobs, 
we must reduce the regulation on our small businesses. To create more 
jobs, we must stop the junk lawsuits that threaten small businesses. The 
cost to our economy of litigation is conservatively estimated to be over 
$230 billion a year.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. Now, listen, I understand my opponent changes 
positions a lot, but for 20 years he's been one of the trial lawyers' 
most reliable allies in the Senate. We have a difference of opinion. 
He's consistently voted against legal reform that would protect workers 
and entrepreneurs. His fellow lawyers have responded with millions of 
dollars in campaign donations. I have another view. I disagree with his 
position. I am for ending junk lawsuits. Personal injury lawyers should 
not get richer at the expense of hard-working Americans.
    To keep jobs here in America, Congress must get my energy plan 
passed. It's a plan that encourages conservation. It's a plan that 
encourages renewables like ethanol and biodiesel. It is a plan that 
encourages clean coal technology. It's a plan that uses our resources 
wisely. It is a plan that makes us less dependent on foreign sources of 
energy.
    In order to keep jobs here, we've got to open up markets for our 
products. See, we open up markets for foreign goods. It's good for you 
we do. When you have more choices to choose from, you're likely to get 
the product you want at a better price and higher quality. But we want 
countries to treat us like we treat them, because America can compete 
with anybody, anytime, anywhere so long as the playing field is level.
    In order to keep jobs here, in order to make sure people can work, 
we've got to be wise about how we spend your money in Washington, and we 
must keep your taxes low. We have a difference of opinion in this 
campaign. I'm running against a fellow who has already promised $2 
trillion of new money, see. And we haven't even gotten to the stretch 
run yet. It's awfully tempting, coming down the pike, to tell people 
what they want to hear. It's awfully easy to spend your money. And then 
they say, ``Well, how are you going to pay for it?'' He said, ``Oh, just 
don't worry about it. We'll just tax the rich.''
    First of all, you can't raise the money, enough money to pay for his 
promises, by taxing the rich. Secondly, when you tax the rich, you're 
taxing nearly a million small-business owners, because they pay tax at 
the individual income-tax level. Thirdly, you've heard that rhetoric 
before, haven't you?
    Audience members. Yes!
    The President. Yes. ``Oh, don't worry, we'll tax the rich.'' Well, 
that's why the rich hire accountants and lawyers. Yes. They dodge; you 
pay. But we're not going to let him tax you, because we're going to win 
this election in November.
    I'll tell you what else we ought to do on taxes. We need to simplify 
the Federal Tax Code. It is more than a million words long. It's full of 
special interest loopholes. In a new term, I will lead a bipartisan 
effort to make the Tax Code simpler, more fair, and good for the workers 
and the small-business owners of America.
    Listen, we've got to do more to help our workers gain the skills 
necessary to fill the jobs of the 21st century. That's why I know we 
need to double the number of people served by our job training programs 
and increase funding for our community college systems.
    One other issue that's important, in terms of education, is that 
most new jobs are filled by people with at least 2 years of college, 
yet, one in four students gets there. That's why I believe we need early 
intervention programs to help students in high school. We want everybody 
to have the skills necessary to move on. We'll place a new focus on math 
and science in our high schools. Over time, we'll require a rigorous 
exam before graduation. By raising performance in our high schools and 
by expanding Pell grants for low-

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income and middle-income families, we will help more Americans start 
their career with a college diploma.
    In times of change, we've got to have a health care system that is 
available and affordable. More than one-half of the uninsured are small-
business employees. That's because small businesses are having trouble 
with the cost of health care. To make sure that these families get the 
help they need, small firms must be allowed to join together to purchase 
insurance at the discounts available to big companies.
    We want more people to own and manage their own health care plans, 
so we'll offer tax credits to expand health savings accounts. We'll 
ensure every poor county in America has a community or rural health 
center, to help those who need help with their primary care. And to make 
sure health care is available and affordable, we've got to do something 
about these junk lawsuits that are running docs out of business and 
running up the cost of your health care.
    Right before I came in here, I met with a fellow named Steve 
Reintjes. He's a neurosurgeon from Kansas City. In 4 years, his premiums 
have increased from $27,000 to about $90,000. That's because he's having 
to practice defensive medicine. In other words, he's practicing medicine 
so that--just in case he gets sued. That's what docs are having to do 
all over this country. No one has ever been healed by a frivolous 
lawsuit in America. These frivolous lawsuits are running up the cost of 
your health care. They're making it harder for good docs to practice 
medicine. That's why we need medical liability reform--now.
    There is a clear difference in this campaign on this issue. See, I 
don't think you can be pro-doctor, pro-hospital, pro-patient and pro-
trial-lawyer at the same time. I think you have to choose. My opponent 
made his choice, and he put him on the ticket. [Laughter] I made my 
choice. I'm standing with the docs and patients all across America. In 
all we do, we'll make sure that the health decisions are made by doctors 
and patients, not by bureaucrats in Washington, DC.
    In changing times, it will help people have stability and hope in 
their lives if they own something. That's why we'll continue to expand 
homeownership in America. Do you realize the homeownership rate is at an 
alltime high in America? More and more people are owning their own home. 
More and more people are opening the door to where they live, and say, 
``Welcome to my home. Welcome to my piece of property.''
    As well we've got to make sure our pension plans reflect the 
realities of the world in which we live. Senior citizens do not have to 
worry about Social Security. It's not going to change for you. Baby 
boomers like me don't have to worry about Social Security. It's not 
going to change. But if you're a younger guy, our children and 
grandchildren, they'd better be worried about Social Security. There's 
not enough payers into the system to take care of those of us who are 
going to be receiving. They better worry about it. I believe younger 
workers ought to have the option of taking some of their own tax money 
and set up a personal savings account to help them with Social Security. 
It's a nest egg they call their own. It's a nest egg the Government 
cannot take away from them.
    In this world of change, there are some things that aren't going to 
change, the beliefs that we--the values we try to live by, our basic 
beliefs, courage and compassion, reverence and integrity. In times of 
change, we must support institutions which give us stability, our 
families, our schools, our religious congregations.
    We stand for a culture of life in which every person matters and 
every being counts. We stand for marriage and family, which are the 
foundations of our society. We support the religious charities and 
community-based organizations that provide a safety net of mercy and 
compassion. I stand for the appointment of Federal judges who know the 
difference between personal opinion and the strict interpretation of the 
law.
    This election will also determine how America responds to the 
continuing threat of terrorism. Since that terrible morning of September 
the 11th, 2001, we 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're defending the homeland. We're 
transforming

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our military. We're strengthening our intelligence services. We will 
stay on the offensive. We will strike the terrorists abroad so we do not 
have to face them here at home. We'll spread freedom and hope and 
opportunity throughout the world, and we will prevail.
    Our strategy is succeeding. Four years ago, Afghanistan was a home 
base of Al Qaida; Pakistan was a transit point for terrorist groups; 
Saudi Arabia was fertile ground for terrorist fundraising; Libya was 
secretly pursuing nuclear weapons; Iraq was a gathering threat; and Al 
Qaida was largely unchallenged as it planned attacks. Because we acted, 
the Government of a free Afghanistan is fighting terror; Pakistan is 
capturing terrorist leaders; Saudi Arabia is making arrests; Libya is 
dismantling its weapons programs; the army of a free Iraq is fighting 
for freedom; and more than three-quarters of Al Qaida's key members and 
associates have been detained or killed. We have led. Many have joined, 
and America and the world are safer.
    Progress involved careful diplomacy, clear moral purpose, and some 
tough decisions. And the toughest came on Iraq. We knew Saddam Hussein's 
records of aggression and his support for terror. We knew his long 
history of pursuing and even using weapons of mass destruction. We know 
that after September the 11th, our country must think differently. We 
must take threats seriously before they fully materialize.
    In Saddam Hussein, we saw a threat. I went to the United States 
Congress. Members of the Congress looked at the same intelligence I 
looked at. They remembered the same history I remembered, and they came 
to the conclusion that Saddam Hussein was a threat and authorized the 
use of force. My opponent looked at the same intelligence I looked at, 
and he voted yes when it came to the authorization of force.
    Any time the Commander in Chief uses force, he must have exhausted 
all other options. I was hoping diplomacy would have solved this threat. 
So I went to the United Nations. I said, ``You know, we see a threat.'' 
They looked at the same intelligence, remembered the same history, and 
concluded that Saddam Hussein must disclose, disarm, or face serious 
consequences. That was a 15-to-nothing vote in the United Nations 
Security Council.
    But as he had for over a decade, Saddam Hussein ignored the demands 
of the free world, see. He had been told this before. And he said--as a 
matter of fact, when they sent in inspectors, he systematically deceived 
them. So I had a choice to make at this time: Do I forget the lessons of 
September the 11th and take the word of a madman, or do I take action to 
defend this country? Given that choice, I will defend America every 
time.
    Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
    The President. Because we acted to defend ourself, because we took 
action to make America a safer place, more than 50 million people in 
Afghanistan and Iraq are now free.
    You know, it wasn't all that long ago, in Afghanistan, where many 
young girls didn't get to go to school because the leaders there were so 
backward. And their moms could be hauled out in the public square and 
whipped or killed because they didn't toe this barbaric line of 
reasoning. And yet, today, 10 million people have registered to vote in 
the upcoming Presidential election in Afghanistan.
    Freedom is powerful, isn't it? It's powerful. In Iraq, there's a 
strong Prime Minister. There's a National Council. National elections 
are scheduled in January. The world is changing. We're standing with the 
people of those countries, because when America gives its word, America 
must keep its word. When a President says something, he must mean it.
    In serving this vital and historic cause that makes our country 
safer, we're changing the world. See, free societies in the Middle East 
will be hopeful societies which will no longer feed resentments and 
breed violence for export. Free governments in the Middle East will 
fight terrorists instead of harboring them. That makes us safer.
    Our mission in Afghanistan is clear. We will help the new leaders 
train their armies so that citizens of Iraq and Afghanistan can defend 
themselves against the few who are trying to stop the march of liberty 
for the many. We'll help them get to elections. We'll

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get them on the path of stability and democracy as quickly as possible, 
and then our troops will return home with the honor they have earned.
    I've had the privilege of meeting those who wear our uniform. I've 
seen their great decency and unselfish courage. I assure you, the cause 
of freedom is in really good hands. And I want to thank the veterans who 
are here, who have set such a fine example for the men and women of our 
military.
    I made a commitment to our troops and our loved ones: They will have 
all the resources they need to complete their missions. That's why I 
went to the Congress a year ago, a year ago this month. I proposed $87 
billion in funding for body armor and spare parts, ammunition, fuel, and 
other supplies needed by our troops doing battle in Afghanistan and 
Iraq. We received great support in the Congress. As a matter of fact, 
the support was so strong that only 12 Members of the United States 
Senate voted against the funding, 2 of whom are my opponent and his 
runningmate.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. Only four United States Senators voted to authorize 
the use of force and then voted against funding our troops. Only four 
people did that, two of whom are my opponent and his runningmate.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. So they asked him, they said, what--you know, ``How 
can you explain that?'' He said, ``Well, I actually did vote for the $87 
billion, before I voted against it.''
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. And then they said, you know--and he said, well, he's 
proud of his vote. And then he said, ``Well, the whole thing is a 
complicated matter.'' [Laughter] Nothing complicated--there is nothing 
complicated about supporting our troops in combat.
    I think this country wants consistent, principled leadership. My 
opponent has now voted for the war and against supplying our troops. 
When he got on in the Democrat primary, he declared himself the antiwar 
candidate. More recently, he switched again, saying he would have voted 
for the war even knowing everything we know today. And he woke up 
yesterday morning with yet another new position. [Laughter] And this one 
is not even his own. [Laughter] It is that of his one-time rival, Howard 
Dean.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. He even used the same words Howard Dean did back when 
he supposedly disagreed with him. [Laughter] No matter how many times 
Senator Kerry flip-flops, we were right to make America safer by 
removing Saddam Hussein from power.
    It's also wrong for my opponent to denigrate the contributions of 
America's allies, who were standing side by side with our men and women 
in uniform risking their lives for freedom. There are over 40 nations 
in--nearly 40 nations in Afghanistan, some 30 in Iraq. Over the next 4 
years, I'll continue to build and strengthen our alliances, but I will 
never turn over America's national security decisions to leaders of 
other countries.
    Audience members. U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!
    The President. I believe in the transformational power of liberty. 
The wisest use of American strength is to advance freedom. I believe 
that because I've looked closely at our history. You know, I sit down 
with Prime Minister Koizumi from Japan. He is, obviously, running a 
country that--with whom we were at war, not all that long ago in the 
march of history. You know, my dad fought against the Japanese. I'm sure 
your dads and granddads did as well.
    But because we believe in liberty, because we believe that Japan 
could self-govern and become a peaceful nation, because Harry Truman, of 
Missouri, stood strong in the belief that freedom could transform lives, 
because the American people had faith in our values, Japan became an 
ally. Liberty changed an enemy to a friend, and today, we sit down at 
the same table talking about how to keep the peace. Someday an American 
President will be sitting down with a duly elected leader of Iraq, 
talking about how to keep the peace, how to make the world a more 
peaceful place.
    I also believe in the power of liberty to transform lives--I 
understand--because I understand that freedom is not America's gift to 
the world; freedom is the almighty God's gift to each man and woman in 
this world.

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    This young century will be liberty's century. By promoting freedom 
at home and abroad, we will build a safer world and a more hopeful 
America. By transforming necessary systems that were designed in the 
past, we'll help Americans realize their dreams. Over the next 4 years, 
we'll spread ownership and opportunity to every corner of this country. 
We will pass the enduring values of our country to a young generation. 
We will continue to make the world a more free and peaceful place.
    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. This is a time 
when we need firm resolve, clear vision, and a deep faith in the values 
that make us a great nation.
    None of us will ever forget that week when one era ended and another 
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 
there, yelling, ``Whatever it takes.'' I was trying to do my best to 
thank and comfort the firefighters and policemen and the rescuers. A guy 
grabbed me by the arm, and he said, ``Do not let me down.'' Ever since 
that day, I wake up every morning thinking about how to better protect 
our country. I will never relent in defending America, whatever it 
takes.
    Four years ago, I traveled your great State asking for the vote. I 
said if you gave me the chance to serve, I would uphold the honor and 
the dignity of the office to which I had been elected. With your help, I 
will do so for 4 more years.
    God bless. Thank you all for coming. Thank you for being here.

Note: The President spoke at 9:16 a.m. at Lee's Summit High School. In 
his remarks, he referred to Jeanne Patterson, candidate for Congress in 
Missouri's 5th Congressional District; Chris Byrd, candidate for 
Missouri Attorney General; Mayor Karen Messerli of Lee's Summit, MO; 
Senator Zell Miller of Georgia, who made the keynote address at the 
Republican National Convention; Prime Minister Ayad Allawi of the Iraqi 
Interim Government; former Democratic Presidential candidate Howard 
Dean; and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan.