    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 39 (Monday, September 27, 2004)]
    [Pages 2117-2125]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Remarks in Bangor, Maine

    September 23, 2004

        The President. Thanks for coming. I'm honored to be back in this
    beautiful State. I wasn't sure I'd be invited back after the last time I
    came; I didn't make my bed. [Laughter] What a beautiful day in such a
    glorious part of the world. I'm so honored you all came. I'm here to ask
    for the vote. That's what I'm doing.
        I believe you got to get out amongst the people and ask for the vote
    and tell them why you're running. That's what I'm here to do today. I'm
    also here to ask for your help. I'd like for you to register your
    friends and neighbors. I'd like for you to remind people in the
    community in which you live, we have a responsibility in a free society
    to go to the polls.
        When you're out there registering, make sure you register all
    Republicans. Make sure you register independents. Don't overlook
    discerning Democrats like Zell Miller. And then once you get them
    registered, get them headed to the polls. And when you get them headed
    to the polls, tell them, if they want a safer America, a stronger
    America, and a better America, to put me and Dick Cheney back in office.
        My only regret is that Laura is not here with me. She was a public
    school librarian in Texas when I asked her to marry me. She said,
    ``Fine, I'll marry you, just so long as I never have to give a political
    speech.'' [Laughter] I said, ``Okay.'' Fortunately, she didn't hold me
    to the promise. The other night in New York City, the American people
    got to see Laura at her best, her--decent, strong, compassionate woman.
    She's a great mom, a great wife. She needs to be the First Lady for 4
    more years.
        Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
        The President. I'm proud of my runningmate, Dick Cheney. Now,
    listen, I admit he doesn't have the waviest hair in the race. [Laughter]
    Some of you out there don't either. [Laughter] I didn't pick him for his
    hair. I picked him for his judgment. I picked him because he's a man of
    a lot of experience. I picked him because he can get the job done on
    behalf of the American people.
        I want to thank Peter Cianchette, my chairman here in the State. I
    want to thank all of the grassroots activists, people like Pete who are
    putting up the signs and making the phone calls. It takes a lot of work
    to get this many people to show up here in Bangor, Maine. I want to
    thank all of those who helped turn out such a great crowd. I appreciate
    your effort. It means a lot.
        I'm sorry the two United States Senators are--they're working for
    you. I appreciate their friendship. I'm proud to call Olympia Snowe and
    Susan Collins friends. I know you're proud to call them Senator.

    [[Page 2118]]

        I want to thank all the statehouse people who are here. I appreciate
    you serving your community. I appreciate your serving your State. I also
    appreciate Brian Hamel. I flew down from Washington, DC, with Brian
    Hamel. I had a chance to visit with him. There's no doubt in my mind he
    should be the next Congressman from the 2d Congressional District. And I
    want to thank his wife, Gail, and his daughters, Natalie, Abbie, and
    Molly, for supporting their dad when he's out running for the Congress.
        I want to thank Charlie Summers. He's running the 1st Congressional
    District. When he wins, he's going to have old 41 and Barbara as
    constituents. [Laughter]
        I want to thank Jim Tobin, my regional chairman.
        I want to thank Mark Wills for being here. Mark, thank you. Proud
    you're here. I want to thank the high school band that's joined us
    today, John Bapst Band. Thank you for coming. I will try to keep my
    speech short so you can get home and do your homework. [Laughter]
        I want to thank Steve Hanington. He's the president of the
    American's Logger Council. I appreciate you coming. I want to thank all
    the loggers who are here today. Thank you for helping us put together
    the Healthy Forests Initiative, good piece of legislation. I appreciate
    you working on it with us. I want to thank the lobstermen who are here
    with us today. [Applause] Oh, yes.
        I want to thank the Bangor Chapter of the Blue Star Mothers of
    America for being here. Thank you for coming. The Freeport Flag Ladies
    are with us. WAVES International is with us. Veterans of the Military
    Order of the Purple Heart are with us.
        I'm really looking forward to this campaign. I like to get out and
    talk about what I believe, where I stand, and where I'm going to lead
    this Nation for the next 4 years. I believe every child can learn and
    every school should teach. I went to Washington, DC, to challenge the
    soft bigotry of low expectation. We had a practice in this country
    where, in some public schools, kids were just shuffled through grade
    after grade, year after year, without learning the basics. And that
    wasn't right. We need to raise the standards. We need to trust the local
    people to design a curriculum that works best in the local community. We
    need to support our teachers and principals. We need to measure early
    and solve problems, before they're too late.
        The reforms we passed are working. And the minority gap is closing.
    The achievement gap amongst minority students is closing in America.
    We're making progress, and we're not turning back.
        I believe we have a moral responsibility to honor our citizens with
    good health care. See, I went up to Washington to solve problems, not to
    pass them on to future Presidents and future generations. I saw a
    problem in Medicare. Medicine was changing, and Medicare wasn't. Take
    this fact: Medicare would pay $100,000 for heart surgery but wouldn't
    pay for the prescription drugs to prevent the heart surgery from being
    needed in the first place. That wasn't fair for our seniors. It meant
    the system needed to be changed for the better. I called the Republicans
    and Democrats together. I signed a law that strengthened Medicare. Our
    seniors will be getting prescription drugs in 2006, and we're not
    turning back.
        I believe in the energy, innovation, and spirit of our workers, our
    loggers, our lobstermen, our small-business owners, our farmers and
    ranchers. And that's why we unleashed that energy with the largest tax
    cut in a generation.
        We've been through a lot. This economy has been through a lot. When
    you're out there rounding up the vote, remind people what we have been
    through. That stock market started to go down about 5 months before we
    showed up in Washington. Then we had a recession we had to live with.
    Started to come out of that recession, and some citizens in this country
    forgot what it meant to be a responsible citizen. They fudged the books.
    They didn't tell the truth. It created a crisis of confidence. Those
    corporate scandals hurt our economy. We've passed tough laws in
    Washington. It's abundantly clear now that we're not going to tolerate
    dishonesty in the boardrooms of America. And then the enemy hit us. Some
    estimate that it cost us a million jobs in the 3 months after September
    the 11th.
        I mean, we've been through some tough times when it comes to this
    economy. Yet,

    [[Page 2119]]

    we're overcoming those obstacles. Our economy is strong, and it is
    getting stronger. Our economy has been growing at rates as fast as any
    in nearly 20 years. The national unemployment rate is 5.4 percent.
    That's lower than the average of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. The
    unemployment rate in the State of Maine is 4.5 percent. This economy is
    strong. It is getting stronger, and we're not going to turn back.
        I believe the most solemn duty of the American President is to
    protect the American people. If America shows uncertainty and weakness
    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 am 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. I believe this
    Nation wants steady, consistent, principled leadership. And that's why,
    with your help, we'll carry Maine and win a great victory in November.
        I understand the world we live in is changing. Think about what
    happened over the past 30 years. You know, the workplace used to be a
    place where a man would only show up, and they'd have one job, one
    career, one pension plan, one health care plan. Today, the world is
    different. People change jobs and careers quite often. And today, the
    workplace is diversified. Women work in the house and, now, out of the
    house. And yet, when you think about it, the most fundamental
    institutions, our Tax Code, our health coverage, our pension plans, our
    worker training programs, our labor laws, were created for the world of
    yesterday, not tomorrow. I'm running to transform these systems so all
    our citizens are equipped and prepared and thus truly free to make your
    own choices and realize the great dreams of our country.
        Listen, any hopeful society has got to have a growing economy. And I
    have a plan to make sure this prosperity lasts. To create more jobs in
    America, America must be the best place in the world to do business. If
    you want jobs here, if you want people to be able to find a job, it's
    got to be the best place in the world. And that means less regulations
    on our small-business owners. That means we got to do something about
    these junk lawsuits that are making it hard for employers to expand the
    job base.
        Listen, if you want to keep jobs here, we got to have us an energy
    plan. I proposed a plan to the United States Congress 2 years ago. They
    need to get it to my desk. If we want jobs to be created here, we got to
    do a better job on conservation. We got to do a better job on promoting
    renewables such as ethanol and biodiesel. We got to modernize our
    electricity grid. We got to use our clean coal technology to make sure
    we can use the energy here at home. We got to explore for natural gas in
    environmentally friendly ways. If we want jobs here in America, this
    country must become less dependent on foreign sources of energy.
        Part of my plan to make sure jobs are here in America so people can
    find work is to open up markets overseas. See, we open our markets. And
    that's good for you as a consumer. If you have more products to choose
    from, you're likely to get that which you want at a better price and
    higher quality. That's how the market works. So I'm saying to places
    like China, ``You treat us the way we treat you. You open up your
    markets just like we have ours.'' See, we can compete with anybody,
    anytime, anywhere, so long as the rules are fair.
        To make sure this economy grows, we got to be wise about how we
    spend your money and keep your taxes low. Taxes are an issue in this
    campaign. The fellow I'm running against has proposed $2.2 trillion in
    new Federal spending so far.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. And we still got October to go. [Laughter] Two
    trillion dollars is a lot, even for a Senator from Massachusetts.
    [Laughter] So they asked him, they said, ``Well, how are you going to
    pay for this?'' He said, ``I'll just tax the rich.'' Now, you've heard
    that before, haven't you? First of all, you can't raise enough money to
    pay for 2.2 trillion by taxing the rich. There's a tax gap. Guess who
    gets to fill the tax gap in American history. You do. Secondly, when
    they say ``tax

    [[Page 2120]]

    the rich,'' be careful. It's rich--rich hire lawyers and accountants for
    a reason, to stick you with the bill. We're not going to let him raise
    your taxes. We're going to carry Maine, and we're going to win in
    November.
        Let me also say something about the Tax Code. The Tax Code is a
    complicated mess. You realize, it's a million pages long. Americans
    spend 6 billion hours a year on taxes. I think we need to simplify the
    Tax Code. I think we need to make the Tax Code more fair. I'm going to
    call Republicans and Democrats together in a new term to make sure this
    Tax Code works for the people, not against the people.
        Listen, in a changing world, the job base changes, and there's a
    skills gap in America in some places. You know, I remember going down to
    North Carolina where the textile industry had been hit hard and yet, the
    health care industry was growing. And there's a skills gap, because a
    lot of people in the textile industry who wanted to work didn't have the
    skills necessary to be in the health care industry. That's why I'm such
    a big believer in the community college system here in America. We need
    to make our community colleges accessible so workers can gain the skills
    they need to fill the jobs of the 21st century.
        And most new jobs are filled by people with at least 2 years of
    college. That's what the changing world demands. And yet, only about one
    in four of our students gets there. That's why, in our high schools,
    we'll fund early intervention programs to help students at risk. We'll
    place a new focus on math and science. Over time, we'll require a
    rigorous exam before graduation from high school. By raising performance
    in our high schools and by expanding Pell grants for low- and middle-
    income families, more Americans will start their careers with a college
    degree.
        We've got to do something about our health care system. We have a
    fundamental difference in this campaign about health care. When it comes
    to health care, my opponent wants Government to dictate. I want you to
    decide. Half the uninsured in America work for small businesses. Small
    businesses are having trouble affording health care. One way to help
    small businesses, one way to help those who work for small businesses is
    to allow small businesses to pool together to be able to buy insurance
    at the same discounts big companies are able to do. My opponent opposes
    such a plan. See, ours is commonsense plan. Ours is a practical plan.
    Ours is a plan that doesn't let the Federal Government decide everything
    for you.
        I believe that we ought to expand tax-free health savings accounts.
    I believe we ought to give small businesses tax credits, to encourage
    them to put money in small--in health savings accounts, so small-
    business employees can get coverage. I know we need to expand community
    health centers all across America, places where the poor and the
    indigent can get good primary and preventative care.
        I know--I'll tell you what else I know. In order to make sure we do
    something about the rising cost of health care and the availability of
    health care, we got to stop these junk lawsuits that are running good
    docs out of practice. Ask your doctor what it's like to get sued all the
    time. A lot of them are quitting practice. I met ob-gyns across the
    country, all across the country who are quitting their practice. That
    means a lot of women are hurting, all of it because these junk lawsuits
    are running up the cost of staying in business. It doesn't make any
    sense. You can't be pro-doctor, pro-patient, and pro-trial-lawyer at the
    same time. I think you have to make a choice. My opponent has made his
    choice, and he put a trial lawyer on the ticket.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. I made my choice. I stand for medical liability
    reform--now.
        Now, there's a lot of--a big difference in this campaign. But
    anything we do in this administration to make sure health care is
    available and affordable will mean that the decisions will be made by
    doctors and patients, not by bureaucrats and insurance companies and the
    Government.
        New term, let me tell you what else we're going to do. In a changing
    times, ownership helps bring stability to people's life. During my
    administration, more people own a home than ever before. More and more
    people are owning their own home. What a hopeful sign that is. What a
    stabilizing influence that is.

    [[Page 2121]]

    Over the next 4 years, we'll continue to expand homeownership. I like
    the thought of more and more people opening up the door where they live
    and saying, ``Welcome to my piece of property. Welcome to my home. Come
    on in to my place.''
        I tell you what else we need to think about, and that is the
    retirement systems. Let me talk about Social Security here for a minute.
    If you're on Social Security, you'll be paid. Don't care what they say
    in the course of the campaigns. The Government will honor its commitment
    to you. The Social Security trust has got enough money to take care of
    you. Baby boomers like me, we're in pretty good shape when it comes to
    Social Security. But we need to think about the younger kids. We need to
    think about our children and our grandchildren. I believe younger
    workers ought to be allowed to take some of their own money and set
    aside a personal savings account to make sure that Social Security
    works, a personal savings account they call their own, a personal
    savings account that Government cannot take away.
        In a world of change, some things do not change, the values we try
    to live by, courage and compassion, reverence and integrity. In times of
    change, we must support the institutions that give our lives direction
    and purpose, our families, our schools, our religious congregations.
        We stand for a culture of life in which every person counts and
    every being matters. We stand for marriage and family, which are the
    foundations of our society. I stand for the appointment of Federal
    judges who know the difference between personal opinion and the strict
    interpretation of the law. I stand for supporting faith-based
    organizations. Men and women of faith are performing works of hope and
    compassion all across our country. They're renewing communities. They're
    helping lift up lives, and they deserve fair treatment by our
    Government.
        That's a position I share with Republicans and Democrats from many
    callings in life, including a fine citizen in Maine named John Kerry.
    Now, Kerry runs Catholic Charities Maine in Falmouth, which helps people
    all over this State. A few years ago, the city of Portland denied
    Federal funding to Catholic Charities because John Kerry refused to
    compromise his organization's beliefs. Here's what he said: ``Just
    because you're religious doesn't mean you should be stopped from
    providing services.'' That's one John Kerry I agree with.
        For those of you involved in your communities, for those of you
    who've heard the call to love a neighbor like you'd like to be loved
    yourself, thank you for your works of compassion. Thank you for making a
    difference in America.
        This election will also determine how America responds to the
    continuing danger of terrorism. Since the terrible morning of September
    the 11th, 2001, we have 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 our military. We're strengthening our intelligence
    services. We are staying on the offensive. We are striking the
    terrorists abroad so we do not have to face them here at home. We will
    work to advance liberty and freedom in the broader Middle East and
    around the world, and we will prevail.
        Our strategy is succeeding. Think about the world some 4 years ago.
    Afghanistan was the home base of Al Qaida. Pakistan was a transit point
    for terrorist groups. Saudi Arabia was fertile ground for terrorist
    fundraising. Libya was secretly pursing nuclear weapons. Iraq was a
    gathering threat. Al Qaida was largely unchallenged as it planned
    attacks.
        Today, because we acted, Afghanistan is fighting terror; Pakistan is
    capturing terrorist leaders; Saudi Arabia is making raids and arrests;
    Libya is dismantling its nuclear weapons programs; the army of a free
    Iraq is fighting for freedom; and more than three-quarters of Al Qaida's
    leaders and associates have been brought to justice. We have led. Many
    have joined, and America and the world are safer.
        This progress involved careful diplomacy, clear moral purpose, and
    some tough decisions.
        Audience member. That's what you have! Thank you!
        The President. And the toughest decision came on Iraq. See, we knew
    Saddam's record. We knew he harbored terrorists like

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    Abu Nidal. That's the leader of the terrorist organization that carried
    out attacks in Europe and Asia. We knew he--Saddam harbored Abu Abbas.
    He took--found refuge in Baghdad after he killed an American, Leon
    Klinghoffer. Saddam paid the families of suicide bombers. Saddam was a
    sworn enemy of America. Saddam not only desired weapons of mass
    destruction; he used weapons of mass destruction. Saddam was a threat.
    He was a threat. And after September the 11th, our country must think
    differently. We must take threats seriously before they fully
    materialize.
        So I went to the Congress. They looked at the same intelligence I
    looked at. They remembered the same history I remembered, and they
    concluded Saddam Hussein was a threat and authorized the use of force.
    My opponent looked at the same intelligence, and he voted ``yes'' when
    it came to the authorization of force.
        Listen, before the Commander in Chief ever puts any troops into
    harm's way, we must try all options--all options--to solve a problem.
    That's why I went to the United Nations. I was hoping diplomacy would
    work. I was hoping we could solve this problem peacefully. The toughest
    decision a President ever has to make is to put our kids into harm's
    way.
        So I gave a speech to the United Nations. They looked at the same
    intelligence I had looked at. They remembered the same history we
    remembered. And they voted 15 to nothing to say to Saddam Hussein,
    ``Disclose, disarm, or face serious consequences.'' The other day in the
    United Nations I said, ``When an international body say something, they
    better mean what they say. If you don't mean it, don't say it.''
        Saddam Hussein ignored the demands of the free world--again. This
    wasn't the first resolution he ignored. He had been ignoring resolutions
    for nearly a decade. He wasn't about to disarm. He wasn't about to
    listen to the world. As a matter of fact, when the U.N. sent inspectors
    into that country, he systematically deceived the inspectors.
        So I have a choice at this point. Diplomacy has failed. We had given
    Saddam Hussein his last chance, his decision to make. Do I take the word
    of a madman and forget the lessons of September the 11th, or take action
    to defend this country? Given that choice, I will defend America every
    time.
        Because we acted to defend ourself, because we mean--we meant what
    we said, today, 50 million people in Afghanistan and Iraq live in
    freedom. I want you to think about Afghanistan here for a minute. It
    wasn't all that long ago that these poor people were subjected to the
    brutal ways of the Taliban. These barbarians have a dark vision of the
    world. As a matter of fact, they think exactly opposite of Americans.
    They're against--they don't believe in freedom of religion, freedom of
    speech, freedom of anything. They believe you either toe their line or
    there will be reprisals.
        Think about a society in which many young girls were not allowed to
    go to school because of the Taliban or a society in which their mothers
    were pulled out in the public square and whipped and in some cases
    executed in the sports stadium because they wouldn't toe the line.
    Today, because America acted, 10 million citizens, 41 percent of whom
    are women, have registered to vote in the upcoming October Presidential
    elections. It's an amazing thought, isn't it? It's an amazing statistic,
    when you think about it.
        There were some skeptics who thought, well, maybe people don't want
    to be free. Everybody longs to be free. People yearn to be free in this
    world. And those 10 million citizens are showing it as this election
    comes closer. Of course, there's going to be violence, because these
    dark-visioned people, these evil folks cannot stand the thought of a
    free society emerging in that part of the world.
        Today I met with Prime Minister Allawi, a strong man. He does
    deserve our praise. He's a courageous fellow. In the press conference I
    had with him today, I reminded the people that were listening that Prime
    Minister Allawi woke up in an apartment one day in London, England--see,
    he had been exiled out of Iraq; Saddam Hussein wanted to get him--and he
    woke up in a bed--this is a true story I'm telling you; he told me
    personally--he woke up in the middle of the night. Two people were
    standing by his bed with axes. They had been sent by Saddam Hussein.
    Fortunately, by the grace of God,

    [[Page 2123]]

    he woke up in time, rolled--got hurt pretty bad, recovered, went back to
    his country because he believes in freedom. He's ready to do the hard
    work. He is a strong man. There will be elections in January of 2005 in
    Iraq. And we're going to stand with the people of Afghanistan and Iraq
    because when America gives its word, America must keep its word.
        We're also making our country safer. See, free societies in the
    Middle East will be hopeful societies which no longer feed resentments
    and breed violence for export. Free governments in the Middle East will
    fight the terrorists instead of harboring them and supporting them.
    Listen, our strategy is clear. We'll help the new leaders train armies
    so that Iraq citizens and Afghan citizens can do the hard work of
    defending their country against those who would stop the advance of
    freedom. There are over 25 million people in that country who desire to
    be free. There's only a few, relative to the 25 million, who are trying
    to start--stop the march of freedom. We'll help them get on the path of
    stability and democracy as quickly as possible, then our troops will
    come home with the honor they have earned.
        I am proud of the United States military. I'm proud of the men and
    women who serve. I've seen their unselfish courage and their great
    decency. I want to thank the veterans who are here for having set such a
    great example for those who wear the uniform. You know, the airport here
    is often the first stop in the United States for our troops returning
    home. No matter what hour they arrive or what the weather is like,
    citizens of Maine come here to thank our troops for their service. It's
    got to make them feel great. I thank you for doing that.
        I met Bill Knight. He organizes the Maine Troop Greeters to welcome
    military personnel here. I appreciate Bill, and I appreciate all those
    who work with Bill.
        I want to thank the military families who are here today. I made a
    commitment to our troops and to their loved ones: They'll have all the
    resources they need to do their jobs. So I went to the Congress last
    year and requested $87 billion of supplemental funding to support our
    troops in combat in both Afghanistan and Iraq. This was really important
    money. This was money for fuel, spare parts, body armor, hazard pay,
    health benefits, that which is necessary to support people in harm's
    way. And it was important. Fortunately, most Members of the Congress
    understood how important it was. We got great bipartisan support, so
    strong that only 12 Members--12 Members--of the United States Senate
    voted against this important funding, 2 of whom are my opponent and his
    runningmate.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. When you're out gathering the vote, when you're out
    convincing people to go to the polls and vote, remind them of this fact:
    Only four United States Senators voted to authorize the use of force and
    then voted against funding our troops, two of whom are my opponent and
    his runningmate.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. Of course, they asked him, you know, they said,
    ``Why?'' And he said, ``Well, I actually did vote for the 87 billion,
    before I voted against it.'' I don't think a lot of people speak that
    way in Bangor, Maine. They kept pressing him, and he said he was proud
    of his vote. Finally, he said the whole thing was a complicated matter.
    There's nothing complicated about supporting our troops in combat.
        There's hard work to do in Iraq. The Prime Minister told me they're
    making progress. Yet, as we're seeing on our TV screens, the terrorists
    are desperately trying to block that progress, is what they're trying to
    do. Our military cannot be beat in Iraq. They can't beat us. They do
    have a weapon, though, and that is, they're coldblooded killers. They'll
    behead somebody, and our prayers go to the families here in America. Our
    hearts break when we see that on our TV screens. These killers know
    that. See, they know we have a conscience, and they don't. They're
    trying to shake our will.
        We're going to help this Government in Iraq. We'll help them----

    [At this point, there was a disturbance in the audience.]

        The President. ----help them build their troops. We'll help them
    build their infrastructure. We have a strategy that says to our

    [[Page 2124]]

    commanders, ``Adapt to the ways on the ground. You've got the support
    your need to do what you need to do.'' The way to prevail, the way
    toward the successful conclusion we all want, the way to secure Iraq and
    bring our troops home is not to wilt or waver or send mixed signals to
    the enemy. We can grieve, but we will not waver.
        Incredibly, this week my opponent said he would prefer the
    dictatorship of Saddam Hussein to the situation in Iraq today.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. You cannot lead the war on terror if you wilt when
    times are tough. You cannot expect the Iraqi people to stand up and do
    the hard work of democracy if you are pessimistic about their abilities.
    You cannot expect the Iraqi people to do the hard work if you say that
    they'd be better off with Saddam Hussein in power. What kind of message
    does it send our troops, who are risking their lives and who see
    firsthand the mission is hard but know the mission is critical to our
    success? Mixed signals are the wrong signals. I will continue to lead
    with clarity, and when I say something, I'll mean what I say.
        Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
        The President. I appreciate the contributions of our friends and
    allies. I appreciate what they've been doing, side by side with our
    troops and the Iraqi troops. Listen, we got a--put together a broad
    coalition of about 40 nations in Afghanistan and some 30 nations in
    Iraq. Over the next 4 years, I'll continue to strengthen our alliances.
    But I will never turn over America's national security decisions to
    other countries.
        I believe in the transformational power of liberty. The wisest use
    of America's strength is to advance freedom. A couple of days ago in New
    York, I was having a Diet Coke with my friend Prime Minister Koizumi.
    He's the Prime Minister of Japan. I said, ``You know, I've been talking
    about you on the campaign trail.'' He said, ``Fine.'' [Laughter] I said,
    ``Do you mind if I tell people your favorite singer was Elvis?''
    [Laughter] He said, ``Okay.''
        It's amazing that I am having that discussion with Prime Minister
    Koizumi, if you really think about it, because it wasn't all that long
    ago in the march of history, some 60 years ago, Japan was a sworn enemy
    of the United States of America. My dad fought them. Your dads and
    granddads probably did as well. And it was a tough war. A lot of people
    lost their life. But after we won World War II, Harry Truman, one of my
    predecessors, believed in the power of liberty to transform societies
    and said, ``We'll work with Japan to build a democracy.''
        There were a lot of skeptics then, and you can imagine why. A lot of
    families had been turned upside down because of loss of life in that
    horrible war. A lot of people were still angry that the Japanese had
    attacked us in Pearl Harbor. A lot of people didn't believe an enemy
    could become a friend. But there were people like Harry Truman in this
    country who believed in the power of liberty. And today, as a result of
    their belief--think about this now--I sit down with Prime Minister
    Koizumi, and we talk about the peace we all want. We're talking about
    the peace. Someday, an American President will be sitting down with a
    duly elected leader of Iraq talking about the peace, and our children
    and our grandchildren will be better off for it.
        These are historic times--historic times--and the work is hard. But
    we've done hard work before in this country. I believe that millions in
    the Middle East plead in silence for their liberty. I believe that women
    in the Middle East long to be free. I know that women in the Middle East
    want their little girls and boys to be able to grow up and realize their
    dreams. I believe that the people there, if given a chance, will embrace
    the most honorable form of government ever devised by man. I believe
    these things because freedom is not America's gift to the world; freedom
    is the Almighty God's gift to each man and woman in this world.
        This young century will be liberty's century. By promoting freedom
    at home and abroad, we'll build a safer world and a more hopeful
    America. By reforming our systems of Government, we'll help more
    Americans realize their dreams. We'll spread ownership and opportunity
    to every corner of America. We will pass the enduring values of our
    country on to a young generation. We will continue to lead the cause of
    freedom and peace.
        For all Americans, these years in our history will always stand
    apart. There are quiet

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    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 that requires firm
    resolve, clear vision, and a deep faith in the values that make this a
    great nation.
        None of us will ever forget that week when one era ended and another
    began. I certainly won't. I was there in the ruins of the Twin Towers on
    September the 14th, 2001. The workers there--I can still hear them--were
    chanting at me, ``Whatever it takes.'' I was doing my best to console
    folks who had just come out of the rubble. A guy grabbed me by the arm.
    He looked me straight in the eye and said, ``You do not let me down.''
    Ever since that day, I wake up trying to figure out how best to protect
    our country. I will defend the security of America, whatever it takes.
        Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
        The President. Four years ago, as I traveled your great State asking
    for the vote, I made a pledge. I said that 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, with your hard work, I will do so for
    4 more years.
        God bless. Thanks for coming. Thank you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 4:03 p.m. at the Bangor International
    Airport. In his remarks, he referred to Senator Zell Miller of Georgia,
    who made the keynote address at the Republican National Convention;
    Peter Cianchette, Maine State chairman, and Jim Tobin, New England
    regional chairman, Bush-Cheney '04, Inc.; Brian Hamel, candidate for
    Congress in Maine's 2d Congressional District; Charlie Summers,
    candidate for Congress in Maine's 1st Congressional District; country
    music entertainer Mark Wills; senior Al Qaida associate Abu Musab Al
    Zarqawi; Prime Minister Ayad Allawi of the Iraqi Interim Government; and
    Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan.