[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 41 (Monday, October 11, 2004)]
[Pages 2262-2268]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania

October 6, 2004

    The President. Thank you all. Thank you all very much. Thank you 
all. Thank you all for coming. Please be seated. Thank you all. Thank 
you. Please be seated. Gosh, thanks for such a great welcome. I 
appreciate it. It's great to be in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. It's such 
an honor to be back here. I'm glad to be in a part of the world where 
people work hard, they love their families. Good to be in a part of the 
world where people like to hunt and fish.
    My regret is that Laura is not with me. She is----
    Audience members. Aw-w-w!
    The President. I know it. [Laughter] That's generally the reaction. 
[Laughter] Kind of like, ``Why didn't you stay home and send Laura.'' 
[Laughter] You're not going to believe this; it's a true story--or kind 
of true. [Laughter] I said, ``Will you marry me?'' She said, ``Fine, 
just so long as I never have to give a speech.'' [Laughter] I said, 
``Okay, you got a deal.'' [Laughter] Fortunately, she didn't hold me to 
that promise. Laura--when Laura speaks, people see a compassionate, 
decent, strong First Lady.
    I had my morning briefing today with someone you're familiar with. 
That would be your former Governor Tom Ridge. So Laura sends her best, 
as does Tom Ridge.
    Today I traveled with Don Sherwood. As we say in Crawford, he's a 
good one. He's a great Member of the United States House of 
Representatives. I'm proud to work with him. He cares deeply about the 
people of this important part of the State of Pennsylvania. He is a fine 
Representative who brings integrity to the office. I appreciate your 
service.
    I want to thank all the State and local officials who are here. I 
want to thank the candidates who are here. I want to thank the

[[Page 2263]]

grassroots activists who are here. I want to thank you for what you're 
going to do, which is to put up the signs, make the phone calls, turn 
out the vote. With your help, there's no doubt in my mind we'll carry 
Pennsylvania.
    I am sure many of you stayed up to watch the Vice Presidential 
debate last night. America saw two very different visions of our country 
and two different hairdos. [Laughter] I didn't pick my Vice President 
for his hairdo. I picked him for his judgment, his experience--a great 
Vice President. I'm proud to be running with him.
    In less than a month, you'll have a chance to vote for Dick Cheney 
and me. Think about that--less than a month. I'm looking forward to 
coming down the stretch with a positive, strong message. As your 
President, I've worked to make America a more hopeful and more secure 
place. I've led our country with principle and resolve. And that's how 
I'll lead our Nation for 4 more years.
    When I took office in 2001, the bubble of the nineties had burst. 
Our economy was headed into a recession. And because of the attacks of 
September the 11th, nearly a million jobs were lost in 3 months. It was 
a dangerous time for our economy. People were warning of potential 
deflation and depression. But I acted.
    To stimulate the economy, I called on Congress to pass historic tax 
relief, which it did, without my opponent's ``yes'' vote. The tax relief 
was the fuel that got our economy growing again. Thanks to the efforts 
of our citizens and the right policies in the right place at the right 
time, we put the recession behind us and America is creating jobs once 
again.
    We have built a broad and solid record of accomplishment. In the 
past year, the United States of America has added about 1.7 million new 
jobs, more than Germany, Japan, Great Britain, Canada, and France 
combined. Real tax--real after-tax income--that's the money in your 
pocket to spend on groceries or house payments and rent--is up more than 
10 percent since I took office. Homeownership is at an alltime high in 
America. Farm income is up. Small businesses are flourishing. The 
entrepreneurial spirit is strong in the United States of America.
    Ours is a record of accomplishment. Thanks to reforms in education, 
math and reading scores are increasing in our public schools. Ten 
million students will get record levels of grants and loans to help with 
college. Low-income seniors are getting $600 extra to help pay for 
medicine this year, in their drug discount cards. And soon Medicare will 
offer prescription drug coverage to every senior in America. We have 
made America a stronger, more hopeful country, and we're just getting 
started.
    Listen, I like to travel our country because I have a chance to talk 
to our fellow citizens. I understand the challenges facing our Nation. 
People are living and working in a time of change. Workers switch jobs 
more than they used to, which means they often need new skills and 
benefits they can take with them from job to job. We're in a changing 
world, yet the systems of Government haven't changed. I'm running for 4 
more years to change the systems of Government so people can better 
realize the great dreams of America.
    Making sure people realize those dreams, it's essential that our 
education systems work. We're going to raise the standards and 
expectations in every high school. We'll invest in our Nation's fine 
community colleges so workers can be prepared to fill the jobs of the 
21st century. We're going to expand health savings accounts so people 
can pay health expenses with tax-free money and keep the savings if they 
change jobs. We're going to improve Social Security to allow younger 
workers to own a piece of their own retirement, a nest egg that the 
Washington politicians can never take away.
    To keep this economy strong and competitive, we must make sure 
America is the best place in the world to start a business and to do 
business. To make sure America is the best place in the world to start a 
business, our taxes must be low. Congress must make the tax relief we 
passed permanent. To keep jobs here, there need to be less regulations 
on our small businesses. To keep jobs here, we must pass an energy plan 
that makes us less dependent on foreign sources of energy. To make sure 
jobs exist here in America, we

[[Page 2264]]

got to do something about these junk and frivolous lawsuits. Trial 
lawyers shouldn't be getting rich at the expense of our entrepreneurs 
and our doctors.
    My opponent and I have a very different view on how to grow our 
economy. Let me start with taxes. I have a record of reducing them. He 
has a record of raising them.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. He voted in the United States Senate to increase 
taxes 98 times.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. That's a lot. [Laughter] He voted for higher taxes on 
Social Security benefits.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. In 1997, he voted for the formula that helped cause 
the increase in Medicare premiums.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. My opponent was against all of our middle class tax 
relief. He voted instead to squeeze another $2,000 per year from the 
average middle class family.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. Now the Senator is proposing higher taxes on more 
than 900,000 small-business owners. My opponent is one of the few 
candidates in history to campaign on a pledge to raise taxes. [Laughter] 
And that's the kind of promise a politician from Massachusetts usually 
keeps. [Laughter]
    He says the tax increase is only for the rich. You've heard that 
kind of rhetoric before. The rich hire lawyers and accountants for a 
reason--to stick you with the tab. The Senator is not going to tax you 
because we're going to win in November.
    The Senator and I have different views on another threat to our 
economy, frivolous lawsuits. He's been a part of the Washington crowd 
that has obstructed legal reform again and again. Meanwhile, all across 
America, unfair lawsuits are hurting small businesses. Lawsuits are 
driving up health care costs. Lawsuits are threatening ob-gyns all 
across our country. Lawsuits are driving good doctors out of practice. 
We need a President who will stand up to the trial lawyers in 
Washington, not put one on the ticket.
    The Senator and I have very different views on health care. I've got 
a specific plan to help Americans find health care that's available and 
affordable, lawsuit reform, association health care plans to help our 
small businesses, health savings accounts, community health centers to 
help the poor, expanding health care for low-income children, using 
technology to drive down the cost of health care.
    He has a different vision. Under his health plan, 8 million 
Americans would lose the private insurance they get at work, and most 
would end up on a Government program. Under his plan, 8 out of 10 people 
who get new insurance will get it from the Federal Government. My 
opponent's proposal would be the largest expansion of Government-run 
health care ever. And when Government pays the bills, Government makes 
the rules. His plan would put bureaucrats in charge of dictating 
coverage, which could ration care and limit your choice of doctor. 
Senator Kerry's proposal would put us on the path to ``Clinton-care.''
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. I'll make sure doctors and patients are in charge of 
the decisions in America's health care.
    The Senator and I have different views on Government spending. Over 
the years, he's voted 274 times to break the Federal budget limits. And 
in this campaign, Senator Kerry has announced more than $2 trillion of 
new spending. And that's a lot of money, even for a Senator from 
Massachusetts. [Laughter]
    During his 20 years as a Senator, my opponent hasn't had many 
accomplishments. Of the hundreds of bills he submitted, only five became 
law. One of them was ceremonial. But to be fair, he's earned a special 
distinction in Congress. The nonpartisan National Journal analyzed his 
record and named John Kerry the most liberal Member of the United States 
Senate.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. And when the competition includes Ted Kennedy--
[laughter]--that's really saying something. [Laughter] I'm telling you, 
I know that bunch. [Laughter] It wasn't easy for my opponent to become 
the single most liberal Member of the Senate. You might even say, it was 
hard work. [Laughter] But he earned that title by voting for higher 
taxes, more regulation, more junk

[[Page 2265]]

lawsuits, and more Government control over your life.
    And that sets up a real difference in this campaign. My opponent is 
a tax-and-spend liberal. I'm a compassionate conservative. My opponent 
wants to empower Government. I want to use Government to empower people. 
My opponent seems to think all the wisdom is found in Washington, DC. I 
trust the wisdom of the American people.
    Our differences are also clear on issues of national security. When 
I took office in 2001, threats to America had been gathering for years. 
Then on one terrible morning, the terrorists took more lives than 
America lost at Pearl Harbor. Since that day, we have waged a global 
campaign to protect the American people and bring our enemies to 
account. Our Government has trained over a half a million first-
responders. We tripled spending on homeland security. Law enforcement 
and intelligence have better tools to stop terrorists, thanks to the 
PATRIOT Act, which Senator Kerry voted for but now wants to weaken.
    The Taliban regime that sheltered Al Qaida is gone from power, and 
the people of Afghanistan will vote in free elections this very week. A 
black market network that provided weapons materials to North Korea and 
Libya and Iran is now out of business. Libya, itself, has given up its 
weapons of mass destruction programs. We convinced Pakistan and Saudi 
Arabia to join the fight against the terrorists. And more than three-
quarters of Al Qaida's key members and associates have been brought to 
justice.
    After September the 11th, America had to assess every potential 
threat in a new light. Our Nation awakened to an even greater danger, 
the prospect that terrorists who killed thousands with hijacked 
airplanes would kill many more with weapons of mass murder. We had to 
take a hard look at everyplace where terrorists might get those weapons, 
and one regime stood out, the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein.
    We knew the dictator had a history of using weapons of mass 
destruction, a long record of aggression, and hatred for America. He was 
listed by Republican and Democrat administrations as a state sponsor of 
terrorists. There was a risk, a real risk, that Saddam Hussein would 
pass weapons or materials or information to terrorist networks. In the 
world after September the 11th, that was a risk we could not afford to 
take.
    After 12 years of United Nations Security Council resolutions, we 
gave him a final chance to come clean and listen to the demands of the 
free world. When he chose defiance and war, our coalition enforced the 
just demands of the world. And the world is better off with Saddam 
Hussein sitting in a prison cell.
    We've had many victories in the war on terror, and that war goes on. 
Our Nation is safer but not yet safe. To win this war, we must fight on 
every front. We'll stay on the offensive against terrorist networks, 
striking them before they come to America to hurt us. We'll confront 
governments that support terrorists and could arm them, because they're 
equally guilty of terrorist murder.
    And our long-term victory requires confronting the ideology of hate 
with freedom and hope. Our victory requires changing the conditions that 
produce radicalism and suicide bombers and finding new democratic allies 
in a troubled part of the region. America is always more secure when 
freedom is on the march. And freedom is on the march in Afghanistan and 
Iraq and elsewhere. There will be good days, and there will be bad days 
in the war on terror. But every day we will show our resolve, and we 
will do our duty. This Nation is determined. We will stay in the fight 
until the fight is won.
    My opponent agrees with all this, except when he doesn't. [Laughter] 
Last week in our debate, he once again came down firmly on every side of 
the Iraq war. [Laughter] He stated that Saddam Hussein was a threat and 
that America had no business removing that threat. Senator Kerry said 
our soldiers and marines are not fighting for a mistake but also called 
the liberation of Iraq a ``colossal error.'' He said we need to do more 
to train Iraqis, but he also said we shouldn't be spending so much money 
over there. He said he wants to hold a summit meeting so he can invite 
other countries to join what he calls ``the wrong war in the wrong place 
at the wrong time.'' [Laughter] He said terrorists are pouring across 
the Iraqi border but

[[Page 2266]]

also said that fighting those terrorists is a ``diversion'' from the war 
on terror. [Laughter] You hear all that, and you can understand why 
somebody would make a face. [Laughter]
    My opponent's endless back-and-forth on Iraq is part of a larger 
misunderstanding. In the war on terror, Senator Kerry is proposing 
policies and doctrines that would weaken America and make the world more 
dangerous. Senator Kerry approaches the world with a September the 10th 
mindset. He declared in his convention speech that any attack will be 
met with a swift and certain response. That was the mindset of the 
1990s, while Al Qaida was planning the attacks on America. After 
September the 11th, our object in the war on terror is not to wait for 
the next attack and respond but to prevent attacks by taking the fight 
to the enemy.
    In our debate, Senator Kerry said that removing Saddam Hussein was a 
mistake because the threat was not imminent. The problem with this 
approach is obvious. If America waits until a threat is at our doorstep, 
it might be too late to save lives. Tyrants and terrorists will not give 
us polite notice before they launch an attack on our country. I refuse 
to stand by while dangers gather. In the world after September the 11th, 
the path to safety is the path of action. And I will continue to defend 
the people of the United States of America. [Applause] Thank you all. 
Thank you all.
    My opponent has also announced the Kerry doctrine, declaring that 
American actions in the war on terror must pass a ``global test.''
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. Under this test, America would not be able to act 
quickly against threats, because we'd be sitting around waiting for our 
grade from other nations and other leaders. [Laughter]
    I have a different view. America will always work with allies for 
security and peace. But the President's job is not to pass a ``global 
test.'' The President's job is to protect the American people. 
[Applause] Thank you all.
    When my opponent first ran for Congress, he argued that American 
troops should be deployed only at the directive of the United Nations.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. Now, he's changed his mind. [Laughter] No, he has, in 
all fairness. But it is a window into his thinking. Over the years, 
Senator Kerry has looked for every excuse to constrain America's action 
in the world. These days he praises America's broad coalition in the 
Persian Gulf war. But in 1991, he criticized those coalition members as, 
quote, ``shadow battlefield allies who barely carry a burden.'' Sounds 
familiar. At that time, he voted against the war. If that coalition 
didn't pass his ``global test,'' clearly, nothing will. [Laughter] This 
mindset would paralyze America in a dangerous world. I'll never hand 
over America's security decisions to foreign leaders and international 
bodies that do not have America's interests at heart.
    My opponent's doctrine has other consequences, especially for our 
men and women in uniform. My opponent supports the International 
Criminal Court, which would allow unaccountable foreign prosecutors and 
judges to put American soldiers on trial.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. That would be a legal nightmare for our troops. My 
fellow citizens, as long as I'm your President, Americans in uniform 
will answer to the officers and laws of the United States, not to the 
International Criminal Court in The Hague.
    Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
    The President. The Senator speaks often about his plan to strengthen 
America's alliances, but he's got an odd way of doing it. In the middle 
of the war, he's chosen to insult America's fighting allies by calling 
them ``window dressing'' and the ``coalition of the coerced and the 
bribed.'' The Italians who died in Nasiriyah were not window dressing. 
They were heroes in the war on terror. The British and the Poles at the 
head of the multinational divisions in Iraq were not coerced or bribed. 
They have fought and some have died in the cause of freedom. These good 
allies and dozens of others deserve the respect of all Americans, not 
the scorn of a politician.
    Instead, the Senator would have America bend over backwards to 
satisfy a handful of governments with agendas different from our

[[Page 2267]]

own. This is my opponent's alliance-building strategy: Brush off your 
best friends; fawn over your critics. And that is no way to gain the 
respect of the world.
    My opponent says he has a plan for Iraq. Parts of it should sound 
pretty familiar. It's already known as the Bush plan. [Laughter] Senator 
Kerry suggests we train Iraqi troops, which we've been doing for months. 
Just this week, Iraqi forces backed by coalition troops fought bravely 
to take the city of Samarra from the terrorists and Ba'athists and 
insurgents. Senator Kerry is proposing that we have--that Iraq have 
elections. [Laughter] Those elections are already scheduled for January. 
[Laughter] He wants the U.N. to be involved in those elections. Well, 
the U.N. is already there.
    There was one element of the Senator Kerry's plan--it's a new 
element. He's talked about artificial timetables to pull our troops out 
of Iraq. He sent the signal that America's overriding goal in Iraq would 
be to leave, even if the job isn't done. That may satisfy his political 
needs, but it complicates the essential work we're doing in Iraq. The 
Iraqi people need to know that America will not cut and run when their 
freedom is at stake. Our soldiers and marines need to know that America 
will honor their service and sacrifice by completing the mission. And 
our enemies in Iraq need to know that they can never out last the will 
of America.
    Senator Kerry assures us that he's the one to win a war he calls a 
``mistake,'' an ``error,'' and a ``diversion.'' But you can't win a war 
you don't believe in fighting. On Iraq, Senator Kerry has a strategy of 
retreat; I have a strategy of victory. We've returned sovereignty to the 
Iraqi people ahead of schedule. We've trained about 100,000 Iraqi 
soldiers, police officers, and other security personnel, and that total 
will rise to 125,000 by year-end. We've already allocated more than $7 
billion for reconstruction efforts, so more Iraqis can see the benefits 
of freedom. We're working with a coalition of some 30 nations to provide 
security. Other nations are helping with debt relief and reconstruction 
aid for Iraqis. And although the terrorists will try to stop them, Iraq 
will hold free elections in January because the Iraqi people want and 
deserve to govern themselves.
    I understand some Americans have strong concerns about our role in 
Iraq. I respect the fact that they take this issue seriously, because it 
is a serious matter. I assure them we're in Iraq because I deeply 
believe it is necessary and right and critical to the outcome of the war 
on terror. If another terror regime were allowed to emerge in Iraq, the 
terrorists would find a home, a source of funding, vital support. They 
would correctly conclude that free nations do not have the will to 
defend themselves. If Iraq becomes a free society at the heart of the 
Middle East, an ally in the war on terror, a model of hopeful reform in 
a region that needs hopeful reform, the terrorists will suffer a 
crushing defeat, and every free nation will be more secure.
    This is why Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman calls Iraq a ``crucial 
battle in the global war on terrorism.'' This is why Prime Minister Tony 
Blair has called the struggle in Iraq ``the crucible in which the future 
of global terrorism will be determined.'' This is why the terrorists are 
fighting with desperate cruelty. They know their own future is at stake. 
Iraq is no diversion. It is the place where civilization is taking a 
decisive stand against chaos and terror, and we must not waver.
    Unfortunately, my opponent has been known to waver. [Laughter] His 
well-chosen words and rationalizations cannot explain why he voted to 
authorize force against Saddam Hussein and then voted against money for 
bullets and vehicles and body armor for the troops on the ground. He 
tried to clear it all up by saying, ``I actually did vote for the $87 
billion, before I voted against it.'' Now he says he made a mistake in 
how he talked about the war. The mistake here is not what Senator Kerry 
said. The mistake is what he did in voting against funding for Americans 
in combat. That is the kind of wavering a nation at war can never 
afford.
    As a candidate, my opponent promises to defend America. The problem 
is as a Senator for two decades, he has built a record of weakness. The 
record shows he twice led efforts to gut our intelligence service 
budgets. The record shows he voted against many of the weapons that won 
the cold war and are vital to current military operations. And the

[[Page 2268]]

record shows he has voted more than 50 times against missile defense 
systems that would help protect us from the threats of a dangerous 
world.
    I have a record in office as well, and all Americans have seen that 
record. 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.'' I remember trying to console 
people coming out of that rubble, and a guy grabbed me by the arm, and 
he looked me in the eye and said, ``Do not let me down.'' These men and 
women--the men and women there took it personally. You took it 
personally. I took it personally. I have a responsibility that goes on. 
I wake up every morning thinking about how to make our country more 
secure. I have acted again and again to protect our people. I will never 
relent in defending America, whatever it takes.
    Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
    The President. Twenty-seven days from today, Americans will make a 
critical choice. My opponent offers an agenda that is stuck in the 
thinking and the policies of the past. On national security, he offers 
the defensive mindset of September the 10th, a ``global test'' to 
replace American leadership, a strategy of retreat in Iraq, and a 20-
year history of weakness in the United States Senate. Here at home, he 
offers a record and an agenda of more taxes and more spending and more 
litigation and more Government control over your life.
    The race for President is a contest for the future, and you know 
where I stand. I'm running for President to keep this Nation on the 
offensive against terrorists, with the goal of total victory. I'm 
running for President to keep this economy moving so every worker has a 
good job and quality health care and a secure retirement. I'm running 
for President to make our Nation a more compassionate society, where no 
one is left out, where every life matters.
    I have a hopeful vision. I believe this young century will be 
liberty's century. We'll promote liberty abroad, protect our country, 
and build a better world beyond the war on terror. We'll encourage 
liberty at home to spread the prosperity and opportunity of America to 
every corner of our country. I will carry this message to my fellow 
citizens in the closing days of this campaign, and with your help, we 
will win a great victory on November the 2d.
    God bless. God bless our great country. Thank you all. Thanks for 
coming.

Note: The President spoke at 10:13 a.m. at the Kirby Center for the 
Performing Arts. In his remarks, he referred to Prime Minister Tony 
Blair of the United Kingdom.