[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 42 (Monday, October 18, 2004)]
[Pages 2384-2385]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a Debate Watch Party in Phoenix, Arizona

October 13, 2004

    The President. Thank you all.
    Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
    The President. Thank you all very much. I've been to a lot of 
ballparks in my day, but I've never been to a ballpark filled with so 
many people who are going to go out and work the vote and make sure we 
can win in November.
    I am so honored you came out tonight. I cannot thank you enough for 
greeting me and Laura and Barbara and Jenna. It warms our heart and 
lifts our spirit to be here with so many great American citizens. Thanks 
for coming. You know, when I got here, Laura

[[Page 2385]]

said, ``Stand up straight. Don't scowl, and keep your speech short.'' 
[Laughter]
    I meant what I said about Laura. I love her dearly. She's a great 
First Lady. Tonight I tried to give the people a reason to put me back 
in for 4 more years, but perhaps the most important reason of all is so 
that Laura is the First Lady for 4 more years. I'm proud to be here with 
Barbara and Jenna. I told them, I said, ``Get you some sleep tonight, 
and get back out on the campaign trail.'' [Laughter]
    But thank you all for coming. I love my family. I love my country. I 
love working with John McCain. I'm so proud to be standing with him here 
today. He is--he and I are going to go to Nevada tomorrow. We're going 
to Las Vegas. We're going to Reno. We're going to Oregon. We're going to 
travel this country with a message that's hopeful and optimistic, and 
we're going to win.
    I want to thank Cindy McCain as well for being here. I want to thank 
my friend Senator Jon Kyl and Caryll Kyl for being here as well. I want 
to thank the Members of Congress who are here.
    I want to thank my friend Aaron Tippin for providing some--
[applause]--yes. I want to thank the Arizona Diamondbacks for opening up 
this fantastic facility for us here today. I want to thank the players 
who are here.
    I want to thank the grassroots activists, the people who are going 
to put up the signs and make the phone calls and turn out the people to 
vote.
    I know you know this, but you can now cast your ballot for Dick 
Cheney and me. Make sure you do so, and get your friends and neighbors 
to do so. We need your help. We need your vote. We're going to win in 
November.
    I enjoyed the debate tonight. It gave me a chance to tell the 
American people where I want to lead for the next 4 years. We'll 
continue to create jobs. We'll continue to make sure our schools work. 
We'll work on health care. We'll make sure that America is safe and 
secure by staying on the offensive. We'll defeat the terrorists overseas 
so we do not face them here at home.
    And finally, we will never forget the values of this country, our 
faith, our families. We will make sure that we continue to hold true to 
our beliefs that liberty can transform the world. We long for peace. We 
will spread the peace by spreading freedom.
    I'm honored that you're here. Thank you for coming. May God bless 
you, and may God bless America.

Note: The President spoke at 8:12 p.m. at the Bank One Ballpark. In his 
remarks, he referred to Cindy McCain, wife of Senator John McCain; 
Caryll Kyl, wife of Senator Jon Kyl; and country music entertainer Aaron 
Tippin.