[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 43 (Monday, October 25, 2004)]
[Pages 2463-2468]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks in New Port Richey, Florida

October 19, 2004

    The President. Thank you all for coming. If you're looking for 
sunshine, Florida is the place to come. I'm looking for votes, and 
Florida is the place to come. Thank you all for coming out. I'm here to 
ask for not only your vote, I'm here to ask for your help. Get your 
friends and neighbors to go to the polls. And when you get them headed 
to the polls, remind them, if they want a stronger America, a safer 
America, and a better America, to put me and Dick Cheney back in office.
    I've got a lot of reasons why you ought to put me back in, but 
perhaps the most important one of all is so that Laura will have 4 more 
years as the First Lady. When I asked her to marry me, she said, ``Fine, 
just so long as I never have to give a speech.'' [Laughter] I said, 
``Okay, you got a deal.'' Fortunately, she didn't hold me to that deal. 
She's giving a lot of speeches, and the American people see a warm, 
compassionate, strong First Lady.
    I'm proud of my runningmate, Dick Cheney. Now, look, I admit it, he 
doesn't have the waviest hair in the race. [Laughter] I didn't pick him 
because of his hairdo. [Laughter] I picked him because of his judgment, 
his experience. I picked him because he can get the job done for the 
American people.
    I'm proud of my brother Jeb. What a great Governor for Florida. I 
appreciate the strength and compassion he showed during the hurricanes. 
Florida showed that out of adversity can come good, neighbors loving 
neighbors, people helping people who hurt. We'll continue to do 
everything we can to help the people of Florida get back on their feet.
    By the way, brother Marvin is with us too. [Applause] Yes. We love 
our family. And I love campaigning with my family.
    I want to thank Sam for his service to the United States of America. 
He was in the first gulf war. He's in the second incursion into Iraq. 
And our country is more secure because of his service.
    I want to thank Sheriff Bob White for joining us today. Sheriff, 
thanks. Appreciate it. I want to thank Daron Norwood, the country music 
singer, for being with us today.
    I want to thank Al Cardenas and all the grassroots activists who are 
here today. Thank you for putting up the signs. Thank you for making the 
phone calls. Thank you for working the polls. With your help, we will 
carry Florida again and win a great victory in November.
    In the last few years, the American people have gotten to know me. 
They know my blunt way of speaking. I get that from Mother. [Laughter] 
They know that I occasionally mangle the English language. [Laughter] I 
get that from my father. [Laughter] They also know that I tell you 
exactly what I'm going to do, and I keep my word.
    I enjoyed our debates. They showed the big differences between my 
opponent and me. We have different records. We have different views of 
the future. My record is one of reforming education, lowering taxes, 
providing prescription drug coverage for our seniors, improving homeland 
protections, and waging an aggressive war against the ideologues of 
hate.
    The Senator's record of 20 years is out of the mainstream. Instead 
of articulating a vision or a positive agenda for the future, the 
Senator is relying on a litany of complaints and old-style scare 
tactics. As proven by his record and a series of contradictions in this 
campaign, my opponent will say anything he thinks will benefit him 
politically at the time.
    I will do what I've said I will do. We will keep the promise of 
Social Security for our seniors. We will not have a draft; we will have 
an all-volunteer army. On November 2d, the people of America will reject 
the politics of fear and vote for an agenda of hope and opportunity and 
security for every American.
    When I came into office, the stock market had been in decline for 6 
months. And then we had a recession. To help families and to get this 
economy growing again, I pledged to reduce taxes. I kept my word, and 
the results are clear. The recession was one of the shallowest in 
American history.

[[Page 2464]]

    Over the last 3 years, our economy has grown at a rate faster than 
any major industrialized nation. Homeownership rate is at an alltime 
high in America. We added 1.9 million new jobs since August of 2003. The 
national unemployment rate is 5.4 percent, lower than the average of the 
1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. The unemployment rate in Florida is 4.5 
percent. This economy is moving forward, and we're not going to go back 
to the old days of tax and spend.
    To make sure jobs are here in America, America must be the best 
place in the world to do business. We need to reduce the regulations on 
our job creators. We need to do something about these frivolous lawsuits 
that hurt the small businesses.
    Listen, to keep jobs here, Congress needs to pass my energy plan. It 
encourages conservation. It encourages the use of renewables. It 
encourages clean coal technology. It encourages environmentally friendly 
ways to explore for natural gas. We will not explore off the coast of 
Florida. What I'm telling you is in order to keep jobs here, we must 
become less dependent on foreign sources of energy.
    To keep jobs here, we've got to reject economic isolationism. I 
believe in free trade. I believe in fair trade. I know Americans compete 
with anytime--anybody, anytime, anywhere, so long as the rules are fair.
    To keep jobs here, we've got to be wise about how we spend your 
money and keep your taxes low. My opponent has his own history on the 
economy.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. In 20 years as a Senator from Massachusetts, he's 
built the record of a Senator from Massachusetts. [Laughter] He voted to 
increase taxes 98 times in his 20 years. That's about five times a year. 
I would call that a pattern--[laughter]--a predictable pattern. He can 
run from his record, but he cannot hide.
    Now he's promising not to raise taxes for anyone who earns less than 
$200,000 a year. He said that with a straight face. [Laughter] The 
problem with that is, to keep that promise you'd have to break all the 
other ones. See, he's promised over $2.2 trillion in new spending. 
That's with a ``T.'' In order to pay for it, he said, well, all he's 
going to do is tax the rich. You can't raise enough money by taxing the 
rich to pay for $2.2 trillion. There is a gap between what he's promised 
and what he can raise. Guess who generally fills the gap? You do.
    Let me tell you what else is wrong with taxing the rich. The rich 
hire lawyers and accountants for a reason: to slip the bill and to pass 
it on to you. We're not going to let Senator Kerry tax you; we're going 
to carry Florida and win a great victory on November the 2d.
    When I came into office, our public schools had been waiting decades 
for hopeful reform. Fortunately, you had a Governor here in Florida who 
enacted hopeful reform. Too many of our children were shuffled through 
school without learning the basics. I pledged to restore accountability 
to our schools and to end the soft bigotry of low expectations. I kept 
my word. We're seeing results. Children are making sustained gains in 
reading and math. We're closing achievement gaps all over this country, 
and we're not going to go back to the days of low expectations and 
mediocrity.
    When I came into office, we had a problem in Medicare. Medicine was 
changing; Medicare was not. For example, Medicare would pay tens of 
thousands of dollars for heart surgery but not one dime for the 
prescription drugs that could prevent the heart surgery from being 
needed in the first place. It was not fair to our seniors. I pledged to 
bring Republicans and Democrats together to strengthen and modernize 
Medicare for our seniors. I kept my word.
    We're moving forward on health care. There is more to do. We need to 
make sure health care is available and affordable. We need a safety net 
for those with the greatest needs. I believe in community health 
centers, places where the poor and the indigent can get health care. We 
will make sure that poor children are fully subscribed in our programs 
for low-income families so they can get the health care they need.
    To make sure health care is affordable, we must recognize that most 
of the uninsured work for small businesses. Small businesses are having 
trouble affording health care. To help our workers get health care, we 
should allow small businesses to join together so

[[Page 2465]]

they can buy insurance at the same discounts as big companies get to do. 
We will expand health savings accounts so workers and small businesses 
are able to pay lower premiums and people can save tax-free in a health 
care account they call their own.
    To make sure health care is available and affordable, we must do 
something about the junk lawsuits that are running up the cost of 
medicine and running good doctors out of practice. There is a clear 
difference in this campaign. My opponent has consistently voted against 
medical liability reform. I stand for medical liability reform, and I 
know I can work with the next Senator from Florida, Mel Martinez, to get 
that reform done.
    The Senator has a health care proposal of his own, a plan for bigger 
and more intrusive Government. The other day, he tried to tell Americans 
that when it comes to his health care plan, and I quote, ``The 
Government has nothing to do with it.'' [Laughter] I could barely 
contain myself. [Laughter] The facts are that 8 out of 10 people who get 
health care under Senator Kerry's plan would be placed on a Government 
program. He says his plan would help small businesses. Yet, groups that 
studied this plan concluded it was an overpriced albatross that would 
saddle small businesses with 225 new mandates.
    I have a different view. I want to help our small businesses, not 
saddle them with a bunch of Government rules. The choice is clear. My 
opponent wants to move in the direction of Government-run health care. I 
believe health decisions should be made by doctors and patients, not by 
officials in Washington, DC. He can run, but he cannot hide.
    I've set out policies that move our country toward a more hopeful 
and optimistic vision. I believe our country can and must be an 
ownership society. There's an old saying: No one ever washes a rental 
car--[laughter]--a lot of wisdom in that statement. When you own 
something, you care about it. When you own something, you have a vital 
stake in the future of your country. That's why we're encouraging 
entrepreneurship. Every time a small business is started, someone is 
achieving the American Dream.
    We're encouraging health savings accounts so people have the 
security of owning and managing their own health care. We will continue 
to encourage homeownership in America. I love it when somebody opens the 
door where they live and says, ``Welcome to my home. Welcome to my piece 
of property.''
    In a new term, we'll take the next step to build an ownership 
society by strengthening Social Security. Let me talk about Social 
Security right quick. In 2000, people traveled this State saying, ``If 
George W. gets elected, our seniors will not get their checks.''
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. Our seniors must remember, you got your checks. You 
will continue to get their checks, no matter what they try to tell you. 
And baby boomers, we're in pretty good shape when it comes to Social 
Security.
    But we need to worry about our children and our grandchildren. The 
job of the President is to confront problems, not to pass them on to 
future generations and future Presidents. To make sure Social Security 
is around when our children grow up, we must allow younger workers to 
save some of their own payroll taxes in a personal savings account that 
earns better interest, a personal savings account they call their own 
and an account the Government cannot take away.
    When it comes to Social Security, my opponent wants to maintain the 
status quo. That is not leadership. He's against these Social Security 
reforms. He's against just about every other reform that gives more 
authority and control to the people. On issue after issue, from Medicare 
without choices to schools without accountability to higher taxes, he 
takes the side of more bureaucracy and more Government.
    There is a word for that attitude. It is called liberalism. He 
dismisses that as a label. He must have seen it differently when he told 
a newspaper, ``I am a liberal, and I'm proud of it.''
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. The nonpartisan National Journal did a study and 
named him the most liberal Member of the United States Senate. That 
takes a lot of hard work. [Laughter]
    I have a different record and a different philosophy. I do not 
believe in big Government, and I do not believe that Government should 
be indifferent. That is called compassionate conservatism. I believe in 
policies

[[Page 2466]]

that empower people to improve their lives, not try to run their lives. 
I believe we must continue to help men and women find the schools--
skills and tools to prosper in a time of change. And so we're helping 
all Americans find dignity and independence. And I will continue to lead 
our country for 4 more years with that philosophy in mind.
    Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
    The President. In this time of change, some things do not change, 
the values we try to live by, courage and compassion, reverence and 
integrity. In a time of change, we must support the institutions that 
gives our lives purpose and direction, 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 stand for the appointment 
of Federal judges who know the difference between personal opinion and 
the strict interpretation of the law.
    My opponent's words on these issues are a little muddy, but his 
record is plenty clear. He says he supports the institution of marriage 
but voted against the Defense of Marriage Act. He voted against a ban on 
the practice of partial-birth abortion.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. He's described the Reagan years as a time of moral 
darkness.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. There is a mainstream in American politics, and my 
opponent sits on the far left bank. He can run, but he cannot hide.
    This election will also determine how America responds to the 
continuing danger of terrorism. The most solemn duty of the American 
President is to protect the American people. If America shows 
uncertainty or weakness in this decade, the world will drift toward 
tragedy. This will not happen on my watch.
    Our strategy is clear. We are defending the homeland. We are 
reforming and strengthening our intelligence services. We are 
transforming our military. The All-Volunteer Army will remain an all-
volunteer army. We are staying on the offensive. We're striking the 
terrorists abroad so we do not have to face them here at home. We will 
spread freedom and liberty. And we will prevail.
    Our strategy is succeeding. Think about the world as it was 3\1/2\ 
years ago. Afghanistan was the home base of Al Qaida. Pakistan was a 
transit point for terrorist groups. Saudi Arabia was fertile ground for 
fundraising. Libya was secretly pursuing nuclear weapons. Iraq was a 
dangerous place and a gathering threat. And Al Qaida was largely 
unchallenged as it planned attacks.
    Today, because we acted, Afghanistan is free and is an ally on the 
war on terror; Pakistan is capturing terrorist leaders; Saudi Arabia is 
making raids and 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 brought to 
justice.
    We're standing with the peoples of a free Afghanistan and Iraq. I 
want you to remind your children about the historic moment that took 
place when the Afghan citizens went to vote. It was all but 3 years ago 
that these people lived under the brutal, brutal reign of the Taliban. 
Young girls couldn't go to school. Mothers were taken and whipped in the 
public square because they didn't toe the line of these ideologues of 
hate. But because we acted in our self-defense, millions went to the 
polls. The first voter in Afghan--in the Afghanistan Presidential 
election was a 19-year-old woman. Freedom is on the march.
    There will be elections in Iraq in January. Think about how far that 
country has come from the days of mass graves and torture chambers and 
the brutal reign of a tyrant who hated America. It's important that 
freedom be on the march. We're more secure when societies are free. Free 
societies 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. Free societies will be 
peaceful societies. Freedom means America will be more secure.
    And so our mission is clear. We will help the people in these 
countries, in Afghanistan and Iraq, train their armies, train their 
police, so they can do the hard work of defending

[[Page 2467]]

freedom. We will help the countries get 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 want to thank those who wear our uniform. I want to thank the 
veterans who have set such a great example for those who wear the 
uniform. I want to thank the military families who are with us today.
    Under my leadership and working with the Congress, our Nation is 
keeping our commitments to those who serve and to their families. We've 
increased basic pay in the military by 21 percent. We've increased 
health benefits and Federal support for schools on our bases. We've 
reduced the out-of-pocket expenses for off-base housing to zero for our 
military families. We're supporting our Guard and our Reserves. We're 
spending 14 billion for construction and maintenance for Guard and 
Reserve facilities. We've extended military health care to our Guard and 
Reserve families. We're making sure that our troops have what they need 
in order to complete their missions.
    And that's why I went to the Congress and requested $87 billion of 
funding in September of 2003. And the support in the Congress was 
strong, except for 12 Senators voted against funding for our troops----
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. ----2 of whom were my opponent and his runningmate.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. When you're out rounding up the vote, remind the 
people of this startling statistic: There were only four Members of the 
Senate who voted to authorize the use of force and voted against 
supporting our troops in combat--only four--two of whom are my opponent 
and his runningmate.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. So they asked him about the vote, and he said, in 
perhaps the most famous quote of the 2004 campaign, ``I actually did 
vote for the $87 billion, before I voted against it.''
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. Sunday was the one-year anniversary of Senator 
Kerry's vote against funding for our troops. My opponent's many and 
conflicting positions on this issue are a case study into why his 
contradictions call into question his credibility and his ability to 
lead our Nation.
    In September 2003, as the $87 billion funding package was being 
debated, Senator Kerry, on national TV, said it would be ``irresponsible 
to abandon our troops by voting against it.'' That's what he said. Just 
one month later, he did exactly the opposite. And so you wonder why. 
What happened to change the Senator's mind so abruptly in one month? 
Well, his opponent in the Democrat primary, Howard Dean, was gaining 
ground as an antiwar candidate. Senator Kerry apparently decided 
supporting the troops, even while they were in harm's way, was not as 
important as shoring up his own political position.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. At a time of great threat to our country, at a time 
of great challenge in the world, the Commander in Chief must stand on 
principle, not on the shifting sands of political convenience.
    His vote against supporting our troops in combat is part of a 
pattern. He opposed the B-1 bomber. He opposed the B-2 stealth bomber. 
He opposed modernization of the F-14D, all of which helped us secure our 
country in Afghanistan and Iraq. He opposed the Apache helicopter. He 
opposed the Patriot missile system. My opponent has built a 20-year 
record of military weakness. He can run from his record----
    Audience members. But he can't hide!
    The President. In our debate, Senator Kerry proposed we should pass 
a ``global test'' before we defend ourselves.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. I'm not making that up. That's exactly what he said. 
I was standing right there. [Laughter] The problem with a ``global 
test'' is the Senator cannot ever pass it. In 1990, the United Nations 
Security Council passed a resolution supporting action to remove Saddam 
Hussein from Kuwait. The international community was united. Countries 
throughout the world joined our coalition. Yet even after United Nations 
approval, Senator Kerry voted against authorization for the use of 
force.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. If that didn't pass a ``global test,'' nothing will 
pass a ``global test.'' Listen,

[[Page 2468]]

I'll continue to build strong alliances. We'll work with our friends and 
allies. But I will never turn over America's national security decisions 
to leaders of other countries.
    I believe in the transformational power of liberty. After World War 
II, after we defeated the Japanese, Harry Truman believed in the 
transformational power of liberty to convert an enemy into an ally. A 
lot of people doubted that. A lot of people wondered whether an enemy 
could ever become a democracy. But there were strong beliefs. And as a 
result of that belief, today, I sit down at the table with the head of a 
former enemy, Prime Minister Koizumi of Japan, talking about the peace 
we all want.
    Someday, a duly elected leader of Iraq will be sitting down with an 
American President, talking about the peace in the greater Middle East, 
and our children and our grandchildren will be better off for it.
    I believe that millions in the Middle East plead in silence for 
their freedom. I believe women in the Middle East want to live in a free 
society. I believe mothers and dads in the Middle East want their 
children to grow up in a free and peaceful world. I believe all 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.
    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 
that requires firm resolve and clear vision and a deep faith in the 
values that makes this 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. I will never forget the workers 
in hardhats who were yelling at me at the top of their lungs, ``Whatever 
it takes.'' I'll never forget the man that grabbed me by my arm and 
looked me in the eye, 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, when I traveled your great State, I made a pledge 
that if you gave me a 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 for coming. Thank you all. Thanks for coming.

Note: The President spoke at 11:34 a.m. at Sims Park. In his remarks, he 
referred to Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida; Bob White, sheriff, Pasco County, 
FL; Al Cardenas, former chair, Republican Party of Florida; Mel R. 
Martinez, senatorial candidate in Florida; and Prime Minister Junichiro 
Koizumi of Japan.