[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 44 (Monday, November 1, 2004)]
[Pages 2585-2591]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]
<R04>
Remarks in Davenport, Iowa
October 25, 2004
The President. Thank you all. Thanks for coming. It is great to be
back in the great city of Davenport, Iowa. Laura and I are--[applause].
Thanks for coming. You've lifted our spirits today. We really appreciate
you being here.
We're heading down the stretch. I'm here to ask for your vote. I'm
here to ask for your help. I need you to go to your friends and
neighbors and remind them we have a duty in this great democracy to
vote. Don't overlook discerning Democrats when you get people going to
the polls, by the way, people like Senator Zell Miller. Remind your
friends and neighbors if they want a safer country, a stronger country,
and a better country, to put me and Dick Cheney back in office.
Laura and I were in the seventh grade together in San Jacinto Junior
High, in Midland, Texas, and then we became reacquainted. She was a
public school librarian when I met her again. I said, ``Will you marry
me?'' She said, ``Fine, if you make me one promise.'' I said, ``What is
it?'' ``Promise me I'll never have to give a political speech.''
[Laughter] I said, ``Okay, you've got a deal.'' [Laughter] Fortunately,
she didn't hold me to that promise. She's giving a lot of speeches, and
when she does, the American people see a strong, compassionate First
Lady.
And I'm proud of my runningmate, Dick Cheney. You know, I'm looking
around, and I can see a few folks out there have got the same hairstyle
he does. [Laughter] I did not pick the Vice President because of his
hairdo. [Laughter] And I admit, he doesn't have the waviest hair in the
race. [Laughter] I picked him because he can get the job done for the
American people.
How about Rudy? We love traveling with Rudy. Rudy is a great
American. We woke up, and we had breakfast with Rudy and Judith at our
place in Crawford. Then we went
[[Page 2586]]
to Greeley, Colorado. Then we went to the western part of your State,
and we're finishing a great day here in Davenport. And I want to thank
Rudy--I want to thank him for joining me. I appreciate his support.
So I was telling Laura, I said, ``You know something, the South Lawn
at the White House has got a lot of grass on it, and we need somebody to
come and mow it.'' [Laughter] ``I can't think of anybody better than the
Chairman, Chuck Grassley, to be mowing our lawn.'' What a good man Chuck
Grassley is. He's a great United States Senator. I know you're proud of
him.
And I'm proud of your Congressman, Jim Nussle, the budget chairman.
He's watching your money like a hawk--eye. He's a good man. And I know
you're proud of a Congressman who was raised right here, former
Congressman. He moved up the road a little bit, but a man we call
friend, and that's Congressman Jim Leach, and his wife, Deb, is here.
I want to thank all the grassroots activists who are here, the
people putting up the signs, the people making the phone calls, the
people organizing a rally just like this one. I want to thank you for
what you have done and what you're going to do. With your hard work,
with your help, we will carry Iowa and win a great victory on November
the 2d.
Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
The President. We have just 8 days to go in this campaign, and
voters have a clear choice between two very different candidates with
dramatically different approaches and different records. You know where
I stand, and sometimes, you even know where my opponent stands.
[Laughter] We both have records. I'm proudly running on mine. The
Senator is running from his. [Laughter] And there's a reason why. There
is a mainstream in American politics, and my opponent sits on the far
left bank. I'm a compassionate conservative and proudly so. In a time
when our country has much to accomplish and much to offer, I proudly
offer my record of reform and results.
This election comes down to five clear choices for America's
families, five choices on issues of great consequence: your family's
security; your family's budget; your quality of life; your retirement;
and the bedrock values that are so critical to our country's future.
The first clear choice is the most important because it concerns the
security of your family. All our progress on every other issue depends
on the safety of our citizens. This will be the first Presidential
election since September the 11th, 2001. Americans will go to the polls
in a time of war and ongoing threats unlike any we have faced before.
The terrorists who killed thousands are still dangerous, and they're
determined. The outcome of this election will set the direction of the
war against terror. 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.
Since that 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've strengthened the protections for our homeland. We're
reforming our intelligence capabilities. We're transforming our army.
There will be no draft. We will keep the All-Volunteer Army. We are
determined. We are relentless. We are staying on the offensive, and
we're succeeding. The 9/11 Commission report said, ``America is safer,
not yet safe.'' More than three-quarters of Al Qaida's key members and
associates have been brought to justice. The rest of them know we're on
their trail.
The American President, in these times of danger, must lead with
consistency and strength. In a war, sometimes your tactics change but
not your principles. Americans have seen how I do my job. Even when you
might not agree with me, you know what I believe and where I stand and
what I intend to do. On good days and on bad days, whether the polls are
up or the polls are down, I am determined to win the war on terror, and
I will always support the men and women who wear the uniform.
Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
The President. My opponent has taken a different approach. It's fair
to say that consistency has not been his strong point.
[[Page 2587]]
[Laughter] Senator Kerry says we're better off with Saddam Hussein out
of power, except when he declares that removing Saddam has made us less
safe. He stated in our second debate that he always believed Saddam was
a threat, except a few questions later, when he said Saddam Hussein was
not a threat. [Laughter] He says he was right when he voted to authorize
the use of force against Saddam Hussein, but that I was wrong to use
force against Saddam Hussein. [Laughter]
Now my opponent is throwing out the wild claim that he knows where
bin Laden was in the fall of 2001, and that our military passed up the
chance to get him in Tora Bora. This is unjustified criticism of our
military commanders in the field. This is the worst kind of Monday
morning quarterbacking. And it's what we've come to expect from my
opponent during this campaign.
In fact, our Commander in Afghanistan, General Tommy Franks,
recently wrote about Tora Bora, and he said, ``The Senator's
understanding of events does not square with reality.'' The General said
that American Special Forces were actively involved in the search for
the terrorists in Tora Bora, and that intelligence reports at the time
placed bin Laden in several countries.
Before Senator Kerry got into political difficulty and revised his
views, he saw our actions in Tora Bora differently. In the fall of 2001,
on national TV, he said this about Tora Bora, ``I think we've been doing
this pretty effectively, and we should continue to do it that way.'' At
the time, the Senator said about Tora Bora, ``I think we've been smart.
I think the administration leadership has done it well, and we are on
the right track.'' End quote. All I can say about that is, I am George
W. Bush, and I approve of that message.
Senator Kerry's record on national security has a far deeper problem
than election-year flip-flopping. On the largest national security
issues of our time, he has been consistently wrong. When Ronald Reagan
was confronting the Soviet Union at the height of the cold war, Senator
Kerry said that President Reagan's policy of peace through strength was
making America less safe.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. He voted against many weapons systems critical to our
defense buildup. History has shown that Senator Kerry was wrong, and
President Ronald Reagan was right.
When former President Bush led a coalition against Saddam Hussein in
1991, Senator Kerry voted against the use of force to liberate Kuwait.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. If his view had prevailed, Saddam Hussein today would
dominate the Middle East and possess the world's most dangerous weapons.
History has shown that Senator Kerry was wrong, and former President
George Bush was right.
In 1994, just one year after the first bombing of the World Trade
Center, Senator Kerry proposed massive cuts in America's intelligence
budget.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. So massive that even his Massachusetts colleague, Ted
Kennedy, opposed them. [Laughter] History has shown that Senator Kerry
was wrong and--we've got be fair--Senator Kennedy was right. [Laughter]
Just last year, American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan needed $87
billion for important funding to help them complete their missions.
First, my opponent said, ``It would be irresponsible to vote against the
troops.'' Then he voted against the troops.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. You might remember perhaps the most famous quote of
the 2004 campaign. They asked him about his vote, and he said, ``I
actually did vote for the $87 billion, right before I voted against
it.'' History has shown that Senator Kerry was right, then wrong--
[laughter]--then briefly right--[laughter]--then wrong again. [Laughter]
Since then, he said, ``The whole thing was a complicated matter.'' My
fellow Americans, there's nothing complicated about supporting our
troops in harm's way.
During the last 20 years, in key moments of challenge and decision
for America, Senator Kerry has chosen a position of weakness and
inaction. With that record, he stands in opposition not just to me but
to the great tradition of the Democratic Party. The party of Franklin
Roosevelt and Harry Truman and
[[Page 2588]]
John Kennedy is rightly remembered for confidence and resolve in times
of war and hours of crisis. Senator Kerry has turned his back on ``pay
any price'' and ``bear any burden.'' And he's replaced those commitments
with ``wait and see'' and ``cut and run.'' Many Democrats in this
country do not recognize their party anymore. And today I want to speak
to every one of them. If you believe that America should lead with
strength and purpose and confidence in our ideals, I would be honored to
have your support, and I'm asking for your vote.
Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
The President. The second clear choice in this election concerns
your family's budget. When I ran for President 4 years ago, I pledged to
lower taxes for American families, and I kept my word. I enjoyed working
with Chairman Chuck Grassley to keep a pledge I made. We doubled the
child credit to $1,000 per child. We reduced the marriage penalty. The
Tax Code should encourage marriage, not penalize marriage. We dropped
the lowest bracket to 10 percent, so working families could keep more of
their paychecks. We reduced taxes for everybody who pays taxes. After-
tax income is up--that's money in your pocket to spend--it's up by about
10 percent since I became your President.
I want you to remind your friends and neighbors what this economy
has been through. Six months prior to our arrival in Washington, DC, the
stock market was in serious decline. And then we faced the recession and
corporate scandals and the attacks of September the 11th, 2001, which
cost us about a million jobs in the 3 months after that fateful day.
But our economic policies have put us back on the road to growth.
Our economy is growing at rates as fast as any in nearly 20 years. The
homeownership rate is at an alltime high. Our farmers are making a good
living. The entrepreneurial spirit is strong. Small businesses are
flourishing all across our country. We've added more than 1.9 million
new jobs in the last 13 months. The national unemployment rate is 5.4
percent, lower than the average rate of the 1970s, the 1980s, and the
1990s. The unemployment rate in the great State of Iowa is 4.7 percent.
This economy is strong, and it is getting stronger.
My opponent has very different plans for your budget--for your
family's budget, and that's to take a big chunk out of it.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. You tell your friends and neighbors, he voted against
the child credit, marriage penalty relief, lower tax rates. If his vote
had prevailed, an average middle-class family would be paying $2,000
more a year to the Federal Government.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. It's part of a pattern. He's been in the United
States Senate for 20 years, and he's voted for tax increases 98 times.
That's about five times every year. That's predictable. When a Senator
does something that often, he must really enjoy it. [Laughter] During
his campaign, he's made a lot of big promises--big spending promises
too. He's promised $2.2 trillion of new spending. That's trillion with a
``T.'' That's a lot even for a Senator from Massachusetts. [Laughter]
So they asked him, ``How are you going to pay for it?'' He said,
``Oh, we'll just tax the rich.'' You've heard that before, haven't you?
When you run up the top two brackets, one, he's taxing a lot of small
businesses. Seventy percent of job--new jobs in America are created by
small businesses. Most small businesses pay individual income-tax rates.
And when you're running up the taxes, you're taxing the job creators,
and that is bad economic policy. When you raise the top two brackets,
you raise between 600 billion and 800 billion dollars. That's far short
of the 2.2 trillion. There is a gap. And guess who usually pays that
gap?
Audience members. We do!
The President. You do. The good news is, we're going to carry Iowa.
We're going to win on November the 2d, and he's not going to tax you.
The third clear choice in this election involves the quality of life
for our Nation's families. A good education and quality health care are
important to a successful life. When I ran for President 4 years ago, I
promised to challenge the soft bigotry of low expectations in every
school in America, and I kept my word. We passed good reforms. The No
[[Page 2589]]
Child Left Behind Act has raised standards. It believes in local control
of schools. Schools are now more accountable. Our children are learning
to read and write and add and subtract. We're closing achievement gaps
all across this country for minority students. We'll build on these
reforms. We'll extend high standards to our high schools, so that no
child is left behind in America.
And we'll continue to improve lives for our families by making
health care more affordable and accessible. We'll expand health savings
accounts so more small businesses can cover their workers, and more
families are able to get health care accounts they can manage and call
their own. We will help our small businesses afford health insurance by
allowing them to pool together so they can buy insurance at the same
discounts that big companies are able to do. We will expand community
health centers and rural health centers to help the poor and the
indigent. We'll make sure every eligible child is enrolled in our
Government's low-income health insurance program.
And to make sure health care is available and affordable, we will do
something about these frivolous lawsuits that are running up the cost of
medicine. I've met too many ob-gyns around this Nation that are having
trouble practicing medicine because the lawsuits are running up their
premiums and driving them out of business. I've met too many pregnant
women who are worried about the quality of the health care they're
receiving because their ob-gyn can't practice in the local community.
This is a national problem that requires a national solution. You cannot
be pro-doctor and pro-patient and pro-trial-lawyer at the same time. You
have to make a choice. My opponent made his choice, and he put a
personal injury trial lawyer on the ticket.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. I made my choice. I have made my choice. I'm standing
with the doctors, and I'm standing with the patients. I'm for medical
liability reform--now.
My opponent has a different point of view when it comes to schools
and health care. He voted for the No Child Left Behind Act but now wants
to weaken the accountability standards. For example, he's proposed
including measures like teacher attendance to judge whether a student
can read or write or add and subtract. We need to keep high standards in
our schools. We've got to expect the best for the children. And he voted
against health savings accounts. He opposes association health plans. He
voted 10 times against medical liability reform. He can run from his
record, but he cannot hide.
No, he's laid out a plan for health care, and it would be a big-
Government health care plan. Eighty percent of the people who get
coverage under his proposal would be enrolled in a Government program.
Now, listen, I remember those debates when he looked right in the camera
with a straight face and said, ``The Government has nothing to do with
it.'' I could barely contain myself. [Laughter] The Government has got a
lot to do with it. It's a plan that will lead us down the road to
Federal control of health care. In all we do to improve health care, we
will make sure the decisions are made by doctors and patients, not by
officials in Washington, DC.
The fourth clear choice in this election involves your retirement.
Our Nation has made a solemn commitment to America's seniors on Social
Security and Medicare. When I ran for President 4 years ago, I promised
to keep that commitment and improve Medicare by adding prescription drug
coverage. I kept my word. I want you to remember the history on
Medicare. Leaders in both political parties have talked about
strengthening and modernizing Medicare for years. We got the job done.
And I want to thank Chairman Chuck Grassley for his hard work on this
issue. Seniors are getting discounts on medicine with drug discount
cards. Low-income seniors are getting $600 of help this year and $600 of
help next year. And beginning in 2006, all seniors will be able to get
prescription drug coverage under Medicare.
Here we have another difference in this campaign. My opponent voted
against the Medicare bill that included prescription drug coverage, even
though it was supported by AARP and other seniors groups. In this
campaign, he said, ``If I'm President, we're going to repeal that phony
bill.'' Then he went on to say, ``No, I don't want to repeal it.''
[Laughter] Sounds familiar. [Laughter] As
[[Page 2590]]
your President for the next 4 years, I will defend the reforms we have
worked so hard to pass and keep the promise of Medicare for America's
seniors. And I will keep the promise of Social Security for our seniors,
and we will strengthen Social Security for generations to come.
Now, I want to remind you all what took place in the 2000 election
and may be taking place in this election already, and that is that
every--every campaign cycle it seems like somebody is trying to scare
our seniors. See, in 2000, they said, ``If George W. gets elected, our
seniors will not get their checks.'' As you're out rounding up the
votes, I want you to remind people, George W. did get elected, and our
seniors did get their checks. And I plan on getting reelected, and our
seniors will continue to get their checks. And baby boomers like me,
we're in pretty good shape when it comes to the Social Security trust.
But we need to worry about our children and our grandchildren. We
need to worry about whether or not a retirement system--a viable
retirement system in Social Security will be there when they need it.
And that's why I believe younger workers ought to be allowed to take
some of their own payroll taxes and put it in a personal savings account
that will earn a better rate of return, an account they own, an account
the Government cannot take away.
My opponent takes a different approach. He said he talks about
protecting Social Security, but he's the only candidate in this race who
has voted eight times for higher taxes on Social Security benefits.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. He might not want us to remind him of that. He can
run, but he cannot hide.
And when it comes to a younger generation, he offered nothing, no
reforms. The job of the President is to confront problems, not to pass
them on to future Presidents and future generations. I will bring
Republicans and Democrats together to make sure Social Security is
viable for a younger generation of Americans.
And the fifth and final clear choice in this election is on the
values that are so crucial to keeping America's families strong. And
here, my opponent and I are miles apart. I stand for the appointment of
Federal judges who know the difference between personal opinion and the
strict interpretation of the law. I believe marriage is a sacred
commitment. Marriage is a pillar of civilization, and I will defend it.
This is not a partisan issue. When Congress passed the Defense of
Marriage Act, which defined marriage as a union of a man and a woman,
the vast majority of Democrats supported it, and the bill was signed by
my predecessor.
But Senator Kerry was part of an out-of-the-mainstream minority that
voted against the Defense of Marriage Act.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. I believe that reasonable people can find common
ground on the difficult issues. Republicans and Democrats, many citizens
on both sides of the life issue came together and agreed we should ban
the brutal practice of partial-birth abortion. I proudly signed that
bill.
Senator Kerry was part of the out-of-the-mainstream minority that
voted against the ban.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. He also voted against parental notification laws. He
voted against the Unborn Victims of Violence Act. I'll continue to reach
out to Americans of every belief and move this goodhearted Nation toward
a culture of life.
My opponent has said that the heart and soul of America can be found
in Hollywood.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. I know. Most American families do not look to
Hollywood for a source of values. [Laughter] The heart and soul of
America is found in caring and loving communities like Davenport, Iowa.
All these choices make this one of the most important elections in
our history. The security and prosperity of our country, the health and
education for our families, the retirement of our seniors, and the
direction of our culture are all at stake. And the decision is in the
best of hands; it's in the hands of the American people.
I see a great day coming for America. One of my favorite quotes was
written by a fellow Texan named Tom Lea. He said, ``Sarah and I live on
the east side of the mountain. It's the sunrise side, not the sunset
side. It is
[[Page 2591]]
the side to see the day that is coming, not to see the day that has
gone.'' My opponent has spent much of this campaign talking about the
day that has gone. I'm talking about the day that's coming.
You know, we have been through a lot together over the past years.
Because we've done the hard work of climbing the mountain, we can see
the valley below. We'll protect our families. We'll build on their
prosperity. We'll defend our Nation's deepest values. We'll spread
freedom in the world, and as we do, we'll achieve the peace we all long
for.
When I traveled your State in 2000, asking for the vote, first in
the caucuses and then in the general election, I made this pledge: I
pledged that I would uphold the honor and the integrity of the office to
which I had been elected. With your help, I will do so for 4 more years.
God bless. Thanks for coming. Thank you all. Thank you all.
Note: The President spoke at 5:30 p.m. at the RiverCenter. In his
remarks, he referred to Senator Zell Miller of Georgia, who made the
keynote address at the Republican National Convention; former Mayor
Rudolph W. Giuliani of New York City, and his wife, Judith; Usama bin
Laden, leader of the Al Qaida terrorist organization; and Gen. Tommy R.
Franks, USA, (Ret.), former combatant commander, U.S. Central Command.
He also referred to the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon
the United States (9/11 Commission).