[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 45 (Monday, November 8, 2004)]
[Pages 2715-2721]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks in Minneapolis, Minnesota

October 30, 2004

    The President. Thank you all for coming. We appreciate you coming. 
Thank you all. Thanks for coming. Laura and I are honored so many came 
to say hello. We, first, want to thank you for lifting our spirits. How 
good does it get--Arnold yesterday, Mike Tice today. I'm proud to be 
introduced by a leader and somebody who's getting results. Thanks for 
coming, Mike. Laura and I are thrilled you are here.
    We are here to ask for your vote. We are here to ask for your help. 
It is close to voting time. That's the time when people in a free 
society do their obligations and go to the polls. We have a duty in this 
country to vote. I'm here to get your friends--I'm here to ask you to 
ask your friends and neighbors to do their duty. Get our fellow 
Republicans to the polls. Get wise independents to the polls--
[laughter]--discerning Democrats like Mayor Randy Kelly from St. Paul, 
Minnesota, to the polls. I appreciate you, friend.
    The Democrat mayor of St. Paul is not alone. There are a lot of 
Democrats who, just like you, want America to be a safer, stronger, and 
better place. When you get people headed to the polls, remind them, if 
they want a safer America, a stronger America, and a better America, put 
me and Dick Cheney back in office.
    Perhaps the most important reason why people should reelect me is so 
that Laura is the First Lady for 4 more years.
    I'm proud of my runningmate, Dick Cheney. I don't want to offend 
anybody who is follically challenged, but I fully recognize that the 
Vice President doesn't have the waviest hair in the race. [Laughter] The 
people of this great State will be pleased to know I didn't pick him 
because of his hairdo. I picked him because of his judgment, his 
experience. He is getting the job done for the American people.
    I am proud of your Governor, Tim Pawlenty, and so are the people of 
Minnesota. I want to thank my friend and your United States Senator, 
Norm Coleman, for his leadership. I want to thank the Members of 
Congress who are here, Congressman John Kline, Congressman Jim Ramstad, 
Congressman Mark Kennedy, for their service.
    I want to thank Pat Anderson. I want to thank all the candidates 
running for office. I want to thank my friend Rudy Boschwitz for being 
such a strong and loyal supporter. I want to thank Gary Cayo, the 
president of the Minnesota Fraternal Order of Police, for his support 
and the support of the Fraternal Order of Police all across our country. 
I want to thank Billy Dean.
    Most of all, I want to thank you all. I want to thank the grassroots 
activists who are putting up the signs, making the phone calls, doing 
the hard work necessary to have such a big rally as this one. I want to 
thank you for what you have done and what you are going to do, which is 
to turn out that vote. No doubt in my mind, with your help, we

[[Page 2716]]

will carry Minnesota and win a great victory in November. [Applause] 
Thank you all.
    This election takes place in a time of great consequence. The person 
who sits in the Oval Office for the next 4 years will set the course on 
the war on terror and the direction of our economy. America needs 
strong, optimistic, determined leadership, and I'm ready for the job.
    My 4 years as your President have confirmed some lessons and taught 
some new ones. I've learned to expect the unexpected, because war and 
emergency can arrive suddenly on a quiet morning. I've learned firsthand 
how hard it is to send young men and women into battle, even if it's the 
right cause. I've been grateful for the lessons I've learned from my 
parents: Respect every person; do your best; live every day to its 
fullest. I've been strengthened by my faith and humbled by its reminder 
that every life is part of a larger story.
    I know how a President needs to lead. As Presidents from Lincoln to 
Roosevelt to Reagan so clearly demonstrated, a President must not shift 
with the wind. A President has to make the tough decisions and stand by 
them.
    In the last 4 years, Americans have learned some things about me as 
well. Sometimes I'm a little too blunt. I get that from my mother. 
[Laughter] Sometimes I mangle the English language. I get that from my 
father. [Laughter] But all the time, whether you agree with me or not, 
you know where I stand and where I intend to lead this country.
    Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
    The President. You cannot say that about my opponent.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. Consistency is not his long suit. [Laughter] The 
people of this country will vote next Tuesday. I am confident they will 
vote for consistency, for conviction, and for principle. And with your 
help, we'll win in November the 2d.
    This election comes down to five clear choices for America's 
families. The first clear choice is the most important because it 
concerns the security of your family. All progress on every other issue 
depends on the safety of our citizens. Americans go to the polls in a 
time of war and ongoing threats. The terrorists who killed thousands of 
innocent people are still dangerous and determined to strike. The 
outcome of this election will set the direction of the war against the 
terrorists. The most solemn duty of the American President is to protect 
the American people. If America shows uncertainty or weakness during 
these troubled times, the world will drift toward tragedy. This is not 
going to happen on my watch.
    Since that terrible morning of September the 11th, 2001, we've 
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--
our strategy is clear. We've strengthened protections for the homeland. 
We're reforming and strengthening our intelligence capabilities. We're 
transforming our All-Volunteer Army. There will be no draft. We are 
determined. We are steadfast. We are resolute. We will stay on the 
offensive against the terrorists around the world so we do not have to 
face them here at home.
    Because we led, the world is changing. Afghanistan is a free nation 
and an ally in 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 the 
freedom of its people. And more than three-quarters of Al Qaida's key 
members and associates have been brought to justice.
    So long as I'm your President, I will use every asset at our 
disposal to protect the American people, and perhaps the strongest asset 
we have is our belief in liberty, our belief that liberty can transform 
societies. I want the youngsters here to understand what has taken place 
in a brief period of time.
    It wasn't all that long ago in Afghanistan that young girls couldn't 
go to school because the country was run by the ideologues of hate 
called the Taliban. And if their mothers didn't toe the line, they were 
taken into the public squares and whipped and sometimes taken to a 
sports stadium and executed. Because this great Nation acted to defend 
ourselves, because we upheld the doctrine that said, ``If you harbor a 
terrorist, you're equally

[[Page 2717]]

as guilty as the terrorist,'' millions of citizens--millions of 
citizens--voted in a Presidential election in Afghanistan. And the first 
voter was a 19-year-old woman.
    And America is better off as freedom spreads around the world. Iraq 
will have Presidential elections in January. Think how far that society 
has come from the days of torture chambers and mass graves and the 
brutal rule of a fierce tyrant. Freedom is on the march.
    I believe everybody longs to be free. I believe deep in everybody's 
soul is the desire to live in a free society. I believe that not because 
freedom is America's gift to the world; freedom is the Almighty God's 
gift to each man and woman in this world.
    A President must lead with consistency and strength. In a war, 
sometimes your tactics change but never your principles. And Americans 
have seen how I do my job. On good days, on bad days, when the polls are 
up or the polls are down, I am determined to protect the American 
people.
    And I am the Commander in Chief of a great United States military. I 
want to thank those who wear our Nation's uniform who have joined us 
today. I want to thank the military families who are with us today, and 
I want to thank the veterans of the United States of America who've set 
such a great example. And I assure you and I assure our vets and our 
families and those men and women in uniform that you'll have the 
resources--the military will have the resources they need to complete 
their mission.
    That's why I went to the United States Congress and asked for $87 
billion of supplemental funding in September of 2003. That money was 
necessary. That money was important. We had troops in harm's way, and 
they needed the full support of the Government. And we received good 
bipartisan support, so strong that only 12 Senators voted against the 
funding----
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. ----2 of whom were my opponent and his runningmate. 
But as you gather the vote, I want you to remind people of this fact. 
Four Members of the Senate--only 4 out of 100--voted to authorize force 
and voted against the support for our troops in combat. Two of those 
four were my opponent and his runningmate.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. Now, they asked him why he made the vote he did, and 
you might remember perhaps the most famous quote of the 2004 campaign 
when he said, ``I actually did vote for the 87 billion, before I voted 
against it.''
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. I haven't spent a lot of time in the coffee shops in 
this great State, but I doubt I'm going to find hardly anybody who talks 
that way in Minnesota.
    He's given several reasons why he made that vote, but perhaps the 
most revealing of all was when he said, ``The whole thing is a 
complicated matter.'' [Laughter] My fellow Americans, there is nothing 
complicated about supporting our troops in combat.
    The American people have been watching this election carefully, and 
they noticed my opponent's positions are kind of like the weather here 
in Minnesota. If you don't like it, wait a little bit, and it will 
change. [Laughter] He was for the war and against the war, for the war 
and against the war. But his 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. 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 because he had invaded Kuwait, Senator Kerry voted against the use 
of force to liberate Kuwait.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. History has shown that Senator Kerry was wrong and 
former President Bush was right.
    In 1994, just one year after the first bombing in the World Trade 
Center, Senator Kerry proposed massive cuts in America's intelligence 
budget, so massive that even his

[[Page 2718]]

Massachusetts colleague, Ted Kennedy, opposed them. History has shown 
that Senator Kerry was wrong and--we've got to be fair about it--Senator 
Kennedy was right.
    During the last 20 years, in key moments of challenge and decision 
for America, my opponent has chosen the 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 John Kennedy is rightly remembered for 
confidence and resolve in times of war and in 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'd 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. We have big differences about how to protect our 
country's families. I recall that moment in one of our debates when my 
opponent said that America must submit to a ``global test'' before we 
commit troops.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. As you can tell, that's kind of how I felt too. 
[Laughter] As far as I can tell, that means our country must get 
permission from foreign capitals before we act in our own defense. I'll 
work with our allies, and I'll work with our friends. I believe in 
building coalitions, and we have done just that. But I will never turn 
over America's national security decisions to leaders of other 
countries.
    We have differences of opinion, clear differences of opinion about 
this war on terror. Recently, my opponent said that September the 11th 
didn't change him much at all. That's what he said.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. Well, September the 11th changed me. It changed my 
view of the world and how we must defend ourselves. I remember standing 
in the ruins of the Twin Towers on September the 14th, 2001. It's a day 
that will be forever etched in my memory, the sights and the sounds. I 
can remember those voices of the workers in hardhats yelling at me, 
``Whatever it takes.'' I remember looking in the eye of a fellow who 
grabbed me by the arm, and he said, ``Do not let me down.'' Ever since 
that morning--ever since that day, I wake up every morning trying to 
better figure out how to protect America. I will never relent in 
defending this country, whatever it takes.
    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 America's families, and I kept my word. We doubled the child credit 
to $1,000 per child to help the moms and dads in America. We reduced the 
marriage penalty. We believe the Tax Code ought to encourage marriage, 
not penalize marriage. We dropped the lowest bracket to 10 percent. We 
reduced taxes on everybody who pays taxes. And we're growing. This 
economy is getting stronger.
    Remind your friends and neighbors as you round them up to go to the 
polls--[laughter]--what we have been through. Six months prior to my 
arrival in Washington, the stock market was in serious decline, and then 
we had a recession and corporate scandals. And the attacks of September 
the 11th cost us about a million jobs in the 3 months following that 
fateful day.
    But our policies are working. We're on the path to growth. This 
economy is as strong as it's been in nearly 20 years. The homeownership 
rate is at an alltime high in America. More minority families own a home 
all across this country than anywhere at any time in our history. 
Minnesota farmers are making a living. The farm economy is strong in 
America. The entrepreneurial spirit is strong. Small businesses are 
flourishing all across America. We've added 1.9 million new jobs in the 
last 13 months. The national unemployment rate is 5.4 percent. And let 
me put that in perspective for you: It's lower than the average rate of 
the 1970s, the 1980s, and the 1990s. And the unemployment rate in 
Minnesota is 4.6 percent. We are strong, and we will get stronger.

[[Page 2719]]

    My opponent has different plans for your budget. He's going to take 
a big chunk out of it.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. You know, he voted against the child tax credit. He 
voted against marriage penalty relief. He voted against lower taxes. If 
he'd have had his way, the average family in Minnesota would be paying 
$2,000 more per year in Federal taxes.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. Now, that probably doesn't seem like a lot to some of 
them in Washington, but I understand it's a lot for the families in this 
part of the world. It means a lot to people trying to raise their 
children. It means a lot to people struggling to put food on the table 
and meet their expenses.
    He's been in the Senate 20 years; he has voted to raise taxes 98 
times. That's five times for every year in the Senate. I would call that 
a leading indicator--[laughter]--a predictable pattern. [Laughter] If 
you put that in this context, he promised $2.2 trillion in new Federal 
spending. Now, that's trillion with a ``T.'' That's a lot. Even for a 
Senator from Massachusetts, that's a lot. [Laughter] And so they asked 
him, ``How are you going to pay for it?'' And he said, ``Well, we'll 
just tax the rich.'' You have heard that before.
    First of all, most small businesses around Minnesota and around the 
country pay tax at the individual income-tax level. See, most small 
businesses are Subchapter S or sole proprietorships. And by the way, 70 
percent of new jobs in America are created by small businesses. And so 
when you raise the top two brackets, you're taxing job creators. It 
makes no economic sense to tax the entities that are creating the new 
jobs in our country.
    And secondly, he has promised 2.2 trillion, but raising the top two 
brackets only raises between 600 and 800 billion. That's what I would 
call a tax gap, the difference between what is promised and what's 
delivered. Given his record, I think you understand how he's going to 
fill that tax gap. Yes, he's going to tax you. But we're not going to 
let him; we will carry Minnesota and win next Tuesday.
    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. As candidate, I pledged to challenge the 
soft bigotry of low expectations by reforming our public schools. And I 
kept my word. I proudly signed the No Child Left Behind Act to raise the 
standards. See, we believe every child can learn, and we expect every 
school to teach.
    We're spending more money at the Federal level, and in return, we 
expect measurement. See, you cannot solve a problem until you diagnose 
the problem. And as a result of the law we put in place, we are now 
diagnosing and solving problems. Math and reading scores are up across 
America, and we are closing an achievement gap for minority students. 
And we will not go back to the days of low expectations and mediocrity 
in our schools.
    We will continue to improve life for our families by making health 
care available and affordable. We will take care of the poor and the 
indigent by expanding community health centers. We have a duty to help 
people who cannot help themselves. And that's why we'll make sure our 
program for children of low-income families is fully subscribed, to make 
sure people get the health care and the help they need. But I also 
recognize that most of the uninsured in America work for small 
businesses. And to help small businesses better afford insurance, we 
must allow them to pool risk across jurisdictional boundaries so they 
can buy insurance at the same discounts that big companies are able to 
do. We will expand health savings accounts to help our small businesses 
and families.
    And to make sure health care is available and affordable, we will do 
something about the junk lawsuits that are running up the cost of 
medicine and running too many doctors out of practice. We have a problem 
in this Nation. I have met too many ob-gyns that no longer practice 
because the premiums are too high. See, they can't afford to stay in 
practice. These lawsuits are driving them out of practice. I met too 
many patients, expectant moms who are traveling miles to find an ob-gyn, 
and they are deeply concerned about the quality of health care that they 
and their little one will receive. This is a national problem, and it 
requires a national solution. You cannot be pro-doctor and pro-patient 
and

[[Page 2720]]

pro-personal-injury-trial-lawyer at the same time. You have to choose.
    My opponent has made his choice. He voted 10 times against medical 
liability reform, and he put a personal-injury trial lawyer on the 
ticket.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. I've made my choice. I'm standing with the doctors of 
Minnesota. I'm standing with the patients of Minnesota. I'm standing 
with the families of Minnesota. I am for medical liability reform.
    My opponent has a different view when it comes to health care. In 
one of the debates, I remember the questioner said, ``Tell me about your 
health care plan.'' He looked square in the camera, and he said, ``My 
health care plan, well, the Government doesn't have anything to do with 
it.'' I could barely contain myself. [Laughter]
    The Government has got a lot to do with it. Eighty percent of the 
people, according to his plan, would be signed up by the Government. If 
you raise Medicaid and make it easier for people to get on Medicaid, it 
provides an incentive for small businesses to stop writing insurance 
because the Government will write the insurance. And when the Government 
writes the checks, the Government makes the rules. And when the 
Government makes the rules for your health care, the Government makes 
decisions for you and they make decisions for your doctors. The wrong 
prescription for American families is to federalize health care.
    In all we do to improve health care for our families, we will make 
sure that 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. Medicare needed to be modernized for our 
seniors. We would pay thousands of dollars for a heart surgery under 
Medicare but not a dime for the prescription drugs that could prevent 
the heart surgery from being needed in the first place. And that wasn't 
fair to our seniors. So I brought people together, and I proudly signed 
a Medicare reform bill that will make prescription drugs available for 
all our seniors beginning in 2006.
    And we will keep the promise of Social Security for our seniors, and 
we will strengthen Social Security for years to come. I want you to tell 
your friends and neighbors about what took place in the 2000 campaign. 
You might remember those ads and the fliers when people said, ``If 
George W. gets elected, the seniors will not get their checks.'' Well, 
tell them George W. did get elected, and the seniors got their checks. 
And the seniors will continue to get their checks. And baby boomers like 
me and a couple others out there I'm looking at--[laughter]--will get 
their checks. The Social Security trust is in good shape for us.
    But we need to worry about our children and our grandchildren. We 
need to worry about whether or not the Social Security system will be 
available 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 set up a 
personal savings account, an account that will earn a better rate of 
return, an account they own, an account the Government can never take 
away.
    My opponent takes a little different point of view on this. First, 
he said he'd protect Social Security, but he forgot to tell the American 
people he's voted eight times to tax Social Security benefits.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. See, he can run from his record, but we're not going 
to let him hide. And he has offered nothing to help the younger 
generation when it comes to strengthening Social Security. See, the job 
of a President is to confront problems, not to pass them on to future 
generations and future Presidents. I'm going to bring people together, 
and we will work to make sure the Social Security system is strong and 
viable for generations to come.
    The fifth clear choice in this election involves the values that are 
crucial for our Nation. We stand for things. We stand for the 
appointment of Federal judges who know the difference between personal 
opinion and the strict interpretation of the law. We stand for

[[Page 2721]]

marriage and family, which are the foundations of our society. I'll 
reach out to Americans of every belief and move this goodhearted Nation 
toward a culture of life. We believe in a culture of life. I proudly 
signed the ban on partial-birth abortion.
    My opponent--Senator Kerry has had a different view on these issues. 
He voted against the ban on partial-birth abortion. He voted against the 
Defense of Marriage Act and, at one time in his campaign, actually said 
that the heart and soul of America can be found in Hollywood.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. The heart and soul of America is found in communities 
all across the great State of Minnesota.
    All these choices make this one of the most important elections in 
our history. And the decision is in the best of hands. It is in the 
hands of the American people. In less than 72 hours, the American people 
will be voting, and the decision comes down to who do you trust.
    Audience members. You!
    The President. I stand--I offer leadership and results for a time of 
threat and challenge. I'm asking for people's votes. I'm asking for 
their trust. I'm asking for your help. I have a view of the future that 
is bright. I see clearly where I want to lead this country, and it is to 
a better day.
    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 is 
the sunrise side, not the sunset side. It is the side to see the day 
that is coming, not to see the day that is gone.'' During this campaign, 
my opponent has spent much of the time talking about the day that is 
gone. I'm talking about the day that's coming.
    I see a great day coming for America. I see a day when prosperity 
reaches every corner of our country. I see a day where every child can 
read and write and add and subtract. And I see a day in which this world 
becomes more peaceful by spreading liberty, that we achieve the peace we 
all want for our children and for our grandchildren.
    When I campaigned across your State 4 years ago, I made this pledge: 
If I got elected, 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. Thank you all for coming.

Note: The President spoke at 2:17 p.m. at the Target Center. In his 
remarks, he referred to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California; Mike 
Tice, head coach, Minnesota Vikings, National Football League; Minnesota 
State Auditor Patricia Anderson; former Senator Rudy Boschwitz; 
entertainer Billy Dean; and former President Saddam Hussein of Iraq.