[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 41, Number 45 (Monday, November 14, 2005)]
[Pages 1674-1676]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a Rally for Gubernatorial Candidate Jerry Kilgore in 
Richmond, Virginia

November 7, 2005

    The President. Thank you all very much. Thanks for the kind 
introduction, Governor. We're not taking anything for granted. Laura and 
I are here to ask you to turn out the vote tomorrow for Jerry Kilgore as 
the Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
    I want to thank you all for coming out tonight. I remember what it's 
like to be right there on election eve. This man has worked his heart 
out. He has traveled the great Commonwealth of Virginia talking common 
sense to the voters, and now it's your time. He's counting on you to get 
out and turn out the vote and deliver a great victory on behalf of all 
people of Virginia by putting him in the Governor's chair.
    I appreciate you coming out here to the airport. See, we were just 
flying in from Latin America. Decided to stop a little short of our 
destination. See, I know a man of character and integrity, and he's 
standing right next to me. And that's Jerry Kilgore.
    When you find a man who's got this kind of character, it makes sense 
to stop short of the destination to come in and to say to the people of 
this State, ``Put him in office, and you'll be proud of the job he'll do 
for you.''
    He's got a record. See, you can count on him. You know where he 
stands, and you know he can get the job done. And equally

[[Page 1675]]

important, you know he doesn't need to run a poll to tell him what to 
think.
    Audience members. Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!
    The President. He's got a clear agenda. That's what you want in 
somebody running for Governor. You got to know where they stand, not 
yesterday but today and tomorrow. See, you got to understand that this 
is a guy who thinks clearly, and when he says something, he means what 
he says.
    And so I hope you'll work hard tomorrow to call up your friends and 
neighbors and tell them they have a duty in this democracy of ours to 
vote. And tell them if they want good government, good, solid, sound, 
conservative government to put this good man in the Governor's chair in 
Richmond.
    And while you're putting in Jerry Kilgore, make sure you put in Bill 
Bolling to be the next Lieutenant Governor and Bob McDonnell to be the 
next attorney general.
    You know, Laura and I are thrilled to be here with Jerry and Marty. 
I like a guy who loves his wife. I sure love mine. We celebrated our 
28th wedding anniversary in Argentina. I told her if she married me, I'd 
take her to--I'd celebrate our anniversary in exotic places.
    I appreciate very much Marty standing by and working in this 
campaign. I know how tough it is on a family, but when you believe in 
something, when you believe in the people of the Commonwealth, it's 
worth the sacrifice, and it's worth the hard work. And the Kilgore 
family believes in the people of this important State. I want to thank 
their children, Klarke and Kelsey.
    I want to thank Jean Ann Bolling, Maureen McDonnell. I want to thank 
all the families of the candidates who are supporting the candidates. 
It's important to be a family unit in this kind of race, see. There's a 
lot of pressure. There's a lot of noise, and there's nothing better to 
go home to a loving family. And that's why this guy is going to be a 
good Governor. See, when times get hot, he's going to be able to rely on 
some basics in life, and that is his faith and his family to see him 
through.
    I appreciate Congressman Eric Cantor and his wife, Diana. Thank you 
all for coming. I thank all the State and local officials who are here. 
I want to thank our political officials. I want to thank all the 
grassroots activists, all the people who put up the signs--all the 
people, all the people who have been making the phone calls. We thank 
you both--both of us thank you for going door to door and knocking on 
your neighbor's door. Keep working hard. And when you do, you'll be 
rewarded with a great victory tomorrow night with Jerry Kilgore as your 
Governor.
    The thing I like about this fellow is he grew up in Virginia, and he 
grew up on a small farm. That means he's a down to earth person. He 
doesn't have a lot of fancy airs. That's the kind of guy you want to 
represent you, a person who understands how the common man thinks, a 
person who shares the values with the majority of people in the 
Commonwealth of Virginia.
    He's on the right side of the issues too. See, it's one thing to 
have good character; it's a different thing to have somebody who is on 
the right side of the issues. See, he understands that when he is the 
Governor, the top priority of this State is to make sure you educate 
every single child, that you cannot leave any child behind if you're 
going to have a State that's got a hopeful future.
    I appreciate his plan to retain, recruit, and reward good teachers. 
You can't--by the way, if there's any teachers out there, both Jerry and 
I thank you for teaching. You'll have a good friend in the Governor's 
mansion, somebody who understands the value and importance of being a 
teacher. And the parents will have somebody in the Governor's mansion 
who understands the value and importance of teaching every child to read 
and write and add and subtract.
    I appreciate Jerry's stand on taxes. He trusts the people with their 
own money. See, that's a philosophical difference. Think about the 
campaign. If you're out there listening, think about which candidate 
says, ``I trust you with your own money.'' See, he understands the 
difference between your money and what others call the Government's 
money. It's not the Government's money. It's the people's money. It's 
the hard-working people's money.
    It's just not rhetoric; this man's got a record. He opposed the 
State tax increase last year. He's going to eliminate the State

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death tax once and for all. He's going to eliminate the State car tax 
once and for all. If you want to keep your taxes low and keep your 
economy growing, there's only one candidate in this race who will do so, 
and that's Jerry Kilgore.
    Audience members. Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!
    The President. One of the key jobs of a Governor is to keep the 
people of the State safe. One of the key responsibilities is to support 
the law enforcement officials in your State. And he'll do that. He'll 
stand with the men and women who wear the uniform, who patrol your 
highway, who work in the neighborhood to keep the people of this 
Commonwealth safe. He's going to be tough on crime, and he's going to 
enforce all the laws--all the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
    He's got a good roads plan. I, frankly, haven't had that much 
problem driving on the roads around here--[Laughter]--but a lot of you 
have. These roads are crowded, and he's going to do something about it. 
He's got a plan, as he says, to get Virginia moving again. It's not only 
moving again when it comes to roads; it's moving forward to make sure 
there's a hopeful life for every single citizen in this Commonwealth.
    Virginia is the home to a lot of military folks. Jerry Kilgore 
understands we're at war with an enemy that hates what we stand for. 
He'll be supportive of the families who live in this State whose loved 
ones are sacrificing on behalf of the American people. He'll be--he 
understands the nature of this struggle. He understands that our 
government must never let down our guard, that we have a solemn 
obligation to protect the American people, that we must never wait to be 
attacked again, that we must stay on the offense and bring people to 
justice before they harm the American people.
    He also shares the same faith I have in the capacity of freedom to 
yield the peace we all want. He understands what I understand, and that 
is democracy is the best hope of mankind, that in the deep--in 
everybody's soul, regardless of their religion or where they live, is 
the deep desire to live in freedom. You see, freedom--freedom is not 
America's gift to the world; freedom is the Almighty God's gift to each 
man and woman in this world.
    And by staying strong and confident in the capacity of freedom to 
transform societies, he understands we're laying the foundation of peace 
for generations to come. Jerry Kilgore is a man who brings deep 
principles and values into this race and will bring those same values 
into the Governor's mansion. He has a respect for life and will work 
hard to build a culture of life here in Virginia.
    He stands on that solid ground of deep moral conviction and solid 
Virginia principles. And that is why I'm absolutely confident he is up 
for the task and will make a great Governor for the Commonwealth of 
Virginia.
    Laura and I are so grateful for this--for the welcome. Thank you all 
so much for coming out. I don't want to keep you too long. No, no, no. 
You've got a job to do. See, if I could vote, you already got my vote. 
You need to go out and find that undecided person. You need to find our 
fellow Republicans and those discerning Democrats who know a good man 
when they see one. Keep working hard. Turn out that vote, and you'll be 
proud of the next Governor of Virginia, Jerry Kilgore.

Note: The President spoke at 7:47 p.m. at the Dominion Energy, Inc., 
hangar at Richmond International Airport. In his remarks, he referred to 
Marty Kilgore, wife of Jerry Kilgore, candidate for Virginia Governor; 
Jean Ann Bolling, wife of Bill Bolling, candidate for Virginia 
Lieutenant Governor; and Maureen McDonnell, wife of Bob McDonnell, 
candidate for Virginia attorney general.