SPEECHES
FROM THE 2004 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN
George W. Bush
Address in Oshkosh
October 15, 2004 • Oshkosh, WI
Thank you all. (Applause.) Okay. It's great
to be back in Oshkosh. My only regret is I don't have time
to drive by Leon's. (Applause.) Laura and I are thrilled
to be here. We're glad to be back in Wisconsin. (Applause.)
The enthusiasm in this state is high. With your help --
(applause.) With your help, with your hard work, there
is no doubt in my mind we will carry Wisconsin on November
the 2nd. (Applause.)
I want to -- I am traveling with very good company today.
(Applause.) So when I asked Laura to marry me, when I asked
her to marry me, she said, okay, I will, just so long as
-- 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 the deal. She's giving a lot of speeches. The American
people have come to know Laura as a compassionate, warm,
great First Lady. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Laura! Laura! Laura!
THE PRESIDENT: I know my running mate has been in the
neighborhood recently.
AUDIENCE: Booo! Flip-flop! Flip-flop!
THE PRESIDENT: He thought he was going over to Lambert
Field. (Laughter.) One of these days I'm going to make
it to Lambeau Field and thank the Packers for being --
setting such good examples for our kids. I'm proud of Dick
Cheney. (Applause.) Now, look, I admit it, he doesn't have
the waviest hair in the race. (Laughter.) I didn't pick
him because of his hair. I picked him because of his judgment,
his experience, his ability to get the job done for the
American people. (Applause.)
I want to thank your Congressman, Tom Petri. He's a fine
man. I appreciate you coming, Congressman. (Applause.)
I see the Chairman over there, Jim Sensenbrenner. Thanks
for coming, Chairman. (Applause.) Finely, we're proud to
be here with Mark Green, Congressman Mark Green. (Applause.)
I appreciate you guys coming. You need to vote for Tim
Michels for the United States Senate. (Applause.) He wisely
married Barbara. (Laughter.) I know somebody else who made
the right choice. (Laughter.)
I really appreciate the Experimental Aircraft Association
for allowing us to use this hangar. You're famous in Oshkosh,
by gosh. (Laughter.) One reason why is your airplanes.
Another reason why is because of the good people who live
here. I'm honored you all came out to say hello. Thanks
for being here. (Applause.)
I want to thank Jack Voight, the State Treasurer. I appreciate
the Speaker being here. I want to thank all the local officials.
I want to thank my friend, Rick Draper. I want to thank
the grassroots politics -- politicians, the people who
are putting up the signs and making the phone calls, the
volunteers. (Applause.) I know many of you are working
hard and I thank you for that. It's takes a lot of hard
work to get this many people out. But there's more hard
work to be done. Laura and I will be campaigning alongside
of you. Work hard; we will win in November. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more
years!
THE PRESIDENT: We're working -- we're coming from the
west. We were in Oregon this morning; then we stopped off
in Iowa, and fortunately, get to come to Wisconsin today.
And one of the reasons we're coming west to east is, you
might remember, we had a debate or two recently. (Applause.)
I enjoyed those debates. (Applause.) Those debates give
us a chance to express or opinions, and they show the stark
differences between my opponent and me. See, we have different
records and we have different plans for the future.
My record is one of reforming education, lowering taxes,
providing prescription drugs for our seniors, improving
homeland protections, and waging aggressive war against
the ideologues of hate. (Applause.) The Senator's record
is 20 years of out-of-the-mainstream politics, out-of-the-mainstream
votes, without many significant reforms or results to show
for it. The records are important because our country faces
many challenges, and the next President must recognize
the need to reform and to be able to achieve reform. On
issue after issue, from jobs to health care to the need
to strengthen Social Security, my opponent has failed to
recognize the changing realities of today's world and the
need for fundamental reforms.
You know, in the final debate, I talked about the link
between jobs and education. (Applause.) I believe when
you're talking about jobs, you need to be talking about
educating the people, so they can fill the jobs of the
21st century. (Applause.) He said during that debate I
switched away from jobs and started talking about education.
Well, yes. Good jobs start with good education in America.
(Applause.)
When it comes to health care, once again the other night,
he said with a straight face, that his health care plan
was not a government plan. I could barely contain myself.
Twenty-two million new people would enroll on a government
program under his plan. That would be the largest increase
in government health care ever.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Who pays for it?
THE PRESIDENT: Yes. Eighty percent of the newly insured
for his plan would be placed on a government program like
Medicaid. That's not the way to handle health care in America.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: He said, well, his plan would help small
businesses. Yet when you look at his plan, just like some
of these analysts have done, they concluded that Senator
Kerry's plan would be an overpriced albatross, which would
saddle small businesses with 225 new mandates.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: I have a different view -- health care
must be available and affordable and portable to help small
businesses, and we don't need to saddle them with a bunch
of government rules. (Applause.)
Finally, talking about change, we need to do something
about Social Security. And yet in the debate, my opponent
said, if later on, after a period of time, we fine that
Social Security is in trouble -- well, then he'll call
a meeting of experts. (Laughter.) Social Security is fine
for our seniors. You might remember the 2000 campaign here
in Wisconsin, when they said if George W. gets elected,
the seniors won't get their checks. Do you remember that?
AUDIENCE: Yes!
THE PRESIDENT: Well, the seniors got their checks. (Applause.)
And the seniors will continue to get their checks. (Applause.)
But we have trouble for our children and our grandchildren
when it comes to Social Security. I think we need to think
differently from the status quo. Youngsters ought to be
able to take some of their own payroll taxes and set up
a personal savings account, an account they call their
own. (Applause.) It is the President's job to confront
problems, not to pass them on to future generations and
future Presidents. (Applause.)
The last few years, the American people have got to know
me. They know my blunt way of speaking. (Applause.) I get
that from my mother. (Laughter.) They know I sometimes
mangle the English language. (Laughter.) I get that from
my father. (Laughter.) Americans also know I tell you exactly
what I'm going to do, and I keep my word. (Applause.)
When I came into office, the stock market had been in
serious decline for six months, and the economy was headed
into a recession. To help families and to get this economy
going again, I pledged to reduce taxes. I kept my word.
(Applause.) The recession was one of the shallowest in
American history. Over the last three years, our economy
has grown at the fastest rate of any major industrialized
nation. The home ownership rate in America is at an all-time
high incomes are up. (Applause.) Farm incomes are up. The
past 13 months we've added 1.9 million new jobs. The unemployment
rate across America is 5.4 percent. That's lower than the
average of the 1970s, the 1980s and the 1990s. (Applause.)
The unemployment rate in the great state of Wisconsin is
4.8 percent. (Applause.)
This economy is moving forward, and we have more work
to do. To keep this economy strong, I'll continue to stand
behind our farmers, like our dairy farmers. (Applause.)
I signed a good farm bill. It's a farm bill that promoted
conservation on our farms and ranches. It's a farm bill
that recognizes that by opening up markets, our farmers
can make a good living. We want to be selling Wisconsin
products all around the world. (Applause.)
I'll continue to promote good agricultural policy. I'll
work with Congress to renew the Milk Income Loss contract,
the milk program, which is vital to Wisconsin's dairy farmers.
We'll also make sure America is the best place in the world
to do business. If you want jobs here in America, it's
got to be the best place in the world to do business. That
means less regulations on our job creators. (Applause.)
We've got to do something about the junk lawsuits that
are threatening the job creators in America. To keep jobs
here, we need an energy plan. The Congress needs to pass
the plan I sent up there a couple of years ago. It is a
plan that encourages conservation. It's a plan that encourages
the use of renewables like ethanol and biodiesel. It encourages
clean coal technology. It encourages increased domestic
production in environmentally friendly ways. To keep jobs
here in America, we must be less dependent on foreign sources
of energy. (Applause.)
To keep jobs here, we've got to reject economic isolationism
and open up markets. We've opened up our markets for products
from overseas, and it's good for you as a consumer. If
you've got more to choose from in the marketplace, you're
likely to get that which you want at a better price and
higher quality. That's how the market works. That's why
I'm saying to places like China, you treat us the way we
treat you; you open up your markets. See, we can compete
with anybody, anytime, anywhere, so long as the rules are
fair. (Applause.)
To create jobs here and to keep this economy growing,
we've got to be wise about how we spend your money, and
we've got to keep your taxes low. (Applause.) Now, my opponent
has his own history on the economy.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: In 20 years as a senator from Massachusetts,
he has built the record of -- a senator from Massachusetts.
(Laughter and applause.) He has voted to raise taxes 98
times.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: That's in 20 years. That's nearly five
times a year. I'd call that a pattern. (Laughter.) See,
he can run from his record, but he cannot hide. (Applause.)
Now he's promising not to raise taxes for anyone who earns
less than $200,000 a year. The problem is, to keep that
promise, he'd have to break all of his other ones. (Laughter.)
You see, he's proposed $2.2 trillion in new federal spending
-- that's with a "T." And yet he says he's going
to raise it by taxing the rich. That only raises between
$600 billion and $800 billion. And so you can see there's
a tax gap. (Laughter.) Guess who usually fills the tax
gap?
AUDIENCE: We do!
THE PRESIDENT: Yes. Let me say one other thing about this
business about taxing the rich. The rich hire lawyers and
accountants for a reason -- to stick you with the tab.
We're not going to let him tax you. We're going to carry
Wisconsin and win a great victory. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more
years!
THE PRESIDENT: When I came into office, our public schools
had been waiting for decades for hopeful reform. Too many
of our children were being shuffled through, grade after
grade, year after year, without learning the basics. I
pledged to restore accountability in our schools and end
the soft bigotry of low expectations. (Applause.) And I
kept my word. (Applause.) The No Child Left Behind Act
is working. Our children are making sustained gains in
reading and math. We're closing achievement gaps all around
this country. We're making progress for our families. We
will leave no child behind. (Applause.)
There is more work to do. We'll fund early intervention
programs in our high schools to help at-risk students.
We'll place a new focus on math and science. Over time,
we'll require a rigorous exam before graduation. By raising
performance in our high schools and by expanding Pell grants
for low- and middle-income families, we will help more
Americans start their careers with a college diploma. (Applause.)
My opponent has a history on education issues -- a history
of doing almost nothing. The Senator's pledged to weaken
the No Child Left Behind Act.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: He's proposed diluting the accountability
standards and looking at measures like teacher attendance
to judge whether students are learning.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: We must have high standards. We must have
high accountability measures. We must not undermine what
we have passed. We have worked to move beyond the old days
of mediocrity and excuses, and we're not going to go back.
(Applause.)
When I came into office, we had a problem with Medicare.
Medicine was changing, Medicare wasn't. Take, for example
this: Medicare would pay hundreds -- nearly $100,000 for
a heart surgery, but would not pay one dime for the prescription
drugs that could prevent the heart surgery from being needed
in the first place. Think about that. It's not right for
our seniors, it's certainly not right for our taxpayers.
I pledged to bring Republicans and Democrats together to
strengthen and modernize Medicare for our seniors, and
I kept my word. (Applause.) Seniors are already getting
discounts on their medicines. Rural doctors and rural hospitals
are being treated more fairly. And beginning in 2006, all
seniors will be able to get prescription drug coverage
in Medicare. (Applause.)
We're moving forward on health care, and there's more
to do. We need to make sure health care is affordable and
available for all our people. We need a safety net for
those with the greatest needs. I'm a big believer in community
health centers where the poor and the indigent can get
good primary and preventative care. We'd much rather them
getting care in a community health center than an emergency
room of a local hospital. (Applause.)
We'll do more to make sure poor children are fully subscribed
in our programs for low-income families. Most of the uninsured
here in America work for small businesses. Small businesses
are having trouble affording health care. In order to help
our small businesses and help their workers and their families,
small businesses ought to be able to pool together to be
able to -- so they can buy insurance at the same discounts
big businesses are able to do. (Applause.) We'll 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.
In order to make sure health care is available and affordable,
we will do something about the junk lawsuits that are running
up the cost to your health care. (Applause.) To make sure
health care works, we've got to do something about the
lawsuits that cause the federal government's tab to go
up. You see, doctors practice what's called defensive medicine
because of all the lawsuits. It costs our government about
$28 billion a year. It costs our economy $60 billion to
$100 billion a year.
I don't think you can be pro-doctor, pro-patient, and
pro-plaintiff attorney at the same time. (Applause.) You
have to choose. My opponent made his choice, and he put
a personal injury lawyer on the ticket.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: I made my choice. I'm standing with the
doctors and the patients. I am for medical liability reform
now. (Applause.) In all we do to reform health care, this
administration will make sure the decisions are made by
doctors and patients, not by officials in Washington, D.C.
(Applause.)
You know, there's an old saying here -- no one ever washes
a rental car. (Laughter.) A lot of wisdom in that statement.
(Laughter.) 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 I will continue to promote
an ownership society in America. (Applause.) We want our
younger workers to be able to own a piece of the Social
Security system so it will be available for them when they
retire. We want more people owning their own business.
Every time somebody starts a small business in America,
they are achieving a piece of the American Dream. (Applause.)
We will continue to expand ownership to every corner of
our country. I've told you home ownership rates are at
an all-time high. We want more people opening up the door
where they live, saying, welcome to my home; welcome to
my piece of property. (Applause.)
On issue after issue, from Medicare without choices to
schools with less accountability to higher taxes, my opponent
takes the side of more centralized government. There's
a word for that attitude -- it's called liberalism.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: He dismisses that as a label. He must have
seen it differently when he told a newspaper, I'm a liberal
and I'm proud of it. (Laughter.) A nonpartisan journal
did a study that named him the most liberal member of the
United States Senate. And that's going a long way with
that bunch. (Laughter.)
I have a different record and a different view and a different
philosophy. I don't believe in big government and I don't
believe in indifferent government. I'm what you would call
a compassionate conservative. (Applause.) I believe in
policies that empower people to improve their lives. I
don't believe in policies that try to run people's lives.
(Applause.) I trust the people. My opponent trusts the
government.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: We've done everything we can to help people,
stand beside people, to help them have a future of dignity
and independence. And that's how I'll continue to lead
our nation for four more years. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more
years!
THE PRESIDENT: In this time of change, there's some things
that do not change -- the values we try to live by: reverence
and integrity, courage and compassion. In a time of change,
we all must support the institutions that give our lives
direction and purpose: our families, our schools, and our
religious congregations. (Applause.) We stand for a culture
of life in which every person matters and every being --
(applause.) We stand for marriage and family, which are
the foundations of our society. (Applause.) We stand for
the appointment of federal judges who know the difference
between personal opinion and the strict interpretation
of the law. (Applause.)
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 he voted against the Defense
of Marriage Act. He voted against the ban on partial birth
abortions.
AUDIENCE: Boooo!
THE PRESIDENT: One time on his campaign he called himself
the candidate of conservative values, but he described
the Reagan years as a period of moral darkness.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: There is a mainstream in American politics,
and my opponent sits on the far left bank. (Applause.)
He can run, but he cannot hide. (Applause.)
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. (Applause.) If America shows uncertainty or weakness
in this decade, the world will drift toward tragedy. This
will not happen on my watch. (Applause.)
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'll protect the
homeland; we'll strengthen our intelligence; we'll transform
our all-volunteer army -- and keep it an all-volunteer
army. (Applause.) We're staying on the offensive. We will
strike the terrorists abroad so we do not have to face
them here at home. (Applause.) We will continue to spread
freedom and liberty, and we will prevail. (Applause.)
Our strategy is succeeding. Think about the world as it
was some three-and-a-half years ago. Afghanistan was the
home base of al Qaeda. Pakistan was a transit point for
terrorists. Saudi Arabia was fertile ground for terrorist
fundraising. Libya was secretly pursuing nuclear weapons.
Iraq was a dangerous place and a gathering threat. And
al Qaeda was largely unchallenged as it planned attacks.
Because we acted, because the United States of America
led, Afghanistan is free and is now an ally in the war
on terror. (Applause.) Pakistan is capturing terrorist
leaders; Saudi Arabia is making raids and arrests; Libya
is dismantling its weapons programs; and an army of a free
Iraq is fighting for freedom, and more than three-quarters
of al Qaeda's key members and associates have been brought
to justice. (Applause.)
We are conducting a broad strategy to keep America safe.
By defending ourselves, 50 million people in Afghanistan
and Iraq are now free. Think about that. (Applause.) I
want our youngsters here to recognize they're watching
incredible history unfold. (Applause.) Take a look at Afghanistan.
It wasn't all that long ago that many young girls were
not allowed to go to school. That country was run by barbarians.
They were backwards. They had an ideology based upon hatred.
Their mothers would be pulled into the public square and
whipped, some of them killed in a sports stadium because
they wouldn't toe the line of their ideology. It was a
dim and dark society. But because we acted in our self-interest,
we freed the people of Afghanistan and they had presidential
elections. Thousands of people came out to vote. (Applause.)
The first voter in the presidential elections in Afghanistan
was a 19-year-old woman. Think about that. (Applause.)
Freedom is on the march, and the world is better for it.
(Applause.) In Iraq, elections are scheduled for January.
Think about how far that society has come, from the days
of torture chambers and mass graves. See, it's in our interests,
it's in our security interests that we stand with the people
of Afghanistan and Iraq. Free societies in the Middle East
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. And that will help us keep the peace. (Applause.)
So the mission is clear. We will help these countries
train armies and police and security forces, so the people
of Afghanistan and Iraq can do the hard work of defending
their freedom and democracy. We will help them get on the
path to stability and self-government as quickly as possible,
and then our troops will come home with the honor they
have earned. (Applause.)
I am proud to be the Commander-in-Chief of a great military.
(Applause.) And it is a great military because of the character
and the decency of those who wear our nation's uniform.
(Applause.) I want to thank the veterans who are here tonight
for having set such a good example for those who wear the
uniform. (Applause.) I want to thank the military families
who are here, for having made such great sacrifices for
our freedom. (Applause.) We will continue to make sure
that our military has all the resources they need to complete
their missions. (Applause.)
That is why -- that's why I went to the United States
Congress and asked for $87 billion of supplemental funding
to support our troops in combat in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
(Applause.) It was a really important request, and it received
great bipartisan support. As a matter of fact, only 12
United States Senators voted against the funding request,
two of whom are my opponent and his running mate.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: And when you're out there gathering up
the vote, remind people of this fact: Only four members
of the United States Senate, only four out of a hundred,
voted to authorize the use of force and then voted against
funding the troops sent into harm's way, two of whom are
my opponent and his running mate.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: So they asked him, how could he have made
that vote? And perhaps the most quote of the 2004 campaign
-- (laughter) -- he said, I actually did vote for the $87
billion before I voted against it.
AUDIENCE: -- before I voted against it! (Laughter and
applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Now, he's given a lot of answers since
then. One of the most interesting ones is when he said,
well, the whole thing was just a complicated matter. (Laughter.)
There's nothing complicated about supporting our troops
in combat. (Applause.)
We have a difference of opinion when it comes to making
this country secure. And in one of our debates, Senator
Kerry proposed that this nation should pass a global test
before we send our troops.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: You know, the problem with his global test
is that he could never pass it. (Laughter.) 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,
in the United States Senate, Senator Kerry voted against
the authorization of the use of force.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: Think about that, and think about what
he said in one of the debates, when he said it was a mistake
to remove Saddam Hussein. He said he would have tried it
differently -- he would have had another United Nations
Security Council resolution. That's exactly what Saddam
Hussein would have wanted. The truth of the matter is,
Saddam would still be in power in Baghdad if Senator Kerry
had his way, and he would have been in Kuwait.
AUDIENCE: Yes!
THE PRESIDENT: And the world would be worse off. The world
is better off with Saddam sitting in a prison cell. (Applause.)
Listen, I'll continue to build strong alliances during
the next four years. Today when I was flying in from out
West I had a good visit with Tony Blair, our strong ally.
(Applause.) Alliances are important, coalitions are important.
But I will never turn over America's national security
decisions to leaders of other countries. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more
years!
THE PRESIDENT: I believe in the transformational power
of liberty. (Applause.) I'll tell you what I mean by that.
I'll use an example. Prime Minister Koizumi of Japan is
my friend. He's Laura's friend, as well. That probably
doesn't seem unusual to some, but think about this -- it
wasn't all that long ago, in the march of history, that
we were at war with Japan. They were the sworn enemy of
the United States of America. They attacked us. My dad
fought against the Japanese. I'm confident people's relatives
out here went to World War II against the Japanese. (Applause.)
And after we won that war, President Harry S. Truman believed
in the transformational power of liberty to convert an
enemy into an ally. And so they worked to build a democracy
in Japan. And there were a lot of skeptics in America then.
You can imagine why -- Japan was the enemy. How could an
enemy possibly become a democracy; why do we want to work
with somebody who killed our sons; great skepticism.
But fortunately, he believed in the power of liberty to
transform. And as a result of that belief, I sit down at
the table today with Prime Minister Koizumi of Japan, talking
about the peace we all want, talking about how we can work
together to confront the problems of the world so our children
can live in a more peaceful world. We will succeed in Iraq,
and someday an American President will sit down with a
duly-elected leader of Iraq, and they'll be talking about
the peace in the Middle East, and our children and our
grandchildren will be better off for it. (Applause.)
I believe that millions plead in silence for their freedom
in the Middle East. I believe women want to live in a free
society. (Applause.) I believe the moms in the Middle East
want their children to grow up in a free world. (Applause.)
I believe that if given a chance, the people of the Middle
East will embrace the most honorable form of government
ever devised by man -- democracy. (Applause.) 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. (Applause.)
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 is not one
of those times. This is a time that requires firm resolve,
clear vision and a deep faith that makes us a great nation.
(Applause.)
None of us will ever forget that week when one era ended
and another began. September the 14th, 2001, I stood in
the ruins of the Twin Towers. It's a day I will never forget.
There were workers in hard hats there, yelling at me at
the top of their lungs, "Whatever it takes." I
remember trying to console a fellow. He 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. (Applause.)
When I traveled your great state four years ago, I made
a pledge that if I had a chance to serve, 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 four more years. (Applause.)
God bless. Thank you all for coming. (Applause.) Thank
you all. (Applause.)
<<Go back
|