SPEECHES
FROM THE 2004 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN
George W. Bush
Campaign Remarks
in West Virginia
September 10, 2004 • Huntington, West Virginia
Thank you all. (Applause.) Thank you all
very much for coming. By the sound of things, it sounds
like the Herd is thundering. (Applause.) It's good to be
back here in Huntington. Thank you all for the hospitality.
You know, this isn't my first time here. (Applause.) I've
liked it every time I've come. (Applause.) Because the
people are down to earth, hardworking, decent, and they
love America just like I do. (Applause.)
I want to thank our friends from Ohio who have joined
us today. I appreciate you coming. (Applause.) I want to
thank our friends from Kentucky who are here today. (Applause.)
And of course, I want to thank my friends from West Virginia
who are here. Thank you all for coming. (Applause.)
I told Zell we're going to have a heck of a day. He's
helping to kick it off in fine fashion. You know, Zell
Miller, he represents a lot of folks out there who are
wondering whether or not it's okay to vote Republican.
He's what I would call a discerning Democrat. (Applause.)
More importantly, he is a proud American, and I'm proud
to call Zell Miller friend. (Applause.)
I'm here to ask for the vote. (Applause.) I'm here to
let you know that I'm willing to get amongst the people
and say, I need your vote and I need your help to win this
election. (Applause.) You see, we have a duty in this country
to vote, and I would hope you would go out and register
your friends and neighbors. Remind them we have a duty.
Register our fellow Republicans, register independents,
register discerning Democrats. (Applause.) Then after you
register them, get them headed to the polls. And when you
get them headed to the polls, remind them, if they want
a safer America, a stronger America, and a better America,
put Dick Cheney and me back in there for four more years.
(Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more
years!
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Zell said -- we got on the
bus after flying up from Washington, and he said, I wish
you'd have brought Laura. (Applause.) He's got really good
judgment. (Laughter.) You know, when I asked Laura to marry
me, she said, fine, I'll be -- I'm willing to marry you,
just so long as I never have to give a political speech.
(Laughter.) She was a public school librarian who didn't
particularly care about politics or politicians. I said,
that's fine, you'll never have to give a speech. And we
got married. Fortunately, she didn't hold me to that promise.
(Laughter.) She is a -- the country saw, in New York City,
she not only gives a good speech, but she's gracious and
strong, she's comforting. I love her dearly. (Applause.)
Perhaps the most important reason of all in putting me
back in office is so that Laura will have four more years
as your First Lady. (Applause.)
I appreciate Congresswoman Shelly Moore Capito, from the
great state of West Virginia, joining us today. (Applause.)
Shelly Moore is a fine, fine member of the United States
Congress. She's a class act. I also appreciate today traveling
with Senator Mike DeWine from the state of Ohio. I appreciate
you coming, Mike. (Applause.) He, too, is a fine United
States Senator, and I'm proud his son, Patrick, is joining
us today, as well.
I want to thank all the state and local officials here.
I want to thank all the candidates for throwing your hat
in the ring. I appreciate the Wil Gravatt Band. I want
to thank the Parkersburg Base Army Reserve Charlie Company,
the 463rd Engineering Battalion. Thank you all for coming.
(Applause.)
Most of all, thank you all for taking Friday out of your
life to come. I appreciate you being here -- (applause)
-- for taking this Friday to come here. I appreciate it.
It means a lot to me. I know it means a lot to Zell. See,
I'm looking forward to this campaign. I'm going to tell
the people where I stand and what I believe and where I'll
lead this country. (Applause.)
I believe every child can learn, and expect every school
to teach. (Applause.) I went to Washington to challenge
the soft bigotry of low expectations. I believe we ought
to raise standards. I believe we ought to measure early
to solve problems before it's too late. I believe we got
to stop this practice of just shuffling kids through our
schools year after year, grade after grade without learning
the basics. (Applause.) I believe we got to trust the local
people to make the right decisions for their schools. I
know we're closing the achievement gap in America, and
we're not turning back. (Applause.)
I believe we have a moral responsibility to honor our
seniors with good health care. (Applause.) Medicare is
an incredibly important program for our seniors, but it
wasn't modernizing. People say, what do you mean when you
say that? Well, Medicare would pay thousands and thousands
and thousands of dollars for heart surgery, but it would
not pay for the prescription drugs to prevent the heart
surgery from being needed. That didn't make any sense for
our seniors, it didn't make any sense for our taxpayers.
I went to Washington, D.C. to solve problems. We have now
modernized Medicare to help our seniors. Beginning in 2006,
seniors will get prescription drug coverage, and we're
not turning back. (Applause.)
I believe in the energy, innovation and spirit of America's
workers, small business owners, farmers and ranchers. And
that's why we unleashed that energy with the largest tax
relief in a generation. (Applause.)
When you're out rounding up the vote, remind people about
what this economy has been through. Five months before
we got into office the stock market had started to decline.
We had a recession right as we got there. There was corporate
scandals. By the way, we made it clear we're not going
to tolerate dishonesty in the boardrooms of America. (Applause.)
We had a terrorist attack on our country. All those were
obstacles for our American workers. See, we're overcoming
these obstacles. We're overcoming these obstacles because
we got great workers, great farmers. We're overcoming it
because the entrepreneurial spirit is strong. We're overcoming
it because of well-time tax relief. (Applause.)
Our economy is growing at rates as fast as any in nearly
20 years. We've added about 1.7 million new jobs in the
past year. We've added 107,000 manufacturing jobs since
January. The national unemployment rate is 5.4 percent.
(Applause.) That's lower than the average rate of the 1970s,
the 1980s, and the 1990s. (Applause.) The unemployment
rate in West Virginia is 5.2 percent. The economic stimulus
plan we passed is working. (Applause.)
I believe the most solemn duty of the American President
is to protect the American people. (Applause.) If America
shows uncertainty and weakness in this decade, the world
will drift toward tragedy. This isn't going to happen on
my watch. (Applause.) I'm running for President with a
clear and positive plan to build a safer world and a more
hopeful America. I'm running with a compassionate conservative
philosophy that government should help people improve their
lives, not try to run their lives. (Applause.) I believe
this nation wants steady, consistent, principled leadership,
and that is why, with your help, we will carry West Virginia
again, we'll carry Ohio again, we'll carry Kentucky again,
and we'll win in November. (Applause.)
Because I understand the world we're living in is changing.
The generation of our dads and grandads, a person generally
had one job, one career, worked for one company that provided
health care and a pension. Today it's different. The work
force has changed. Most of those workers in the past were
men; today many, many workers are women. They're working
inside the home and outside the home. (Applause.) Many
people change jobs and careers several times over the course
of a lifetime. Yet many of the fundamental systems -- the
tax code, health coverage, pension plans, worker training
-- were created for the world of yesterday, not tomorrow.
And so, for the next four years, we'll transform the systems
to help our citizens. We'll transform these systems so
all citizens are equipped, prepared, and thus, truly free
to make your own choices so you can realize the great promise
of America. (Applause.)
Any hopeful society has a growing economy, and I have
a plan to keep this economy moving forward. To create more
jobs in America, America must be the best place in the
world to do business. (Applause.) That means we've got
to reduce the regulations on our businesses, particularly
small businesses. (Applause.) It means we got to stop these
junk lawsuits that are threatening employers all across
the country. (Applause.) It means Congress needs to get
my energy policy to my desk. Yes, in order to create jobs
here in America, we need sound energy policy. That means
more conservation, that means supporting renewables, and
that means using coal, clean coal technology to make sure
people can find work. (Applause.)
The plan I submitted will modernize the electricity grid
so hospitals and offices can keep focus on hiring workers,
not coping with blackouts. What I'm telling you is, we
need an energy policy that makes us less dependent on foreign
sources of energy. (Applause.)
Listen, to create jobs, we've got to reject economic isolationism
and open up markets for U.S. products. See, we open up
our markets for foreign goods, and that's good for you.
It's good for you because the more products you can choose
from, you're likely to get the product you want at higher
quality and better price. That's how the market works.
So what I'm telling places like China is, you treat us
the way we treat you. (Applause.) See, the best policy
is to level the playing field, because Americans can compete
with anybody, anytime, anywhere so long as the rules are
fair. (Applause.)
To make sure jobs are here in America, to make sure people
can find work, we've got to be wise about how we spend
your money and keep your taxes low. (Applause.) Taxes are
an issue in this campaign. See, I'm running against a fellow
who has already promised over $2 trillion of new money,
new federal programs, so far.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: We've got -- there's going to be a lot
of temptations coming down the pike to tell everybody everywhere
what they want to hear. That means -- that generally means
spending your money. But the problem is, he hasn't told
us how he's going to spend -- pay for it. See, he said,
oh, don't worry, we'll pay for it by taxing the rich. Two
things wrong with that. One is, you can't raise enough
money by taxing the rich to pay for $2 trillion worth of
new programs. See, there's a gap between his promise and
what he can deliver, and guess who's going to get stuck
with the bill? Secondly, you've heard that rhetoric before,
haven't you? Oh, don't worry, we'll just tax the rich.
Well, the rich hire accountants and lawyers, and you get
stuck with the bill. We're not going to let him tax you.
We're going to win a great victory in November. (Applause.)
And speaking about the tax code, we're going to do something
about our tax code in a second term. We're going to make
it easier to understand and we're going to simplify it.
This tax code of ours is too complicated. It is filled
with special interest loopholes. Americans spend about
six billion hours a year on taxes because of the complicated
nature of the tax code. The tax code is a drag on our economy.
In a new term, I'll bring Republicans and Democrats together
to simplify the federal tax code. (Applause.)
Listen, this world of ours is changing, and the nature
of the jobs are changing. And we've got to help workers
gain the skills necessary so they can fill the jobs of
the 21st century. That's why I'm such a big believer in
improving access to the community colleges all across our
country. I remember coming to the community college here
in Huntington, West Virginia. We talked about job training.
We talked about people having the skills necessary to fill
the jobs which are being created. And we got to do a better
job in our high schools. Do you realize that about -- most
of the new jobs, over 50 percent of the new jobs require
at least two years of college, and yet, one in four of
our students gets there?
That's why we've got to fund early intervention programs
in high schools to help students who are at risk. We want
to place a new focus on math and science in our high schools.
We want to require a rigorous exam -- over time, require
a rigorous exam before graduation. See, by raising performance
in high schools, and by expanding Pell grants for low-
and middle-income families, we will help more Americans
start their career with a college diploma. (Applause.)
We'll do more to make quality health care available and
affordable. More than one-half of the uninsured are small
business employees and their families. Small businesses
are having trouble affording health care. One way to help
small businesses afford health care, and therefore, help
families, is to allow them to join together to purchase
insurance at the discounts big companies get. (Applause.)
We'll help more people own and manage their own health
care plans. We'll expand health savings accounts. We'll
ensure every poor county in America has a community or
rural health center so people can get the primary care
they need. And we're going to do something about these
junk lawsuits that are running good docs out of practice
and running up your costs. (Applause.)
One reason small businesses are having trouble affording
health care is because these lawsuits are running up the
cost of medicine. Make no mistake about it; junk lawsuits
are running up your costs. And make no mistake about it;
too many good docs are being run out of practice. And that's
harmful. It's harmful for the folks in Ohio, West Virginia,
Kentucky, and all across America. You cannot be pro-doctor,
pro-patient, pro-hospital and pro-trial lawyer at the same
time. (Applause.) You have to choose. My opponent made
his choice, and he put him on the ticket.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: I made my choice -- I'm for medical liability
reform now. (Applause.) In all we do to improve health
care in America, we will make sure that health decisions
are made by doctors and patients, not by bureaucrats in
Washington, D.C. (Applause.)
In a changing world, ownership brings stability to people
's lives. One of the most hopeful statistics in recent
times is the fact that home ownership rates are at an all-time
high in America. More and more people are owning their
home. In a new term, we'll continue to expand ownership
all across this country. We want more and more people opening
the door of the place where they live and saying, welcome
to my home, welcome to my piece of property. (Applause.)
And we want to make sure our younger workers have got
a Social Security system that's viable. Now, let me say,
if you're an older worker or you're dependent now on Social
Security, you're going to be just fine. If you're a baby
boomer, you'll be just fine when it comes to Social Security
as it's now structured. But I think we need to think about
our children and our grandchildren when it comes to Social
Security. (Applause.) It's one thing for people like Zell
and me to say it's going to be fine for us; we have an
obligation to see that it's fine for younger folks. And
so, therefore, I think younger workers who are coming up
ought to have the right to take some of their own tax money
and put it in an account they can call their own, a personal
savings account that will help them with Social Security.
(Applause.)
In a world of change some things don't change, the values
we try to live by -- courage and compassion, reverence
and integrity. In a time of change we'll support the institutions
that give our lives direction and purpose -- our families,
our schools, our religious congregations. (Applause.) We
believe -- we stand for a culture of life in which every
person matters and every being counts. (Applause.) We stand
for marriage and family, which are the foundations of society.
(Applause.) We stand for the Second Amendment which gives
every American the individual right to bear arms. (Applause.)
And I stand for the appointment of federal judges who know
the difference between personal opinion and the strict
interpretation of the law. (Applause.)
This election will also determine how America responds
to the continuing danger of terrorism. Since the 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. (Applause.)
Our strategy is clear: We're defending the homeland, we're
transforming our military, we're strengthening our intelligence
services. We're staying on the offensive. We're striking
the terrorists abroad so we do not have to face them here
at home. (Applause.) We will work -- we will continue our
work to advance freedom in the broader Middle East and
around the world, and we will prevail. (Applause.)
Our strategy is succeeding. Four years ago, four short
years ago, Afghanistan was the home base of al Qaeda; Pakistan
was a transit point for terrorist groups; Saudi Arabia
was fertile ground for terrorist fundraising; Libya was
seriously pursuing nuclear weapons; Iraq was a gathering
threat; and al Qaeda was largely unchallenged as it planned
attacks. Because we acted, the government of a free Afghanistan
is fighting terror; Pakistan is capturing terrorists; Saudi
Arabia is making raids and arrests; Libya is dismantling
its weapons programs -- (applause.) The 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 have led, many have joined,
and America and the world are safer. (Applause.)
The progress involved careful diplomacy, clear moral purpose,
and some tough decisions. The toughest came on Iraq. We
knew Saddam Hussein's record of aggression and support
for terror. We knew he had a long history of pursuing and
even using weapons of mass destruction. And we know that
after September the 11th, our country must think differently.
We must take the threats seriously before they fully materialize.
(Applause.)
In Saddam Hussein, we saw a threat. I went to the United
States Congress. Members of both Houses and both political
parties looked at the same intelligence I looked at. They
remembered the same history I remembered. They came to
the same conclusion that my administration came to, Saddam
Hussein was a threat, and they authorized the use of force.
(Applause.) My opponent -- my opponent looked at the very
same intelligence I looked at. And he came to the same
conclusion then that we had come to, that Saddam Hussein
was a threat. He authorized -- he voted to authorize the
use of force.
Before the Commander-in-Chief commits troops into harm's
way, we must try all options in order to solve the threat.
And that's why I went to the United Nations. I was hoping
that diplomacy would work. The United Nations looked at
the same intelligence we looked at, they remembered the
same history we remembered, and they came to the conclusion
that Saddam Hussein must disclose, disarm, or face serious
consequences. (Applause.) So the world spoke with a 15-to-nothing
vote in the Security Council. But Saddam Hussein wasn't
interested in what the world had to say. He hadn't been
interested over the past decade, and he certainly wasn't
interested now. He ignored the demands of the free world.
As a matter of fact, when the U.N. decided to send inspectors
into the country, he systematically deceived them. In other
words, he wasn't about to comply.
So I had a choice to make at this point in time: Do I
take the word of a madman, forget the lessons of September
the 11th, or take action to defend America? Given that
-- given that choice, I will defend America every time.
(Applause.)
AUDIENCE: USA! USA! USA!
THE PRESIDENT: Because we acted -- because we acted to
defend ourselves, 50 million people now live in freedom.
(Applause.) Because we upheld doctrine, because the most
solemn duty of government is to defend the security of
the people of this country, 50 million people now in Afghanistan
and Iraq are free. Think about Afghanistan for a minute.
Think about Afghanistan for a minute. This is a country,
not all that long ago, where young girls weren't allowed
to go to school, and their mothers were taken into the
public square and whipped if they didn't toe the line of
the Taliban. The Taliban was backward and barbaric in their
vision. They're the opposite of what we stand for in America.
They didn't believe in religious freedom, they didn't believe
in political freedom, they didn't believe in freedom. Today,
over 10 million Afghan men and women -- 10 million citizens,
over 40 percent of whom are women, have registered to vote
for the upcoming presidential election. (Applause.) It's
amazing.
Freedom is powerful, isn't it? (Applause.) In Iraq, it's
still tough there. But Iraq now has a strong Prime Minister,
a national council, and national elections will be held
in January. (Applause.)
The world is changing. Our nation is standing with the
people of those countries, because when America gives it's
word, it must keep it's word. (Applause.) We're standing
with those people in the country -- in those countries,
and as we do so, we're serving a historic cause that will
make our country safer and make the world more peaceful,
something we all want. See, free societies in the Middle
East will be hopeful societies which no longer feed resentments
and breed violence for export. A free Iraq and a free Afghanistan
will serve as a powerful example for those who long for
freedom in a part of the world that is desperate for freedom.
(Applause.)
So our mission in Afghanistan and Iraq is clear. We'll
help the new leaders. We'll help them head down the road
to democracy. We'll help them hold elections. More importantly,
we'll train Afghan and Iraqi citizens for police and their
armies so they can do the hard work of defending their
countries -- their fellow countrymen from the designs and
demands of a few terrorists. We'll help them provide --
we'll provide those countries with stability as quickly
as we can get the job done. And then our troops will return
home with the honor they have earned. (Applause.)
I'm proud of our military. We've got a great United States
military. (Applause.) I've had the privilege of meeting
with those who wear the nation's uniform. I've met them
all across bases here in America and around the world.
I'm telling you, I've seen their unselfish courage, their
great decency. I appreciate the veterans who are here today
who have set such a great example for those who wear the
uniform today. (Applause.) I appreciate the military families
who are here today. (Applause.)
I made a commitment to those who wear the uniform and
their families that they will have the resources they need
to complete their missions. So I went to the Congress a
year ago and proposed supplemental funding of $87 billion.
It's really important funding because it provided body
armor, spare parts, ammunition, fuel, supplies needed by
our troops who were in harm's way in Iraq and Afghanistan.
I appreciate Senator Miller's strong support for that funding
request. (Applause.) We received strong bipartisan support.
The support was so strong that only 12 members of the United
States Senate voted against this important funding -- two
of whom were my opponent and his running mate.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: In fact, only four United States senators
voted to authorize the use of force, and then voted against
funding our troops -- two of those senators were my opponent
and his running mate. They asked him to explain his vote.
It was right here in Huntington, West Virginia where he
said, I voted for the $87 billion right before I voted
against it. Right here in Huntington. They kept pressing
him after that, and he said, well, he was proud of his
vote. And finally he just said the whole thing was a complicated
matter. (Laughter.) There's nothing complicated about supporting
our troops in combat. (Applause.)
When it comes to Iraq, my opponent has more different
positions than all his colleagues in the Senate combined.
(Laughter.) Senator Kerry once said, "It would be
naive to the point of grave danger not to believe that,
left to his own devises, Saddam Hussein will provoke, misjudge
or stumble into a future of more dangerous confrontation
with the civilized world." End quote. In 2002, he
voted for the war. But then he voted against body armor
and combat pay for our troops. When the heat got on in
the Democrat primary, he declared himself the anti-war
candidate. Then several months later, he said he would
have still voted to go to war, even knowing everything
we know today. Earlier this week, he adopted the language
of his one-time rival, Howard Dean, saying it's the wrong
war at the wrong time -- even though he, earlier, said
it was the right decision and he supported it.
The newest wrinkle is that Senator Kerry has now decided
we are spending too much money in Iraq, even though he
criticized us earlier for not spending enough. One thing
about Senator Kerry's position is clear: If he had his
way, Saddam Hussein would still be in power and would still
be a threat to the security and to the world. (Applause.)
In our next four years, we'll continue to work with our
friends and allies to make us more secure and to make them
more secure, and to make the world more peaceful. We put
together a broad coalition, about 40 nations in Afghanistan,
and some 30 in Iraq. But I'll assure you this: I will never
turn over America's national security decisions to leaders
of other countries. (Applause.)
I believe in the transformational power of liberty. The
wisest use of American strength is to advance freedom.
I spent time with Prime Minister Koizumi. He's the Prime
Minister of Japan. You know, I was having dinner with him
one evening, and it dawned on me how remarkable it is that
an American President could be talking about working together
to make the world a better place. After all, it wasn't
all that long ago in the march of history that we were
at war with Japan. They were our sworn enemy. My dad, I'm
sure your dads and grandads, fought against the Japanese.
And yet, right after World War II, after we were victorious,
Harry Truman and other Americans never abandoned this notion
that freedom could change societies. And they stood the
line. There was a lot of skeptics in those days. I can
understand why. We were just at war with them. You can
imagine why a lot of American people said, why are we wasting
our time? Why do we care?
Well, people did care. See, they cared because they had
a vision of the future. And because they worked to help
Japan become a democracy, today Japan is an ally. Prime
Minister Koizumi and I sit around the table talking about
the peace. We're talking about using our influence to make
the world a better place, not only for the people in our
own country, but for people around the world. We talk about
peace in North Korea. We talk about peace in Iraq. We talk
about feeding the hungry. (Applause.)
Liberty -- liberty can change countries from enemies to
friend. Someday, an American President will be sitting
down with a duly-elected leader of Iraq, and they're going
to be talking about the peace. They'll be talking about
a better world. See, liberty has got the chance to make
this world a more peaceful place. I believe that millions
in the Middle East plead in silence for their liberty.
I believe that if given the chance, they will embrace the
most honorable form of government ever devised by man.
And I believe these things not because freedom is America's
gift to the world, but because freedom is the Almighty
God's gift to each man and woman in this world. (Applause.)
This young century will be liberty's century. By promoting
freedom here at home and freedom abroad, we'll build a
safer world and a more hopeful America. By reforming systems
of government, we will free more Americans to be able to
realize their dreams. We'll spread ownership and opportunity
to every corner of this country. We'll pass the enduring
values of our country to a new generation. We will continue
to lead the world to become more free and more peaceful.
You know, for all Americans, these years in our history
will stand apart. There are quiet times in the life of
a nation when little is expected of its leaders. This isn't
one of those times. This is a time -- this is a time when
we need firm resolve, clear vision, and a deep faith in
the values that make this a great nation. (Applause.)
None of us will ever forget that week when one era ended
and another began. I met a fellow behind the stage here
who was at Ground Zero the same day I was at Ground Zero.
He was there to save lives; I was there to thank people
for saving lives -- so on September the 14th, 2001, that
-- both of us were in the ruins of the Twin Towers. It's
a day I will never forget. I told him that. I said, it's
a day that I'll never forget. There were workers in hard
hats yelling at me at the top of their lungs, "Whatever
it takes." I tried to do my best to comfort those
who had been in the rubble. A fellow looked me right in
the eye and said, "Do not let me down." I wake
up -- (applause) -- I wake up every morning, every morning,
thinking about how to better protect our country. I will
never relent in defending America, whatever it takes. (Applause.)
Four years ago, when I traveled our great country asking
for the vote, I made a pledge to my fellow Americans that
if you gave me a chance to serve, I would uphold the honor
and the dignity of the office to which I had been elected.
With your help, with your hard work, I will do so for four
more years.
God bless. Thank you for coming. (Applause.)
<<Go back
|