SPEECHES
FROM THE 2004 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN
George W. Bush
Campaign Remarks
in Michigan
September 13, 2004 • Holland, MI
Thank you all very much for coming. Nothing
like a little Dutch hospitality on the campaign trail.
(Applause.)
I'm here to ask for your vote, that's what I'm doing today.
(Applause.) I believe you've got to get out amongst the
people and ask for the vote. And not only do I want your
vote, I want your help. (Applause.) Go out and register
your friends and neighbors to vote. Don't overlook the
discerning Democrat. (Applause.) People like Zell Miller.
(Applause.) And then when you register them to vote, get
them headed to the polls. Then when you get them headed
to the polls, tell them if you want a safer America, a
stronger America, a better America, put Dick Cheney and
me back in office. (Applause.)
I wish Laura were here today. (Applause.) She is a great
mom, a wonderful wife. I'm going to give you some reasons
to put me back in, but perhaps the most important one of
all is so that Laura is the First Lady for four more years.
(Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more
years!
THE PRESIDENT: Listen, I'm real proud to be -- I'm proud
to be running with my friend, Dick Cheney. 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
he's a man of good judgment, good experience, a man who
gets the job done. (Applause.)
I want to thank my friend, Pete Hoekstra, and his wife,
Diane. (Applause.) Hoekstra is a good one, a fine member
of the United States Congress. I look forward to working
-- he said when we were coming in on the bus, he said,
remind them we worked on the desks together. (Laughter.)
I did. They put him the head of the Intelligence Committee.
(Applause.) Believe me, that's a big deal. I'm looking
forward to working with him to make sure we've got the
best intelligence possible to protect our country. (Applause.)
I want to thank the Mayor for being here. Mr. Mayor --
Mayor Al is with us today. I appreciate him coming. Just
fill the potholes, Mr. Mayor, and everything will be fine.
(Laughter and applause.) I appreciate, Mayor -- tell your
police force how much we appreciate their sacrifice and
service. And while you're thanking the police, thank those
firefighters, too, for their service. (Applause.)
And I want to thank my friend, Betsy DeVos, and her father-in-law,
Rich. I want to thank all the grassroots activists who
are here. (Applause.) Those are the people who put up the
signs and make the phone calls. Thank the local officials
who are here. I thank the Bellamy Brothers who are here
-- my friends, the Bellamy Brothers. Good to see you guys;
thank you for coming. (Applause.) I want to thank the Holland
Public High marching band for coming today. (Applause.)
Make sure you hustle back to class and start studying.
(Laughter.)
Here's what I believe. I believe with your help, we will
carry Michigan and win a great victory in November. (Applause.)
I'm looking forward to campaigning in your state. I'm looking
forward to spending a lot of time here. I'm going to tell
the people where I stand, what I believe, and where I'm
going to lead this nation for the next four years. (Applause.)
I believe every child can learn and every school must
teach. (Applause.) I went to Washington to challenge the
soft bigotry of low expectations, to raise the standards,
to measure early and solve problems before it's too late.
I went to stop this practice of just shuffling children
through the schools grade after grade, year after year,
without learning the basics. (Applause.) I went to make
sure Washington trusts the local people to make the right
decisions for their schools. We're closing the achievement
gap in America, and we're not turning back. (Applause.)
I believe we have a moral responsibility to provide our
seniors with good health care. (Applause.) I knew Medicare
was an important program, but it wasn't changing with the
times. See, we pay $100,000 for heart surgery, but not
the prescription drugs to prevent the heart surgery from
being needed in the first place. (Applause.) That didn't
make any sense for our seniors. It didn't make any sense
for our taxpayers. We've strengthened Medicare, and we're
not turning back. (Applause.)
I believe in the energy, innovation, and spirit of America's
workers and farmers and small business owners. 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 you remind your friends
and neighbors what this economy has been through; we have
been through a recession, we've been through corporate
scandals -- by the way, we passed new laws and it's now
clear, abundantly clear, that we're not going to tolerate
dishonesty in the board rooms of America. (Applause.)
And we went through that terror attack. And that attack
hurt our economy. But we're overcoming those obstacles.
Our economy has been growing at rates as fast as any in
nearly 20 years. We're overcoming those obstacles because
we've got great workers and great farmers. We're overcoming
those obstacles because the tax relief is working. (Applause.)
The national unemployment rate is 5.4 percent. That is
lower than the average rate of the 1970s, the 1980s and
the 1990s. (Applause.) Listen, there are some areas of
our country that are still lagging behind, but we'll continue
to promote a pro-growth, pro-small business policy, pro-entrepreneur
policy for the next four years so people can find a good
job here in America. (Applause.)
I believe a President -- I believe it's a job of a President
to confront problems, not pass them on to future Presidents
and future generations. 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
is not going to happen on my watch. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more
years!
THE PRESIDENT: I am running for President with a clear
and positive plan to build a safer world and a more hopeful
America. I am running with a compassionate conservative
philosophy that government should help people improve their
lives, not try to run their lives. I believe this nation
wants steady, consistent, principled leadership and that's
why, with your help, we're going to win a great national
victory in November. (Applause.)
Listen, I understand the world we live in today is a changing
world. Think about what happened in the workplace. Years
ago our fathers and grandfathers worked for one job, one
company; they had one pension plan, one health care plan;
today people change careers and change jobs often. And
the most startling change of all is that women now work
not only in the house but outside the house. (Applause.)
We have a changing world. And, yet, the fundamental systems
haven't changed: the tax code, health coverage, pension
plans, worker training were created for the world of yesterday,
not tomorrow. So over the next four years we're going to
transform these systems so that all citizens are equipped,
prepared and, thus, truly free to be able to make their
own choices and to be able to realize the great promise
of this country. (Applause.)
Listen, any hopeful society has got to be one in which
the economy is growing, and I've laid out a plan to make
sure that this economy of ours continues to grow. To keep
jobs here in America, America must be the best place in
the world to do business. (Applause.) That means less regulations
and less lawsuits on our small business owners. (Applause.)
Listen, to keep jobs here in America, we need an energy
plan. I submitted a plan to the United States Congress,
and it's stuck in there. It's a plan that encourages conservation,
encourages the use of renewables, encourages clean coal
technology, encourages the use of technology to make sure
we explore for hydrocarbons in environmentally friendly
ways -- but it's a plan that recognizes to keep jobs here,
we need to be less dependent on foreign sources of energy.
(Applause.) To keep jobs here, we've got to be wise about
how we use our natural resources, including water. And
that starts with keeping the Great Lakes water in the Great
Lakes Basin. (Applause.)
See, earlier this year, my opponent said a decision about
Great Lakes water diversion would be a delicate balancing
act.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: That kind of sounds like him, doesn't it?
(Applause.) My position is clear: my administration will
never allow the diversion of Great Lakes water. (Applause.)
Listen, to keep jobs here, we've got to make sure we open
up foreign markets to our products. See, if we open up
markets -- we open up our market, it's good for you we
do. See, the economy works this way: if you have more choices
in the marketplace, you're likely to get the product you
want at a better price and higher quality. So what I'm
telling the places like China is you treat us the way we
treat you. And the reason I'm saying that is I know we
can compete with anybody, anytime, anywhere if the rules
are fair. (Applause.)
To create jobs here in America, to make sure this economy
continues to grow we've got to be wise about how we spend
your money, and we've got to keep your taxes low. (Applause.)
Taxes are an issue in this campaign. I'm running against
a fellow who's promised at least $2 trillion in new money
so far.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: And we haven't even gotten in the stretch
run yet. So I said to him the other day, well, how are
you going to pay for them? And he said, that's easy, just
tax the rich.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: We've heard that before, haven't we? First
of all, you can't raise enough money by taxing the rich
to cover his $2.2 trillion of new spending. There is a
tax gap. Guess what he's thinking? Guess who he thinks
is going to fill the tax gap when he can't make it with
the rich? Yes.
Let me tell you what else -- you've heard that I'm going
the tax the rich before, haven't you? That's why the rich
hire accountants and lawyers so you get stuck with the
bill. But we're not going to let him tax you. We're going
to win in November. (Applause.)
Let me tell you something else we've got to do about this
tax code: we've got to change it. It's a complicated mess.
It's full of special-interest loopholes. In a new term
I'm going to bring the Republicans and Democrats together
to simplify the tax code, to make the tax code more fair.
(Applause.) We want more people working than spending time
-- than the time they have to spend on filling out all
these forms. Do you realize Americans spend about 6 billion
hours a year on federal taxes. That's one complicated code
that needs to be fixed and will be fixed. (Applause.)
In a changing world we've got to recognize, we've got
to help our workers gain the skills necessary to fill the
jobs of the 21st century. Jobs are changing, sometimes
the skill sets aren't. That's why I'm such a big believer
in the community college system around America. I also
understand that most new jobs are filled by people with
at least two years of college. Yet, only one in four of
our students gets there. That's why in high schools we'll
fund early intervention programs to help students at risk.
We must place a new focus on math and science. Over time,
we will require rigorous exam before graduation. By raising
performance standards in high school, by expanding Pell
Grants for low and middle-income families we will help
more Americans start their career with a college diploma.
(Applause.)
Times have changed, we've got to do more to make sure
healthcare is available and affordable. More than half
of the uninsured in America are small business employees
and their families. Small businesses are having trouble
affording health care. In order to help the families who
work for these companies, we must allow small firms to
join together so they can purchase insurance at the discounts
available to big companies. (Applause.)
We want people owning and managing their own health plans,
and that's why I believe we ought to expand health savings
accounts. I want to expand community health centers so
poor people can find good health care all across America,
particularly in our poor counties.
I know in order to make sure we've got good docs practicing
medicine, to make sure health care is affordable, we need
to stop these junk lawsuits. (Applause.) 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.)
Our plan to improve the quality of health care is practical,
it's a commonsense plan to make health care more accessible,
more affordable, and to keep the good docs practicing medicine.
I believe that health care decisions should be made by
doctors and patients, not by Washington, D.C. bureaucrats.
(Applause.)
We have a difference of opinion in this campaign. I'm
running against a fellow who's put out a health care plan
that is massive, it is complicated, it is a blueprint to
have the government control your health care.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: And he can't pay for his plan. Today, there's
an independent study out that says his health care plan
today would cost taxpayers $1.5 trillion new dollars.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: That's just the kind of plan you would
expect from a senator from Massachusetts. (Applause.)
In a new term, I'll continue to promote an ownership society
in America. In changing times, ownership can bring stability
to your lives. One of the great statistics of the modern
-- of the modern -- of the last couple of years, is the
home ownership rate is at an all-time high in America.
(Applause.) We've got a plan to continue home ownership
in America. I love the fact, when people from all walks
of life can open up their door where they're living and
say, welcome to my home, welcome to my piece of property.
(Applause.)
We need -- we need to -- listen. On Social Security, we
need to -- I want the younger workers here to listen carefully
to this debate on Social Security. If you're -- if you're
on Social Security today, nothing is going to change. I
do not care what the D.C. politicians will tell you. Nobody
is going to take away your benefits. And if you're a baby
boomer, you're in pretty good shape when it comes to Social
Security. (Applause.)
But we need to worry about our children and grandchildren,
when it comes to the Social Security system. (Applause.)
I think we need to think differently when it comes to our
children and grandchildren. I think we ought to allow young
workers to put aside some of their own tax money in a personal
savings account, to make sure Social Security fulfills
the promise. (Applause.)
If you listen carefully to the rhetoric in this campaign,
I'm running against a fellow who wants to expand government.
We want to expand opportunity for every single citizen
of this country. (Applause.)
I also recognize, in the world of change, some things
do not change. The values we try to live by do not change:
courage and compassion, reverence and integrity. In times
of change, we'll support the institutions that gives our
lives direction and purpose: our families, our schools,
our religious congregations. (Applause.) We stand for a
culture of life in which every person counts and every
being matters. (Applause.) We stand for marriage and family,
which are the foundations of society. (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, transforming
our military, and strengthening our intelligence services.
We're staying on the offensive. We are striking the terrorists
abroad, so we do not have to face them here at home. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more
years!
THE PRESIDENT: We will work to advance liberty in the
broader Middle East and throughout the world and we will
prevail. (Applause.) Our strategy is succeeding. Four 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
pursuing nuclear weapons. Iraq was a gathering threat,
and Al Qaeda was largely unchallenged as it planned attacks.
Because we acted, because we led the government of a free
Afghanistan is fighting terror, Pakistan is capturing terrorists,
Saudi is making raids and arrests, Libya is dismantling
its weapons programs, the army of Iraq is fighting for
freedom, and more than three-quarters of al Qaeda's known
leadership has been brought to justice. (Applause.)
We have led, many have joined, and America and the world
are safer. This progress involved careful diplomacy, clear
moral purpose, and some tough decisions. And the toughest
came on Iraq. We knew Saddam Hussein's record of aggression
and support for terror. We knew his long history of pursuing,
even using, weapons of mass destruction. And we know that
after September the 11th, our country must think differently.
We must take threats seriously before they fully materialize.
(Applause.)
In Saddam Hussein we saw a threat. I went to the United
States Congress and members of both political parties,
including my opponent, looked at the same intelligence,
remembered the same history, and recognized Saddam Hussein
was a threat. They voted the authorization of force. They
said, go ahead and use force if you need to; he's a threat.
Before the Commander-in-Chief commits troops into harm's
way, we must have tried all alternatives. That's why I
went to the United Nations. I was hopeful that diplomacy
could deal with this threat. I was hopeful diplomacy would
work.
The United Nations looked at the same intelligence I did,
they remembered the same history we remembered, and voted
15 to nothing to say to Saddam Hussein: disclose, disarm,
or face serious consequences. (Applause.)
The world spoke, but as he had for over a decade, he ignored
the resolutions of the United Nations. He wasn't about
to listen to the demands of the free world. As a matter
of fact, when the U.N. sent inspectors into find the truth,
he systematically deceived them. So at this point, I have
a choice to make. I have a decision to make. The decision
only comes to the Oval Office, a decision no President
wants to make, but must be -- must be prepared to make,
and that is: Do I trust the word of a madman, forget the
lessons of September the 11th -- or take action to defend
this country? Given that choice, I will defend America
every time. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more
years!
AUDIENCE: USA! USA! USA!
THE PRESIDENT: Because we acted -- because we acted to
defend ourself, more than 50 million people are now free.
(Applause.) That makes the world more peaceful. Think about
Afghanistan. It wasn't all that long ago that young girls
weren't allowed to go to school, and their mothers got
whipped in the public square because they didn't toe the
line of the Taliban. These people were barbaric people.
They had hijacked a good religion, and converted it into
an ideology of hate. Today, in Afghanistan, more than 10
million people, 40 percent of whom are women, have registered
to vote in the upcoming presidential election. (Applause.)
Despite ongoing acts of violence, Iraq now has a strong
Prime Minister, a national council, and national elections
are scheduled in January. (Applause.) We're standing with
the people in those countries, because when America gives
its word, America must keep its word. (Applause.) And by
standing with them, we're also serving a vital and historic
cause that will make our country safer. See, free societies
in the Middle East will be hopeful societies, which no
longer feed resentments or breed violence for export. Free
governments in the Middle East will fight terrorists, instead
of harboring them, and that helps us keep us safe.
So our mission in Afghanistan and Iraq is clear: We will
help the new leaders train their police and their armies,
so the people of Afghanistan and Iraq can do the hard work
of defending freedom. (Applause.) We will help them --
we will help them move toward elections, we'll get them
on the path of stability and democracy as quickly as possible,
and then our troops will come home with the honor they
have earned. (Applause.)
We've got a great United States military, people like
Lance Corporal Russell Bullock who's with us today. (Applause.)
I've had the honor of meeting people like Russell, men
and women who wear our uniform. I've seen their great decency
and unselfish courage. I want to thank the veterans who
are with us today for having set such a great example.
(Applause.)
And I believe the government has a commitment, has an
obligation to those who wear our uniform. They must have
all the resources they need to complete their missions.
That's why a year ago I went to the United States Congress
and proposed $87 billion of supplemental funding to support
our troops in combat in both Iraq and Afghanistan. (Applause.)
It was a very important piece of legislation. As a matter
of fact, most members of the United States Congress understood
its importance. We had great bipartisan support for this
request -- so strong that only 12 members of the United
States Senate voted against it -- two of whom are my opponent
and his running mate.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: When you're out gathering the vote, when
you're out convincing people to go to the polls, remind
them that only four United States Senators voted to authorize
the use of force and then voted against funding our troops,
and two of those four are my opponent and his running mate.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: They said, Why did you do that? And he
said, well, I actually did vote for the $87 billion, before
I voted against it. Now, I know Holland, Michigan well
enough to know not many people talk like that around here.
(Laughter.) And they kept pressing him. They kept pressing
him. He said he was proud of his own -- he finally just
said, the whole thing is a complicated matter.
There is nothing complicated about supporting our troops
in combat. (Applause.)
The Commander-in-Chief must have clear vision and mean
what he says when he speaks. When it comes to Iraq, my
opponent has more different positions than all his colleagues
in the Senate combined. Senator Kerry once said it would
be naive, to the point of grave danger, not to believe
that left to his own devices Saddam Hussein will provoke,
misjudge, or stumble into a future, more dangerous confrontation
with the civilized world. Then, in 2002 he voted for the
war, but then voted against funding for our troops. When
the heat got on in his Democrat primary he declared himself
the anti-war candidate. Then, later -- earlier this summer
he said he would have still voted to go to war even knowing
everything we know today. Then about 10 days ago he adopted
the language of his one-time rival, Howard Dean, saying
it was the wrong war at the wrong time -- even though he
said earlier it was the right decision and he supported
it. (Laughter.)
Here's the latest wrinkle. Here's the latest wrinkle --
I'm trying to figure out what he believes. He said: we're
spending too much money in Iraq -- even though he earlier
criticized me for not spending enough. One thing about
his position is clear, if he had had his way, Saddam Hussein
would still be in power and would be a threat to our security
and peace in the world.
Listen, I want to thank our friends and neighbors -- friends
and allies for their contributions. I've spent a lot of
time doing that. I appreciate the fact -- we've got nearly
40 nations involved in Afghanistan, some 30 nations involved
in Iraq helping us to spread freedom and peace. But I will
never -- as I build coalitions over the next four years,
as I continue to work with friends and neighbors I will
never turn over America's national security decisions to
leaders of other countries. (Applause.)
I believe in the transformational power of liberty. I
believe the wisest use of American strength is freedom.
I like to share stories of my time with different leaders
around the world, and one of them is -- one of the leaders
I admire a lot is Prime Minister Koizumi, of Japan. Think
about that -- one of the people with whom I have good relations
is the leader of a country that my dad was at war with
-- your dads or granddads, husbands, grandfathers were
at war with them. We had a bloody war with Japan, a violent
war.
So World War II was over, after we had won. My predecessor,
Harry Truman, and other Americans believed that liberty
could transform enemies into allies. They stood the line.
There was a lot of skepticism during those times. But they
stood strong for the values that we believe in. And as
a result of helping Japan become a democracy, today I sit
down at the table with Prime Minister Koizumi talking about
the peace, talking about how to make the world a more hopeful
place, talking about working together to spread the peace
we all yearn for. (Applause.) Someday, an American President
will be sitting down with a duly elected leader of Iraq
talking about the peace. And our children and grandchildren
will be able to grow up in a much better world. (Applause.)
And I believe -- I believe that millions in the Middle
East want to be free. I believe women in the Middle East
long for a day of their freedom. (Applause.) I believe
that if given the chance, they will embrace the most honorable
form of government ever devised by man. I believe these
things, because I understand 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.)
This young century will be liberty's century. By promoting
freedom at home and freedom abroad, we'll build a safer
world and a more hopeful America. By reforming our systems
of government, we'll help more Americans realize their
dreams. We'll spread ownership and opportunity to every
corner of this country. We'll pass the enduring values
of our country on to a new generation. We'll continue to
make the world a more free and, therefore, a more peaceful
place.
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. It's a time that requires firm resolve, clear vision,
and deep faith in the values that make us a great nation.
(Applause.)
None of us will ever forget that week when one era ended
and another began. On September the 14th, 2001, I stood
in the ruins of the Twin Towers. It's a day I'll never
forget. There were workers in hard hats there yelling at
the top of their lungs: Whatever it takes. I remember trying
to console the people coming out of the rubble. A guy looked
me in the eye, bloodshot eyes. He said: You do not let
me down. Ever since that day, I've woken up -- I wake up
every morning, ever since that day, thinking about how
better to protect our country. I will never relent in defending
America, whatever it takes. (Applause.)
Four years ago -- four years ago, as I traveled this great
country and your wonderful state asking for the vote, I
made a pledge. I said that if you gave me a chance to serve,
I would uphold the dignity and the honor 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 all for coming. Thank you all. (Applause.)
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