For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
October 23, 2004
Remarks by the President at Victory 2004 Rally
Space Coast Stadium Melbourne, Florida
1:39 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thanks for coming today. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Thanks for coming today. We're
getting close to voting time -- actually, you already are voting here.
We're traveling your state not only asking for the vote, I'm here to
ask for your help. I'm asking you to get your friends and neighbors
and remind them they have a duty to vote in a democracy. And as you're
getting people to do their duty, don't overlook discerning Democrats,
people like Senator Zell Miller from Georgia. (Applause.) Remind
people that if they want a safer America, a stronger America, and a
better America, put me and Dick Cheney back in office. (Applause.)
I really enjoy campaigning. I like to be out with the people. I
like to tell people why I'm running and what I intend to do as your
President for four more years. Perhaps the most important reason of
all for you to put me back into office is so that Laura will be the
First Lady for four more years. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Laura! Laura! Laura!
THE PRESIDENT: Listen, some of you all may appreciate this. I
think some of you will appreciate this -- when I asked Laura to marry
me -- well, we'd been to the 7th grade together at San Jacinto Junior
High in Midland, Texas. We became reacquainted later on. She was a
public school librarian at the time. (Applause.) And when I asked her
to marry me, she said, fine, but make me a promise. I said, what is
it? She said, promise me that I'll never have to give a political
speech. (Laughter.) I said, okay, you got a deal. Fortunately, she
didn't hold me to that promise. (Laughter.) She is giving a lot of
speeches, and when she does, the American people see a compassionate,
warm, strong First Lady. (Applause.)
I'm proud of my running mate, Dick Cheney. (Applause.) I fully
admit it, he doesn't have the most hair in the race. (Laughter.) I
didn't pick him because of his hairdo. I picked him because of his
judgment, his experience. He's getting the job done for the American
people. (Applause.)
And I'm proud of brother Jeb. (Applause.) The thing I like about
him is you know where he stands. He's not one of these people that
takes a poll or a focus group to kind of find his way. And not only
that, when times were tough here in the state of Florida, I saw
firsthand his steady leadership. Though I came and tried to remind the
people of this state the federal government would do everything we can
to help the people. The truth of the matter is, Florida's great
strength is not only your Governor, but the fact that neighbor loved
neighbor, neighbor helped neighbor. Florida showed great character
during these times of testing. (Applause.)
I'm honored to call Buzz Aldren friend. I appreciate him being
here today. He's one of the great pioneers of America. I appreciate
you, Buzz, coming. I want to thank you for the example you have set
for future pioneers. (Applause.)
I want to thank Congressman Dave Weldon for his service to the
great state of Florida. (Applause.) I appreciate you being here,
Dave. When you go to the polls, make sure you vote for Mel Martinez.
He'll make a great United States Senator. (Applause.) I want to thank
all the state and local officials who are here. I want to thank my
friends in Little Texas for having played for you all today.
(Applause.)
Most of all, I want to thank the grassroots activists who are
putting up the signs and making the phone calls, who have worked so
hard to make this rally such a fantastic rally. (Applause.) I want to
thank you for what you have done and what you're going to do, and that
is turn out the vote. And with your help, we'll carry Florida again
and win a great victory on November the 2nd. (Applause.)
We have just 10 days to go in this election, and voters have a
clear choice between two very different candidates and dramatically
different approaches and records. You know where I stand.
(Applause.) And sometimes, you even know where my opponent stands. We
both have records. I am proudly running on my record. (Applause.)
And the Senator is running from his. And there is a reason why. There
is a mainstream in American politics, and my opponent sits on the far
left bank. (Applause.)
I'm a compassionate conservative and proudly so. (Applause.) At a
time when our country has much to accomplish and much more to do, I
offer a record of reform and results. This election comes down to five
clear choices for America's families, five choices on issues of great
consequence: your family's security, your family's budget, your
quality of life, your retirement, and the bedrock values that are so
critical to our families and to our future. (Applause.)
The first clear choice is the most important, because it concerns
the security of your family. All our progress on very other issue
depends on the safety of our citizens. (Applause.) This will be the
first presidential election since September the 11th, 2001. Americans
will go to the polls in a time of war and ongoing threats unlike any we
have faced before. Terrorists who killed thousands are still
dangerous. They are determined to strike us again. The outcome of
this election will set the direction of the war against terror. 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.)
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
THE PRESIDENT: 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've strengthened protections for our homeland.
We're reforming and strengthening our intelligence services. We're
transforming our military -- we will not have a draft, we will have an
all-volunteer army. (Applause.) We're staying on the offensive. We
are resolute and we are determined to protect the people. (Applause.)
And we're succeeding. More than three-quarters of al Qaeda's key
members and associates have been brought to justice, and the rest of
them know we're on their trail. (Applause.)
My opponent has a very different approach. He says that September
the 11th -- quote -- "didn't change me much at all."
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: End quote. And that's pretty clear. He considers
the war on terror primarily a law enforcement and
intelligence-gathering operation.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: His top policy advisor has questioned whether it is
even a war at all, saying that it's just a metaphor, like the war on
poverty.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: Anyone who thinks we're fighting a metaphor does
not understand the enemy we face. You cannot win a war if you are not
convinced we are even in one. (Applause.)
Senator Kerry also misunderstands our battle against insurgents and
terrorists in Iraq. After voting to authorize force against Saddam
Hussein, after calling it the right decision when I sent troops into
Iraq, the Senator now calls it the wrong war.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: The Senator used to recognize that Saddam Hussein
was a gathering threat who hated America. After all, the Senator said
so. He used to recognize that Saddam was a state sponsor of terror
with a history of pursuing or even using weapons of mass destruction.
After all, the Senator said so. He used to understand that Saddam was
a major source of instability in the Middle East. After all, the
Senator said so. And when he voted to authorize force, the Senator
must have recognized the nightmare scenario that terrorists might
somehow access weapons of mass destruction. Senator Kerry seems to
have forgotten all that as his position has evolved over the course of
this campaign. You might call it election amnesia.
I knew it then and I know it now, that America and the world are
safer with Saddam Hussein sitting in a prison cell. (Applause.)
Senator Kerry now calls Iraq a diversion. But the case of just one
terrorist shows how wrong his thinking is. A man named Zarqawi is
responsible for planting car bombs and beheading Americans in Iraq. He
ran a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan until we arrived.
(Applause.) And then he fled to Baghdad, where he plotted and planned,
and where he's fighting us today. He publicly announced his allegiance
to Osama bin Laden. See, if Zarqawi and his associates were not busy
fighting American and Iraqi forces in Iraq, what does my opponent think
they'd be doing? Peaceful small businessmen? (Laughter.) Working for
benevolent societies? Our troops will defeat the likes of Zarqawi so
we do not have to face him in our own cities. (Applause.)
The choice in this election could not be clearer. You cannot lead
our nation to the decisive victory on which the security of every
American family depends if you do not see the true dangers of the
post-September the 11th era. My opponent has a September 10th point of
view. At this convention, he declared his strategy would be to
respond to attacks after America is hit, and that would be too late.
America -- in our debates, he said we can defend America only if we
pass a global test.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: I'm not making that up. He was standing about this
far from me when he said it. Listen, I'll work with our friends and
allies. We'll build strong coalitions. But I will never turn over
America's national security decisions to leaders of other countries.
(Applause.)
I want to thank those who wear the uniform who are here today.
Thank you for your service. (Applause.) I want to thank the veterans
who are here for having set such a great example for those who wear the
uniform. (Applause.) I want to thank the military families who are
here. (Applause.) And I assure you, we will continue to support our
troops in harm's way. That is why I went to the United States Congress
and proposed $87 billion in supplemental funding, to make sure our
troops had that which they need to complete their missions in
Afghanistan and Iraq. (Applause.)
We received great bipartisan support for that funding. As you
gather the vote, I want you to remind your friends and neighbors of
this startling statistic: Only four members of the United States
Senate, four out of a hundred, voted to authorize the use of force and
then voted against providing the funding necessary to supporting our
troops in harm's way. And two of those four were my opponent and his
running mate.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: So they asked him, why did you make the vote? And
you might remember the most famous quote of the 2004 campaign, I
actually did vote for the $87 billion right before I voted against it.
They kept pressing him and he finally said the whole thing was a
complicated matter. There is nothing complicated about supporting our
troops in combat. (Applause.)
We will continue to protect America by spreading freedom and
liberty. I believe in the transformational power of liberty. Free
nations do not breed resentment and export terror. Free nations become
allies against these ideologues of hate. Think about what's happened
in Afghanistan. Because we acted to defend ourselves, that society has
gone from darkness to light. (Applause.) Three-and-a-half years ago,
young girls couldn't go to school. Their mothers were taken to the
public square and whipped if they did not toe the line of the
barbarians who ran that country. Because we acted, millions voted in a
presidential election. The first voter in the Afghan presidential
election was a 19-year-old woman. Freedom is on the march.
(Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
THE PRESIDENT: Iraq has a strong Prime Minister. They'll be
holding presidential elections in January. Think how far that society
has come, from the days of torture chambers and mass graves. I believe
people in the Middle East want to be free. 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.)
The second clear choice in this election concerns your family
budget, your wallet. When I ran for President four years ago, I
pledged to lower taxes for American families. I kept my word.
(Applause.) We doubled the child credit to $1,000 to help our moms and
dads. We reduced the marriage penalty. We believe the tax code ought
to encourage marriage, not penalize marriage. (Applause.) We dropped
the lower tax bracket to 10 percent to help our working families. We
reduced taxes on everybody who paid taxes. (Applause.) As a result of
these good policies, real after-tax income -- that's the money you have
left in your pocket -- is about -- is up about 10 percent since I've
been your President. (Applause.)
When you're out gathering up the vote, remind the people what we
have been through in this country. Six months prior to my arrival, the
stock market was in serious decline -- six months before getting
there. That foretold a recession. Then we had some corporate
scandals. Then those attacks on our country cost us about a million
jobs in the three months after September the 11th. But our economic
policies are working. This economy is growing. We're growing at rates
as fast as any in nearly 20 years. We've added 1.9 billion new jobs
since August of 2003. (Applause.) The unemployment rate is 5.4
percent. That's lower than the average rate of the 1970s, the 1980s,
and the 1990s. (Applause.) Farm income is up. The home ownership
rate in America is at an all-time high. (Applause.) And your
unemployment rate in the great state of Florida is 4.5 percent.
(Applause.)
My opponent has very different plans for your family's budget. He
intends to take a bigger chunk out of it.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: He voted against the higher child tax credit. He
voted against the marriage penalty relief. He voted against lower
taxes. If he had had his way, an average middle-class family would be
paying $2,000 more a year to the federal government.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: It's part of a pattern. See, he's voted 10 times
to raise taxes on gasoline. All told, during his 20 years as a United
States Senator, my opponent has voted 98 times to raise taxes.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: That's about five times a year. When a senator
does something that often, he must really enjoy it. (Laughter.)
During this campaign, he's also made a lot of big, expensive promises.
He's promised about $2.2 trillion of new federal spending. That's with
a "T" -- trillion with a "T." That's a lot even for a senator from
Massachusetts. (Laughter.)
So they said, how are you going to pay for it? He said, well, oh,
don't worry, we'll just tax the rich. You've heard that before,
haven't you? See, there's a gap. When he says, tax the rich, he can
raise about $600 billion, $800 billion. So there's a gap between what
he has promised and what he can raise. And guess who usually gets to
fill that gap?
AUDIENCE: We do!
THE PRESIDENT: We're not going to let him tax you. We're going to
carry Florida and win a great victory in November. (Applause.)
The third choice in this election involves the quality of life for
our families. A good education and quality health care are important
to successful life. When I ran for President four years ago, I
promised to end the soft bigotry of low expectations by reforming our
public schools. I kept my word. (Applause.) We passed education
reforms to bring high standards to our classroom and to make schools
accountable to our parents. We're seeing progress. Math and reading
scores are rising. We're closing an achievement gap amongst minority
students. We'll build on these reforms and extend them to our high
schools so that no child is left behind in America. (Applause.)
We'll continue to improve our lives -- lives for our families, by
making health care more affordable and accessible. We'll expand health
savings accounts so small businesses can cover their workers, and more
families are able to get health care accounts they own and manage
themselves. We'll create association health plans so small businesses
can join together and buy insurance at the same discounts that big
companies are able to do. (Applause.) We will help families in need
by expanding community health centers. We'll make sure every eligible
child is enrolled in our government's low-income health insurance
program to make sure health care is available and affordable to you.
We will do something about these junk lawsuits that are running up
the cost of medicine and driving good doctors out of practice.
(Applause.) I met too many OB/GYNs who are being driven out of practice
because of these lawsuits. And I met too many women who are worried
about whether they're going to get the quality health care they need to
bring their baby into life. We have a national problem with health
care and these lawsuits. You cannot be pro-doctor and pro-patient and
pro-personal injury lawyer at the same time. (Applause.) You have to
choose. My opponent has made his choice, and he put a personal injury
trial lawyer on the ticket.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: I have made my choice -- I'm standing with the
doctors and patients. I am for medical liability reform now.
(Applause.)
Senator Kerry has a different point of view on our schools. He
voted for the No Child Left Behind Act, but now wants to weaken the
accountability standards. He's proposed including measures like
teacher attendance to judge whether students can read and write and add
and subtract. He voted against health savings accounts. He opposes
association health plans. He voted 10 times against medical liability
reform. He can run from his record, but he cannot hide. (Applause.)
Now he's proposing a big-government health care plan that would
cause eight million families to lose the private coverage they get at
work, put them on the health -- the government plan. Eighty percent of
people who would get coverage under his proposal would be enrolled in a
government program.
In one of our debates, he tried to tell Americans when it comes to
his health care plan -- and I'd like to quote him -- "Government has
nothing to do with it." I could barely contain myself. My opponent's
plan would move America down the road to federal control of health
care, and that is the wrong road for America's families. He can run --
he can run in camo, but he cannot hide. (Applause.)
In all we do to improve health care, we will make sure the
decisions are made by doctors and patients, not by officials in
Washington, D.C. (Applause.)
The fourth clear choice in this election involves your retirement.
Our nation has made a solemn commitment to America's seniors on Social
Security and Medicare. When I ran for President four years ago, I
promised to keep that commitment and improve Medicare by adding
prescription drug coverage. I kept my word. (Applause.) Leaders in
both political parties have talked about strengthening Medicare for
years. We got the job done. Seniors are now getting discounts on
medicine with drug discount cards. Our low-income seniors are getting
$600 this year and another $600 next year to help pay for their
prescriptions. And beginning in 2006, all seniors will be able to get
prescription drug coverage under Medicare. (Applause.)
My opponent voted against the Medicare bill that included
prescription drug coverage, even though it was supported by AARP and
other seniors groups. Campaigning, he said, "If I am the President, I
am going to repeal that phony bill." Then a little later on, he said,
no, I don't want to repeal it. That sounds familiar.
As your President for the next four years, I will defend the
reforms we worked so hard to pass, and we will keep the promise of
Medicare for America's seniors. (Applause.) And we will keep the
promise of Social Security for our seniors. (Applause.) And we will
strengthen Social Security for a younger generation. (Applause.)
Every election, desperate politicians try to scare seniors about
Social Security. You might remember the campaign in 2000. They were
saying, if George W. gets elected, our seniors will not get their
checks. Remind your friends and neighbors that George W. got elected
and our seniors got their checks. (Applause.) You will continue to
get your checks. Baby boomers like me are in good shape when it comes
to the Social Security trust, but we need to worry about our children
and our grandchildren. We need to make sure Social Security will be
there when they need it. And that is why I believe younger workers
ought to be able to take some of their own money and put it in a
personal savings account, a personal savings account they call their
own, that the government cannot take away. (Applause.)
My opponent takes a different approach about Social Security. He
talks about protecting Social Security. But he's the only candidate in
this race who voted eight times for higher taxes on Social Security
benefits. That's his record. He can run from it, but he cannot hide.
And when it comes to the next generation, he's offered nothing.
American families have a clear choice. My opponent wants to scare the
seniors of today and do nothing to secure the system for the seniors of
tomorrow. I will keep the promise of Social Security and Medicare and
strengthen these great systems for our children and our grandchildren.
(Applause.)
The fifth clear choice in this election is on the values that are
so crucial to keeping our families strong. And here, my opponent and I
are miles apart. I believe marriage is a sacred commitment, a pillar
of our civilization. (Applause.) And I will defend it. (Applause.)
This isn't a partisan issue. You know, when Congress passed the
Defense of Marriage Act, defining marriage as the union of a man and a
woman, the vast majority of Democrats supported it, and my predecessor,
Bill Clinton, signed the bill into law. Senator Kerry was part of an
out-of-the-mainstream minority that voted against the Defense of
Marriage Act.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: I believe that reasonable people can find common
ground on difficult issues. Republicans and Democrats and many
citizens on both sides of the life issue came together and agreed we
should ban the brutal practice of partial-birth abortions.
(Applause.) I proudly signed that bill. (Applause.) But Senator
Kerry was part of an out-of-the-mainstream minority that voted against
the ban.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: He voted against parental notification laws.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: He voted against the Unborn Victims of Violence
Act.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: I'll continue to reach out to Americans of every
belief and move this good-hearted nation toward a culture of life.
(Applause.)
In the course of this campaign, my opponent has said that the heart
and soul of America can be found in Hollywood.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: Most American families don't look to Hollywood as
the source for values. The heart and soul of America is found in
communities like Melbourne, Florida. (Applause.)
All of these choices make this one of the most important elections
in our history. The security and prosperity of our country, the health
and education of our families, the retirement of our seniors, and the
direction of our culture are all at stake. The decision is in the best
hands, because the decision belongs to the American people.
(Applause.)
I see a great day for America. One of my favorite quotes was
written by a Texan named Tom Lea. He said, "Sarah and I live on the
east side of the mountain. It's the sunrise side, not the sunset
side. It's the side that sees the day that is coming, not to see the
day that is gone." You know, my opponent has spent much of this
campaign talking about the day that is gone. I see the day that is
coming. (Applause.)
We've been through a lot together over the last
three-and-three-quarters years. Because we've done the hard work of
climbing the mountain, we see the valley below. (Applause.) We'll
protect our families and build on their prosperity. We'll defend the
deepest values of our country. We will spread freedom and the peace we
all want. We'll do everything I can to make America safer.
Four years ago, when I traveled this great state, I made this
pledge that if I was honored with the office, I would uphold the honor
and the dignity of that office. With your help, I will do so for four
more years.
Thanks for coming. God bless. On to victory. Thank you all.
(Applause.)
END 2:14 P.M. EDT
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