For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
May 4, 2004
Remarks by the President at Ohio Rally
Cincinnati Gardens Arena
Cincinnati, Ohio
6:48 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thanks for coming. It is exciting -- it is
exciting to end what has been a great bus trip across Ohio, right here
in a wonderful city, Cincinnati, Ohio. Thanks for coming out tonight.
(Applause.) I appreciate you coming out. I appreciate you giving me a
chance to thank you for what you're going to do as we come down the
stretch in this campaign in 2004. (Applause.)
I'm here asking for your vote, and I'm here asking for your help.
(Applause.)
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Viva Bush!
THE PRESIDENT: Vamos a ganar. That means, we're going to win.
(Applause.) We set up a website called georgewbush.com. It will give
you a chance to find out how to volunteer, how to register voters, how
to turn them out. We need your help. And when you're talking to
people, talk to people from all walks of life about this campaign.
Talk to people who may never have voted before about this campaign.
Talk to people from different parties about this campaign. Because,
see, we've got a positive vision. We've got a positive vision for
everybody who lives in America. (Applause.) We've got a vision to
make sure America is safer and stronger and better. We have a mission
to make this country as hopeful as it can possibly be. Put out the
word, and we will win in November of 2004. (Applause.)
I wish Laura were here to see this crowd. (Applause.) Listen, a
good reason to put me back in there is so she will have four more years
as the First Lady. (Applause.) She's a great First Lady. She's a
fantastic wife and a great mom and a wonderful First Lady. I'm really
proud of her. She sends her best. She sends all her best. She sends
her best to all her friends here in Cincinnati.
By the way, a measure of a good President is whether or not he
surrounds himself with excellence. I do. I put together a fantastic
team to serve the American people -- (applause) -- people from
different backgrounds, people from different walks of life, smart and
capable people, all of whom have come to Washington to serve a cause
greater than themselves, the United States of America. Our country has
got a great Vice President in Dick Cheney. (Applause.)
I want to thank the elected officials who have come here today --
your Governor, Bob Taft, is with us. And, Governor, I'm honored you're
here. Thank you for coming. (Applause.) Congressman Rob Portman is
with us today. I appreciate Congressman Portman. (Applause.)
Congressman Steve Chabot is with us today. I'm honored you're here.
(Applause.) I mean, we've got statewide officials; we've got elected
-- local officials. We've got all kinds of people who are here. And
I'm proud you've come.
I appreciate the grassroots people who are here. Listen, you've
got to work hard to turn out the vote, and that's what we call
grassroots. I want to thank you. I'm here to fertilize the grassroots
today. I'm here to ask you to grow. (Applause.)
I want to thank our entertainers who are here. I'm proud you've
come, Billy. It's good to see you again. I appreciate you coming. My
friend, Billy Cerveny was with us yesterday. As well as Steven
Chapman. I'm honored that Steven was here, as well. (Applause.)
The last three years have brought serious challenges, and we have
given serious answers. (Applause.) We came to office with a stock
market in decline, an economy headed into recession. We delivered
historic tax relief. And now, our economy is the fastest growing of
any major industrialized nation in the world. (Applause.) We
uncovered corporate crimes that cost people their jobs and their
savings. So we passed strong corporate reforms. We brought the
wrongdoers to account. And we made it clear, we will not tolerate
dishonesty in the boardrooms of America. (Applause.)
We saw war and grief arrive on a quiet September morning. So we
pursued the terrorist enemy across the world. We have captured or
killed many key leaders of the al Qaeda network, and the rest of them
will learn, there is no cave or hole deep enough to hid from American
justice. (Applause.)
We confronted the dangers of state-sponsored terror and the spread
of weapons of mass destruction. So we ended two of the most violent
and dangerous regimes on Earth. We liberated over 50 million people.
Once again, America is proud to stand against tyranny and to set
nations free. (Applause.)
When Dick Cheney and I came to Washington, we found a military that
was underfunded and underappreciated. So we gave our military the
resources and respect they deserve. And today, no one -- (applause) --
and today, no one can question the skill, and the strength, and the
spirit of the United States military. (Applause.)
It is the President's job to confront problems, not to pass them on
to future Presidents and future generations. (Applause.) A President
needs to step up and to make the hard decisions and to keep his
commitments. And that is how I will continue to lead our great
nation. (Applause.)
I'm so glad you're here, because great events will turn on this
election. The man who sits in the Oval Office will set the course of
the war on terror and the direction of our economy. The security and
prosperity of America are at stake. I'm running against an experienced
United States Senator. He's been in Washington a long period of time.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: No, he's been there quite a while. He's been there
long enough to take both sides of just about every issue. (Applause.)
He spent some time here in Ohio looking for the vote, just like I'm
looking for the vote. And he's looking for endorsements, just like I'm
looking for endorsements. But, you know, he's claimed he's picked up
some important endorsements from foreign leaders. He just won't give
us their names. (Laughter and applause.) He did drop a hint a few
days ago. He insisted -- quote -- "What I said is true," what he said
on national TV, about the foreign leaders -- "What I said is true. I
mean, you can go to New York City and you can be in a restaurant, and
you can meet a foreign leader." End of quote. (Laughter.) I've got a
hunch this whole thing might be a case of mistaken identity.
(Applause.)
Just because somebody has an interesting accent, a nice suit, and a
good table at a New York restaurant doesn't make him a foreign leader.
(Applause.) Whoever these mystery men are will not be deciding the
election. The American people will be deciding this election.
(Applause.)
The people of this state and the people of this country have an
unmistakable choice in this election. It's a choice between keeping
the tax relief that is moving this economy forward, or putting the
burden of higher taxes back on the American people. It's a choice
between an America that leads the world with strength and confidence,
or an America that is uncertain in the face of danger. The other side
hasn't offered much in the way of strategy to win the war, or policies
to expand our economy. We're into this campaign and all we hear is old
bitterness. But they're going to learn something from the American
people. Anger is not an agenda for the future of this country.
(Applause.)
I will take on the big issues with optimism and resolve and
determination, and I will make it clear to the American people I stand
ready to lead this nation for four more years. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
THE PRESIDENT: A big issue for every family in America is the
federal tax burden. With the largest tax relief since Ronald Reagan
was President, we have left more money in the hands that earned it.
(Applause.) By spending and investing and helping create new jobs, the
American people have used their money far better than the federal
government could have. (Applause.) Our economy is getting better.
I know there are still people in this important state who hurt.
There are still people looking for work. That's a reason to be --
that's not a reason to fall into pessimistic policies. We've got to be
optimistic. And there's reason to be optimistic. The entrepreneurial
spirit is strong. Small businesses are vibrant. We're going through a
time of transition, but things are getting better. Just look at the --
look at the facts. The economy grew at a strong rate of 4.2 percent in
the first quarter of this year. (Applause.) Economic growth over the
past three quarters has been the fastest in nearly two decades. In
March -- in March, the economy added 308,000 new jobs; 7,900 of those
were created right here in Ohio. (Applause.)
No, there's been some tough times for people in Ohio. But listen
to this: The unemployment rate has dropped from its high of 6.3
percent last summer, to 5.7 percent in March. (Applause.)
Manufacturing activity is increasing; business investment is rising;
disposable income is up; home ownership is at the highest rate ever.
The tax relief we passed is working. (Applause.)
My opponent has a different view of tax relief. When we passed an
increase in the child credit to help families, he voted "no".
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: When we reduced the marriage penalty, he voted
against it.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: When we lowered a 10-percent break for working
families -- or created the 10-percent rate, he voted "no".
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: When we voted to reduce the taxes on dividends the
seniors depend -- the seniors depend on, he voted against it. When we
gave small businesses tax incentives to expand and hire, he voted
"no".
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: Are you getting the picture? (Applause.) But when
tax -- when tax increases are proposed, it's a lot easier to get a
"yes" out of him. Over the years -- over the years, my opponent has
voted over 350 times for higher taxes --
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: -- including the biggest tax increase in American
history. He supported raising the gas tax. He won't even give you a
free car wash. (Laughter.) There is a trend here. He's got a
record. In this campaign thus far, he has proposed a lot of government
spending, over a trillion dollars thus far. And there's six more
months to go. (Laughter.) And yet, he says he's going to pay for it by
taxing the rich. You can't tax the rich enough to pay for all the
spending promises he's made. So guess who's going to pay? You're
going to pay. But the good news is, we're not going to let him raise
your taxes. (Applause.) The tax relief we passed must be permanent.
(Applause.) We don't need to be raising taxes on the American people.
In order to make sure this economy grows and people can find work,
we've got to make sure we protect small business owners and employers
from frivolous and junk lawsuits. We need tort reform. (Applause.)
We've got to help control the cost of the increasing medicine by
medical liability reform. We've got to make sure the doctor-patient
relationship is central to decision-making in health care through
association health care plans and health savings accounts.
In order for us to grow and make sure we're the leading economy in
the world so people can find work, Congress needs to pass an energy
plan. We need an energy plan -- (applause) -- we need an energy plan
that encourages conservation, an energy plan that helps develop
alternative sources of energy. We need an energy plan that has clean
coal technology as a part of its -- as a part of its supply. We need
to make sure that we explore for natural gas in environmentally
friendly ways. We need to become less dependant on foreign sources of
energy. (Applause.)
We need to have trade policy that is confident and optimistic. We
need to reject economic isolationism. See, we're good at things here
in America. We're good at growing crops. We're good at raising cows.
We're good at -- we're good at high-tech. We're good at
manufacturing. We've got the most productive work force in the world.
Rather than walling ourselves off from the world, we need a President
who will open up markets. We can compete with any -- anybody, any
time, anywhere if the playing field is level. (Applause.)
This economy is strong, and it's getting stronger. And I've got a
plan to keep us on the path to economic vitality and strong growth so
people can find work -- because I understand the role of government is
not to create wealth; the role of government is to create an
environment in which the entrepreneurial spirit can flourish, in which
small businesses can grow to be big businesses. I need four more years
to make sure a pro-growth, pro-small business -- (applause) -- agenda
-- (applause) --
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
THE PRESIDENT: Our future -- our future also depends on America's
leadership in the world. The momentum of freedom in our time is
strong. But we still face serious dangers. Al Qaeda is wounded, but
not broken. Terrorists are testing our will in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Regimes in North Korea and Iran are challenging the peace. If America
shows weakness and uncertainty in this decade, the world will drift
toward tragedy. This will not happen on my watch. (Applause.)
This nation is strong and confident in the cause of freedom. And
today, no friend or enemy doubts the word of the United States of
America. (Applause.) America and our allies gave an ultimatum to the
terror regime in Afghanistan. The Taliban chose defiance. And the
Taliban are no longer in power. (Applause.) America and our allies
gave an ultimatum to the terror regime in Iraq. The dictator chose
defiance, and now the dictator sits in a prison cell. (Applause.)
September the 11th, 2001 taught a lesson I will never forget.
America must confront threats before they fully materialize.
(Applause.) In Iraq, my administration looked at the intelligence and
we saw a threat. Members of Congress looked at the intelligence and
they saw a threat. The United Nations Security Council looked at the
intelligence and it saw a threat. The previous administration and
Congress looked at the intelligence and made regime change in Iraq the
policy of our government. In 2002, the United Nations Security Council
yet again demanded a full accounting of Saddam Hussein's weapons
program. As he had for over a decade, Saddam Hussein, the man who had
used weapons of mass destruction before, the man who had terrorist
ties, the man who paid suiciders to go kill innocent Israelis, refused
to comply.
So I had a choice to make: Either take the word of a madman, or
take action to defend America. Faced with that choice, I will defend
America every time. (Applause.)
My opponent admits that Saddam Hussein was a threat. He just
didn't support my decision to remove Saddam from power. Maybe he was
hoping Saddam would lose the next Iraqi election. (Laughter.) We
showed the dictator and a watching world that America means what it
says. (Applause.) Because or coalition acted, Saddam's torture
chambers are closed. Because we acted, Iraq's weapons programs are
ended forever. Because we acted, nations like Libya have gotten the
message and have voluntarily disarmed. (Applause.) Because we acted,
an example of democracy is rising at the very heart of the Middle
East. Because we acted, the world is more free and America is more
secure. (Applause.)
On the ground in Iraq we still face serious and dangerous
challenges. Illegal militias and remnants of the regime, joined by
foreign terrorists are trying to take by force the power they could
never gain by the ballot. They know that a free Iraq will be a major
defeat in the cause of terror. These groups have found little support
among the Iraqi people. They will find no success in their attempts to
shake the will of America. They do not understand this country.
America will never be intimidated by thugs and assassins. (Applause.)
Our coalition is implementing a clear strategy in Iraq. We will
ensure an atmosphere of security as Iraqis move toward
self-government. We support the efforts of local Iraqis to disarm the
radicals in Fallujah. We made it clear that militias in Najaf and
elsewhere must disarm, or face serious consequences. American and
coalition forces are in place, and we will enforce order in Iraq.
(Applause.)
We will return sovereignty to the people of Iraq on the schedule
that we agreed to. Like any proud people, Iraqis want to manage their
own affairs. And that is a goal we share. On June 30th, a sovereign
Iraqi interim government will take office. (Applause.)
These are tough days. We honor the sacrifice of those who have
fallen. We appreciate their families. We ask for God's blessing.
These are tough times; they're difficult tasks, but they're essential
tasks. America will finish what we have begun, and we will win this
essential victory in the war on terror. (Applause.)
On national security, Americans have the clearest possible choice.
My opponent says he approves of bold action in the world, but only if
other countries do not object. I'm all for united action. And so are
our more than 30 coalition partners in Iraq. I will never -- I will
never turn over America's national security decisions to leaders of
other countries. (Applause.)
We've got fantastic troops. (Applause.) They've got to have the
best supplies, best equipment, best body armor. And that's why I
proposed an $87-billion supplemental last fall. Someone recently asked
my opponent why he voted against that bill. This is what he said: "I
actually did vote for the $97 billion, before I voted against it." The
American President must speak clearly and mean what he says.
(Applause.)
We have a difference of opinion. We have a difference of opinion
about whether the war on terror is really a war at all. My opponent
said -- and I quote -- "The war on terror is far less of a military
operation and far more an intelligence-gathering, law enforcement
operation." I disagree. I disagree. Our nation followed that
approach after the World Trade Center was bombed in 1993. The matter
was handled in the courts and thought by some to be settled. But the
terrorists were still training in Afghanistan, plotting in other
nations, and drawing up more ambitious plans.
After the chaos and carnage of September the 11th, it is not enough
to serve our enemies with legal papers. (Applause.) With those
attacks, the terrorists and their supporters declared war on the United
States of America, and war is what they got. (Applause.)
Our men and women in the military are taking great risks and
they're doing great work. (Applause.) At bases across our country and
the world, I've had the privilege of meeting with those who defend our
country and sacrifice for our freedom. I've seen their great decency
and unselfish courage. And I assure you, ladies and gentlemen, the
cause of freedom is in really good hands. (Applause.)
This nation is prosperous and strong. Yet, we need to remember
that our greatest strength is in the hearts and souls of our citizens.
We're strong because of the values we try to live by: courage and
compassion, reverence and integrity. We're strong because of the
institutions that help give us direction and purpose: family and
schools and religious congregations. (Applause.)
These values and institutions are fundamental to our lives, and
they deserve the respect of our government. We stand for the fair
treatment of faith-based groups so they can receive federal support for
their works of compassion and healing. We will not stand for
government discrimination against people of faith. (Applause.)
We stand for welfare reforms that require work and strengthen
marriage, which have helped millions of Americans find independence and
dignity. We will not stand for any attempt to weaken those reforms and
send people back into lives of dependance. (Applause.) We stand for a
culture of life in which every person counts and every person matters.
We will not stand for the treatment of any life as a commodity to be
experimented upon or exploited or cloned. (Applause.)
We stand for the confirmation of judges who strictly and faithfully
interpret the law. We will not stand -- (applause) -- we will not
stand for judges who undermine democracy by legislating from the bench
and try to remake the values of America by court order. (Applause.)
We stand for a culture of responsibility in America. The culture
of this country is changing from one that has said, if it feels good,
do it, and if you've got a problem, blame somebody else, to a culture
in which each of us understands we are responsible for the decisions we
make in life. (Applause.) If you're fortunate enough to be a mother
or a father, you are responsible for loving your child with all your
heart. (Applause.) If you're worried about the quality of the
education in the community in which you live, you're responsible for
doing something about it. (Applause.) If you're a CEO in corporate
America, you are responsible for telling the truth to your shareholders
and your employees. (Applause.) And in the new responsibility society,
each of us is responsible for loving our neighbor just like we'd like
to be loved ourselves. (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 the leaders. This isn't one of those times. You and I are
living in a period where the stakes are high, the challenges are
difficult, a time when firm resolve is needed. 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. I'll never
forget that day. I'll never forget the workers in the hard hats who
were shouting, "Whatever it takes." I'll never forget the firefighter
that pointed at me and said, "Don't let me down."
As we all did that day, these men and women searching through the
rubble took it personally. I took it personally. I have a
responsibility that goes on. I will never relent in bringing justice
to our enemies. I will defend the security of America, whatever it
takes. (Applause.)
In these times -- in these times, I have also been a witness to the
character of this nation. Not so long ago, some had their doubts about
the American character, our capacity to meet serious challenges or to
serve a cause greater than self-interest. Americans have given their
answer. I've seen the unselfish courage of our troops. I've seen the
heroism of Americans in the face of danger. I've seen the spirit of
service and compassion renewed in our country. And we've all seen our
nation unite in common purpose when it mattered most.
We will need all these qualities for the work ahead. You see, I'm
running for four more years because we have a war to win, and the world
is counting on us to lead the cause of freedom and peace. (Applause.)
I'm asking for your help because we have a duty to spread opportunity
to every part of America. This is the work that history has set before
us. We welcome it. And we know that for our country, the best days
lie ahead.
May God bless you all. May God continue to bless America.
(Applause.)
END 7:31 P.M. EDT
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