After the Convention: What Bush Stands For

[Annie]

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/07/20040730-3.html

We've expanded community health centers for low income Americans. We've created health savings accounts so families can save, tax-free, for their own health care needs. When it comes to giving Americans more choices about their own health care and making health care more affordable, we are turning the corner and we're not turning back. (Applause.)

This world of ours is changing. Most Americans get their health care coverage through their work. Most of today's new jobs are created by small businesses, which too often cannot afford to provide health coverage. To help more American families get health insurance, we must allow small employers to join together to purchase insurance at discounts available to big companies. (Applause.)

To improve health care we must limit the frivolous lawsuits that raise the cost of health care and drive good doctors out of medicine. (Applause.) We must harness technology to reduce costs and prevent deadly health care mistakes. We must do more to expand research and development for new cures for terrible diseases.

We have more to do to make America's economy stronger. We've come through a recession, terrorist attacks, corporate scandals. We overcame these obstacles because of the hard work and will of the American entrepreneur, the small business owner, the farmers and the workers. And we came through these obstacles because of well-timed tax cuts. (Applause.)

We gave tax relief to every American who paid taxes. We didn't play favorites with the tax code, we didn't try to pick winners or losers. We made sure families with children, and married couples and small businesses got tax relief. (Applause.) And this time the check really was in the mail. (Laughter and applause.)

Because we acted, our economy since last summer has grown at a rate as fast as any in nearly 20 years. (Applause.) Because we acted, America has added more than 1.5 million new jobs since last August. (Applause.) Because we acted, Missouri has added more than 82,000 jobs over the past 11 months; your unemployment rate is now 5.2 percent. (Applause.) When it comes to creating jobs for America's workers, we are turning the corner and we are not turning back.

To keep American jobs here, we must end the junk lawsuits that hurt our small businesses. (Applause.) And to keep this economy growing so people can find work, we will not overspend your money, and we will keep your taxes low.

Before September the 11th, Afghanistan served as the home base for al Qaeda, which trained and deployed thousands of killers and set up terror cells in dozens of countries, including our own. Today, Afghanistan is a rising democracy, an ally in the war on terror, a place where many young girls go to school for the first time. And as a result of our actions, America and the world are safer. (Applause.)

Before September the 11th, Pakistan was a safe transit point for terrorists. Today, Pakistani forces are aggressively helping to round up the terrorists, and America and the world are safer. (Applause.) Before September the 11th, in Saudi Arabia, terrorists were raising money and recruiting and operating with little opposition. Today, the Saudi government has taken the fight to al Qaeda, and America and the world are safer. (Applause.) Before September the 11th, Libya was spending millions to acquire weapons of mass destruction.

Today, because America and our allies have sent a strong and clear massage, the leader of Libya has abandoned his pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and America and the world are safer. (Applause.) Before September the 11th, the ruler of Iraq was a sworn enemy of America. He was defying the world. He was firing weapons at American pilots and forcing the world to sanctions. He has pursued and used weapons of mass destruction against his own people. He had harbored terrorists, he invaded his neighbors, he subsidized the families of suicide bombers. He had murdered tens of thousands of his own citizens. He was a source of great instability in the world's most vulnerable region.

I took those threats seriously. After September the 11th, we had to look at the threat in a new light. One of the lessons of September the 11th is we must deal with threats before they fully materialize. (Applause.)

The September the 11th Commission concluded that our institutions of government had failed to imagine the horror of that day. After September the 11th, we cannot fail to imagine that a brutal tyrant who hated America, who had ties to terror, had used weapons of mass destruction and might use those weapons or share his deadly capability with terrorists was not a threat.

We looked at the intelligence; we saw a threat. Members of the United States Congress from both political parties, including my opponent, looked at the intelligence and they saw a threat. (Applause.) We went to the United Nations, which unanimously demanded a full accounting of Saddam Hussein's weapons programs, or face serious consequences. After 12 years of defiance, he refused to comply with the demands of the free world. When he continued to deceive the weapons inspectors, I had a decision to make: to hope for the best and to trust the word of a madman and a tyrant, or remember the lessons of September the 11th and defend our country. Given that choice, I will defend America every time. (Applause.)

When it comes to fighting the threats of our world and making America safer and promoting the peace, we're turning the corner and we're not turning back. (Applause.) We have more to do. We will continue to work with our friends and allies around the world to aggressively pursue the terrorists and foreign fighters in places like Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere. See, you can't talk sense to the terrorists. You can't hope for the best. You can't negotiate with them. We will engage those enemies around the world so we do not have to face them here at home. (Applause.)

We will continue to lead the world with confidence and moral clarity. We've put together a strong coalition to help us defeat the terrorist threats. Over 40 nations are involved in Afghanistan, some 30 nations are involved in Iraq. Over the next four years, I will continue to work with our friends and build alliances. But I will never turn over America's national security decision to leaders of other countries.

In these crucial times, our commitments have been kept by the men and women of our military. (Applause.) I thank those who are here today who wear our uniform, and I thank their families, as well. (Applause.) I've seen their great decency and the unselfish courage of those who wear our uniform. The cause of freedom is in good hands. And when these good folks are in harm's way, they deserve the best pay, the best equipment, the best possible training. (Applause.)

That's why last September, when our troops were in combat in both Afghanistan and Iraq, I proposed supplemental funding to support them in their missions. The legislation provided for body armor and vital equipment, hazard pay, health benefits, ammunition, fuel, spare parts. In the Senate, only a handful of what I would call "out of the mainstream" folks -- that would be 12 senators -- voted against that legislation. Two of the 12 are my opponent and his running mate.

He tried to explain his vote by saying: I actually did vote for the $87 billion, before I voted against it. (Laughter.) End quote. He's got a different explanation now. One time he said he was proud he voted against the funding, then he said the whole thing was a complicated matter. (Laughter.) There is nothing complicated about supporting our troops in combat. (Applause.)

In the long run, our security is not guaranteed by force, alone. We must work to change the conditions that give rise to terror: poverty and hopelessness and resentment. You see, a free and peaceful Iraq and a free and peaceful Afghanistan will be powerful examples to a neighborhood that needs the example of liberty. Free countries do not export terror. Free countries do not stifle the dreams of their citizens. By serving the ideal of liberty, we're bringing hope to others, and that makes America more secure. By being resolute and strong, by working for the ideal of liberty -- after four more years, America will be more secure and the world will be more peaceful. (Applause.)

These are still dangerous times. There's an enemy out there that would like to hurt us and change our way of life and shake our will and shake our confidence. I agree with the conclusion of the September 11th Commission when they said our homeland is safer, but we are not yet safe. We've started the hard process of reform. We've transformed our defenses and created a new Department of Homeland Security. We passed the Patriot Act to give law enforcement new tools to track terrorists. (Applause.) The mission of the FBI is now focused on preventing terrorism.

We're integrating intelligence and law enforcement better than we have ever before. When it comes to better protecting America, we're turning the corner, and we're not turning back. (Applause.) We will do more to better secure our ports and borders, to train first responders, to dramatically improve our intelligence gathering capabilities. Reform is not easy, and it never is; achieving reform takes -- requires taking on the special interests, requires challenging the status quo.

You see, it's not enough to advocate reform -- you have to be able to get it done. (Applause.) When it comes to reforming schools provide an excellent education for all our children, results matter. When it comes to health care reforms to give families more access and more choices, results matter. When it comes to improving our economy and creating new jobs, results matter. (Applause.) When it comes to better securing our homeland and fighting the forces of terror, results matter. (Applause.) And when it comes to choosing a President, results matter.

After 19 years in the United States Senate, my opponent has had thousands of votes, but very few signature achievements. (Applause.) During eight years on the Senate Intelligence Committee, he voted to cut the intelligence budget. And he had no record of reforming America's intelligence-gathering capability. He had no significant record for reforming education and health care. As a matter of fact, he and his running mate consistently opposed reforms that limit the power of Washington and leave more power in the hands of the people. (Applause.)

He's spent nearly 20 years in the federal government, and it appears he's concluded that it's just not big enough. (Laughter.) He's proposed more than $2 trillion of additional federal spending, and he's just getting started. (Laughter.) The problem is, he hasn't told us how he's going to pay for it. We can figure it out, can't we?

All of these reforms are based on this conviction: The role of government is not to control or dominate the lives of our citizens. (Applause.) The role of government is to help our citizens gain the time and the tools to make their own choices and improve their own lives. (Applause.) That's why I will continue to work to usher in a new era of ownership and opportunity in America. We want more people owning their own home. We want more people owning their own business. We want more people owning and managing their own health care system. We want more people owning and managing a part of their retirement systems. When a person owns something, he or she has a vital stake in the future of the United States of America. (Applause.)

In this world of rapid change, some things will never change. Our conviction that every life matters and every life counts will not change. (Applause.) Our belief in liberty and opportunity and the non-negotiable demands of human dignity will not change. (Applause.) The individual values we try to live by -- courage and compassion, reverence and integrity, hard work and duty -- won't change. (Applause.) We'll always honor the institutions that give us direction and purpose, our families, our schools, our religious congregations. (Applause.) These values and institutions are fundamental to our future. They deserve the respect of our government. (Applause.)

We stand for institutions like marriage and family, which are the foundations of society. (Applause.) We stand for a culture of life in which every person matters and every person counts. We stand for judges who strictly and faithfully interpret the law, instead of legislating from the bench. (Applause.) And we will work together to build a culture of responsibility. The culture of this country is changing from one that has said, if it feels good, just go ahead and do it, and, if you've got a problem, blame somebody else, to a culture in which each of us understands that we're responsible for the decisions we make in life. (Applause.)

If you are fortunate to be a mother or a father, you're responsible for loving your child with all your heart and all your soul. (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're responsible for telling the truth to your shareholders and your employees. (Applause.) And in a 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 its leaders. This isn't one of those times. None of us will ever forget that week when one era ended and another one began. September the 14th, 2001, I stood in the ruins of the Twin Towers. It's a day that I will never forget. I remember the workers in hard hats yelling at me, "Whatever it takes." I remember a fireman or a policeman, I can't remember which one, looking me in the eyes and saying, "Do not let me down." As those folks did that day, and like many other Americans, we took it personally. I took it personally. I have a responsibility that goes on. I wake up every morning thinking about how to better protect our country. I will never relent in defending America, whatever it takes. (Applause.)