Mr. Chairman, delegates, fellow citizens: I am
honored by your
support, and I accept your nomination for President of
the United States.
When I said those words four years ago, none of
us could have
envisioned what these years would bring. In the heart
of this great city,
we saw tragedy arrive on a quiet morning. We saw the
bravery of rescuers
grow with danger. We learned of passengers on a
doomed plane who died with
a courage that frightened their killers. We have seen
a shaken economy
rise to its feet. And we have seen Americans in
uniform storming mountain
strongholds, and charging through sandstorms, and
liberating millions, with
acts of valor that would make the men of Normandy
proud.
Since 2001, Americans have been given hills to
climb, and found the
strength to climb them. Now, because we have made the
hard journey, we can
see the valley below. Now, because we have faced
challenges with resolve,
we have historic goals within our reach, and greatness
in our future. We
will build a safer world and a more hopeful America ?
and nothing will hold
us back.
In the work we have done, and the work we will
do, I am fortunate to
have a superb Vice President. I have counted on Dick
Cheney's calm and
steady judgment in difficult days, and I am honored to
have him at my side.
I am grateful to share my walk in life with
Laura Bush. Americans
have come to see the goodness and kindness and
strength I first saw 26
years ago, and we love our First Lady.
I am a fortunate father of two spirited,
intelligent, and lovely
young women. I am blessed with a sister and brothers
who are also my
closest friends. And I will always be the proud and
grateful son of George
and Barbara Bush.
My father served eight years at the side of
another great American ?
Ronald Reagan. His spirit of optimism and goodwill
and decency are in this
hall, and in our hearts, and will always define our
party.
Two months from today, voters will make a choice
based on the records
we have built, the convictions we hold, and the vision
that guides us
forward. A presidential election is a contest for the
future. Tonight I
will tell you where I stand, what I believe, and where
I will lead this
country in the next four years.
I believe every child can learn, and every
school must teach - so we
passed the most important federal education reform in
history. Because we
acted, children are making sustained progress in
reading and math,
America's schools are getting better, and nothing will
hold us back.
I believe we have a moral responsibility to
honor America's seniors -
so I brought Republicans and Democrats together to
strengthen Medicare.
Now seniors are getting immediate help buying
medicine. Soon every senior
will be able to get prescription drug coverage, and
nothing will hold us
back.
I believe in the energy and innovative spirit of
America's workers,
entrepreneurs, farmers, and ranchers - so we unleashed
that energy with the
largest tax relief in a generation. Because we acted,
our economy is
growing again, and creating jobs, and nothing will
hold us back.
I believe the most solemn duty of the American
president is to
protect the American people. If America shows
uncertainty and weakness in
this decade, the world will drift toward tragedy.
This will not happen on
my watch.
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 is why,
with your help, we
will win this election.
The story of America is the story of expanding
liberty: an
ever-widening circle, constantly growing to reach
further and include more.
Our Nation's founding commitment is still our deepest
commitment: In our
world, and here at home, we will extend the frontiers
of freedom.
The times in which we live and work are changing
dramatically. The
workers of our parents' generation typically had one
job, one skill, one
career - often with one company that provided health
care and a pension.
And most of those workers were men. Today, workers
change jobs, even
careers, many times during their lives, and in one of
the most dramatic
shifts our society has seen, two-thirds of all Moms
also work outside the
home.
This changed world can be a time of great
opportunity for all
Americans to earn a better living, support your
family, and have a
rewarding career. And government must take your side.
Many of our most
fundamental systems - the tax code, health coverage,
pension plans, worker
training - were created for the world of yesterday,
not tomorrow. We will
transform these systems so that all citizens are
equipped, prepared - and
thus truly free - to make your own choices and pursue
your own dreams.
My plan begins with providing the security and
opportunity of a
growing economy. We now compete in a global market
that provides new
buyers for our goods, but new competition for our
workers. To create more
jobs in America, America must be the best place in the
world to do
business. To create jobs, my plan will encourage
investment and expansion
by restraining federal spending, reducing regulation,
and making tax relief
permanent. To create jobs, we will make our country
less dependent on
foreign sources of energy. To create jobs, we will
expand trade and level
the playing field to sell American goods and services
across the globe.
And we must protect small business owners and workers
from the explosion of
frivolous lawsuits that threaten jobs across America.
Another drag on our economy is the current tax
code, which is a
complicated mess - filled with special interest
loopholes, saddling our
people with more than six billion hours of paperwork
and headache every
year. The American people deserve ? and our economic
future demands ? a
simpler, fairer, pro-growth system. In a new term, I
will lead a
bipartisan effort to reform and simplify the federal
tax code.
Another priority in a new term will be to help
workers take
advantage of the expanding economy to find better,
higher-paying jobs. In
this time of change, many workers want to go back to
school to learn
different or higher-level skills. So we will double
the number of people
served by our principal job training program and
increase funding for
community colleges. I know that with the right
skills, American workers
can compete with anyone, anywhere in the world.
In this time of change, opportunity in some
communities is more
distant than in others. To stand with workers in poor
communities - and
those that have lost manufacturing, textile, and other
jobs - we will
create American opportunity zones. In these areas,
we'll provide tax
relief and other incentives to attract new business,
and improve housing
and job training to bring hope and work throughout all
of America.
As I've traveled the country, I've met many
workers and small
business owners who have told me they are worried they
cannot afford health
care. More than half of the uninsured are small
business employees and
their families. In a new term, we must allow small
firms to join together
to purchase insurance at the discounts available to
big companies. We will
offer a tax credit to encourage small businesses and
their employees to set
up health savings accounts, and provide direct help
for low-income
Americans to purchase them. These accounts give
workers the security of
insurance against major illness, the opportunity to
save tax-free for
routine health expenses, and the freedom of knowing
you can take your
account with you whenever you change jobs. And we
will provide low-income
Americans with better access to health care: In a new
term, I will ensure
every poor county in America has a community or rural
health center.
As I have traveled our country, I have met too
many good doctors,
especially OB-GYNS, who are being forced out of
practice because of the
high cost of lawsuits. To make health care more
affordable and accessible,
we must pass medical liability reform now. And 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, DC.
In this time of change, government must take the
side of working
families. In a new term, we will change outdated
labor laws to offer
comp-time and flex-time. Our laws should never stand
in the way of a more
family-friendly workplace.
Another priority for a new term is to build an
ownership society,
because ownership brings security, and dignity, and
independence.
Thanks to our policies, homeownership in America
is at an all-time
high. Tonight we set a new goal: seven million more
affordable homes in
the next 10 years so more American families will be
able to open the door
and say welcome to my home.
In an ownership society, more people will own
their health plans, and
have the confidence of owning a piece of their
retirement. We will always
keep the promise of Social Security for our older
workers. With the huge
Baby Boom generation approaching retirement, many of
our children and
grandchildren understandably worry whether Social
Security will be there
when they need it. We must strengthen Social Security
by allowing younger
workers to save some of their taxes in a personal
account - a nest egg you
can call your own, and government can never take away.
In all these proposals, we seek to provide not
just a government
program, but a path - a path to greater opportunity,
more freedom, and more
control over your own life.
This path begins with our youngest Americans.
To build a more
hopeful America, we must help our children reach as
far as their vision and
character can take them. Tonight, I remind every
parent and every teacher,
I say to every child: No matter what your
circumstance, no matter where you
live - your school will be the path to the promise of
America.
We are transforming our schools by raising
standards and focusing on
results. We are insisting on accountability,
empowering parents and
teachers, and making sure that local people are in
charge of their schools.
By testing every child, we are identifying those who
need help - and we're
providing a record level of funding to get them that
help. In northeast
Georgia, Gainesville Elementary School is mostly
Hispanic and 90 percent
poor - and this year 90 percent of its students passed
state tests in
reading and math. The principal expresses the
philosophy of his school
this way: "We don't focus on what we can't do at this
school; we focus on
what we can do - We do whatever it takes to get kids
across the finish
line." This principal is challenging the soft bigotry
of low expectations,
and that is the spirit of our education reform, and
the commitment of our
country: No dejaremos a ningún niño atrás. We will
leave no child behind.
We are making progress ? and there is more to
do. In this time of
change, most new jobs are filled by people with at
least two years of
college, yet only about one in four students gets
there. In our high
schools, we will fund early intervention programs to
help students at risk.
We will place a new focus on math and science. As we
make progress, we
will require a rigorous exam before graduation. By
raising performance in
our high schools, and expanding Pell grants for low
and middle income
families, we will help more Americans start their
career with a college
diploma.
America's children must also have a healthy
start in life. In a new
term, we will lead an aggressive effort to enroll
millions of poor children
who are eligible but not signed up for the
government's health insurance
programs. We will not allow a lack of attention, or
information, to stand
between these children and the health care they need.
Anyone who wants more details on my agenda can
find them online. The
web address is not very imaginative, but it's easy to
remember:
GeorgeWBush.com.
These changing times can be exciting times of
expanded opportunity.
And here, you face a choice. My opponent's policies
are dramatically
different from ours. Senator Kerry opposed Medicare
reform and health
savings accounts. After supporting my education
reforms, he now wants to
dilute them. He opposes legal and medical liability
reform. He opposed
reducing the marriage penalty, opposed doubling the
child credit, and
opposed lowering income taxes for all who pay them.
To be fair, there are
some things my opponent is for ? he's proposed more
than two trillion
dollars in new federal spending so far, and that's a
lot, even for a
senator from Massachusetts. To pay for that spending,
he is running on a
platform of increasing taxes - and that's the kind of
promise a politician
usually keeps.
His policies of tax and spend - of expanding
government rather than
expanding opportunity - are the policies of the past.
We are on the path
to the future - and we are not turning back.
In this world of change, some things do not
change: the values we try
to live by, the institutions that give our lives
meaning and purpose. Our
society rests on a foundation of responsibility and
character and family
commitment.
Because family and work are sources of stability
and dignity, I
support welfare reform that strengthens family and
requires work. Because
a caring society will value its weakest members, we
must make a place for
the unborn child. Because religious charities provide
a safety net of
mercy and compassion, our government must never
discriminate against them.
Because the union of a man and woman deserves an
honored place in our
society, I support the protection of marriage against
activist judges. And
I will continue to appoint federal judges who know the
difference between
personal opinion and the strict interpretation of the
law.
My opponent recently announced that he is the
candidate of
"conservative values," which must have come as a
surprise to a lot of his
supporters. Now, there are some problems with this
claim. If you say the
heart and soul of America is found in Hollywood, I'm
afraid you are not the
candidate of conservative values. If you voted
against the bipartisan
Defense of Marriage Act, which President Clinton
signed, you are not the
candidate of conservative values. If you gave a
speech, as my opponent
did, calling the Reagan presidency eight years of
"moral darkness," then
you may be a lot of things, but the candidate of
conservative values is not
one of them.
This election will also determine how America
responds to the
continuing danger of terrorism ? and you know where I
stand. Three days
after September 11th, I stood where Americans died, in
the ruins of the
Twin Towers. Workers in hard hats were shouting to
me, "Whatever it
takes." A fellow grabbed me by the arm and he said,
"Do not let me down."
Since that day, I wake up every morning thinking about
how to better
protect our country. I will never relent in defending
America - whatever
it takes.
So 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 have tripled funding for
homeland security and
trained half a million first responders, because we
are determined to
protect our homeland. We are transforming our
military and reforming and
strengthening our intelligence services. We are
staying on the offensive -
striking terrorists abroad - so we do not have to face
them here at home.
And we are working to advance liberty in the broader
Middle East, because
freedom will bring a future of hope, and the peace we
all want. And we
will prevail.
Our strategy is succeeding. Four years ago,
Afghanistan was the home
base of al-Qaida, Pakistan was a transit point for
terrorist groups, Saudi
Arabia was fertile ground for terrorist fundraising,
Libya was secretly
pursuing nuclear weapons, Iraq was a gathering threat,
and al-Qaida was
largely unchallenged as it planned attacks. Today,
the government of a
free Afghanistan is fighting terror, Pakistan is
capturing terrorist
leaders, Saudi Arabia is making raids and arrests,
Libya is dismantling its
weapons programs, the army of a free Iraq is fighting
for freedom, and more
than three-quarters of al-Qaida's key members and
associates have been
detained or killed. 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 September 11th requires our country to think
differently: We must,
and we will, confront threats to America before it is
too late.
In Saddam Hussein, we saw a threat. Members of
both political
parties, including my opponent and his running mate,
saw the threat, and
voted to authorize the use of force. We went to the
United Nations
Security Council, which passed a unanimous resolution
demanding the
dictator disarm, or face serious consequences.
Leaders in the Middle East
urged him to comply. After more than a decade of
diplomacy, we gave Saddam
Hussein another chance, a final chance, to meet his
responsibilities to the
civilized world. He again refused, and I faced the
kind of decision that
comes only to the Oval Office - a decision no
president would ask for, but
must be prepared to make. Do I forget the lessons of
September 11th and
take the word of a madman, or do I take action to
defend our country?
Faced with that choice, I will defend America every
time.
Because we acted to defend our country, the
murderous regimes of
Saddam Hussein and the Taliban are history, more than
50 million people
have been liberated, and democracy is coming to the
broader Middle East.
In Afghanistan, terrorists have done everything they
can to intimidate
people - yet more than 10 million citizens have
registered to vote in the
October presidential election - a resounding
endorsement of democracy.
Despite ongoing acts of violence, Iraq now has a
strong Prime Minister, a
national council, and national elections are scheduled
for January. Our
Nation is standing with the people of Afghanistan and
Iraq, because when
America gives its word, America must keep its word.
As importantly, we are
serving a vital and historic cause that will make our
country safer. Free
societies in the Middle East will be hopeful
societies, which no longer
feed resentments and breed violence for export. Free
governments in the
Middle East will fight terrorists instead of harboring
them, and that helps
us keep the peace. So our mission in Afghanistan and
Iraq is clear: We
will help new leaders to train their armies, and move
toward elections, and
get on the path of stability and democracy as quickly
as possible. And
then our troops will return home with the honor they
have earned.
Our troops know the historic importance of our
work. One Army
Specialist wrote home: "We are transforming a once
sick society into a
hopeful place - The various terrorist enemies we are
facing in Iraq," he
continued, "are really aiming at you back in the
United States. This is a
test of will for our country. We soldiers of yours
are doing great and
scoring victories in confronting the evil terrorists."
That young man is right - our men and women in
uniform are doing a
superb job for America. Tonight I want to speak to
all of them - and to
their families: You are involved in a struggle of
historic proportion.
Because of your service and sacrifice, we are
defeating the terrorists
where they live and plan, and making America safer.
Because of you, women
in Afghanistan are no longer shot in a sports stadium.
Because of you, the
people of Iraq no longer fear being executed and left
in mass graves.
Because of you, the world is more just and will be
more peaceful. We owe
you our thanks, and we owe you something more. We
will give you all the
resources, all the tools, and all the support you need
for victory.
Again, my opponent and I have different
approaches. I proposed, and
the Congress overwhelmingly passed, 87 billion dollars
in funding needed by
our troops doing battle in Afghanistan and Iraq. My
opponent and his
running mate voted against this money for bullets, and
fuel, and vehicles,
and body armor. When asked to explain his vote, the
Senator said, "I
actually did vote for the 87 billion dollars before I
voted against it."
Then he said he was "proud" of that vote. Then, when
pressed, he said it
was a "complicated" matter. There is nothing
complicated about supporting
our troops in combat.
Our allies also know the historic importance of
our work. About 40
nations stand beside us in Afghanistan, and some 30 in
Iraq. And I deeply
appreciate the courage and wise counsel of leaders
like Prime Minister
Howard, and President Kwasniewski, and Prime Minister
Berlusconi - and, of
course, Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Again, my opponent takes a different approach.
In the midst of war,
he has called America's allies, quote, a "coalition of
the coerced and the
bribed." That would be nations like Great Britain,
Poland, Italy, Japan,
the Netherlands, Denmark, El Salvador, Australia, and
others - allies that
deserve the respect of all Americans, not the scorn of
a politician. I
respect every soldier, from every country, who serves
beside us in the hard
work of history. America is grateful, and America
will not forget.
The people we have freed won't forget either.
Not long ago, seven
Iraqi men came to see me in the Oval Office. They had
"X"s branded into
their foreheads, and their right hands had been cut
off, by Saddam
Hussein's secret police, the sadistic punishment for
imaginary crimes.
During our emotional visit one of the Iraqi men used
his new prosthetic
hand to slowly write out, in Arabic, a prayer for God
to bless America. I
am proud that our country remains the hope of the
oppressed, and the
greatest force for good on this earth.
Others understand the historic importance of our
work. The
terrorists know. They know that a vibrant, successful
democracy at the
heart of the Middle East will discredit their radical
ideology of hate.
They know that men and women with hope, and purpose,
and dignity do not
strap bombs on their bodies and kill the innocent. The
terrorists are
fighting freedom with all their cunning and cruelty
because freedom is
their greatest fear - and they should be afraid,
because freedom is on the
march.
I believe in the transformational power of
liberty: The wisest use
of American strength is to advance freedom. As the
citizens of Afghanistan
and Iraq seize the moment, their example will send a
message of hope
throughout a vital region. Palestinians will hear the
message that
democracy and reform are within their reach, and so is
peace with our good
friend Israel. Young women across the Middle East
will hear the message
that their day of equality and justice is coming.
Young men will hear the
message that national progress and dignity are found
in liberty, not
tyranny and terror. Reformers, and political
prisoners, and exiles will
hear the message that their dream of freedom cannot be
denied forever. And
as freedom advances - heart by heart, and nation by
nation - America will
be more secure and the world more peaceful.
America has done this kind of work before - and
there have always
been doubters. In 1946, 18 months after the fall of
Berlin to allied
forces, a journalist wrote in the New York Times,
"Germany is a land in
an acute stage of economic, political and moral
crisis. [European]
capitals are frightened. In every [military]
headquarters, one meets
alarmed officials doing their utmost to deal with the
consequences of the
occupation policy that they admit has failed." End
quote. Maybe that same
person's still around, writing editorials.
Fortunately, we had a resolute
president named Truman, who with the American people
persevered, knowing
that a new democracy at the center of Europe would
lead to stability and
peace. And because that generation of Americans held
firm in the cause of
liberty, we live in a better and safer world today.
The progress we and our friends and allies seek
in the broader Middle
East will not come easily, or all at once. Yet
Americans, of all people,
should never be surprised by the power of liberty to
transform lives and
nations. That power brought settlers on perilous
journeys, inspired
colonies to rebellion, ended the sin of slavery, and
set our Nation against
the tyrannies of the 20th century. We were honored to
aid the rise of
democracy in Germany and Japan and Nicaragua and
Central Europe and the
Baltics and that noble story goes on. I believe
that America is called
to lead the cause of freedom in a new century. I
believe that millions in
the Middle East plead in silence for their liberty. I
believe that given
the chance, they will embrace the most honorable form
of government ever
devised by man. I believe all these things because
freedom is not
America's gift to the world, it is the Almighty God's
gift to every man and
woman in this world.
This moment in the life of our country will be
remembered.
Generations will know if we kept our faith and kept
our word. Generations
will know if we seized this moment, and used it to
build a future of safety
and peace. The freedom of many, and the future
security of our Nation, now
depend on us. And tonight, my fellow Americans, I ask
you to stand with
me.
In the last four years, you and I have come to
know each other. Even
when we don't agree, at least you know what I believe
and where I stand.
You may have noticed I have a few flaws, too. People
sometimes have to
correct my English - I knew I had a problem when
Arnold Schwarzenegger
started doing it. Some folks look at me and see a
certain swagger, which
in Texas is called "walking." Now and then I come
across as a little too
blunt - and for that we can all thank the white-haired
lady sitting right
up there.
One thing I have learned about the presidency is
that whatever
shortcomings you have, people are going to notice them
- and whatever
strengths you have, you're going to need them. These
four years have
brought moments I could not foresee and will not
forget. I have tried to
comfort Americans who lost the most on September 11th
- people who showed
me a picture or told me a story, so I would know how
much was taken from
them. I have learned first-hand that ordering
Americans into battle is the
hardest decision, even when it is right. I have
returned the salute of
wounded soldiers, some with a very tough road ahead,
who say they were just
doing their job. I've held the children of the
fallen, who are told their
dad or mom is a hero, but would rather just have their
dad or mom.
And I have met with parents and wives and
husbands who have received
a folded flag, and said a final goodbye to a soldier
they loved. I am awed
that so many have used those meetings to say that I am
in their prayers - to offer encouragement to me. Where does strength
like that come from?
How can people so burdened with sorrow also feel such
pride? It is because
they know their loved one was last seen doing good.
Because they know that
liberty was precious to the one they lost. And in
those military families,
I have seen the character of a great nation: decent,
and idealistic, and
strong.
The world saw that spirit three miles from here,
when the people of
this city faced peril together, and lifted a flag over
the ruins, and
defied the enemy with their courage. My fellow
Americans, for as long as
our country stands, people will look to the
resurrection of New York City
and they will say: Here buildings fell, and here a
nation rose.
We see America's character in our military,
which finds a way or
makes one. We see it in our veterans, who are
supporting military families
in their days of worry. We see it in our young
people, who have found heroes once again. We see that character in workers and entrepreneurs, who are renewing our economy with their effort and optimism. And all of this has confirmed one belief beyond doubt: Having come this far, our tested and confident Nation can achieve anything.
To everything we know there is a season ? a time
for sadness, a time for struggle, a time for rebuilding. And now we have reached a time for hope. This young century will be liberty's century. By promoting liberty abroad, we will build a safer world. By encouraging liberty at home, we will build a more hopeful America. Like generations before us, we have a calling from beyond the stars to stand for freedom. This is the everlasting dream of America - and tonight, in this place, that dream is renewed. Now we go forward - grateful for our freedom, faithful to our cause, and confident in the future of the greatest nation on earth.
God bless you, and may God continue to bless America.
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