Remarks at a Republican
Campaign Rally in
The President. Thank you, and thank
you for that great music to the Bowling Green High School Band, the Warren
Central Band, the Warren East Band, the Allen County Scotsville
Band, the Muhlenburg Central Band, and of course the
Western Kentucky University Marching Band. Let me say a special hello to Glen
Campbell; President Tom Meredith; Bob Gable; a great former Governor of your
State, Louie Nunn; and a great United States Senator -- who, unfortunately, had
to stay in
You
know, I watched a certain debate the other night. I don't often feel sorry for
liberals, but I came close. Now, he may have been surprised at George Bush's
strength, but you know something? I wasn't. I've worked more closely with
George Bush these two terms than with any other member of the administration. I
have seen him keep a cool head in hot crises. I've seen his leadership and
vision. I've given him some of the most sensitive and difficult tasks that
we've had, and he's never let me or the country down.
Audience members. Bush! Bush! Bush!
The President. All
right. I once said that he's a great Vice President, but I know and I've
seen that didn't come easily. George Bush is a man of action; he's a man
accustomed to command. And the Vice Presidency doesn't fit easily on such a
man. But George Bush is also a patriot. And so, he made it fit, and he served
with a distinction that no one has ever matched.
George
Bush knows the importance of the values expressed in the Pledge of Allegiance.
He cares that the courts won't allow children in public schools to open their
day with a simple, silent, voluntary prayer. He believes that we must have
judges on our courts who interpret the law and don't try to legislate, and who
care not just about the rights of criminals but about those of the victims of
crime. And that's why the man I want to be the next President of the
Audience members. Bush in '88! Bush in
'88! Bush in '88!
The President. Bush, '88. All right. But as I listened to George Bush and his opponent
debate, I couldn't help thinking: The problem with those fellows on the other
side is not camera angles or lighting. It's not whether this campaign is trying
desperately to hide -- or I mean, is likable or not. No, it is the very thing
that I just said, that they've spent this campaign trying desperately to hide.
When our liberal friends refuse to even whisper the ``L'' word and insist that
this election is not about ideology, it's about competence -- you missed me.
[The President referred to a loud noise in the background.] I say, it's not
about ideology, about competence; they're just acknowledging that where they
want to take
But
you know, the American people always have a way of
figuring out the facts. It kind of reminds me of a story. At my age, everything
reminds you of a story. [Laughter] It was about one of our intelligence agents.
And they were sending him over to
So,
he made his way to this tiny village and decided the best place to start -- he
walked into the local pub, said to the bartender, ``Where would I find
Murphy?'' And the bartender said, ``Well, if it's Murphy the bootmaker you want, he's in the second floor across the
street.'' He said, ``Then there's Murphy the farmer. He's just a half a mile
down the road and on the left-hand side. And,'' he said, ``my name is Murphy.''
And the agent said, ``Well, it's a beautiful day today, but it'll be better
tomorrow.'' ``Ah,'' he says, ``it's Murphy the spy you want.'' [Laughter]
Well,
you know the facts, and so do the American people. Our liberal friends have
spent the last 3 months trying to dress up their agenda in our clothes, but
somehow nothing fits. When they say ``opportunity,'' they mean ``subsidies.''
When they say ``reducing the deficit,'' they mean ``raising taxes.'' When they
say ``strong defense,'' they mean ``cut defense spending.'' No wonder their
favorite machine is the snowblower. They talk about
it being time for a change. Well, where have they been the last 8 years? We are
the change. We began it 8 years ago, and the choice this year is to go forward
with that change or to go back to the stagnant status quo of the past.
Audience members. No!
The President. When George Bush and I
took office,
You
know, we hear so much about the unemployment rate. Well, of course, there are
always going to be people between jobs or people that are just coming into the
job market and so forth. That isn't the important figure. When I use that term
``potential work force,'' that's what the statisticians use. Their definition
is that everyone, male and female, 16 years of age and up, all the way to the
top, including the retired people and all -- that is their term, what they mean
by their term, the ``potential work force.'' And today, thinking of all of you
who are still in school and all, but who are in that age group -- the millions
throughout the country -- 62.7 percent of that group have jobs today in the
Between
1977 and 1981 -- I don't know why I pick those years -- [laughter] -- well, the
real income of the typical American family dropped by almost 7 percent. Since
1981, the year we took office, the real family income has soared more than 10
percent. Yes, 8 years ago the last liberal administration turned the lights out
on Main Street America. We've turned them back on, and with George Bush in the
White House, they'll be on to stay.
Yes,
think of what reducing the prime interest rate, as we have, by over half means
to young families seeking to purchase a new home. Think of what reducing
inflation to a third of what it was means to families seeking to protect their
life savings. And think of what our tax reduction program has meant to
families, most of whom now pay a top rate of 15 percent. And think of what all
this means to you. When you leave school, there'll be jobs and opportunities
waiting for you. It's a good time to begin a career and maybe get married to
that special someone and start a family. Perhaps now or in a few years, you'll
want to start your own business. Well, it's a great time for that, too.
Audience member. Thank you.
The President. Well, thank you. You
know that for every business that has to close up shop and quit today, six new
ones go into business and start. Think of how lucky you are not to have
graduated in the class of '79, when things looked so different. Think of how
lucky you are to be graduating in our country and not some other one. Yes, what
you heard in a recent debate I've often echoed in my talks with the leaders of
many other nations -- I've heard that, I should say, in those talks. Today the
Yes,
we've come a long way in the last 8 years. But, my friends, everything that you
and I and George Bush have worked for these last 8 years, everything, could be
lost faster than you can say gun control. Our opponents talk about reaching for
the center, but from the economy to national defense, they've taken positions
that only McGovern could love. [Laughter]
Not
long ago, former Defense and Energy Secretary James Schlesinger, who has served
both in Democratic and Republican administrations, wrote that their ticket this
year seems to be, in his words, ``viscerally antimilitary.'' They'd cut out the
B - 1 bomber, the mobile MX, the Midgetman missile,
our strategic defense against ballistic missiles, and eliminate two carrier
battle groups from the Navy. In fact, what they plan for the Navy is so bad
that by the time they get through, Michael may have to row the boat ashore.
[Laughter]
Our
opponents talk about wanting a conventional defense initiative to improve our
conventional armaments -- as if it were something new,
and supporting it shows that they support a strong defense. What they never say
is that we started the conventional defense initiative more than 4 years ago.
The only difference between what they would do and what we're doing is that
they want to cut the budget for the conventional defense initiative. You know,
sometimes I wish that someone would tell our opponents that the men and women
who fly the planes, stand guard at the outposts, and drive the tanks of the
Nation are engaged in the deadly serious business of defending freedom. They're
not in a game for leftwing politicians to play slight of hand with. We're too
proud of the men and women who wear the uniform of the
It's
the same old liberal agenda they're pushing: less defense, more big government.
For example, as part of their so-called profamily
agenda, they propose Federal child-care assistance. A little while ago, I told
another audience that under this proposal, if parents want assistance and they
also want to leave their child with his or her grandmother, the grandmother
will have to be licensed by the Federal Government.
Audience members. No! Booo!
The President. After I spoke and said
that, a reporter called one of the congressional staffers behind the bill and
asked if it was true -- that grandmothers would have to get Federal licenses to
take care of their own grandchildren. And the reply came, yes, of course, it's
true. After all -- and then here's the quote -- ``How else can you design a
program that receives Federal funds?'' Licensing grandmothers -- can you
believe it?
Audience members. No!
The President. But doesn't that tell
all the difference between our philosophies?
Audience members. Yes!
The President. When they say
``family,'' they mean ``Big Brother in
Hearing
all this, maybe it won't surprise you that this year we have an opposition
candidate for President whose appointees to his State's supreme court have been
described, in the words of legal authorities who have studied their record, as,
and I'm quoting now, ``fervent proponents of the liberal social agenda
committed to imposing it through judicial decree.''
Audience members. Booo!
The President. They have opposed the
death penalty and opposed mandatory sentences for drug dealers. They believe
that directing teachers to lead classes in the Pledge of Allegiance is
unconstitutional. And they have already voted to strike down a ban on child
pornography.
Audience members. Booo!
The President. Well, I've appointed
very different Justices to the United States Supreme Court, and so will George
Bush.
Now,
our friends on the other side have promised that come January ``the Reagan era
is over,'' and they say their era will be just beginning. Well, let me ask you
something. And could you give me an answer loud enough so they can hear it all
the way to
Audience members. No!
The President. Do you want our foreign
policy in the hands of those who criticized our rescue mission in
Audience members. No!
The President. I guess what I'm asking
is: Do you want the liberals in control in
Audience members. No!
The President. You just made my day.
Audience members. Bush! Bush! Bush!
The President. You know, despite what
the press is saying, this election campaign is not
over. The only poll that means a thing is the one on election
day. And that's why it's so important for you to vote. It's disturbing
to me that so many of
So,
let me ask you one or two more questions: This November, will you show up at
the polls and vote?
Audience members. Yes!
The President. All
right. Will you get your friends also to show up at the polls and vote?
Audience members. Yes!
The President. And will you vote for
George Bush?
Audience members. Yes! Bush! Bush! Bush!
The President. So, I'd just ask you to
take history in your hands and win one for the Gipper.
And you know, you've let me know how you feel about Bush, but let me just say
something else. All those other offices, for State offices, local, and those
for the Congress, the House of Representatives and the Senate, and what must be
done for them -- just think of this: Most people just haven't caught on and
aren't aware that in the last 56 years, the other party has had control of the
House of Representatives for 54 -- or 52, I should say, of those 56 years. And
they've had control of both Houses of the Congress for 46 of those 56 years. I
was fortunate enough to have 6 years of the Senate on our side, or we couldn't
have done the things that we've done. So, everything is important. It doesn't
make any sense to send a President up there because you agree in what he has
proposed doing and then continue to send people up in the Congress who are dedicated to opposing everything that he said he'd do.
Now,
I'm going to take advantage of you and just have a little fun. I have a new hobby
-- again? [The President referred to a loud noise in the background.]
[Laughter] This hobby is, I've been collecting jokes that I can prove are made
up by the people in the
This
one came up while we were there in the recent summit in
So,
thank you all, and God bless you all.
Note: The President
spoke at