Remarks at a Republican
Campaign Rally in
The President. Thanks, Governor Jim,
for that great introduction and the great work that you've done quarterbacking
our team in
Audience member. Four more years! Four
more years! Four more years!
The President. It's a treat to be here
at
Audience members. Four more years! Four
more years! Four more years!
The President. Thank you all very
much, and I'd like to just say something to you about that. You know, once I'm
out of office, where no one can accuse me of doing it for myself, I'm going to
see if I can't stir up a storm about changing that constitutional amendment
because I believe it's an infringement on your democratic rights to vote for
whoever you want to vote for.
But
now I'd like to say hello to Sam Skinner, George Ryan, and two friends I
usually see in Washington, Harris Fawell and Jack
Davis. Now, they're the kinds of Members of Congress that keep the
Now
I want to talk to you about a very good friend of mine. You know, I've been an
American voter for 56 years; in fact, I cast my first ballot in a Presidential
race for Franklin Roosevelt in 1932. I've seen them come, and I've seen them
go. Some were great. Some were good. And some were bad. But I have to say I've
never been more enthusiastic about my choice than this year. I've been
President for 8 years now, and nobody knows better than I that the most
qualified man alive in the world for the job, yes, the best man alive for the
job, is the man who is going to be President of the United States after you
cast your ballot next Tuesday -- and his name is George Bush.
Audience members. Bush! Bush! Bush!
The President. I know this man, George
Bush, and over the past couple of months you've all gotten to know him a lot
better. You've learned that he believes in
Now,
I know the fellow at the top of the other ticket is going around saying that
he's on your side.
Audience members. Booo!
The President. Well, I know who's on
your side, because he's been on my side, and that's George Bush. He has stood
by me for 8 years. And so, if you want to know who's on the side of the little
guy, well, I'll tell you: It's the big guy, the big guy from
You
know who led the fight to lift excessive Federal regulations off the shoulders
of
Now,
do you know who played the vital role of reassuring our allies about the
deployment of our missiles in
Audience member. George Bush!
The President. -- -- and set the stage for the INF
treaty?
Audience member. You did.
The President. You know the answer:
George Bush.
And
who ran the initial policy meetings that led to our rescue of
Audience members. George Bush!
The President. That's right -- George
Bush.
And
he's the one who stands with the American people on the things that matter most
deeply. George Bush knows the importance of our traditional values. He cares
that courts won't allow children in public schools to open their day with a
simple, silent, voluntary prayer. He believes we must have judges on our courts
who care not just about the rights of criminals but
about the rights of the victims of crime. For these many reasons and for a
thousand others, I believe the next President of the
Audience members. Bush! Bush! Bush!
The President. I know where you stand.
And as for the other fellow, he's been going around lately comparing himself
with some of the great Democrats of the past, men like F.D.R. and John F.
Kennedy. But I have to tell you, if he's Harry Truman, I'm just what your
Governor said a little minute ago: I'm Roger Rabbit.
You
know, with the election so close, some people are saying it's time for a
change. Well, ladies and gentlemen, we are the change. The change began 8 years
ago. Eight years ago we started liberating you from the confiscations of the
``malaise'' years. When we came into office, families across this country were
suffering from tax rates so high they made Michael Jordan look like Pee-Wee Herman.
Well, we took that money out of the grasping hands of the
And
look what happened: the longest peacetime recovery in our history, 71 months,
and as of now, 18.4 million new jobs. Now there are more people at work over
the age of 16, including students and retirees, men and women, female, male --
all from 16 years of age on up. And the highest percentage of that population
pool is employed than ever before in our history -- 62.7 percent of all of
those people have jobs today. And today we heard the great news: that October
unemployment was the lowest it's been since June, which means the lowest it's been
since May of 1974. And because of our tax reform, most families in this area
saw their tax rates slashed to 15 percent.
Now,
the task is not complete. We've got to keep going and to extend our recovery to
every American home and every American family. And given the success we've had
so far, I think you'll agree the best man for that job is the guy who's already
on the job: George Bush.
Audience members. Bush! Bush! Bush!
The President. When we arrived in
Our
greatest bulwarks against crime are those citizens who have devoted their lives
to guarding us: the noble men and women of our State and local police. And
George Bush and I stand united behind them. We believe that there are no
citizens more precious than they, and we must protect them as they protect us.
Now, the other fellow opposes the death penalty. He opposes it absolutely and
in every case. But as for George Bush and Dan Quayle and me, we believe with
every ounce of our conviction that a crack dealer with a machinegun who murders
a police officer in the line of duty should face the death sentence.
And
I'm happy to see Congressman Jack Davis here today because he's been in the
forefront of our crusade against illegal drug use. Yes, when it comes to
fighting crime, I think it's pretty clear just who's on your side: Jack Davis
and George Bush.
We
also went to work on our national defenses. And once again,
None
of our triumphs -- not even one -- would have happened if George Bush's
opponent had had his way. There would have been no INF treaty or Soviet pullout
from
Audience members. Booo!
The President. In fact, what they've
planned for the Navy is so bad that by the time they get through, Michael may
have to row the boat ashore. Yes, if he did half of what he's threatening to do
to our defenses, we'd all be in the tank. [The President referred to a campaign
event in which Michael Dukakis rode in a tank.]
Now,
just listen to what the liberals have said no to. They opposed the liberation
of
And
of all the changes we've made, the one I may be happiest of is this: Our young
men and women are once again proud to wear their country's uniform. And because
of them, over these past 8 years, not 1 inch of ground on this good Earth has
fallen to the Communists.
What
it all comes down to this year is a clash of visions, of philosophies. The
choice next Tuesday is as clear as it was 8 years ago today, as clear as it was
in '84. Yes, my friends, this election is a referendum on liberalism and an
examination of our commitment to our traditional values. You must choose
between, on the one hand, policies of tax and spend, economic stagnation,
international weakness, and always, always ``blame America first''; and on the
other hand, limited government, economic growth, opportunity, a strong defense,
solidarity forever, and always, always ``I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
United States of America.''
So,
yes, your vote is important, and, yes, the choice this year is very important.
This weekend, you and hundreds of thousands of volunteers will be working in
their precincts to turn out the Republican vote and to bring our message of
hope and opportunity to all Americans. I'm convinced that volunteer support put
me over the top in many States in 1980, and
Yes,
my friends, when you accept the blessing of every American that is the right to
vote, when you go into that booth, you're not only choosing the direction this
country will take for the next 4 years, you're casting a vote for your children
and your children's children. It's critically important that the fate of our
great nation be placed in the capable, strong, and still gentle hands of a man
who has been a hero in war and a leader in peace, a friend to me and to all
Americans.
Yes,
there's only one man I trust to bring this country forward, ever forward,
toward its destiny of greatness -- --
Audience members. George Bush!
The President. Yes. So, I ask you: On
November 8th -- and I'm sure I know the answer -- to make George Bush the next
President of the
Now,
I have a bad habit lately, and I'm going to conclude with a joke. [Laughter]
I've learned some time past that in the
Well,
anyway, this thing was they've got to have a ticket, no matter who they are.
Well, Gorbachev came out of his dacha, his country home, one morning, and he
was late getting to the Kremlin. There was the limousine with his driver, and
he said to the driver, ``You get in the backseat. I'll
drive.'' And down the road he went. But he passed two motorcycle cops. And one
of them took out after him. And in a very short time, he's back with his buddy.
And the buddy says, ``Well, did you give him a ticket?'' And he said, ``No.''
Well, he said, ``Why not? We were told to give a ticket no matter who it was.''
``Oh,'' he said, ``this one was too important.'' Well, he said, ``Who was it?'' He says, ``I couldn't recognize him, but his
driver was Gorbachev.'' [Laughter]
Since
I mentioned that 10 years and the automobile, I'll conclude with another one,
and then I have to go. Having mentioned that, this was a Russian that went in, had his money together and everything to order a car.
And he signed all the papers and laid down the money. And the man behind the
counter said, ``All right, come back in 10 years and get your car.'' And the
fellow said, ``Morning or afternoon?'' [Laughter] The fellow behind the counter
said, ``Well, 10 years from now -- what difference does it make?'' He said,
``Well, the plumber's coming in the morning.'' [Laughter]
Well,
thank you all. Thank you, and God bless you all.
Note: The President
spoke at