Remarks at a Republican
Campaign Rally in
The President. Thank you all very much
for that welcome, and thank you, George, for that great introduction. Thank you
all very much. It is great -- and I do mean great -- to be here in
Now,
I came here to talk about a very good friend of mine, but I know he'd agree
that there's one important thing that has to be done first. Can you let me
hear, loud and clear, what
You
know, I was in the horse cavalry, but I love battleships. [Laughter] I
shouldn't have gotten started because I'm reminded -- it's a funny thing, when
you get to be my age, everything reminds you of a story. [Laughter] This one
has to do one night with a battleship that was out there on the ocean in the
night and the fog. And an admiral in command. And then
suddenly, ahead of them, they saw a light, and it seemed to be right on their
course. And the admiral told his signalman to signal them and tell them to turn
12 degrees to starboard. And so, the man signaled, and then he got a message
back. The message back was that ``you turn 12 degrees to starboard.'' And the
admiral signaled back and says, ``No, you turn to starboard. I'm a
battleship.'' The reply came back, ``Well, you turn. I'm a lighthouse.''
[Laughter]
Audience members. Reagan! Reagan! Reagan!
The President. I'm not going to take
credit for that. [Laughter] But that story was one worth remembering in a
political campaign. The candidates can send out their messages and try to move
the voters, but in the end the great American public does not move. Instead,
the public decides; the people choose the candidate who has steered the truest
course and most closely followed the beacon of light that represents our
fundamental values and the truths that we hold dear. And that's what we mean
when we say that in
You
know, I get a great deal of pressure many times when I have an opportunity to
speak to young people. But almost every nation has a Constitution. And then,
what is so remarkable about ours? Well, all those other Constitutions are
documents containing many of the same things ours does, except that it's the
Government that is telling the people what they're permitted to do. Ours is the
only one that says ``We, the people'' tell the
Government what it can do.
Well,
today, of course, is the last day of this, my last campaign as President. But
tomorrow launches a new beginning for
And
in my first campaign for Governor 22 years ago, the
I
want to ask you something. Your votes tomorrow may be the most important ones
cast in
Audience members. Bush! Bush! Bush!
The President. All
right.
This
is my last campaign trip as your President. And its
been my privilege to have served you these past 8 years. But today, above all,
I'm excited about the future. This is the advent of a new beginning of
continued change, clear direction, and experienced leadership -- a new
beginning for
For
the past 8 years, George Bush and I have worked together to rebuild our
economy, to get America on the move again, to make the United States once again
the great arsenal of democracy, a light unto the nations, the champion of
freedom around the world. During the 8 years that we've worked side by side in
the White House, I've come to know George Bush very well. And I also know what
is required to be President of the
Audience members. Bush! Bush! Bush!
The President. When Vice President
Bush and I took office 8 years ago,
Now,
what Vice President Bush and I have done with the economy is very important,
and it must continue. But what we believe in is much more than that. Our
greatest treasure as a nation is our precious moral heritage: the basic values
of faith and family that makes ours a great nation. Yes, ladies and gentlemen,
the family is the bedrock of
George
Bush believes that public school children should be allowed to open their day
with a voluntary prayer. That's something the courts won't allow.
Audience members. Booo!
The President. I don't think they
should have expelled Him from the classroom to begin with. Now, he believes
that we must have -- George, I mean, believes that we must have judges who
interpret the law, not rewrite it, and who care not just for rights of
criminals but have compassion for the decent citizens who are the victims of
crime. And the Vice President knows the importance to our nation and to our
children of the values expressed in the simple words: ``One nation, under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.''
And
besides restoring our economy and defending our values, we want to also work on
our nation's defenses. We're once again respected in the world. Our Armed
Forces are strong, and
Now,
tomorrow, I feel confident that the people of the
I
have worked more closely with him in these two terms than with any other member
of the administration. Let me tell you about the man that I have come to know.
He is strong, decent, loyal, wise, capable, and compassionate. And there is one
man who has the experience to be President.
Audience members. Bush! Bush! Bush!
The President. Yes, that man is George
Bush. And on November 8th, if you make it possible for him to carry
In
this, as in every campaign, two men have stood before the people. One, George
Bush, has served this nation at the highest levels for nearly a quarter of a
century. As for his opponent, we only really began to learn about him during
the last few months. He's been as vague as to what he would do in office. Yet
when we focus on his record, he objects. At the outset, our opponent announced
that the issue this year was competence. In fact, that was the same thing
another Democratic Governor said in his 1976 Presidential campaign. [Laughter]
I don't think the American people want to take that risk again.
Audience members. No!
The President. They remember that the
last time they took a chance on a blind date and went out with a stranger and
they came home with ``malaise.'' [Laughter]
But
we can cut through the evasion and the rhetoric, and reach down to the record.
And we find that the pieces of the puzzle fit together very clearly. I'd better
not say what they show, because I'm not supposed to use the ``L'' word.
[Laughter]
But
here are the pieces. Our opponent boasts of his membership in the ACLU
[American Civil Liberties Union].
Audience members. Booo!
The President. He is against voluntary
prayer in school.
Audience members. Booo!
The President. And he vetoed a bill to
require
Audience members. Booo!
The President. He's appointed judges
to his State's supreme court who have voted to strike down a ban on child
pornography -- --
Audience members. Booo!
The President. -- -- and have opposed mandatory
sentences for drug dealers.
Audience members. Booo!
The President. He had the only prison
furlough program in the country that gave weekend passes to first-degree
murderers serving life sentences without parole.
Audience members. Booo!
The President. And he had vetoed a
bill to change that. And in every case, even for the most brutal crimes, he
opposes the death penalty.
Audience members. Booo!
The President. Well, he's free to have
these views, but is this the man we want choosing the Justices to sit on the
Supreme Court of the
Audience members. No!
The President. I think you know what I
mean when I say that kind of radical judicial policy would be strictly for the
birds. [Laughter]
On
economics, he objects to being called a liberal. But what do you call someone
who since 1983 has increased State spending at double the rate of increasing
Federal spending? Never mind the snowblower --
[laughter] -- the special interests and bureaucrats in
Audience members. Booo!
The President. He's raised taxes seven
times -- --
Audience members. Booo!
The President. -- -- and he refuses to pledge not to
raise Federal taxes.
Audience members. Booo!
The President. He does say he wants to
hire more IRS agents.
Audience members. Booo!
The President. Let's just say that if
raising taxes becomes an Olympic event, he's going for a gold medal.
And
when we look at defense, again the pieces fit. Our opponent's on the advisory
board of a leftwing group that wanted to slash the defense budget by 25
percent.
Audience members. Booo!
The President. He opposes the B - 1
bomber, the mobile MX, and the Midgetman missile, and
would eliminate two carrier battle groups from the Navy.
Audience members. Booo!
The President. In fact, what he plans
for the Navy is so bad that by the time he's through Michael may have to row
the boat ashore. [Laughter]
Now,
from top to bottom, the election this year is a referendum on liberalism. Yes,
the choice before the American people this year is just as clear as it was in
1980 and 1984: a choice between, on the one hand, liberal policies of tax and
spend; economic stagnation; international weakness; and always, always ``blame
Audience members. Booo!
The President. -- -- and on the other hand, what we believe:
the policies of limited government, economic growth, a strong defense, and
always ``I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
You
know, standing here, as I've already told you, I was once a passenger on this
ship, the Queen Mary, back when folks crossed the Atlantic by ship -- you know,
Christopher Columbus, Ferdinand Magellan -- [laughter] -- we all traveled that
way. [Laughter] But I'd been in
Many
years later, in 1980, after receiving the Republican nomination for President,
once again I stood before Lady Liberty, this time at the event to kick off my
run for the White House. And that year, as in each race, just like today, I've
come back to
Ladies
and gentlemen, tonight, as the Sun sets into the Pacific, one chapter will come
to an end. But as the Sun rises tomorrow, a great new chapter for
Audience members. Bush! Bush! Bush!
The President. But let me tell you one
last story. And it's about that trip to
And
then suddenly, she's no longer looking at us. She's looking beyond us into
memory. And there are a couple of tears appearing. And she said, ``It was
Christmas Eve, and you know, we were all alone and feeling a bit let down. And
suddenly, the door opened, and they burst into the place.'' She said, ``They had presents for me and pop.'' And this time, as I say,
the tears were really coming down. And she said, ``Yes, big strapping lads they
was, from a place called Ioway.'' [Laughter]
Well,
one of the ``big strapping lads'' who served in that war was a man named George
Bush. He flew 58 combat missions in the Pacific. He was the Navy's youngest
pilot and was decorated for his heroism. Many years later, in 1980, he earned
my lasting respect when he won a Presidential caucus in the place where the
race for the White House began, a place called Ioway.
And, ladies and gentlemen,
Some
say that it's time for a change. Well, ladies and gentlemen, we are the change.
It began 8 years ago.
Now,
let's remember that Yogi Berra said: ``It isn't over
till it's over'' -- no complacency, no overconfidence. We need you to vote and
to get others out to vote. And getting out the vote could be the difference
between victory and defeat. Tomorrow's the day. It's the final game of the
World Series; it's the Olympics; it's the Super Bowl, all rolled into one. And
if you would, I hope you'll just win one more for the Gipper.
Audience members. Reagan! Reagan! Reagan!
The President. Let's all do this
together for
Audience members. Four more years! Four
more years! Four more years!
The President. You've all been so
kind, and I've heard you say 4 and 8 and so forth, and the number of years. May
I just say one thing to you? When I get out of the job, so nobody can think I'm
doing it for myself, I'm going to do everything I can to see if we can't rise
up and get rid of that amendment because it's an infringement on your
democratic rights.
Note: The President
spoke at