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Skriven 2004-11-01 23:33:22 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (041101j) for Mon, 2004 Nov 1
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Remarks by the Vice President at a Victory 2004 Rally
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Vice President
November 1, 2004

Remarks by the Vice President at a Victory 2004 Rally
Green Valley High School
Henderson, Nevada



2:20 P.M. PST

AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you very much. It's great
to be back in the Silver State. And it looks like Bush-Cheney country to
me. (Applause.)

I want to thank John McCain. John has been a great friend for 20 years,
does a superb job for the United States Senate. (Applause.) And of course,
we've got John Ensign -- Senator John Ensign with us here today.
(Applause.) And when people say "flush the Johns," they don't mean these
two. (Laughter.) I'm sorry it's the last day of the campaign. What do you
expect? (Applause.)

Let me also say it's a pleasure to work with your Congressman Jon Porter.
He does a great job. (Applause.) And your Lieutenant Governor. (Applause.)

Now, I brought some special guests with me today. I brought --

AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! (Applause.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT: He's still got 24 hours to change his mind. (Laughter.)

But I brought some special guests with me today -- my wife, Lynne.
(Applause.) And we're traveling with our three granddaughters. (Applause.)
This is Kate. This is Elizabeth. And this is Grace. (Applause.) All right,
girls, go see your mom. (Applause.) If you leave them on the stage during
the speech, no one pays attention to the speech.

And Lynne -- of course, I'm fond of telling people that Lynne and I got
married before Dwight Eisenhower got elected President of the United
States. In those days, I was a youngster living in Lincoln, Nebraska with
my folks. Dad worked for the federal government, the Soil Conservation
Service. Eisenhower got elected, reorganized the government, Dad got
transferred to Casper, Wyoming, which is where I met Lynne. We grew up
together, went to high school together, and recently celebrated our 40th
wedding anniversary. (Applause.)

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Forty more years. Forty more years. Forty more years.
(Laughter.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Forty more years? I'll think about it. (Laughter.) No,
I'll commit right here. Forty more years. (Laughter.)

But I explained to a group the other night that if it hadn't been for
Eisenhower's election victory, Lynne would have married somebody else. And
she said, right, and now he'd be Vice President of the United States.
(Laughter and applause.)

I don't know how many of you noticed the other our opponent Senator Kerry
went goose hunting the other day in Ohio. (Laughter.) Of course, he wore a
new camouflage jacket for the occasion, which made me wonder how often he'd
before goose hunting before. My personal opinion is that his camo jacket
was an October disguise, an effort he's making to hide the fact that he
votes against gun owners every chance he gets.

AUDIENCE: Booo!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: If you want my opinion of the whole thing, John Kerry's
goose is cooked. (Applause.)

Now, the President and I have a great feeling about this area. And with
your help, tomorrow, we're going to carry Nevada. (Applause.) And of
course, in addition to Lieutenant Governor Lorraine Hunt, Secretary of
State Dean Heller is with us today. (Applause.) And your Sheriff.
(Applause.) And although he couldn't be with us, I also want to put in a
good word for your governor, Kenny Guinn. He does a superb job for
everybody here in Nevada. (Applause.)

Let me especially thank all of you who have been active in the campaign who
have been working as volunteers, helping put up yard signs, manning the
phone banks, getting out the vote. (Applause.) I think we've got the
greatest ground game in American political history, and I want to thank all
of you for being a part of it. (Applause.)

With only a matter of hours remaining in the campaign, the choice facing
the America people could not be more clear. This is no ordinary time for
America. We've all seen the tape of Osama bin Laden now. It's a reminder
that we're engaged in a global war on terror. This is a conflict we did not
choose, but it is one what we will win. (Applause.)

Three years ago, America faced a sudden attack. And like other generations
of Americans, we found that history had unexpected duties for us. September
11th made clear the challenge of our time. And since that morning, we have
seen the brutal acts of terrorists around the world -? from a nightclub in
Bali, to trains in Madrid, to a school in Beslan, Russia. Against this kind
of determined, organized, ruthless enemy, America requires an aggressive
strategy -? not merely to prosecute a series of crimes, but to fight and
win a global campaign against the terror network. (Applause.) If the
killers of September 11th thought we had lost the will to defend our
freedom, they did not know America. And they did not know George W. Bush.
(Applause.)

Under the President's leadership, we have reached around the world to
capture and kill thousands of al Qaeda. In Afghanistan, the camps where
terrorists trained to kill Americans have been shut down, the Taliban
driven from power. (Applause.) In Iraq, we dealt with a gathering threat,
and removed the regime of Saddam Hussein. (Applause.) Nineteen months ago,
he controlled the lives of 25 million people. Today, he sits in jail.
(Applause.)

Because of President Bush's determination in the war on terror, leaders
around the world are getting the message. Just five days after Saddam
Hussein was captured, Moammar Ghadafi of Libya agreed to abandon his
nuclear weapons program and turn the materials over to the U.S. (Applause.)

The biggest danger we face today is having nuclear weapons technology fall
into the hands of terrorists. The President is working with many countries
in a global effort to end the trade and transfer of these deadly
technologies. The most important result thus far is that the black-market
network that supplied nuclear weapons technology to Libya, as well as to
Iran and North Korea, has been shut down. And the world is much safer as a
result. (Applause.)

Having liberated 50 million people, we are now supporting the efforts of
the Afghans and the Iraqis to establish representative governments. In
Afghanistan, 10 million people registered to vote, nearly half of them
women. Elections were held three weeks ago -- (applause.) -- those
elections held three weeks ago were the first in the 5,000-year history of
that country. (Applause.) In January, the people of Iraq will vote, as
well. And we will be safer as a result. (Applause.) One of the lessons that
history teaches is that institutions of self-government turn the energies
of people away from violence to the peaceful work of building better lives.
Freedom is the best antidote to terrorism. (Applause.)

In all our efforts we have been aided by dozens of countries around the
world. We will always seek international support for international efforts,
but as President Bush has made very clear, there is a difference between
leading a coalition of many nations and submitting to the objections of a
few. We will never seek a permission slip to defend the United States of
America. (Applause.)

AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: The clearest, most important difference in this
campaign is simple to state: President Bush understands the war on terror
and has a strategy for winning it. Senator Kerry does not. (Applause.)

All doubt on the matter was removed when Senator Kerry said recently he
wanted to lead America back to the place where we were ?- to a time when
terrorism was, in his word, a "nuisance" like illegal gambling or
prostitution.

AUDIENCE: Booo!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: That's the comparison he made. When I read that, I
thought to myself: When was terrorism only a nuisance? Was it a nuisance
four years ago, when the USS Cole was attacked and nearly sunk and we lost
17 sailors?

AUDIENCE MEMBER: No!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Was it a nuisance six years ago when they attacked two
of our embassies in East Africa and killed hundreds of people?

AUDIENCE: No!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Was terrorism just a nuisance 11 years ago, the first
time they bombed the World Trade Center in New York?

AUDIENCE: No!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Or 16 years ago, when Pan Am Flight 103 was blown out
of the skies over Lockerbie Scotland?

AUDIENCE: No!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Or 21 years ago, when a suicide bomber in a truck
loaded with explosives drove into a barracks in Beirut and killed 241
American servicemen?

AUDIENCE: No!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: My friends, there never was a time when terrorism was
just a nuisance. There never can be a time when terrorism is just a
nuisance. Our goal is not to reduce terror to some acceptable level. Our
goal is to defeat terror -? and with George Bush as President, that's
exactly what we will do. (Applause.)

During this campaign, we've heard a lot of bold talk from Senator Kerry,
but it can't disguise a 30-year record of coming down on the wrong side of
virtually every major national security issue. He first ran for Congress
advocating the idea that we should deploy American troops only under the
authorization of the United Nations.

AUDIENCE: Booo!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: He ran for the Senate on the platform that we should
dismantle many of the major weapons systems that Ronald Reagan used to keep
the peace and win the Cold War.

AUDIENCE: Booo!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: In 1991, when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait and stood
poised to dominate the Persian Gulf, John Kerry voted against Operation
Desert Storm.

AUDIENCE: Booo!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: In the first debate, this year, Senator Kerry said that
America had to meet some kind of "global test" before we could take
military action.

AUDIENCE: Booo!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: The President and I know better than that. We know that
it is not our job to conduct international opinion polls. Our job is to
defend America. (Applause.)

Now, in the closing days of this campaign, John Kerry is running around
talking tough. He's trying every which way to cover up his record of
weakness on national defense. But he can't do it. It won't work. As we like
to say in Wyoming, you can put all the lipstick you want on that pig, but
at the end of the day it's still a pig. (Applause.) That's my favorite
line. (Laughter.) You want to hear it again?

AUDIENCE: Yes!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: As we like to say in Wyoming -- (laughter) -- you can
put all the lipstick you want on a pig, but at the end of the day it's
still a pig. (Applause.)

AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: These are not times for leaders who shift with the
political winds; or who fail to understand the nature of the struggle we're
in. Our troops, our allies, and our enemies must know where America stands.
The President of the United States must be clear and consistent. In his
years in Washington, John Kerry has been one of a hundred votes in the
United States Senate ?- and fortunately on matters of national security,
his views rarely prevailed. But the presidency is an entirely different
proposition. A senator can be wrong for 20 years, without consequence to
the nation. But a President -? a President ?- always casts the deciding
vote. And in this time of challenge, America needs ?- and America has -? a
President we can count on to get it right. (Applause.)

Our success in the war on terror is made possible by the men and women of
our military. (Applause.) President Bush knows that our dedicated
servicemen and women represent the very best of the United States of
America. (Applause.) I want to thank the troops, the civilian personnel who
support them, their families, and all the veterans with us here today for
what they have done for all of us. (Applause.)

Senator Kerry takes a different view when it comes to supporting our
military. He voted in favor of using force against Saddam Hussein, but then
during the primary season when it came time to provide funds that would
provide our fighting men and women with body armor, ammunition, spare
parts, and fuel, Senator Kerry voted "no."

AUDIENCE: Booo!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: He offered a ridiculous explanation, which frankly I
think will go down in the history of American politics. He said, and I
quote, "I actually voted for the $87 billion before I voted against it."

AUDIENCE: Booo! Flip-flop! Flip-flop! Flip-flop!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: But the real reason he turned his back on the troops
was what he saw in the polls. Howard Dean was the antiwar candidate and
Dean was surging ahead in the polls, and so John Kerry, in order to advance
his own cause in the Democratic primaries, turned his back on the troops.
He said his vote was "complicated," but, my friends, supporting American
troops in combat should never be a complicated matter. (Applause.)

John Kerry turned to the polls again within the last couple of days. After
the bin Laden tape was released, the Kerry campaign polled to see what his
response should be.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: (Inaudible.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT: I'm getting to that part. (Laughter.)

He put his finger in the air to see which way the wind was blowing.
(Laughter.) George Bush doesn't need a poll to know where he stands in the
war on terror. (Applause.) He's a man of courage and conviction who knows
how to lead America during a time of war. And we need him for four more
years. (Applause.)

AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Our country requires strong and consistent leadership
for our actions overseas, and the same is true for our policies here at
home. When President Bush and I stood on the inaugural platform on the west
front of the Capitol and took the oath of office, our economy was sliding
into recession. Then terrorists struck on 9/11 and shook our economy once
again. We faced a basic decision ?- to leave more money with families and
businesses, or to take more of the American people's hard-earned money for
the federal government. President Bush made his choice. He proposed and he
delivered tax cuts for the American people not once, not twice, but four
times in four years. (Applause.)

Every American who pays federal income taxes benefited from the Bush tax
cuts ?- and so has the economy. We've created jobs for 13 consecutive
months ?- a total of over 1.9 million new jobs during that period. Here in
Nevada, more than 110,000 jobs have been created since January of '02.
(Applause.) Mortgage rates, interest rates, and inflation are all low.
Consumers are confident, businesses are investing, families are taking home
more of what they earn. In a second term, we'll keep our economy moving in
the right direction by making the Bush tax cuts permanent. (Applause.)

We'll also work to end lawsuit abuse because we know it's a lot easier for
America's businesses to hire new workers if they don't have to keep hiring
lawyers. (Applause.)

We will work for medical liability reform, so that America's doctors are
able to spend their time healing patients, not fighting off frivolous
lawsuits. (Applause.)

President Bush and I will also continue to defend our society's fundamental
rights and values. We stand -- we stand for a culture of life and we reject
the brutal practice of partial birth abortion. (Applause.) We stand
strongly for the Second Amendment and will defend the individual right of
every American to bear arms. (Applause.) We believe that our nation is "one
nation under God." (Applause.) And we believe Americans ought to be able to
say so when we pledge allegiance to our flag. (Applause.)

There shouldn't be any question about this ?- and there wouldn't be if we
had more reasonable judges on the federal bench. (Applause.) The Democrats
in the Senate have been doing everything they can -? including using the
filibuster -? to keep the President's sensible, mainstream nominees off the
bench.

AUDIENCE: Booo!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: They are hoping to wait the President out. But I've got
news for them. That's not going to happen because we are going to win this
election. (Applause.)

My friends, the differences between the President and his opponent are as
sharp as they can possibly be, and the consequences for the country are
enormous. On vital matters of national security, Senator Kerry offers a
record of weakness and a strategy of retreat. President Bush offers a
record of steady purpose and resolute action, and a strategy for victory.
(Applause.) Senator Kerry wants to empower government; President Bush will
empower the citizens of this great country. (Applause.) John Kerry seems to
think that all wisdom is found in Washington, D.C.; George Bush trusts the
wisdom of the American people. (Applause.)

The polls open bright and early tomorrow. And I'm asking every one of you
to vote, and to get your friends and neighbors to come along. (Applause.)
There is a lot at stake in this election. And I want to do everything I can
to ask for your support just as clearly as I can. (Applause.)

If you want a President who will fight the terrorists on the offensive, and
never relent in protecting our country, send George Bush back for four more
years. (Applause.)

AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: If you want a President who will keep his word, and
stand behind our military 100 percent of the time, send George Bush back
for four more years. (Applause.)

If you want a President who will keep taxes low for families, farmers, and
entrepreneurs, send George W. Bush back for four more years. (Applause.)

If you want a President who will expand opportunities to start a business
or own a home ?- if you want to live the American dream, send George W.
Bush back for four more years. (Applause.)

If you want a President who will insist on accountability in the classroom
and keep parents and teachers in charge of the schools, send George W. Bush
back for four more years. (Applause.)

And if you are a Democrat, Republican or independent and you want a
President who will stand up for America's enduring values, send George Bush
back for four more years. (Applause.)

We're grateful to our many friends across the great state of Nevada. I want
to thank you for the tremendous welcome today. We're proud to have you on
the team. And together, tomorrow, November 2nd, we're going to see our
cause forward to victory.

Thank you very much.

END 2:48 P.M. PST
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