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Skriven 2006-10-31 23:31:14 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (061031a) for Tue, 2006 Oct 31
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Remarks by the First Lady at Tennessee Victory 2006 Rally
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For Immediate Release
Office of the First Lady
October 31, 2006

Remarks by the First Lady at Tennessee Victory 2006 Rally
The Factory at Franklin
Franklin, Tennessee



2:42 P.M. CST

MRS. BUSH: Thank you all very, very much. Thank you very much for such a
warm welcome here in Tennessee. I'm so happy to be with you all today. Bob
and I were at Kingsport earlier. Before that, I made a stop in North
Carolina, and I'm having a really terrific time traveling around our
country campaigning for our candidates. We've got a great group of
candidates. And it's been really nice -- there's something so great and
maybe a little bit nostalgic for me traveling around our country in the
fall. The foliage is so beautiful in all the trees, and Election Day is
coming up. So thank you all for your warm welcome. I'm so happy to be here
with you.

I want to recognize, of course, our good friend Senator Lamar Alexander,
your terrific U.S. Senator -- (applause) -- and your great Congresswoman
Marsha Blackburn from Tennessee's 7th district. (Applause.) State Senator
Jim Bryson is here, who's your Republican candidate for governor. Jim,
thanks for being here. (Applause.) And Bob Davis, the Chairman of the
Tennessee Republican Party is here. Bob, thank you very much. (Applause.)

And I know out in the crowd are a lot of local officials and candidates,
and I want to thank each and every one of you for serving your communities
and for making a special trip up to help in each one of your communities.
Thank you for running for office. Thank you for serving in your
communities.

I'm delighted to be with you today to support Bob Corker's candidacy for
the United States Senate. (Applause.) Bob cares deeply about the people of
your state, and in Washington, he'll be a passionate advocate for Tennessee
families.

Bob has already improved the lives of thousands of Tennesseans through his
service as Mayor of Chattanooga. Under Mayor Corker's leadership,
Chattanooga's violent crime rate dropped by half. Bob helped city
homeowners by managing the budget so that Chattanooga's property taxes are
the lowest since the 1950s. He developed the Outdoor Chattanooga
initiative, which encourages city residents to explore the majestic
mountains and rivers of central Tennessee.

Through the improvements he made to Chattanooga's waterfront, Bob helped
attract to the city an additional $2.1 billion in investments. These
development projects brought safe and affordable housing to Chattanooga's
families. They built new headquarters for major businesses, like the
Electric Power Board and Blue Cross/Blue Shield. And they created good jobs
for the people of Chattanooga.

As your United States Senator, Bob Corker will bring to Washington the
principles of efficiency and accountability that have defined his public
service and his business career. He'll support tax cuts. (Applause.) Tax
cuts have fueled our economy, and they've helped add 6.6 million new jobs
since 2003. (Applause.) And that means 6.6 million more Americans wake up
every morning with the dignity and the sense of purpose that comes with a
job.

Bob Corker is dedicated to bringing jobs to Tennessee. Bob first learned
the value of employment as a teenager, when he held jobs picking up trash
and bagging ice in a freezer. After college, Bob worked as a construction
laborer. He saved up $8,000 to start his own business. That small business
eventually grew into a successful construction company, employing Americans
in 18 states. As Tennessee's Commissioner of Finance and Administration,
Bob helped almost 40,000 Tennesseans move off welfare and into the
workplace. (Applause.)

Offering young people the hope of good employment is one of the most
important things we can do for our children. Another way we can help them
is by steering them away from risky behavior, and guiding them toward the
knowledge and the self-respect they need to lead successful lives.

Bob Corker has a strong record of commitment to young people. As Mayor of
Chattanooga, Bob brought accountability to the city's classrooms. He
increased pay for excellent teachers. During his tenure, local elementary
and middle-school students improved their test scores in every subject.
That's a pretty good record. (Applause.)

Bob believes that one of the best ways to help children is to provide them
with a stable living environment. Bob has worked in his community and
throughout Tennessee to help more families, and especially low-income
families, realize the dream of homeownership. He established a non-profit
organization that has provided more than 10,000 Tennessee families with
low-interest loans. Bob's initiative also provides home maintenance
training, so families can take care of their own homes when they move into
them. Thank you, Bob, for this important and compassionate work.
(Applause.)

We all know, though, that the well-being of young people in Tennessee and
throughout our country ultimately depends on our government's ability to
protect them -- by defeating terrorism and increasing liberty abroad. In
the Senate, Bob Corker will be a champion of the men and women of the
United States military. (Applause.)

And thanks to our troops, the Iraqi people are now free from the oppression
of Saddam Hussein, and they're working to build a democratic future for
their country. (Applause.)

And in Afghanistan, women and girls can now be educated. It's hard for us
to imagine a government that would actually forbid half of its citizens
from being educated. But now, Afghanistan has a new democratically-elected
government, and little girls are in school all over Afghanistan.
(Applause.)

All of us are proud of the men and women who are deployed around the world
defending our country. Every day, thousands of these men and women risk
their lives overseas to make sure that their families, and all of our
families, are kept safe here in the United States. (Applause.) Their love
of our country, and of liberty, never wavers -- and neither does their
belief in our cause.

Many of these men and women have given their lives for this belief. Around
the country, President Bush and I meet with their families. In military
hospitals, we meet with their fellow soldiers who've been wounded in
combat. And from our troops and their families, the President and I hear
the same request: that we honor the sacrifice of these men and women by
seeing their mission through. (Applause.) They ask the American people to
stand with our troops, and Bob Corker stands with our troops. (Applause.)

He understands that this election is critical to the future of our country.
And he knows that America faces challenges too important to be reduced to
just politics.

President Bush has an ambitious agenda for the rest of his time in
Washington, and he takes his responsibility to the American people very
seriously. Ending our dependence on foreign oil, reforming our immigration
system, rebuilding the Gulf Coast, and keeping our country safe from
terrorism are not easy tasks, but they are absolutely vital goals. To
accomplish them, we must have serious national conversations, conducted
with civility and respect.

The right to have these conversations is part of what makes our country
great, and our democracy strong. We must be mindful that people around the
world are listening to these discussions. Responsible candidates understand
that the men and women of our military are risking their lives for us
overseas, and that we must conduct our debate here at home in a way that
does not jeopardize our troops in harm's way. (Applause.) Bob Corker
understands his responsibility to you and to our country. So it's so
important that we stand with Bob Corker during this crucial time in our
country's history. (Applause.)

Thanks to each and every one of you for all you're doing to support Bob
Corker. Thanks especially to all the volunteers for your hard work making
the phone calls and going from door to door. You've already done so much to
help Bob and our other terrific candidates in Tennessee -- like your
congresswoman, Marsha Blackburn. (Applause.) And in the next week, they'll
need more of your energy and enthusiasm.

We're looking forward to Election Day. This is a spirited contest, and
we've got great candidates. And we've got the best grassroots volunteers.
(Applause.) Our candidates are depending on you, so be sure to get everyone
you know to the polls. Go to the phone banks, knock on the doors, and talk
to your friends and neighbors about Bob Corker, Marsha Blackburn, and
Tennessee's great Republican candidates. They need your support, and our
country needs them. (Applause.)

Thank you all so much for coming out today. Thank you for coming to see me.
Thank you for your great support for Bob Corker. I want to encourage every
one of you to work very hard in the next week to make sure Bob Corker is
elected to the United States Senate on November 7th. Thank you all very
much. (Applause.)

END 2:54 P.M. CST
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