Remarks in Canton, Ohio

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, August 9, 2004

Because we acted, our economy since last summer has grown at a rate as fast as any time in nearly 20 years. Because we acted, America has added 1.5 million new jobs since last August. The economy is strong, and it's getting stronger. It lags in places like eastern Ohio; I know that. I'm aware of that. I just traveled on the bus with workers who told me they are nervous about their future. They're concerned. I am too. And therefore, we must have a President who understands that in order to keep jobs at home, America must be the best place to do business.

I'm here to tell you we can do more to make America job-friendly and America's workplaces more family-friendly. To keep American jobs in America, our regulations must be reasonable and fair. To keep American jobs in America, we must lessen our dependence on foreign sources of energy. To keep American jobs in America, we must end the junk lawsuits that hurt our business and employers. If you want to keep jobs in America, the Government must not overspend your money, and the Government must keep your taxes low. And that's how you keep jobs at home.

You also keep jobs at home by making sure American workers have a lifetime of learning. And you help them get training for the jobs of the future. And a great place to do that is in our community college system. The education and training they offer can be the bridge between people's lives as they are and people's lives as they want them to be.

I know there's great concern about trade in eastern Ohio. Let me tell you something about trade. I believe that America and Americans can compete with anybody, anyplace, anywhere so long as the rules are fair.

We understand what currency valuations can do to manufacturing, particularly in eastern Ohio. We've been working with China to put fair policy in place. Just give us a chance to compete, is all we're asking. We've been enforcing our trade agreements. We're making sure that our workers and our manufacturers are treated fairly.

We'll help American families keep more of something they never enough of, time--time to play with their children, time to go Little League games or Girl Scout meetings, time to care for elderly parents, time to go to class to improve their lives. I believe that Congress should enact comp-time and flextime rules to allow American families to better juggle the demands of work and home. I think Government ought to be on the side of the American family. After 4 more years, there will be better paying jobs in America. After 4 more years, there will be more small businesses. After 4 more years, the American economy will continue to be the strongest in the world.

We have more to do to wage and win the war on terror. America's future depends on our willingness to lead in the world. If America shows uncertainty and weakness in this decade, the world will drift toward tragedy. This will not happen on my watch.

The world changed on a terrible September morning. And since that day, we have changed the world. Before September the 11th, Afghanistan served as the home base of Al Qaida, which trained and deployed thousands of killers to set up terror cells in dozens of countries, including our own. Today, Afghanistan is a rising democracy. Afghanistan is now a place where many young girls go to school for the first time.