Remarks in Troy, Ohio

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Sept 6, 2004

August 28, 2004

The President. Thanks for coming. Thank you for bringing your families. Thanks for taking time out of your Saturday morning to provide such a warm welcome to somebody who is coming here to ask for your help and ask for your vote. I'm proud to be in Miami County, Ohio, today to kick off a bus tour across your important State. I'm here to say to you, I'm ready to lead this Nation for 4 more years, and I want your help.

Boehner said if you came to this part of the world, some people might show up to say hello. He was right, and I'm grateful. Thanks for being here. I'm proud to call John Boehner my friend. I know you're proud to call him Congressman. He's doing a great job on the people of this part of the world, and I appreciate serving with him.

I wish Laura were here to see the size of this crowd. She's not going to believe when I tell her how many people came. She's going to say it was just a Texas tall tale. Laura is a great mother, a wonderful wife, a terrific First Lady. I'm going to give you some reasons why I hope you put me back into office today, but perhaps the most important one of all is so that Laura will be the First Lady for 4 more years.

I'm proud of my runningmate, Dick Cheney. Listen, I didn't pick him because of his wavy hair. [Laughter] I picked him because of his sound judgment, his vast experience. I picked him because he can get the job done.

I want to thank Governor Bob Taft for joining us today. Mr. Governor, thank you for joining me on this bus trip. We're traveling across this great State of yours, shaking as many hands as possible, looking people in the eye, and saying, "I've got a clear vision of where I want to take this country."

I want to thank Senator Mike DeWine for being on this bus trip with me today. I appreciate working with Mike and the other Senator, George Voinovich. Put George back in there for 6 years. You need him in the State of Ohio. Mike wisely brought his wife, Fran, and daughter, Anna. I'm proud to be traveling with them as well.

I want to thank Secretary of State Ken Blackwell for joining us today.

Mr. Mayor is with us. Mr. Mayor, His Honor, Mike Beamish, is with us. Mr. Mayor, thank you for your hospitality. I appreciate you letting us use this fantastic town square. Such a beautiful sight, made more beautiful by the fact that a lot of your citizens have come here today. My only advice, Mr. Mayor, is make sure you fill the potholes. [Laughter]

I appreciate Don McLaurin, the mayor of Trotwood, Ohio, for being here. I want to thank all the local officials. I want to thank the Troy High Marching Band for being here today.

Today when we landed in Dayton, I met Becky Brown. [Applause] She brought some of her cousins with her. [Laughter] Becky is the one millionth person to sign up as a volunteer in the Bush-Cheney '04 effort. That means she's willing to put up signs and willing to get on the phone and willing to work and turn out the vote.

See, we have a duty in our country to vote. We have an obligation to participate in the political process. So I'm here to thank all of you all who are involved in the grassroots efforts here in Ohio. I want to thank you for going to your community centers and your places of worship and where you work and saying to your friends and neighbors, "Register to vote." It's important you do so. And then after you get them registered, remind them to vote. And as they start heading to the polls, tell them if they want an administration that's going to make this country safer, stronger, and better, put Dick Cheney and me back in office.

Listen, we have done a lot in this country. We've accomplished a great deal.

Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!

The President. We have been through a lot together. And we've accomplished a lot. But there's only one reason to look backward, and that is to determine who best to lead us forward. I'm here to tell you that all--we've done a lot. We have more to do. We have more to do to make this country a more secure country. We have more to do to spread the peace. We have more to do to make America a hopeful place for every single citizen.

And that starts with making sure our public schools are the centers of excellence we know they can be. John Boehner mentioned the No Child Left Behind Act. I want to take you back 3 1/2 years ago to a system that simply moved children through, year after year, grade after grade, without teaching the basics. So we challenged the soft bigotry of low expectations. We raised the bar, because we know every child can learn to read and write and add and subtract. We expect every child to learn to read and write and add and subtract. We increased Federal funding, but we increased local control of schools and accountability across America so not one child is left behind in this country.

We're making progress. We're closing the achievement gap in America, but there's more to do. We want to make sure math and sciences are emphasized in our high schools, so our youngsters can be able to participate in the jobs of the 21st century. We're going to expand the Internet in the classrooms. We're going to make sure there's early intervention programs available so kids don't slip behind. We're going to make sure that a high school diploma means something over the next 4 years. What I'm telling you is, 4 more years of this administration will help a rising generation earn the skills and confidence necessary to compete in a global world.