Remarks in Wheeling, West Virginia

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Sept 6, 2004

We need to provide our workers with a lifetime of learning to keep jobs here in America. The economy is changing. New high-paying jobs are being created. But sometimes, there's a skills gap. Sometimes somebody needs a little help going back to the community college to be able to gain the skills necessary to fill the jobs of the 21st century. I'm committed to making sure our workers have got an opportunity to go back to get an associate degree, so they have the skills necessary to fill the jobs of the 21st century.

And finally, in order to keep jobs here in America, we've got to be wise about how we spend your money, and we've got to keep your taxes low. It's an issue in this campaign. I'm running against a fellow who has already put out there about $2 trillion worth of new spending promises. That's $2 trillion. That's a lot--with a T. [Laughter] And we've got 60 days left. No telling what's going to happen coming down the stretch. [Laughter] So they said, "Well, how are you going to pay for it?" He said, "Well," he said, "we're just going to tax the rich." You've heard that before, haven't you?

Audience members. Yes!

The President. Yes. Oh, you're just going to tax the rich. You know how it works: The rich dodge, and you pay. But we're not going to let him. We're going to beat him in November of 2004.

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

The President. I 'am running again because I know we have more to do to wage and win the war against 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 isn't going to 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 cells around the world, including our own country. Because we acted, today, Afghanistan is a rising democracy. They're going to have Presidential elections in October of this year. Because we acted, many young girls go to school for the first time in Afghanistan. Because we acted, Afghanistan is an ally in the war on terror. Because we acted, America and the world are safer.

Before September the 11th, Libya was spending millions to acquire weapons of mass destruction. Today, because America and our allies have sent a strong and easy-to-understand message, the leader of Libya has abandoned his pursuit of weapons of mass destruction, and America and the world are safer.

Before September the 11th, the ruler of Iraq was a sworn enemy of America. He was defying the world. You might remember, he was firing weapons at American pilots who were enforcing the world's sanctions. He had used weapons of mass destruction. He harbored terrorists. He invaded his neighbors. He subsidized the families of suicide bombers. He and his henchmen murdered tens of thousands of his own people. He was a great source of instability in the world's most volatile region. He was a threat.