Remarks in Moosic, Pennsylvania

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Sept 6, 2004

September 3, 2004

The President. Thank you all. Thank you all very much. Thank you for coming. I appreciate so many people getting up so early. Laura and I are here to ask for the vote. We're here to let you know that I understand there's more to do to make this country a safer place, a stronger place, and a better place for every American. So we're here; we're pleased to be in Lackawanna County in this beautiful setting. Thanks for having us.

Before I begin, I do--I do know you'll join me in offering our prayers and best wishes to those in the path of the Hurricane Frances. There's been some devastation in the State of Florida. There's likely to be more devastation. And so I've ordered Federal teams to be in position to help the good people of that State, but the best thing we can do here is to offer our prayers.

Audience member. I can't hear you! [Laughter]

The President, Maybe it's because I gave--maybe it's because I talked too much last night, you know. [Laughter] I enjoyed giving that speech last night, and I am so proud that your State made my nomination official. And with your help, your State of Pennsylvania will be a significant reason we are reelected for 4 more years.

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

The President. Laura set the bar pretty high when she gave her speech at the convention. She is--what a great First Lady, a wonderful morn, a terrific wife. Listen, I'm going to give you some reasons why I think you ought to put me back in, but perhaps the most important one of 'all is so that Laura is First Lady for 4 more years.

I'm proud of my runningmate, Dick Cheney. He doesn't have the longest and prettiest hair in the race. [Laughter] I didn't pick him for his hair. I picked him for his judgment, experience, and because he can get the job done.

I appreciate the fact that Senator Arlen Specter is with us today. Put him back in for 6 more years in the Senate. Look who is next to him, Rick Santorum, United States Senator. Congressman Don Sherwood is here as well. I appreciate you being here, Congressman--good man.

Mayor Lou Barletta is with us from Hazelton, Pennsylvania. Hey, Lou, fill the potholes. [Laughter] I appreciate David Wenzel, the former mayor of Scranton, who is with us here today. David, thank you for coming. My friend Bill Scranton is with us here. I appreciate him coming. I want to thank all the candidates who are here.

I want to thank my friend Mark Chesnutt. He's great, isn't he? Bubba Shot the Jukebox. He's from Beaumont, Texas, and I appreciate him lending his talent to come. I hope you enjoy him as much as I--I love his music.

Most of all, I want to thank the grassroots activists who are here, the people who put up the signs and make the phone calls and encourage people to register to vote. See, I think we have a duty in this country to vote. In a free land, we have a duty to vote. And I'm asking you to register your friends and neighbors to vote. Register Republicans, register independents, register discerning Democrats--like Zell Miller of Georgia, he's a discerning Democrat--and then kind of head them to the poll. And when you get them there, remind them that George Bush and Dick Cheney are ready to lead this country for 4 more years.

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

The President. Now, we're coming down the stretch in this race. We got less than 2 months to go. And this is a historic national election. It's a time for choosing. It's going to come down to the records we've built, the convictions we hold, and the vision that guides us forward. Over the next 2 months, I'm looking forward to traveling our country, telling people where I intend to lead our country, and telling people what I believe. I believe every child can learn in America, and then I believe every school must teach. That's why we passed important education reform that challenges the soft bigotry of low expectations, that says we must measure to determine whether a child can read, and if not, correct problems early before they're too late; that says that local folks ought to be in charge of the schools. It's a plan--we're making good progress across this country, and we're not turning back.

I believe we have a moral responsibility to our seniors. That's why I've worked with Republicans and Democrats to strengthen Medicare. Our seniors now get help buying medicine, and soon every senior will be able to have coverage for prescription drugs. It doesn't make any sense to pay $100,000 for heart surgery and not pay for the medicine to prevent the heart surgery from happening in the first place. We're making progress in honoring our commitment to our seniors, and we're not turning back.

I believe the role of Government is not to try to create wealth but an environment in which the entrepreneur, the small business, the farmer, and the rancher can survive. I believe in the spirit and innovative power of the American worker, and that is why we unleashed the energy of our economy with the largest tax relief in decades.