Remarks in Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Oct 18, 2004

October 15, 2004

The President. It is great--thank you all. It is great to be back in Iowa. This isn't the first time we've been here. [Laughter] It's not going to he our last, either. I want to thank you for putting up the signs and doing the hard work. I want to thank you for what you're going to do over the next couple of weeks, and that is turn out the vote. There's no doubt in my mind, with your help, we will carry Iowa and win a great victory on the 2d of November.

And I just told the chairman--I call him the chairman. You call him Chuck. [Laughter] I said, "'I got a job for him over the next 4 years." He said, "What's that?" I said, "Well, get those lawn mowers cranked up; there's a lot of grass on the South Lawn"

And tell your friends and neighbors, if they want a safer America, a stronger America, and a better America, to put me and Dick Cheney back in office.

The President. I'm pleased--

Audience member. [Inaudible]

The President. I'm pleased that Laura is traveling with me today. She is--we were in Las Vegas yesterday, and there was an important conference. The AARP was having a convention, and they said, "Send your best speaker over." So I went to the rally, and Laura went to the AARP. [Laughter] People have come to know her like I know her. She's warm. She's compassionate. She's a strong woman. She is a great First Lady.

I'm proud of my runningmate. Dick Cheney is doing a fine job. In the debate the other night, I admit he didn't have the waviest hair. [Laughter] I didn't pick him because of his hairdo. I picked him because of his experience, his judgment, and he's getting the job done for the American people.

I appreciate working with the chairman. He always talks about Iowa. Chuck Grassley is a good friend. He's a really good United States Senator. And so is your Congressman, Jim Leach. I appreciate Jim. What a decent and honorable man Jim Leach is. And I'm proud that the chairman of the Budget Committee in the House of Representatives, Jim Nussle, is with us as well.

I want to thank the grassroots activists, all the people who are doing all the hard work. You never get thanked enough, and so here's my chance to thank you before election day. Keep putting up the signs. Keep making the phone calls. Turn out the vote, and we will win.

I enjoyed our debates. I enjoyed standing up there with my opponent, talking about our differences, and we have big differences. We have very different records and different plans for the future. My record is one of reforming education, of lowering taxes, of providing prescription drug coverage for seniors, for improving homeland protections, and for waging an aggressive war against the ideologues of hate. The Senator's record is 20 years of out-of-the-mainstream votes without many significant reforms or results to show for those 20 years. The records are important because our country faces many challenges, and the next President must recognize the need for reform and must be able to lead to achieve them.

On issue after issue, from jobs to health care to the need to strengthen Social Security, Senator Kerry's policies fail to recognize the changing realities of today's world and the need for fundamental reforms. In our final debate, when I talked about the vital link between education and jobs, the Senator didn't seem to get it. He said I switched away from jobs and started talking about education. No, good jobs start with good education. At a time when most new jobs require at least 2 years of college, I understand that one of the best ways to keep jobs in America is to make sure our workforce is educated, the most highly skilled, the most creative, and the most innovative in the world. That's how we create jobs here in America.

When it comes to health care, once again, the other night, with a straight face--[laughter]--the Senator said his health care was not a Government plan.

Audience members. Boo-o-o!

The President. I could barely contain myself. Twenty-two million new people would enroll in a Government program under his plan, the largest expansion of Government health care ever. Eighty percent of the newly insured would be placed on a Government program like Medicaid. He claims his plan would help small businesses. Yet studies conducted by people who understand small businesses concluded that his plan is an overpriced albatross that would saddle small businesses with 225 new mandates.

I have a different view. We'll work to make sure health care is available and affordable. We'll help our small businesses. The decisions will be made by doctors and patients, not by officials in Washington, DC.

The Senator said about Social Security, if, later on, after a period of time, we find that Social Security is in trouble, then he'll call a meeting of experts. [Laughter] See, it seems that he likes meetings. [Laughter] Younger workers understandably worry whether Social Security will be there when they need it. We have plans for the future. We will solve problems before they--before it's too late. As I said in the debate the other night, our seniors have nothing to worry about when it comes to their Social Security check. You might remember the 2000 campaign, and those ads said, "If George W. gets in, you're not going to get your check." You got your checks. You will continue to get your check.