Remarks in Lititz, Pennsylvania

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Nov 1, 2004

October 27, 2004

The President. Listen, before I want to say something, I'm traveling with a guest and a friend who represents thousands of people all across this country who are affiliated with the Democrat Party. My friend has come from Georgia to share a message with you about how we're going to work with Republicans and Democrats and independents to carry the great State of Pennsylvania. Please welcome my friend Senator Zell Miller. [Applause] I'm thrilled to be traveling with him.

I told Zell when we landed, I said, "This is a good size crowd here, and there's a reason why: because we're going to carry Pennsylvania on November the 2d." And that's what I'm here to do. I'm here to ask for your vote and ask for your help. I'm asking that you turn out your friends and neighbors to the polls. I'm asking you to continue to make the phone calls and put up the signs. I'm asking you to do everything you can because with your help, we'll make America a safer country, a stronger country, and a better country for every single citizen.

Perhaps the most important reason to put me back into office is so that Laura will be the First Lady for 4 more years. When I asked her to marry me, she said, "Fine, just make me a promise." I said, "What is it?" "Promise me I'll never have to give a political speech." [Laughter] I said, "Okay, you got a deal." Fortunately, she didn't hold me to that deal. She is giving a lot of speeches, and when she does, the American people see a fine, compassionate, strong First Lady.

I'm proud of my runningmate, Dick Cheney. I admit it, he does not have the waviest hair in the race. [Laughter] You'll be happy to hear I didn't pick him because of his hair do. I picked him because of his judgment. I picked him because of experience. He's getting the job done for the American people.

What a great United States Senator Rick Santorum is. He and Zell serve in the Senate together. I'm proud to have Rick Santorum as my campaign manager for the State of Pennsylvania. I'm proud to--excuse me--call him friend, and I know you're proud to call him Senator. And I hope you put Arlen Specter back in there. We need to work with him for 6 more years.

I'm honored to be on the stage with Joe Pitts, Congressman from this area. I appreciate you being here, Joe. Thanks for your service. I want to thank Pat Toomey for the class he showed during the primary campaign. I appreciate his leadership and his service to the Congress.

I want to thank all the candidates who are here, people running for office. I wish you all the best coming down the stretch. I want to thank my friend Daron Norwood and the Matt Goss Band for singing.

Most of all, I want to thank you all. You've lifted our spirits for being here. You're kind with your time, and I want to thank you for coming. This election comes down to some clear choices--

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

The President. This election comes down to some clear choices, clear choices for our families. We have issues of great consequence. The first clear choice is the most important because it concerns the security of your family. All the progress on every other issue depends on the safety of our citizens. It will be the first Presidential election since September the 11th, 2001. Americans will go to the polls in a time of war, an ongoing threat unlike any we have ever faced before. The terrorists who killed thousands are still dangerous, and they are determined to strike again. And the outcome of this election will set the direction of the war against the terrorists.

The most solemn duty of the American President is to protect the American people. If America shows uncertainty or weakness in this decade, the world will drift toward tragedy. This will not happen on my watch.

Since that terrible morning of September the 11th, 2001, we fought the terrorists across the Earth, not for pride, not for power but because the lives of our citizens are at stake. Our strategy is clear. We've strengthened the protection of the homeland. Tom Ridge, the former Governor of your State, is doing a great job as the Secretary of Homeland Security. We're strengthening our intelligence capabilities. We're transforming our military. There will be no draft. The All-Volunteer Army will remain an all-volunteer army. We're staying on the offensive. We're relentless. We are determined. We will strike the terrorists abroad so we do not have to face them here at home.

And part of our strategy is to spread liberty. We believe in the transformational power of liberty to change societies. Think what happened in Afghanistan; think about what's happened there. It wasn't all that long ago that young girls couldn't go to school, and if their mothers didn't toe the line of the ideologues of hate which ran that country, they were whipped in the public square and sometimes executed in a sports stadium. Because we acted in our self-interest, because we acted to destroy Al Qaida's capacity to train in Afghanistan, millions of people went to vote in a Presidential election. The first voter in that election was a 19-year-old woman. Freedom is on the march, and America is more secure for it.