Remarks in Orlando, Florida

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Nov 8, 2004

October 30, 2004

The President. Thank you all for coming. Laura and I really thank you for taking time out of your Saturday evening to come by and lift our spirits, and we're grateful for your presence. We're going to carry Florida with your help.

Perhaps the most important reason to put me back in office is so that Laura will be the First Lady for 4 more years.

I'm proud of my runningmate, Dick Cheney. Look, I readily concede he doesn't have the waviest hair in the race. People of Orlando will be pleased to know I didn't pick him up--pick him because of his hair. [Laughter] I picked him because of his judgment. I picked him because of his experience. He's getting the job done for the American people.

We are some kind of proud in my family of brother Jeb. We share the same campaign consultant: Mother. [Laughter] We're both listening to her. Also proud my brother Marvin Bush is with us today. Thank you for coming, big Mary.

I want to thank the Lieutenant Governor, Toni Jennings, Attorney General Charlie Crist, Congressman Pie Keller, Congressman Tom Feeney. I want to thank Rich Crotty. I want to thank my friend Mel Martinez. Put him in the Senate; he'll do a great job. I want to thank Mark Wills. I want to thank Shawn Michaels, professional wrestler. I was hoping to see him backstage--if I could ask him if it was real. [Laughter]

I want to thank all the grassroots activists who are here; I want to thank you for putting up the signs, making the phone calls. I know how much work went into putting this great rally together. I thank you for what you have done, and I want to thank you for what you're going to do as we're coming down the stretch run. I need your help. I need your work. We will carry Florida and win a great victory on November the 2d.

My 4 years as your President have confirmed some lessons and taught me some new ones. I have learned to expect the unexpected, because war and emergency can arrive suddenly on a quiet autumn morning. Ive learned firsthand how hard it is to send young men and women into battle, even when the cause is right. I've been grateful for the lessons I've learned from our parents: Respect every person; do your best; live every day to its fullest. I have been strengthened by my faith and humbled by its reminder that every life is part of a larger story.

I know how a President needs to lead. As Presidents from Lincoln to Roosevelt to Reagan so clearly demonstrated, a President must not shift in the wind. A President has to make tough decisions and stand by them. The American President must not follow the path of the latest polls. The role of the President is to lead based on principle and conviction and conscience. Especially in a time of war, mixed signals only confuse our friends and embolden our enemies. Mixed signals are the wrong signals for an American President to send.

In the last 4 years, Americans have learned a few things about me as well. Sometimes I'm a little too blunt. I get that from my mother. Sometimes I mangle the English language. I get that from my dad. [Laughter] But all the time, whether you agree with me or not, you know where I stand and where I'm going to lead this Nation.

You can't--you cannot say that about my opponent. I think it's fair to say that consistency is not his long suit. Next Tuesday, the American people will vote for conviction and consistency. And with your help, we're going to win this election.

This election comes down to five choices for your family. The first clear choice is the most important because it concerns the security your family. All progress on every issue depends on the safety of our citizens. Americans will go to the polls Tuesday in a time of war and ongoing threats. The terrorists who killed thousands of innocent people are still dangerous, and they're determined to strike. The outcome of this election will set the direction of the war against terror. The most solemn duty of the American President is to protect the American people.

If America shows--

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

The President. If America shows uncertainty or weakness in these troubling times, the world will drift toward tragedy. This is not going to happen on my watch.

Our strategy is clear. We've strengthened the protections for the homeland. We're reforming our intelligence capabilities. We are transforming our military. The All-Volunteer Army will remain an all-volunteer army. There will be no draft. We are relentless; We are steadfast. We are determined. We will fight the terrorists across the globe so we do not have to face them here at home.

Because we led, the world is changing. Afghanistan is a free nation and an ally in the war on terror. Pakistan is capturing terrorist leaders. Saudi Arabia is making raids and arrests. I Libya is dismantling its weapons program. The army of a free Iraq is fighting for freedom. And more than three-quarters of Al Qaida's key members and associates have been brought to justice.

We will use every asset at our disposal to protect the American people. And one of the best assets we have is freedom. I believe in the power of liberty to transform society. I want the younger Americans here to realize what has happened in a brief period of time. Three-and-a-half years ago, young girls couldn't go to school in Afghanistan because the Taliban were so barbaric and backwards. And if their mothers didn't toe the ideological line of hatred, they were taken into the public square and whipped and sometimes to a sports stadium and executed. Because we acted in our own interest, because we upheld the doctrine that said, "If you harbor a terrorist, you're equally as guilty as the terrorist," millions of people voted in the Presidential election in Afghanistan. And the first voter was a 19-year-old woman.