In its penetrating analysis of today's great problems, of social welfare and human rights, of disarmament and international order and peace, that document surely shows that on the basis of one great faith and its traditions there can be developed counsel on public affairs that is of value to all men and women of good will. As a Catholic I am proud of it; and as an American I have learned from it. It only adds to the impact of this message that it closely matches notable expressions of conviction and aspiration from churchmen of other faiths, as in recent documents of the World Council of Churches, and from outstanding world citizens with no ecclesiastical standing. We are learning to talk the language of progress and peace across the barriers of sect and creed. It seems reasonable to hope that a similar process may be taking place across the quite different barriers of higher learning. From the office that I hold, in any case, there can be no doubt today of the growing meaning of universities in America. That, of course, is one basic reason for the increasing urgency with which those who care most for the progress of our society are pressing for more adequate programs in higher education and in education generally. It is for this reason that I urge upon everyone here and in this country the pressing need for national attention and a national decision in the national interest upon the national question of education. In at least four ways, the new realities of our day have combined to intensify the focal role of the university in our Nation's life. First, and perhaps most obvious, the whole world has come to our doorstep and the universities must be its student. In the strange geometry of modern politics, the distant Congo can be as close to us as Canada, and Canada, itself, is worth more attention than we have sometimes given. Crises we did not create require our participation. Second, there is indeed an explosion of knowledge and its outward limits are not yet in sight. In some fields, progress seems very fast; in others, distressingly slow. It is no tribute to modern science to jump lightly to the conclusion that all its secrets of particle physics, of molecular life, of heredity, of outer space, are now within easy reach. It is that wherever we turn, in defense, in space, in medicine, in industry, in agriculture, and most of all in basic science, itself, the requirement is for better work, deeper understanding, higher education.


And while I have framed this comment in the terms of the natural sciences, I insist, as do all those who live in this field, that at every level of learning there must be an equal concern for history, for letters and the arts, and for man as a social being in the widest meaning of Aristotle's phrase. This also is the work of the university. And third, as the world presses in and knowledge presses out, the role of the interpreter grows. Men can no longer know everything themselves; the 20th century has no universal man. All men today must learn to know through one another--to judge across their own ignorance--to comprehend at second hand. Those who would practice them must develop intensity of perception, variety of mental activity, and the habit of open concern for truth in all its forms. Where can we expect to find a training ground for this modern maturity, if not in our universities? Fourth and finally, these new requirements strengthen still further what has always been a fundamental element in the life of American colleges and universities--that they should be dedicated to the Nation's service. The phrase is Woodrow Wilson's, and no one has discussed its meaning better. What he said in 1896 is more relevant today than ever before, and I close with a quotation from him. I offer it to you with renewed congratulations, and in the confident hope that as the second century opens, Boston College will continue to respond--as she did in her beginnings-to the new needs of the age. It is not learning, said President Wilson, but the spirit of service that will give a college place in the public annals of the Nation. It is indispensable, he said, if it is to do its right service, that the air of affairs should be admitted to all its classrooms... the air of the world's transactions, the consciousness of the solidarity of the race, the sense of the duty of man toward man the promise and the hope that shine in the face of all knowledge .... The days of glad expansion are gone, our life grows tense and difficult; our resource for the future lies in careful thought, providence, and a wise economy; and the school must be of the Nation. Boston College for too years has been of the Nation and so it will be for the next hundred.

Address at the Boston College Centennial Ceremonies


I was sitting here this afternoon thinking that whoever put this head table together should really be our President. Because I can tell you that we could use a good consensus politician in the White House. This is the first time that I have heard of Armistice Day being celebrated in October. Of course, you all remember, we call it Veterans Day now but you could still fool me with some of the old campaigners who are here tonight. Even so, I do not think any veteran could appreciate my feelings on this night except maybe General Custer. And I do not know of any chief Executive or otherwise who has ever been surrounded by so many Indians. It kept me awake all last night. Finally, around 4 a.m. this morning, the ghost of Al Smith appeared at my bedside. He said, ENTITY, I have seen the guest list for that dinner, too, and I cannot sleep either. Then Al Smith gave me a tip. He told me to handle you like he had once handled another audience. Soon after his first election as Governor of New York, Al Smith went to visit the State prison at Sing Sing. He was asked to speak to the inmates, but he did not know quite how to start or what to say. Then he was reminded that to be a guest of the State's prison meant that you were no longer a citizen. Then he said, My fellow convicts. That did not sound quite right either, so Governor Smith then waved his arms in a grand gesture and said, Well, anyhow, I am glad to see so many of you here. That is my salutation to all of you for now. But as the resident prisoner of the big white jailhouse, I do anticipate the very great pleasure of saluting one of you soon with the greeting, Fellow convict. I am so honored to have the pleasure of being here with my good friend, His Excellency, Archbishop Cooke, tonight. Although-looking at the company he is keeping I was tempted to lean over and ask him, Are not you really in the wrong pew? I resisted the temptation because of the ecumenical nature of this gathering. To be completely fair, I would have then had to put the same question to Governor Rockefeller or Mayor Lindsay. Nixon, of course, is hoping that the Archbishop has come here to witness a resurrection. He appears to be so confident these days that he is already planning to change the name of Washington, D.C., to Resurrection City.

Remarks in New York City at the Annual Dinner of the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation.


He is sitting here hoping that the Archbishop perhaps will pass the collection plate a second time. He even suggested to me as I came in that I use my good offices to ask another little favor of the Archbishop just a small miracle of loaves and fishes. Governor Rockefeller is sitting over there smiling and thinking, Well, they almost got me to the church on time. Mayor Lindsay, to his left and our left, always looking far ahead, is offering up a slightly different prayer, Get me to the church. I think it is a shame, Your Excellency, that Gene McCarthy has refused to come to church. He has chosen to go off and fast in the desert instead. I am happy to say, however, that we have another famous American here to console us. We are all proud of Spiro Skouras.1 These days, my friends, I also find myself saying on occasions a nonpartisan prayer. Watching the race from the sidelines, I remember a story that Lincoln once told after he became President. It concerned the man who had once stood right up on the gallows before he got a last-minute reprieve. A year later he was on the way to the gallows again for another crime, and he rode in a slow-moving wagon while hundreds of townspeople rushed to get a front seat at the ceremony. The prisoner stuck his head out of the wagon and shouted, You needn't be in such a hurry, boys. This could be my last press conference. Pretty soon you will not have Lyndon Johnson to kick around any more. But I am very grateful that I could be here in this company tonight. I do appreciate more than I can say the statements of warmth and welcome by Mayor Lindsay and Governor Rockefeller, the very generous references by Vice President Nixon, and the constancy and devotion of Vice President Humphrey. I want to keep my comments as nonpartisan as possible, so I will include you, Mr. Archbishop, in that final benediction. Just the other day one of our foremost newspapers quoted some of those famous inside sources to charge that a certain important archdiocese suffered from government by crony. Well, as I have said before, These are the New York Times that try men's souls. In all seriousness, my friends, it is a great honor to appear at this traditional charitable dinner in honor of that great American, Al Smith, a dinner that was sponsored so long and so faithfully and so well by that great American, Francis Cardinal Spellman.


When you were describing the initiatives in New Haven involving the Yale Child Study Center, it struck a particularly responsive chord because when I met my wife over 25 years ago at the law school, she was also working with the Yale Child Study Center. We are delighted to be joined here by leaders of law enforcement and leaders of law enforcement organizations; Montgomery County Council member Marilyn Praisner. And I want to say a special word of welcome to Congressman Bud Cramer of Alabama, who has supported the 100,000 police program. We thank you, sir, for your presence here. This is an important time for us to be making this announcement because the holiday season is always focused on our children, and properly so. I want our children to be at the center of our attention every day, every week, all year long. Today we come here to talk about new actions to help millions of children who are exposed every year to violence, either as witnesses or victims. For many, many of them, it is very difficult to be a child because there is too much violence, too much cruelty, too much incivility. Children experience these things in our society at younger and younger ages. That is why we have worked hard-the Attorney General, the Deputy Attorney General, and others in our administration-to strengthen families, to bring safety and order to our schools, our communities, our streets. We passed a crime bill with tougher penalties and more prevention. We have enforced zero tolerance for guns in schools, expelling more than 6,000 students in 1997 who brought weapons to schools. We have expanded and want to continue to expand after-school programs to keep children off the streets during the after-school hours when juvenile crime soars. We do have- the chief mentioned the 100,000 police program, the community policing program. We have now funded about 91,000 of those 100,000 police. We are ahead of schedule and under budget, and I hope we can keep going. With these efforts and with the efforts of countless parents and teachers, principals, judges, police officers, and others, real progress is being made, as you have heard. New crime statistics released by the Justice Department this past weekend show that overall crime has dropped to its lowest level in 25 years. Property and violent crime are down more than 20 percent since 1993, the murder rate down by nearly 30 percent. The juvenile murder rate has dropped 17 percent in one year, and juvenile arrest rates are now down 2 years in a row.

Remarks Announcing the Children Exposed to Violence Initiative


And there are still far too many children who are victims of violence; too many being abused and neglected; too many still witnessing serious violence with traumatic effects on them that, as you have already heard, will last a lifetime. As the First Lady's Zero To Three conference last year showed, children's exposure to violence has tremendous negative consequences for them and for all the rest of us. A child who experiences serious violence is 50 percent-50 percent-more likely to be arrested as a juvenile and nearly 40 percent more likely to be arrested as an adult. If you want to keep the crime rates going down, you have to do more to break the cycle of violence to which children are exposed. Today we launch a new Child Exposed to Violence Initiative, sponsored by the Justice Department, directed by Deputy Attorney General Holder. The aim of the initiative is to combat violence against children, to prevent children who are exposed to violence from being victimized a second time by the justice system. As part of the initiative, I announce today four specific actions. First, I am asking the Justice Department to send legislation to Congress to impose tougher penalties against those who expose children to violence. I believe it is time to send a message through the court that when a man assaults or kills someone in the presence of a child, he has committed not one horrendous act but two; time to ask why a bank robber who unintentionally kills an innocent bystander can be charged with felony murder, but a repeat child abuser who unintentionally kills a child cannot be. Second, I am directing the Justice Department to develop and distribute the critical information State and local law enforcement agencies need to do a better job of responding to the needs of children who have been victimized by a crime. Too often children are victimized anew by a criminal justice system that is designed by and for adults. With the help of the Justice Department's new training videos and in-thefield user guides, the first of which we are releasing today, criminal justice agencies all over our Nation can begin to provide children who have been exposed to violence with the healing they need and deserve. Third, today we announce $10 million in Federal Safe Start grants to 12 cities to develop the kinds of comprehensive responses to children exposed to violence that New Haven has pioneered and that the chief so ably described just a few moments ago.


As a new Congress convenes, we must take steps to speed up the economic recovery and to strengthen public confidence in the integrity of American corporations. This week in Chicago, I announced my growth-and-jobs plan, specific proposals to help workers, employers, and investors across America. For unemployed Americans whose benefits expired on December 28th, I asked Congress to act to extend those benefits. Congress did so quickly, and I signed the extension of unemployment benefits into law this week. For Americans who face the greatest difficulty finding work, I propose special reemployment accounts. These accounts will provide up to $3,000 to help pay for training, moving expenses, or other costs of finding a job. For all income-tax payers, I propose speeding up the tax cuts already approved by Congress, because Americans need that relief today. Instead of gradually reducing the marriage penalty between now and 2009, we should do it now. Instead of waiting until 2008 to move more taxpayers from the 15-percent bracket to the 10-percent bracket, we should make that change now. Instead of slowly raising the child credit to $1,000 by 2010, we should raise it now. When these changes are made, 92 million Americans will keep an average of $1,083 more of their own money. And for America's 84 million investors and those who will become investors, I propose eliminating the double taxation on stock dividends. Double taxation is unfair and bad for our economy. It falls especially hard on seniors, many of whom rely on dividends for a steady source of income in their retirement. Abolishing double taxation of dividends will leave nearly 35 million Americans with more of their own money to spend and invest, which will promote savings and return as much as $20 billion this year to the private economy. Overall, my tax cut proposals will add nearly $59 billion to the economy in 2003 alone. Our Government is also acting to restore investor confidence in the integrity and honesty of corporate America. In response to the abuses of some corporations, we passed serious reforms, and we will vigorously enforce them. Our Corporate Fraud Task Force has obtained convictions or guilty pleas in over 50 cases. More than 160 defendants have been charged with criminal or civil wrongdoing. In my budget for the coming year, I will also propose major increases in funding for the prosecutors of corporate crime. My 2004 budget funding for the Securities and Exchange Commission will be 73 percent higher than 2002 levels.

The President's Radio Address


I now light the National Community Christmas Tree on the lawn of the White House in Washington. I have come out here to Independence with my family to celebrate the great home festival. For of all the days of the year Christmas is the family day. The moving event of the first Christmas was the bringing forth of the first born in the stable in Bethlehem. There began in humble surroundings the home life of the Holy Family glorified in song and story and in the hearts of men down through the centuries. The great joys and mysteries of that event have forever sanctified and enriched all home life. The Christmas tree which we have just lighted in the South Grounds of the White House back in Washington symbolizes the family life of the Nation. That is why I have made the journey back to Independence to celebrate this Christmas Day among the familiar scenes and associations of my old hometown. These family ties reach out tonight to embrace the town, the State, the country, all of America--the whole world. The hallowed associations of Christmas draw all hearts toward home. Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will to men. We needed the strength of giants and heroic courage to bring nature and the elements under control; to build our towns-and that is particularly true here in Independence-and to extend our frontiers. We all know what the covered wagon symbolized. But with all our strength we have always had a deep feeling of compassion--a human sympathy for the underdog, the oppressed of all lands, for all who bear heavy burdens. That is a part of the American spirit. I have been thinking of all these things here in my home on North Delaware Street in Independence. I am speaking to you from our family living room. As I came up the street in the gathering dusk, I saw a hundred commonplace things that are hallowed to me on this Christmas Eve--hallowed because of their associations with the sanctuary of home. I saw the lighted windows in the homes of my neighbors, the gaily decked Christmas trees, and the friendly lawns and gardens. The branches of the trees were bare and stark but somehow they looked familiar and friendly. I looked at all these familiar things--the same things that you all will see tonight as you go toward home. These are the thoughts--simple, commonplace, everyday thoughts--that we all share tonight. They are the thoughts that bind us together, one to another.

Radio Remarks on the Occasion of the Lighting of the Community Christmas Tree on the White House Grounds


I have had an extremely useful set of meetings with leaders familiar with the problems and prospects of the major geographic areas of the world. And as all of you are aware, international affairs have entered an extraordinarily interesting period, a period of fluidity in which several regional problems -- Afghanistan, Cambodia, Angola, the Middle East, to name just a few -- have renewed prospect for resolution. Many of the parameters of these complex regional problems are in flux. And therefore, it is important to converse with the men and women who are the most influential leaders on the scene. I enjoyed meeting with the European leaders. During my lunch with President Mitterrand and in discussions with President Cossiga of Italy, with the King of the Belgians, with President Soares of Portugal, King Juan Carlos of Spain, the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Prime Minister Ozal of Turkey, I emphasized that our relationship with Europe and the North Atlantic alliance remains central to our foreign policy and our security interests. And they all assured me that their countries shared this strong commitment to the alliance and considered it the key to their past and their future security. The meetings with the Presidents of Egypt and Israel and with the King of Jordan form part of a larger effort to bring peace to the Middle East. And I made clear the continuing readiness of the United States to facilitate this effort in a manner that is consistent with the security of Israel and the security of our Arab friends in the region as well. We discussed what new opportunities may exist for our diplomacy, the importance of moving forward to take advantage of the positive elements in the current situation. The meeting with Prime Minister Bhutto of Pakistan, an important new leader, addressed a number of important issues, including our common interest in promoting Afghan self-determination in the aftermath now of the Soviet troop withdrawal. The emergence of democracy in Pakistan is something that we Americans all salute. Consistent with this development, we also discussed what might be done to promote greater prosperity and security in south Asia and particularly between Pakistan and India. With the President of India we talked about the good nature of our relationship and the opportunities for improving the climate of peace in the region. He expressed to me his interest in the talks that their Prime Minister has had with the Prime Minister of Pakistan.

The President's News Conference in Tokyo


The Agriculture Act of 1962 represents an important step forward in our program to increase farm income while reducing costs to the Government of the farm program, and holding the accumulation of farm surpluses. Last year under the 1961 program we made excellent progress. This is reflected in improvement also in the economic health of rural communities. I notice that deposits in country banks in farm States are already up 10 percent from 1960, and industries which supply farmers have reversed unfavorable trends. This bill will permit us to increase the gains we have made in all of these sectors of the economy. I understand that feed grain stocks would have climbed to more than 3 billion bushels by 1964 without the farm legislation the 87th Congress has enacted. With this legislation stocks should go down to near the needed reserve levels by 1964. I think that this is an important point--with this legislation stocks should be down to near the needed reserve levels by 1964. Similarly, as a result of this bill, wheat carryover stocks in a few years will be reduced to half of the 1961 level. This legislation brings to a successful conclusion nearly 40 years of public discussion, some 10 years of congressional debate, and a long record of active support by farm groups for what is called two price wheat legislation. Now wheat producers and wheat processors can plan confidently for the future instead of having to operate from year to year under emergency bases. I am especially pleased by the pilot program in the bill to explore means of turning farm lands to nonagricultural purposes, and to broaden the authority of the existing watershed and lending programs of the Department of Agriculture. These may be the most important provisions of this legislation, for it opens up possibilities for constructive and continuing programs of multiple use of private and public conservation projects, expanded open air space areas around cities, and economic development of some of our less developed areas. With this bill we can also continue our efforts to expand the Food for Peace program, and encouraging at the same time our prospects for expanded commercial trade. I am confident that this act will help us sustain prosperity, reduce burdens of surpluses, and maintain stable food prices.

Remarks Upon Signing the Food and Agriculture Act of 1962


Tonight I want to begin by congratulating the men and women of the 112th Congress, as well as your new Speaker, John Boehner. And as we mark this occasion, we are also mindful of the empty chair in this Chamber, and we pray for the health of our colleague and our friend Gabby Giffords. It is no secret that those of us here tonight have had our differences over the last 2 years. The debates have been contentious; we have fought fiercely for our beliefs. That is what a robust democracy demands. That is what helps set us apart as a nation. But there is a reason the tragedy in Tucson gave us pause. Amid all the noise and passion and rancor of our public debate, Tucson reminded us that no matter who we are or where we come from, each of us is a part of something greater, something more consequential than party or political preference. We are part of the American family. We believe that in a country where every race and faith and point of view can be found, we are still bound together as one people, that we share common hopes and a common creed, that the dreams of a little girl in Tucson are not so different than those of our own children, that they all deserve the chance to be fulfilled. That too is what sets us apart as a nation. Now, by itself, this simple recognition will not usher in a new era of cooperation. What comes of this moment is up to us. What comes of this moment will be determined not by whether we can sit together tonight, but whether we can work together tomorrow. That is what the people who sent us here expect of us. With their votes, they have determined that governing will now be a shared responsibility between parties. New laws will only pass with support from Democrats and Republicans. We will move forward together or not at all, for the challenges we face are bigger than party and bigger than politics. At stake right now is not who wins the next election. After all, we just had an election. At stake is whether new jobs and industries take root in this country or somewhere else. It is whether the hard work and industry of our people is rewarded. It is whether we sustain the leadership that has made America not just a place on a map, but the light to the world. We are poised for progress. Two years after the worst recession most of us have ever known, the stock market has come roaring back, corporate profits are up, the economy is growing again.

Barack Obama Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress on the State of the Union


But we have never measured progress by these yardsticks alone. We measure progress by the success of our people, by the jobs they can find and the quality of life those jobs offer, by the prospects of a small-business owner who dreams of turning a good idea into a thriving enterprise, by the opportunities for a better life that we pass on to our children. Now, we did that in December. Thanks to the tax cuts we passed, Americans' paychecks are a little bigger today. Every business can write off the full cost of new investments that they make this year. And these steps, taken by Democrats and Republicans, will grow the economy and add to the more than 1 million private sector jobs created last year. But we have to do more. These steps we have taken over the last 2 years may have broken the back of this recession, but to win the future, we will need to take on challenges that have been decades in the making. Many people watching tonight can probably remember a time when finding a good job meant showing up at a nearby factory or a business downtown. You did not always need a degree, and your competition was pretty much limited to your neighbors. If you worked hard, chances are you'd have a job for life, with a decent paycheck and good benefits and the occasional promotion. Maybe you'd even have the pride of seeing your kids work at the same company. And for many, the change has been painful. I have seen it in the shuttered windows of once booming factories and the vacant storefronts on once busy Main Streets. I have heard it in the frustrations of Americans who've seen their paychecks dwindle or their jobs disappear, proud men and women who feel like the rules have been changed in the middle of the game. In a single generation, revolutions in technology have transformed the way we live, work, and do business. Steel mills that once needed 1,000 workers can now do the same work with 100. Today, just about any company can set up shop, hire workers, and sell their products wherever there is an Internet connection. Meanwhile, nations like China and India realized that with some changes of their own, they could compete in this new world. And so they started educating their children earlier and longer, with greater emphasis on math and science. They are investing in research and new technologies. Just recently, China became the home to the world's largest private solar research facility and the world's fastest computer.


The competition for jobs is real. But this should not discourage us. It should challenge us. Remember, for all the hits we have taken these last few years, for all the naysayers predicting our decline, America still has the largest, most prosperous economy in the world. No workers are more productive than ours. No country has more successful companies or grants more patents to inventors and entrepreneurs. We are the home to the world's best colleges and universities, where more students come to study than any place on Earth. the idea that each of us deserves the chance to shape our own destiny. That is why centuries of pioneers and immigrants have risked everything to come here. What do you think of that idea? What would you change about the world? What do you want to be when you grow up? The future is not a gift. It has required each generation to sacrifice and struggle and meet the demands of a new age. We know what it takes to compete for the jobs and industries of our time. We need to outinnovate, outeducate, and outbuild the rest of the world. We have to make America the best place on Earth to do business. We need to take responsibility for our deficit and reform our Government. That is how we will win the future. The first step in winning the future is encouraging American innovation. None of us can predict with certainty what the next big industry will be or where the new jobs will come from. Thirty years ago, we could not know that something called the Internet would lead to an economic revolution. What we can do--what America does better than anyone else--is spark the creativity and imagination of our people. We are the nation that put cars in driveways and computers in offices; the nation of Edison and the Wright brothers, of Google and Facebook. In America, innovation does not just change our lives. It is how we make our living. Our free enterprise system is what drives innovation. But because it is not always profitable for companies to invest in basic research, throughout our history, our Government has provided cutting-edge scientists and inventors with the support that they need. That is what planted the seeds for the Internet. That is what helped make possible things like computer chips and GPS. Just think of all the good jobs--from manufacturing to retail--that have come from these breakthroughs.


Half a century ago, when the Soviets beat us into space with the launch of a satellite called Sputnik, we had no idea how we would beat them to the Moon. But after investing in better research and education, we did not just surpass the Soviets, we unleashed a wave of innovation that created new industries and millions of new jobs. Two years ago, I said that we needed to reach a level of research and development we have not seen since the height of the space race. And in a few weeks, I will be sending a budget to Congress that helps us meet that goal. We will invest in biomedical research, information technology, and especially clean energy technology, an investment that will strengthen our security, protect our planet, and create countless new jobs for our people. Already, we are seeing the promise of renewable energy. Robert and Gary Allen are brothers who run a small Michigan roofing company. After September 11, they volunteered their best roofers to help repair the Pentagon. But half of their factory went unused, and the recession hit them hard. Today, with the help of a Government loan, that empty space is being used to manufacture solar shingles that are being sold all across the country. In Robert's words, We reinvented ourselves. reinvented ourselves. And to spur on more success stories like the Allen Brothers, we have begun to reinvent our energy policy. We are not just handing out money. We are issuing a challenge. We are telling America's scientists and engineers that if they assemble teams of the best minds in their fields and focus on the hardest problems in clean energy, we will fund the Apollo projects of our time. At the California Institute of Technology, they are developing a way to turn sunlight and water into fuel for our cars. At Oak Ridge National Laboratory, they are using supercomputers to get a lot more power out of our nuclear facilities. With more research and incentives, we can break our dependence on oil with biofuels and become the first country to have a million electric vehicles on the road by 2015. We need to get behind this innovation. And to help pay for it, I am asking Congress to eliminate the billions in taxpayer dollars we currently give to oil companies. I do not know if you have noticed, but they are doing just fine on their own. So instead of subsidizing yesterday's energy, let us invest in tomorrow's.


Now, clean energy breakthroughs will only translate into clean energy jobs if businesses know there will be a market for what they are selling. By 2035, 80 percent of America's electricity will come from clean energy sources. Some folks want wind and solar. Others want nuclear, clean coal, and natural gas. To meet this goal, we will need them all, and I urge Democrats and Republicans to work together to make it happen. But if we want to win the future, if we want innovation to produce jobs in America and not overseas, then we also have to win the race to educate our kids. Over the next 10 years, nearly half of all new jobs will require education that goes beyond a high school education. And yet as many as a quarter of our students are not even finishing high school. The quality of our math and science education lags behind many other nations. America has fallen to ninth in the proportion of young people with a college degree. And so the question is whether all of us, as citizens and as parents, are willing to do what is necessary to give every child a chance to succeed. That responsibility begins not in our classrooms, but in our homes and communities. It is family that first instills the love of learning in a child. We need to teach our kids that it is not just the winner of the Super Bowl who deserves to be celebrated, but the winner of the science fair. We need to teach them that success is not a function of fame or PR, but of hard work and discipline. Our schools share this responsibility. When a child walks into a classroom, it should be a place of high expectations and high performance. But too many schools do not meet this test. That is why instead of just pouring money into a system that is not working, we launched a competition called Race to the Top. To all 50 States, we said, If you show us the most innovative plans to improve teacher quality and student achievement, we will show you the money. Race to the Top is the most meaningful reform of our public schools in a generation. For less than 1 percent of what we spend on education each year, it has led over 40 States to raise their standards for teaching and learning. And these standards were developed, by the way, not by Washington, but by Republican and Democratic Governors throughout the country.


And Race to the Top should be the approach we follow this year as we replace No Child Left Behind with a law that is more flexible and focused on what is best for our kids. You see, we know what is possible from our children when reform is not just a top-down mandate, but the work of local teachers and principals, school boards and communities. Three years ago, it was rated one of the worst schools in Colorado, located on turf between two rival gangs. But last May, 97 percent of the seniors received their diploma. Most will be the first in their families to go to college. And after the first year of the school's transformation, the principal who made it possible wiped away tears when a student said, Thank you, Ms. Waters, for showing that we are smart and we can make it. That is what good schools can do, and we want good schools all across the country. Let us also remember that after parents, the biggest impact on a child's success comes from the man or woman at the front of the classroom. In South Korea, teachers are known as nation builders. Here in America, it is time we treated the people who educate our children with the same level of respect. We want to reward good teachers and stop making excuses for bad ones. And over the next 10 years, with so many baby boomers retiring from our classrooms, we want to prepare 100,000 new teachers in the fields of science and technology and engineering and math. If you want to make a difference in the life of our Nation, if you want to make a difference in the life of a child, become a teacher. Your country needs you. Of course, the education race does not end with a high school diploma. To compete, higher education must be within the reach of every American. That is why we have ended the unwarranted taxpayer subsidies that went to banks and used the savings to make college affordable for millions of students. And this year, I ask Congress to go further and make permanent our tuition tax credit, worth $10,000 for 4 years of college. Because people need to be able to train for new jobs and careers in today's fast-changing economy, we are also revitalizing America's community colleges. Last month, I saw the promise of these schools at Forsyth Tech in North Carolina. Many of the students there used to work in the surrounding factories that have since left town.


One mother of two, a woman named Kathy Proctor, had worked in the furniture industry since she was 18 years old. And she told me she is earning her degree in biotechnology now, at 55 years old, not just because the furniture jobs are gone, but because she wants to inspire her children to pursue their dreams too. As Kathy said, I hope it tells them to never give up. By the end of the decade, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world. Today, there are hundreds of thousands of students excelling in our schools who are not American citizens. Some are the children of undocumented workers, who had nothing to do with the actions of their parents. They grew up as Americans and pledge allegiance to our flag, and yet they live every day with the threat of deportation. Others come here from abroad to study in our colleges and universities. But as soon as they obtain advanced degrees, we send them back home to compete against us. It makes no sense. Now, I strongly believe that we should take on, once and for all, the issue of illegal immigration. And I am prepared to work with Republicans and Democrats to protect our borders, enforce our laws, and address the millions of undocumented workers who are now living in the shadows. I know it will take time. But tonight, let us agree to make that effort. And let us stop expelling talented, responsible young people who could be staffing our research labs or starting a new business, who could be further enriching this Nation. The third step in winning the future is rebuilding America. To attract new businesses to our shores, we need the fastest, most reliable ways to move people, goods, and information, from high-speed rail to high-speed Internet. South Korean homes now have greater Internet access than we do. Countries in Europe and Russia invest more in their roads and railways than we do. China is building faster trains and newer airports. Meanwhile, when our own engineers graded our Nation's infrastructure, they gave us a D. America is the nation that built the transcontinental railroad, brought electricity to rural communities, constructed the Interstate Highway System. The jobs created by these projects did not just come from laying down track or pavement. They came from businesses that opened near a town's new train station or the new off-ramp.


So over the last 2 years, we have begun rebuilding for the 21st century, a project that has meant thousands of good jobs for the hard-hit construction industry. And tonight I am proposing that we redouble those efforts. We will put more Americans to work repairing crumbling roads and bridges. We will make sure this is fully paid for, attract private investment, and pick projects based * what is best for the economy, not politicians. Within 25 years, our goal is to give 80 percent of Americans access to high-speed rail. This could allow you to go places in half the time it takes to travel by car. For some trips, it will be faster than flying, without the pat-down. As we speak, routes in California and the Midwest are already underway. Within the next 5 years, we will make it possible for businesses to deploy the next generation of high-speed wireless coverage to 98 percent of all Americans. This is not just about--this is not about faster Internet or fewer dropped calls. It is about connecting every part of America to the digital age. It is about a rural community in Iowa or Alabama where farmers and small-business owners will be able to sell their products all over the world. It is about a firefighter who can download the design of a burning building onto a handheld device, a student who can take classes with a digital textbook, or a patient who can have face-to-face video chats with her doctor. All these investments--in innovation, education, and infrastructure--will make America a better place to do business and create jobs. But to help our companies compete, we also have to knock down barriers that stand in the way of their success. For example, over the years, a parade of lobbyists has rigged the Tax Code to benefit particular companies and industries. Those with accountants or lawyers to work the system can end up paying no taxes at all. But all the rest are hit with one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world. It makes no sense, and it has to change. So tonight I am asking Democrats and Republicans to simplify the system, get rid of the loopholes, level the playing field, and use the savings to lower the corporate tax rate for the first time in 25 years without adding to our deficit. To help businesses sell more products abroad, we set a goal of doubling our exports by 2014. Because the more we export, the more jobs we create here at home.


Recently, we signed agreements with India and China that will support more than 250,000 jobs here in the United States. And last month, we finalized a trade agreement with South Korea that will support at least 70,000 American jobs. This agreement has unprecedented support from business and labor, Democrats and Republicans, and I ask this Congress to pass it as soon as possible. Now, before I took office, I made it clear that we would enforce our trade agreements and that I would only sign deals that keep faith with American workers and promote American jobs. That is what we did with Korea, and that is what I intend to do as we pursue agreements with Panama and Colombia and continue our Asia-Pacific and global trade talks. To reduce barriers to growth and investment, I have ordered a review of Government regulations. When we find rules that put an unnecessary burden on businesses, we will fix them. But I will not hesitate to create or enforce commonsense safeguards to protect the American people. That is what we have done in this country for more than a century. It is why we have speed limits and child labor laws. It is why last year, we put in place consumer protections against hidden fees and penalties by credit card companies and new rules to prevent another financial crisis. And it is why we passed reform that finally prevents the health insurance industry from exploiting patients. Now, I have heard rumors that a few of you still have concerns about our new health care law. If you have ideas about how to improve this law by making care better or more affordable, I am eager to work with you. We can start right now by correcting a flaw in the legislation that has placed an unnecessary bookkeeping burden on small businesses. What I am not willing to do--what I am not willing to do--is go back to the days when insurance companies could deny someone coverage because of a preexisting condition. I am not willing to tell James Howard, a brain cancer patient from Texas, that his treatment might not be covered. I am not willing to tell Jim Houser, a small-businessman from Oregon, that he has to go back to paying $5,000 more to cover his employees. As we speak, this law is making prescription drugs cheaper for seniors and giving uninsured students a chance to stay on their patients'--parents' coverage. Instead of refighting the battles of the last 2 years, let us fix what needs fixing, and let us move forward.


Now, the final critical step in winning the future is to make sure we are not buried under a mountain of debt. We are living with a legacy of deficit spending that began almost a decade ago. And in the wake of the financial crisis, some of that was necessary to keep credit flowing, save jobs, and put money in people's pockets. But now that the worst of the recession is over, we have to confront the fact that our Government spends more than it takes in. Every day, families sacrifice to live within their means. They deserve a Government that does the same. So tonight I am proposing that starting this year, we freeze annual domestic spending for the next 5 years. Now, this would reduce the deficit by more than $400 billion over the next decade and will bring discretionary spending to the lowest share of our economy since Dwight Eisenhower was President. This freeze will require painful cuts. Already, we have frozen the salaries of hard-working Federal employees for the next 2 years. I have proposed cuts to things I care deeply about, like community action programs. The Secretary of Defense has also agreed to cut tens of billions of dollars in spending that he and his generals believe our military can do without. Now, I recognize that some in this Chamber have already proposed deeper cuts, and I am willing to eliminate whatever we can honestly afford to do without. But let us make sure that we are not doing it on the backs of our most vulnerable citizens. And let us make sure that what we are cutting is really excess weight. It may make you feel like you are flying high at first, but it will not take long before you feel the impact. Now, most of the cuts and savings I have proposed only address annual domestic spending, which represents a little more than 12 percent of our budget. To make further progress, we have to stop pretending that cutting this kind of spending alone will be enough. I do not agree with all their proposals, but they made important progress. And their conclusion is that the only way to tackle our deficit is to cut excessive spending wherever we find it, in domestic spending, defense spending, health care spending, and spending through tax breaks and loopholes. This means further reducing health care costs, including programs like Medicare and Medicaid, which are the single biggest contributor to our long-term deficit.


The health insurance law we passed last year will slow these rising costs, which is part of the reason that nonpartisan economists have said that repealing the health care law would add a quarter of a trillion dollars to our deficit. medical malpractice reform to rein in frivolous lawsuits. To put us on solid ground, we should also find a bipartisan solution to strengthen Social Security for future generations. We must do it without putting at risk current retirees, the most vulnerable, or people with disabilities, without slashing benefits for future generations, and without subjecting Americans' guaranteed retirement income to the whims of the stock market. And if we truly care about our deficit, we simply cannot afford a permanent extension of the tax cuts for the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans. Before we take money away from our schools or scholarships away from our students, we should ask millionaires to give up their tax break. It is not a matter of punishing their success, it is about promoting America's success. In fact, the best thing we could do on taxes for all Americans is to simplify the individual Tax Code. This will be a tough job, but members of both parties have expressed an interest in doing this, and I am prepared to join them. Now is the time for both sides and both Houses of Congress, Democrats and Republicans, to forge a principled compromise that gets the job done. If we make the hard choices now to rein in our deficits, we can make the investments we need to win the future. Let me take this one step further. We should not just give our people a Government that is more affordable, we should give them a Government that is more competent and more efficient. We cannot win the future with a Government of the past. We live and do business in the Information Age, but the last major reorganization of the Government happened in the age of black-and-white TV. There are 12 different agencies that deal with exports. There are at least five different agencies that deal with housing policy. The Interior Department is in charge of salmon while they are in fresh water, but the Commerce Department handles them when they are in saltwater. Now, we have made great strides over the last 2 years in using technology and getting rid of waste. Veterans can now download their electronic medical records with a click of the mouse. We are selling acres of Federal office space that has not been used in years, and we will cut through redtape to get rid of more.


In the coming months, my administration will develop a proposal to merge, consolidate, and reorganize the Federal Government in a way that best serves the goal of a more competitive America. I will submit that proposal to Congress for a vote, and we will push to get it passed. In the coming year, we will also work to rebuild people's faith in the institution of Government. Because you deserve to know exactly how and where your tax dollars are being spent, you will be able to go to a web site and get that information for the very first time in history. put that information online. If a bill comes to my desk with earmarks inside, I will veto it. I will veto it. The 21st-century Government that is open and competent, a government that lives within its means, an economy that is driven by new skills and new ideas--our success in this new and changing world will require reform, responsibility, and innovation. It will also require us to approach that world with a new level of engagement in our foreign affairs. Just as jobs and businesses can now race across borders, so can new threats and new challenges. No single wall separates East and West. No one rival superpower is aligned against us. And so we must defeat determined enemies, wherever they are, and build coalitions that cut across lines of region and race and religion. And America's moral example must always shine for all who yearn for freedom and justice and dignity. And because we have begun this work, tonight we can say that American leadership has been renewed and America's standing has been restored. Look to Iraq, where nearly 100,000 of our brave men and women have left with their heads held high. This year, our civilians will forge a lasting partnership with the Iraqi people, while we finish the job of bringing our troops out of Iraq. The Iraq war is coming to an end. Of course, as we speak, Al Qaida and their affiliates continue to plan attacks against us. Thanks to our intelligence and law enforcement professionals, we are disrupting plots and securing our cities and skies. And as extremists try to inspire acts of violence within our borders, we are responding with the strength of our communities, with respect for the rule of law, and with the conviction that American Muslims are a part of our American family. We have also taken the fight to Al Qaida and their allies abroad. In Afghanistan, our troops have taken Taliban strongholds and trained Afghan security forces.


By preventing the Taliban from reestablishing a stranglehold over the Afghan people, we will deny Al Qaida the safe haven that served as a launching pad for 9/11. Thanks to our heroic troops and civilians, fewer Afghans are under the control of the insurgency. There will be tough fighting ahead, and the Afghan Government will need to deliver better governance. But we are strengthening the capacity of the Afghan people and building an enduring partnership with them. This year, we will work with nearly 50 countries to begin a transition to an Afghan lead, and this July, we will begin to bring our troops home. In Pakistan, Al Qaida's leadership is under more pressure than at any point since 2001. Their leaders and operatives are being removed from the battlefield. We will not relent, we will not waver, and we will defeat you. American leadership can also be seen in the effort to secure the worst weapons of war. Because Republicans and Democrats approved the new START Treaty, far fewer nuclear weapons and launchers will be deployed. Because we rallied the world, nuclear materials are being locked down on every continent so they never fall into the hands of terrorists. Because of a diplomatic effort to insist that Iran meet its obligations, the Iranian Government now faces tougher sanctions, tighter sanctions than ever before. And on the Korean Peninsula, we stand with our ally South Korea and insist that North Korea keeps its commitment to abandon nuclear weapons. This is just a part of how we are shaping a world that favors peace and prosperity. With our European allies, we revitalized NATO and increased our cooperation on everything from counterterrorism to missile defense. We have reset our relationship with Russia, strengthened Asian alliances, built new partnerships with nations like India. This March, I will travel to Brazil, Chile, and El Salvador to forge new alliances across the Americas. Around the globe, we are standing with those who take responsibility, helping farmers grow more food, supporting doctors who care for the sick, and combating the corruption that can rot a society and rob people of opportunity. Recent events have shown us that what sets us apart must not just be our power; it must also be the purpose behind it. In south Sudan--with our assistance--the people were finally able to vote for independence after years of war. Thousands lined up before dawn. People danced in the streets. One man who lost four of his brothers at war summed up the scene around him.


This was a battlefield for most of my life, he said. And we saw that same desire to be free in Tunisia, where the will of the people proved more powerful than the writ of a dictator. The United States of America stands with the people of Tunisia and supports the democratic aspirations of all people. We must never forget that the things we have struggled for and fought for live in the hearts of people everywhere. And we must always remember that the Americans who have borne the greatest burden in this struggle are the men and women who serve our country. Tonight let us speak with one voice in reaffirming that our Nation is united in support of our troops and their families. Let us serve them as well as they have served us, by giving them the equipment they need, by providing them with the care and benefits that they have earned, and by enlisting our veterans in the great task of building our own Nation. Our troops come from every corner of this country. And yes, we know that some of them are gay. Starting this year, no American will be forbidden from serving the country they love because of who they love. And with that change, I call on all our college campuses to open their doors to our military recruiters and ROTC. It is time to leave behind the divisive battles of the past. It is time to move forward as one Nation. We should have no illusions about the work ahead of us. Reforming our schools, changing the way we use energy, reducing our deficit, none of this will be easy. All of it will take time. the costs, the details, the letter of every law. Of course, some countries do not have this problem. If the central government wants a railroad, they build a railroad, no matter how many homes get bulldozed. If they do not want a bad story in the newspaper, it does not get written. And yet, as contentious and frustrating and messy as our democracy can sometimes be, I know there is not a person here who would trade places with any other nation on Earth. We may have differences in policy, but we all believe in the rights enshrined in our Constitution. We may have different opinions, but we believe in the same promise that says this is a place where you can make it if you try. We may have different backgrounds, but we believe in the same dream that says this is a country where anything is possible, no matter who you are, no matter where you come from.


That dream is why I can stand here before you tonight. That dream is why a working class kid from Scranton can sit behind me. That dream is why someone who began by sweeping the floors of his father's Cincinnati bar can preside as Speaker of the House in the greatest nation on Earth. That dream--that American Dream--is what drove the Allen Brothers to reinvent their roofing company for a new era. It is what drove those students at Forsyth Tech to learn a new skill and work towards the future. And that dream is the story of a small-business owner named Brandon Fisher. Brandon started a company in Berlin, Pennsylvania, that specializes in a new kind of drilling technology. And one day last summer, he saw the news that halfway across the world, 33 men were trapped in a Chilean mine, and no one knew how to save them. And so he designed a rescue that would come to be known as Plan B. His employees worked around the clock to manufacture the necessary drilling equipment, and Brandon left for Chile. Along with others, he began drilling a 2,000-foot hole into the ground, working 3 or 4 hour--3 or 4 days at a time without any sleep. But because he did not want all of the attention, Brandon was not there when the miners emerged. He'd already gone back home, back to work on his next project. And later, one of his employees said of the rescue, We proved that Center Rock is a little company, but we do big things. We do big things. From the earliest days of our founding, America has been the story of ordinary people who dare to dream. That is how we win the future. We are a nation that says, I might not have a lot of money, but I have this great idea for a new company. I might not come from a family of college graduates, but I will be the first to get my degree. I might not know those people in trouble, but I think I can help them, and I need to try. I am not sure how we will reach that better place beyond the horizon, but I know we will get there. We do big things. The idea of America endures. And tonight, more than two centuries later, it is because of our people that our future is hopeful, our journey goes forward, and the state of our Union is strong. God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America.


I tell you what. Thanks for sharing your story and it is what this country's all about. And I wanted to talk, I want to thank the speakers ahead of me. I tell you what. My granddaughter's with me today. And she went to a school that Coach Lawson went to for a little while in Washington. And apparently Coach telling me she is recruiting some of the girl's basketball team from where my granddaughter went to school. And she showed me Coach, she showed me a video you were doing for your team, where you made the distinction between competing and winning, the heart of winning and competing. You can work hard, but did you compete with everything you had? Competing because you know what is at stake, what is at the heart of winning. My good friends, Congressman, excuse me, G.K. Butterfield and David Price, who represent the first and fourth districts with decency and honor, they can tell you we are doing both, working hard and we are competing like we never did before because so much is at stake for this nation. The very soul of the nation is at stake. Folks, as my coaches used to say in college, it is go time. It is the most important election in our lifetimes. We are going to make all the difference here in North Carolina. The stakes of this election, remind me of something my dad used to say when he lost job up in Scranton, Pennsylvania when I was a kid, when coal died and he moved down to Delaware. He used to always say, Joey, a job is about a lot more than a paycheck.- It is about your dignity. It is about respect. It is about your place in the community. Then he said, it is the God's truth, if I heard it once I heard it 20 times. It is about being able to look your kid in the eye and say, Honey, it is going to be okay. When I grew up surrounded by a lot of hard work and folks in Scranton, Pennsylvania and Claymont, Delaware were we moved. How many people today though, think they can look their kid in the eye right now and say, It is going to be okay, and mean it. Over half the people in America say if they got a bill for $400 they did not expect in one month, they would not be able to pay it. They'd have to borrow the money or they'd have to sell something.

Joe Biden North Carolina Speech Transcript October 18


Just this week, 1,200,000 people filed for unemployment. Folks are worried about making their next mortgage payment or rent payment. Whether their healthcare will be ripped away in the middle of a pandemic. They see folks at the top, they are doing better than ever while they are left to wonder, Who is looking out for me. More than 217,000 Americans dead because of ENTITY. On Friday, we saw the highest number of new cases in one day since July. Yet, the other night Trump said in one of his rallies, We have turned the corner. Turn the corner? He continues to lie to us about the circumstances. Experts say we are likely to lose as many as 200,000 additional lives nationwide between now and the end of the year. All because this President cares more about his Park Avenue perspective on the world, the stock market, than he does about you. Because he refuses to follow the science. It is estimated that if we just wore masks, if we just wore masks, we'd save between now and the end of the year, a hundred thousand lives. His own head of the CDC said that. What is really sad about this? The President knew how dangerous this virus was all the way back in January. And he hid it from the country. He is on record. He told Bob Woodward in a taped interview that the disease was deadly, much worse than the flu. And here is what he did. According to the New York Times three, four days ago, his Administration gave Wall Street investors, a head's up, but he did not tell us, just his friends on Wall Street. That is why they made so much money by selling short. But what happened to the rest of us? He tried to claim with Woodward, he did not want to panic the American people. After all, this is the same man who looks at Americans who put their lives on the line for this nation, like so many tens of thousands here in North Carolina have done. Like my son Beau did after a year in Iraq, winning the Bronze Star, conspicuous service medal, he looks at them, he calls them suckers and losers. They are the backbone of this country. And now as a consequence of all this overwhelming lying, negligent, and irresponsible action has come, how many chairs were empty at the dining room table last night because of his negligence? Folks, we are so much better than this.


Despite the crisis we face, we have enormous opportunity if we just build. We just got to stand up and take it back. Look, we can build an economy that gets everyone a fair return on their work, an equal chance to get ahead. The question is, how do we break that cycle where in good times you lag behind. In bad times, you get hit the hardest and first. Well, the answer is about justice, criminal justice, police reform. I know this nation is strong enough to do both, honestly face systemic racism and provide safe streets for our families and small businesses, that too often bear the brunt of looting and burning. We have no need for our armed militias roaming America's streets. This is the United States of America. And we should have no tolerance for extremist white supremacist group marching, menacing our communities. But what, but if you say we have no need face racial injustice in this country, as he says, you have not opened your eyes to the truth. George Floyd's six year old daughter, who I met with in the family. I knelt down to say hi to her. And she looked at me, she said, Mr. Vice President, daddy changed the world. Daddy changed the world. Jacob Blake's mother, with whom I met, said violence did not her son and this nation needs healing. And then said she prayed for the police officers. Doc Rivers, a basketball coach, choking back tears when he said, We are the ones getting killed. It is amazing why we keep loving this country and this country does not love us back. Think about what it takes to be a Black person to love this country today as it does, its deep love for this country. We need leadership to deescalate tensions, open lines of communication and brings us together. As president that is precisely what I will do. But true justice is also about jobs, good paying jobs, financial stability. It was right here in Durham, on Parrish Street a century ago that an oasis of black owned businesses thrived, even in the era of Jim Crow. Parrish Street was one of the first examples of flourishing black middle-class community in America. A place that offered the country a glimpse of what we could become if we chose to live up to our founding values. Giving families of color a real shot at a home, start a small business, send a child to college debt free so they can build wealth and pass opportunity down through generations .


That is what built every other middle-class group in America. That is how we deliver equality and equity. Another example, more and more women are dropping out of the workforce in this recession, whether in cities or in suburbs. I have a plan to deal with this pandemic. Providing funding for PPE and other resources for schools to reopen safely. Easing the caregiving crisis so many families are experiencing, squeezed between raising your kids and caring for an aging, loved one. In the middle of this pandemic, why did Republicans have the time to hold a hearing on the Supreme Court instead of addressing this significant economic needs of local communities? I will tell you why. For real not hyperbole, I will tell you why. It is about wiping Obamacare off the books. That is what it is about. Because their nominee has said in the past the law should be struck down. If they get their way, 100 million Americans will lose their protections for pre-existing conditions. Complications of ENTITY, over 7 million people infected will become the next preexisting condition, allowing insurers to jack up your premiums or deny your coverage altogether. And women will again be charged more for their health just because they are women. I will build on the Affordable Care Act so you can keep your private insurance. You can choose a Medicare like option. We are going to increase subsidies that lower your premiums and deductibles out of pocket spending. Look, your governor has been working hard to expand Medicaid, but it is being blocked by Republican legislature. My plan will automatically enroll 357,000 uninsured North Carolinans in a public option for free, automatically. And it is going to make a life-changing difference for so many families. But we can only do any of this if we come together as a country. We need to revive the spirit of bipartisanship in this country. When I say that, and I said that from the moment I announced, I am told that, Well, maybe that is you used to be able to do that, Joe. That was your reputation when you were in the Senate and Vice President. Well, I am here to tell you they can and they will and they must if we are going to get anything done in America. I am running as a proud Democrat, but I will govern as an American president. I promise you. I will work as hard for those who do not support me as those who did.


That is the job of a president, a duty to care, to care for everyone in America. Folks, and you too have a sacred duty. And Senator Harris and I are asking you for your trust and support. We will always have your back, I promise you. Early voting started on Thursday. You can vote early in person until the 31st. You have got a governor's race, a Senate race, a record number of black women on the ballot. Folks, they are ready to deliver for North Carolina families. When I announced my candidacy, I had not planned on running again to be very blunt. And I have said it before. My son had just died and I had no interest. And then I saw those folks coming out of the fields in Charlottesville, carrying torches. Close your eyes, remember what it looked like. They are veins bulging, shouting anti-Semitic bile. The same bile that was shouted in the streets of Germany in the thirties. And a young woman was killed that was protesting the opposite direction. And when asked to comment, this President said something no other president has ever said in the history of the United States of America. He said, There were very fine people on both sides. Folks, I mean it when I say this it is time to restore America's soul. It is time to rebuild the backbone of America, the middle class. We can do this. The blinders have been taken off the American people and they have seen what is happened. It is time to unite America. Look, I will never forget what President Kennedy said when I was a kid and we are going to the moon. Every kid in the school had to hear his speech. He used the line in that speech my Senate colleagues and the White House heard me use all the time, it made the most impression on me. He asked the unasked question, Why are we doing this? We refuse to postpone America's work that must be done. The only thing that can tear America part is America itself. We choose hope over fear. We choose unity over division. And yes, we choose truth over lies. God bless you all. And may God protect our troops.


I am looking around at this crowd, and I see a few faces old enough to remember that boardwalk that went along -- -- all the way along Ocean Avenue there. And this is a very special occasion for Barbara and me, and we are delighted to be here. And I am very pleased to be honored by the chamber. I was afraid you might be feeling I had dishonored the community with some of the excesses that have taken place out here, but I want the record to show that when the bottom fell off of the starboard engine on our boat the other day -- -- it was not an encounter with a lobster trap. The Coast Guard guy went out and took a look at the reef off the point there and started to tell me that he thought maybe, accidentally, I had hit a rock. And I told him, Look, rocks do not grow in these waters. I have been here for 65 years running around in a boat -- find some other answer. Even if there is metal on the rock out there, I did not hit that rock. And as Commander in Chief of the Coast Guard, he changed his mind as I was talking to him, and -- -- we now think it was a submerged board. Barbara -- this Barbara -- thank you very much, Barbara Aiello, for this honor and for welcoming us to the community that we do love so much. I am delighted to be back at the Shawmut, where many of our press are staying and other friends that are traveling with us, and this hospitality -- a few of them greeting us over here -- the people working at the Shawmut. But it is a wonderfully warm feeling that we get from all of you, our neighbors in Kennebunkport and Kennebunk Beach and, of course, Kennebunk. And it is a special time for me being here. We are doing some work, but I have confessed at the very outset that this is a pure, total vacation. And I am not going to look busy in order to convince people in America that it is something other than a vacation. Some of you have been on the golf course when I play, and that is -- -- and other challenges. One of them now is, we have a fleet of plastic toys that Barbara bought at some -- I hope it was at a sale.

Remarks at a Luncheon Hosted by the Chamber of Commerce in Kennebunkport, Maine


There are many cars and little scooters and all out there, and it is a hazard to get out the front door, get into the car or into the boat, just to escape all these kids' playthings. But one of the great joys for us has been having our grandchildren here, and I expect that those in Kennebunkport will recognize a familiar scene as we prepare this year's Christmas card. I am not going to comment on the fishing -- a vicious assault on my -- -- vicious assault on my ability. How would he call it? This morning, we got up and, through what was a rather heavy fog, went down to Whistler off Cape Porpoise and then down off of Woods Island. I was driving the boat, placing the boat so that Sandy Boardman, who was with me, could catch a bluefish -- and she did. And I think they should knock off that advertisement on the front of the Portland paper that shows a bluefish with a big X through it -- -- telling me that, yet a 13th day, I have not caught one. I am going to appeal to them on that one. that this is a place where we really enjoy ourselves -- but more than that, kind of refurbish our souls and get our batteries all charged up and enjoy life really to the fullest. It is a point of view. You can feel it in the land and in the water here. And I know that people that are members of this chamber and other visitors that we have here with us understand exactly what I am talking about. Barbara has told you that I have been coming here every summer since 19 -- well, I was born in '24. And the only one I missed was the summer of 1944 when, like many of you, I was in the service. Our kids live in five different States -- one in Cape Elizabeth and the others, four different States -- and for them, this is an anchor to windward because not far from where this picture was painted my mother was born in a house still standing right there -- not too far from St. Ann's Church. So, enough of the reminiscence, but it means renewal to us, a moment to reflect. And as Barbara said, some of my colleagues in the Government have had an opportunity to come here for substantive meetings.


Today I cannot wait to show off this heaven to the Prime Minister of Canada, his wife, and his four kids, who will be visiting us around the corner. And the other day it was the Prime Minister of Denmark and his charming wife. And as some of you all remember -- in May, I believe it was -- we had the President of the French Republic here. And it is more than just inviting them to a lovely place, because I have found, as I will with Mulroney, that with both the Danish Prime Minister, Mr. Schluter, and Mr. Mitterrand, you could converse and you could relax and you could really get to know each other in a wonderful setting. And though I do not believe foreign policy is determined on whether a foreign leader likes you or not, I do think it makes a difference if you can develop a good personal relationship. And you, our neighbors, have helped us in that regard, as we have had some distinguished foreign visitors here. I appreciate the Outstanding Citizen Award. I do not know what the vote was on this one -- -- but I want to tell you a true story. This came as a little bit of -- well, it was good for my ego, that tends to mount when you get into this job from time to time. But they decided to name a public school after me. I think it was a junior high school, or maybe an elementary school, in Midland, Texas, where we lived for 12 years. The vote was either 4 - 3 or 3 - 2 in favor of naming the school for me. So, Barbara, I hope it was a little more one-sided than that in this -- giving me this significant honor. But I really am pleased to accept it. I know that the chamber of the Kennebunks is made up of a lot of entrepreneurs, and I would be remiss at a meeting like this if I did not ask you to give me strong support as I go back to Washington to fight for a capital gains tax differential. I believe that small business -- providing jobs to those who do not have jobs -- small business entrepreneurs really are the backbone of this country in many ways. And I am absolutely convinced that John Kennedy was right years ago -- 25 years ago or more -- when he talked about the need to have a differential in the capital gains and, indeed, to call for a reduction in the capital gains tax because it stimulates the economy.


It encourages risktaking; it rewards those who go out and employ others and start new businesses. And I am just convinced that it is good; I am convinced that it will help with our deficit, not inhibit the efforts I am making to get this budget deficit down in accord with the Gramm-Rudman targets. And so, I would ask your strong support to your very able congressional delegation as we now go back to battle for what I think is a good incentive for business people, men and women, small business entrepreneurs -- those who have the courage to go off on their own and start new businesses wherever they may be. And I ask for your help. Incidentally, I do believe we are going to get a good agreement on the budget deficit reduction package. I think it will be accomplished without raising the taxes on the American working man in this country. It is not that the working man is paying too little in taxes; it is that the Government continues to, for a lot of reasons, to spend too much. And I am going to continue to try to hold the line on taxes. And, again, I need your support there. Right here in Kennebunk you have had some -- Kennebunkport -- you have had some examples of people that have been successful. The owner at the White Barn Inn may be with us today. We have an opportunity to create value in our businesses by taking a longer view. This would be easier without the burdensome weight of the capital gains tax. George Bergeron -- he runs a landscaping operation with a very unusual name. I loved it when I saw that. But let me tell you about this guy. Planning for his retirement, he says, I left my work to go into business for myself. I took the risks and went the American way for the sake of my retirement. Would not it be ironic, he continues, if just as I was ready to cash in, the Government took such a big piece of the profit from me? The backbone of our recovery -- in October it'll be the longest in the history of the United States -- comes from the small business man or woman, who then makes it work and goes out and gives jobs to other people. The best answer to poverty in this country is a job, and I want to keep this economic expansion going.


I was told to say just a few words, but let me end with just a little reference to the times we are living in, regarding our foreign policy and the challenges we face as a country. What would you tell a young kid in Poland today? And I had in my mind as he asked me the question the numbers of people in Chicago and in Detroit, and indeed some in Maine, who have come to this country from Poland -- the arms of the Statue of Liberty outstretched, then in the past as it is, thank God, still today. And I thought about it, and then I thought about the change, the political change that is taking place in Eastern Europe -- change far more dramatic than I could have conceived when I was in the Congress, say, 20 years ago. And I said, If I were a kid in Poland, I'd always want to see the United States -- I am thinking on this -- to see the United States as a beacon. If I were a kid in Poland, I'd want to stay there. I'd want to participate in the change because we are living in a fascinating time. And you look at what is happening in the Soviet Union, the changes of perestroika -- reform, glasnost -- openness. The aspirations for freedom are there. And you see the changes again in Poland, where you have a Communist government change through free elections to a government that contains people mainly out of the Solidarnosc movement, the labor union movement. We are living in exciting times. If we do our job right, if we handle the relationship with the Soviet Union properly, and if we then are smart enough and intelligent enough to delicately have the role of the United States be one of helpfulness in Eastern Europe, I think we can see a world where the peace is much more enhanced, or the threat of war -- nuclear war, conventional war -- greatly reduced. And it is an exciting time to be growing up in the United States, and it certainly is an exciting time to be the President of the United States of America. I like my job. I am going to work hard for you.


This afternoon the people of the United States mourn the passing of the leader of a branch of the Government, the eight Justices of the Court pay final homage to their Chief and friend, and a loving family bids farewell to a kind and gentle soul. William Hubbs Rehnquist accomplished many things in his good life and rose to high places. And we remember the integrity and the sense of duty that he brought to every task before him. That character was clear in the young man of 18 who signed up for the ENTITY Air Corps during the Second World War. The Nation saw that character in his more than three decades of service on our highest Court. And the Nation saw it again last January the 20th, when the Chief Justice made his way onto the Inaugural platform. Many will never forget the sight of this man, weakened by illness, rise to his full height and say in a strong voice, Raise your right hand, Mr. President, and repeat after me. It was more than a half-century ago that Bill Rehnquist first came to the Supreme Court as a law clerk. As he would later recount the story, he made that trip from Milwaukee in the middle of the winter in an old blue Studebaker with no heater. He recalled that as he began the journey, he patted that car and thought, Do not let me down, baby. After a year-and-a-half in the Chambers of Justice Robert Jackson, Bill Rehnquist left DC and headed for Phoenix with an even greater love for the law and with something more, a beautiful fiancee named Natalie Cornell. She would share his walk in life for nearly 40 years. All who knew the Chief know how he cherished Nan and their time together and how much he missed his wife in the years without her. In every chapter of his life, William Rehnquist stood apart for his powerful intellect and clear convictions. In a profession that values disciplined thought and persuasive ability, a talent like his gets noticed in a hurry. Still in his forties, he became the 100th Justice of the Supreme Court, and one of the youngest in modern times. After he moved to the center chair, William Rehnquist led the Court for nearly two decades and earned a place among our greatest chief justices. He built consensus through openness and collegiality. He was a distinguished scholar of the Constitution and a superb administrator of the judicial conference. He understood the role of a judge and the place of courts in our constitutional system.

Remarks at the Funeral Service for Chief Justice of the United States William H. Rehnquist


He was prudent in exercising judicial power and firm in defending judicial independence. On the bench and as a leader of the Federal courts, Chief Justice Rehnquist was always a calm and steady presence. In his thinking and in his bearing, he personified the ideal of fairness, and people could sense it. Inside the Court, no man could have been a finer steward of the institution, its customs, and its history. As long as William Rehnquist was presiding, colleagues and advocates knew that the proceedings would be orderly, on time, businesslike, and occasionally humorous. Once during an oral argument, a lawyer criticized his opponent's position by saying, I doubt very much it will fool this Court. The Chief Justice replied, Do not overestimate us. In his time on the Court, William Rehnquist served with 16 other justices, and by all accounts, each one of his colleagues regarded the man with respect and affection. Justice William Brennen once said to a visitor, I cannot begin to tell you how fond all of us are of him personally. Throughout this city of government, people saw William Rehnquist in that same way. He carried himself with dignity but without pretense. Like Ronald Reagan, the President who elevated him to Chief Justice, he was kindly and decent, and there was not an ounce of self-importance about him. It is rare that it is a rare man who can hold a prominent position in Washington, DC, for more than 30 years and leave behind only good feelings and admiration. That is what William Rehnquist did. His law clerks knew him as a demanding boss who pressed them, as one said, to read carefully, write clearly, and to think hard. But the clerks also became an extension of the Chief's family, joining him for walks around the Capitol, or for lunch or dinner, or games of tennis or charades. His clerks remember those times with fondness. And even more, they remember his vast store of knowledge and his daily example of clear thinking and character. To work beside William Rehnquist was to learn how a wise man looks at the law and how a good man looks at life. The Chief Justice was devoted to his public duties but not consumed by them. He was a renaissance man, a man who adored his family, a man who always kept things in balance. He read works of history and wrote a few fine ones of his own.


The will of the American people, expressed through their unsolicited suffrages, calls me before you to pass through the solemnities preparatory to taking upon myself the duties of President of the United States for another term. For their approbation of my public conduct through a period which has not been without its difficulties, and for this renewed expression of their confidence in my good intentions, I am at a loss for terms adequate to the expression of my gratitude. It shall be displayed to the extent of my humble abilities in continued efforts so to administer the Government as to preserve their liberty and promote their happiness. So many events have occurred within the last four years which have necessarily called forth--sometimes under circumstances the most delicate and painful--my views of the principles and policy which ought to be pursued by the General Government that I need on this occasion but allude to a few leading considerations connected with some of them. The foreign policy adopted by our Government soon after the formation of our present Constitution, and very generally pursued by successive Administrations, has been crowned with almost complete success, and has elevated our character among the nations of the earth. To do justice to all and to submit to wrong from none has been during my Administration its governing maxim, and so happy have been its results that we are not only at peace with all the world, but have few causes of controversy, and those of minor importance, remaining unadjusted. In the domestic policy of this Government there are two objects which especially deserve the attention of the people and their representatives, and which have been and will continue to be the subjects of my increasing solicitude. They are the preservation of the rights of the several States and the integrity of the Union. These great objects are necessarily connected, and can only be attained by an enlightened exercise of the powers of each within its appropriate sphere in conformity with the public will constitutionally expressed. To this end it becomes the duty of all to yield a ready and patriotic submission to the laws constitutionally enacted, and thereby promote and strengthen a proper confidence in those institutions of the several States and of the United States which the people themselves have ordained for their own government. My experience in public concerns and the observation of a life somewhat advanced confirm the opinions long since imbibed by me, that the destruction of our State governments or the annihilation of their control over the local concerns of the people would lead directly to revolution and anarchy, and finally to despotism and military domination.

Inaugural Address


In proportion, therefore, as the General Government encroaches upon the rights of the States, in the same proportion does it impair its own power and detract from its ability to fulfill the purposes of its creation. Solemnly impressed with these considerations, my countrymen will ever find me ready to exercise my constitutional powers in arresting measures which may directly or indirectly encroach upon the rights of the States or tend to consolidate all political power in the General Government. But of equal, and, indeed, of incalculable, importance is the union of these States, and the sacred duty of all to contribute to its preservation by a liberal support of the General Government in the exercise of its just powers. You have been wisely admonished to accustom yourselves to think and speak of the Union as of the palladium of your political safety and prosperity, watching for its preservation with jealous anxiety, discountenancing whatever may suggest even a suspicion that it can in any event be abandoned, and indignantly frowning upon the first dawning of any attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link together the various parts. Without union our independence and liberty would never have been achieved; without union they never can be maintained. Divided into twenty-four, or even a smaller number, of separate communities, we shall see our internal trade burdened with numberless restraints and exactions; communication between distant points and sections obstructed or cut off; our sons made soldiers to deluge with blood the fields they now till in peace; the mass of our people borne down and impoverished by taxes to support armies and navies, and military leaders at the head of their victorious legions becoming our lawgivers and judges. The loss of liberty, of all good government, of peace, plenty, and happiness, must inevitably follow a dissolution of the Union. In supporting it, therefore, we support all that is dear to the freeman and the philanthropist. The time at which I stand before you is full of interest. The eyes of all nations are fixed on our Republic. The event of the existing crisis will be decisive in the opinion of mankind of the practicability of our federal system of government. Great is the stake placed in our hands; great is the responsibility which must rest upon the people of the United States. Let us realize the importance of the attitude in which we stand before the world.

Inaugural Address


Governor, I am very grateful for what you said and grateful for what you are doing. It is hard enough to be a Governor; even if you have been doing it as long as Roy hasit still requires some effort. And to do that and still be willing to travel around the country and represent the Democratic Party and deal with the challenges we have had to face in this last year takes somebody with a heart of gold, and a steel backside to be on the plane all the time, and a pretty tough skin to take some of the slings and arrows that they fling at you. And I do not think we could have had a better leader for our party than Roy Romer in this last year. And I am very grateful to you. Thank you, Mrs. Webb, for being here and for what you said. Wilma and I had a good talk at lunch about the kind of the afterglow of the experience we had in bringing the G- 8 conference here a few months ago. When I saw Sharon, I told her that for the rest of my life every time I saw her I would imagine her riding into the arena on that beautiful horse. I was almost willing to take odds she would have ridden in here on that horse today. But it was a great experience for us. And it was a great thing for me to be able to show that part of America to the other world leaders and to the rather vast retinue that came with them from all over the world. And I can tell you, they were just fascinated because I was kind of carping at lunch I go a lot of places, but very often I might as well just be moving around from Federal office building to Federal office building in Washington. Sylvia Mathews is hiding her head. I get off the airplane; I get in a limousine; I go to a government office building; I talk to three people over a cup of coffee; I go get briefed for an hour; I go to a dinner; I sleep a little bit and turn around and come home. And it does not really matter what country I am in. I am always ragging them about that. But you were able to show all these people something really special about Colorado, about the West, and about the diversity and texture of America. And that is important because we have the same problems in dealing with each other around the world as sometimes we do in Washington.

Remarks at a Democratic National Committee Luncheon in Denver


That is, the harder that you work and the less interpersonal time you have, the more likely you are to be driven by whatever the difference of the moment is being exaggerated by people who either work for you or work for them or write about it in the political press, and you wind up drifting apart. So the fact that I mean, you really did further the interest of the United States in building a more cooperative, peaceful world simply by letting them see real people living real lives in an interesting and, for them, a novel context. So I thank you for that. Roy said one other thing that I want to reiterate. I want you to know that I thank you for being here, and you have to understand that there is a significant connection between your presence here and what happens in Washington and what has happened in Washington for the last 5 years. I do not think anyone would dispute the proposition that this country is in better shape than it was in 1992. And in 1992 when I ran for ENTITY, I wanted to take our country in a new direction based on our oldest values of work and family and opportunity and responsibility, community and world leadership, the things that America has stood for throughout this entire century, and most of it for most of our existence. But it was obvious that we needed, among other things, a different notion of Government that the arguments that I read as a Governor and every Governor I knew, including yours, had the same reaction. We'd read in the paper every day, wherever we lived out here in the hinterland, about some fight they were having in Washington. And it looked to me like they were having a fight about whether the Government should try to do everything when we were broke and could not , or whether the Government should do nothing and just sit on the sidelines because Government was the source of all of our ills. Where we lived and worked and the people we worked with, we did not think either one of those things was true. So the first thing I did was, I went there with a determination to try to get decisionmakers in Washington to rethink the notion of Government and the role of Government in moving America forward and in bringing America together. And I believe that the role of Government is to give people the tools they need and establish the conditions so they can make the most of their own lives. And therefore, I think we should do those things which promote both opportunity and responsibility among citizens.


We should do those things which bring us together, across the lines that divide us, into one America. And we should do the things that are necessary to maintain our leadership for peace and prosperity and freedom in the world, because all those things are necessary if we are going to have a 21st century which can be, and I believe will be, the best time in all of human history for the people of our country and hopefully for people around the world. When I became ENTITY, my economic policy was unanimously opposed by the other party in Congress unanimously. Not a single one of them voted for my economic plan in 1993. And they said it would be the ruination of America; it would deepen the recession; it would explode the deficit. Well, 5 years later that plan has produced $810 billion worth of deficit reduction. The deficit is 92 percent smaller than it was when I took office 92 percent. That is before it is very important you understand it that is before the bipartisan balanced budget agreement kicks in. One reason we were able to have a bipartisan balanced budget and agree on how to do it is, it is not so hard once 90 percent of the heavy lifting is behind you. And I think it is important to emphasize that. The second thing that we were able to do is to develop a national crime policy. And again, the leaders of the other party opposed my crime policy. I sometimes get tickled when I read in the paper, they talk about how the ENTITY adopted Republican positions on crime. Now, it is no secret; I have got a good personal relationship with Senator Dole and a fair and a high estimation of him. I awarded him the Medal of Freedom. The angriest I ever heard him on the floor of the Senate was when he was unsuccessful in filibustering the crime bill. He tried to kill it. The NRA was against it, said I was going to take everybody's guns away. And they said, If you put 100,000 police on the streets it would not make a lick of difference just as sort of a boondoggle. They attacked us for being for after-school programs for kids and preventive programs to keep kids out of trouble in the first place. But our crime bill was basically written out of the experience of police officers and prosecutors and community leaders who were in communities where they were already lowering the crime rate by doing what was in our bill.