I appreciate Bob Ehrlich, the Governor of this great State. He knows what he is doing when it comes to education. He is got a great wife, the first lady, Kendel, with us as well. Governor Ehrlich sets high standards. He challenges what I call the soft bigotry of low expectations. He understands if you lower the bar, assign certain kids to failure based upon demographics, that is precisely what you will get in the State of Maryland. So he said, We ought to raise the bar. They understand that high standards will yield high results. And the best place to start in achieving high standards is with the littlest of children. I want to thank very much Congressman John Boehner for coming today. The Congressman is not from Maryland; he is from Ohio. But he is an important figure since he is the chairman of the House Education Committee which is marking up legislation which will help us spread excellence to the Head Start programs all across the country. I look forward to continuing to work with him. He also is one of the authors of what we call the No Child Left Behind Act, which I will talk about a little bit later. But the No Child Left Behind Act essentially says we expect every child to learn, and there is going to be high standards and strong accountability measures to every State in the Union. In return for increased Title I funding and in return for an increase in the Federal budget of elementary and secondary schools act money, we expect results. You see, we are not going to just spend money and hope something positive happens. We are going to spend money and see results. Well, if you believe in high standards and accountability, then it is really important to get the young kids up to the starting line at the same time. And that is why the Head Start reforms we are going to talk about are important, the reforms which John and his committee are carrying to the floor of the House relatively soon. I want to thank Nancy Grasmick, who is the State superintendent of schools in Maryland. I appreciate Andre Hornsby as the superintendent of schools, an even tougher job. Government closest to the people is sometimes government that is the hardest. And I want to thank Guylaine Richard, who is the program director for the Head Start. I appreciate, Guylaine, you opening up this chance for me to come and see a program which works. I want to thank Lori Ellis, the principal.


When we leave, she can take a deep breath and relax and say, Thank goodness the entourage has departed. I appreciate the-Tonya Riggins, who is the Highland Park Head Start Center coordinator. I want to thank Lisa Dunmore and Alice Williams, the two fine teachers we had to meet. For the teachers who are here, thank you for doing what you are doing. You are a part of a noble profession, an incredibly important profession for the future of this country. You know what I know, that reading is the key to all learning. And the research-I see some of my friends from the National Research Council, National Institutions of Child Health who are here. He understands how the brain works, and he is spent a lot of time analyzing what works and what does not work. He caught my attention when I was the Governor of Texas. I would ask him a question, Are you sure we can teach kids, you know, the so-called impossible-to-teach? He said, Sure, I know it. And so he started doing research to convince the people about the real future. And he says that-he and his fellow researchers-that preschoolers can learn much more than we ever thought possible about words and sounds. In other words, society limited how much a certain-how much a preschooler could learn. It kind of felt like certain things were impossible to-certain knowledge was impossible to impart to our children, particularly the young. And so I want to thank Reid and the good folks who are focusing on science, who have opened up a tremendous realm of possibility now to achieve that which we want, a literate America. Even the youngest child can learn that we read words and letters from left to right or that letters are associated with sounds; even the youngest of toddlers can figure that out over time. In one exercise, children clapped for each syllable in a word. They can trace letters on the page to begin to understand the movements we use to write. They can play word games and learn rhymes and songs that help them to develop their own vocabulary. That sounds like a simple curriculum, but it is research-based, all aimed at laying the foundation for children to become good readers. These are what we call the building blocks, and these building blocks need to be a part of Head Start programs all across America. Research also shows that if children do not develop these skills before they reach kindergarten, they will struggle to achieve success in their lives.

Remarks at Highland Park Elementary School in Landover, Maryland


Now, we need to listen to that kind of research in America. If the scientists come together and say, If we fail in our mission to give children the foundation necessary for reading, they will fall behind and may not be able to develop the skills necessary, so they have to struggle in life, we got a-this is an opportunity that we better not miss. We cannot let our children down. Now look, Head Start is a great opportunity to provide the foundation for reading. And first, I just want everybody to understand, Head Start does a good job of giving children nutrition and medical care. That has been primarily the focus, and the program needs to be applauded for meeting that goal. And nobody in this room wants Head Start to change that focus. We just want an additional focus to Head Start, and the Head Start focus is teaching the basics for reading and math. That is the new focus, along with health and nutrition. Even though most children in Head Start make some educational progress, most of them still leave the program with skills and knowledge levels that are far below what we expect. Now, in my line of work, if you see a problem, you address it. And I see that as a problem. If we are not meeting expectations, if we are not challenging the soft bigotry of low expectations, let us start right now in America. We want Head Start to set higher ambitions for the million children it serves. And so I laid out a plan. Every Head Start center must prepare children to succeed by teaching the basics of learning and literacy. That is the cornerstone of the plan. And every Head Start teacher must have the skills necessary to do so. And so we started last year when we launched the Strategic Teacher Education Program, STEP, to train 3,300 Head Start teachers and supervisors in the C.I.R.C.L.E. program, which is used right here at this school. In other words, it is a go-by. It is not a difficult chore for a teacher to take the basic learning from the C.I.R.C.L.E. program developed by the scientists and implement it at the Head Start program in which he or she teaches. Tonya Riggins, the assistant Head Start supervisor at Highland Park, was one of the teachers in the program. Tonya and thousands of other trained teachers went back to train other teachers at the program. So it is going to-we started with 3,300.


Those 3,300 went back to their local communities and talked to teachers with whom they teach how to teach a basic curriculum. It is a-and by the way, as new teachers are added, they too will be given the tools necessary to teach the program. Now, in order to make sure that the C.I.R.C.L.E. program is-and other curriculums which work-are being used, is working, I believe there needs to be an evaluation program. And after all, if we are spending a lot of taxpayers' money, which we are, it makes sense to determine whether or not these programs are, in fact, laying the foundation for reading. Now, I fully understand a 4-year-old child is not going to take a standardized test. That we would-we would be defeating the purpose of accountability before we even began if we said, Okay, we will give standardized tests to 4-year-olds. But we can have children assessed by asking simple questions. You know, words go left to right. Are you able to identify certain sounds? Are they developed by-developing the key skills necessary? And I think what needs to happen is- and I hope Congress agrees-that the simple evaluations at the beginning of the year and the end of the year will tell us whether or not progress is being made in developing a curriculum necessary to teach children how to read. And if they are, we ought to be praising the programs, and if they are not, something else ought to happen. We cannot miss the opportunity much longer in America. And so Boehner is here because his committee and the Congress is considering legislation that would put a new emphasis on language skills and literacy skills in Head Start programs. In other words, we are going to codify into law that which we have started through the teacher training program. The legislation will require Head Start providers to teach language, reading, and writing skills, as well as early math skills. In other words, it now becomes a part- when they pass the law that says the Head Start mission is further defined as an educational mission. And those programs that are used must be proven by scientific research. We are going to have high standards. We are going to trust the local people to develop the curriculum, but in return for Federal money, we want you to measure to tell us whether or not children are learning to read and write.


And that is a heavy lift for some communities, because there has not been a proper focus on the little children. And therefore, we are asking people to develop an accountability system without everybody being at the same starting position. And that is why it is so important for preschool programs to be focused on literacy, so that when the accountability systems kick in in Maryland or Texas or anybody else, we can truthfully say that every child has been given the tools necessary to be at the starting line at the same time, so that we have true accountability, true measurement. Now, there is Governors around the State, the country that have said, Look, give us the flexibility to be able to dovetail the Head Start program into our preschool programs so that all students-so we have a better control over whether or not the students are given the skills necessary so that when you hold us to account, we can achieve that which we want to achieve, which is excellence in the classroom. I appreciate the desire for flexibility. I support the Governors' desire for flexibility so long as, one, Federal monies going to the States are used only for Head Start. In other words, what we really do not want to do is say we are going to focus on Head Start; the Head Start money goes for, you know, a prison complex. I know that will not happen with Governor Ehrlich, but there needs to be a guarantee that the Federal money spent on Head Start only go to Head Start. Secondly, States and local governments must put money into the program, which would lock in the Head Start money for Head Start. So, in other words, the flexibility given to the State would not allow the States budget flexibility. It is management flexibility to be able to take the Head Start program, dovetail into the preschool program, then the kindergarten program, and then into the elementary school program. Governors ought to have that flexibility to-hope that Congress will provide that flexibility so that when the accountability systems kick in, fully kick in, that a Governor can truthfully say, Well, I have had the tools necessary to make sure the Head Start program fits into an overall comprehensive plan for literacy and math for every child in the State of Maryland, in Governor Ehrlich's case. It is-it seems like to me a fantastic opportunity for the country to make sure that the desires of this country are met, and that is, every child become a good reader.


Congresswoman Holt asked me how I knew all the names. I know a lot more about you all than you think I do. This morning I will be signing a proclamation to implement the terms of the registration act that the Congress recently passed. I would like to say at the beginning that this is a very wise decision that the Congress has made. And I would like to emphasize that the registration act-which has now been passed and will go into effect-is not to threaten war, but is to preserve peace. The action taken by our country and almost all other nations in the democratic world is designed to preserve peace. We are deeply concerned about the unwarranted and vicious invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union and occupation by them of this innocent and defenseless country, which is completely unwarranted. We have taken a series of steps-economic, diplomatic, political, military steps-in order to convince the Soviet Union that their action is ill advised and, of course, encouraging them to withdraw their troops from Afghanistan and also to prevent further aggression if they should be tempted to do so. All of the action we have taken is peaceful in nature, and we will stay committed to a peaceful resolution of disputes. The freedom-fighters in Afghanistan, who are striving for the liberation of their country, deserve the admiration of the entire world, and their courage and persistence in fighting for freedom is the greatest single deterrent to the Soviet aggression being successful. I would like to emphasize that the registration act is not a draft; I am not in favor of a peacetime draft. This registration act will do a great deal to marshal our own Nation's resistance to succumbing to temptation which might lead to war, and therefore lead to a mandatory draft. The only time that I envision a mandatory draft law being advocated to the Congress would be in time of war or in time of national emergency, and in a case of that kind, when our Nation's security is threatened, separate legal action would be required by Congress, a separate law, to initiate a draft under those circumstances. I might say that we will continue to rely on voluntary enlistment by the military forces to defend our country.

Remarks on Signing Proclamation 4771 on Registration Under the Military Selective Service Act


In those awful moments after the South Tower was hit, some of the injured huddled in the wreckage of the 78th floor. The air was filled with smoke. clear, calm, saying he had found the stairs. A young man in his twenties, strong, emerged from the smoke, and over his nose and his mouth, he wore a red handkerchief. He called for fire extinguishers to fight back the flames. He tended to the wounded. He led those survivors down the stairs to safety and carried a woman on his shoulders down 17 flights. And then, he went back, back up all those flights, then back down again, bringing more wounded to safety. Until that moment when the tower fell. They did not know his name. They did not know where he came from. But they knew their lives had been saved by the man in the red bandana. On behalf of Michelle and myself and the American people, it is an honor for us to join in your memories. Michelle and I just had the opportunity to join with others on a visit with some of the survivors and families, men and women who inspire us all. And we had a chance to visit some of the exhibits. for bringing us to this day, for giving us this sacred place of healing and of hope. Here, at this memorial, this museum, we come together. We stand in the footprints of two mighty towers, graced by the rush of eternal waters. We look into the faces of nearly 3,000 innocent souls, men and women and children of every race, every creed, from every corner of the world. a wedding ring, a dusty helmet, a shining badge. of coworkers who led others to safety; passengers who stormed a cockpit; our men and women in uniform who rushed into an inferno; our first responders who charged up those stairs; a generation of servicemembers our 9/11 generation who have served with honor in more than a decade of war. A nation that stands tall and united and unafraid, because no act of terror can match the strength or the character of our country. Like the great wall and bedrock that embrace us today, nothing can ever break us; nothing can change who we are as Americans. On that September morning, Alison Crowther lost her son Welles. Months later, she was reading the newspaper, an article about those final minutes in the towers. Survivors recounted how a young man wearing a red handkerchief had led them to safety. And in that moment, Alison knew.

Remarks at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum Dedication Ceremony in New York City


Let me just explain what Michael was talking about. There has been this hurricane down in Florida, and so we leave right from here to go down to Newark, take the plane, and head on down to look at that damage and express our concerns to the people there. A warm reception coming into town. I want to thank David Rifkin and especially the Mayor Thomas Hallihan. Let me also mention an old friend and a good man, Gary Franks, who is the Congressman here. I am so indebted to him. And another that you all know so well in this valley, John Rowland, he is a great man, and I want to see him do more. I was touched by the Reverend Father Weiss' invocation. And I want to ask today that we now take a little political look ahead to the fall. I will tell you something. I came out of that Houston convention, and the whole spirit around this country is different. I am determined to win this election, and I am determined to do it fair and square. If I had not been fired up when I walked in here, the Company, that great music, would have got it going, I will tell you. But anyway, we are looking ahead to a great classic that takes place this fall. I am not talking about Ansonia versus Derby -- -- I am talking about the November 3d contest. That does have a lot to do with the direction of this country and also the new century beyond. I heard my grandson speak at our convention, and I was so very proud of that young kid. It just reminded me on a very personal basis of what the Reverend Father was talking about and the job that lies ahead of us, to make life better for all. Now, we have witnessed, as I pointed out down there, a world of change from Managua to Moscow. Millions of men and women now turn towards freedom. They are celebrating a new birth of freedom. I believe people right here in the valley, many of whom came here from other countries, many of whose family came here, understand what I am talking about when I say this Nation can take pride in the freedom of others. Many right in this room, because of family, not just because of freedom and democracy, because of family, prayed for this day of freedom to come to Eastern Europe, to Russia, to the countries south of our border. We have witnessed this remarkable change, and this miracle has come true.

Remarks to the Chamber of Commerce in Ansonia, Connecticut


So now the challenge for this country is to bring that spirit home from Warsaw, Poland, to Warsaw Park and to focus this great Nation on the mission ahead. We have literally changed the world with the help of the taxpayer, Presidents that preceded me, fighting men and women that have served this great country with distinction. We have changed the world, and now we must change America for the better. Our challenge quite simply is to win the global economic challenge, to win the peace, be a military superpower, an economic superpower, an export superpower. In this election you are going to hear two very different visions of how to do this. Theirs is to turn inward and protect; and ours is to look outward and open new markets and prepare our people to compete, to restore social fabric, to save and invest. When I am talking about investment, I do not mean more taxpayer money going into Government investment. I mean more private investment, small business investment. I do not want to get too personal in this wonderful area that I understand has some wonderfully smart Democrats, because I need you guys in the fall. But let me say this, that my opponent has spent most of his adult life in government, and that is pretty much, I think, all he knows about. But his idea about creating jobs is to have Government jobs, public payroll jobs. And I come at things a different way. I spent, I computed it the other day, half of my adult life in government service, one kind or another, and half in the private sector. Long before I was in the public sector, I worked for a living out in the oilfields of west Texas, built a company, and did what many here has in small or larger operations, I met a payroll. I took risks, and I made it work. I happen to think having held a job is not a bad qualification even for ENTITY. Look, the world economy is changing, and we have got to be in the lead of that change. Think of the economic changes you have seen right here in Ansonia, from moving from that brass and copper age in the mills along the Naugatuck to the new corporate headquarters in the industrial parks across the valley. Right now one in every six American manufacturing jobs is tied directly to exports. That does not count the economic ripple effect created when those workers pay mortgages or buy a car or feed the kids.


Since '88, since 1988, three-fifths of the economic growth has come from people in other countries buying what we do best, the products we make right here in America. We are the best manufacturers in the world, and do not let anybody tell you, do not you let that gloomy opposition tell you we cannot compete or say that we are a nation in decline. As President, I am working now to create jobs, new markets, markets in Moscow, markets in Mexico City that mean new American jobs. I am convinced that the answer is not to build a wall around our economy, not to put the Government in charge but to use the Government to help you literally go back to work in this country. That is what I want to tell you, how I am going to do it. open markets for American products. lower Government spending and tax relief, not spend and tax; tax relief and less Federal Government spending. And the other one is opportunities for small business. We have got to do better getting the regulatory burden off the back of these mom-and-pop, these small operators. We are going to keep doing it until we get that job done. You know my feeling about too many lawsuits in this country. I have been fighting to change that, blocked by this gridlocked Congress. We sue each other too much. We care for each other too little. We have got to break the back of those that are breaking this country with these damn lawsuits. New schools -- and I know we have got some teachers here, and God bless them. But I will tell you something. We need new schools to back up these teachers, new ideas. Our whole program, America 2000, is a good program to literally revolutionize how we bring our kids into the next century. I might say, we have got to win this fight on narcotics. Teenage use of cocaine is down, but we have just begun to fight. We have got to win it, clean out these schoolyards. You know, a big difference is, a big one, I do believe that they are too big in Government and spend too much. Last week I offered an idea to get the deficit down. We will give you a special box -- I believe that people should have it -- a special box on that tax return to check so that up to 10 percent of your income tax can go for one purpose, and that is to reduce the budget deficit.


If Congress does not like it -- all these editorials that you read around here on some of these sophisticated journals do not like it -- but the Congress has failed to do it. So let us get the people a chance to check that box, and then we have to live with it. To help young people find that first job, a program we call the Youth Training Corps, to get inner-city kids off the mean streets and get them a second chance to build the skills they need to succeed. For older workers who have lost their job or worry that next pay envelope may have a pink slip, we have developed a new concept called skill grants, vouchers worth $3,000 to be used towards the training program of their choice. Our plan is based on empowering people to get the kind of training they want, not empowering the bureaucracies to hire more people. That is a very different approach than the approach the others are taking toward job training. The Governor of Arkansas says he is all for free enterprise. Then he proposes right out of the box the largest tax increase in history, much of it on the back of small business. I learned the hard way, holding out my hand to that gridlocked Congress, and they bit it off. Once you make one mistake you do not make it again. I am not going to go forward and go with this program of spending and taxes. We have literally proposed, and it is before Congress right now, eliminating over 200 programs and 4,000 projects. It is there; it is put down in detail. It is before this gridlocked Congress. We have got to do something about changing the Congress. If we had more people like Gary Franks, we would not have a gridlock problem. But the Congress has been controlled, they have been controlled by the same party for 38 years. Everything else has changed in the country; not the House of Representatives. Help me change the House. My opponent says he is for fiscal responsibility. He is against a balanced budget amendment. Says he is for a line-item veto, but the gridlocked Congress refuses to give it to ENTITY. I stand for something different. I want to see us cut that Federal spending with the help of a new Congress, get the taxes down so we can get the economy stimulated and let people keep a little more of what they earn. It is a big philosophical difference between the Bush-Quayle ticket on the one hand and Clinton-Gore on the other.


Now, in this campaign, we have got to call it as we see it. We have got two different, fundamentally different approaches. I believe in the Government. Government, Government, of the Government, by the Government, for the Government . We are fighting against that because we happen to believe still that the power should flow from the people, so it is of the people, by the people, and for the people. Really, what is at stake here is the future of this country. We are in choppy waters. I heard the Reverend. I know it. People that are hurting and cannot find jobs when they need it. on the defense spending. I have cut defense, but we are not going to cut into the muscle of the defense. The other side wants to take $60 billion more than Colin Powell and Cheney tell me is the right level. We still have a tough world out there. While you are thinking about it, we do not needlessly need to throw another million defense workers out of work by cutting back on defense below the levels needed for national security. Let me just tell you, I wish Barbara Bush were here. This would be great for her morale. This would be great for her spirits. But I will tell you something. I want to be serious about this one point. When I drove in here today -- and I have been here as some of you know many, many times. My dad was a Senator from this State, and we grew up down the way. When I came in here this morning, a lot of the people out there were waving. I am sure they were not for me. They were there because I am privileged to be the President of the United States of America. But you sense something else out there along the highway. You sense this community feeling and this feeling of family. I want to tell you something. The cynics, the liberal theoreticians, they can ridicule me all they want when I talk about family values. But this one transcends Democrat. It transcends Republican. It gets to the heart of what our community is about. The community has been diminished by the decimation and sometimes the decline of the American family. I saw it today, that family spirit is still strong.


It is a pleasure to be here today at the first Italian-American Conference on Private Sector Initiatives. Yesterday we concluded this year's economic summit. I looked around that table at the leaders of some of the world's great democracies, and I could not help thinking how precious our common heritage is. It was a great Italian who said, the natural rights of personality, family, and society exist before the state. Those words, spoken by an Italian, are as American as the Declaration of Independence-for that matter, as British as the Common Law and as French as the writings of Montesquieu. They could be called the common credo of every democratic nation across the Earth. Yet if freedom, democracy, and the rights of man are to be preserved through the ages, free men and women must accept the responsibilities that go with their freedoms. And this is why I wanted to take some time out after the summit to meet with you, because as business men and women, as citizens, you have been leaders in taking up the responsibilities of liberty. Again and again, over the years, all of you have volunteered yourselves and your corporations to causes that have helped make life better for the people of both Italy and America and of people all over the world. When you have seen a need to be filled, a job to be done, you have not waited for government to lead the way; you have set out and got the work done yourselves. And let me say that we can see all around us testimony to the strength here in Italy of voluntarism and of private giving, of what we in America sometimes call private sector initiatives. It was a private sector initiative by Fiat that restored this magnificent building, the Palazzo Grassi. And just down the Grand Canal are the noble horses of St. Mark's Basilica, which through an initiative by Olivetti have toured the world, showing something of the beauty of Venice to many who will not have the opportunity to come to this great city. Yes, in country after country, private sector initiatives are teaching children, caring for the sick, helping the poor build better lives for themselves, and searching for ways to cure disease. Whether people are in sickness, sorrow, or in need, private sector initiatives have been created to answer the call. Last November in Paris, at the International Conference on Private Sector Initiatives, men and women from seven nations showed that yours is an international movement. Yesterday in Milan you continued the work you began in Paris with a new exchange of ideas.

Remarks at the Italian-American Conference on Private Sector Initiatives in Venice, Italy


In the meantime, of course, I have been meeting here in Venice with the leaders of the six leading industrial democracies. We have held productive discussions on subjects ranging from East-West relations to terrorism to economic policy and free trade. These meetings are important, and they have received, as they should, a great deal of attention from the press. And yet I cannot help thinking that any true history of our times will show that your work, and that of millions of free men and women all around the world, has done as much to build the future of our civilization as have all the statesmen in all the summits over the years. History has shown that governments alone cannot possibly meet the challenges of a growing world. I believe that private sector initiatives will provide many solutions to the challenges of the 21st century. They are already giving us lasting symbols of the friendships between democratic peoples and countries on which European and American peace and prosperity have been built over the last 40 years. In this regard, I am pleased to commend the National Italian-American Foundation for their efforts in restoring a magnificent garden here in Venice. This Italian-American Friendship Garden will be a lasting reminder of this meeting in Venice. And Jim Robinson has just announced another step in Italian-American friendship. This innovative program will contribute to the restoration of other Italian national treasures. It is a fine example of private sector initiatives at work. I want to thank all those involved in these projects as well as the members of my board of advisors on private sector initiatives and their Italian counterparts, who have made this conference possible. By shouldering the responsibilities of freedom, you are helping to preserve freedom, to preserve this great hope for all mankind that our countries represent. And the voices that thank you come not just from Italy and America, not just from Europe, but from throughout the world. And Frank, I have to tell you, in giving me this honor, which you have just given me, kind of makes things all right for the industry that I once was in, the motion picture industry. We had an actor there who was only being an actor in Hollywood long enough to get the money to come to Italy, because he aspired to an operatic career. And he went to Milan, and he studied. And then he was asked to sing in Pagliacci, the very spiritual fountainhead of opera. And he did an aria, and he received such thunderous and sustained applause that he had to repeat the aria as an encore.


And again the same sustained, thunderous applause, and again he sang Vesti la Giubba. And this went on until finally he motioned for quiet, and he tried to tell them how full his heart was for this reception. But, he said, I have sung 'Vesti la Giubba' now nine times. My voice is gone; I cannot do it again. And a voice from the balcony said, You will do it until you get it right. You know, all that we talked about, I just have to tell you one last little incident here that is really true of what brings us together here-private initiative. I am sure that our people have told you that there in Washington now, we have in the computers some 3,000 programs where some little hamlet or village or town has found a problem and a way to solve it themselves. And we keep this, because then when inquiries come from people that say what could we do about it, we go to the computers and are able to tell them how a program was set up privately by the people and made to work. A little town in Texas had something for several years called Christmas in April. All year long the people of that town kept track and watched for homes of elderly people or homes of people that were handicapped or very poor; and if there were things like leaking roofs and plumbing that did not work and so forth, they made a list during all the year. And then on April 1st the merchants that dealt in the products they needed-building materials and paint and so forth-would donate. But citizens of every calling, as volunteers, would show up on that April 1st, knock on the door, and say we are here to put a new roof on your house or paint your house or fix the plumbing or do what has to be done. That went on in that little town in Texas. Well, a couple of years ago, I was amazed to see some people that did not look like ordinary workmen in Washington, DC, nailing shingles on a roof and others painting a porch and so forth. I recognized a couple of judges among them. Believe it or not, Washington, DC, had discovered from that little town in Texas private initiative, and now had Christmas in April for the people, the poor that might be there in the Capital.


This is what they call a cameo appearance. I am here very briefly before rushing off to the Hilton Hotel, but I just cannot tell you how pleased I am to be with you. I told Abe Foxman here, Why, we are practically going steady! Because he was down here just last -- was it Thursday of last week with the head of a lot of these most prominent organizations. And I am delighted to be here with all of you today. I do not want to speak too long because Bobbie Kilberg, I think, is next, and she will kill me. But I might say she is doing an outstanding job -- a friend of longstanding and now in an outreach capacity here, high level at the White House, and performing with the expertise that we have come to expect of her. I understand that Secretary Kemp is coming, or maybe -- has he been, or coming over -- and Dick Thornburgh, I think, and our Chief of Staff. So, you will have a full program. I look at these briefing sessions as a two-way street. I hope that you will have a chance to exchange views, get questions and answers with some -- but in any event, an opinion at a forum for sharing of information and ideas. Certainly, the meeting that we had with Abe and those from the organization of presidents was that kind of meeting. And as I look around the room, I see many familiar faces and am delighted to be here. For three quarters of a century, the Anti-Defamation League has played a central role in preserving and protecting that sacred right of religious freedom. And there is no single greater contribution that one organization can make to the Nation, and for that you have earned our gratitude, certainly my respect. From the time the pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock, the principle of religious freedom and the notion of America as a haven for those who seek to exercise that freedom has been deeply rooted in the American heritage. And our national conscience must take note whenever that freedom is violated, and all Americans then must rush in to the defense of that freedom. As one of our forefathers wrote nearly 200 years ago, the Government of the United States gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance. May the children of the stock of Abraham sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree, and there should be none to make him afraid. I know that the ADL recently issued its annual report, detailing rising incidents of anti-Semitism in 1988.

Remarks to Members of the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith


And I want to come over here to tell you that we must condemn all attacks on the Jewish religion, the Jewish heritage -- clearly, unequivocally, and without exception. This Nation must stand for tolerance, for pluralism, and a healthy respect for the rights of all minorities. And I know many of you, and we have worked together in various common causes many times over the years, and I hope you know how deeply I cherish the principle of religious freedom. And I know how hard you have fought not only for your own beliefs but to protect the principle that recognizes the rights of all men and women to worship as they believe right. So, we must continue to work together as we have in the past to zealously protect these rights for all Americans. Rest assured that my administration will work to uphold this principle as the very cornerstone of our freedom. And sometimes they question the power of the President, and I understand that. But they should never question the President's willingness to use the bully pulpit of the White House, as Teddy Roosevelt called it, to speak out for what is just and right. I have concentrated today here on just these brief remarks on antidiscrimination or other subjects of enormous concern. I wish you could have been there yesterday in the Oval Office to hear a representative of the Ethiopian Jews, a man who is living in Israel now, make this plea from the heart to continue the flow of the people there who are still not able to join their families in Israel. We had a fascinating meeting with Mr. Arens yesterday where I reassured him of the United States commitment to Israel as a strategic ally and, of course, a lasting friend. And I think he understands that. I hope that when the Prime Minister of Israel comes here that we can move forward in some way toward the peace that everybody here really hopes that Israel and its neighbors will achieve. Thank you for letting me drop in in this cameo appearance. And keep up your commitment, keep up that commitment to fight against bigotry wherever it may surface.


Well, it is good once again to be with my friend, Prime Minister Abe, and the Japanese delegation. We have been able to forge, I think, an excellent relationship on a whole host of issues and this gives us an opportunity to continue to discuss both our security cooperation and our economic cooperation. The United States-Japanese alliance is one of the linchpins of our security as well as Japan's, and this gives us an opportunity to continue to deepen that relationship, building off the discussions we have had in Washington. It includes the realignment in Okinawa. I want to congratulate Prime Minister Abe on his recent legislation related to bolstering Japanese defense capabilities, and it will give us a chance to talk about a wide range of threats, both regionally and internationally. I also want to express my appreciation for the hard work that Shinzo has been involved with in building up stronger regional understandings. The trilateral meetings that have been taking place between Japan, China, and South Korea I think are especially important. And Shinzo and I both share an interest in continuing to foster rule of law, supporting international norms in areas like navigation-freedom of navigation and maritime law. And again, this bilateral gives us an opportunity to examine how we can work with some of the regional organizations like ASEAN in order to continue to maintain the stability and-that has been the hallmark of this region and has allowed for extraordinary prosperity and growth. And finally, we will be discussing a wide range of economic issues coming out of our meeting at the G-20. Both of us are interested in ratifying and implementing the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which has been a major topic of conversation here at APEC and the G-20. There is a recognition that these kinds of high-standard rules that provide enforceable protections for labor and the environment are the wave of the future and could not have been done without Shinzo's leadership. We will also be talking about the climate change conference in Paris, and the importance of all of us working together in order to achieve a strong agreement that can protect the planet for future generations. So I want to say that on every issue that is of great importance to the United States of America, we have got a great partner in Japan and we very much appreciate it.

Remarks Prior to a Meeting With Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan in Manila, Philippines


I am very grateful to all of you for your kind words and for this magnificent gift. We will have a conflict in registration, because we no longer use the branding iron in our country except as ornaments or in our museums. But we now write the numbers on the horns of our cattle instead of placing the brand on their hip. I have collected some of the irons dating back to my grandfather's day, when he used to drive the cattle up the trail from Johnson City to Abilene. I do not think there was any particular significance to that in those days. But it is interesting that they went from Johnson City to Abilene and I now go out to Walter Reed to see the gentleman from Abilene a good deal. There is a great deal of iron beneath the gold of your gift and I find that symbolic of the purpose that we all share. All across this Nation of ours, there are people good people, prudent people, patriotic people-who know what it means to work and to save and to get ahead. Those people buy savings bonds and Freedom Shares. They hold on to them, because they know it is good for them and good for their country. For 27 years now, we have seen the people's prosperity and the savings bonds program grow hand in hand. So as we meet here this morning, we see a remarkable total of more than $52 billion outstanding that is owned by millions of Americans in all walks of life. Now, I do have a personal problem. I made a commitment to myself to buy a savings bond every month as long as I could, for my grandson. And I am going to have to make another commitment. That is going to involve some problems, because I am going to be out of a job on January 20. I will be out of a job, but I will have another commitment. So I may have to go see Secretary Fowler, who handled monetary problems so well for me, to get his help and judgment on how I can keep up my commitments. But I am going to keep them up, because I believe that you business and labor leaders and 'professional men who have made your own commitments are delivering a great service for this country. We ask some 4 1/2 million people to serve us in the Defense Establishment of this Nation, to give their all and a good many of them give their lives.

The President's Remarks Upon Accepting an Award for His Efforts in Furthering the Savings Bond Program


I want to express our very warm appreciation to you for your presence here today. First, I would like to express our thanks to the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra, who are giving up their summer by spending their tour in Mexico. Those kinds of sacrifices should be appreciated. We want to thank you very much. First, I want to say that I have been speaking through some extraordinary, in fact, both my wife and myself have been speaking through some very gifted interpreters in the last 24 hours to the people of this city and country, and we want to express ourselves more directly to them. After some debate and protest, it was decided that I would not make the speech in Spanish, but, instead, that Mrs. Kennedy would say a few words in behalf of both of us. Ladies and gentlemen, if anyone wishes that speech to be translated, they should call Ambassador Mann on the phone on Monday morning, and he will give the whole thing. I want to express our very warm thanks to all of you and through you to the people of Mexico. I had not realized how radical was the Mexican Revolution until I heard its slogan, which was Universal Suffrage, No Re-election. We have a good deal in common, but I am glad to say not everything. I also realize that there are many who feel that state visits are really in a sense parades, and the people are there, and the noise, and the parade passes, and then there is wind and dust and confetti, and days go on as they were before. This visit, it seems to me, has had three very definite results. In the first place, it has given me a chance to meet your distinguished President, and, therefore, in the future, on those matters which concern our countries-and there must be many, because we have great interests in common, and we have a common concern for the welfare of this hemisphere--it will be so much easier for us to work together for the common cause. And, therefore, for that reason alone this visit has been most rewarding to us in the United States, and I hope to Mexico.

Remarks at a Luncheon Given in Honor of President Lopez Mateos


Cahill, I thank you and all those who are responsible for this great honor. And I want to say that I happen to know that there is one among us here who has known, also, today, the same joy and even greater, if possible, than I could feel. And that is Dr. Cahill, himself, who this morning was presented by Cardinal Cooke, on behalf of the Pope, the Grand Cross Pro Merito Melitensi. He is the first American to ever receive this award. Your Eminence, the other clergy here at the head table, the other distinguished guests, and one in particular that I might pick out and mention, Teddy Gleason of the International Longshoremen's Association. And I mention him because on Sunday he is going to celebrate the 42d anniversary of his 39th birthday. Teddy, I have found that for some time, that makes it much easier to greet each one of these annual occasions. But I do thank you very much. You know, there is the legend in Ireland of the happy colleen of Ballisodare who lived gaily among the wee people, the tiny people, for 7 years, and then when she came home discovered that she had no toes. She had danced them off. I feel happy enough-when I get home tonight I am going to count mine. She sent her warm regards and her regrets. Unfortunately, on the last trip into town she picked up the bug. Now, I am happy to say that is not a situation for me, like the two sons of Ireland, who were in the pub one evening and one asked the other about his wife. And the other one says, Oh, I am sorry to hear that. A writer for the Irish press who was based in Washington, a correspondent for the press there, stated to me the other day or stated the other day about me-that I have only recently developed a pride in my Irish heritage or background, and that up till now I have had an apathy about it. Well, let me correct the record. I have been troubled until fairly recently about a lack of knowledge about my father's history. My father was orphaned at age 6. He knew very little about his family history. And so I grew up knowing nothing more beyond him than an old photograph, a single photo that he had of his mother and father, and no knowledge of that family history. But somehow, a funny thing happened to me on the way to Washington.

Remarks in New York, New York, at the 84th Annual Dinner of the Irish American Historical Society


When I changed my line of work about a year ago, it seemed that I became of a certain interest to people in Ireland, who very kindly began to fill me in. And so I have learned that my great grandfather took off from the village of Ballyporeen in County Tipperary to come to America. And that is not the limit to all that I have learned about that. Some years ago, when I was just beginning in Hollywood in the motion picture business, I had been sentenced for the few years I'd been there to movies that the studio did not want good, it wanted them Thursday. And then came that opportunity that every actor asks for or hopes for, and that was a picture that was going to be made and the biography of the late Knute Rockne, the great immortal coach of Notre Dame. Pat O'Brien was to play Rockne. And there was a part in there that from my own experience as a sports announcer I had long dreamed of, the part of George Gip. And generously, Pat O'Brien, who was then a star at the studio, held out his hand to a young aspiring actor, and I played Gip. Pat playing Rockne, he himself will say, was the high point of his theatrical career. My playing The Gip opened the door to stardom and a better kind of picture. I have been asked at times, What is it like to see yourself in the old movies, the reruns on TV? It is like looking at a son you never knew you had. But I found out in learning about my own heritage, going back to Ballyporeen that, believe it or not, what a small world it is, Pat O'Brien's family came from Ballyporeen. An historian has informed me that our family was one of the four tribes of Tara, and that from the year 200 until about 900 A.D., they defended the only pass through the Slieve Bloom Mountains. They held it for all those centuries and adopted the motto, The Hills Forever. The Hill Forever. I do remember my father telling me once when I was a boy, and with great pride he said to me, The Irish are the only people in the country, in America, that built the jails and then filled them.


I was a little perturbed even then, at that tender age, because at the sound of pride in his voice and from the way I'd been raised, I could not quite understand why that was something to be proud of, until I then later learned, which he had never explained to me, that he was referring to the fact that the overwhelming majority of men wearing the blue of the police department in America were of Irish descent. You know, those were not the only jobs that were open to the Irish. Back in the high day of vaudeville, long before sound pictures drove it out, there were, very popular in this country, comedians who would reach great stardom in vaudeville with a broad German accent. German comedians coming on Ach und Himmel Sic der. What is little known in show business is that almost without exception, they were Irish. I was on a mission to England for our government some 10 years ago. I should say to Europe, to several countries, and finally wound up and the last country was Ireland. On the last day in Ireland, I was taken to Cashel Rock. I did not know at that time that it is only 25 miles from Ballyporeen. But I do know that the young Irish guide who was showing us around the ruins of the ancient cathedral, there on the rock, finally took us to the little cemetery. We walked with great interest and looked at those ancient tombstones and the inscriptions. Remember me as you pass by, for as you are, so once was I. But as I am, you too will be, so be content to follow me. To follow you I am content, I wish I knew which way you went. But the Irish, like many, a great many of the people and like my grandfather, great-grandfather, were driven to the New World by famine and by tragedies of other kinds. The Irish they built the railroads, they opened the West wearing the blue and gold of the United States Cavalry. And it goes all the way back in our history. George Washington said, When our friendless standard was first unfurled, who were the strangers who first mustered around our staff?. And when it reeled in the fight, who more brilliantly sustained it than Erin's generous sons?


And a century and a half later, who else than George M. Cohan would write of the Grand Old Flag, the Stars and Stripes, and Yankee Doodle Dandy with the line, I am a real live nephew of my Uncle Sam. There must have been a Divine plan that brought to this blessed land people from every corner of the Earth. And here, those people kept their love for the land of their origin at the same time that they pledged their love and loyalty to this new land, this great melting pot. They worked for it, they fought for it and, yes, they died for it and none more bravely than Erin's generous sons. Tragedy, as I have said, very often was the impetus that sent many to America. The Cardinal prayed and His Holiness, the Pope, plead for peace when he visited Ireland. I think we all should pray that responsible leaders on both sides and the governments of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland can bring peace to that beautiful Isle once again. And once again, we can join John Locke in saying, O Ireland, is not it grand you look Like a bride in her rich adornment? And with all the pent-up love in my heart, I bid you top o' the mornin'! No, I have no apathy, no feeling at all, I am just so grateful that among the other things that happened when I was allowed to move into public housing I had a chance, finally, to learn of the very rich heritage that my father had left me. And I can only say once again, with heartfelt thanks, I wear this and take it home with a feeling of great honor, and say something that I know to all of you is as familiar as top o' the mornin' or anything else. May the road rise beneath your feet, the sun shine warm upon your face, and the wind be always at your back, and may God, until we meet again, hold you in the hollow of his hand.


Every time I stand next to them I look like a little kid. I want to thank three people who are just extraordinarily important to the project of rebuilding our country and have just been great friends of mine, great friends of the Democratic Party--you already heard from one--please give it up for Governor Tim Kaine; our DNC finance chair, Jane Stetson, who is racking up a lot of frequent flier miles; and Andy Tobias, our DNC treasurer--hey, Andy. It is great to see all of you here tonight, wonderful to see so many good friends, many of you who were there from the beginning of this campaign. And I want you to all know that I appreciate everything that you have done, not just for the campaign, but also what you have done for the country and what you have done for the party. Many of you were invested in this campaign at the very beginning when nobody could pronounce my name. And you'd tell your friends, There is this young guy, I really think he is got something. So you had to confront a lot of skepticism, a lot of confusion. Some of you were involved in a campaign for the first time, and some of you got involved for the very first time in a very long time, because you believed that we were in a defining moment in our history and that your voice could make a difference. Not a single day goes by where I do not think about all the time and the energy, the money, the commitment, the unyielding faith that you put into our campaign, because it was not just about winning an election, it was about changing a country. Last year, we asked you to take on something new. We asked you to help us keep the promises that we made in the campaign, help to bring about the changes that we had talked about together. And a lot of you have worked hard to do that. You have continued to be engaged in education policy, in foreign policy, and helping us at a grassroots level and continuing to finance our ability to get our message out. It is made the successes of the last year possible. We upheld the principle of equal pay for equal work. We lifted the ban on stem cell research and restored science to its rightful place in America. We provided health care to 4 million children who now have it who did not have it before. We passed the strongest veterans budget in decades.

Remarks at a Democratic National Committee Fundraiser


We protected families from getting ripped off by credit card companies and children from being targeted by big tobacco, and helped consumers deal with the twin plagues of mortgage fraud and predatory lending. We appointed Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. We passed a service bill named for Ted Kennedy that is giving young and old a chance to serve their country and their communities. We are working with Congress to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are. Oh, by the way, and in the meantime, we prevented the worst financial crisis from getting even worse, turned the economy from contraction to expansion, made the largest investment in clean energy in history, the largest investment in education in decades, expanded the Pell grant program, dealt with a H1N1 virus on the side. That is what your support has helped us do at home. Abroad, we have begun a new era of engagement. We are working with our partners to stop the spread of nuclear weapons, seeking a world free of them. We are working with other nations to confront climate change. We are now a leader and not a follower in that critical mission. We banned torture. We are rebuilding our military. We are reaffirming our alliances. We have begun to leave Iraq to its own people, as I committed to doing in the campaign. And we have charted a new way forward in Afghanistan and Pakistan. We are making progress every single day in taking the fight to Al Qaida and across the globe. And I went to Cairo on behalf of the American people to begin a new dialogue with the Muslim world. We are living up to our obligations as a wealthy nation, helping to promote food security around the world, helping to deal with diseases around the world. We are living up to a moment that demands American leadership by standing with the people of Haiti as we speak. So in ways large and small, we have begun to deliver on the change that we talked about, the change that you believed in and that you campaigned hard for. We have got a lot more work to do. As I said, the day we took office, we confronted a financial system on the verge of collapse; we were losing 700,000 jobs per month; a $1.3 trillion deficit; two wars that frankly had not been paid for and were costly in every sense of the word.


A lot of the solutions we proposed, the decisions we took, they were not quick, they were not easy, and they were not popular. But we decided we were going to go govern, we were going to put politicking on hold to get this country out of the mess it was in. I mentioned this to a group I spoke to earlier. You know, pundits act surprised about the fact that we spent so much political capital. Well, you know, I did not get elected to play it safe. And I did not govern, and I do not govern, by checking the polls every few days. I know that is the habit in Washington, but that is not the obligation I owe the American people, that is not the promise I made to you. And because we took bold and swift and coordinated action, we can stand here today and say we averted another depression. We broke the back of the recession. So the worst of the storm has passed. But, as all of you know, the devastation remains. We have got 10 percent unemployment. Many of you watching at home, as you go around the country and your individual communities, you see the stores shuttered and the foreclosed businesses; friends and neighbors, family members who still cannot find work. This is on top of a decade that had been tough for middle class families all across the country. They had not seen their incomes go up in years. Their costs skyrocketing at the same time as their wages were stagnant. For 2 years, I heard stories all across the country, everywhere I go. I heard stories about people trying their best to hold on; a family sitting around the kitchen table wondering if they were going to be able to retire on schedule, if they were going to be able to finance a college education for their kids, wondering when would health care costs stop climbing, when would their premiums start stabilizing. And people started expressing doubts about whether the dream that generations built and defended, the American Dream, was slipping away. That is the reason I ran for ENTITY. That is the reason you supported me. And that is why we are going to continue to do everything we can to create an economy that has not just recovered back to the status quo, but an economy where hard work is valued and responsibility is rewarded, and where businesses are hiring and wages are rising, and where our middle class is getting stronger and more secure. But we have got to do more.


So we are going to give tax breaks and loans to small businesses to help them hire new workers and raise their wages and invest in new plants and equipment. We are going to put even more Americans to work on clean energy facilities and upgrading our infrastructure to meet the challenges of the 21st century. We are going to create incentives for consumers to make their homes more energy efficient, creating jobs and saving families money. And we are going to look at our Tax Code, because it is time we ended practices like giving tax breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas instead of investing in companies that are creating jobs right here in the United States of America. But the truth is, these steps alone will not make up for 7 million jobs that have been lost over the last 2 years. They are not going to, alone, provide the economic security that is been dwindling for middle class families over the last decade. The only way we do that is to lay a strong foundation for growth over the long term. And the things that we talked about during the campaign are the things that still need to be done. They have been put off by Washington for too long. Change is easy if you are just talking about tinkering around the edges. Change is harder when you actually dig in and try to deal with the structural problems that have impeded our progress for too long. This is where we run headlong into the lobbyists and the special interests and the bitterness and misinformation that characterizes so much of our politics, which means that some of you may be feeling discouraged, because it feels like things have taken longer than you might have expected. I knew this was going to take a long time, but I knew the fight was worth it. And we have got to keep up on this fight. The forces of the status quo, they may not give an inch, but I do not give an inch either. And you should not give an inch either. We did not come this far to put things off, or to play it safe, or to take the easy road. We came here to solve problems for the next generation, not for the next election. That means opening up this Government to the people. That is why we post all our visitors online. That is why we have excluded lobbyists from policymaking jobs and seats on boards and commissions. That is why I have called on Congress to put their earmarks online so everybody can see what is going on. That is part of the change that we promised.


We have got to change the tone of Government and politics here in Washington and all across America. I am not going to give up on that either. You know, the American people are right to be frustrated about a Washington where every day is election day and the basic theory is, If you lose, I win, where we are not measuring success by what we are doing for the American people, but how we look in the latest Gallup. That is why I went to the House Republican caucus the other day. We had a good discussion-- --about the challenges that are facing the American people, our ideas to solve them. That was good for the country. It is good for our democracy. I had fun. Now, there are some issues that Democrats and Republicans are not going to agree on, and that is okay. We are going to tussle from time to time. There may be some issues that we do agree on, or at least we say we agree on. So I told my Republican friends I want to work together with them where I can, and I meant it, because I do not want to just score political points. I have got time to campaign down the road. In the meantime, there is a lot of work that we have got to get done together. And I told them I will also call them out if they say they want to work on something and then when I offer a hand I get nothing in return. The American people have to understand that. The old playbook of just blocking everything, I understand that is easier than actually doing something, and sometimes it may be more politically effective, but that is not what is going to move our country forward. That is why you joined our campaign. That is what you have helped deliver over the last year. That is why I need your help now. That is why Tim and everybody in the party needs your help now, because you know as well as anyone that change does not come without a fight. We have got some fights to wage. We have got some fights to make sure that we are sparking innovation and igniting a clean energy sector where American workers are making solar panels and wind turbines and cutting-edge batteries for the new plug-in hybrid that leads on clean energy, because the economy that leads on clean energy, I believe, is going to lead the global economy. We are going to keep fighting to make sure that America has the best education possible for every child.


And we are going to reward success through our Race to the Top program. We want every child to meet their potential, and that is why we are going to make sure that young people all across America can afford college without going broke. We can do that. And we could do it this year. We are going to keep fighting for commonsense rules of the road for Wall Street. And I want to be clear--there is a lot of talk about Wall Street, Main Street--we need a financial sector that works. We need businesses that are thriving, and they have got to raise capital; that will help them hire workers. That is part of what this crisis has reminded us. But we have got to ensure that our economy is not brought to its knees by outdated and antiquated financial rules and the irresponsibility of a few. And that is why I expect Democrats and Republicans to want to make sure that we do not find ourselves in this same situation again. That is why we have to have financial regulatory reform. And yes, that is why we are going to fix the health care system, a health care system that too often works for insurance companies better than it does for individual Americans. And again, I did not take this on because it was easy. I got David Axelrod; he does all the polls. He whispers in my ear, Man, this health care thing is hard. I am a amateur historian, so I know that seven ENTITYs, starting with Teddy Roosevelt, could not get this done. But I took it on not for its political value; I took it on because families are dealing with skyrocketing premiums and skyrocketing out-of-pocket costs and insurance companies that routinely deny coverage because of preexisting conditions, or drop people altogether when they get sick. We took it on because the costs were killing small businesses and creating an uneven playing field for our international companies, and it was eating into workers' take-home pay and canceling raises. And we took it on because it is the single best way--in fact, the only way--that we are actually going to get control of our Federal budget. So when I hear deficit hawks --quote, unquote--out there who say they want to control the Federal budget and are not willing to do a darn thing about the skyrocketing costs of health care, I get a sense they are not entirely on the level.


Because our proposal for health care reform, according to the Congressional Budget Office, would bring it down by $1 trillion over the next two decades. And even in Washington that is a lot of money. I took it on because every single day, 15,000 Americans join the tens of millions who do not have health insurance, and 18 million--18,000 Americans die because of the lack of health insurance. That is what we campaigned on. That is what we are working to get it done, with Democrats and with Independents and with Republicans. We want to bring down costs and end the worst insurance practices and finally give every American a chance to have the security of quality, affordable health care. I am not going to walk away from those fights, and I do not expect you will either. I mean, the odds were a lot less that I'd ever be standing here than they are that we can solve some of these big problems. I mean, think about it. Tim was--when Tim endorsed me in Richmond, first endorsement I got outside of Illinois of any elected official--here he is, newly minted Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia--there was one thing that was clear, and that is he was term limited. But do not you guys--you remember this. Nobody gave us a chance. You know, the same folks who are now writing about what next, and what is happened to the Obama, these are the same folks who were writing about how he does not stand a chance; how after New Hampshire, that was it; after Pennsylvania, that was it, right? We went through this. And they were saying your faith was misplaced and that you have set your sights too high and your hope is naive and Washington will not change. And now all of them are feeling like, See, we told you, Washington does not change. And they are feeling kind of self-satisfied about the fact that we have not yet gotten health care done. Well, let me tell you something. You did not listen to those voices then. You proved that nothing can stop the power of millions of people who want to see an America that is living up to its values and its ideals. That is what you did. And that is what I am asking you to do again. I want to remind you, we do not quit.


Over the last few weeks, I have been talking a lot about America's economic future. I have told you how I believe we should go about creating strong, sustained growth; how we should pay down our long-term debt in a balanced way; and most of all, what we should do right now to create good, middle class jobs so people who work hard can get ahead. I have said that this is the defining issue of our time, and I mean it. I have said that this is a make-or-break moment for the middle class, and I believe it. The decisions we make over the next few years will have an enormous impact on the country we live in, and the one we pass on to our children. Right now we are still fighting our way back from the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Our businesses have created 4.3 million new jobs over the last 27 months, but we are not creating them fast enough. And we are facing some pretty serious headwinds, the effects of the recent spike in gas prices to the financial crisis in Europe. We have the answers to these problems. We have plenty of big ideas and technical solutions from both sides of the aisle. That is not what is holding us back. What is holding us back is a stalemate in Washington. Last September, I sent Congress a jobs bill full of the kinds of bipartisan ideas that could have put over a million Americans back to work and helped bolster our economy against outside shocks. I sent them a plan that would have reduced our deficit by $4 trillion in a balanced way that pays for the investments we need by cutting unnecessary spending and by asking the wealthiest Americans to pay a little bit more in taxes. Since then, Congress has passed a few parts of that jobs bill, like a tax cut that is allowing working Americans to keep more of your paycheck every week. But on most of the ideas that would create jobs and grow our economy, Republicans in Congress have not lifted a finger. They'd rather wait until after the election in November. Just this past week, one of them said, Why not wait for the reinforcements? That is a quote, and you can bet plenty of his colleagues are thinking the same thing. This is not about who wins or loses in Washington. This is about your jobs and your paychecks and your children's future. There is no excuse for Congress to stand by and do nothing while so many families are struggling, no reason whatsoever.

The President's Weekly Address


I WANT to express my appreciation to all of you for your kind welcome, and also to take this occasion to express my great appreciation-and I think the appreciation of us all--to Senator Jackson who assumed the chairmanship of the Democratic Party at the Convention, who was greatly responsible for our success in November and has been an invaluable aid during the transition. Whatever has been done that is useful in the party in the last 5 or 6 months he has played a great part in it. And I feel that the party has served a most useful national purpose--and while Senator Jackson is obligated to serve the people of Washington in the Senate, I know that we can continue to count on him in the days to come for counsel and advice and support. So I hope we will all stand and give a good cheer to Scoop Jackson. Scoop automatically loses his share of the $4-million debt--we are not going to let him in on it. John Bailey has become the proprietor, along with Mac, of this enterprise. I think we are particularly fortunate to have John Bailey. I heard Governor Lawrence in his seconding speech say the trouble with everything is that they do not know enough of what is going on here in Washington; they ought to get out in the field. I agree with him completely. We have got a man from the field who knows what is wrong here in Washington, and I am delighted that John Bailey is going to take over this job. He is more popular today than he will be any time again in his life. I will feel that he is doing a good job when you all say, Well, Kennedy is all right, but Bailey is the one who is really making the mistakes. That is the way it was in Connecticut. So that is what he is going to do down here. But I am delighted that he is going to do it. It is a sacrifice for him. But I think we are getting the services of someone who works in the party year in and year out, understands what the party can do, understands what the role of the Chairman is-and I must say that I am delighted to see him assuming the position vacated by Senator Jackson. Lastly, I want to thank all of you for being with us at the inaugural. The party is not an end in itself it is a means to an end. And you are the people who, in victory and defeat, have maintained the Democratic Party, maintained its traditions and will continue to do so in the future.

Remarks at a Meeting of the Democratic National Committee.


I HAVE had a very special project this week. I have been trying to get at least 50 new women in the Gridiron Club, and as many as I can in the National Press Club. But I am glad that we have got them in the Defense Department. When I look at a group like this, I have no trouble understanding why Bob McNamara is the greatest Secretary of Defense this country has ever had. With women like you working with him, I do not think he could lose. In fact, I would have never started my Fifty Women in Government campaign if I had known that Bob McNamara already had 50 women on this committee, because it looks like he has the market cornered. Someone asked how it is possible for women to understand politics when they have to depend almost entirely on their husbands for political education. Until recently this same question could apply, I guess, to military science. Women could hardly be expected to know anything about the military because they had to depend almost entirely on their husbands for military education, but the world is changing and the times are changing, and so are the services. I want to thank you for your efforts. Military service is becoming an attractive career to women, and we are mighty proud that it is, because it will be a better service, be a better career. And too many people always think, I have observed, of the military in negative terms. We must quit thinking of it just as a force for destruction, or as an instrument for war. A call prompted me the other day, when we were dealing with all the nuclear weapons and the warheads and the bombs and everything, and I thought that might be a good place to have a woman, to sit on the Atomic Energy Commission, because they bring into the world the men who fight the wars and do the dying. So I was able to persuade Dr. Bunting of Radcliffe to come down and she has already been confirmed by the Senate. You women are going to be represented in that field as you are in the military. Now, I think it is a myth we must destroy-about force for destruction and instrument of war. We do not want that to be universally accepted, for in a democracy the armed services have a creative role to play and that creative role must be as an agent of peace. Their purpose is not only to deter war, but to help improve the quality of our society and to serve the public good and to train young men and women for useful service.

Remarks to the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services.


Once a career in the military for women meant just a clerical job, or an assignment as a nurse, or a nurse's aide in some clinic. This myth, too, is already being shattered, for today women are making important professional and technical contributions to the military as scientists, as engineers, as mathematicians, as administrators, as managers, as accountants, as teachers, as lawyers, as linguists. I think we need more women to play even more important roles. I think you can help encourage that. The Armed Forces faces serious shortages of nurses and dietitians and therapists. Secretary McNamara and I are counting on you to help us find these women and to recruit them. We want you to go out on the highways and the byways and tell the young women of America that this is no longer a stag Government, this is no longer a stag administration, and no longer is there anything like a one-man's army. Tell them it is their Government, it belongs to them, and it is their army, too. We want and we need them, and we urge them to come in. It has taken us nearly 150 years to accept the truth of what Susan Anthony used to preach when she said, It was we the people, not we the white people, or the male citizens, nor we the male citizens, nor we just the male citizens, but we the whole people who form this Union. Today women have become a greater force in the quality of American life. Military life is no exception, and all of us are in your debt for making this possible. I have heard it said that women always have the last word, because they have a dozen arguments left when the men are all run out. But I am sure you have a dozen arguments left in support of the women's role in the military or else you would not be serving on this committee. But for all of us, for Secretary McNamara, for the Joint Chiefs, for the service Secretaries, for the country, I want to thank you for your devotion to duty. I want to tell you how proud we are of you. We have never been stronger in the history of our country. I do not think we have ever had better opportunities to seek and ferret out and promote peace in the world. We know that is what you women want to do. I was reminded this morning of a very touching experience two friends of mine had. Bethune was meeting with General Marshall one time during the war.


She got up and asked to be excused because she had to go see--Mary McLeod Bethune, you know, was a very able and very prominent Negro woman who was a great educator and exercised a great influence on my life. She worked very closely with me several years in the Federal Government. She asked General Marshall to excuse her because she had to go see the President, and someone asked her what she was going to see the President about--President Roosevelt, whose picture hangs over there. She said, I am going to see him about women in the services, and about letting them do something besides the trivial details and the clerks and the minor jobs. That made quite an impression, that she was going to see the President. The next day they were meeting again in this consulting group and Mrs. Bethune got up and asked to be excused, and said she was sorry, but she had to go see the President again. They said, What are you going to see him for the second day? She said, I am going to get the answer, and evidently the answer was a good one, because here you are and I see a good many majors and colonels all over the place. We are very proud of it. A good many people have made great sacrifices to build this instrument of peace that we call the Defense Department. I see at some of our bases Peace Is Our Mission. Beginning with the Secretary, and the Under Secretaries, and the Assistant Secretaries, like Mr. Paul, these men have left jobs, some of them paying as much as a half a million a year, to come here and be harangued and harassed and browbeaten and fussed at and quarreled with in order to build the most efficient and most powerful peace machine we have ever had. I feel comforted that you women are here to help them and to encourage them and maybe to comfort them some in these times of tribulation. So you are welcome to the White House. We are proud of your service and long may it continue.


And considering that we caught President Obama and sleepy Joe Biden, spying on our campaign, treason, we will probably be entitled to another four more years after that. I want to thank you, and Art and Brandon, you are incredible. I have known you now a long time. Right from the beginning, we had the chemistry, we had that good chemistry-I will sit down. You know, it is 122 degrees in this place. And we have our great Governor. Governor, can we make it a little bit, just a little. This is like a test. You think Joe Biden could do this? So, I am thrilled to be in Yuma, Arizona--to proudly accept the endorsement of the National Border Patrol Council, that is a big deal. And they are great friends of mine. And we are building the wall. Next week, we will be up to 300 miles of incredible wall. We are very tough at the border. When people want to come in, for our farmers, et cetera, et cetera, we are not going to hurt our farmers, but we have never had better numbers than we have right now. And that is been helped because we are at a little bit over 280 miles right now, we have never been helped like this. Wall, there are two things, in a thousand years you can come back, two things will never, you know with technology it is obsolete before you even put it in the box, but two things never get old wheels and walls. If you come back in a thousand years, you will say, Well, we still have wheels in walls. The National Border Patrol Council is the official union representing the incredible heroes of the United States Border Patrol. They have been my friends from the beginning. To every border agent, and I just met some unbelievable people backstage, these are great people, and every family member here today, you have earned the everlasting gratitude of our nation. And I want to thank you very much. As you know, better than anyone, the survival of our nation is at stake in this election. And I will tell you, I never thought I'd say it because we had a great election. We had a great election a little while ago. Four years ago, I never thought I'd say anything could compete with 2016. This election that we are going into is the most important election in the history of our country--because we had crooked Hillary, but this is something, these people are sick.

Donald J. Trump Remarks at a Make America Great Again Rally in Yuma, Arizona


And we have to make sure that this radical left socialist and beyond, because this is beyond socialism, this is beyond socialism, that it does not happen, or we will indeed have Venezuela on steroids. So, we cannot do it. Joe Biden is the puppet of the radical left-wing movement that seeks the complete elimination of America's borders and boundaries. They want to take the wall down, they do not want to have borders, they want to have sanctuary cities, lots of bad things they want. Can you believe that? Joe Biden has pledged to abolish immigration enforcement, suspend all removals, provide free government healthcare, and, you know, they want to give it to illegal aliens. You do not get it. You do not get it. This is what they want to do. We will have people coming into our country that never even thought of it before. You get free education, you get free healthcare, why would not they come? Let us go to America. The Biden plan would unleash a flood of illegal immigration like the world has never seen. Biden's plan is the most radical, extreme, reckless, dangerous, and deadly immigration plan ever put forward by a major party candidate. It must be defeated, and it will be defeated on November 3rd. At last night's Democrat convention, which by the way, got very bad ratings, I have to tell you. They talk about unity. They want to bring unity. And then you listen to Michelle Obama's speech, which was obsolete by the time it got there. She taped it. No, no, she taped the speech. She must have taped it about three weeks before. She could not even-look, number, I'd like to tape, maybe I will tape-I am speaking next Thursday, maybe I will tape it. That is so much nicer, to tape it, you do it, nice air-conditioned room. And she not only taped it, but tell me when you hear a divisive speech-you know, they talk about me as being a divider. I bring people together. We were bringing people together. We were bringing people together like never before. Success was bringing everyone together, and then we got hit with the China virus, but we were bringing people together. But one of the opening speakers last night said that America will go to hell if we do not have open borders.


When a country does not have borders, you do not have a country. You do not have a country. Today, a Democrat speaker at the convention said, We are talking about abolishing the police, we are talking about abolishing ICE, we are talking about abolishing prisons. Biden's campaign has turned into a cult for open border and other Zealots. By the way, they want to double and triple your taxes, they want to increase regulations--they want to spend very little money on our vets, after we took care of our vets better than anyone's. And they want to spend much less on our military, we have totally rebuilt. Two and a half trillion dollars, we have totally rebuilt our military. Bernie Sanders declared, in his speech, many of the ideas that just a few years ago were considered radical, are now mainstream. But if he did, he is been brought so far left that our country will not be the country that we know. It will have problems; it will go down. And right now, who has a 401k? Alright, and then the rest of you, many of you have stocks, and you do it a different way. And if you held on, like I said to do, we went down a little while we got hit with a virus. Now, NASDAQ just broke an all-time record. SNP just broke an all-time record. Socialism is the mainstream of the Biden campaign and it is not the mainstream of America. Remember I said, we will never have a socialist country. The people of Arizona, our great state, we love Arizona. I won it last time--by a lot. And I hear we are gonna win it by even more this time. Do not forget, last time I talked, I said we are going to give you your tax cuts, I gave them to you. I said, we are going to give you a massive regulation cuts. We are going to give you great everything. We even did Right to Try medicine. You know all about that. We did things that I did not even talk about it, we did. We did a thing called the Space Force. I am the only candidate that gave you more than I promised in the campaign. But we will head to the polls and together we will stop the left and win four more years in the White House. We are joined today by some incredible people, friends of mine, great, great people.


And I want to congratulate your Governor because we had a spike, and he knocked that spike out so fast. Are you sure you even had a spike? Doug Ducey, a great governor, great man, and a somebody that won by about 16 or 17 points. What a job you have done. A friend of mine and somebody who is a great fighter pilot, and I had a lot of people tell me she could really wheel the Warthog, right? She said, I love that plane, but she was a great, great fighter pilot, one of the best they were telling me. This was a group, and they knew her very well. A lot of friends you have. And specifically she said, Could you extend that plane? But Martha McSally is an extraordinary person, and she is fighting for us, and she is helping us, and we have to bring her into the center. And she is running against a gentlemen who is, uh, when you read what he is done, when you read what he said about the second amendment and about all other things--you are not going to want to vote for him. You are not going to want to have them play with your second amendment. I will tell you what. If I were not ENTITY, I do not believe, Doug, you'd have a second amendment right now. The pressure that was put on to get rid of it, or to basically obliterate it, make it so it is meaningless. You will always have the right to bear arms. You will always have that. A few friends of mine who are warriors. When they went and they tried to make a play at your President, they had to get through the House. Other than Mitt Romney, one half a vote. Another friend of mine and incredible fighter, and somebody that loves his state, and I will tell you, the Freedom Caucus, right? And we have a man named Andy Biggs here. And he loves our vets, and he loves our military, and you love our second amendment, right? And we are not going to do anything with it. They will destroy that second amendment. Just remember I said it, but you are not going to have to worry about it because it is not going to happen. A woman who really distinguished herself, she became a star. We want her on our side. We got to have her on our side.


Also, thanks to Arizona Republican party chairman, I knew this was going to happen. That is what they say. If we do not win, this country is in big trouble. And a man who did not choke under pressure. He kicked for 11 years. You ever see a golfer. They miss a three-footer. They miss a three-footer. They cannot take it back. He is one of the best kickers ever. You could not get a good seat, Jay. I remember the 61-yarder. But the only thing is, I will bet you this man would stand, only stand, for our National Anthem. That is one thing-that is one thing I can tell you. And if they do not stand for our flag, if they do not stand for our National Anthem, I turn off the game. Other than that, I'd like to watch, but I turn off the game. And by the way, I thought they learned that lesson a little while ago. I thought they learned that lesson two years ago, but maybe not, but they will. They will learn it again. For decades, Washington politicians like Biden allowed an endless supply of illegal foreign labor to decimate American jobs and wages. They allowed criminal gangs to menace, maim and terrorize innocent citizens. They would maim and terrorize, and we have done something with our border patrol. And by the way, ICE, ICE is great. ICE has taken out thousands and thousands of MS-13, and you do not want the job. None of you want the job. It is a tough job, but they like it, and they are great Patriots, and they have done a fantastic job. They ceded control of the border to the most dangerous and ruthless cartels on earth. And what we have done, did you ever notice the caravans? What happened to the caravans? You know, we were paying hundreds of millions of dollars to Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, hundreds of millions. And I said, Well, why are we doing that? When we caught a murderer and we wanted to bring it back to one of those countries, they would not take him. And they would not take him under the Obama administration. So, we got stuck with them because they'd fly in. They'd say, Do not land your plane. And I said something very simple. We do not have to do that. We are not going to pay you anymore. We stopped payment.


We stopped payment. We stopped payment and they called. They said, We'd love to take them. We'd be honored to take them. So, we take them back by the thousands, by the thousands. They let lethal poisonous drugs pour freely into our schools and our communities, but no more. The cruel and heartless portrayal of the American people ended the day I took the oath of office, and now that we have more than half of the wall built, and do you notice they do not talk about the wall anymore. I went, Look at all those people back there. They do not talk about the wall anymore. We got the wall. It is going to be up to 300 next week and--it is going to be finished very soon. And as soon as we want, all of a sudden, they never talk about it. But you know where I talk about it? We have never had numbers like this because that big portion of wall already built, you do not get through it. You cannot get through it. You can climb Mount Everest, and you are going to have an awful hard time getting over that sucker. I stood up to the lobbyists. Everybody fought us, the Democrats, everyone. I fought the special interests. I kept every single promise that I made, and now I am doing it with the drug companies. I just created Favorite Nation. So, if a nation buys it for less and they buy it for a fraction of what we pay, the drug companies have to sell it to us for the same price. And they are spending billion-they are spending so much. They are spending millions of dollars on advertising. Anytime you see an ad from a drug company, and they are rich, the pharma, it is called Big Pharma, the number one lobbyist. They spend millions and millions, hundreds of millions of dollars online. Anytime you see, anytime at all, you see an ad by Big Pharma against me, you know your drug prices are coming down. And we are giving the rebate that creates tremendous wealth for the middleman, the rebate. It is going to the people now. We are bringing the rebate and it is going to the people. I have a lot of people in that industry do not like me too much. But you are going to get 50.


You are going to get, and the Democrats would never do it, Biden would never do it because he does not understand it, but they would never do it. They would in a million years, they would not do it. It took a lot of guts to do it. I had a lot of people, a lot of good politicians go, Sir, I do not think you should do it. I wonder why you are saying that, but we did it. We are going to have drug prices reduced over a very short period of time, by not 2%, and last year they went down a little bit, first time in 51 years that drug prices went down but a little bit, we are going to have prices dropping 50, 60, and even 70%. And I am proud to say that they have achieved the most secure border, our border patrol, in the history of the United States of America. We now have the most secure border we have ever had and it is only going to get better. And we want people to come in, but we want them to come in through merit, right? And we want people that are going to come in and are going to love for our country, not hate our country. Here in Yuma, Arizona, we have invested over $1.7 billion and poured 180,000 cubic yards, that is a lot of concrete, to build 108 miles of powerful border wall. I know who is going to vote for me. I do not know though, I think I am going to win Yuma. What do you think, Doug? I think, when I hear those numbers, when we hear those numbers, we are winning. We are going to win Yuma big. No, you see it and you see what is going up and it is an incredible structure, all capable, all wired up for cameras, for everything you can have. In total, I have already completely planned for the final execution, we are going to have, by the end of the year, everything that we said is going to be built. We may actually build some more in some soft areas that we have noticed over the last two years. So, we actually may put up some additional, but we will have it completed, everything we said, by the end of the year and nobody thought that was possible. And we have reduced illegal border crossings by 60% since this time last year.