"Good evening, I'm George W. Bush, and I'm here tonight to ask for your vote. The debates are over. My opponent and I are nearly done talking, and in just a few days, the last word is yours. As you make your decision, you are entitled to know exactly where my opponent and I stand on the issues facing our country. So let me tell you plainly what I believe and what I will do as president, how I will expand opportunity for all.
The hopes of families are the goals of my campaign. The hope of parents for better and safer schools. The hope of the middle class to build savings and independence, and of other Americans to join that ! middle class. The hope of
seniors for security in retirement... and of young people facing the financial challenges of college and marriage and mortgage and children. The hope of all Americans to live in a more peaceful world. I am not just opposing the current
administration. I am proposing something better. My agenda applies creative, conservative ideas to the job of helping real people. That
is the meaning of compassionate conservatism. And that is my message tonight.
"On education, I have a plan to ensure that every school has high standards, every parent has real options, and no child is left behind. Today, America there is in an education recession. Our high school seniors place 19th out of 21st industrial nations in math, just ahead of Cyprus and South Africa. Sixty-eight percent of fourth graders in our highest poverty schools cannot
read and understand a simple children's book. Too many American children are
segregated into schools without standards -- shuffled from! grade to grade because of their age, regardless of their knowledge. This is discrimination pure and simple, the soft bigotry of low expectations. And we must treat it like other forms of discrimination: We must end it. We will begin where learning begins, with reading. If you cannot read, you cannot access the American Dream. As president, I will set a clear, national goal. By the end of the third grade, every child in America will read. To reach this goal, schools will have the resources they need,
and teachers will be given the training they require. And we're going to strengthen Head Start as an early reading program to give children the
building blocks for reading, even before they enter Kindergarten. We are going to spend more money on education, but we are going to expect results in return. When schools receive federal dollars to help poor children, they must test every year, in grades three through eight, on the basics of
reading and math. Schools making progress will be rewarded with more funding. And schools that are not will be challenged to do better. For schools that do not teach and will not
change, there will be real and reasonable consequences. These schools will be warned that they are failing, and given time to reform. In three years, either the children will have a better school, or they and their parents
will have better options. The federal funds will go directly to their parents, for tutoring, for a charter school, or a private school, or
transfer to a different public school. That's called real accountability. I have faith that our public schools will rise to the high expectations we set. Vice President says he is for more accountability. But he's not for testing every child, every year, in every grade; testing that would tell parents which schools do better and which do worse. And without that information, there is no true accountability, no pressure for change. At the time when the greatest need is a return to fundamentals, the current administration offers more fads and fashionable theories. Last month, the Secretary of Education
announced their new Three R's for America's schools: "relationships, resilience, and readiness." Those are all very nice. But what happened to reading? My opponent gives speeches about "revolutionary" changes in the schools. Most Americans would settle for high standards, accountability, basic learning, local control and a choice in the matter. That's all the revolution we need. And Mr. Gore is on the wrong side
of it.
"On taxes, here is my plan: If you pay income taxes, you will get a tax cut. If you are a
low or moderate income worker, you get the biggest percentage tax cut. Americans today pay more in taxes than on food, clothing and housing
combined. The last time Americans had a tax burden this heavy, there was good reason for it. We were fighting World War II. Toda! y, our taxes are funding a growing federal surplus. I will seize this moment to reduce rates for every taxpayer and make the tax code more fair and simple. Under today's tax code, a single mom with two children actually pays a higher marginal
rate than a lawyer earning ten times as much. This unfair burden is one of the many problems with a tax code that too often punishes honest effort and ambition. On principle, every family, every farmer and small businessperson, should be free to pass on their life's work to those they love. So I will abolish the death tax. On principle, no one in America should have to pay
more than one-third of their income to the federal government. So I will reduce income tax rates for everyone, and sharply reduce the marriage penalty. On principle, those who need the most help should get the most help. So I will lower the bottom tax rate from 15 percent to 10 percent, and double the child tax credit from $500 to $1,000 per child. My opponent, he has a plan too. He calls it targeted tax relief. The first problem is that at least 50 million
American taxpayers, more than half the total, are nowhere near the target. They get nothing. All the rest may get a tax cut from the Vice President's plan, but only if they do things his way. You may get help with child care, but only if your child is in paid or government-approved childcare -- grandparents, family and friends not included. You may get a break on the marriage penalty, but not if you own a home and itemize. You may get a break on transportation, but only if you drive around in something called a hybrid electric/gasoline engine vehicle. And you may get death tax relief, but first the IRS has eight or nine questions, starting with this one: Did you materially participate in
the operations of the small business five out of the eight years before your death, and do your heirs pledge to materially participate for another ten years? My opponent's theory is that only the "right" people should get tax relief. That is what he called them in his convention speech, the "right" people. But there are no right Americans or wrong Americans. Tax relief
should be aimed at one big target, so you can't miss: Everyone in America who pays income taxes. Our tax code should fund the necessary functions of government, but not run the lives of Americans. On the budget, I have a responsible budget that's balanced. We will use half of the $4.6 trillion surplus to strengthen Social Security, a great national promise we must
keep. We will make important investments in Medicare, education, the environment and national defense. And we will return about a quarter of the
surplus to the American people who earned it, paid it and deserve part of it back. Just because the federal government has a surplus, does not mean that every family has a surplus. My opponent has a plan for the surplus as
well. He is proposing the largest increase in federal spending! in 35 years. More than 200 new or expanded federal programs. An estimated 20 to 30 thousand new
Washington bureaucrats. Four hundred and twelve new regulations on Medicare: a plan that could double the size of the current bureaucracy. Hundreds of new IRS agents, because targeted tax cuts means targeted audits. All this amounts to over 2 trillion in bigger government over 10 years, costing about $20,000 on the average for every household. To give you an idea of the amounts involved, think of it this way. The Gore spending spree is three times more than President Clinton proposed when he ran in 1992; more than the spending increases proposed by
Michael Dukakis and Walter Mondale combined. The Senate Budget Committee did the math, adding up all of my opponent's daily promises. Any way you look at it, he would run the government back into the red as much as $900 billion. If he is elected, the era of big government being over is over. And so to, I fear, is our prosperity. Big spending, as always, will slow the growth of
our economy, and return us to the days of debt. And here is the difference. My plan has
spending discipline. His just has spending. He is convinced the surplus is the government's money. I say the surplus is the people's money.
"On Social Security, I will lead bipartisan reform to preserve and protect that program. For seniors, nothing will change. You have earned your
benefits, you have made your plans, and the government of the United States will honor its commitments. If you are a younger worker, we will give you the option, the choice, of putting part of your payroll tax in a personal savings account. These investments must be sound and responsible: no high-risk speculation. And the
money will be available for retirement only. Yet when this money is accumulated, it will be more than your program, it will be your property. You will own it, and! control it, and pass it along,
if you wish, to your children. As it stands, the money you put in Social Security earns just a 2 percent return, which is pretty dismal. The typical private investment yields about 5 percent. And even if you choose only the safest, most cautious investment on earth, U.S. bonds,
you will still get twice the rate of the present return. Let me quote a Democratic senator, Bob Kerrey. He said, "It's very important, especially
for those of us who have already accumulated wealth, to write laws to enable other people to accumulate it, and arrive where we are." I feel the same way. Ownership in our society should not be an exclusive club. All Americans must have the right to work and plan for their own futures. Think of the possibilities here. With this kind of Social Security modernization, over time, the working class will join the investor class. Millions of Americans, of every race and background, will have, not only wages, but wealth. Not just benefits from government, but
ownership and self- sufficiency. Social Security, a defining commitment between generations, has achieved a great moral goal: lifting millions of
seniors out of poverty. My proposal is the natural next step - moving tens of millions of Americans toward true independence. We have a difference on this. My opponent has a Social
Security plan as well. He says he wants to help low income people save for retirement - but his program fails to help those living paycheck to paycheck, who don't have the extra money to save. Social Security has long-term financial problems -as Baby Boomers retire and put new strains on the system. His plan does nothing to avoid the crisis. He relies on accounting gimmicks and massive IOUs, that our children will have to pay. He calls this plan "Social Security Plus." And it's a good name. Because the Gore plan is
Social Security, plus massive government debt. Social Security, plus a staggering
tax increase on the next generation. And now during this campaign he turns to scare tactics and distortions about my plan - which is about all he has left. But it is not going to work. Not this time. And not this year.
"On Medicare, I've proposed a plan to strengthen it for the long-term, and make prescription drugs affordable for every senior in America. Every senior knows how important Medicare is - and the problem it faces. Medicare is top-heavy with bureaucracy, with regulations that run over 100 thousand pages. In a time of amazing medical progress, the program acts too slowly in meeting the needs of seniors. And it has serious budget problems that have been put off for too long. Medicare is a vital program - too vital to be
neglected. Under my reforms, every senior, without exception, will be entitled to the current set of Medicare benefits. But we will give them more options, letting them choose coverage that best suits them. We will set
Medicare on firm financial ground, without increasing the eligibility age or raising the
payroll tax. And we also must recognize that for many seniors the cost of medicine has become a daily worry. It is time to expand Medicare to include prescription drug coverage. Under my proposal, every senior on Medicare will be able to choose a plan with prescription coverage. And every low to moderate income senior will have that plan for free. No more choosing between food and medicine. No more being ordered around by an arrogant health care bureaucracy. And no more risk of losing everything because of an extended illness. My Medicare plan has a $6,000 cap on out-of-pocket expenses. We have a difference. My
opponent offers a cap on drug expenses - but no limit at all on overall health costs. The Vice President says he believes in health care choices - and he has made one for you. If you want prescription coverage, he has a plan that forces you to join a drug HMO chosen for you by the government. You will be required to pay a new, $600 access fee each year. And there is
another catch. Under his plan, you have to sign up for drug coverage at age 64 and a half. If you don't, you are on your own. That's the Gore drug plan: One choice, one chance, no changing your mind. It should be clear, from all these issues - education and taxes, government spending, Social Security and Medicare - that the choice in this election is not just between two agendas.
"The choice in this election is between two visions. I do not believe government is always the enemy. It's brought security to seniors, built
highways, won wars, protected wilderness, ended segregation. But government helps best when it empowers people, not when it builds bureaucracies. At its best, government gives people options, not orders. At its best, government can help us live our lives - but it must never run our lives. My opponent's ideas are shaped by a quarter century in Washington. Every big idea means bigger government. Rules replace choices. Regulations replace responsibility. It is an old temptation: You start off trying to help
people, and end up telling them what to do. The Vice President talks about "the people versus the powerful." But, in all his plans, who ends up with
the power? Who always ends up making the choices? Not the taxpayers or citizens, but tax collectors and the government. Not senior citizens, but
HMO overseers. Not parents, or even teachers, but some distant central office. He says he wants to help "the people." If only he would trust them.
Down my opponent's path, many of us will feel the expansion of government in our lives - working through a maze of bureaucracy to get health care, or tax relief, or help with education. We'll find ourselves working harder for the government - appeasing it, pleasing it, trying to keep it at bay. More forms to fill out, more regulations to follow, more! lines to stand in. I have found that to win the trust of the people, you have to trust them in return. My agenda trusts people with responsibility, and opens wide the door of
opportunity. My views were shaped far from Washington, in my hometown of Midland, Texas. You know my father and mother, but let me tell you a little bit about where they raised us. In West Texas, there was an energy, a basic conviction that, with hard work, anybody could succeed, and everybody deserved a chance. We had a strong sense of community there. Neighbors helped each other. You had dry wells of course and sandstorms to keep you humble. But you also had lifelong
friends to take your side. This background leaves more than an accent, it leaves an outlook - an optimism and confidence that people can chart their own course. The biggest lesson I learned in Midland still guides me as governor: Everyone, from an immigrant to an entrepreneur, has an equal claim on the American Dream. Everyone deserves a fair shot in life.! So in Texas we've improved our schools, dramatically, for children of every accent, of every background. African-American fourth graders in Texas are number one in
the nation in math. Latino eighth graders in Texas are number two in the nation in writing. We moved people in my state from welfare to work. We strengthened our juvenile justice laws. Our budgets have been balanced, with surpluses,
and we have rewarded hard work by cutting taxes not only once, but twice. We have accomplished a lot. I certainly don't deserve all the credit, and I do not attempt to take it. I worked with Republicans and Democrats to make life better for people in Texas. Our state is not perfect. Our work is not done. But, since I've been the governor, we have made real progress. Better child
health. Higher test scores for minorities. Cleaner air and cleaner water. More access to
child care. Less juvenile crime. Fewer people on welfare, and more people in jobs. And I've learned some things along the way. I've made difficult decisions, and stood by them under pressure. I've been where the buck stops
- in business and in government. I've been a chief executive who sets an agenda, sets big goals, and rallies people to believe and achieve them. I am proud of this record, and I'm prepared for the work ahead. If you give me your trust, I will honor it. Give me the opportunity to lead this nation, and I will lead. And we need a leader.
"We need a leader who knows how to continue our current prosperity. Some politicians want to take credit for the economy. But I don't see government
starting new companies or writing new software, opening new factories. I've always thought those things were done ... by well, the people who did them. Government doesn't create wealth. But government can create an environment where businesses and entrepreneurs and families can dream and flourish. That is another reason tax cuts are important - to give our economy! a second
wind, before a recession even starts. We need to reform the legal system - to protect small businesses from junk and frivolous lawsuits that raise prices and destroy jobs. We need to work for free trade - which expands our economy and spreads our democratic values around the world. Prosperity is essential - but in America it is never enough. We want everyone to feel the
promise of this country. We want a country where no one is written off or counted out. Our wealthy country must also be a decent and caring and
compassionate country. A couple of years ago, I visited a juvenile jail in Marlin, Texas, and talked with a group of young inmates. They had all had committed grownup crimes. But they were just boys. One young man, about 15, raised his hand and asked me this question: "What do you think of me?" He seemed to be asking, like many Americans who struggle, "Is there hope for
me? Do I have a chance?" That voice speaks for many. Single moms struggling to feed the kids and pay the rent. Immigrants starting a hard life in a new world. Children in neighborhoods where gangs and drugs are common, and committed fathers are rare. We are their country, too. And each of us must share in its promise, or that promise will be diminished for all. We must do what we can - all that we can. We will give low-income Americans tax credits to buy the private health insurance they need and deserve. We will reform
the Immigration and Naturalization Service, so that legal immigrants are welcomed to America with respect. So they hear, loud and clear, "El sueno Americano es para ti." We will transform today's housing rental program to help hundreds of thousands of low-income families find stability and dignity in a home of their own. And, in the next bold step of welfare reform, we
will rally the armies of compassion that exist in every community. My administration will give every taxpayer new incentives to donate to charity. This will support the work of homeless shelters and hospices, food pantries and crisis pregnancy centers - people reclaiming their communities block by block, heart by heart. One of the biggest problems in our society today is
that our children are forced to grow up too fast. In many ways, being a parent has become more demanding than ever. No child should be robbed of his or her childhood, by drugs, or a culture that undermines the values of parents. Our schools need to teach the ABCs, the 3R's - and the basics of character. Everyone - with or without children - benefits when children grow up knowing right from wrong. Ultimately, this is the answer to crime and violence, and bigotry and hate. Our libraries should offer the Internet - but lock out harmful and degrading material that hurts the minds and souls of children. The Internet should be a place of learning, not a place of danger. Television broadcasters can help by bringing back the family hour. We should have at least sixty minutes each night when television is supportive of parents and fit for our children. Our government must renew the goal of a drug-free society. The current administration has not put much emphasis on fighting drugs - and teen drug use has doubled since 1992. Fourteen-year-olds should be worrying about grades and summer jobs, not friends on drugs. And we must help protect our children in our schools and streets, by finally and strictly enforcing our nation's gun laws. Parents have the primary responsibility for raising children. But we want allies, not adversaries - schools that teach values, a decent public culture, a government that takes our side, and leaders who set a good example. "Behind every goal I have talked about tonight is a great hope for our country. We must begin an era of responsibility. In a responsibility era, each of us has important tasks - work that only we can do. Each of us is responsible - to love and guide our children, and help a neighbor in need.
Synagogues, churches and mosques are responsible - not only to worship but to serve. Corporations are responsible - to treat their workers fairly,
and leave the air and waters clean. Our nation's leaders are responsible - to confront problems, not pass them on to others. And to lead this nation in the responsibility era, a president himself must be responsible. So, when I put my hand on the Bible should I be fortunate enough to be elected, I will swear to not only uphold the laws of our land, I will swear to uphold the
honor and dignity of the office to which I have been elected. So help me God. This office is the final point of decision in the American government. The President of the United States does not speak for one group or party or special interest. He speaks for all, for the common good. And, should I be elected president, that is a charge I intend to keep. I believe that the
most urgent matter before any president is American security itself. The next president must reverse the eight-year decline in America's military power. Not since the years before Pearl Harbor has our investment in national defense been so low as a percentage of our economy. Yet rarely has our military been so freely used. We will give our armed forces better pay, better treatment, and better training. We will improve housing for their families, and schools for their children. We will provide our troops a clear
sense of mission. We will protect American citizens, and our allies, from terrorism and attack with a missile defense system. And we will build the military of tomorrow - not just spending more, but spending more wisely. I believe America has a special part to play in the world. I will return clarity and credibility and purpose to the American foreign policy. We will
repair long-neglected alliances, supporting our friends in times of calm, so that we can rely on them in times of trouble. I will work toward a
democratic Western Hemisphere, bound together by trade and common values. I will defend America's interests in the Persian Gulf, and advance peace in the Middle East, based on a secure Israel. I will oppose the contagious spread of weapons of mass destruction, and the means to deliver them. And I will focus on our relations with China and Russia - without ill will, but without illusions. Foreign policy must be more than the management of
crisis. Our goal must be to turn this time of American influence into generations of democratic peace. I believe a president has a duty to protect
the natural world around us -- our lands and our waters and wildlife. The federal government acts best when it works in a spirit of respect and
cooperation with those who live on the land. And our government must do a better job of tending to our National Parks. My administration will commit
more than three billion dollars to repair and maintain the National Park System over the next five years. I believe a president serves the public best when he speaks candidly - when he is straight and honest with the American people. Great decisions are made with care, made with conviction - not made with polls. I know my own mind. I do not reinvent myself at every turn. When I act, you will know my reasons. When I speak, you will know my heart. And I believe a new president can change the tone of Washington. I
believe the next president must change the tone of Washington. You know what's wrong: Washington seems obsessed with scoring points, not solving
problems. There is so much anger. So much important work left undone. It makes no difference where it all started. But, together, we can end it. We can bring civility back to our government. I will work with Republicans and
Democrats. I will listen to the best ideas, wherever they come from. I will be a president for the people. And I will do these things for a simple reason: Because Americans who love their country want to respect their government. My fellow citizens, we can begin after all of the shouting, and all of the scandal. After all of the bitterness and broken faith, we can begin again. If you share this hope - Republican, Democrat or Independent - I want your support. I ask for your vote. I am eager to start on the work
ahead. And I believe America is ready for a new beginning. My friend, the artist Tom Lea of El Paso, Texas, captured the way I look at this country. He and his wife said, "we live on the east side of the mountain. It is the sunrise side, not the sunset side. It is the side to see the day that is coming; not the side to see the day that is gone." My fellow Americans we live on that sunrise side of mountain. The night is almost over. And we are ready for the day to come. Thank you, God bless and good night."