Madison Square Garden
New York, New York
10:30 P.M. EDT
WASHINGTON, Sept. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- The following are remarks by First
Lady Laura Bush to the Republican National Convention:
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you Barbara and Jenna. You make me so very proud.
I have really enjoyed being on the campaign trail with both of you. It's kind
of like the camping trip I promised to take you on. (Laughter.)
Tonight, I have the best and easiest job of this convention -- introducing
our First Lady. (Applause.) My life has been better every day since that
wonderful day Laura Welch said yes to me. (Applause.) At every stage of our
journey, Laura has shown the grace and character I fell in love with. She's a
wonderful mother who fills our home with love and kindness. She's a teacher
who wants every American child to read and discover a broader world of ideas.
She's a friend of authors, who has brought talented Americans to the attention
of the world. She has been a voice of calm and comfort in difficult times.
I'm a lucky man to have Laura at my side, and America would be fortunate
to have her in the White House for four more years. (Applause.)
It is my honor to introduce my wife, my partner and the First Lady of the
United States, Laura Bush. (Applause.)
MRS. BUSH: Thank you all. Thank you so much. And thank you, George. I
like being introduced by the President of the United States. (Applause.) And
Barbara and Jenna, you were great. We're so proud of you both. (Applause.)
I also want to recognize the best father- and mother-in-law anyone could
ever ask for: President Bush and Barbara Bush. (Applause.) And my husband's
brothers and sister who have become my brothers and sister too, thank you all.
Thanks so much for being here. (Applause.) And watching tonight from her
home in Midland, Texas, my mother, Jenna Welch. Hi, Mom. (Applause.) And
Vice President Cheney and Lynne, and all the Cheney family. Thank you all so
much. Thanks for everything you do. Where are they? Oh, there they are.
(Applause.) And I want to thank everybody here tonight. Thank you all very
much for the wonderful privilege you have given me and my husband of serving
our great country.
Our lives have been enriched by meeting so many of our fellow Americans.
As we've visited your communities, we have witnessed your decency, your
kindness and your character. I'm enjoying this campaign. It has reminded me
of our very first one, 25 years ago. George and I were newlyweds and he was
running for Congress. Our transportation wasn't quite as fancy back then --
an Oldsmobile Cutlass, and George was behind the wheel. (Laughter.) Even
then, he was always on time and he knew where he wanted to go. (Applause.)
You learn a lot about your husband when you spend that much time in a car
with him. By the end of the campaign, he had even convinced me to vote for
him. (Laughter.)
This time, I don't need any convincing. (Applause.)
I'm so proud of the way George has led our country with strength and
conviction. Tonight, I want to try to answer the question that I believe many
people would ask me if we sat down for a cup of coffee or if ran into each
other at the store: You know him better than anyone else. You've seen things
no one else has seen -- why do you think we should reelect your husband as
President?
As you might imagine, I have a lot to say about that. (Applause.)
I could talk about my passion, education. At every school we visit, the
students are so eager. Last fall, the President and I walked into an
elementary school in Hawaii, and a little second grader -- there's Hawaii -- a
little second grader came out to welcome us and bellowed, "George Washington!"
Close, just the wrong George W.
When my husband took office, too many schools were leaving too many
children behind, so he worked with Congress to pass sweeping education reform.
The No Child Left Behind Act provides historic levels of funding with an
unprecedented commitment to higher standards, strong accountability and proven
methods of instruction. We are determined to provide a quality education for
every child in America. (Applause.)
I could talk about the small business owners and entrepreneurs who are now
creating most of the new jobs in our country -- women like Carmela Chaifos --
the only woman to own a tow truck company in all of Iowa. (Applause.) The
President's tax relief helped Carmela to buy the business, and modernize her
fleet, and expand her operations. Carmela is living proof of what she told
me. She said, "If you're determined and you want to work hard, you can do
anything you want to. That's the beautiful thing about America." (Applause.)
I could talk about health care. For years, leaders in both parties said
we should provide prescription drug coverage in Medicare. George was able to
bring Republicans and Democrats together to get it done. (Applause.)
I could talk about the fact that my husband is the first President to
provide federal funding for stem cell research. And he did it in a principled
way, allowing science to explore its potential while respecting the dignity of
human life. (Applause.)
I could talk about the recent record increase in home ownership. Home
ownership in America, especially minority home ownership, is at an all-time
high. (Applause.)
All of these issues are important. But we are living in the most historic
struggle my generation has ever known. The stakes are so high. So I want to
talk about the issue that I believe is most important for my own daughters,
for all of our families, and for our future: George's work to protect our
country and defeat terror so that all children can grow up in a more peaceful
world. (Applause.)
As we gather in this hall and around our television sets tonight, Joshua
Crane stands watch aboard the U.S.S. John C. Stennis. His brothers Matthew
and Nicholas stand watch near Fallujah. And at home in Colorado -- (applause)
-- their mother Cindy stands watch too -- with worry, and prayer. She told me
all three of her sons enlisted after September 11th, because they recognized
the threat to our country. (Applause.) Our nation is grateful to all the men
and women of our armed forces who are standing guard on the front lines of
freedom. (Applause.)
A dad whose wife is deployed in Iraq recently wrote about what he is
learning as he struggles to rear his three children alone. "I have ruined at
least three loads of laundry," he said. "Once you turn everything pink, it
stays pink." (Laughter.) He goes on: "I have learned what our soldiers'
wives have known for generations: hope and grief and perseverance."
This time of war has been a time of great hardship for our military
families. The President and I want all of our men and women in uniform and
their wives and husbands, mothers and fathers, sons and daughters to know that
we appreciate their sacrifice. (Applause.) And we know that it will mean a
more peaceful future for our children and grandchildren.
No American President ever wants to go to war. Abraham Lincoln didn't
want to go to war, but he knew saving the Union required it. Franklin
Roosevelt didn't want to go to war -- but he knew defeating tyranny demanded
it. And my husband didn't want to go to war, but he knew the safety and
security of America and the world depended on it. (Applause.)
I remember some very quiet nights at the dinner table. George was weighing
grim scenarios and ominous intelligence about potentially even more
devastating attacks. I listened many nights as George talked with foreign
leaders on the phone, or in our living room, or at our ranch in Crawford. I
remember an intense weekend at Camp David. George and Prime Minister Tony
Blair were discussing the threat from Saddam Hussein. And I remember sitting
in the window of the White House, watching as my husband walked on the lawn
below. I knew he was wrestling with these agonizing decisions that would have
such profound consequence for so many lives and for the future of our world.
And I was there when my husband had to decide. Once again, as in our
parents' generation, America had to make the tough choices, the hard
decisions, and lead the world toward greater security and freedom. (Applause.)
I wasn't born when my father went to World War II. Like so many of our
greatest generation, he is now gone, lost to Alzheimer's nine years ago. He
served in the United States Army in Europe for almost three years, and helped
liberate Nordhausen, one of the concentration camps. You can imagine his
horror at what he found there. The methods of the terrorists we face today
are different -- but my father would know this struggle.
Our parents' generation confronted tyranny and liberated millions. As we
do the hard work of confronting today's threat, we can also be proud that 50
million more men, women and children live in freedom thanks to the United
States of America and our allies. (Applause.)
After years of being treated as virtual prisoners in their homes by the
Taliban, the women of Afghanistan are going back to work. After being denied
an education, even the chance to learn to read, the little girls in
Afghanistan are now in school. (Applause.) Almost every eligible voter --
over 10 million Afghan citizens -- have registered to vote in this fall's
presidential election, more than 40 percent of them women. (Applause.) And
wasn't it wonderful to watch the Olympics and see that beautiful Afghan
sprinter race in long pants and a t-shirt, exercising her new freedom while
respecting the traditions of her country. (Applause.)
I recently met a young Iraqi woman. She is one of the new Iraqi Fulbright
scholars studying in the United States. She survived horrific horrors,
including the gassing of her village by Saddam Hussein. She told me that when
people look at Iraq, what they don't see is that Iraq is a country of 25
million people, each with their own hope.
As we watch the people of Iraq and Afghanistan take the first steps to
build free countries, I am reminded of what Vaclav Havel once told me. Vaclav
Havel -- playwright, intellectual, freedom fighter, political prisoner, then
President of the Czech Republic -- said to me, "Laura, you know, democracy is
hard: it requires the participation of everybody." I think of how long it
took us in our country, even though we were given such a perfect document by
our founders. It took almost 100 years after the founders declared that all
men are created equal to abolish slavery -- and not until 84 years ago this
month did American women get the right to vote. (Applause.) Our nation has
not always lived up to its ideals -- yet those ideals have never ceased to
guide us. They expose our flaws, and they lead us to mend them. We are the
beneficiaries of the works of the generations before us, and it is each
generation's responsibility to continue that work. (Applause.)
These last three years since September 11th have been difficult years in
our country's history, years that have demanded the hope, grief and
perseverance that our soldier's husband wrote about. We've learned some
lessons we didn't want to know -- that our country is more vulnerable than we
thought, that some people hate us because we stand for liberty, religious
freedom and tolerance. But we have also been heartened to discover that we
are also braver than we thought, stronger and more generous. (Applause.)
These have been years of change for our family as well. Our girls went
off to college and graduated, and now they are back home. We are so happy
they are campaigning with us this fall and we're so proud that they will be
pursuing their own careers soon. My mother moved out of my childhood home and
into a retirement community. We lost our beloved dog Spotty, and had our
hearts warmed by the antics of Barney.
People ask me all the time whether George has changed. He's a little
grayer -- and of course, he has learned and grown as we all have. But he's
still the same person I met at a backyard barbecue in Midland, Texas, and
married three months later. (Applause.) And you've come to know many of the
same things that I know about him. He'll always tell you what he really
thinks. You can count on him, especially in a crisis. His friends don't
change -- and neither do his values. (Applause.) He has boundless energy and
enthusiasm for his job, and for life itself. He treats every person he meets
with dignity and respect; the same dignity and respect he has for the office
he holds. (Applause.)
And he's a loving man, with a big heart. I've seen tears as he has hugged
families who've lost loved ones. I've seen him return the salute of soldiers
wounded in battle. And then, being George, he invites them to come visit us
at the White House. And they've come, bringing an infectious spirit of
uniquely American confidence that we are doing the right thing and that our
future will be better because of our actions today.
(Applause.)
Many of my generation remember growing up at the height of the Cold War,
hiding under desks during civil defense drills in case the communists attacked
us. And now when parents ask me, what should we tell our children -- I think
about those desks. We need to reassure our children that our police, our
firemen, our military and our intelligence workers are doing everything
possible to keep them safe. (Applause.) We need to remind them that most
people in the world are good. And we need to explain that because of strong
American leadership in the past we don't hide under our desks anymore.
(Applause.)
And because of President Bush's leadership and the bravery of our men and
women in uniform, I believe our children will grow up in a world where today's
terror threats have also become a thing of the past. (Applause.)
These are also years of hope for our country and our people. We have
great confidence in our ability to overcome challenges. We have gained a new
appreciation of the many blessings of America, and we've been reminded of our
responsibilities to the country we love.
George and I grew up in West Texas, where the sky seems endless, and so do
the possibilities. He brings that optimism, that sense of purpose, that
certainty that a better day is before us, to his job every day -- and with
your help, he'll do it for four more years. (Applause.)
These are times that require an especially strong and determined leader.
And I'm proud that my husband is that kind of leader. (Applause.)
Thank you all. God bless you, and God bless America. (Applause.)
10:55 P.M. EDT
END
SOURCE White House Press Office
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