Ohio mortgage quote

The President. I'm ready. I'm here to tell you I appreciate your support, and I want your vote. I stand ready and eager to lead this Nation for 4 more years.

I've recently come off a bus tour in Michigan and Ohio. The crowds were big. The enthusiasm was high. Our support is strong. We're rolling on our way to victory in November of 2004.

There's going to be many tunas in this campaign, but this will remain constant: I will offer a positive, optimistic, and hopeful vision to the American people. I have a plan to win the war on terror and to spread peace and freedom throughout the world. I have a plan to help create an environment so more jobs are created and every single citizen of this country can realize the great promise of our country. I have a plan to promote the compassion and spirit of this country, so all citizens--all citizens---can realize their dreams.

I will leave no doubt where I stand. I will leave no doubt that after 4 more years, this country will be safer and stronger and better. And with this message and with your help, I am confident that Vice President Cheney and I will be reelected.

A good reason to put me back in office is to make sure Laura has 4 more years as the First Lady.

Audience member. We love Laura!

The President. Yes, you love Laura, and I love Laura. [Laughter]

When you're out there gathering the vote, make sure you tell people that I put together a fantastic administration to serve the American people, people from all walks of life, people who have come to our Nation's Capital to serve the people, not their self-interest. I'm proud to be running with a fine Vice President, Dick Cheney.

And I appreciate the team we put together, starting with the RNC chairman, Ed Gillespie. He's a fine guy. I told Ed when he took the job, I said I want him reaching out to people from all walks of life. I want him to understand our message is so optimistic and hopeful that people, regardless of their political party, are going to like what they hear, that we've got to keep working with everybody in this country. I appreciate the fact that his wife, Cathy, has taken a strong lead in the campaign as well. She's working for "W Stands for Women."

I appreciate so very much the leadership that Al Hoffman has provided to make sure that the Republican National Committee is well funded. I want to thank Ann Wagner as the cochairman. I appreciate my friend Mercer Reynolds for being the Victory 2004 finance chairman. He got bumped up. He was the finance chairman for Bush-Cheney. He did such a good job that we moved him up to the Victory committee.

I want to thank all my friends who are seated on the stage here for working hard. I want to thank you all for coming. As Ed said, this is a record night. It wouldn't have happened without you. It's important to have enough fuel to make sure that the grassroots are activated as we come down the stretch next fall. That's what we're here to talk about.

I've got some members of my administration here tonight--fine Cabinet Secretaries Gale Norton, Ann Veneman, Tommy Thompson, and Spence Abraham. These people are doing a superb job on behalf of the American citizens, and I'm proud to call them Cabinet members in the Bush administration. We've got a fantastic Congress right now. We've got great leadership in Bill Frist and Speaker Denny Hastert. I'm proud to be working with them. I not only want to make sure I find work after November--[laughter]--but I want them in power too. They made a big difference to this country.

I know that Senator George Allen is with us tonight from the great State of Virginia. I know my friend from the great State of Texas, Toro DeLay, is with us tonight. Majority Whip Roy Blunt from Missouri is with us. I want to thank Roy for being here. Congresswoman Deborah Pryce is with us as well, as are many other Members of the United States Congress.

I also want to thank my friend Collin Raye, a fantastic artist who has agreed to entertain, and I'm proud that he has come as well.

These last 3 years have brought serious challenges to this Nation, and we have given serious answers to those challenges. When we came to office, the stock market was declining, and this economy of ours was headed into a recession. But we acted. We delivered historic tax relief for the American people, and now our economy is the fastest growing of any major industrialized nation.

We saw war and grief arrive on a quiet September morning, so we pursued the terrorist enemy across the world. We've captured or killed many of the key Al Qaida leaders, and the rest of them will learn this: There is no cave or hole deep enough to hide from American justice.

We confronted the dangers of state-sponsored terror and the spread of weapons of mass destruction, so we ended two of the most violent and dangerous regimes on Earth. We liberated over 50 million people. And once again, America is proud to stand against tyranny and to set nations free.

When Dick Cheney and I came to office, we found a military that was underfunded and underappreciated, so we acted. Along with the Congress, we gave our military the resources and respect they deserve. And today, no one can question the skill and the strength and the spirit of the United States military.

It is the Presiclent's job to confront problems, not to pass them on to future Presidents and future generations. Great events will tuna on this election. The man who sits in the Oval Office will set the course of the war on terror and the direction of our economy. The security and prosperity of America are at stake.

I'm running against a tough opponent. We should not take him lightly. He's an experienced Senator who has built up quite a record. [Laughter] He's been in Washington long enough to take both sides on just about every issue. [Laughter] He voted for the PATRIOT Act, for NAFTA, for the No Child Left Behind Act, and for the use of force in Iraq. Now he opposes the PATRIOT Act, NAFTA, the No Child Left Behind Act, and the liberation of Iraq. My opponent's positions on these issues reminded me of a saying we have in Texas about the weather. [Laughter] If you don't like it, just wait a few minutes, and it will change. [Laughter]

He has an interesting way of saying things. You know we're both out looking for votes and endorsements. As you might know, he claims he picked up some important endorsements among foreign leaders. [Laughter] He just won't tell us who they are. [Laughter] He did drop a hint a few weeks ago on TV. He said, "What I said is true. I mean, you can go to New York City, and you can be in a restaurant, and you can meet a foreign leader." End quote. [Laughter] I got a hunch this whole thing might be a case of mistaken identity. [Laughter] Just because somebody has an accent--[laughter]--and a nice suit--[laughter]--and a good table-[laughter]--it doesn't make him a foreign leader. [Laughter] Whoever these mystery men are, they won't be deciding the election. The voters will be deciding the election.

The voters will have a clear choice in this campaign. It's a choice between keeping the tax relief that is moving this economy forward of putting the burden of higher taxes back on the American people. It's a choice between an America that leads the world with strength and confidence of an America that is uncertain in the face of danger.

You know, thus far in the campaign we haven't heard much in the way of strategies from the other side to win the war on terror or to expand our economy. So far we've heard bitterness and outbursts instead of calm debate. The American people understand that anger is not an agenda for the future of America. I will take on the big issues with optimism and resolve and determination. And I will make it clear that we stand ready to lead this Nation for 4 more years.

Audience members, Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!

The President. A big issue for every family in America is the Federal tax burden. With the largest tax relief since Ronald Reagan was the President, we have left more money in the hands that earned it. By spending and investing and helping to create new jobs, the American people have used their money far better than the Government would have.

The entrepreneurial spirit in this country is strong. The economy grew at a strong rate of 4.2 percent in the first quarter. The economic growth over the past three quarters has been the fastest in nearly two decades. In March, the economy added 308,000 new jobs, the highest monthly job growth total in nearly 4 years. Since August, our economy has added over three-quarters of a million jobs. Across America, manufacturing activity is increasing. Business investment is rising. Disposable income is up. Mortgage and interest rates are near historic lows. Homeownership is at the highest rate ever. The tax relief, the pro-economic stimulus plan we passed is working.