Category — Compassionate Conservatism

From the moment Barack Obama announced his intentions to run for POTUS, I assumed that he would win.   The Clinton machine was worn out, and there were social forces and irrefutable facts that no “conservative” candidate could overcome.  Everything was in place when it came time to vote.  Briefly….

First, demographics:  Immigration and generational changes have eclipsed the Euro-centered, Post WWII electorate.  The young don’t care about Bill Ayers or radicalism any more than my generation cared about Tokyo Rose and Henry Wallace; the world of the young today is so bizarre and free-wheeling that nothing as tame as Jeremiah Wright can stand out and get serious attention.   Immigrants - most of whom have come here from despotic or chaotic countries - are seeking advantage through political power, and Barack Obama poses no threat to their conception of liberty.  They also don’t give a damn about Ben Franklin or Paul Revere, if you get my point.

Second, The Welfare State, or the same thing by other names:  Has grown in every administration since 1936, with a lapse during WWII.  All administrations have supported and expanded Human Resources and Defense ”superfunctions”, until it accounts for almost 62% of federal outlays since 1940 (adjusted for inflation). Everyone gets a piece, including those who call themselves conservatives.  Arguments about The Welfare State are window-dressing, because no faction or party seriously argues about its existence, and none attempt to define its sufficient size.

Third, popular conservatism itself, today, is a side show.   Buckley’s generation-long efforts to make conservatism respectable expired along with his sincerity, good sense and originality.  His heirs - like the bore George Will,  have made the essential muscularity of conservatism into a watery, disgusting gruel fit only for bow-tie wearing drama queens.   George W. Bush’s incoherence and government by passive silence has earned the detestation of almost every political perspective, especially the paleoconservatives.  Compassionate conservatism appeared to be ritualistic soul-cleansing, where things not belonging to you could be freely given to others.  Watch Barack Obama on this issue, too.

On the radio side, conservatism is dished up in the same old tropes, accompanied by country music, audio cuts of Ronald Reagan’s speeches and Wright’s squeals, and endless hammering on the anvils of American Exceptionalism and Rugged Individualism.  Together, their conclusions about why conservatism is moribund, is that voters dismayed by Republican cowardice and cupidity, punished them by voting for liberal Democrats.  Brilliant.   With analysis like this, we can win the T-Shirt slogan contest and forget the battle of ideas.

Speaking of ideas, that was McCain’s fatal problem.  He didn’t have any; he had a maverick personality, a biography, and expected us to generate ideas from there.  Obama projected plainly liquid and uncertain ideas, and his persona expanded like a Macy’s Parade balloon while McCain turned into a homunculus. Why this happened is unclear, and material for another post.

Right now I’m damned angry.   We’re exchanging one set of fools and poltroons who are clueless about the rationale, modes and aspirations of conservatism, for another set who are clueless about life, human nature, and the dangers in the world at large.  Great.

 I posted in the past that this is not over. Here is more. I’m saying again, this is not over. Bush’s profligate prescription plan started it. Congress took the bit in it’s mouth and it got worse. After the 2006 election all was lost on fiscal sanity, we are reaping what has been sown.I believe the Bible said something about bitter herbs…

The government has socialized Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. All loans in arrears but solvent sold off to institutions, foreign investors and private bankers protected from serious losses and the American taxpayer given the pipe. If one is smart, one will buy a half M house quickly and default so that you can get a great rate of interest and a write down on principal.

For the rest, who paid your mortgage on time, tough, you should have been a deadbeat. Or a liberal. Or a Democrat. That’s redundant, sorry.

Meanwhile, a 45% drop in share value pummeled Lehman Brothers over additional worries about the global financial system. If Lehman cannot raise capital, it joins Bear Sterns. Hey, maybe some taxpayers can bail it out! Isn’t that what we’re for, to save the fat kitties?

Monday the markets went up like a teenage boy looking at porn; yesterday down like his mother caught him. Many investors are buying US Treasuries seeking safety, while the list of clowns below are doing their best to destroy any value in bonds by out of control spending and onerous porking up legislation for pet projects in their districts and states.

We have serious inflation in progress from the idiotic ethanol program and oil jolt. Add to that job losses, the housing deflation, illegals taking available jobs from idled workers and the government is cooking a bad tasting soup.

To move the housing market, the Fed must lower interest rates. To head off rampant inflation, the Fed must raise interest rates. For those who think inflation isn’t bad, you haven’t been food or clothing shopping. Look at the COLA numbers the government uses to set next year’s increases. They have manipulated the items used to calculate the inflation rate for SS, Medicare, SSDI, Veterans Benefits and Government Pensions to avoid paying the real rise in cost of living. The government doesn’t have the money to pay the entitlement programs without borrowing more, which means printing more. (Inflationary) Something will give, likely to be the dollar on the world market.

All the while telling the gullible seniors vote us back in office, we’ll keep the cost of Mixed Grill down for you.

Want to blame some people, start with this list of suspects. Most are Dems, but there are some RINO’s in there too.

Top Recipients of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
Campaign Contributions, 1989-2008

1. Dodd, Christopher J (S) D-CT $133,900

2. Kerry, John D-MA (S) $111,000

3. Obama, Barack (S) D-IL $105,849

4. Clinton, Hillary (S) D-NY $75,550

5. Kanjorski, Paul E (H) D-PA $65,500

6. Bennett, Robert F (S) R-UT $61,499

7. Johnson, Tim (S) D-SD $61,000

8. Conrad, Kent (S) D-ND $58,991

9. Davis, Tom (H) R-VA $55,499

10. Bond, Christopher S ‘Kit’ (S) R-MO $55,400

11. Bachus, Spencer (H) R-AL $55,300

12. Shelby, Richard C (S) R-AL $55,000

13. Emanuel, Rahm (H) D-IL $51,750

14. Reed, Jack (S) D-RI $50,750

15. Carper, Tom (S) D-DE $44,389

16. Frank, Barney (H) D-MA $40,100

17. Maloney, Carolyn B (H) D-NY $38,750

18. Bean, Melissa (H) D-IL $37,249

19. Blunt, Roy (H) R-MO $36,500

20. Pryce, Deborah (H) R-OH $34,750

21. Miller, Gary (H) R-CA $33,000

22. Pelosi, Nancy (H) D-CA $32,750

23. Reynolds, Tom (H) R-NY $32,700

24. Hoyer, Steny H (H) D-MD $30,500

25. Hooley, Darlene (H) D-OR $28,750

I wonder how they voted on the parachutes for the heads of Freddie and Fannie?

“There is nothing more dangerous than a General Idea in narrow, empty minds. Being empty, they are incapable of questioning it; being narrow, before long it becomes an obsession. Thenceforth, it takes complete control of them. They are no longer their own master, but become in the most literal sense, possessed.”

Hippolyte Adolphe Taine (1828-1893)

I know. You never heard of him. But this little observation of his is true for Obama-mania as well as for Bush’s type of compassionate conservatism.

Peggy Noonan’s interesting article explores Democratic and Republican infighting.  She argues the Clintons are fracturing the Democratic Party along gender and race lines.  But more interesting from my standpoint is the person held culpable for fracturing the Republican Party:

George W. Bush destroyed the Republican Party, by which I mean he sundered it, broke its constituent pieces apart and set them against each other. He did this on spending, the size of government, war, the ability to prosecute war, immigration and other issues. 

Amen, Peggy.  But sadly, conservatives, myself included, brought this pox on our own house.  We supported President Bush even though we knew he wasn’t conservative.  The main arguments for electing him came down to name recognition and he wasn’t a Democrat.  Sounds an awful lot like the argument being made for John McCain, no?  McCain will probably pick a token conservative vice president too.

McCain might be most “electable”, but is 4 more years of compassionate conservatism really winning?  It’s more like losing a bit slower.

                       Stay away from me.  Go CARE about someone else.

In 1992, when Bill Clinton said “I feel your pain” to AIDS patient Bob Rafsky during a campaign stop, he seemed to mean it.  And he did, in the same way he felt all the narcissistic sentiments of his various realities to come.  We learned that, as he continued to emote and feel things during his priapic presidency, the facts and values of his emotions varied a great deal.  But, whatever his faults, Clinton was a lone act; he just wore the comedy and tragedy masks and didn’t try to institutionalize his pathos.  For that, we have George W. Bush and Compassionate Conservatism.

“Compassionate Conservatism” as a theoretical approach to social problems is the creation of Marvin Olasky, professor/journalist,  former communist, Jewish atheist turned Born Again Christian, Yale grad and former Bush advisor.  The term derives from Olasky’s study of the relative successes of government and private programs in relieving the effects of poverty throughout American history.  Olasky’s ideas and conclusions were the basis for faith-based initiatives, some of them adopted by GWB as governor to Texas and later as President.  

Compassionate Conservatism passed Olasky’s empirical tests.  It had less to do with religion than it did with communitarian possibilities , and almost nothing to do with the administrative state as a dispenser of compassion.  Bush, however, has infused his administration with a soft compassionate conservatism, and pushed the phrase front stage, and  thence into that deplorable family of catch-phrases inflicted upon historians and the public by political dream merchants.   These phrases define eras, visions, goals, national purposes and the evanescent pursuits of political generations, not of “the people” themselves.  

The last full century was fouled by such blinding banalities - New and Fair Deals, New Frontiers, New Convenants, New This, New That, Straight-Talk Express, WIN, and lots more, plus that apotheosis of mawkish liberal romanticism, stewed with a touch of Albert Speer,  The Great Society.  All of them foundered in some way on the shoals of reality.  As vessels for everyone’s different wishes and interpretations, they could never really function as democratic programs.  

As a digression, what the hell was The Great Society?  Someone tell me.  If the New Haven of today, with its brutalist architecture, bloodstains and cement foliage resembles the progressive vision of 1968,  someone needs to be punished for the artwork and the final rendering.  Liberals reduced the faded,  but restorable illuminated script of American urban life to loopy spray-can graffito, not only in New Haven but in every old city in the country because they cared about the inhabitants!   Listen, Uncle Sam.  Wherever I hurt, please don’t touch me there.

The same is true of Compassionate Conservatism, which to me seems to be the spiritual rationale for the President’s  swelling sympathies for anyone who can make it across an American border, to holders of burdensome mortgages, or to a select few who can lay claim to natural rights somewhere across the seas.  Despite Mexican towns emptying of young men, most who never return, despite the  deepening Latin despotism that make it desirable to leave and abandon hope of change, despite tyrannical stasis in the Middle East among our allies, our indiscriminate goodness survives the contradictions and goes looking for another heart to heal.   And we haven’t even gotten to sub-prime borrowers and their angst.

Now Bush is  waxing sympathetic about injustice in Myanmar, which is not a moral gradient he needs to scale to remain compassionate, and which fades into insignificance anyway in the shadows of monstrous injustices in Africa and the Middle East.  No doubt Rice can make a compassionate case for the Burmese/Myanmaris who must be saved by the ameliorative West.  It’s lunacy. There’s a natural limit to caring; it’s cheap, its reality is unknowable, and conservatism is not about pain, its  simply about liberty and justice for all.   You don’t attain either of these things by sloshing in sentimentality. 

With George Bush we got prescription drug subsidies,  support for affirmative action, a volcano of dollars for the orgy of corruption and graft that followed the genuine suffering of Katrina,  open borders, and Bush’s promotion of his four C’s of “civility, courage, compassion and character” (First Inaugural Address),  but not a word about The Constitution or his governing philosophy.  When you have no governing philosophy to defend as President, just a boundless heart,  then the office is your personal hair shirt.  The last time we went down this road, we got the constipated spirituality and crabbed pieties of Jimmy Carter.  Maybe we’re better off this time.  I’m not sure yet.

If the Republican Party follows President Bush’s lead, they are going to spend many, many years out of power. The president’s speech today signaled a further shift left in an already too compassionate conservatism. Entitlement programs will grow. Amnesty for illegal aliens disguised as “comprehensive” immigration reform will emerge. The president fell just short of telling Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid to fax him their agendas for signature.

When you think about it these loses were long overdue. First, the Republican Party abandoned the very principles that produced its majorities—The Contract with America and Reagan conservatism. These winning principles got replaced by a “1,000 Points of Light” and compassionate conservatism. Second, Republicans were living on borrowed time. 9/11 extended the shelf life of the Republican revolution by making national security everyone’s number 1 priority and giving the Republicans a pass on abandoning their promises. Those priorities shifted yesterday, and voters punished Republicans for not delivering on their original agenda.

Let’s hope some Republicans out there can read the tea leaves much better than President Bush, who is taking the party back to the country club and out of power by heading to the squishy middle.

Katrina is turning out to be President Bush’s worst nightmare. I am not referring to liberal opposition either. Conservatives are startintg to call out the Republican majority as the spending junkies that they’ve become. Stephen Moore of the Club for Growth exposes a crack in the GOP base:

Alas, in the world of compassionate conservatism, the quaint notion of limited federal power has fallen to the wayside in favor of an ethic that has Uncle Sam as first, second and third responder to crisis. FEMA, despite its woeful performance, will grow in size and stature. So will the welfare state. Welcome to the new New Dealism of the GOP.
Both political parties are now willing and eager to spend tax dollars as if they were passing out goody-bags to grabby four-year-olds at a birthday party. The Democrats are already forging their 2006 and 2008 message: We will spend just as many trillions of dollars as Republicans, but we will spend them better than they do. After witnessing the first few Republican misappropriations for Hurricane Katrina, the Democrats may very well be right.

Ultimately, I am sure the Club for Growth is just venting. But, Republicans need to remember money shouldn’t be used as a band-aid. A real debate on how to repair the Gulf Region should not be avoided. A values debate lead by Bush on how to prevent poverty might be nice too. (oh no, a values debate!!!) All of this being said, the Democrats phony outrage over deficit spending is laughable. They are just angry it’s not their sugar daddy FDR holding Uncle Sam’s ATM.

Barbara Bush put her foot in her mouth the other day and the MSM actually overlooked it:

…”former president Bush, must have been aghast when Barbara Bush mused how many of the people being housed “were underprivileged anyway, so this is working very well for them.” We’ve gone from compassionate conservatism to Marie Antoinette.

Bill Maher just echoed the “Marie Antoinette” charge and liberals bloggers have been talking about it. The MSM was too busy trashing her son to notice, but they would have noticed if it were said by Hillary or Ter-e-Zah. It’s one of the Republican advantages in the MSM: With the exception of Nancy Reagan, pity rather than attack Republican first ladies. Those poor women are Stepford Wives who don’t know any better!!!

The Republican Convention concluded last night with a good speech by the President. He spoke well and looked confident. Compare that to the way Kerry rushed through his speech and was sweating like Nixon.

Overall, The Republican Convention appears to have been a major success. How else can you explain the unprecedented step Kerry took last night of giving a midnight rally speech less than an hour after the President completed his speech . A couple of days ago, the NY Yankees lost to the Cleveland Indians 22-0. I think you would see a similarly lopsided score if you were to line up a list of speakers at the Democratic Convention and score them against the speakers at the Republican Convention.

Here is a recap of last night’s speeches.

The night began with an Olympic theme. Olympic Gymnastics Gold Medalists Mary Lou Retton (1984) and Kerri Strug (1996) started the night off with the Pledge of Allegiance. They were soon followed by former NFL Hall-of-Famer Lynn Swann and Olympic Figure Skating Gold Medalist Dorothy Hamill (1976) who paid tribute to this year’s U.S. Olympic team and pushed the importance of exercise (see transcript here).

Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams started off the speeches introducing President Bush:

Ladies and gentlemen, the story I’m going to share goes back nearly a quarter of a century.

It’s the story of an unlikely friendship between an African-American man from the other side of the tracks in Midland, Texas, and a Harvard graduate building his career in the energy business.

I’m speaking about the friendship between me and a man named George W. Bush. From the time we first met, it was evident to me that George saw America as a land of opportunity.

And more than that, he felt a personal stake in creating opportunity not just for some, but for everyone.

He was willing to work against the odds to help somebody realize the promise of this great country somebody who could do nothing for him.

You see, twenty years ago, Midland had never had an African-American elected to office.

When I decided to run, George W. Bush didn’t just agree to vote for me. He agreed to be my campaign manager.

I have to admit, he’s proved himself a far better President than campaign manager. We got stomped!

But with that defeat, he didn’t lose faith in me. He also didn’t lose faith in his vision of America.

After he appointed me to the energy commission in 1998, I became the highest ranking African-American elected official in Texas state government.

Today, President Bush has one of the most diverse cabinets in American history.

I’m here to tell you first-hand that his commitment to inclusion goes back to a time when nobody was watching.

It goes back to a time when we drove around Midland in his Oldsmobile, baby seats in the back, scattered with toys for the twins.

It goes back to a time when he did everything he could to avoid the dance floor at my wedding reception.

It goes back to a time when we rolled up our sleeves, grabbed our hammers, and put up the walls of a home for a Christmas in April project.

And to a time when we chewed on sunflower seeds and visited with folks at the ballpark in the hot Texas sun. America has been a land of opportunity for me because George Bush believed in me a quarter of a century ago.

And you know what? I believe in him, too.

Florida Senate Candidate Mel Martinez talked about being an immigrant from Cuba living the American dream and about compassionate conservatism:

…Over forty years ago, my parents sent me — as a young child — out of a land ruled by a Communist dictator…and now, just forty-eight hours ago, I became the Republican nominee for the United States Senate from the great State of Florida.

ONLY IN AMERICA!

Only in America can a 15-year old boy arrive on our shores alone, not speaking the language with a suitcase and the hope of a brighter future and rise to serve in the cabinet of the President of the United States.

And, only in America can that same young boy, today, stand one step away from making history as the first Cuban-American to serve in the United States Senate.

In 1962, my parents made a difficult decision to send me out of a Communist land…where a brutal dictator controlled every facet of our lives.

A land where I saw the government beat people as they left church for practicing their faith. Where the education system became a source for teaching revolution and na ve respect for one brutal dictator.

Knowing I had no future there, my mother and father sent me to this great nation — this nation, that stands as a beacon of freedom and opportunity

This nation, that is Ronald Reagan’s Shining City on a Hill.

My mother and father did not know when they would ever see me again.

But, with faith in God, and Faith in a country — that truly stands as a symbol of hope to people around the world — my family provided me with life in a free and secure land.

Tonight I stand before you — eternally grateful to this nation…where dreams come true.

I have lived the American dream, and I am determined to ensure the possibility of that dream for others.

I am here tonight, to urge my fellow Americans, to join me in protecting our freedom, our core values, and this free land.

I am here to ask you to reelect President George W. Bush.

He is a good friend and a man who values freedom with all his heart. He is a steadfast leader who is protecting the land we love and the freedoms we cherish.

President Bush and I believe in the promise of America.

The promise that regardless of where you came from, what language you speak, the color of your skin, or your economic circumstances if you share the American dream of freedom and opportunity and you pursue it with hard work, respect, and an abiding faith in God then all things are possible.

I believe in George Bush’s idea of “compassionate conservatism.” From the time I first heard him talk about it, I said “compassionate conservatism is the story of my life.”

And it is the story of so many other people. Working moms trying to make ends meet.

Dads working two jobs to give their children a better life. Immigrants, who, like me, saw America as a land of opportunity.

Throughout my journey, I have come to know firsthand the compassion of America and the genuine goodness of Americans.

I was deeply honored to serve in the Cabinet of a President with a big heart and deep affection for all Americans.

Not only does President Bush believe in the American dream, but his policies are helping people across our country to realize their own American Dream.

As President Bush’s Secretary of Housing, we worked together to implement a home-ownership initiative that is seeing real results.

Today, the home-ownership rate in the United States is at an all-time high, and more minority families own their own homes than ever before.

I was honored to carry the President’s message of hope and inclusion to the Hispanic communities in our country and throughout our hemisphere.

And I was so proud of President Bush for establishing a commission for assistance to a free Cuba, which I co-chaired with Secretary Colin Powell.

Because of the President’s steadfast commitment to democracy, we now have the first comprehensive Cuba policy in over 40 years.

During the four years that I lived in Florida before our family was reunited, I worked part time jobs, and was able to put myself through school…and start my family anew in America.

Tonight there are families working hard to save for their first home, their first car, or just to put food on the table.

President Bush and the Republican Party believe in a government that spends less and taxes less so that families can keep more of their hard-earned money.

That is a fundamental difference between the parties and between the two men running for President.

President Bush wants to cut taxes, and John Kerry wants to raise taxes.

Our seniors also deserve to live the American dream… with dignity and financial security.

As a person with three mothers — my two foster moms and my own mother all three of whom are in their eighties, I am extremely thankful to President Bush for his leadership in providing affordable drugs for our seniors.

For years, our seniors have been promised a prescription drug benefit under Medicare, and those promises fell empty.

Now because of President Bush, seniors are finally getting help with the cost of their prescription drugs.

Education is the key to unlocking the American Dream.

For immigrants like me, and for children trapped in a cycle of poverty, the only way out is a quality education.

The promise of America will only be a distant vision unless every American has the opportunity to receive a first-class education.

The American Dream demands it, and our children deserve it.

For decades, education in America wallowed in mediocrity - stagnated by bureaucracies that counted dollars but not results.

Then along came a President who wanted to make sure that all children could go as far as their hard work would take them.

George W. Bush believes that like students, schools should get report cards he believes in giving parents more choices about their children’s education he believes that high school diplomas should mean that graduates actually have the skills to compete in the 21st century economy.

If you believe that America’s schools are leaving too many children behind and that every child can and must learn — then your choice for President is George W. Bush.

***

My America…is Ronald Reagan’s “Shining City on a Hill”.

I saw its beacon as a young boy from behind the wall of Communism.

I felt its warmth through the genuine goodness of its people.

Like so many immigrants, I aim to repay a debt of gratitude to America by passionately defending and safeguarding the American Dream — for this and future generations.

That’s why I support our great President, George W. Bush.

Thank You, God Bless You, and God Bless America.

Next up was Retired General Tommy Franks who recently endorsed the President. He was introduced after a tribute to the troops. Gen. Franks spoke about the President’s support of the military and the need to fight terrorists in their homes instead of in ours. Here is his speech in full (emphasis added):

I’m Tommy Franks and I approved that message.

This convention ROCKS…

I’m not a Republican. I’m not a Democrat. But I believe in democracy. I believe in America.

After almost four decades as a Soldier I’ve been Independent…some would say very independent

But, here I stand tonight, endorsing George W. Bush to be the next President of the United States.

America is a land of opportunity and a land of choice.

A great war time President, Franklin Roosevelt, once said: “Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely.”

Delegates and Friends I am prepared to “choose wisely.”

And I choose George W. Bush.

I am honored to join the American Patriots who just stood on this stage.

Men who know as do our troopers’ mothers and dads, husbands and wives, that ‘Freedom is Never Free.’

These are men who stepped forward to lead America’s sons and daughters selflessly. They remained loyal to their Country and the troops.

I join them in saluting our Commander in Chief George W. Bush.

America finds itself today at an important crease in history. The attacks of September 11th, brought a new enemy to our shores an enemy unlike any we’ve ever faced before.

Our Nation is safer today because we have hardened our defenses and taken the fight to the terrorists, but we still have work to do.

The Global War on Terrorism will be a long fight. But make no mistake we are going to fight the terrorists. The question is do we fight them over there — or do we fight them here. I choose to fight them over there.

Some argue that we should treat this war as a law enforcement issue. Some say we should fight a less aggressive war — that we should retreat into a defensive posture and hope that the terrorists don’t attack us again.

Well, my wife Cathy and I are simply not willing to bet our grandchildren’s future on the ‘good will’ of murderers.

I learned long ago that hope is not a strategy.

In the years ahead, America will be called upon to demonstrate character, consistency, courage, and leadership.

Lincoln once said, “Character is like a tree and reputation is like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.”

Citizens and friends, I’ve been with this President in tough, uncertain times. George W. Bush is “the real thing.”

The past three years have been hard years, a time of hard decisions and tough choices.

I have looked into his eyes and I have seen his character.

I have seen courage and consistency the courage to stand up to terrorists and the consistency necessary to beat them.

In the battle for Afghanistan we removed a regime that provided the base of support for the al Qaeda terrorists that had been killing Americans for years.

In the battle for Iraq, we removed a brutal regime with an avowed hatred of America, a history of torturing its own people, and a history of using WMD against its neighbors and its own citizens.

We removed a regime with well documented ties to terrorists like al Qaeda murderer Abu Zarqawi.

Terrorism against our country started long before 9-11. Terrorists have been killing Americans for more than two decades. I am proud that this President has chosen to make a stand.

Today, in Afghanistan and Iraq, more than 50 million men, women and children have been liberated from tyranny and these countries are no longer safe harbors for those who would launch the next attack against America.

We see the smiles of little girls in Afghanistan who can now go to school. We see pride in the faces of a new Iraqi army as they begin to protect their new found freedoms.

We see resolve in the faces of emerging leaders of Iraq and Afghanistan as they build their new nations. And soon, in both Iraq and Afghanistan we will see free elections.

In Afghanistan and Iraq, terrorism and tyranny are being replaced by freedom, hope, and opportunity.

I am proud that America has given 50 million people a chance.

And we have not been in this fight alone.

President Bush has built the largest coalition in the history of the world nations united together against terrorism.

Some have ridiculed the contributions made by our allies, but I can tell you that every contribution from every nation is important.

Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in thanking our Coalition partners for being there when America and the world needed them most.

There can be no tougher decision than the decision to go to war the decision to put our sons and daughters into harm’s way.

When George W. Bush asked America’s men and women to go to war, he gave them every resource the Nation possessed.

This is a man who, before sending us into battle, personally asked each military commander if he had everything he needed.

This is a man who made sure everything possible was done to protect our troops from the WMD we all expected. This is a commander in chief who is as compassionate as he is courageous.

President Bush has increased basic pay for men and women in uniform by more than 20 percent.

He has improved military housing. And he has provided strong support for military families who sacrifice so much.

And while we celebrate the American fighting man and woman when they are in the news, who remembers the veterans when the parades are over and the cheering fades?

Who remembers the veteran’s families?

President George W. Bush has provided unprecedented support for these heroes. In fact he secured a larger increase in veterans funding in four years than the previous Administration did in eight.

This President remembers our veterans and is keeping America’s promise to those who have sacrificed so much for us all.

George W. Bush remembers the sacrifices of the greatest generation and those who served bravely in Korea and Viet Nam.

To all our veterans we say, “welcome home.”

This President has remained loyal to those who serve and for that he has my respect.

Citizens and friends, I began tonight by reminding you that America must make a choice.

I choose George W. Bush because he is a leader we can depend on to make the tough decisions and the right decisions.

I choose George W. Bush because his vision to take the fight to the terrorists is the best way to protect our country.

I choose George W. Bush because he stands up for the American fighting man and woman and because he remembers our veterans.

I choose George W. Bush because we know the next 200 years of American history depends on the decisions we make as a Nation today.

And, I choose President George W. Bush because I believe his leadership will help ensure a better future for my grandchildren — Anne Cathryn and Samuel Thomas Matlock.

Thank you all– and may God bless our Country and our Commander- in-Chief.

Governor George Pataki of New York was given the honor of introducing President Bush. The governor thanked America for their help and kindness after 9/11. He then compared the President’s steadfastness to Kerry’s addiction to waffles (emphasis added):

Thank you, delegates and friends.

I have been governor of this state for ten years, through challenge, and triumph, and tonight is a great New York night.

I’m going to be brief, because tonight we hear from President George W. Bush.

The past few evenings we have spoken of September 11th, of our heroes and of those we lost.

But there’s a part of this story that has never fully been told. I’d like to tell it.

After September 11th our tourism industry was hit hard. Do you know what the people of Oregon did? A thousand people from Oregon came to New York and rented a thousand hotel rooms so our workers and desk clerks and waiters could keep their jobs.

Where is the Oregon delegation? Oregon, can I ask you to stand?

Thank you.

Where is Iowa?

After September 11th, the people of Iowa heard that our guys at ground zero were cold, working through the night, so Iowa rushed one thousand five hundred quilts to help keep them warm.

Iowa Delegation will you please stand? Thank you.

Pennsylvania, where are you?

Five brothers in your state had been saving for years to go to Disney World. They had saved almost $900. After September 11th the boys drove to Brooklyn, to a fire house that had lost eight men. They gave their Disney World money to the relief fund.

Pennsylvania, you raised those boys, will you stand? Thank you.

Now, I could tell a story like this about every single state in the country. But there was of course another state.

It woke up one morning and walked the kids to school, and suddenly the streets were full of sirens and there was fire in the sky.

You know what they did, the people of this state?

They charged into the towers, they stood on line like soldiers to give blood.

And then, in the days and nights that followed, the tough men and women of our great city came forward.

They quieted the fire and dug us out of grief. They got into trucks and went to Ground Zero the construction workers and iron workers, our police officers and fire fighters.

And the people of our city stood in the dark each night, waving flags, and calling out “God bless you” as the trucks hurtled by.

And the men and women on those trucks waved back as if to say, “Hey, no problem.”
This great state rolled up its sleeves, looked terrorism straight in the face, and spat in its eye.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you New York.

On that terrible day, a nation became a neighborhood. All Americans became New Yorkers.

So, what I’ve wanted to do for a long time was say thank you — in front of our country, and with our children watching.

Thank you America, from the very bottom of New York’s heart.

And now, we have some business to do.

Every four years people say ‘This is the most important election of our lifetime.’ This time it’s true.

We have a choice between two very different men.

Different views, different histories. I know them both we were at college together, the president a year behind me, Senator Kerry a year ahead.

John Kerry was head of the Liberal Union, I was head of the Conservative Union.

We never got to debate back then. But the Senator has asked for a full and frank discussion.

Well, let’s start now.

I want to help voters compare President Bush’s record of achievement with Senator Kerry’s. That way they’ll be able to see the difference, which is that President Bush has a record of achievement.

Almost four years ago George W. Bush raised his right hand and took the oath of office. And from the first he showed us something we hadn’t seen in a while. When he said he was going to do something, he meant it.

And then he did it.

Given recent history, that’s amazing.

He inherited a recession, and then came September 11th. But George Bush said he would turn around the economy and create new jobs.

He said he’d do it. And he did.

He said he would cut taxes on the middle class, and ease the tax burden on all Americans.

He said he’d do it. And he did.

He said he’d help small businesses, protect social security, and expand home ownership.

He said he’d do it. And he did.

He said he’d apply tougher standards to our schools. He’d help our seniors get the prescription drug coverage they need.

He said he’d do it. And he did.

And George Bush said he’d fight to allow the power of faith to help our young and help our troubled.

He said he’d do it. And he did.

There’s much more, but you get the point.

George W. Bush says what he means, he means what he says, you can trust him.

Senator Kerry, on the other hand

Well, what can we say of Senator Kerry?

He was for the war and then he was against the war.

Then he was for it but he wouldn’t fund it.

Then he’d fund it but he wasn’t for it.

He was for the Patriot Act until he was against it.

Or was he against it until he was for it?

I forget. He probably does too.

This is a candidate who has to Google his own name to find out where he stands.

You saw their convention a few weeks ago. They had a slogan: “Hope is on the way.” But with all their flip-flopping and zig-zagging their real slogan should be, “Hype is on the way.”

You know, as Republicans we’re lucky. This fall we’re going to win one for the Gipper. But our opponents - they’re going lose one with the Flipper.

I thank God that on September 11th, we had a president who didn’t wring his hands and wonder what America had done wrong to deserve this attack.

I thank God we had a president who understood that America was attacked, not for what we had done wrong, but for what we do right.

The President took strong action to protect our country.

That sounds like something any president would do. How I wish that were so.

You know the history. Osama bin Laden declared war on America — and then came the attacks –

the first World Trade Center, the embassies, the USS Cole — hundreds dead, thousands injured.

How I wish the administration at that time, in those years had done something.

How I wished they had moved to protect us — But - they - didn’t - do -it.

On September 11th Al Qaeda attacked again. But this time they made a terrible mistake.

There’s one thing they didn’t bank on.

They didn’t bank on George W. Bush.

He didn’t run from history. He faced it.

George Bush raised our spirits.

He came to New York, stood on that smoking heap, looked at our heroes and said I can hear you and soon the whole world will hear you

He declared a new doctrine: The United States will find and remove terrorists, whoever they are and wherever they are, and if you harbor them, there will be hell to pay.

He mobilized our forces and went to Afghanistan, where the United States fought and won a war.

Al Qaeda camps were pulverized, the Taliban deposed.

George Bush protected our country. And - he - protects - it - still.

With supreme guts and rightness President Bush went into Iraq.

The US had asked for peace, went to the UN time and again, asked Saddam to step aside. But Saddam would not be moved.

So President Bush moved him

Our American troops, our citizen soldiers and the Coalition of the Willing moved him. And soon a dictator who had used poison gas on his own people was found cowering in the earth.

Some people have called this an abuse of power. I call it progress.

There are those who still say that there was no reason to liberate Iraq. They ask about weapons of mass destruction.

On September 11th in New York we learned that in the hands of a monster, a box cutter is a weapon of mass destruction.

And Saddam Hussein was a monster — a walking- talking weapon of mass destruction.

It is good for the world that he is gone.

Where does Senator Kerry stand on all this? In Boston, he said that in the future “any attack would be met with a swift and certain response”.

Well, respectfully Senator, that’s not good enough.

We’ve already been attacked, time and again.

And President Bush understands we can’t just wait for the next attack. We have to go after them in their training camps, in their hiding places, in their spider holes, before they have the chance to attack us again.

Senator Kerry says, “America should go to war not when it wants to go to war but when it has to go to war.”

Well, Senator: the fire fighters and cops who ran into those burning towers and died on September 11th didn’t want to go to war, they were heroes in a war they didn’t even know existed.

America did not choose this war. But we have a President who chooses to win it.

This is no ordinary time. The stakes could not be higher. Fate has handed our generation a grave new threat to freedom. And fortune has given us a leader who will defend that freedom. This is no ordinary time.

And George W. Bush is no ordinary leader.

I’m a New Yorker.

We’ve got a lot of feeling deep down, though we don’t always show it.

But let me ask you: What is this election about if it isn’t about our love of Freedom?

A love for all we are, and can be - for that old Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, for Constitution Hall, for that island, Ellis Island, where the whole world’s people came to share in our freedom.

And love too for that statue in New York’s great grand harbor. That noble statue that greeted the lonely, and seemed by her very grandeur to be telling them, ‘Take heart, take heart, it’s going to be better here.’

We had to close her down after September 11th. But we opened her again a few weeks ago.

That was a good day.

And now she stands, tall and immovable, lighting the way to dreams, that symbol of hope, that Statue of Liberty.

Ladies and Gentlemen

On this night and in this fight there is another who holds high that torch of freedom. He is one of those men God and fate somehow lead to the fore in times of challenge.

And he is lighting the way to better times, a safer land, and hope.

He is my friend, he is our president, President George W. Bush.

Governor Pataki was followed by a video about President Bush that was narrated by Fred Thompson. The video ended showing President Bush throw out the first pitch at the 2001 World Series game in Yankee Stadium. If you don’t remember, the pitch was a strike from the mound. which was remarkable considering the secret service bullet-proof vest he was wearing under his shirt.

President Bush laid out his vision for a second term and spoke about how his policies will protect America and win the War on Terror. There was a moving moment near the end where he spoke about the soldiers we have lost and the strength their families have displayed. Here is his speech in full (emphasis added):

Mr. Chairman, delegates, fellow citizens: I am honored by your support, and I accept your nomination for President of the United States.

When I said those words four years ago, none of us could have envisioned what these years would bring. In the heart of this great city, we saw tragedy arrive on a quiet morning. We saw the bravery of rescuers grow with danger. We learned of passengers on a doomed plane who died with a courage that frightened their killers. We have seen a shaken economy rise to its feet. And we have seen Americans in uniform storming mountain strongholds, and charging through sandstorms, and liberating millions, with acts of valor that would make the men of Normandy proud.

Since 2001, Americans have been given hills to climb, and found the strength to climb them. Now, because we have made the hard journey, we can see the valley below. Now, because we have faced challenges with resolve, we have historic goals within our reach, and greatness in our future. We will build a safer world and a more hopeful America and nothing will hold us back.

In the work we have done, and the work we will do, I am fortunate to have a superb Vice President. I have counted on Dick Cheney’s calm and steady judgment in difficult days, and I am honored to have him at my side.

I am grateful to share my walk in life with Laura Bush. Americans have come to see the goodness and kindness and strength I first saw 26 years ago, and we love our First Lady.

I am a fortunate father of two spirited, intelligent, and lovely young women. I am blessed with a sister and brothers who are also my closest friends. And I will always be the proud and grateful son of George and Barbara Bush.

My father served eight years at the side of another great American Ronald Reagan. His spirit of optimism and goodwill and decency are in this hall, and in our hearts, and will always define our party.

Two months from today, voters will make a choice based on the records we have built, the convictions we hold, and the vision that guides us forward. A presidential election is a contest for the future. Tonight I will tell you where I stand, what I believe, and where I will lead this country in the next four years.

I believe every child can learn, and every school must teach so we passed the most important federal education reform in history. Because we acted, children are making sustained progress in reading and math, America’s schools are getting better, and nothing will hold us back.

I believe we have a moral responsibility to honor America’s seniors so I brought Republicans and Democrats together to strengthen Medicare. Now seniors are getting immediate help buying medicine. Soon every senior will be able to get prescription drug coverage, and nothing will hold us back.

I believe in the energy and innovative spirit of America’s workers, entrepreneurs, farmers, and ranchers so we unleashed that energy with the largest tax relief in a generation. Because we acted, our economy is growing again, and creating jobs, and nothing will hold us back.

I believe the most solemn duty of the American president is to protect the American people. If America shows uncertainty and weakness in this decade, the world will drift toward tragedy. This will not happen on my watch.

I am running for President with a clear and positive plan to build a safer world, and a more hopeful America. I am running with a compassionate conservative philosophy: that government should help people improve their lives, not try to run their lives. I believe this Nation wants steady, consistent, principled leadership and that is why, with your help, we will win this election.

The story of America is the story of expanding liberty: an ever-widening circle, constantly growing to reach further and include more. Our Nation’s founding commitment is still our deepest commitment: In our world, and here at home, we will extend the frontiers of freedom.

The times in which we live and work are changing dramatically. The workers of our parents’ generation typically had one job, one skill, one career often with one company that provided health care and a pension. And most of those workers were men. Today, workers change jobs, even careers, many times during their lives, and in one of the most dramatic shifts our society has seen, two-thirds of all Moms also work outside the home.

This changed world can be a time of great opportunity for all Americans to earn a better living, support your family, and have a rewarding career. And government must take your side. Many of our most fundamental systems the tax code, health coverage, pension plans, worker training were created for the world of yesterday, not tomorrow. We will transform these systems so that all citizens are equipped, prepared and thus truly free to make your own choices and pursue your own dreams.

My plan begins with providing the security and opportunity of a growing economy. We now compete in a global market that provides new buyers for our goods, but new competition for our workers. To create more jobs in America, America must be the best place in the world to do business. To create jobs, my plan will encourage investment and expansion by restraining federal spending, reducing regulation, and making tax relief permanent. To create jobs, we will make our country less dependent on foreign sources of energy. To create jobs, we will expand trade and level the playing field to sell American goods and services across the globe. And we must protect small business owners and workers from the explosion of frivolous lawsuits that threaten jobs across America.

Another drag on our economy is the current tax code, which is a complicated mess filled with special interest loopholes, saddling our people with more than six billion hours of paperwork and headache every year. The American people deserve and our economic future demands a simpler, fairer, pro-growth system. In a new term, I will lead a bipartisan effort to reform and simplify the federal tax code.

Another priority in a new term will be to help workers take advantage of the expanding economy to find better, higher-paying jobs. In this time of change, many workers want to go back to school to learn different or higher-level skills. So we will double the number of people served by our principal job training program and increase funding for community colleges. I know that with the right skills, American workers can compete with anyone, anywhere in the world.

In this time of change, opportunity in some communities is more distant than in others. To stand with workers in poor communities and those that have lost manufacturing, textile, and other jobs we will create American opportunity zones. In these areas, we’ll provide tax relief and other incentives to attract new business, and improve housing and job training to bring hope and work throughout all of America.

As I’ve traveled the country, I’ve met many workers and small business owners who have told me they are worried they cannot afford health care. More than half of the uninsured are small business employees and their families. In a new term, we must allow small firms to join together to purchase insurance at the discounts available to big companies. We will offer a tax credit to encourage small businesses and their employees to set up health savings accounts, and provide direct help for low-income Americans to purchase them. These accounts give workers the security of insurance against major illness, the opportunity to save tax-free for routine health expenses, and the freedom of knowing you can take your account with you whenever you change jobs. And we will provide low-income Americans with better access to health care: In a new term, I will ensure every poor county in America has a community or rural health center.

As I have traveled our country, I have met too many good doctors, especially OB-GYNS, who are being forced out of practice because of the high cost of lawsuits. To make health care more affordable and accessible, we must pass medical liability reform now. And in all we do to improve health care in America, we will make sure that health decisions are made by doctors and patients, not by bureaucrats in Washington, DC.

In this time of change, government must take the side of working families. In a new term, we will change outdated labor laws to offer comp-time and flex-time. Our laws should never stand in the way of a more family-friendly workplace.

Another priority for a new term is to build an ownership society, because ownership brings security, and dignity, and independence.

Thanks to our policies, homeownership in America is at an all-time high. Tonight we set a new goal: seven million more affordable homes in the next 10 years so more American families will be able to open the door and say welcome to my home.

In an ownership society, more people will own their health plans, and have the confidence of owning a piece of their retirement. We will always keep the promise of Social Security for our older workers. With the huge Baby Boom generation approaching retirement, many of our children and grandchildren understandably worry whether Social Security will be there when they need it. We must strengthen Social Security by allowing younger workers to save some of their taxes in a personal account a nest egg you can call your own, and government can never take away.

In all these proposals, we seek to provide not just a government program, but a path a path to greater opportunity, more freedom, and more control over your own life.

This path begins with our youngest Americans. To build a more hopeful America, we must help our children reach as far as their vision and character can take them. Tonight, I remind every parent and every teacher, I say to every child: No matter what your circumstance, no matter where you live your school will be the path to the promise of America.

We are transforming our schools by raising standards and focusing on results. We are insisting on accountability, empowering parents and teachers, and making sure that local people are in charge of their schools. By testing every child, we are identifying those who need help and we’re providing a record level of funding to get them that help. In northeast Georgia, Gainesville Elementary School is mostly Hispanic and 90 percent poor and this year 90 percent of its students passed state tests in reading and math. The principal expresses the philosophy of his school this way: “We don’t focus on what we can’t do at this school; we focus on what we can do; we do whatever it takes to get kids across the finish line.” This principal is challenging the soft bigotry of low expectations, and that is the spirit of our education reform, and the commitment of our country: No dejaremos a ning n ni o atr s. We will leave no child behind.

We are making progress and there is more to do. In this time of change, most new jobs are filled by people with at least two years of college, yet only about one in four students gets there. In our high schools, we will fund early intervention programs to help students at risk. We will place a new focus on math and science. As we make progress, we will require a rigorous exam before graduation. By raising performance in our high schools, and expanding Pell grants for low and middle income families, we will help more Americans start their career with a college diploma.

America’s children must also have a healthy start in life. In a new term, we will lead an aggressive effort to enroll millions of poor children who are eligible but not signed up for the government’s health insurance programs. We will not allow a lack of attention, or information, to stand between these children and the health care they need.

Anyone who wants more details on my agenda can find them online. The web address is not very imaginative, but it’s easy to remember: GeorgeWBush.com.

These changing times can be exciting times of expanded opportunity. And here, you face a choice. My opponent’s policies are dramatically different from ours. Senator Kerry opposed Medicare reform and health savings accounts. After supporting my education reforms, he now wants to dilute them. He opposes legal and medical liability reform. He opposed reducing the marriage penalty, opposed doubling the child credit, and opposed lowering income taxes for all who pay them. To be fair, there are some things my opponent is for he’s proposed more than two trillion dollars in new federal spending so far, and that’s a lot, even for a senator from Massachusetts. To pay for that spending, he is running on a platform of increasing taxes and that’s the kind of promise a politician usually keeps.

His policies of tax and spend of expanding government rather than expanding opportunity are the policies of the past. We are on the path to the future and we are not turning back.

In this world of change, some things do not change: the values we try to live by, the institutions that give our lives meaning and purpose. Our society rests on a foundation of responsibility and character and family commitment.

Because family and work are sources of stability and dignity, I support welfare reform that strengthens family and requires work. Because a caring society will value its weakest members, we must make a place for the unborn child. Because religious charities provide a safety net of mercy and compassion, our government must never discriminate against them. Because the union of a man and woman deserves an honored place in our society, I support the protection of marriage against activist judges. And I will continue to appoint federal judges who know the difference between personal opinion and the strict interpretation of the law.

My opponent recently announced that he is the candidate of “conservative values,” which must have come as a surprise to a lot of his supporters. Now, there are some problems with this claim. If you say the heart and soul of America is found in Hollywood, I’m afraid you are not the candidate of conservative values. If you voted against the bipartisan Defense of Marriage Act, which President Clinton signed, you are not the candidate of conservative values. If you gave a speech, as my opponent did, calling the Reagan presidency eight years of “moral darkness,” then you may be a lot of things, but the candidate of conservative values is not one of them.

This election will also determine how America responds to the continuing danger of terrorism and you know where I stand. Three days after September 11th, I stood where Americans died, in the ruins of the Twin Towers. Workers in hard hats were shouting to me, “Whatever it takes.” A fellow grabbed me by the arm and he said, “Do not let me down.” Since that day, I wake up every morning thinking about how to better protect our country. I will never relent in defending America whatever it takes.

So we have fought the terrorists across the earth not for pride, not for power, but because the lives of our citizens are at stake. Our strategy is clear. We have tripled funding for homeland security and trained half a million first responders, because we are determined to protect our homeland. We are transforming our military and reforming and strengthening our intelligence services. We are staying on the offensive striking terrorists abroad so we do not have to face them here at home. And we are working to advance liberty in the broader Middle East, because freedom will bring a future of hope, and the peace we all want. And we will prevail.

Our strategy is succeeding. Four years ago, Afghanistan was the home base of al-Qaida, Pakistan was a transit point for terrorist groups, Saudi Arabia was fertile ground for terrorist fundraising, Libya was secretly pursuing nuclear weapons, Iraq was a gathering threat, and al-Qaida was largely unchallenged as it planned attacks. Today, the government of a free Afghanistan is fighting terror, Pakistan is capturing terrorist leaders, Saudi Arabia is making raids and arrests, Libya is dismantling its weapons programs, the army of a free Iraq is fighting for freedom, and more than three-quarters of al-Qaida’s key members and associates have been detained or killed. We have led, many have joined, and America and the world are safer.

This progress involved careful diplomacy, clear moral purpose, and some tough decisions. And the toughest came on Iraq. We knew Saddam Hussein’s record of aggression and support for terror. We knew his long history of pursuing, even using, weapons of mass destruction. And we know that September 11th requires our country to think differently: We must, and we will, confront threats to America before it is too late.

In Saddam Hussein, we saw a threat. Members of both political parties, including my opponent and his running mate, saw the threat, and voted to authorize the use of force. We went to the United Nations Security Council, which passed a unanimous resolution demanding the dictator disarm, or face serious consequences. Leaders in the Middle East urged him to comply. After more than a decade of diplomacy, we gave Saddam Hussein another chance, a final chance, to meet his responsibilities to the civilized world. He again refused, and I faced the kind of decision that comes only to the Oval Office a decision no president would ask for, but must be prepared to make. Do I forget the lessons of September 11th and take the word of a madman, or do I take action to defend our country? Faced with that choice, I will defend America every time.

Because we acted to defend our country, the murderous regimes of Saddam Hussein and the Taliban are history, more than 50 million people have been liberated, and democracy is coming to the broader Middle East. In Afghanistan, terrorists have done everything they can to intimidate people yet more than 10 million citizens have registered to vote in the October presidential election a resounding endorsement of democracy. Despite ongoing acts of violence, Iraq now has a strong Prime Minister, a national council, and national elections are scheduled for January. Our Nation is standing with the people of Afghanistan and Iraq, because when America gives its word, America must keep its word. As importantly, we are serving a vital and historic cause that will make our country safer. Free societies in the Middle East will be hopeful societies, which no longer feed resentments and breed violence for export. Free governments in the Middle East will fight terrorists instead of harboring them, and that helps us keep the peace. So our mission in Afghanistan and Iraq is clear: We will help new leaders to train their armies, and move toward elections, and get on the path of stability and democracy as quickly as possible. And then our troops will return home with the honor they have earned.

Our troops know the historic importance of our work. One Army Specialist wrote home: “We are transforming a once sick society into a hopeful place The various terrorist enemies we are facing in Iraq,” he continued, “are really aiming at you back in the United States. This is a test of will for our country. We soldiers of yours are doing great and scoring victories in confronting the evil terrorists.”

That young man is right our men and women in uniform are doing a superb job for America. Tonight I want to speak to all of them and to their families: You are involved in a struggle of historic proportion. Because of your service and sacrifice, we are defeating the terrorists where they live and plan, and making America safer. Because of you, women in Afghanistan are no longer shot in a sports stadium. Because of you, the people of Iraq no longer fear being executed and left in mass graves. Because of you, the world is more just and will be more peaceful. We owe you our thanks, and we owe you something more. We will give you all the resources, all the tools, and all the support you need for victory.

Again, my opponent and I have different approaches. I proposed, and the Congress overwhelmingly passed, 87 billion dollars in funding needed by our troops doing battle in Afghanistan and Iraq. My opponent and his running mate voted against this money for bullets, and fuel, and vehicles, and body armor. When asked to explain his vote, the Senator said, “I actually did vote for the 87 billion dollars before I voted against it.” Then he said he was “proud” of that vote. Then, when pressed, he said it was a “complicated” matter. There is nothing complicated about supporting our troops in combat.

Our allies also know the historic importance of our work. About 40 nations stand beside us in Afghanistan, and some 30 in Iraq. And I deeply appreciate the courage and wise counsel of leaders like Prime Minister Howard, and President Kwasniewski, and Prime Minister Berlusconi and, of course, Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Again, my opponent takes a different approach. In the midst of war, he has called America’s allies, quote, a “coalition of the coerced and the bribed.” That would be nations like Great Britain, Poland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Denmark, El Salvador, Australia, and others allies that deserve the respect of all Americans, not the scorn of a politician. I respect every soldier, from every country, who serves beside us in the hard work of history. America is grateful, and America will not forget.

The people we have freed won’t forget either. Not long ago, seven Iraqi men came to see me in the Oval Office. They had “X”s branded into their foreheads, and their right hands had been cut off, by Saddam Hussein’s secret police, the sadistic punishment for imaginary crimes. During our emotional visit one of the Iraqi men used his new prosthetic hand to slowly write out, in Arabic, a prayer for God to bless America. I am proud that our country remains the hope of the oppressed, and the greatest force for good on this earth.

Others understand the historic importance of our work. The terrorists know. They know that a vibrant, successful democracy at the heart of the Middle East will discredit their radical ideology of hate. They know that men and women with hope, and purpose, and dignity do not strap bombs on their bodies and kill the innocent. The terrorists are fighting freedom with all their cunning and cruelty because freedom is their greatest fear and they should be afraid, because freedom is on the march.

I believe in the transformational power of liberty: The wisest use of American strength is to advance freedom. As the citizens of Afghanistan and Iraq seize the moment, their example will send a message of hope throughout a vital region. Palestinians will hear the message that democracy and reform are within their reach, and so is peace with our good friend Israel. Young women across the Middle East will hear the message that their day of equality and justice is coming. Young men will hear the message that national progress and dignity are found in liberty, not tyranny and terror. Reformers, and political prisoners, and exiles will hear the message that their dream of freedom cannot be denied forever. And as freedom advances heart by heart, and nation by nation America will be more secure and the world more peaceful.

America has done this kind of work before and there have always been doubters. In 1946, 18 months after the fall of Berlin to allied forces, a journalist wrote in the New York Times, “Germany is a land in an acute stage of economic, political and moral crisis. [European] capitals are frightened. In every [military] headquarters, one meets alarmed officials doing their utmost to deal with the consequences of the occupation policy that they admit has failed.” End quote. Maybe that same person’s still around, writing editorials. Fortunately, we had a resolute president named Truman, who with the American people persevered, knowing that a new democracy at the center of Europe would lead to stability and peace. And because that generation of Americans held firm in the cause of liberty, we live in a better and safer world today.

The progress we and our friends and allies seek in the broader Middle East will not come easily, or all at once. Yet Americans, of all people, should never be surprised by the power of liberty to transform lives and nations. That power brought settlers on perilous journeys, inspired colonies to rebellion, ended the sin of slavery, and set our Nation against the tyrannies of the 20th century. We were honored to aid the rise of democracy in Germany and Japan and Nicaragua and Central Europe and the Baltics and that noble story goes on. I believe that America is called to lead the cause of freedom in a new century. I believe that millions in the Middle East plead in silence for their liberty. I believe that given the chance, they will embrace the most honorable form of government ever devised by man. I believe all these things because freedom is not America’s gift to the world, it is the Almighty God’s gift to every man and woman in this world.

This moment in the life of our country will be remembered. Generations will know if we kept our faith and kept our word. Generations will know if we seized this moment, and used it to build a future of safety and peace. The freedom of many, and the future security of our Nation, now depend on us. And tonight, my fellow Americans, I ask you to stand with me.

In the last four years, you and I have come to know each other. Even when we don’t agree, at least you know what I believe and where I stand. You may have noticed I have a few flaws, too. People sometimes have to correct my English I knew I had a problem when Arnold Schwarzenegger started doing it. Some folks look at me and see a certain swagger, which in Texas is called “walking.” Now and then I come across as a little too blunt and for that we can all thank the white-haired lady sitting right up there.

One thing I have learned about the presidency is that whatever shortcomings you have, people are going to notice them and whatever strengths you have, you’re going to need them. These four years have brought moments I could not foresee and will not forget. I have tried to comfort Americans who lost the most on September 11th people who showed me a picture or told me a story, so I would know how much was taken from them. I have learned first-hand that ordering Americans into battle is the hardest decision, even when it is right. I have returned the salute of wounded soldiers, some with a very tough road ahead, who say they were just doing their job. I’ve held the children of the fallen, who are told their dad or mom is a hero, but would rather just have their dad or mom.

And I have met with parents and wives and husbands who have received a folded flag, and said a final goodbye to a soldier they loved. I am awed that so many have used those meetings to say that I am in their prayers to offer encouragement to me. Where does strength like that come from? How can people so burdened with sorrow also feel such pride? It is because they know their loved one was last seen doing good. Because they know that liberty was precious to the one they lost. And in those military families, I have seen the character of a great nation: decent, and idealistic, and strong.

The world saw that spirit three miles from here, when the people of this city faced peril together, and lifted a flag over the ruins, and defied the enemy with their courage. My fellow Americans, for as long as our country stands, people will look to the resurrection of New York City and they will say: Here buildings fell, and here a nation rose.

We see America’s character in our military, which finds a way or makes one. We see it in our veterans, who are supporting military families in their days of worry. We see it in our young people, who have found heroes once again. We see that character in workers and entrepreneurs, who are renewing our economy with their effort and optimism. And all of this has confirmed one belief beyond doubt: Having come this far, our tested and confident Nation can achieve anything.

To everything we know there is a season a time for sadness, a time for struggle, a time for rebuilding. And now we have reached a time for hope. This young century will be liberty’s century. By promoting liberty abroad, we will build a safer world. By encouraging liberty at home, we will build a more hopeful America. Like generations before us, we have a calling from beyond the stars to stand for freedom. This is the everlasting dream of America and tonight, in this place, that dream is renewed. Now we go forward grateful for our freedom, faithful to our cause, and confident in the future of the greatest nation on earth.

God bless you, and may God continue to bless America.

Last night built off of the momentum of the first night. I thought it would be hard to top McCain and Giuliani but Schwarzenegger easily did just that. He has such a powerful story to tell as an immigrant that has lived the American dream to its fullest. Of course the sheer star power doesn’t hurt, I’ll take him over empty suits like Martin Sheen or Ben Affleck any day. First Lady Laura Bush also gave a great speech. Here is a recap of yesterday’s speeches.

Stand Up and Holla contest winner, Princella Smith spoke about “Generation X-ample”:

Over a decade ago, a fellow Arkansan at a National Convention talked about a place called Hope.

Now I would like to talk about another small town in Arkansas a place called Wynne. Growing up in Wynne I learned to value service and community.

However, as I grew older some residents began to lose faith in my generation, labeling us “turbulent teens,” “troubled children” and the one I like least - - “Generation X.”

Unlike those who fought in the World Wars and battled for civil rights, we seem to be perceived as a generation without direction.

President George Bush calls us to a higher purpose.

The President inspires us to be what I call Generation X-ample. President Bush calls on us to change the world.

Our generation of 18-year-old soldiers has taken a stand against the horrors of terrorism in order to bring peace and democracy to those without hope.

The President also asks us to fight important battles at home:

AGAINST drugs;

AGAINST poverty;

AGAINST forces that want to degrade our generation and call us Generation X.

We reject that label.

We are Generation X-ample.

Tonight I call on not only Generation X, but members of every generation to be “the greatest generation,” and urge everyone to adhere to a universal message that transcends ideology: serve your fellow man and you win every time.

My parents instilled in me the principles of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who said:

“Everyone can be great because anybody can serve.

You don’t have to have a college degree to serve…You only need a heart full of grace.

A soul generated by love.”

President Bush personifies that principle.

He has called on our generation to move into the world and adhere to the charge of service: to volunteer in tutoring programs, after-school programs, and faith-based events that assist those in need.

We listen because he has set the example.

Let us join our President.

Let us be an army. Let us become Generation X-ample.

Senator Elizabeth Dole (NC) spoke paid tribute to the President’s leadership then talked mostly about social issues (emphasis added):

Thank you ladies and gentlemen for your warm welcome. And folks, this time I promise to stay behind the podium! For giving me the privilege and honor of representing them in the United State Senate, let me say thank you to the folks of the great state of North Carolina. For giving America courageous leadership in times of trial, decisive leadership in times of crisis, we thank you, Mr. President. You have restored honor and dignity to the White House.

The Presidency tests all who have been there. It has tested you, sir. Your road has not been easy; your burden has not been light; yet you have displayed the peace that surpasses all understanding. We salute you.

We live in a time of stark contrasts. Four years ago America was about to tumble into recession. Today our economy is recovering. Four years ago, 911 was just an emergency phone number. Today, it is a call to arms. For Republicans, through these changes and challenges, who we are and what we believe has never wavered.

The party of Abraham Lincoln has not wandered in a desert of disbelief or uncertainty. Led now by President Bush, this Grand Old Party is still guided by a moral compass, its roots deep in the firm soil of timeless truths. We still believe that character is king. We saw that lived out in the life of Ronald Wilson Reagan.

Ronald Reagan, who called an empire evil and won the Cold War.

We still believe that liberty is the birthright of every soul. That’s why in Afghanistan women were freed from virtual slavery and given access to books and education and a future. That’s why in Afghanistan and Iraq the dark clouds of oppression have parted for 50 million people. And until they can clearly see the blue skies of freedom, we are standing by them!

Yet we know our true strength is not in our weapons. We are a great nation because we are a good people. And we are a good people because of what we believe.

We believe in the dignity of every life, the possibility of every mind, the divinity of every soul. This is our true north we believe in life. The new life of a man and woman joined together under God.

Marriage is important not because it is a convenient invention or the latest reality show marriage is important because it is the cornerstone of civilization, and the foundation of the family. Marriage between a man and a woman isn’t something Republicans invented, but it is something Republicans will defend.

We value the sacred life of every man, woman, and child. We believe in a culture that respects all human life including the most vulnerable in our society, the frail elderly, the infirm, and those not yet born. Protecting life isn’t something Republicans invented, but it is something Republicans will defend. We believe in the treasured life of faith.

Two thousand years ago a man said, ” I have come to give life and to give it in full.” In America I have the freedom to call that man Lord, and I do. In the United States of America we are free to worship without discrimination, without intervention and even without activist judges trying to strip the name of God from the Pledge of Allegiance;

from the money in our pockets; and from the walls of our courthouses. The Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, not freedom from religion. The right to worship God isn’t something Republicans invented, but it is something Republicans will defend.

We believe in the compassionate life of service. Our enemies in this war on terror say that America is selfish, self-centered, self-obsessed. They do not know America. As the President said, “If you want to help in the war on terror, love your neighbor. Love your neighbor.” Americans will cross town or cross the globe to help people they’ve never met and will never see again. So yes, if neighbors are hungry, we feed them; if a storm named Charley or Francis strikes, we help them. Serving others isn’t something Americans invented, but it is a calling we’ll always accept.

These are just some of the principles that guide our party. Some may call them values. Others may call them virtues. I like to think of them simply as the truths my parents and grandparents taught me. Despite what you might hear on the news, they are the shared truths of the American people. They are true from sea to shining sea from my hometown of Salisbury, North Carolina to the South Side of Chicago, from Little Havana to Bob Dole’s Russell, Kansas, from Madison Square Garden to the Space Needle, from Crawford, Texas to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

The last century was known as the “American Century.” In a single lifetime, I have seen Americans split the atom, abolish Jim Crow, eliminate the scourge of polio, win the Cold War, plant our flag on the surface of the moon, map the human genetic code and belatedly recognize the talents of women, minorities, the disabled and others once relegated to the shadows. We are now in the earliest years of a new century writing another chapter in American history.

And if we reaffirm these timeless and unchangeable truths, if we choose life and liberty, compassion and service, character and faith, we will honor those who came before us, and inspire the children of tomorrow. It will be said of us that we lived in a time of great challenge, and great hopes. And let it also be said that we loved our country and served her well and chose leaders wisely. That is what brings us to this convention, ladies and gentlemen.

I am honored to stand with you in support of a great American: our nominee our President . George W. Bush!

Senator Sam Brownback (KS) spoke next about compassionate conservatism:

My friends, it is a privilege to be with you.

A fundamental principle of our democracy and our Republican Party is respect for the inherent dignity, equality, and sanctity of every human life. We do not measure the value of a life by wealth or social status. We believe that every person is beautiful, unique, and has great purpose. Every life must be honored and protected.

At our party’s convention in 1860, we affirmed that America is a land of liberty and equality for all. We nominated Abraham Lincoln, and we denounced, and ultimately defeated, the scourge of slavery. Our nation is again called to the defense of human life and dignity.

HIV/AIDS is one of the greatest moral and humanitarian crises of our time.

Over 20 million people have died of the disease since the start of the pandemic. Without our commitment, AIDS could take the lives of 60 million by 2020. Millions of African children have lost one or both parents to AIDS.

Here at home, President Bush has committed record levels of support to fighting the disease. He has called for a new focus on abstinence education and has established a new effort to develop an AIDS vaccine.

Internationally, President Bush has marshaled an army of compassion to combat this disease. His Emergency Plan for HIV/AIDS, Malaria, and TB authorized a record $15 billion, which will treat 2 million people, prevent 7 million new infections, and care for 10 million orphans and others affected by AIDS.

Under President Bush’s leadership, we will work to protect every human life. From the HIV/AIDS patient in Uganda to the 14-year-old girl trafficked and sold into prostitution, this nation and this president will fight for you!

From the Down’s Syndrome child seeking an education to the prisoner working to turn away from a life of crime, this nation and this president will fight for you!

From the man held in a foreign prison for practicing his faith to the Sudanese refugee attacked for the color of her skin, this nation and this president will fight for you! From the child in the womb to the mother carrying her, this nation and this president will fight for you!

Why? Because each is wonderfully made, and what we do for the so-called “least of these,” we do for our Creator. We are leading the world in a heroic rescue of human life.

This is the essence of compassionate conservatism. It is the mettle of George Bush.

God bless you, and God bless America!

Senator Bill Frist (TN) continued on the compassionate conservatism theme with a speech on health care. Democrats like to say Republicans don’t like to talk about health care because we have nothing to offer. This speech blew that argument away and showed what the President has already accomplished in this area (emphasis added):

Ten years ago, on my first day as a Senator, my dad, a family doctor in Tennessee for 50 years, paid me a visit.

As we sat in my new office, he said: “Son, the nameplate on your door reads William Frist.

Always remember you’re a doctor. You’re committed to healing and helping people.

It really should read, William Frist M.D.”

Well, today the nameplate on the door of my Capitol office reads just that William Frist M.D. It’s a constant reminder of my dad’s advice: to work each day to better the life of every individual American.

And that, my friends, is what President George W. Bush has done — particularly when it comes to health care.

He has won some huge victories to make health care cost less and be there when you need it.

So, let’s talk about what that means for Americans, and what health care in America can become.

Health care is the lifeblood of our future, and it touches every life — our grandparents, our parents, our children, you.

And when you need it, you want it to be reliable.

You want it to be affordable and lifelong.

You want it to reflect the dignity and the value of those you love. And you want it to be the best.

Let me remind you: in 2000 before someone borrowed his line George Bush promised that “help is on the way.”

Tonight, America can take comfort that help is here.

Today, unlike when my dad practiced, the most powerful tools in American medicine are prescription drugs.

These medicines help so many get out of bed, pick up their grandchild, walk to the store, and find joy in each day.

Yet these miracle medicines were denied by Medicare.

Well, George Bush has righted that wrong!

Thanks to his leadership, over 40 million seniors and individuals with disabilities will soon have access to prescription drugs.

What’s more, prescription drug coverage is the centerpiece of something bigger: the first real reform of Medicare since its creation.

Among the improvements we made are new screenings for heart disease, diabetes and cancer — a first ever “Welcome to Medicare” physical exam.

And right now, thanks to the President’s action, this Medicare prescription drug discount card is providing 4 million seniors with immediate relief from the high cost of their medicines.

Now some of our opponents don’t want seniors to get this card.

They don’t want seniors to know that our Party cut the cost of their medicines.

They’d rather play politics than help patients.

Don’t listen to them! You can get your card today. And it’s simple. Just call 1-800-MEDICARE. Tell ‘em you want your card. Tell ‘em Dr. Frist prescribed it.

And let me point out that our opponents talked about doing this for eight years.

While seniors suffered they talked and talked and talked.

George Bush and the Republican Congress delivered. We acted.

Not just talk action.

This victory for our Party — and above all for seniors — is part of a larger battle we’re fighting on behalf of every American.

How we do so is crucial.

Our opponents have a way of confusing compassion with dependency.

We believe true compassion encourages and empowers Americans to be responsible and take control of their own lives.

That’s what President Bush and the Republican Congress did when we made Health Savings Accounts HSAs — the law of the land.

With an HSA you can invest tax-free in a personal savings account.

You can roll it over year to year or withdraw funds if you get sick without paying a penny of tax.

YOU own it. YOU invest it.

YOU grow it. YOU control it.

It is YOURS.

So here’s the choice: do we grow the bureaucracy and gouge you with higher taxes, as Mr. Kerry will do?

Or, do we let the American people grow their own HSAs and own their health care, as George Bush wants to do?

We’ve made our choice.

But I’ll tell you what Senator Kerry’s prescription will be: take a handful of tax increases and don’t call me in the morning.

President Bush wouldn’t stop with HSAs. Health insurance costs too much. People need help.

President Bush is working for tax credits of up to $1,000 for individuals, and $3,000 for families, to help the uninsured purchase their own health insurance.

And as for small businesses, they’re burdened, often crushed, by health care costs.

So, we want to help them band together to provide affordable health care for their employees and their families.

Another reason health care costs too much is our abused medical liability system.

The culprits are personal injury trial lawyers.

We oppose these predators.

We must stop them from twisting American medicine into a litigation lottery where they hit the jackpot and every patient ends up paying.

Let me share with you a story.

Two years ago, on a family vacation in Florida, I came across a horrendous car accident as my sons and I drove along Alligator Alley.

The accident had just happened.

I rushed forward as any doctor would do — to help four people thrown from their car and two people trapped inside. Tragically, three children died.

But their parents who were critically injured and another relative — did survive.

The next morning, I went to the hospital to check on the family.The two trauma surgeons who had cared for them pulled me aside. They said, “Dr. Frist, we may have to leave this hospital, maybe the state, maybe even what we love to do. We just can’t afford our liability insurance. And it keeps going up.”

Today I checked in with the hospital’s Chief of Staff Dr. Callari. He said the situation has worsened. Though he has never been sued, his liability insurance has doubled.

He couldn’t afford it and had to drop it.

Dr. Callari’s father and grandfather were both physicians.

But he doesn’t want his 11 and 12 year old boys to go into medicine. Because everything he has worked for — his savings, his family, his livelihood — is now at risk.

And so are the people of southern Florida. That hospital has the only Level 1 Trauma Center in the region. What if it closes?

This is unacceptable.

Because in medicine, seconds often mean the difference between life and death.

Let’s be clear: you can no longer be both pro-patient and pro-trial lawyer.

John Kerry has made his choice.

He put a trial lawyer on his ticket.

By his votes and by his actions, he is the “Dr. No” of tort reform in America.

President Bush is fighting this good fight.

And in the Senate, where reform has been blocked, we will fight too. We will come back again and again and again until doctors, patients, and the American people win.

Before I close, I’d like to touch briefly on stem cell research.

Scientists work on two basic types of stem cell research.

One is adult — with cells taken, for example, from bone marrow or cartilage. Another uses cells taken from human embryos.

Adult stem cell research has already led to cures. And both fields hold promise.

But, contrary to the claims of some, embryonic stem cell research is still at a very early stage.

John Kerry claims that the President has put a “sweeping ban” on stem cell research.
I challenge Mr. Kerry tonight: what ban? Shame on you, Mr. Kerry.

Under the President’s policy, the federal government is funding both types of stem cell research at record levels. And the private sector remains free to fund and pursue any type of stem cell research.

The President has also said that we should conduct this research with the highest moral and ethical standards.

An embryo is biologically human. It deserves moral respect.

This President will not use your taxpayer dollars to destroy human life or create human embryos solely for the purpose of experimentation.

My friends, I’m so proud of our President’s record. He’s making health care more affordable, more accessible.

He’s uniting ownership and opportunity for millions. And he is looking to the future.

He has a vision to harness America’s awesome potential: through the power of our technologies, the strength of our sciences, the efficiency of our enterprises, and the highest aspirations of our people.

Prescription drugs in Medicare, tax-free Health Savings Accounts, an ethical framework for scientific discovery: these will be part of our future.

Tax credits for the uninsured, electronic medical records, a just, fair and fast medical liability system: these could be part of our future. But, only one candidate will lead us there President George W. Bush.

We have a choice. John Kerry’s trillion dollar government-run plan will place your health in the hands of others faraway.

President Bush’s plan is patient-centered which is the only, sure prescription for superior care.

Mr. Kerry will empower those who tax you. President Bush will empower those who cure you.

John Kerry remains the personal injury lawyers’ best friend. George Bush will put the interests of patients, doctors and nurses first.

Fellow citizens, on November 2nd, there is only one choice for a stronger, healthier and freer America — George W. Bush.

TV personality Elisabeth Hasselbeck continued on the Health Care topic specifically talking about Breast Cancer. She was followed by Secretary of Education Rod Paige who touted the No Child Left Behind Act (emphasis added):

Good evening Fellow Americans.

We live in a great country.

A nation of good people in pursuit of great ideals defined by our Founders, defended by citizen-soldiers, and delivered to us.

We inherited a great nation.

So must our children! No nation whatever the size of its armed forces or economy can sustain greatness unless it educates all, not just some, of its citizens. No one understands that better than President Bush.

He’s always had a compassionate vision for education: Students challenged by high standards; teachers armed with proper resources; parents empowered with information and choices.

Young adults with meaningful diplomas in their hands not despair in their hearts. He saw that many schools shared his vision. They have dedicated teachers, outstanding administrators, involved parents.

They are in cities, suburbs and rural communities. But there were also schools where young minds were left unengaged; good teachers left unsupported; standards left unused.

Kids who passed through these schools were robbed of their life’s potential.

And so were we.

Other Presidents tried to fix this problem. But even as education spending skyrocketed, the “achievement gap” persisted.

On a personal note: In my youth I attended segregated schools. I was in college when the Supreme Court announced Brown versus Board of Education. I felt liberated that day.

I thought true equality would soon follow. It did not.

While Brown opened the schoolhouse door to all it did not guarantee quality education for all. President Bush saw this two-tiered system as unacceptable! He proposed a plan High standards; measurable goals; real consequences and resources to get the job done.

He promised results.

He delivered results.

The President’s first legislative proposal was the No Child Left Behind Act.

This bipartisan law raises the bar for all students no matter their race or income level.

It challenges what the President calls the “soft bigotry of low expectations.” Its goal is simple: all students read and do math at grade level.

States, not Washington, set the standards. Schools that need assistance get assistance.

Support for education under President Bush has gone up 36 percent with more funds requested for disadvantaged students than during the entire Clinton administration.

Casey Stengel would say: “You can look it up!”

Now schools are held accountable for making real progress. If they don’t, parents have real choices such as after-school homework help, or the choice of another school.

No Child Left Behind is working.

All across America test scores are rising; students are learning; the achievement gap is closing; teachers and principals are beaming with pride! President Bush also increased Pell Grants funding so one million more young adults can afford college.

Although much work remains, our choice is simple: We can either build on these achievements — or return to the days of excuses and indifference.

Our opponents voted for No Child Left Behind. They praised it then. Now they attack it.

They say No Child Left Behind should be watered down, schools can’t handle change, some children just can’t learn. We say, do not underestimate our public schools do not underestimate our teachers and never un