Remarks on Arrival in Columbus, Ohio

The President. Thank you all.

Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!

The President. Thank you very, very much. You've got a great Governor in George Voinovich, and his wife, Janet, is with us here today. Let me say, while we're at it, everyplace I go they're holding up these signs saying "Clean House!" I want to see us helping the Senate, too, by sending Mike DeWine to the United States Senate. I salute my former classmate in Congress, Chalmers Wylie, who's stepping aside. We want to see Debbie Price win that congressional seat. Help us clean House.

It's great to be back here in Ohio. Maybe some of you kids don't know this, but I love coming back here. My granddad ran a business here, Buckeye Steel. My father was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio. A couple of weeks ago we started that wonderful train trip right here in Columbus. This city and this State have been good to us. I believe I've kept the faith, and we believe in the same things: hard work, community, respect for law, duty, honor, and country. That is our code, and we all believe in that.

Now, I've got a big debate coming up Sunday night, and I'm going to talk about these things. I don't pretend I'm the world's greatest debater. You may not always agree, but you know where I stand. I think a President must trust the people, and the people must trust their President. You can compare this to the Governor of Arkansas. The man likes to take both sides on every issue, and he's the reason we're having three debates. One is for Governor Clinton to state his position, and the other two are for him to change his mind. I've never seen anything like it. You can't do that in the Oval Office. You can't waffle. You can't be everything to everybody.

This election is about the kind of America that we want for the young people here, and it's about remaining the world's number one economic power. We can do that with my agenda for America's renewal. It is a comprehensive, integrated plan to create a $10 trillion economy after the turn of the century, and I believe we can do it.

The agenda believes in preparing our young people to excel in science and math and English. And we've got to literally reinvent American education and give every parent a fundamental right to choose their kids' schools, whether public, private, or religious. That will make all the schools better. Parents who favor school choice can start by choosing a President who agrees with them on choice.

Another thing we've got to do is reform our legal system. We've got to control these crazy lawsuits. We've got to sue each other less and care for each other more.

So this agenda is what I'm fighting for, reducing the deficit, reducing taxes by cutting Federal spending. I am seeking a mandate for a balanced budget amendment, for the line-item veto, and for term limits on the United States Congress. I want every taxpayer here to be able to check a box on your tax form targeting up to 10 percent of your income to reduce the deficit. If Congress won't do it, let the taxpayer have a shot at it.

Now I've told you what I'm for, and now let me tell you what you're up against this election year. It's the difference between talk and action, a history of empty promises. The Governor of Arkansas says he's for civil rights. That State doesn't even have a basic civil rights law. Arkansas is one of two States that don't have a civil rights law. He says he's for a clean environment, but the Institute of Southern Studies ranked Arkansas 50th, 50th in terms of environment, dead last in environmental policy. It's the only place the fish light up at night because of pollution down there.

He says he's tough on crime, but crime in Arkansas has increased twice as fast as the rest of the Nation. The cops who know him best, the Fraternal Order of Police in Little Rock, Arkansas, turned their back on him and endorsed me for President of the United States. Earlier today with the Ohioan at my side, Dewey Stokes, right here in Ohio, I proudly accepted the endorsement of the National Fraternal Order of Police, a great, big push for the Bush campaign.

But I think the big difference is on taxes.

Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!

The President. Governor Clinton wants to raise your taxes. He's already proposed $150 billion in new taxes and $220 billion in new spending. He announced this using the same words doctors use, "This shot won't hurt you one single bit." Don't believe it.

You know, we added up some of the provinces since that day in June. He's promised at least another $200 billion in investments, he calls it, without saying how he's going to pay for them. Those are just the first few that we've been able to put a price tag on, one billion dollars in new promises every single day. He's earned the nickname Billion Dollar Bill, and we don't need that now as President of the United States.

You know, he says, "Don't worry, we're going to take it out of the rich guys, the top $200,000." But the truth is -- you look at the program -- to get the money for his plan, to get the $150 billion, he'd have to hit Americans with taxable income of over $36,000. Then to pay for all the rest of his spending, you've got to take it down to about $24,000 a year. Those aren't rich people. Those are the hard-working men and women in this country, and we can't let him slap a tax on them.

Now, think of this Sunday night as you listen to the debate. Judge us not as politicians but as leaders and as human beings, and ask who best reflects your values, and vote for who you trust to lead America at home and abroad.

Barbara and I have tried to uphold the trust of the American people every day we have been in that White House. I hope we have earned your support. Ohio is important. I ask you to work hard. Give me your vote. We have changed the world, and now let's lift everyone up in America and change America.

Thank you, and God bless you all. Thank you very much. Thanks for coming.