Remarks on Beginning a Whistlestop Tour in Columbus, Ohio

What a great day in Ohio. Barbara and I are delighted to be here. May I salute our longstanding friends, George and Janet Voinovich, and say you are very lucky in this State to have this man as your Governor. Also I want to single out another one, and that's Chalmers Wylie. He and I went to Congress on the same day, and he served Columbus with great distinction. If we had more like him they wouldn't be yelling all the time, "Clean House!" to get rid of all those Democrats that have been there in control for 38 years, for 38 years.

I want to see John Kasich reelected. I want to thank your great Mayor, Greg Lashutka. My gosh, you've got a good one here in Columbus, Ohio. Also, if you really want to help change this country, elect Mike DeWine to the United States Senate.

May I thank and give a special salute to the Marching Tigers. Others can blow the saxophone, but I'll stand with the Purple Pride of Pinkerton. You try to say that. [Laughter] It's great to be back in Ohio. It's a great, beautiful day, football weather. I should say "Buckeye weather" here.

You know, over the next couple of days we're taking our crusade to Ohio and to Michigan, eight towns and cities, over 233 miles. We're going to talk about what it takes to match peace around the world with peace of mind here at home. For 4 months another candidate for President has been tearing down the United States of America, running the country down. Maybe he's inhaled too many of those bus fumes. I think he did inhale them. Well, let's get that bus off the side of the road, because on this train trip we're going to blow the whistle on Governor Clinton. I am tired of his lousy record in Arkansas.

Here's what we're going to do. We're going to talk about what's right about America and what we're doing to change it, what we need to do to change Congress, change the direction of the country. Then we're also going to talk about what's going on down in Arkansas and who is doing that to the good people of that State. He has a lousy record in Arkansas, and we don't need that for the United States of America.

So for the next 2 days it's "All aboard, America." The Spirit of America is on its way, and it's all aboard for a better future where Government serves the people, not the other way around. It's all aboard for the freedom to save and invest and, yes, to keep more of what you earn. It's all aboard for an agenda which can renew and literally change America, just as America, and I am proud to have been a significant part of this, has reduced the threat of nuclear war for these young people here today.

And so what do we want for America? We want smart schools and safe streets. We want to lower taxes and less regulation. We want to strengthen families that are working, hoping, and building and dreaming. That's very different than what the Governor of Arkansas is proposing.

You know, my granddad knew how America was blessed, and he lived here in Columbus. His company, Buckeye Steel, made couplings for the railroads. My father was born here in Columbus, Ohio. He was raised as a child, lived over on East Broad Street for a while. He knew how this city loved the American spirit, how you lived it from one generation to the next. And today, Barbara and I are very proud to begin this voyage in a city which has blessed our family, a city that we love.

For you see, this train trip is much more than about my reelection. It's about creating an America where every day has that spirit of the Fourth of July, the kind of America these young people here today deserve. That is the real spirit of America, always been and always will be.

Now we're off to Marysville and Arlington and Bowling Green and then on into Michigan, the heart of America, the real America. With this spirit we see here today, we are going to win this election.

Thank you all very, very much. May God bless each and every one of you. Thank you very, very much, indeed. All aboard!