Remarks in New York at a Rally at the Westchester County Airport

My fellow Americans:

You know, I am enjoying this morning. If I weren't so old, I think I would like campaigning again.

I think there is nothing so inspirational for any man who seeks to serve the public than to meet with the public and have it borne into his conscience just how wonderful these people are that we call Americans.

There are many compliments that come to men during the course of a distinguished career such as have been accomplished by so many men and women here today, but there is no greater compliment that Americans can pay to any individual than to come out from their busy lives, from their homes, and buck traffic jams, just to come to give him a friendly hello and say, "We're for you, boy."

I had a number of things I was going to talk about this morning. I have mentally thrown them away because Dick Nixon has just made one of the best political speeches that I have ever heard. So I am going to content myself with something very brief and very short.

I have been very proud of the fact that 8 years ago thousands of you, millions of you, joined with me and with others to bring about a reformation in the United States, bring about a new growth. You will recall we were then living under economic controls, prices were controlled and wages were controlled, and goodness knows what all. We decided we wanted to be free. We decided there was a war that should be stopped because it was futile and had no real objective except a defense, and that had already been accomplished. We decided that we must band together to make sure that no more wars were allowed to occur--certainly they were not to be allowed to occur because of weakness--military weakness, or indecision, or vagueness in America's purposes in the war.

These things we have done.

And then we decided that we should have the kind of atmosphere in this world in which the United States could go ahead--as it has. The last 8 years have been the most remarkable in the growth of the United States than in any other peacetime period in its history.

Bob Barry told me a minute age--and I hope his figure is correct-that in the town of Tarrytown there were 164 thousand automobiles made in these 10 months of this year. And in all of Russia in the same period there were 132 thousand made. It looks to me that if Tarrytown can outproduce them, that at least we have got one statistical figure that will show something about the relative strength, prestige, and standing of these two countries.

Now my friends, the only real purpose that I have today is to tell you this, that these men on this platform, and particularly Vice President Nixon and Ambassador Lodge, have been my close associates and great helpers over these past 7 1/2 years. They have been among my most trusted counselors and advisers, associates, and have always been ready to perform any task that I requested from them.

Now in other words, we have been members of a team. I think of them as a team. And these two men as presented to you today are themselves a team, a team of leadership that it is my prayer will build upon the record that you the people of the United States have accomplished during these last 8 years--build upon it in the same direction, with the same regard for your pocketbooks, your economy, your health, your education, that has characterized the administration of the past 8 years.

Now I have heard complaints about the country not moving. My contention is that isn't good enough. Of course you can move easily-you can move back to inflation, you can move back to deficit spending, you can move back to the military weakness that allowed the Korean war to occur, you can move back to a lot of things--no trouble at all.

But Americans, if they are going to work, to study, to band together to make better lives for themselves and for this Nation, they are going to do it by going forward, and that is exactly what the program that the Republican document that was established and written at Chicago promises to you.

And you have the record of two people who have not written a platform to catch votes. They have written a platform of intent--honest intent; and they intend to see it go ahead.

So I come to you because of my experience with these men, to endorse them as men of character, vision, human concern--and above all experience in the tough jobs that will be before the leadership of this country during the next 4 years.

I believe and I commend them to you as men in whom you can have confidence that they will never do anything that is rashly risking the cataclysm of war; and on the other hand, they will always be proudly standing for every principle that has made the United States great.

This team, then, offers you an opportunity to vote for experience and character. It gives you an opportunity to vote enthusiastically your own conscience, your own interests, and above all the interests of the United States of America.

I am going to vote that way on November 8th, and I hope the rest of you do--and get 10 people for each one here to do the same thing.

Goodbye.