From: eyc@acpub.duke.edu (EMIL CHUCK)
Newsgroups: alt.rush-limbaugh,alt.politics.bush,alt.politics.clinton,alt.politics.elections,talk.politics.misc,alt.fan.rush-limbaugh
Subject: TRANSCRIPT OF REAGAN'S SPEECH
Summary: Republican National Convention keynote address
Keywords: Ronald Reagan, Republicans, Republican National Convention,
Date: 18 Aug 92 15:18:08 GMT
Followup-To: alt.rush-limbaugh
Organization: Duke University; Durham, N.C. (Reagan in 1996?)

Excerpts from former President Ronald Reagan in the keynote address to
the Republican National Convention in Houston: Mon Aug17 1992. Taken
from Washington _Post_.

-BEGIN-
Over the years I've addressed this convention as a private citizen, as a
governor, as a presidential candidate, as a President, and now, once
again tonight, as private citizen Ronald Reagan.

Tonight is a very special night for me. Of course, at my age, every
night is a very special night. After all, I was born in 1911. ... In my
life's journey over these past eight decades, I have seen the human race
through a period of unparalleled tumult and triumph. I have seen the
birth of communism and the death of communism. ... I have witnessed the
bloody futility of two World Wars and Korea, Vietnam, and the Persian
Gulf. I have seen Germany united, divided, and united again.

Yet tonight is not a time to look backward. For while I take inspiration
from the past, like most Americans, I live for the future. ...

There was a time when empires were defined by land mass, subjugated
peoples and military might. But the United States is unique because we
are an empire of ideals. For 200 years, we have been set apart by our
faith in the ideals of democracy, of free men and free markets, and of
the extraordinary possibilities that lie within seemingly ordinary men
and women. We believe that no power of government is as formidable a
force for good as the creativity and entrepreneurial drive of the
American people. ...

Those are the ideals that invented revolutionary technologies and a
culture envied by people everywhere. ... And after generations of
struggle, America is the moral force that defeated communism and all
those who would put the human soul itself into bondage.

Within a few short years, we Americans have experienced the most
sweeping changes of this century: the fall of the Soviet Union and the
rise of the global economy. No transition is without its problems, but
as uncomfortable as it may feel at the moment, the changes of the 1990s
will leave America more dynamic and less in danger than at any time in
my life. ...

We are meant to be masters of destiny, not victims of fate. Who among us
would trade America's future for that of any other in the world? And
would could possibly have so little faith in our American people that
they would trade out tomorrow for our yesterday?

I'll give you a hint: They put on quite a production in New York a few
weeks ago. You might even call it slick. A stone's throw from Broadway,
and how appropriate. Over and over they told us they are not the party
they were. They kept telling us with a straight face that they're for
family values, they're for a strong America. They're for less-intrusive
government. And they call me an actor.

To hear them talk you'd never know that the nightmare of nuclear
annihilation has been lifted from our sleep. You'd never know that our
standard of living remains the highest in the world. You'd never know
that our air is cleaner than it was 20 years ago. You'd never know that
we remain the one nation the rest of the world looks to for leadership.

It wasn't always this way. We mustn't forget -- even if they would like
to -- the very different America that existed just 12 years ago; an
America with 21% interest rates and back-to-back years of double digit
inflation; an America where mortgage payments doubled, paychecks plunged
and motorists sat in gas lines; an America whose leaders told us it was
out fault, that ours was a future of scarcity and scarifice and that
what we really needed was another good dose of government control and
higher taxes.

It wasn't so long ago that the world was a far more dangerous place as
well. It was a world where aggressive Soviet communism was on the rise and
American strength was in decline. It was a world where our children came
of age under the threat of nuclear holocaust. It was a world where our
leaders told us that standing up to aggressors was dangerous -- that
American might and determination were somehow obstacles to peace. But we
stood tall and proclaimed that communism was destined for the ash heap
of history.

We never heard so much ridicule from our liberal friends. The only thing
that got them more upset was two simple words: "Evil Empire."

But we knew then what the liberal Democrat leaders just couldn't figure
out: The sky would not fall if America restored her strength and
resolve. The sky would not fall if an American President spoke the
truth. The only thing that would fall was the Berlin Wall.

I heard those speakers at that other convention saying, "We won the Cold
War," and I couldn't help wondering, just who exactly do they mean by
"we"? And to top it all off, they even tried to portray themselves as
sharing the same fundamental values of our party. ...

<< Somewhere in here he cites a quote by Abraham Lincoln. If someone has
this part of the speech, please add it on here! Thanks. >>

When we see all that rhetorical smoke billowing out from the Democrats,
ladies and gentlemen, I'd follow the example of their nominee: Don't
inhale.

All right. Listen to me. This fellow they've nominated claims he's the
new Thomas Jefferson. Well, let me tell you something. I knew Thomas
Jefferson. He was a friend of mine. And, governor, you're no Thomas
Jefferson.

All right. All right. Now, let's not dismiss our current troubles. But
where they see only problems, I see possibilities -- as vast and diverse
as the American family itself. Even as we meet, the rest of the world is
astounded by the pundits and finger-pointers who are so down on us as a
nation. ...

America's best days are yet to come. Our proudest moments are yet to be.
Our most glorious achievements are just ahead. ... And yet tomorrow
might never have happened had we lacked the courage in the 1980s to
chart a course of strength and honor.

All the more reason no one should underestimate the importance of this
campaign and what the outcome will mean. The stakes are high. The
Presidency is serious business. We cannot afford to take a chance. We
need a man of serious purpose, unmatched experience, knowledge and
ability. A man who understand government, who understands our country
and who understand the world. A man who has been at the table with
[former Soviet president Mikhail] Gorbechev and [Russian president
Boris] Yeltsin. A man whose performance as commander-in-chief of the
bravest and most effective fighting force in history left the world in
awe and the people of Kuwait free of foreign tyranny. ... What we need
is a man who has devoted more than half of his life to serving his
country. A man of decency, integrity, and honor.

And tonight I come to tell you that I -- warmly, genuinely,
wholeheartedly -- support the reelection of George Bush as President of
the United States. ...

We know President Bush. By his own admission, he is a quiet man, not a
showman. He is a trustworthy and level-headed leader who is respected
around the world. His is a steady hand on the tiller through the choppy
waters of the '90s, which is exactly what we need.

We need George Bush.

... We also need another real fighter, a man who happens to be with us
this evening, someone who has repeatedly stood up for his deepest
convictions. We need our Vice President, Dan Quayle.

Now it's true: A lot of liberal Democrats are saying it's time for a
change, and they're right. The only trouble is, they're pointing to the
wrong end of Pennsylvania Avenue. What we should change is a Democratic
Congress that wastes precious time on partisan matters of absolutely no
relevance to the needs of the average American. So to all the entrenched
interests along the Potomac -- the gavel-wielding chairmen, the bloated
staffs, the taxers and takers of congressional rule-makers -- we have a
simple slogan for November 1992: Clean House!

For you see, my fellow Republicans, we are the change. For 50 of the
last 60 years, the Democrats have controlled the Senate. And they've had
the House of Representatives for 56 of the last 60 years.

It's time to clean house. Clean out the privileges and perks. Clean out
the arrogance and the big egos. Clean out the scandals, the
corner-cutting, and the foot-dragging.

What kind of job do you think they've done during all those years
they've been running the Congress? [Boos.] You're absolutely right.

You know, I used to say to some of those Democrats who chair every
committee in the House, "You need to balance the government's checkbook
the same way you balance your own." Then I learned how they ran the
House Bank, and I realized that was exactly what they had been doing.

Now just imagine what they would do if they controlled the executive
branch too. ...

As it did 12 years ago, and as we have seen many times in history, our
country stands at a crossroads. There is widespread doubt about our
public institutions and profound concern, not merely about the economy
but about the direction of this great country.

And as they did then, the American people are clamoring for change and
sweeping reform. The kind of question we had to ask 12 years ago is the
question we ask today: What change can we Republicans offer the American
people?

... New isolationists claim that the American people don't care about
how or why we prevailed in the great defining struggle of our age -- the
victory over our adversaries. They insist that our triumph is
yesterday's news, part of a past that holds no lessons for the future.

Well, nothing can be more tragic, after having come all this way on the
journey of renewal we began 12 years ago, than if America herself forgot
the lessons of individual liberty that she has taught to a grateful
world. ...

A decade after we summoned America to a new beginning, we are beginning
still. Every day brings fresh challenges and opportunities to match.
With each sunrise we are reminded that millions of our citizens have yet
to share in the abundance of American prosperity. Many languish in
neighborhoods riddled with drugs and bereft of hope. Still others
hesitate to venture out on the streets for fear of criminal violence.
Let us pledge ourselves to a new beginning for them.

Let us apply our ingenuity and remarkable spirit to revolutionize
education in America so that everyone among us will have the mental
tools to build a better life. And while we do so, let's remember that
the most profound education begins in the home.

And let us harness the competitive energy that built America into
rebuilding our inner cities so that real jobs can be created for those
who live there and real hope can rise out of despair.

Let us strengthen our health care system so that Americans of all ages
can be secure in their futures without the fear of financial ruin. And
my friends, once and for all, let us get control of the federal deficit
through a budget balanced amendment and a line-item veto for the
President.

And let us all renew our committment, renew our pledge, day by day,
person by person, to make our country and the world a better place to
live. Then when the nations of the world turn to us and say, "America,
you are the model of freedom and prosperity," we can turn to them and
say, "You ain't seen nothin' yet!"

<< Summons applause for Nancy to be beside him. >>
... My fellow Americans, may every dawn be a great new beginning for
America and every evening bring us closer to that shining city upon a
hill. ... God bless each and every one of you, and God bless this
country we love.
-END-

-- 
Emil Thomas Chuck		DUKE BLUE DEVILS: 1992 ACC CHAMPIONS!
Biomedical Engineer 1993	1992 EAST REGIONAL CHAMPIONS!!
Duke University, Durham, NC	AND 1992 NCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!!!
August 31, 1992 - May 16, 1993	Duke football? What's that?
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