From: barrett@cc.gatech.edu (James Barrett)
Subject: BUSH: Knights of Columbus speech text
Reply-To: barrett@cc.gatech.edu
Organization: Georgia Tech College of Computing
Date: Wed, 12 Aug 1992 15:25:16 GMT


             Bush's Speech to Knights of Columbus

    Following is the text of President Bush's Aug 5 speech to the
Knights of Columbus in New York.

    PRESIDENT BUSH:  "Thank you very, very much for that warm welcome.

    Thank you.  Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.  Please be seated and
thank you all.  May I salute Virgil Dekant (sp?), my friend of
longstanding, and thank him for that most generous welcome here.  Your
Eminence, Cardinal O'Connor, it is a great pleasure and honor, sir, to
see you again.  May I salute Cardinal Baum, Cardinal Ganyon (sp?),
Bishop Daly (sp?), another old friend, Ambassador Tom Milaty (sp?)
who's doing a superb job for our country representing us at the
Vatican, and clergy, and ladies and gentlemen.  And may I salute a man
who used to be, whose house made him a neighbor, Archbishop
Cachevallan (sp?) from Washington, the nuncio there, a good man, a
good friend.  Nice to see you.  I'm glad you're here, sir.

    (Applause)

    And I have only one regret, Virgil.  My timing was such that I did
not hear the fitting and warm and wonderful ovation that you gave
Mother Teresa yesterday.  I understand it was really fantastic.

    (Applause)

    You know, a report came across my desk the other day and it stated
that most people in the Western world felt exceedingly gloomy about
the future.  It said that institutions were decaying.  Well-meaning
people were growing cynical.  These are exact quotes.  And my first
thought was that's what happens when people spend too much time
watching the evening news.

    (Laughter; applause)

    I'm going to pay for that one tonight on that first 20 seconds.
Just kidding, Dan!

    (Laughter)

    You know, but what I was reading was not a report about 1992, it
was a history of public attitudes in Europe in 1492.  Public moods are
prone to change, of course, and we know that the gloom of 1492 was not
to last for long.  It was dispelled by the achievement of a man of
humble birth, a man of vision, of courage, a man named Christopher
Columbus.

    Now I know, I know that every speaker comes before you and say
they identify with Columbus, but I really mean it.  Think about it.
The guy was faced with questions at home about whether his global
efforts were worth a darn.

    (Laughter)

    Some critics wanted him to cut his voyage short.

    (Laughter)

    And he even faced the threat of mutiny.  And yet Columbus
persevered and won.

    Not a bad analogy in my view, so--I know this isn't political.

    (Applause and cheers)

    Now I admit, Columbus also had a lot, had to worry all about, at
that time, about a lack of wind.

    (Laughter)

    I don't have that problem with Congress.  And this year, as in
Columbus's time, we hear a lot of talk about change.  And sure, change
in natural.  But maybe a better word for the US is renewal, because
the changes we need must be based on principles that never change.

    I think my parents were like yours.  They brought me up to
understand that our fundamental moral standards were established by
almighty God.  They taught me that if you have something for yourself,
you should give half to a friend.

    And they taught me to take the blame when things go wrong and
share the credit when things go right.

    These ideas were supported by society.  Only recently, His
Eminence and I were talking about--not at this detail, but talking
about this subject just a few minutes ago.

    Only recently in America have we seen the rise of legal theories
and practices that reject our Judeo-Christian tradition.

    Cardinal O'Connor eloquently describes this as an invasion of
values.  It's a deeply disturbing trend and it is diametrically
opposed to my idea of the kind of change that's good for our great
country.

    Last month, just 12 blocks from here, there was another
convention.  Now I didn't--

    (Laughter)

    I was very lucky, I did not--and this is the honest truth--I
didn't hear any of the speeches.  I was out fishing in Wyoming with
Jim Baker.  But I understand one of the speakers known for florid
language called me the "captain of the ship of state." I'm not sure he
meant it as a compliment, but believe me, as a Navy man at a Knights
of Columbus convention, the term suits me just fine and I look, I
look--

    (Applause)

    I look at this office that you've entrusted with me as a lot of
things, as more than managing the economy, more even than being
commander in chief.  I stake my claim to a simple belief.  The
president should try to set a moral tone for this nation.  And all
around us we see evidence that America's moral compass has gone awry.

    We seem to be moving away from the enduring idea of taking
responsibility for our actions.  Our city newspapers are filled with
stories of drive-by shootings.

    The taking of human life made more horrible by the awful anonymity
through which it is accomplished, and recently I read a story of a kid
from a good neighborhood charged in a gun store robbery.  He told the
police who caught him, it's not like I'm a criminal.  I'm on the
dean's list.

    What is happening to America?  As a nation we face enormous
challenges in education, crime, drugs, and yet each of them come back
to the challenge of pointing our moral compass in the right direction.

    And so I believe that a central issue of this election year should
be who do you trust to renew America's moral purpose?  Who do you
trust to fight for the ideas that will help rebuild our families and
restore our fundamental values?

    I believe--and I've tried hard on this--I believe I've earned your
trust, and I am committed to fighting for ideas that help repair this
great nation's moral fiber.

    (Applause)

    Welfare is one example.  We all know that our welfare system has
literally destroyed the concept of personal responsibility, tearing
families apart with no incentives for people to work and save and
improve.

    I want something different.  I have fought for a new welfare
system that says yes to human potential, and today, as we speak, we
are granting waivers to states so they can change welfare rules,
encourage families not to fall apart, not to live apart, but to stick
together.

    States are saying to recipients either you get training or you
don't get a check.  Some states are even going so far as to make a
very tough call, saying to parents, if you can't afford another child
don't expect the taxpayer to pick up the added costs.

    Now these are tough choices.

    (Applause)

    These are very tough choices, but they're all intended by the
states to promote responsibility.  And the other side says they agree
with the ideas, but if you take a close look some argue that
ultimately the only solution to welfare is a guaranteed government job
for every recipient.

    I ask is this any way to promote responsibility?  If we guarantee
everyone a government job how can we reward initiative?

    Our reforms may sound tough, but not as tough as a lifetime of
despondency and despair, a lifetime that strips every recipient of his
or her dignity.  Let's give people hope.  Let's give them opportunity.
Let's take a look at education.

    We know that to renew America we literally must renew our schools,
and I happen to believe that competition can be the greatest force for
change in our schools in an entire century.  The other side says they
agree almost and the almost is what troubles me.

    Remember how old Henry Ford used to tell his, tell his customers:
They could have any model T that they wanted so long as it was black.

    (Laughter)

    Well, the other side says their ideal is that parents could choose
any school for their kids so long as it's run by the government.

    And if you'll excuse one blatantly political comment, and which
you'll have to concede has so far been a nonpartisan almost speech, my
opponent won the Teacher's Union endorsement by saying he's
unalterably opposed--those are his words-- unalterably opposed to
letting Catholic parents and other private school parents have a fair
share of education benefits, and I believe that it's time to have the
courage to fight for a different approach.

    And right now if you want an alternative to public schools you
have to pay twice, first for tuition, and again through taxes.  And a
couple of weeks ago I was in Philadelphia, hosted by Cardinal Bevalaca
(sp?) and a group of parents told me we want our kids to go to
Catholic school, but we just can't afford it.

    And so my solution is something called the GI Bill For Kids.  Like
the original GI Bill, my new approach offers scholarships or vouchers
for students to take to any qualified school, not only public schools,
but bible schools, yeshivas, Catholic parish schools.

    And when it comes to schools, I say let the parents choose,
public, private, or religious.

    (Applause and cheers)

    What about promoting religion as a force for good in our society?

    I'm reminded of the story of a small boy who once began a prayer
this way:  God bless mother and daddy, my brother, my sister, and God,
he said, do take care of yourself; if anything happens to you, we're
all sunk.

    (Laughter)

    Maybe there's some doubts, but America is still the most religious
nation on Earth, and I want to strengthen our faith further.  And
again, there are wide differences.  Some think it's okay to hand out
condoms in schools, but oppose amending our Constitution to allow our
kids to put their hands together to say a prayer.  I disagree.  I call
again on the Congress to pass a constitutional amendment restoring
voluntary prayer to our classrooms.

    (Applause)

    The Senate opens its meeting with prayer.  The House of
Representatives opens it meeting with a prayer.  Nobody doubts that
they both need it--

    (Laughter)

    --but let's allow the faith of our fathers back into those
schools.

    And there's a national tragedy, more than a half million abortions
in this country every year.  And we know there's got to be a better
way.  Human alternatives, like adoptions and abstinence.  7 times I
have ignored the polls and acted on what I believe is fundamental
principle and vetoed, as Virgil very generously pointed out, abortion
legislation.

    And I promise you again today, no matter the political price--they
tell me in this year that it's enormous--I am going to do what I think
is right.  I am going to stand on my conscience and let my conscience
be my guide when it comes to matters of life.

    (Lengthy applause)

    Thank you very much.

    And here's something else that bothers me.  In some places, a
13-year-old girl cannot get her ears pierced without parental
permission or without bringing her mother and father along.  But some
believe that the same girl should be able to get an abortion without
parental consent.  And I think most Americans believe this idea is
crazy, and I'm going to fight to see that that doesn't happen.

    (Applause)

    So these issues are all--they all come up in an election year.
They'll be part of campaigns in the fall all across the country.  And
today I make the same appeal to you that I'll make to every voter.
Look beneath the rhetoric, take a look at the ideas to determine who
has the courage to stand up for the changes that are morally right for
America.  And I'm going to take my case to the American people.  And
if you're looking to restore America's fiber, why buy synthetic when
you can get real cotton?

    (Applause)

    So I believe--but I do believe America needs a leader willing to
do what's right, not merely what is politically popular at the moment.
And nowhere is it more clear in the decisions the president must make
every day to build real peace, to establish freedom and democracy, not
the mere, simple absence of war.

    St.  Ignatius said, Work as though all depended upon yourself and
pray as though all depended on God.

    The practice of that motto, conquer communism, ceaseless prayer,
and tireless work halted the cold war, and spared us from the
catastrophe of a 3d World War.  Believers behind the Iron Curtain
defied persecution.  Believers in the West defied indifference.  Over
4 decades our servicemen trained, our taxpayer paid $4 trillion to
keep our defenses strong, and as a consequence the Iron Curtain is no
more and our kids no longer go to bed at night worrying about that
dreadful specter of nuclear war.

    But while the Soviet bear is no more, there are still plenty of
wolves in the woods, and when we faced our first big challenge after
the cold war, we didn't shrink, we stood up to Saddam's aggression and
expelled him from Kuwait, and we protected the people of Israel and
Saudi Arabia, and now we brought age-old adversaries to the peace
table for the first time.

    His Holiness, Pope John Paul, has spent many days and nights at
work and in prayer for peace in the Middle East, and as long as I am
president, I assure you I will do everything I can to bring about that
peace that so many prayer for.

    (Applause)

    And so in conclusion let me say this.  This is the year of change,
change, change.  The election will all be about change.  Because
change really is the natural condition of our land.  This isn't
something new.

    And I believe that now we've changed the world, we are poised and
ready to change America to make America even better.  We must keep
something important in mind now that our moral values are victorious
around the globe.

    We cannot and we will not abandon them at home.  We didn't stand
together to see courageous moral values rise in Russia only to be
ignored here at home.

    We did not sacrifice so that personal responsibility could triumph
in totalitarian regimes, only to become passe here in this great
nation.

    And it's time to get back to some basic American values.  And so I
am going to defend the principles for which you stand so firm.

    We will keep our sights set on what is good in America, and we
will keep our focus on the potential in our families, most of all in
our young people, in our kids, and we'll keep a reliable compass, and
we'll put our ship of state in finest sailing trim, and as this nation
has so many times before, we will sail on to shining new horizons.

    Thank you and may God bless you and our beloved country, the US of
America.  Thank you very much."

------------------OS/2 v2.0 -- Why settle for anything less?-------------------
James C. Barrett (barrett@cc.gatech.edu) | Georgia Tech College of Computing 
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