From: barrett@cc.gatech.edu (James Barrett)
Newsgroups: talk.politics.misc
Subject: REAGAN: Convention speech text
Date: 25 Aug 92 19:49:07 GMT
Organization: Georgia Tech College of Computing


       Text of Former President Ronald Reagan's Speech

    Here is the prepared text of the address by former President Ronald
Reagan to the Republican Natl Convention Monday:

    REAGAN:  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.

    I was born in 1911.  But, here's the remarkable thing about being
born in 1911.  In my life's journey over these past 8 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 2 World Wars, Korea, Vietnam and the
Persian Gulf.  I have seen Germany united, divided and united again.  I
have seen television grow from a parlor novelty to become the most
powerful vehicle of communication in history.  As a boy I saw streets
filled with model-T's; as a man I have met men who walked on the moon.

    I have not only seen, but lived the marvels of what historians have
called the "American Century." 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.  So this evening, for just a few
minutes, I hope you will let me talk about a country that is forever
young.

    There was a time when empires were defined by land mass, subjugated
peoples, and military might.  But the US is unique because we are an
empire of ideals.  For 2 hundred 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 a 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.  This powerful sense of energy has
made America synonymous for opportunity the world over.  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.

    A fellow named James Allen once wrote in his diary, "many thinking
people believe America has seen its best days." He wrote that July 26,
1775.  There are still those who believe America is weakening; that our
glory was the brief flash of time called the 20th Century; that ours was
a burst of greatness too bright and brilliant to sustain; that America's
purpose is past.

    My friends, I utterly reject those view.  That's not the America we
know.  We were meant to be masters of destiny, not victims of fate.  Who
among us would trade America's future for that of any other country in
the world?  And who could possibly have so little faith in our American
people that they would trade our tomorrows for our yesterdays?

    To hear the Democrats 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 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 1 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 American 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 our own fault; that ours was a future of scarcity and
sacrifice; 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 2 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 off, they even tried to portray themselves as
sharing the same fundamental values of our party!  What they truly don't
understand is the principle so eloquently stated by Abraham Lincoln:
"You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.  You cannot
help the wage-earner by pulling down the wage-payer.  You cannot help
the poor by destroying the rich.  You cannot help men permanently by
doing for them what they could and should do for themselves." If we ever
hear the Democrats quoting that passage by Lincoln and acting like they
mean it, then my friends, we will know that the opposition has really
changed.

    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 fingerpointers who are so down on us as a nation.

    Well I've said it before and I'll say it again--America's best days
are yet to come.  Our proudest moments are yet to be.  Our most glorious
achievements are just ahead.  America remains what Emerson called her
150 years ago, "the country of tomorrow." What a wonderful description
and how true.  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 understands government, who understands our country
and who understands the world.  A man who has been at the table with
Gorbachev and 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.  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 US.

    We know President Bush.  By his own admission, he is a quiet man,
not a showman.  He is a trustworthy and levelheaded 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!

    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 and congressional rulemakers--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 lasts 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?

    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!

    This is the 21st presidential election in my lifetime, the 16th in
which I will cast a ballot.  Each of those elections had its shifting
moods of the moment, its headlines of 1 day that were forgotten the
next.  There have been a few more twists and turns this year than in
others, a little more shouting about who was up or down, in or out, as
we went about selecting our candidates.  But now we have arrived, as we
always do, at the moment of truth--the serious business of selecting a
president.

    Now is the time for choosing.

    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?

    Some might believe that the things we have talked about tonight are
irrelevant to the choice.  These 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 of liberty 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 could be more tragic, after having come all this way
on the journey of renewal we began 12 years ago, then if America herself
forgot the lessons of individual liberty that she has taught to a
grateful world.

    Emerson was right.  We are the country of tomorrow.  Our revolution
did not end at Yorktown.  More than 2 centuries later, America remains
on a voyage of discovery, a land that has never become, but is always in
the act of becoming.

    But just as we have led the crusade for democracy beyond our shores,
we have a great task to do together in our own home.  Now, I would
appeal to you to invigorate democracy in your own neighborhoods.

    Whether we come from poverty or wealth; whether we are Afro-American
or Irish-American; Christian or Jewish, from the big cities or small
towns, we are equal in the eyes of each other.  We can no longer judge
each other on the basis of what we are, but must, instead, start finding
out who we are.  In America, our origins matter less than our
definitions and that is what democracy is all about.

    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 Balanced Budget Amendment and line item veto.

    And let us all renew our commitment.  Renew our pledge day by day,
person by person, 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 nothing, yet!"

    For me, tonight is the latest chapter in a story that began a
quarter of a century ago, when the people of California entrusted me
with the stewardship of their dreams.

    My fellow citizens--those of you here in this hall and those of you
at home--I want you to know that I have always had the highest respect
for you, for your common sense and intelligence and for your decency.  I
have always believed in you and in what you could accomplish for
yourselves and for others.

    And whatever else history may say about me when I'm gone, I hope it
will record that I appealed to your best hopes, not your worst fears, to
your confidence rather than your doubts.  My dream is that you will
travel the road ahead with liberty's lamp guiding your steps and
opportunity's arm steadying your way.

    My fondest hope for each one of you--and especially for the young
people here (applause) is that you will love your country, not for her
power or wealth, but for her selflessness and her idealism.  May each of
you have the heart to conceive, the understanding to direct, and the
hand to execute works that will make the world a little better for your
having been here.

    May all of you as Americans never forget your heroic origins, never
fail to seek divine guidance, and never lose your natural, God-given
optimism.

    And finally, 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.
------------------OS/2 v2.0 -- Why settle for anything less?--------------------
James C. Barrett (barrett@cc.gatech.edu)| "If your so damned smart, why are
Georgia Tech College of Computing       |   you doing what your doing, and I'm
                                        |   president of the U.S.?" - G.Bush
Newsgroups: talk.politics.misc,alt.politics.clinton,alt.politics.bush