RNC Day 1

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Registered: 06-17-2004
RNC Day 1
107
Mon, 08-30-2004 - 11:31pm

Text of John McCain's speech:


Remarks by Senator John McCain (AZ)
Thank you, Lindsey, and, thank you, my fellow Republicans.
I’m truly grateful for the privilege of addressing you.
This week, millions of Americans, not all Republicans, weigh our claim on their support for the two men who have led our country in these challenging times with moral courage and firm resolve.
So I begin with the words of a great American from the other party, given at his party’s convention in the year I was born. My purpose is not imitation, for I can’t match his eloquence, but respect for
the relevance in our time of his rousing summons to greatness of an earlier generation of Americans.
In a time of deep distress at home, as tyranny strangled the aspirations to liberty of millions, and as war clouds gathered in the West and East, Franklin Delano Roosevelt accepted his party’s
nomination by observing:
“There is a mysterious cycle in human events.
To some generations much is given.
Of other generations much is expected.
This generation of Americans has a rendezvous with destiny.”
The awful events of September 11, 2001 declared a war we were vaguely aware of, but hadn’t really comprehended how near the threat was, and how terrible were the plans of our enemies.
It’s a big thing, this war. It’s a fight between a just regard for human dignity and a malevolent force that defiles an honorable
religion by disputing God’s love for every soul on earth. It’s a fight between right and wrong, good and evil.
And should our enemies acquire for their arsenal the chemical, biological and nuclear weapons they seek, this war will become a much bigger thing. So it is, whether we wished it or not, that we have
come to the test of our generation, to our rendezvous with destiny.
And much is expected of us.
We are engaged in a hard struggle against a cruel and determined adversary. Our enemies have made clear the danger they pose to our security and to the very essence of our culture…liberty.
Only the most deluded of us could doubt the necessity of this war.


Like all wars, this one will have its ups and downs.
But we must fight. We must.
The sacrifices borne in our defense are not shared equally by all Americans. But all Americans
must share a resolve to see this war through to a just end.
We must not be complacent at moments of success, and we must not despair over setbacks. We
must learn from our mistakes, improve on our successes, and vanquish this unpardonable enemy.
If we do less, we will fail the one mission no American generation has ever failed…
to provide to our children a stronger, better country than the one we were blessed to inherit.
Remember how we felt when the serenity of a bright September morning was destroyed by a savage
atrocity so hostile to all human virtue we could scarcely imagine any human being capable of it.
We were united.
First, in sorrow and anger.
Then in recognition we were attacked not for a wrong we had done, but for who we are – a people
united in a kinship of ideals, committed to the notion that the people are sovereign, not
governments, not armies, not a pitiless, inhumane theocracy, not kings, mullahs or tyrants, but the
people.
In that moment, we were not different races.
We were not poor or rich. We were not Democrat or Republican, liberal or conservative. We were
not two countries.
We were Americans.
All of us, despite the differences that enliven our politics, are united in the one big idea that freedom
is our birthright and its defense is always our first responsibility.
All other responsibilities come second.
We must not lose sight of that as we debate who among us should bear the greatest responsibility
for keeping us safe and free. We must, whatever our disagreements, stick together in this great challenge of our time.
My friends in the Democratic Party – and I’m fortunate to call many of them my friends – assure us they share the conviction that winning the war against terrorism is our government’s most important obligation.
I don’t doubt their sincerity. They emphasize that military action alone won’t protect us, that this war has many fronts: in courts,
financial institutions, in the shadowy world of intelligence, and in diplomacy. They stress that America needs the help of her friends to combat an evil that threatens us all, that our alliances are as
important to victory as are our armies.We agree.
And, as we’ve been a good friend to other countries in moments of shared perils, so we have good
reason to expect their solidarity with us in this struggle.
That is what the President believes.
And, thanks to his efforts we have received valuable assistance from many good friends around the
globe, even if we have, at times, been disappointed with the reactions of some.
I don’t doubt the sincerity of my Democratic friends. And they should not doubt ours.
Our President will work with all nations willing to help us defeat this scourge that afflicts us all.
War is an awful business. The lives of a nation’s finest patriots are sacrificed. Innocent people
suffer. Commerce is disrupted, economies are damaged. Strategic interests shielded by years of
statecraft are endangered as the demands of war and diplomacy conflict.
However just the cause, we should shed a tear for all that is lost when war claims its wages from us.
But there is no avoiding this war. We tried that, and our reluctance cost us dearly. And while this
war has many components, we can’t make victory on the battlefield harder to achieve so that our
diplomacy is easier to conduct.
That is not just an expression of our strength. It’s a measure of our wisdom.
That’s why I commend to my country the re-election of President Bush, and the steady,
experienced, public-spirited man who serves as our Vice-President, Dick Cheney.
Four years ago, in Philadelphia, I spoke of my confidence that President Bush would accept the
responsibilities that come with America’s distinction as the world’s only superpower.
I promised he would not let America “retreat behind empty threats, false promises and uncertain
diplomacy;” that he would “confidently defend our interests and values wherever they are
threatened.”
I knew my confidence was well placed when I watched him stand on the rubble of the World Trade
Center, with his arm around a hero of September 11th, and in our moment of mourning and anger,
strengthen our unity and summon our resolve by promising to right this terrible wrong, and to stand
up and fight for the values we hold dear.
He promised our enemies would soon hear from us. And so they did.
So they did.
He ordered American forces to Afghanistan and took the fight to our enemies, and away from our
shores, seriously injuring al Qaeda and destroying the regime that gave them safe haven. He
worked effectively to secure the cooperation of Pakistan, a relationship that’s critical to our success
against al Qaeda.
He encouraged other friends to recognize the peril that terrorism posed for them, and won their help
in apprehending many of those who would attack us again, and in helping to freeze the assets they
used to fund their bloody work.
After years of failed diplomacy and limited military pressure to restrain Saddam Hussein,
President Bush made the difficult decision to liberate Iraq.
Those who criticize that decision would have us believe that the choice was between a status quo
that was well enough left alone and war. But there was no status quo to be left alone.
The years of keeping Saddam in a box were coming to a close. The international consensus that he
be kept isolated and unarmed had eroded to the point that many critics of military action had
decided the time had come again to do business with Saddam, despite his near daily attacks on our
pilots, and his refusal, until his last day in power, to allow the unrestricted inspection of his arsenal.
Our choice wasn’t between a benign status quo and the bloodshed of war.
It was between war and a graver threat. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Not our critics abroad.
Not our political opponents.
And certainly not a disingenuous film maker who would have us believe that Saddam’s Iraq was an
oasis of peace when in fact it was a place of indescribable cruelty, torture chambers, mass graves
and prisons that destroyed the lives of the small children held inside their walls.
Whether or not Saddam possessed the terrible weapons he once had and used, freed from
international pressure and the threat of military action, he would have acquired them again.
The central security concern of our time is to keep such devastating weapons beyond the reach of
terrorists who can’t be dissuaded from using them by the threat of mutual destruction.
We couldn’t afford the risk posed by an unconstrained Saddam in these dangerous times. By
destroying his regime we gave hope to people long oppressed that if they have the courage to fight
for it, they may live in peace and freedom.
Most importantly, our efforts may encourage the people of a region that has never known peace or
freedom or lasting stability that they may someday possess these rights.
I believe as strongly today as ever, the mission was necessary, achievable and noble.
For his determination to undertake it, and for his unflagging resolve to see it through to a just end,
President Bush deserves not only our support, but our admiration.
As the President rightly reminds us, we are safer than we were on September 11th, but we’re not yet
safe. We are still closer to the beginning than the end of this fight.
We need a leader with the experience to make the tough decisions and the resolve to stick with
them; a leader who will keep us moving forward even if it is easier to rest.
And this President will not rest until America is stronger and safer still, and this hateful iniquity is
vanquished. He has been tested and has risen to the most important challenge of our time, and I
salute him.


I salute his determination to make this world a better, safer, freer place.
He has not wavered. He has not flinched from the hard choices. He will not yield.
And neither will we.
I said earlier that the sacrifices in this war will not be shared equally by all Americans. The
President is the first to observe, most of the sacrifices fall, as they have before, to the brave men and
women of our Armed Forces. We may be good citizens, but make no mistake, they are the very
best of us.
It’s an honor to live in a country that is so well and so bravely defended by such patriots. May God
bless them, the living and the fallen, as He has blessed us with their service.
For their families, for their friends, for America, for mankind they sacrifice to affirm that right
makes might; that good triumphs over evil; that freedom is stronger than tyranny; that love is
greater than hate.
It is left to us to keep their generous benefaction alive, and our blessed, beautiful country worthy of
their courage.
We should be thankful — for the privilege.
Our country’s security doesn’t depend on the heroism of every citizen. But we have to be worthy of
the sacrifices made on our behalf.
We have to love our freedom, not just for the material benefits it provides, not just for the autonomy
it guarantees us, but for the goodness it makes possible. We have to love it as much, if not as
heroically, as the brave Americans who defend us at the risk, and often the cost of their lives.
No American alive today will ever forget what happened on the morning of September 11th. That
day was the moment when the pendulum of history swung toward a new era. The opening chapter
was tinged with great sadness and uncertainty. It shook us from our complacency in the belief that
the Cold War’s end had ushered in a time of global tranquility.
But an absence of complacency should not provoke an absence of confidence. What our enemies
have sought to destroy is beyond their reach. It cannot be taken from us. It can only be surrendered.
My friends, we are again met on the field of political competition with our fellow countrymen.
It is more than appropriate, it is necessary that even in times of crisis we have these contests,
and engage in spirited disagreement over the shape and course of our government.
We have nothing to fear from each other. We are arguing over the means to better secure our
freedom, and promote the general welfare. But it should remain an argument among friends who
share an unshaken belief in our great cause, and in the goodness of each other.
We are Americans first, Americans last, Americans always.
Let us argue our differences.


But remember we are not enemies, but comrades in a war against a real enemy, and take courage
from the knowledge that our military superiority is matched only by the superiority of our ideals,
and our unconquerable love for them.
Our adversaries are weaker than us in arms and men, but weaker still in causes. They fight to
express a hatred for all that is good in humanity.
We fight for love of freedom and justice, a love that is invincible. Keep that faith. Keep your
courage. Stick together. Stay strong.
Do not yield. Do not flinch. Stand up. Stand up with our President and fight.
We’re Americans.
We’re Americans, and we’ll never surrender.
They will.

Renee ~~~

Renee ~~~

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iVillage Member
Registered: 06-17-2004
In reply to: cl_wrhen
Mon, 08-30-2004 - 11:38pm

Remarks by the Honorable Rudy Giuliani Former Mayor of the City of New York


Welcome to the capital of the World.
New York was the first capital of our great nation. It was here in 1789 in lower Manhattan that
George Washington took the oath of office as the first President of the United States.
It was here in 2001 in lower Manhattan that President George W. Bush stood amid the fallen towers
of the World Trade Center and said to the barbaric terrorists who attacked us, “They will hear from
us.”
They have heard from us!
They heard from us in Afghanistan and we removed the Taliban.
They heard from us in Iraq and we ended Saddam Hussein’s reign of terror.
They heard from us in Libya and without firing a shot Qadhafi abandoned weapons of mass
destruction.
They are hearing from us in nations that are now more reluctant to sponsor terrorists.
So long as George Bush is President, is there any doubt they will continue to hear from us until we
defeat global terrorism.
We owe that much and more to those loved ones and heroes we lost on September 11th.
The families of some of those we lost on September 11th are here with us. To them, and all those
families affected by September 11th, we recognize the sacrifices your loved ones and you have
made. You are in our prayers and we are in your debt.
This is the first Republican Convention ever held in New York City.
It makes a statement that New York City and America are open for business and stronger than ever.
We’re not going to let the threat of terrorism stop us from leading our lives.
From the first Republican President, Abraham Lincoln, to President George W. Bush our party’s
great contribution is to expand freedom in our own land and all over the world.
And our party is at its best when it makes certain that we have a powerful national defense in a still
very dangerous world.
I don’t believe we’re right about everything and Democrats are wrong about everything.


Neither party has a monopoly on virtue.
But I do believe that there are times in our history when our ideas are more necessary and important
for what we are facing.
There are times when leadership is the most important.
On September 11, this city and our nation faced the worst attack in our history.
On that day, we had to confront reality. For me, standing below the north tower and looking up and
seeing the flames of hell and then realizing that I was actually seeing a man – a human being –
jumping from the 101st or 102nd floor drove home to me that we were facing something beyond
anything we had ever faced before.
We had to concentrate all of our energy, faith and hope to get through those first hours and days.
And I will always remember that moment as we escaped the building we were trapped in at 75
Barclay Street and realized that things outside might be even worse than they were inside the
building.
We did the best we could to communicate a message of calm and hope, as we stood on the
pavement seeing a massive cloud rushing through the cavernous streets of lower Manhattan.
Our people were so brave in their response.
At the time, we believed we would be attacked many more times that day and in the days that
followed. Spontaneously, I grabbed the arm of then Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik and said
to Bernie, “Thank God George Bush is our President.”
And I say it again tonight, “Thank God George Bush is our President.”
On September 11, George W. Bush had been President less than eight months. This new
President, Vice President, and new administration were faced with the worst crisis in our history.
President Bush’s response in keeping us unified and in turning the ship of state around from being
solely on defense against terrorism to being on offense as well and for his holding us together.
For that and then his determined effort to defeat global terrorism, no matter what happens in this
election, President George W. Bush already has earned a place in our history as a great American
President.
But let’s not wait for history to present the correct view of our President. Let us write our own
history.
We need George Bush now more than ever.
The horror, the shock and the devastation of those attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon
and over the skies of Pennsylvania lifted a cloud from our eyes.
We stood face to face with those people and forces who hijacked not just airplanes but a religion
and turned it into a creed of terrorism dedicated to eradicating us and our way of life.
Terrorism did not start on September 11, 2001. It had been festering for many years.


And the world had created a response to it that allowed it to succeed. The attack on the Israeli team
at the Munich Olympics was in 1972. And the pattern had already begun.
The three surviving terrorists were arrested and within two months released by the German
government.
Action like this became the rule, not the exception.
Terrorists came to learn they could attack and often not face consequences.
In 1985, terrorists attacked the Achille Lauro and murdered an American citizen who was in a
wheelchair, Leon Klinghoffer.
They marked him for murder solely because he was Jewish.
Some of those terrorist were released and some of the remaining terrorists allowed to escape by the
Italian government because of fear of reprisals.
So terrorists learned they could intimidate the world community and too often the response,
particularly in Europe, was “accommodation, appeasement and compromise.”
And worse the terrorists also learned that their cause would be taken more seriously, almost in
direct proportion to the barbarity of the attack.
Terrorist acts became a ticket to the international bargaining table.
How else to explain Yasser Arafat winning the Nobel Peace Prize when he was supporting a
terrorist plague in the Middle East that undermined any chance of peace?
Before September 11, we were living with an unrealistic view of the world much like our observing
Europe appease Hitler or trying to accommodate ourselves to peaceful co-existence with the Soviet
Union through mutually assured destruction.
President Bush decided that we could no longer be just on defense against global terrorism but we
must also be on offense.
On September 20, 2001, President Bush stood before a joint session of Congress, a still grieving and
shocked nation and a confused world and he did change the direction of our ship of state.
He dedicated America under his leadership to destroying global terrorism.
The President announced the Bush Doctrine when he said: “Our war on terror begins with Al
Qaeda, but it does not end there.
It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated.
“Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists.”
And since September 11th President Bush has remained rock solid.
It doesn’t matter how he is demonized.


It doesn’t matter what the media does to ridicule him or misinterpret him or defeat him.
They ridiculed Winston Churchill. They belittled Ronald Reagan.
But like President Bush, they were optimists; leaders must be optimists. Their vision was beyond
the present and set on a future of real peace and true freedom.
Some call it stubbornness. I call it principled leadership.
President Bush has the courage of his convictions.
In choosing a President, we really don’t choose a Republican or Democrat, a conservative or liberal.
We choose a leader.
And in times of danger, as we are now in, Americans should put leadership at the core of their
decision.
There are many qualities that make a great leader but having strong beliefs, being able to stick with
them through popular and unpopular times, is the most important characteristic of a great leader.
Winston Churchill saw the dangers of Hitler while his opponents characterized him as a war-mongering
gadfly.
Ronald Reagan saw and described the Soviet Union as “the evil empire” while world opinion
accepted it as inevitable and belittled Ronald Reagan’s intelligence.
President Bush sees world terrorism for the evil that it is.
John Kerry has no such clear, precise and consistent vision.
This is not a personal criticism of John Kerry.
I respect him for his service to our nation.
But it is important to see the contrast in approach between the two men;
President Bush, a leader who is willing to stick with difficult decisions even as public opinion
shifts, and John Kerry, whose record in elected office suggests a man who changes his position
often even on important issues.
When Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990, John Kerry voted against the Persian Gulf War.
Later he said he actually supported the war.
Then in 2002, as he was calculating his run for President, he voted for the war in Iraq.
And then just 9 months later, he voted against an $87 billion supplemental budget to fund the war
and support our troops.
He even, at one point, declared himself an anti-war candidate. Now, he says he’s pro-war. At this
rate, with 64 days left, he still has time to change his position at least three or four more times.
My point about John Kerry being inconsistent is best described in his own words when he said, “I
actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it.”


Maybe this explains John Edwards’ need for two Americas - - one where John Kerry can vote for
something and another where he can vote against the same thing.
Yes, people in public office at times do change their minds, I’ve done that, or they realize they are
wrong or circumstances change.
But John Kerry has made it the rule to change his position, rather than the exception. In October,
2003, he told an Arab-American Institute in Detroit that a security barrier separating Israel from the
Palestinian Territories was a “barrier to peace.”
A few months later, he took exactly the opposite position. In an interview with the Jerusalem Post
he said, “Israel’s security fence is a legitimate act of self defense.”
The contrasts are dramatic. They involve very different views of how to deal with terrorism.
President Bush will make certain that we are combatting terrorism at the source, beyond our shores,
so we can reduce the risk of having to confront it in the streets of New York.
John Kerry’s record of inconsistent positions on combatting terrorism gives us no confidence he’ll
pursue such a determined course.
President Bush will not allow countries that appear to have ignored the lessons of history and failed
for over thirty years to stand up to terrorists, to dissuade us from what is necessary for our defense.
He will not let them set our agenda. Under President Bush, America will lead rather than follow.
John Kerry’s claim that certain foreign leaders who opposed our removal of Saddam Hussein prefer
him, raises the risk that he would accommodate his position to their viewpoint.
It would hardly be the first time he changed his position on matters of war and peace.
I remember the days following September 11th when we were no longer Democrats or Republicans,
but Americans determined to do all we could to help the victims, to rebuild our city and nation and
to disable our enemies.
I remember President Bush coming here on September 14, 2001 and lifting the morale of our rescue
workers by talking with them and embracing them and staying with them much longer than
originally planned.
In fact, if you promise to keep it just between us so I don’t get in trouble it was my opinion that the
Secret Service was concerned about the President remaining so long in that area.
With buildings still unstable, with fires raging below ground of 2000 degrees or more, there was
good reason for concern.
Well the President remained there and talked to everyone, the firefighters, the police officers, the
healthcare workers, the clergy, but the people who spent the most time with him were our
construction workers.
Now New York construction workers are very special people. I’m sure this is true all over but I
know the ones here the best. They were real heroes along with many others that day, volunteering
immediately. And they’re big, real big. Their arms are bigger than my legs and their opinions are even bigger than their arms.
Now each one of them would engage the President and I imagine like his cabinet give him advice.
They were advising him in their own words on exactly what he should do with the terrorists. Of
course I can’t repeat their exact language.
But one of them really went into great detail and upon conclusion of his remarks President Bush
said in a rather loud voice, “I agree.”
At this point the guy just beamed and all his buddies turned toward him in amazement.
The guy just lost it.
So he reached over, embraced the President and began hugging him enthusiastically.
A Secret Service agent standing next to me looked at the President and the guy and instead of
extracting the President from this bear hug, he turned toward me and put his finger in my face and
said, “If this guy hurts the President, Giuliani you’re finished.”
Meekly, and this is the moral of the story, I responded, “but it would be out of love.”
I also remember the heart wrenching visit President Bush made to the families of our firefighters
and police officers at the Javits Center.
I remember receiving all the help, assistance and support from the President and even more than we
asked.
For that I will be eternally grateful to President Bush.
And I remember the support being bi-partisan and actually standing hand in hand Republicans and
Democrats, here in New York and all over the nation.
During a Boston Red Sox game there was a sign held up saying Boston loves New York.
I saw a Chicago police officer sent here by Mayor Daley directing traffic in Manhattan.
I’m not sure where he sent the cars, they are probably still riding around the Bronx, but it was very
reassuring to know how much support we had.
And as we look beyond this election – and elections do accentuate differences – let’s make sure we
rekindle that spirit that we are one – one America – united to end the threat of global terrorism.
Certainly President Bush will keep us focused on that goal. When President Bush announced his
commitment to ending global terrorism, he understood - - I understood, we all understood - - it was
critical to remove the pillars of support for the global terrorist movement.
In any plan to destroy global terrorism, removing Saddam Hussein needed to be accomplished.
Frankly, I believed then and I believe now that Saddam Hussein, who supported global terrorism,
slaughtered hundreds of thousands of his own people, permitted horrific atrocities against women,
and used weapons of mass destruction, was himself a weapon of mass destruction.
But the reasons for removing Saddam Hussein were based on issues even broader than just the presence of weapons of mass destruction.
To liberate people, give them a chance for accountable, decent government and rid the world of a
pillar of support for global terrorism is something for which all those involved from President Bush
to the brave men and women of our armed forces should be proud.
President Bush has also focused on the correct long-term answer for the violence and hatred
emerging from the Middle East. The hatred and anger in the Middle East arises from the lack of
accountable governments.
Rather than trying to grant more freedom, create more income, improve education and basic health
care, these governments deflect their own failures by pointing to America and Israel and other
external scapegoats.
But blaming these scapegoats does not improve the life of a single person in the Arab world. It
does not relieve the plight of even one woman in Iran.
It does not give a decent living to a single soul in Syria. It certainly does not stop the slaughter of
African Christians in the Sudan.
The changes necessary in the Middle East involve encouraging accountable, lawful governments
that can be role models.
This has also been an important part of the Bush Doctrine and the President’s vision for the future.
Have faith in the power of freedom.
People who live in freedom always prevail over people who live in oppression. That’s the story of
the Old Testament. That’s the story of World War II and the Cold War.
That’s the story of the firefighters and police officers and rescue workers who courageously saved
thousands of lives on September 11, 2001.
President Bush is the leader we need for the next four years because he sees beyond today and
tomorrow. He has a vision of a peaceful Middle East and, therefore, a safer world. We will see an
end to global terrorism. I can see it. I believe it. I know it will happen.
It may seem a long way off. It may even seem idealistic.
But it may not be as far away and idealistic as it seems.
Look how quickly the Berlin Wall was torn down, the Iron Curtain ripped open and the Soviet
Union disintegrated because of the power of the pent-up demand for freedom.
When it catches hold there is nothing more powerful than freedom. Give it some hope, and it will
overwhelm dictators, and even defeat terrorists. That is what we have done and must continue to do
in Iraq.
That is what the Republican Party does best – when we are at our best, we extend freedom.
presence of weapons of mass destruction.
To liberate people, give them a chance for accountable, decent government and rid the world of a
pillar of support for global terrorism is something for which all those involved from President Bush
to the brave men and women of our armed forces should be proud.
President Bush has also focused on the correct long-term answer for the violence and hatred
emerging from the Middle East. The hatred and anger in the Middle East arises from the lack of
accountable governments.
Rather than trying to grant more freedom, create more income, improve education and basic health
care, these governments deflect their own failures by pointing to America and Israel and other
external scapegoats.
But blaming these scapegoats does not improve the life of a single person in the Arab world. It
does not relieve the plight of even one woman in Iran.
It does not give a decent living to a single soul in Syria. It certainly does not stop the slaughter of
African Christians in the Sudan.
The changes necessary in the Middle East involve encouraging accountable, lawful governments
that can be role models.
This has also been an important part of the Bush Doctrine and the President’s vision for the future.
Have faith in the power of freedom.
People who live in freedom always prevail over people who live in oppression. That’s the story of
the Old Testament. That’s the story of World War II and the Cold War.
That’s the story of the firefighters and police officers and rescue workers who courageously saved
thousands of lives on September 11, 2001.
President Bush is the leader we need for the next four years because he sees beyond today and
tomorrow. He has a vision of a peaceful Middle East and, therefore, a safer world. We will see an
end to global terrorism. I can see it. I believe it. I know it will happen.
It may seem a long way off. It may even seem idealistic.
But it may not be as far away and idealistic as it seems.
Look how quickly the Berlin Wall was torn down, the Iron Curtain ripped open and the Soviet
Union disintegrated because of the power of the pent-up demand for freedom.
When it catches hold there is nothing more powerful than freedom. Give it some hope, and it will
overwhelm dictators, and even defeat terrorists. That is what we have done and must continue to do
in Iraq.
That is what the Republican Party does best – when we are at our best, we extend freedom.


Renee ~~~

Renee ~~~

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-17-2004
In reply to: cl_wrhen
Tue, 08-31-2004 - 12:08am
RNC Communications Director Jim Dyke:

"Today the Democrats in New York are accusing the President of the United States of failing to lead and win the war on terror. Even Sen. Daschle must find these attacks baseless since his re-election campaign is running commercials embracing (literally hugging) President Bush’s leadership in the War on Terror."

Renee ~~~

Renee ~~~

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-17-2004
In reply to: cl_wrhen
Tue, 08-31-2004 - 12:13am

Renee ~~~

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-17-2004
In reply to: cl_wrhen
Tue, 08-31-2004 - 12:19am
Mayor kicks off RNC with a flub

By Dan Janison
Staff Writer

August 30, 2004, 8:28 PM EDT


http://www.nynewsday.com/news/politics/rnc/nyc-nymike0831,0,2463111,print.story?coll=nyc-homepage-headlines

With a verbal flub that made close listeners cringe, Mayor Michael Bloomberg welcomed a buzzing, inattentive and still-thin crowd of Republican delegates yesterday.

During his brief speech, the municipal host and Republican for the past three years, alluded to the fact that he and Gov. George Pataki had "laid the tombstone for the site of the Freedom Tower" in lower Manhattan. He clearly meant to say "cornerstone."

But his overall point was also audible -- that New York City, as a capital of finance and model of ethnic meshing, has more than survived the attacks on the World Trade Center.

"No place epitomizes the American spirit more than New York City," he said. "It wasn't so long ago that confidence in New York was in short supply ... Our future is brighter than ever."

Volunteers from around the nation who flocked to the city in its moment of tragedy three years ago "were there for us and we owe you more than we can say," Bloomberg said.

He urged those attending the convention to visit the city and "take it all in ... from Brooklyn Heights to Bay Ridge" and from "Coney Island to Chelsea." He said delegates should ride the Staten Island Ferry and enjoy the view of the Statue of Liberty.

Bloomberg recalled how in 1860 Abraham Lincoln, a Republican, came to New York to deliver an anti-slavery address and how Jackie Robinson broke the color-line in major league baseball in Brooklyn.

The delegates saved their strongest applause for when the mayor turned to being on-message.

"President Bush deserves our support!" he declared in his strongest statement on the subject so far. "We are here to support him, and I am here to support him!"

Bloomberg was introduced by a supporter, former Mayor Ed Koch, who joked that he would one day "convert" those in the room to becoming Democrats like him.

Koch too played the cheerleader on Bush's behalf, but while he did so, most eyes were on former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, about whom he wrote a book called "Nasty Man."

Giuliani moved around the convention floor and drew numerous requests for autographs and photos at his side. Gov. George Pataki did the same, but with less of the star status.

Renee ~~~

Renee ~~~

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-17-2004
In reply to: cl_wrhen
Tue, 08-31-2004 - 12:26am

RNC: Delegates Officially Submit Names


Delegates officially submitted the names of President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney Monday for nomination to second terms as the Republican National Convention (search) got into full swing.

An alphabetical state-by-state roll call began that will be spread out over several nights, though only some states will cast their delegate votes.

Renee ~~~

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-17-2004
In reply to: cl_wrhen
Tue, 08-31-2004 - 12:35am

RNC: The Day in Quotes, So Far
12:30 PM EDT | Posted By Michele Catalano



  • Former NY Mayor and Democrat Ed Koch: “This year, I’m voting for the re-election of President George W. Bush.”


  • RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie: “We are going to honor the courage of our nation, the compassion of our people and the promise of our future.”


  • Hon. Marc Racicot (Former Governor of Montana and Bush-Cheney ‘04 Campaign Chairman): “In this city, America finally awoke to the reality of a world at war,” Racicot said. “In this city, vibrant and better than ever, we find confirmation that America, though bruised, can never be shattered.”


  • Filmmaker Michael Moore (at a protest march): “The majority never voted for the Bush administration, and the majority are here to say, ‘It’s time to have our country back in our hands.”


  • Former President Bill Clinton, speaking in New York yesterday (in reference to the Swift Boat ads): “Sometimes I think our friends on the other side have become the people of the Nine Commandments,” Mr. Clinton said. “It is wrong to bear false witness.”

http://www.command-post.org/2004/index.html

Renee ~~~

Renee ~~~

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-17-2004
In reply to: cl_wrhen
Tue, 08-31-2004 - 12:42am
Michael Moore Draws McCain Barb, Taunts from Crowd

By Joe Strupp

Published: August 30, 2004

NEW YORK The biggest commotion at the Republican National Convention Monday night occurred just before 10 p.m. with the entrance of filmmaker Michael Moore, who was repeatedly halted by security attempting to reach his reserved press seat in section #340 facing the side of the stage. Moore is writing a daily column this week for USA Today.

Then, after taking his seat, he watched as Senator John McCain referred to a certain "disingenuous film-maker who would have us believe that Saddam's Iraq was an oasis of peace," and seemed to glance at Moore above him. Much of the audience erupted in boos and then, turning to Moore, many delegates chanted "Four more years!"

Moore exclaimed, "Two more months!" He also said, "I can't believe they'd mention the film and help the box office."

A short while later Moore exited, accompanied by heavy security. He told E & P on the way out that he was not fleeing: He had to speak to a Planned Parenthood gathering at a theater uptown.

About this time, his first USA Today column, for Tuesday's edition, appeared online, titled "The GOP Doesn't Reflect America."

Earlier, Moore had received more hassling than usual over press credentials on his way upstairs to his seat. Then it took 20 minutes for him to get from the hallway just outside to the seat, as he was stopped by security two more times.

Informed by a reporter that this was highly unusual, Moore quipped: "How well is YOUR movie doing?"

When he finally reached his seat, so many cameramen gathered that reporters already seated complained that the crush was disturbing their work.

Moore, dressed in his trademark red baseball cap and jeans, told E & P, "I don't why they are checking my credentials so much. I have the right credentials." He added, however, that so far this week "the police have been helpful." and "I have had not negative things said to me by any Republican."

Some Republicans nearby, however, were not shy about sharing their views of Moore with reporters. A GOP consultant from Pennsylvania, David Welch, said, "He's a troublemaker. I think he's here to cause trouble."

"I just want to do some work," Moore said. "This is an important historical event."

Finally seated, he wrote on a notepad, not a laptop, with security guards stationed at each end of his row. Then McCain made his reference and suddenly Republicans were not treating him so nicely.

In his USA Today column, Moore congratulated the Republicans for being able to seize power while only representing one-third of the populace. "Our side is full of wimps who'd rather compromise than fight," he explained. "Not you guys."

Noting that the convention would focus on moderates, Moore charged that Republicans know "that the only way to hold onto power is to pass themselves off as, well, as most Americans. It's a good show." http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000621414


Renee ~~~

Renee ~~~

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-21-2004
In reply to: cl_wrhen
Tue, 08-31-2004 - 12:56am


Text Of John McCains Speech:

blah blah, blah blah blah, attack attack, falsehood, blah blah blah, its all about the war on terrorists, don't even think about the fact that your way of life is disappearing in the worst economic decline since the great depression, blah blah blah, vote for Bush he's your man, blah blah blah, Kerry's a close personal friend, but hey I'm a Repuke, so have to tow the party line, vote for Bush...blah blah, blah blah blah and God Bless American.

Think that pretty well covers it.

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-21-2004
In reply to: cl_wrhen
Tue, 08-31-2004 - 1:01am
Remarks of Mayor Rudi:

blah blah, I know you do not want these folks in our town, but blah blah I stand to make a lot of money as a speaker because of this endorsement of Bush, so blah blah blah blah, and yes it is true that Bush has not kept his promises to New York, but hey the rest of the country does not need to hear about our dirty laundry, blah blah blah, so forth and so on, kill the bastards over in Iraq even though the report showed no connection between them and 9/11, cause this is a war, and I need to convince the Independents that George Bush is steeped in patriatism and was there for us in our hour of need, blah blah blah, and Oh, did I did you my latest group of Kerry Flip Flop jokes, attack, attack, attack, after all, we are Republicans and love throwing mud, blah blah blah blah blah. Good night every one, and remember God is a Republican too.

Think that pretty well covering his overly long and boring speech. Pundits to follow.

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-21-2004
In reply to: cl_wrhen
Tue, 08-31-2004 - 1:06am
Further remarks that failed to make airtime...yes, I know that over 70 percent of you do not want the Republican Convention here, but give me a break, I got a really good gig going here and stand to make some serious money.

Forget that Bush sat there stunned for seven minutes failing to take action that could have save lives at the Pentagon...forget that he allowed our troops command to be given over to the Interim goverment of Iraq, and ignore that he abandoned the true target of 9/11 when he gave up the search for old Bin what's his name. Come on, lets all unite together and sing a chorus of Purple Mountains.

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