Sunday Speech Transcripts
George W. Bush’s Comments
Good evening.
The last 19 days have been extraordinary
ones. As our nation watched, we were all
reminded on a daily basis of the importance of
each and every vote. We were reminded of the
strength of our democracy, that while our system
is not always perfect, it is fundamentally strong
and far better than any other alternative.
The election was close, but tonight, after a
count, a recount and yet another manual recount,
Secretary Cheney and I are honored and
humbled to have won the state of Florida, which
gives us the needed electoral votes to win the
election.
We will therefore undertake the responsibility
of preparing to serve as America’s next
president and vice president.
During the past year and a half of the
presidential campaign, I’ve had the privilege of
traveling America and meeting so many of my
fellow Americans: the teachers who mold our
future, the volunteers who take time to help
neighbors in need, the police and fireman who
risk their lives to protect ours, the workers who
keep our economy strong and growing.
These experiences have confirmed that ours
is a strong and vibrant nation, full of people
whose hearts are bigger than even our most
bountiful harvest.
As our country ends its Thanksgiving
weekend, we have so much to be thankful for,
beginning with the fundamental freedoms that
are the birthright of every America: life, liberty
and the pursuit of happiness.
And with our freedom comes responsibility,
for all of us. Once our elections are behind us,
once our disagreements are expressed, we
have a responsibility to honor our Constitution
and laws, and come together to do the people’s
business.
Two hundred years ago, after a difficult
election, President Thomas Jefferson reminded
his fellow citizens that every difference of
opinion is not a difference of principle.
Vice President Gore and I had our
differences of opinion in this election, and so did
the many candidates who ran for the United
States Congress. But there is broad agreement
on some important principles.
Republicans and Democrats agree we need
to provide an excellent education for every child
at every public school. Democrats and
Republicans agree that our seniors deserve a
secure retirement and a prescription drug
coverage in Medicare.
Already there is some bipartisan groundwork
on efforts to reform Social Security and
Medicare. We have a duty to find common
ground to reform these vital programs for the
greatest generation and for future generations.
Republicans and Democrats want a strong
military to keep the peace and a foreign policy
that reassures our friends and restrains our
enemies.
There is growing consensus in Congress and
America on the need to reduce taxes by
reducing the marriage penalty and eliminating
the death tax.
And I will work with members of the Congress
from both parties to reduce tax rates for
everyone who pays income taxes in America.
Progress on these issues will require a new
tone in Washington. The path to progress is
consideration and fair-dealing. I’ve worked with
Democrats and Republicans in Texas, and I will
do so in Washington. I will listen and I will
respect different points of view, and, most of all,
I will work to unite our great land.
This has been a hard-fought election, a
healthy contest for American democracy. But
now that the votes are counted, it is time for the
votes to count.
The vice president’s lawyers have indicated
he will challenge the certified election results. I
respectfully ask him to reconsider.
Until Florida’s votes were certified, the vice
president was working to represent the interests
of those who supported him. I did not agree with
his call for additional recounts, but I respected
his decision to fight until the votes were finally
certified. Now that they are certified, we enter a
different phase. If the vice president chooses to
go forward, he is filing a contest to the outcome
of the election, and that is not the best route for
America.
All of us in this election fought for our views.
Now we must live up to our principles. We must
show our commitment to the common good,
which is bigger than any person or any party.
We cannot change yesterday, but we share a
responsibility for tomorrow.
Time runs short, and we have a lot of work to
do. So tonight I’m naming Secretary Dick
Cheney to chair our transition effort, and
Secretary Andy Card to serve as my chief of
staff.
I’ve asked Secretary Cheney to work with
President Clinton’s administration to open a
transition office in Washington. And we look
forward to a constructive working relationship
throughout this transition.
The end of an election is the beginning of a
new day. Together we can make this a positive
day of hope and opportunity for all of us who are
blessed to be Americans.
Thank you very much, and God bless
America.
Sen. Joseph Lieberman’s Remarks
From the beginning of this extraordinary period
of time, Vice President Gore and I have asked
only that the votes that were cast on Election
Day be counted. This evening, the secretary of
state of Florida has decided to certify what by
any reasonable standard is an incomplete and
inaccurate count of the votes cast in the state of
Florida.
The secretary of state has even refused to
accept the results of the count in Palm Beach
County, which means that hundreds of votes that
have already been identified for Governor Bush
or Vice President Gore are being discarded.
In thousands of hours of work by hundreds of
citizens of Florida, Republicans and Democrats
and independents alike are being ignored. What
is at issue here is nothing less than every
American’s simple, sacred right to vote.
How can we teach our children that every
vote counts if we are not willing to make a
good-faith effort to count every vote?
Because of our belief in the importance of
these fundamental American principles, Vice
President Gore and I have no choice but to
contest these actions, as provided under Florida
law and in accord with the decision of the
Florida Supreme Court.
It is in our nation’s interest that the winner in
Florida is truly the person got the most votes.
As we have said all along, we do not know
who will prevail, after a full and fair count of every
legally cast ballot. But the integrity our
self-government is too important to cast into
doubt because votes that have been counted, or
others that have not yet been counted and
clearly should be, have unjustifiably been cast
aside. That is why we seek the most complete
and accurate count possible.
We have an obligation, not just to the 50
million Americans who cast their votes for Vice
President Gore and me, but to every American
who voted in this election. They all deserve a fair
and just outcome that respects their
participation and does not diminish the value of
their votes.
And we have an obligation to uphold the
Constitution we are sworn to uphold. The idea of
“one person, one vote” is central to our system
of government and must never be
compromised.
We are now going through an unprecedented
time in American history. The campaign is over.
But what we do now will be as important to the
future of our country as anything any of us did
during the campaign.
We must proceed responsibly in a way that
honors the rule of law and strengthens the
institutions of our free society. We must show
the world and teach our children that, even in this
unparalleled time, America can and will fulfill its
democratic values by demonstrating the
patience to cast every vote — to count every
vote that was cast.
We have an opportunity here and we have a
responsibility to ensure that this election lifts up
our democracy and respects every voter and
every vote, no matter what the outcome. And
that is precisely what Vice President Gore and I
will seek to do in the days ahead. |
