George H.W. Bush: “You know, Ronald Reagan, speaking of being safe as long as we're strong, my predecessor knew this all along. President…”

“You know, Ronald Reagan, speaking of being safe as long as we're strong, my predecessor knew this all along. President Reagan's picture of history has been vindicated. Now we've built on this legacy. And our actions in the Gulf--don't listen to these revisionists, those that sat on the sideline criticizing and now that are trying to turn history around. Our actions in the Gulf proved that America will stand up for its own interests. We will keep the wolves at bay. And as long as I am President, aggression will not stand. Some say, how come the difference between domestic policy, the difficulty to move things that we need and want on the domestic scene compared to how things work abroad? The answer is, I did not have to get permission from some subcommittee controlled by the Democrats to kick Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait. When American lives are threatened, as they were in Panama, we took action. And we'd do it again to protect American lives. On the domestic scene, we've had some successes up there on Capitol Hill--it's been tough--legislation like our Child Care Act which said that parents, parents should raise the kids, not the U.S. Government, the Clean Air Act that harnesses the market forces for a cleaner environment. And we've got a great record to take to the college campuses on the environment. We've spent $800 billion in the last 10 years, $1.2 trillion in the next, to clean up the environment and keep this world safe and sound, and we're going to do it. We passed the Americans with Disabilities Act, the most forward-looking piece of civil rights legislation in the last few years, and it says to the disabled, hey, you're going to be part of the mainstream, not kept out, not pushed aside. Take that one out there to the college campuses and to the American people. Sometimes when you have a Congress controlled by politically active Democrat liberals, you've got to keep bad things from happening. And the record is, Bush 30, on these vetoes, Congress 0. Let me just say a word on the veto. It's tough sometimes to stand up against what might be seemed and designated in the papers as a popular position. But principle demands that a President do what might not be popular, do what is principled, and I believe that Government should work for the people, not the other way around. The system is broken, and we're going to fix it. Let me say this one: I think the executive branch could stand some disciplining, and I know very well the Democratic-controlled Congress could. So everybody in America knows that I've proposed an amendment to force a balanced Federal budget. They know I've fought for it, the only Presidential candidate to support it, and I am not going to give up that fight. I need your help. It's just this simple: The Government is too big, and it spends too much. The American people know that, and the American people are with us when I call for what 43 Governors have in the States, 43 Governors, and I'm saying: Give me the line-item veto, and give us a chance to cut down on this spending. The taxpayers know how the budget gets busted: an arrogant, permanent Congress, unaccountable. The American people are with us, and the time has come to limit the terms of the United States Congress. Another one we've got going for us, and it's strong, and it's new, and it's good, and that is the total reform, a revolution in American education. Almost half a trillion dollars is spent at all levels on education each year. Does anyone think we are getting our money's worth? Audience members. No!”