George H.W. Bush: “I'd like to talk with you about some things that are very important to me: families and homes, futures and hopes--the…”

“I'd like to talk with you about some things that are very important to me: families and homes, futures and hopes--the ways in which we Americans can tackle the domestic problems that confront us. In recent months, we've all felt a bracing surge of American optimism and determination. We look at our schools and say: Let's make them better. We look at our neighborhoods and say: Let's make them even safer. We see opportunities around us and say: Let's go for it. In many ways, we've regained a sense of ourselves and our values. For the past quarter-century, politicians in Washington have acted as if the Federal Government could solve every problem from chigger bites to earthquakes. No more. We all realize that government has real limits. You can't replace values with regulations. You can't replace parents with caseworkers. And you can't replace the dedication to service with mandates. Over the years, a number of well-meaning laws have thrown up barriers to individual action. Gradually, they have begun to transform government from the guardian of individual liberty into a weed that chokes off freedom and strangles initiative. I'd like to ask your help in pruning this creeping weed so that we can take on problems that concern us all. Our administration's domestic agenda strives to build a more effective, compassionate government, to encourage service to others, and to give Americans the elbowroom that they need to do great deeds.…”