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Patriotic themes and a message of hope and optimism were the staple of President George W. Bush’s visit to Bangor last Thursday. Arriving on Air Force One and delivering a speech on Bangor International Airport’s tarmac, the president spoke to a crowd of approximately 6,000, according to the Bangor Police Department.
Bush was introduced by Peter Cianchette, his campaign manager in Maine and former gubernatorial candidate.
“Welcome to a campaign battleground [state] and welcome to Bush-Cheney country,” Cianchette told the crowd before ceding the podium to the president.
“What a wonderful beautiful day in such a glorious part of the world,” Bush said. “I’m here to ask for [your] vote.
“I’m really looking forward to this campaign, I like to get out and talk about what I believe, where I stand, and where I’m going to lead this nation for the next four years.”
Bush spent time asking the crowd to energize the electorate and get people out to the polls to vote. Touting a line that’s become second-nature to political candidates, he stressed the importance of the 2004 election and asked voters to encourage their peers to choose his ticket.
“When you’re out there, make sure you register all Republicans, make sure you register independents … and when you get them headed to the polls, tell them if they want a safer America, a stronger America and a better America, to put me and Dick Cheney back in office,” Bush said
The president focused his speech on matters ranging from health care to the war in Iraq and laid out a case for dealing with each area.
Speaking on energy issues, Bush said he is working to advance and promulgate energy conservation and for an electric grid that is adequate for the 21st century.
“I proposed an [energy] plan to the United States Congress two years ago; they need to get it to my desk,” Bush said. “If we want jobs created here, we’ve got to do a better job on conservation.
“We got to do a better job on promoting renewable such as ethanol and biodiesel … This country must become less dependent on foreign sources of oil.”
Speaking on taxes, Bush referred to his campaign rival, Senator John Kerry, and said the democrat has proposed over $2.2 trillion in new federal spending.
“Two trillion dollars is a lot even for a senator from Massachusetts,” Bush said. Taking issue with Kerry’s proposed repeal of tax cuts for the upper class, Bush said that such a system would negatively affect all of America.
“You can’t raise enough money to pay for $2.2 trillion by taxing the rich. There’s a tax gap,” Bush said. “Guess who gets to fill the tax gap in American history? You do.”
On health care, Bush proposed a system whereby small businesses may pool resources and purchase health care “at the same discounts bit companies are able to do.
“When it comes to health care, my opponent wants government to dictate, I want you to decide,” Bush said. He said that to stop the rising cost of health care, work needs to be done to curb “junk lawsuits that are running good doctors out of practice.”
Also during the speech, Bush toted his proposed personal savings plan for Social Security, support of marriage, appointment of “federal judges who know the difference between personal opinion and the strict interpretation of the law,” and abortion.
“We stand for a culture of life in which every person counts and every being matters,” Bush said.
Perhaps the most contentious issue of the campaign and also one that Bush receives high marks on, is the war on terrorism.
“Since the terrible morning of Sept. 11, 2001, we have fought the terrorists across the Earth,” Bush said. “Not for pride, not for power, but because the lives of our citizens are at stake.
“We are striking the terrorists abroad so we do not have to face them here at home,” he said.
Bush toted advances in democracy in Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Middle East as a whole. Over 50 million people now live in freedom because of the war on terrorism, Bush said.
“There were some skeptics who thought, well, maybe people don’t want to be free,” Bush said. “Everybody longs to be free.”
Turning his attention to Iraq, the president defended his decision to invade Saddam Hussein’s country. Calling Hussein a “threat,” Bush said the former Iraqi president tortured his own people, “paid the families of suicide bombers, used weapons of mass destruction [and] was a sworn enemy of America.
“We must take threats seriously, before they fully materialize,” he said. Bush said he went to Congress and received permission to invade Iraq, then went to the United Nations.
“I was hoping we could solve this problem peacefully,” Bush said. “The toughest decision a president ever has to make it to put our kids in harm’s way.” With the United Nations’ 15-0 passage of a resolution telling Iraq to disarm, Bush said he was in the right by invading Iraq, but added he was dismayed at the world body’s lack of support after the invasion.
“When an international body says something, they better mean what they say,” Bush said. “If you don’t mean it, don’t say it.”
Speaking on recent uprising in Iraq, Bush urged his audience to not be dismayed but instead know that America will prevail.
“Our military cannot be beat in Iraq,” he said. “See, they know we have a conscience and they don’t.”
Bush also jabbed at Senator Kerry, lambasting him for voting against soldier aid after voting for the Iraqi War. He also took aim at recent statements Kerry made about Iraq.
“This week my opponent said he would prefer the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein to the situation in Iraq today,” Bush said. “You cannot expect the Iraqi people to stand up and do the hard work of democracy if you are pessimistic about their abilities.
“We’re going to carry Maine, and we’re going to win in November,” Bush said, to chants of “four more years!” from the crowd.
Bush’s visit to the Queen City was not with protest, as approximately 300 individuals stood at the entrance to the tarmac and on Godfrey Road protesting the president’s visit.
Whitney Weiler, a 17-year-old student at Camden Hills High School, was protesting Bush with approximately 20 of her peers at the entrance to the tarmac.
“We’re here because we disagree with a lot of the things Bush is trying to do,” Weiler said. She said she is opposed to Bush’s pro-life stance, his position on gay rights and the No Child Left Behind Act.
Lee Giles of Veazie was protesting on Godfrey Road with a poster of the American flag. Giles said she was present at the protest to advance peace causes and said she feels Bush’s agenda does not promote that end.
“[Bush] is one of the most warlike presidents I’ve ever run into,” Giles said. “I’m 61 years-old, and I’ve never been so scared since the Cuban missile crisis.”
Bush ended his visit by greeting a plane full of Iraq-bound soldiers and wishing them well. The troops were members of a mixture of units and Bangor was their last stop before leaving the country.
