Remarks to the Community in Marysville, Ohio

The President. Thank you very, very much. What a great Ohio day. Thank you very, very much. Thank you all for this wonderful welcome to Marysville. May I salute your great Governor, George Voinovich, who's with us on this train, and thank him for what he's doing for creating jobs in Ohio and jobs across this country through his trip -- bringing up these exports. We need to hear more like it. We need more Governors like George Voinovich.

Also I want to introduce to all of you -- maybe he's been introduced -- another old friend who has served this State well, and now I want to see him in the United States Senate, Mike DeWine, Lieutenant Governor. Congressman Kasich is here, and my old friend Congressman Chalmers Wylie. And of course, your Congressman, Paul Gillmor, is here and his wife, Karen, who will make a great State senator. And may I make a special plea to send David Hobson to the United States Congress. We need to give Paul Gillmor some help in Washington. We need to clean House. And may I salute the Monarchs and the -- --

Audience members. Clean the House! Clean the House! Clean the House!

The President. You're right, man. May I salute the Monarchs, the Wildcats, and the Panthers.

You know, somebody told me that some of you around here always wear a button, normally wear a button that says, "Reelect Barbara Bush's husband." Well, I like that because, you see, I think we have the best First Lady in the entire world.

You know, some of you yelling "Clean House!", I couldn't help but notice the sign down the street on McCullough's Hardware. It says, "All I want for Christmas is a new Congress." Not a bad idea. Let's get this country moving forward.

May I salute the veterans that are here from Richmond and Marysville and elsewhere, men and women that served their country with great distinction. I salute the veterans. I salute those who put on a uniform and served their country.

You know, we take this train through Marysville this morning to discuss what kind of an America we want. I want an America that is a military superpower -- we've got to stay strong -- an economic superpower and an export superpower; an America where every person who wants the dignity of work can find it, because you just can't build a home without a hammer, you can't build a dream without a job.

I have laid out my Agenda for American Renewal, a comprehensive, integrated series of steps to create here in America, by early in the next century, the world's very first $10 trillion economy. I believe that the only way to achieve prosperity is by opening foreign markets to American goods and services. You see, I have faith in the American worker and in the American farmer, who can still outwork, outproduce any other worker in the entire world.

You know, George Voinovich, as you all know, recently visited Japan. He talked with the chairman of Honda, and the chairman told him flat out that the workers here in Marysville were not as good as Japanese workers; he told them they were better than Japanese workers.

On free trade, and I'm talking about jobs with Honda here in Marysville, on free trade, my opponent hasn't even made up his mind yet. But he does want to slap a tough tax on foreign plants in the United States, including the Honda plant right here in Marysville.

Audience members. Boo-o-o!

The President. Now, you slap a tax on Honda, and they'll take the jobs and go somewhere else. I want more jobs for American workers, not by raising taxes but by getting taxes down.

You've got great workers here in Marysville, like American workers everywhere. You never retreat; you always compete. And you always win. That is the American spirit. We pulled this wonderful train, the Spirit of America, into Marysville today to talk about how we'll win the economic competition.

Now, Governor Clinton, if you'll excuse the expression, Governor Clinton says that our economy is, and I quote -- listen to the way he talks about America -- "sliding past Germany, heading south toward Sri Lanka." Those are his words. He ought to stop knocking the greatest country on the face of the Earth. He ought to understand that we are the most admired and respected country on the face of the Earth. Let's not knock the United States of America.

You know, we all know that we've had some tough times here. But we're in a global economy. Take a look at the economies of Europe, where they suffer with the high taxes and the big government that Clinton favors. We have lower unemployment, stronger growth. That doesn't sound like Sri Lanka to me. We are the United States. Interest rates are below the 20-year lows. Inflation is under control. Our economy is ready to move. And Governor, that doesn't sound like Sri Lanka to me.

So we must not take a risk about this economy. Our economy could slide into a disaster if we go back to the misery days of Jimmy Carter, if we make the wrong choice. That's why today we are going to blow this whistle on Bill Clinton, take his record to the people of Ohio. Here's what worries me: He's promising to do for the national economy what he's done for Arkansas. Now, when you look at the record, you realize that's not a promise; it is a threat.

You know, I know that Marysville hosted the hot air balloon festival last month. Well, when you think of politicians, every day is a hot air balloon festival. So let me stick to the facts today on Governor Clinton's record, his rhetoric.

Arkansas was, indeed, one of the poorest States when Bill Clinton became Governor, and 12 years later, it is still on the bottom. The problem is not with the good people of that State, not at all. The problem is with the leader, who criticizes me at every turn but has failed to move his own State up the ladder. That is the fact, and we don't want him doing that for the United States of America.

You want to know the record? All right, here it is. Governor Clinton raised and extended the sales tax over and over again. He taxed groceries. He taxed mobile homes. He doubled the tax on gasoline. And yes, he raised the tax on beer. Bad.

Audience members. Boo-o-o!

The President. I'm tempted to say that listening to this will kind of tax your patience, but why give him another idea.

Now, Governor Clinton is no friend of the middle class. Don't take my word for it, though. Listen to his hometown newspaper, the Arkansas Gazette: "In the Clinton era" -- this is exactly what it says -- "In the Clinton era the Arkansas tax system has become stacked against the ordinary taxpayer and consumer; stacked for the rich and the special interest."

I do not want a tax system that just benefits the rich. I want a tax system that helps all working people get rich. That is the American way.

Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!

The President. You know, what a great rally. My heavens.

Now, Governor Clinton says he's seen the light. In this campaign, he's come right out -- in the beginning; this is before he gets through -- and he said he wants $150 billion in new taxes. But don't worry, he says, all the money will come from the rich, all those people who drive Jaguars and eat that quiche and drink that champagne, all those who inherit their money.

And we've heard that song before. Jimmy Carter sang it. Walter Mondale sang it. Michael Dukakis sang it. They're going after the rich, but the middle class always gets up singing the blues. Big Government gets the gold, and you get the shaft. We do not need to raise taxes in this country.

Now, listen to this. Governor Clinton says he'll raise it, he'll raise the $150 billion by taxing the top 2 percent of Americans, all those people who make over $200,000. But whoops, that's not the top 2 percent. The Treasury Department says the top 2 percent of Americans begins with individuals with incomes taxable of $64,800. But there's not enough money at that level. So to get the full $150 billion, Bill Clinton would have to tax individuals at $36,600 a year. I do not think these people are spending their time on the Riviera. They are the hard-working men and women and families in the United States. We must not let him raise their taxes.

But it gets worse. I hate to ruin this beautiful day. It gets worse. Governor Clinton has made a lot of promises in this campaign. He's already called for Government spending increases of at least $220 billion. Newsweek magazine says the real cost is arguably at least 3 times that high.

Now the liberal Congress is salivating, waiting to pass all these new programs. But where will he get the money? Where will Governor Clinton get the money? Listen to the folks who know Bill Clinton best. The Pine Bluff Commercial, a newspaper in Arkansas, I quote: "If Congress followed the example that Bill Clinton has set as Governor of Arkansas, it would pass a tax program that would hit the middle class the hardest."

That is the big secret of this campaign. To capture all the revenue that he wants to raise, to pay for all these promises, Bill Clinton will have to go after the middle class. I am not going to let him do that, and neither are you.

Audience members. Hit him again, hit him again, harder, harder! Hit him again, hit him again, harder, harder!

The President. I'm getting to that.

Just think about what the Clinton plan could mean right here in Marysville, Ohio. Listen to this. Let's say you're a 40-year-old fireman with about 29,000 bucks in taxable income. Governor Clinton would have you give the Government another $1,000 a year. That money could help you pay for your kids' education, and you should keep it in your hands. Or let's say you are a licensed nurse, making about $28,000 in taxable income. Governor Clinton could have you to fork over another $890 a year. That money could be used to fix the car or help pay your mortgage. And you ought to be allowed to keep it, not send it to Washington, DC.

This is a fundamental issue in this election. Governor Clinton trusts Government planners to make better decisions than you can. I believe that you can invest your money, make your own decisions better than any Government planner or any mandating Congressman in Washington, DC.

Governor Clinton says he wants to gather the so-called best and the brightest, all the economists and lawyers and lobbyists who studied with him over there in Oxford during the war, and bring them to Washington to figure out how to fix all your problems. I want to give more power to you, freedom to you, because in my mind, America's best and brightest are standing right here in Marysville, Ohio, and other towns like it across this great country.

So to sum it up, Bill Clinton's taxes are wrong for America. Bill Clinton's Arkansas record is wrong for America. And any way you cut it, Bill Clinton is wrong to be President of the United States of America.

As Barbara said, her mother was born here and grew up here in Marysville. And I know the town's slogan is the place where "the grass is always greener." But it might as well make it the slogan for our great country. And sure, we have problems. And sure, we face our challenges. But you ask a European or ask an Asian, as George Voinovich said, America is still number one in the entire world.

Look around, look around this community at the new jobs, at the Americans competing in a new world economy, and you see our capacity for renewal. Government did not build this great Nation, and Government alone will not renew our great Nation. People built it, people who believe in family, people who believe in hard work, people just like you standing out here on this magnificent Ohio day.

So he offers you more Government, and I offer more power to the American family, more power to the American people. And I stand before you as a leader who has served his country in war and in peace; a leader with the experience, hopefully the character, the ideas to keep the great train of America rolling along to a more safe and a secure future.

These are exciting times. America is not in decline. We are a strong, respected, rising nation. I ask for your trust for another 4 years to lead this great Nation.

May God bless you all. And may God bless the United States of America. Thank you very, very much. Thank you all.