Remarks at the Door-to-Door Kickoff Rally in Nashua, New Hampshire

The President. Thank you so much. And first, let me thank our great campaign manager, our leader up here, our chairman, Judd Gregg, the Governor of this State. What a job he's done. And from the neighboring State, Governor Bill Weld, doing a superb job for the principles we believe in, and also Paul Cellucci, my longtime friend who is a great Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, here with us today. Speaking of Governors, I'm proud to be with the former Governor of this State, John Sununu. And there's another former Governor who's helped me so much, Hugh Gregg, who's around here someplace. And also, may I thank Senator Warren Rudman, the great Senator from New Hampshire; Congressman Bill Zeliff with us today; the distinguished Members of Congress, my friends from Washington and other States that are with us, three of them here today; and then John Stabile, our finance chairman. We've got a first-class team, and I'm glad to see all of you as a part of it. Thank you.

Let me be very clear as to why I'm here. I want to lead this country for another 4 years. And I ask for your support.

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

The President. Having watched this, sometimes close in and sometimes from afar, I really honestly believe that the people of New Hampshire are a little bit tired of all the negative advertisements and all the attack-dog tactics coming from the left and coming from the right. What they want to do is see progress for the State of New Hampshire, not listen to a lot of political carping.

I will continue with a positive campaign. I will continue to lead this country. And first, on the economy, I have sent a comprehensive plan to the United States Congress. And it was so heavy I asked Barbara if she would carry it. Here it is. Here it is. Everybody read it, and we're going to have a quiz afterward here. [Laughter]

The reason I held that up is this: Yesterday, I'm told, New Hampshire voters were subjected to flat, outright lies about this plan. This plan includes many things, including deductions for student loans and, perhaps most important, a tax relief provision for families with children. It's there. It's in this bill. And I want the Congress to move on this just as soon as possible. And it must be done in this session of Congress. Keep the pressure on the Congress.

And in addition, in addition, I've broken out seven of my proposals that would have the greatest immediate effect on stimulating this economy. These should be the least controversial provisions. I've asked Congress to put politics aside now, take a look at each one of them, and to move now. Interest rates are low. Inflation is low. The gloom-and-doom candidates are wrong. The way to help the people in this State who desperately need help is to get Congress to set aside politics long enough to pass the seven incentives in this bill. And they ought to do it.

The key provisions -- you know this State -- the key provision, a $5,000 tax credit to help people buy their first home. And for New Hampshire this year, 1,000 new housing starts and 2,000 construction jobs if Congress will only get going and pass this bill.

And in these incentives there's also an investment tax allowance, stimulate the purchase of capital equipment; capital gains cut so that businesses can invest and hire more people. That's money to buy equipment, to upgrade the plants, to create new jobs now. And this plan can help New Hampshire homebuyers and homebuilders literally as early as this spring. And it can help business buy new equipment and hire more people as early as this spring.

Now, I've sent forward this solid action plan. But it can only help the people of New Hampshire now if the Congress moves now. And you know, the New Hampshire Legislature is in session, I'm told, 45 days a year. Now, I gave Congress a deadline, to March 20th. That's 52 days to pass this little -- 52 days to pass this straightforward, commonsense, compact program. It is an action plan, nothing fancy. And I say give them that, give the people of this State this legislation, and you watch this economy move forward. And you watch the pain and suffering be relieved.

But Warren Rudman knows this, and Bill Zeliff, our great Congressman, knows this. Wednesday, the Ways and Means Committee's Democrats, every one of them, voted against this plan twice. And Thursday, in a closed meeting, they surfaced a scheme that, you guessed it, raises taxes and kills this plan for first-time homebuyers. And this campaign, you hear a lot about sending messages. Well, my request to the people of this State is, send the Congress a message: Pass this plan by March 20th. It can be done, and it must be done.

Lastly, you've probably heard around this State, from the left, from other places as well, the call for economic isolation. Some would build a protective wall around this country. And that's wrong. That's head in the sand. That's not the America that you and I know. That is an America running scared. And our vision is an America up and running strong, the leader of the free world. And they're not going to do it by pulling back.

I think the voters in New Hampshire are pretty smart. They know that there are 35,000 jobs here that depend on exports. And I will not let those candidates or this Congress put walls of protection around that are going to throw those people out of work in New Hampshire.

And so in just a handful of days, New Hampshire is going to decide what kind of leadership is right for the nineties. And that's what makes the decision here on Tuesday so important for our country. Voters here will decide which candidate has the experience and the leadership to do right for you and to do right for your kids. And ladies and gentlemen, I'm in a tough race, but I've been in tough races before. And the stakes are high, not just for me but for you and for this country. I need your help, and I am asking for your support.

You know, I've been around the track some, and these campaigns are rough, perhaps roughest on the voters. But this year the New Hampshire voters have been subjected to literally millions of dollars of negative attacks, the kind that tear people down, don't offer any solutions, but tear down the other guy. And I am confident, very confident, that the people of New Hampshire understand what this election is really about. It's not about who can trash another's candidacy in some 30-second spot. What it's about is the very serious business of electing a President of the United States of America. And it's about somebody that has the toughness and the experience to lead this country. I believe I am that man, and I want your support. Now let's go out and get to work.

Thank you, and may God bless the United States of America.

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

The President. Thank you all very much. Now let's go out and do a little canvassing.