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GOV. GEORGE W. BUSH: I recognize the history of the Republican Party.
And the NAACP has not been one of regular partnership. But our nation
is harmed when we let our differences separate us and divide us. So
while some in my party have avoid the NAACP, and while some in the NAACP
have avoided my party... (Laughter) ... I'm here because I believe there's
so much that we can do together to advance racial harmony and economic
opportunity. Before we go to the future, we must acknowledge our past.
For our nation, there is no denying a truth that slavery is a blight
on our history and that racism, despite all the progress, still exists
today. Recognizing and confronting our history is important. Transcending
our history is essential. We're not limited by what we have done or
what we have left undone. We're limited only by what we're willing to
do.
Equality in our country will remain a distant dream until every child
of every background learns so that he or she may strive and rise in
this world. No child in America should be segregated by low expectations,
imprisoned by illiteracy, abandoned to frustration and the darkness
of self-doubt. (Applause) There's reason for optimism in this land.
A great movement of education reform has begun in this country -- built
on clear principles-- to raise the bar of standards, expect child can
learn, to give schools the flexibility to meet those standards, to measure
progress and insist upon results, to blow the whistle on failure, to
provide parents with options to increase their option, like charters
and choice, and always remember the goal of education is to leave no
child behind. I believe in these principles, and I've seen them work.
I've seen them turn around troubled schools in my state, schools labeled
by the world at risk. At risk means you're not supposed to learn. But
we've challenged that in the state of Texas. I've seen these schools
and principles bring new hope, inspiring new confidences and ambitions.
And I'm especially proud in my state that we're... our minority students
are improving faster than almost any other state in the union. And I'm
especially proud of this fact, that African American fourth graders
in the state of Texas have better math skills than any other students...
African American students in any state in the United States of America.
And we make this progress at the national level. The central part
of my agenda, for example, is to challenge and change Title I, to make
sure we close the achievement gap, to make sure that children are not
forgotten and simply shuffled through the system. Under my vision, all
students must be measured. We test. And low-performing schools, those
schools that won't teach and won't change will have three years to produce
result, three years to meet standards, three years to make sure the
very faces of our future are not mired in mediocrity. And if they're
not able to do so, the resources must go to the parents so the parents
can make a different choice.
You see, no child, no child should be left behind in America. Education
is the essential beginning. But we've got to go further. To create communities
of promise, we must help people build the confidence and faith to achieve
their own dreams. We must put government squarely on the side of opportunity.
I propose a new prosperity initiative, a plan to remove obstacles on
the road to the middle class. We must provide a family health credit
that covers 90% of the cost of basic health policy for low-income families
in America. We must make it possible for more people to become homeowners
in this great land -- to own a part of the American dream -- to allow
low income families to use up to a year's worth of section eight rental
payments to make a down payment on their own home, then use five years
of those payments to help with the mortgage.
We will start an American dream down payment fund, matching individual
savings to the down payment for a home. Behind these last two proposals
is a simple belief: I believe in private property. I believe in private
property so strongly, I want everybody to have some. Government can
spend money, but it cannot put hope in someone's heart or sense of purpose
in someone's life. This is done by caring communities, by churches and
charities that serve their neighbors because they love their God. Every
day they prove that our worst problems are not hopeless or endless.
Every day they perform miracles of renewal. What we need is a new attitude
that welcomes the transforming power of faith. As President, I will
rally the armies of compassion and neighborhoods all across America.
I'll lift the regulations that hamper private and faith-based programs.
I will involve them in after-school programs and drug treatment programs
and prison ministries. And I have laid out specific incentives to encourage
and outpouring of giving in America.
The NAACP and the GOP, not always been allies, I know that. But recognizing
our past and confronting the future with a common vision, by doing that
I believe we can find common ground. It won't be easy work, but a philosopher
once advised, "when give an choice, I prefer the hard." We
will prefer the hard, because only the hard will achieve the good. That's
my commitment, and that is our opportunity. Thank you for having me,
and God bless America.
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