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| AL GORE: Part III | |
 August 17, 2000  | |
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In his acceptance speech before the Democratic convention, Al Gore says he is asking people to vote for him to create a "better, fairer, more prosperous America." Below is the text of his prepared remarks. |
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In the next four years, we will pay off all the national debt this nation accumulated in our first 200 years. This will put us on the path to completely eliminating the debt by 2012, keeping America prosperous far into the future. But there's something at stake in this election that's even more important than economic progress. Simply put, it's our values; it's our responsibility to our loved ones, to our families. And to me, family values means honoring our fathers and mothers, teaching our children well, caring for the sick, respecting one another -- giving people the power to achieve what they want for their families. Putting both Social Security and Medicare in an iron-clad lock box where the politicians can't touch them -- to me, that kind of common sense is a family value. Getting cigarettes out of the hands of kids before they get hooked is a family value. I will crack down on the marketing of tobacco to our children, no matter how hard the tobacco companies lobby, no matter how much they spend. A new prescription drug benefit under Medicare for all our seniors - that's a family value. And let me tell you: I will fight for it, and the other side will not. They give in to the big drug companies. Their plan tells seniors to beg the HMO's and insurance companies for prescription drug coverage. And that's the difference in this election. They're for the powerful, and we're for the people. Big tobacco, big oil, the big polluters, the pharmaceutical companies, the HMO's. Sometimes you have to be willing to stand up and say no - so families can have a better life. I know one thing about the job of the President. It is the only job in the Constitution that is charged with the responsibility of fighting for all the people. Not just the people of one state, or one district; not just the wealthy or the powerful -- all the people. Especially those who need a voice; those who need a champion; those who need to be lifted up, so they are never left behind. So I say to you tonight: if you entrust me with the Presidency, I will fight for you. There's one other word we've heard a lot of in this campaign, and that word is honor. To me, honor is not just a word, but an obligation. And you have my word: we will honor hard work by raising the minimum wage so that work always pays more than welfare. We will honor families by expanding child care, and after-school care, and family and medical leave - so working parents have the help they need to care for their children -- because one of the most important jobs of all is raising our children. And we'll support the right of parents to decide that one of them will stay home longer with their babies if that's what they believe is best for their families. We will honor the ideal of equality by standing up for civil rights and defending affirmative action. We will honor equal rights and fight for an equal day's pay for an equal day's work. And let there be no doubt: I will protect and defend a woman's right to choose. The last thing this country needs is a Supreme Court that overturns Roe v. Wade. We will remove all the old barriers -- so that those who are called disabled can develop all their abilities. And we will also widen the circle of opportunity for all Americans, renew the Voting Rights Act, and enforce all our civil rights laws. We will pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. And we will honor the memory of Matthew Shepard, Joseph Ileto, and James Byrd, whose families all joined us this week -- by passing a law against hate crimes. We will honor the hard work of raising a family - by doing all we can to help parents protect their children. Parents deserve the simple security of knowing that their children are safe whether they're walking down the street, surfing the World Wide Web, or sitting behind a desk in school. To make families safer, we passed the toughest crime bill in history, and we're putting 100,000 new community police on our streets. Crime has fallen in every major category for seven years in a row. But there's still too much danger and there's still too much fear. So tonight I want to set another new, specific goal: to cut the crime rate year after year -- every single year throughout this decade. That's why I'll fight to add another 50,000 new police - community police who help prevent crime by establishing real relationships between law enforcement and neighborhood residents - which, incidentally, is the opposite of racial profiling, which must be brought to an end. I will fight for a crime victims' bill of rights, including a Constitutional amendment to make sure that victims, and not just criminals, are guaranteed rights in our justice system. I'll fight to toughen penalties on those who misuse the Internet to prey on our children and violate our privacy. And I'll fight to make every school in this nation drug-free and gun-free. I believe in the right of sportsmen and hunters and law-abiding citizens to own firearms. But I want mandatory background checks to keep guns away from criminals, and mandatory child safety locks to protect our children. Tipper and I went out to Columbine High School after the tragedy there, and we embraced the families of the children who were lost. And I will never forget the words of the father who whispered into my ear, "Promise me that these children will not have died in vain." All of us must join together to make that promise come true. Laws and programs by themselves will never be enough. All of us, and especially all parents need to take more responsibility. We need to change our hearts -- and make a commitment to our children and to one another. I'm excited about America's prospects and full of hope for America's future. Our country has come a long way, and I've come a long way since that long ago time when I went to Vietnam. I've never forgotten what I saw there -- and the bravery of so many young Americans. The price of freedom is sometimes high, but I never believed that America should turn inward. As a Senator, I broke with many in our party and voted to support the Gulf War when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait -- because I believed America's vital interests were at stake. Early in my public service, I took up the issue of nuclear arms control and nuclear weapons -- because nothing is more fundamental than protecting our national security. Now I want to lead America because I love America. I will keep America's defenses strong. I will make sure our armed forces continue to be the best-equipped, best-trained, and best-led in the entire world. In the last century, this nation more than any other freed the world from fascism and communism. But a newly free world still has dangers and challenges, both old and new. We must always have the will to defend our enduring interests -- from Europe, to the Middle East, to Japan and Korea. We must strengthen our partnerships with Africa, Latin America, and the rest of the developing world. | |||||||||||||||||||
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