Mr. Miller thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you very much. Since i last stood in this spot, a whole new generation of the family has been born. Four greatgrandchildren. Along with all of the other members of the close knit family, they are our most precious possessions. I know that is how you feel about your family also. Like you, i think of their future. The promises and perils they will face. I believe the next four years will determine what kind of world they will grow up in. Like you, i ask which leader is it that has the vision, willpower, and backbone to best protect my family . The clear answer to that question has placed me in this hall with you tonight. For my family is more important than my party. [cheers and applause] there is but one man to whom i am willing to entrust their future, and that mans name is george w. Bush. [cheers and applause] in 1940, i was an eightyearold boy living in a remote appalachian valley. Our country was not yet at war, but even we children knew there were crazy people across the ocean who would kill us if they could. President roosevelt told america all private lives have been in a sense repealed by an overriding public danger. In 1940, Wendell Wilkie was the republican nominee. Example of better someone revealing their private plans than this good man. He gave roosevelt the critical support he needed for peace time draft, an unpopular idea. He made it clear he would rather lose the election than make National Security a partisan campaign issue. [cheers and applause] shortly before he died, he told a friend that if he could write his own epitaph and had to choose between here lies a president or here lies one who contributed to saving freedom, he would prefer the latter. Where are such statesmen today . Where is the bipartisanship in this country when we need it most . [cheers and applause] the same time Young Americans are dying in the mountains of afghanistan, our nation is being torn apart and made weaker because of a democrats obsession to bring down our commanderinchief. What has happened to the party i spent my life working in . I can remember when democrats believed it was the duty of america to fight for freedom over tierney. It was president harry truman who pushed the red army out of iran and came to the aid when communists threatened to overthrow greece. In west berlin, flying in supplies and saving the city. Time after time in our history in the face of great danger, democrats and republicans worked together to ensure that freedoms would not falter, but not today. Motivated more by partisan politics, todays Democratic Leaders see america as an occupier, not a liberator, and nothing makes this marine madder than calling american troops occ liberators. R than [cheers and applause] tell that to the one half of europe that was freed because Franklin Roosevelt led an army of liberators, not occupiers. Tell that to the lower half of the Korean Peninsula that is free because Dwight Eisenhower commanded an army of liberators, not occupiers. Tell that to the halfbillion men, women, and children are free from poland and siberia because Ronald Reagan rebuilt a military of liberators, not occupiers. Never in the history of the world has any soldier sacrificed more of the freedom and liberty of total strangers than the american soldier. And our soldiers dont just give freedom abroad, they preserve it for us here at home. It has been said so truthfully that it is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us the freedom of the press. [cheers and applause] it is them who have given us free speech. It is the soldiers, not the agitators, who have given us the freedom to protest. It is the soldier who salutes the flag, serves beneath the flag, whose coffin is draped by the flag, who gives that protester the freedom he abuses to burn that flag. [cheers and applause] no one should dare to even think about being the commander in chief of this country if he doesnt believe with all his heart that our soldiers are liberators abroad and defenders of freedom at home. [cheers and applause] but dont waste your breath telling that to the leaders of my party. In their warped way of thinking, america is the problem, not the solution. They dont believe there is any real danger in the world except that which america rings upon itself through our clumsy and misguided foreign policy. It is not their patriotism but their judgment that has been so sorely lacking. They claimed reagans defense they claimed carters pacifism would lead to peace. They were wrong. They claimed reagans defense buildup would lead to war. They were wrong. Wrong,pair has been more more loudly, more often, than the two senators from massachusetts, ted kennedy and john kerry. [cheers and applause] together, kennedykerry have opposed the systems that won the cold war and that are now winning the war on terror. Listing all the weapon systems that cannot that senator kerry tried his best to shut down sounds like an auctioneer selling off our National Security. But americans need to know the facts. The b1 bomber that senator kerry opposed dropped 40 of the bombs in the first months of enduring freedom. The b2 bomber that senator kerry opposed delivered airstrikes against the taliban in afghanistan and the command post in iraq. Tomcat that senator kerry opposed shot down qaddafis libyan mig. The f14 that senator kerry opposed delivered missile strikes against tora bora. The Apache Helicopter that senator kerry opposed took out those Republican Guard tanks in kuwait in the gulf war. The f15 eagles that senator kerry opposed flew over our Nations Capital and this very city after 9 11. I could go on and on and on against the Patriot Missile that shot down saddam husseins scud missiles over israel. Against the strategic defense initiative, against the trident missile, against, against, against. This is in the man who wants to be the commanderinchief of the u. S. Armed forces . [crowd booing] u. S. Forces armed with what . Spitballs . [cheering and applause] 20 years of votes can tell you much more about a man then 20 weeks of campaign rhetoric. Campaign talk salespeople who you want them Campaign Talk tells people who you want them to think you are. How you vote tells people who you really are deep inside. [cheering and applause] senator kerry has made it clear that he will use military force only if approved by the united nations. [crowd booing] kerry would let paris decide when the u. S. Needs defending. I want bush to decide. John kerry who says he doesnt like outsourcing, wants to outsource our National Security. Thats the most dangerous outsourcing of all. This politician wants to be leader of the free world, free for how long . For more than 20 years, on every one of the great issues of freedom and security, john kerry has been more wrong, more weak , and more wobbly than any national figure. [cheering and applause] as a war protester, he blamed our military. As a senator, he voted to weaken our military. Nothing shows that more sadly and clearly than his vote this year to deny protective armor by our troops far away. [crowd booing] george w. Bush understands need new strategies to meet new threats. John kerry wants to refight yesterdays war. President bush believes we have to fight todays war and be ready for tomorrows challenges. [applause] president bush is committed to providing the kinds of forces to root out terrorists, no matter what spider hole they may hide in or what rock they crawl under. [applause] george w. Bush wants to grab paris and not let them get a grab terrorists and not let them get a better grip. John kerry, they get a yes, no, maybe. They can only encourage our enemies and confuse our friends. I first got to know george w. Bush when we served as governors together. I admire this man and i am moved by the respect he shows the first lady, his unabashed love for his parents and daughters. [applause] and the fact that he is unashamed of his belief that god is not indifferent to america. [cheering and applause] i can identify with someone who has lived that line, i was blind but now i see, and i like the fact that he is the same man on a saturday night that he is on sunday morning. [cheering and applause] he is not a slick talker, but a straight shooter. And where i come from, deeds mean a lot more than words. I have knocked on the door of this mans soul and found someone home. A godfearing man with a good heart and a spine of tempered steel. [applause] the man i trust to protect my most precious possession, my family. This election will change forever the course of history. That is our history. The only question is how the. The answer lies with each of us. Like many generations before us, we have some hard choosing to do. Right now, the world cannot afford an indecisive america. Selfindulgence will put at risk all we care about in this world. In this hour of the danger, our president has had the courage to stand up and this democrat is proud to stand up with him. Thank you. God bless you. [cheers and applause] another party crossover speech happened four years later when Joe Lieberman spoke at the Republican Convention in st. Paul. He was the partys Vice President ial nominee in 2000 and represented connecticut in the u. S. Senate as a democrat for 17 years before switching to independent in 2006. Joe lieberman told convention goers the reason he supported john mccain for president was country over party. [applause] thank you very much. Thank you, dear friends. [applause] thank you so much. You would have to be me to know how much i appreciate it. I am honored to be here tonight. As you know, we meet tonight in the wake of a terrible storm that hit the gulf coast, but that really hurts all of us, no matter where we live, because we are all members of a larger american family. [applause] at times like this, we set aside all that divides us to help our fellow americans in need. The last thing we think about is whether one of the victims was a democrat or a republican, because we are all americans. It shouldnt take a hurricane to bring us together. Every day across our country, millions of our fellow citizens are facing being in real problems. S. Being and real problem they are worried about their homes and jobs and businesses. They are wearing about the outrageous cost of gasoline and health insurance, and they are worried about the threats from our enemies abroad. [applause] but when they look to washington, all too often they dont see their leaders coming together to tackle these problems. Instead, they see democrats and republicans fighting each other rather than fighting for the American People. [applause] i dont have to tell you that we were blessed in this country to have a great generation of founders, and they foresaw the danger of this kind of senseless partisanship. In fact, our first president , george washington, in his farewell address warned that the spirit of party could be the worst enemy of our democracy and enfeeble our ability to do our job. President washington was absolutely right. The truth is, today we are living through his Worst Nightmare in the capital city that bears his name. [applause] and that brings me directly to why im here tonight. What, after all, is a democrat like me doing at a Republican Convention like this . [applause] well, ill tell you what. Im here to support john mccain because country matters more than party. [cheering and applause] i am here tonight for a simple reason. John mccain is the best choice to bring our country together and lead america forward. [applause] and, dear friends, i am here tonight because john mccains whole life testifies to a great truth, being a democrat or a republican is important, but it is nowhere near as important as being an american. [cheering and applause] [crowd chanting usa] mr. Lieberman both of the president ial candidates this year have talked about changing the culture of washington and breaking through the partisan gridlock and special interests that are poisoning our politics. Only one of them has actually done it. Only one has shown the courage and the capability to rise above the smallest of our politics to get big things done for our country and our people, and that one is john s. Mccain. [applause] you know john, and you know he understands it shouldnt take a Natural Disaster like a hurricane to get us to take off our partisan blinders and Work Together to get things done. It shouldnt take a Natural Disaster to teach us that the American People really dont care much if you have an r or d after your name. What they care about is, are we solving the problems they face every day . What you can expect from john mccain as president is precisely what hes done this week put our country first. [cheering and applause] that is not a political posture by john, it is the code but which he has lived his entire life and that is the code that he will carry with him into the white house next january. [applause] let me tell you that i have had the privilege of serving with john for almost 20 years. And the honor of becoming a dear friend of his. I have seen over and over again bringing people together for both parties to tackle our toughest problems. For example, to reform the campaignfinance and ethics laws , to create the independent 9 11 commission after that great unNatural Disaster caused by the terrorists and passed the National Security reforms that made every american safer since then. And then he worked together to end the partisan paralysis over nominations to the Supreme Court and other federal courts. [applause] now let me share something with you that im in a unique position to do as a democrat. My democratic friends know all about johns record of independence and accomplishment. Thats why i think some of them are spending so much time and is so much money trying to convince the American People that john mccain is someone else. I am here to tell you what i think you know, but i want to speak to the people out there. Dont be fooled by some of the political statements and advertisements. Trust me, god only made one john mccain, and he is his own man. [cheering and applause] as john would say, let me give you some straight talk. If john mccain was just another go along partisan politician, he never would have taken on corrupt republican lobbies or big corporations cheating the American People or powerful colleagues in congress who were wasting taxpayer money, but he did. If john mccain was another go along partisan politician, never would have led the fight to fix our broken immigration system actually do something about global warming, but he did. [applause] as a matter of fact, if john mccain is just another partisan republican, then im Michael Moores favorite democrat. [cheering and applause] and im not. And i think you know that im not. [laughter] senator barack obama is a gifted and eloquent young man who i think can do great things for our country in the years ahead, but eloquence is no substitute for a record, not in these tough times. [applause] in the senate during the three and a half years that senator obama has been a member, he has not reached across party lines to accomplish anything significant, nor has he been willing to take on powerful Interest Groups in the Democratic Party to get something done. I just ask you to contrast that with john mccains record of independence and bipartisanship. Let me go one further, and this may make history at this Republican Convention let me contrast Barack Obamas record to the record of the last democratic president , bill clinton, who stood up to some of those same democratic Interest Groups, worked with republicans , and got some important things done, like welfare reform, free trade agreements, and a balanced budget. [applause] and i am honored to say just a word about the great lady that john mccain has selected as his running mate. [applause] governor palin, like john mccain, is a reformer. She has taken on the special interest and the political power brokers in alaska and reached across party lines to get things done. The truth is, she is a leader we can count on to help john shake up washington. [applause] that is why i sincerely believe that the real ticket for change this year is the mccainpalin ticket. [cheering and applause] let me tell you, friends, that the washington bureaucrats and the powerbrokers are not going to be able to build a pen that will hold in these two mavericks. It is just not possible. Together, i think we can count on john and sarah to fight or america and to fight for you, the American People, and thats what our country needs most right now. [applause] we all know it. These are tough times here at home, and we have dangerous enemies in the world. And what America Needs now, frankly, is not more party unity. What we need now is more national unity. [applause] and this is especially true, of course, because we are a nation at war. We need a president we can count on to fight what is right for our country, not only when it is easy, but when it is hard. And i was there so i can tell you, when others were silent about the war in iraq, john mccain had the guts and the judgment to sound the alarm about the mistakes we were making in iraq. [applause] when others wanted to retreat in defeat from the field of battle, which would have been a disaster for the usa. When colleagues like barack obama were voting to cut off funding for our american troops on the battlefield [crowd booing] john mccain had the courage ofstand against the tide public opinion, advocate and support the surge, and because of that today, american troops are coming home, thousands of them, and they are coming home in honor. [cheering and applause] my friends, i have had the privilege, and i would say the pleasure of traveling john mccain even with Lindsey Graham it was a pleasure but i speak of john and i can tell you from these travels how much he is respected and admired and liked by leaders across the globe. John mccain will be a president our allies will trust and our enemies will fear. And that is the kind of president we need in todays world. [cheering and applause] my friends, before i conclude, i want to ask the indulgence of all of you here in this hall tonight, because i want to speak directly to my fellow democrats and independents who are watching or listening tonight. I want to speak directly to you out there. I know many of you are angry and frustrated by our government and our politics today, and for good reason. You may be thinking of voting for john mccain, but you are not sure yet. Some of you may never have voted for a republican before, and frankly, in an ordinary election, you probably never would. But i want you to believe with me that this is no ordinary election. [applause] and it is no ordinary election because these are not ordinary times. And trust me, john mccain is no ordinary candidate. [applause] you may not agree with john mccain on every issue, but you can always count on him to be straight with you about where he stands, and to stand for what he thinks is right for our country, regardless of the politics. I can tell you with a certain faith that as president , you can count on john mccain to be what he is naturally, a restless reformer who will clean up washington and get our government working again for all of the American People. [applause] so, tonight, i want to ask you, whether you are an independent, a reagan democrat, a clinton democrat, or just a plain old democrat. This year when you vote for president , vote for the person you believe is best for our country, not for the party you happen to belong to. [applause] i ask those of you who are watching or listening, vote for the leader, who since the age of 17, when he first raised his hand and took an oath to defend our constitution, has always put america first. [applause] my friends, i appeal to independents, democrats, and republicans. Lets come together this november to make a Great American patriot, john mccain, our next great president. God bless you and god bless america. [cheers and applause] [crowd chanting] announcer cspan has covered every minute of every Political Convention since 1984. Our Video Library contains those and many more hours of archival conventions. Watch more of the Historical Convention speeches at cspan. Org dnc. Ladyncer former first Michelle Obama and 2020 president of candidate Bernie Sanders address the Democratic National convention tonight. Live coverage begins at 9 00 p. M. Eastern on cspan, Live Streaming and ondemand at cspan. Org dnc, or listen with the free cspan radio app. Cspan, your unfiltered view of politics. Announcer washington journal. This week getting your reaction to the Democratic National convention and news of the day. Live Tuesday Morning we will talk about the first night of the Democratic National convention with bloombergs Jennifer Epstein and what to expect from the second night. And a discussion on
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