Test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test. Money, it isnt inflationary but when we spend it, it is. Those who preside over the worst Energy Shortage in our history tell us to use less so that well run out of oil, gasoline, and natural gas a little more slowly. Well, now, conservation is desirable, of course, but we mustnt waste energy, but conservation is not the sole answer to our energy needs. America must get to work producing more energy. The Republican Program for solving economic problems is based on growth and productivity. Large amounts of oil and natural gas lay beneath our land and off our shores untouched because the present administration seems to believe the American People would rather see more regulation, more taxes and more controls than more energy. Coal offers a great potential. So does Nuclear Energy produced under rigorous Safety Standards it could supply electricity for thousands of industry and millions of jobs and homes. It must not be thwarted by a tiny minority opposed to Economic Growth, which often finds friendly ears in regulatory agencies for its obstructionist campaigns. Now, make no mistake, we will not permit the safety of our people or our environmental heritage to be jeopardized but we are going to reaffirm that the Economic Prosperity of our people is a fundamental part of our environment. Our problems are both acute and chronic, yet all we hear from those in positions of leadership are the same tired proposals for more government tinkering, more meddling and control, all of which led us to this sorry state in the first place. Can anyone look at the record of this administration and say well done . Can anyone compare the state of our economy when the Carter Administration took office with where we are today and say keep up the good work . No can anyone look at our reduced standing in the world today and say lets have four more years of this . No i believe the American People are going to answer these questions as youve answered them in the first week of november, and their answer will be, no, weve had enough. And then it will be us to us beginning next january 20th to offer an administration and congressional leadership of competence and more than a little courage. We must have the clarity of vision to see the difference between what is essential and what is merely desirable and then the courage to brink our Government Back under control. It is essential that we maintain both the Forward Momentum of Economic Growth and the strength of the safety net between those in our society who need help. We believe its essential all aspects of Social Security be preserved. Beyond these essentials, i believe it is clear our federal government is overgrown and overweig overweight. Indeed, it is time our government should go on a diet. Therefore, my first act as chief executive will be to impose and immediate and thorough freeze on federal hiring. Then were going to in list the very best minds from business, labor, and whatever, whatever quarter, to conduct a detailed review of every department, bureau and agency that lives by federal appropriation. And were going to in list the help and ideas of many dedicated and hardworking Government Employees at all levels who want a more Efficient Government just as much as the rest of us do. I know that many of them are confused and demoralized of what they find in their work as a result of failed policies. Our instructions to the groups we in list will be simple and direct. We will remind them that Government Programs exist for the american taxpayers and paid for by money earned from working men and women and programs that represent a waste of their money, a theft from their pocketbooks must have that waste eliminated or that program must go. It must go by executive order where possible, by congressional action where necessary. Everything that can be run more effectively by state and local government we shall turn over to state and local government along with Funding Sources to pay for it. Were going to put an end to the money merry goround where our money becomes washingtons moneys to be spent by states and cities exactly the way federal bureaucrats tell us it has to be spent. I will not accept the excuse that the federal government has grown so big and powerful that it is beyond the control of any president , any administration or congress. We are going to put an end to the notion that the american taxpayer exists to fund the federal government. The federal government othe federal government exists to serve the American People. On january 20th, we are going to reestablish that truth. Also on that date, we are going to initiate action to get substantial relief for our tax pairing citizens, an action to put people back to work. None of this will be based on new form of monetary tinkering or fiscal slight of hand, we will simply apply to government the common sense we all use in our daily lives. Work and family are at the center of our lives, the foundation of our dignity as a free people. When we deprive people of what they have earned or take away their jobs, we destroy their dignity and undermine their families. We cant support families unless there are jobs, and we cant have jobs unless the people have both money to invest and the faith to invest it. These are concepts that stem from an Economic System that for more than 200 years has helped us master a continent, create a previously undreamed of prosperity for our people, and has fed millions of others around the globe. And that system will continue to serve us in the future if our government will stop ignoring the basic values on which it was built and stop betraying the trust and goodwill of the American Workers who keep it going. The American People are carrying the heaviest peace time tax burden in our nations history, and it will grow even heavier under present law next january. Were taxes ourselves into economic exhaustion and stagnation, crushing our ability and incentive to save, invest, and produce. This must stop. We must halt this fiscal selfdestruction and restore sanity to our Economic System. Ive long advocated a 30 reduction in income tax rates over a period of three years. This phased tax reduction this phased tax reduction will begin with a 10 down payment tax cut in 1981, which the republicans in congress and i have already proposed. A phased reduction of tax rates would go a long way toward easing the heavy burden on the American People, but we shouldnt stop there. Within the context of Economic Conditions and appropriate budget priorities, during each fiscal year of my presidency, i would strive to go further. This would include improvement in business depreciation taxes so we could tim late investment in order to get plants and equipment replaced. Put more americans back to work and put our nation back on the road to being competitive in world commerce. We will also work to reduce the cost of government as a percentage of our Gross National product. The first task of National Leadership is to set realistic and honest priorities in our policies and our budget, and i pledge that my administration will do that. When i talk of tax cuts, im reminded that every major tax cut in this century has strengthened the economy, generated renewed productivity and ended up yielding new revenues for the government by creating new investment, new jobs, and more commerce among our people. The present administration the present administration has been forced by us republicans to play follow the leader with regard to a tax cut. But in this election year, we must take with the proverbial grain of salt any tax cut proposed by those who have already given us the greatest single tax increase in our nations history. When those in leadership give us tax increases and tell us we must also do with less, have they thought about those who have always had less . Especially the minorities. This is like telling them that just as they step on that first rung of the ladder of opportunity it might be pulled out from underneath them. That might be the democratic leaderships message to minorities but it wont be our message. Ours will be we have to move ahead, but were not going to leave anyone behind. Thanks to the economic policies of the democratic party, millions of americans find themselves out of work. Millions more have never even had a fair chance to learn new skills, hold a decent job or secure for themselves and their families a share in the prosperity of this nation. Its time to put america back to work, to make our cities and towns make our cities and towns resound with the confident voices of men and women of all races, nationalities and faiths, bringing home to their families a paycheck they can cash for honest money. For those without skills, well find a way to help them get new skills. For those without Job Opportunities well stimulate opportunities particularly in the inner cities where they live. For those that abandoned hope, well restore hope and welcome them into a Great National crusade to make America Great again. When we move from Domestic Affairs and cast our eyes abroad, we see an equally sorry chapter in the record of the president s administration. A soviet combat brigade trains in cuba just 90 miles from our shores. A soviet army of invasion occupies afghanistan further threatening our interest in the middle east. Americas defense strength is at the lowest ebb in a generation while the soviet union is vastly outspending us in both strategic and conventional arms. Our european allies looking men as looking for leadership and not finding it. And as youve been told from this platform so eloquently already, more than 50 of our americans have been held cab tiff for over eight months by a dictatorial foreign power that holds us up to ridicule before the world. Adversaries large and small test our will and seek to confound our resolve but we are given weakness when we need strength, vacillation when the times demand firmness. The Carter Administration lives in a world of make believe, every day drawing up a response to that days problems, troubles, regardless of what happened yesterday and what will happen tomorrow. But you and i live in a real world where disasters are overtaking our nation without any real response from washington. This is make believe, selfdeceit, and above all transparent hypocrisy. For example, mr. Carter says he supports the volunteer army but he lets military pay and benefits slip so low that many of our in listed personnel are actually eligible for food stamps, reenlistment rates dropped. Just respectly after he fought all week against a proposed pay increase for our men and women in the military, he then helicoptered out to the carrier of the uss nimitz, which was returning from long months of duty in the indian ocean and told the crew of that ship that he advocated better pay for them and their comrades. Where does he really stand now that hes back onshore . Ill tell you where i stand . I do not favor a peace time draft or registration, but i do favor pay and benefit levels that will attract and keep highly motivated men and women in our volunteer forces. And back them up with an active reserve trained and ready for instant call in case of emergency. You know, there may be a sailor at the helm of the ship of state but the ship has no rudder. Critical decisions are made at times almost in comic fashion but who can laugh. Who was not embarrassed when the administration handed a major propaganda victory of the United Nations to the enemies of israel, our staunch middle east ally for three decades and then claimed the american vote was a mistake, the result of a failure of communication between the president , his secretary of state, and his u. N. Ambassador. Who does not feel a growing sense of unease as our allies facing a confused administration reluctantly conclude america is unwilling or unable to fulfill its obligations as leader of the free world . Who does not feel rising alarm when any discussion of Foreign Policy is no longer should we do something but do we have the capacity to do anything . The administration, which has brought us to this state, is seeking your endorsement for four more years of weakness, indecision, mediocrity and incompetence. No. No american should vote until he or she has asked is the United States stronger and more respected now than it was 3 1 2 years ago . No. Is the world safer, a safer place in which to live . No. It is the responsibility of the president of the United States in working for peace to ensure that the safety of our people cannot successfully be threatened by a hostile foreign power. As president , fulfilling that responsibility will be my number one priority. Were not a warlike people. Quite the opposite. We always seek to live in peace. We resort to force infrequently and with great reluctance and only after weve determined its absolutely necessary. We are awed, rightly so, with a world of destruction in the nuclear area but neither can we be naive or foolish. Four times in my lifetime america has gone to war pleading the lives of young men into the sands of island beach heads, the fields of europe and the jungles and rice paddies of asia. We know only too well that war comes not when the forces of freedom are strong, it is when they are weak that tyrants are tempted. We simply cannot learn these lessons the hard way again without risking our destruction. [ chanting ] of all the objectives we seek, first and foremost is the establishment of lasting world peace. We must always stand ready to negotiate in good faith, ready to pursue any reasonable avenue that holds forth the promise of lessening tensions and furthering the prospects of peace, but let our friends, and those who may wish us ill, take note. The United States has an obligation to its citizens and to the people of the world never to let those who would destroy freedom dictate the future course of life on this planet. I would my election as proof we have renewed resolve to preserve world peace and freedom, that this nation will once again be Strong Enough to do that. Now, this evening marks the last steps, save one, of a campaign that has taken nancy and me from one end of this great nation to the other over many months and thousands and thousands of miles. There are those who question the way we choose a president , who say that our process imposes difficult and exhausting burdens on those who seek the office. I have not found it so. Its impossible to capture in worlds the splendor of this continent which god has granted us this authorization of his creation. No words to express the extraordinary strength and character of this breed of people we call america. Everywhere weve met thousands of democrats, independents and republicans from all Economic Conditions, all walks of life bound together in that community of shared values of family, work, neighborhood, peace and freedom. They are concerned, yes. They are not frightened. They are disturbed but not dismayed. They are the kind of men and women tom payne had in mind when he wrote during the darkest days of the american revolution, we have it in our power to begin the world over again. Nearly 150 years after tom payne wrote those words an american president told a generation of the Great Depression that it had a rendezvous with destiny. I believe this generation of americans today also has a rendezvous with destiny. Tonight let us dedicate ourselves to renewing the american compact. I ask you not simply to trust me but trust your values, our values, and to hold me responsible for living up to them. I ask you to trust that american spirit, which knows no ethnic, religious, social, political, regional or economic boundaries, the spirit that burned with zeal in the hearts of millions of immigrants from every corner of the earth who came here in search of freedom. Some say that spirit no longer exists, but ive seen it, ive felt it all across this land in the big cities, the small towns, anden rural america. Its still there ready to blaze into life if you and i are willing to do what has to be done. We have to do the practical thing, the down to earth thing such as creating policies that will stimulate our economy, increase productivity and put america back to work. The time is now to limit federal spending, to insist on a stable monetary reform and to free ourselves from imported oil. The time is now to resolve the basis of a firm and principled Foreign Policy is one that takes the world as it is and seeks to change it by leadership and example not by harang, harassment or wishful thinking. The time now is now the time is now to say that we shall seek new friendships and expand others and improve others but we shall not do so by breaking our word or casting aside old friends and allies. And the time is now to redeem promises once made to the American People by another candidate in another time and another place. He said for three long years i have been going up and down this country preaching that government, federal, state, and local cost too much. I shall not stop that. As Immediate Program of action we must abolish useless offices, we must consolidate subdivisions of government. And like the private citizen, give up luxuries which we can no longer afford. Then he said, i propose to you my friends and through you that government of all kinds, big and little, be made solvent and that the example be set by the president of the United States and his cabinet, end of quote. That was Franklin Delano roosevelts words as he accepted the nomination for president in 1932. The time is now, my fellow americans, to recapture our destiny, to take it into our own hands. To do this, well take away many will take many of us working together. I ask you tonight all over this land to volunteer your help in this cause, so that we can carry our message throughout the land. Isnt it time that we the people carry out those unkept promises. That we pledge to each other and to all america on this july day 48 years later that now we intend to do just that. [ chanting ] i have thought of something thats not a part of my speech and worried over whether i should do it. Can we doubt that only a Divine Providence placed this land, this island of freedom here as a refuge for all those people in the world who yearn to breathe free. Jews and christians, boat people of southeast ooish and haiti, victims of famine in africa, Freedom Fighters in afghanistan and our own countrymen held in savage captivity. Ill confess that ive been a little afraid to suggest what im going to suggest. Im more afraid not to. Can we begin our crusade joined together in a moment of silent prayer. God bless america. [ cheers and applause ] weeknights this month on American History tv were looking at past president ial debates. Tonight we look at the president ial debates of 1988 and 1996. First a debate from the 1988 campaign between incumbent Vice President george h. W. Bush and Massachusetts Governor michael dukakis. The candidates took questions on taxes, the budget deficit, Nuclear Weapons stockpiles and their choice of Vice President ial running mates followed by first debate between incumbent bill clinton and senator bob dole from the 1976 campaign. Watch tonight starting at 8 00 p. M. Eastern and watch American History tv this week and every weekend on cspan3. The president s available in paperback, hard cover, ebook from public affairs, presents biography of every president. Inspired by conversations with noted historians about the leadership skills that make for a successful presidency. As americans go to the polls next month to decide who should lead our country, this collection offers perspectives into the lives and events that forged each president s leadership style. To learn more about all our president s and the books featured historians, visit cspan. Org president s and order your copy today wherever books are sold. President jimmy carter accepted his partys president ial nomination for a second term at the 1980 Democratic National convention in new york city. In his