Good afternoon. The volunteers in all 50 states have asked me to run as a candidate for president of the united states. Jim stockdale, my Vice President ial candidate and i are honored to accept their request. Few people in this country have been able to live the American Dream to the extent that i have. No person ever had a finer father, mother, or sister than i. No man has ever been blessed with a better wife, marg ott. Our five outstanding children plus six grandchildren, too good to be true. Ive been extremely fortunate during my business career. So i have lived the American Dream. And certainly if anyone in this country should be obligated serve our country and its people, i should be. The volunteers know that this is a critical time in our nations history. Neither Political Party has effectively addressed the issues that concern the American People. Theyve asked me to run this campaign on the issues and to assure that the problems that the American People are concerned with will be dealt with after this election is over. I know i hurt many of the volunteers who worked so hard through the spring and summer when i stepped aside in july. I thought it was the right thing to do. I thought that both Political Parties would address the problems that faced the nation. We gave them a chance. They didnt do it. But the volunteers on their own forged ahead and put me on the ballot in the final 26 states after july 16th. The day we were on the ballot in all 50 states, the volunteers requested that i come back in because the Political Parties have not responded to their concerns. My decision in july hurt you, i apologize. I thought i was doing the right thing. I made a mistake, i take full responsibility for it. There is only one issue now, starting today. And that is what is good for our country. Looking back wouldnt solve any of our problems and looking forward and working together, we can fix anything. The American People are concerned about a government in gridlock. Our people are good. The American People are good. But they have a government that is a mess. The American People are concerned about this government they pay for that doesnt produce results. Everybody in washington makes excuses, nobody takes responsibility, even when they have direct responsibility. The American People have figured that out. They want that changed. The American People are really concerned with a government that go to washington to cash in and not to serve. They want a government change so that people go as servants of the people back home and do not use Government Service as a steppingstone to financial success. The people know that it is wrong to spend our childrens money. Nothing could be more wrong. We know that we cannot con schennablely pass on a 4 trillion debt to our children. The people want this problem scarily dealt with. They want our financial house put back in order. The people are concerned that our government is still organized to fight the cold war. They want to reorganize to rebuild america as the highest priority. In order to do that, the highest priority is to rebuild the job base and the Industrial Base. We have to put our people back to work. We have to stop the loss of entire industries that go to other countries. We must make the words made in the usa once again the standard words for excellence. Not only is government amess, politics is also amess. The way political campaigns are run is a mess. The people want a Political Climate where the system does not attract ego drivenpower hungry people. We will create an environment that attracts the best people in the country to come and to serve and to go back home and go to work. Together, we can solve these problems and make the political process responsible and relevant to selecting the best people in the country. These are the issues well talk about in the coming weeks. I will not spend one minute answering questions that are not directly relevant to the issues that concern the American People. And now to the American People, i dont belong to anybody but you. You, the people, own me. If you elect me, i go as your servant. I will work night and day to see that the priorities that you have established are accomplished. To the many young people, and it is a disproportionate number of people that have called me or written me or some have driven across country to dallas to visit with me at their own expense expressing concern of what kind of country they will live in as adults and wondering if they will have a job when you get out of school. This is unbelievable to think you wouldnt have a job in america. When i think about the sacrif e sacrifices and my patients and the generations before them made so we could live the American Dream, certainly we all dedicate ourselves to seeing that you, the young people in our country, will have the American Dream pa passed on to you. Even the very young ones write me. This little girl, beautiful little girl, adrian kogliano. Ill leave this picture for you. Here are a few excerpts. My name is adrian. Im 9 years old, almost ten. I wish you would really run for president and i wish i could vote. I think everyone should get to say how they would like to see things done. I just dont think a small group of people should decide all ever these things for a whole bunch of people. This is signed adrian, rural route 2, augusta, kansas. Now, when you are hot and your tired and youre worn out some day, take a look at this little girl and her sisters and youll say, whatever it takes, weve got to do it. We have to pass on the American Dream to them. To the retired people who made it through the depression and fought and won world war ii. How is that for a double hit. Go up in the depression and as a bonus get to fight and win world war ii. Work and sacrifice most of their lives. I know you share my commitment to make sure we pass the American Dream on to our children and grand children. One of my most poignant memories is the day Mort Meyerson became the president of electronic data systems. His 95yearold grandfather was there. His grandfather had had to flee russia many years ago because he happened to be a jew. He lived in an attic in brooklyn in 18 months working as a tailer as a young man so he could get together enough money to buy a train ticket to fort worth, texas. He reared a fine young son and he was there when mort became president and at the end of the meeting he came forward with tears in his eyes and hugged mort and said, son, through you, i have fulfilled all of the dreams i had as a young man when i came to america. That is what this is all about. Fair shared sacrifice will be necessary to solve these problems. Last time we all sacrificed together was in world war ii. Everybody participated in the sacrifice. We won. We can win again, if each one in this country will carry his part of the burden. To the huge number of people in the armed forces, the Largest Single Group of people that have written me and urged me to run are the military forces and people who are veterans. Youve written and youve called and volunteered your time urging me to run. I do this for you primarily, because you fought and won the hot wars and the 45year long cold war for us. And in many cases, nobody ever even said thank you. This is my tiny little way of saying thank you. Certainly you deserve a country for yourselves and your children that fulfills the ideals that you fought for on the battlefield. Some of you gave your lives, i do this for the widows and the children, many of you bear the permanent scars of the war, i do it for you. I received a purple heart through the mail yesterday and a letter. With short excerpts. Dear ross, i was awarded this purple heart for wounds received during a vietnam ambush in 1968. Over the years, its value to me as grown significantly and like my family, it is priceless. I would be honored if you would accept the loan of my purple heart to keep with you throughout the campaign. I believe that it can serve as a compelling reminder that the hard battle ahead can and must be won. Let it also remind you of the army of ordinary citizens that has mustered to your call and looks to you to stop the hemorrhaging of the american spirit, to unite once and for all our diverse citizenry on a single american banner and to restore honesty, integrity and responsibility to our government. Like you, i firmly believe if we stand united, wee will win. Good luck ross, dennis squirmin, delaware. Thank you. I will keep it with me during the campaign. I understand it is on loan. Ill get it back to you. Never forget to everybody listening today, i cant do this job without your continued support. One person is nothing in a task this large. If millions of you will come together, we can do anything. There is nothing we cant do. Its up to you, its up to all of us. I promise you, i will give it everything i have. But the final results are in your hands because you own this country and you are the voters. I look forward to presenting these issues day after day to the American People. I would like to thank the American People by choosing me as your candidate, you have given me the highest honor i could ever receive. And in closing, let me say this. I love this country. I love the American People. I love the principles on which this country was founded. And i dont like to see those principles violated and there are millions of folks out there just like me that are sick and tired of it. Im totally committed to serving you. God bless you all. Thank you for this honor. And now, i would like to introduce Jim Stockdale, our Vice President ial candidate and his wife sible. Jim stockdale is a heroes hero. He is a recipient of the medal of honor and a scholar, a retired admiral. He suffered as a prisoner of war in vietnam as few people have. He provided leadership that caused our government to award him the medal of honor. In order to receive it, his fellow prisoners had to recommend him for it. The ultimate compliment. He is a man of steel. He has been hammered on the forth of brutality. And was able to reach outside of himself to provide strength to others. I cant tell you how many p. O. W. Told me when they came home they would not be alive if it had not been for Jim Stockdale. He gave them the courage to continue to go forward and live. Now that is leadership, thats the kind of person that built our country. Were very fortunate to have a man of his quality to service. And let me tell you about sybil. Shes one of the great women in our country. When the brutality and neglect, sibbel and a handful of dedicated wives and mothers were out there trying to do something so their husbands to survive this war. And she finally broke through. She got our government to change the policies from not saying anything about it, to embarrassing north korea to more men would survive the ordeal. There are few women during the period of my life of 62 years who have shown more strength, more courage and more commitment and more dedication who have been more brutally tested than mrs. Stockdale. And as a combination, as two pieces of steel. It is my privilege to introduce Jim Stockdale and his great wife sybil. [ applause ] sibbel and i are in our 46th year of marriage and we have four sons and five grandchildren and another on the way. The love of my life. Saved my life once, if you ever read the book we wrote. Its my honor to be my old friend ross perots running mate in this great effort to give the American People an independent way to go. I have a personal reputation for being independent in outlook and manner so this role gives me added satisfaction. Ross perot, extraordinary man. A word used in a popular biographical article on ross by his recent director of communication jim squires, this is on the newsstands now a good man, a selfless man. These adjectives come from the heart. Sibbel has known him for 23plus years and ever since i got off the plane from hanoi in 1973. The toast of american modernage technology and entrepreneurship, a Public Education authority, on stanford campus yesterday i was stopped by the chairman of the Education Department and that department does not train teachers so much as they are into the theory of education and he said, youre having quite a life. Ive been there 12 years. I know faculty well. He said, you know, ive read the reports of mr. Perots work both in his preschool experience in 1968 and the work with the high schools later. And he said, he really has some original approaches. He said, its not a teacherbashing operation. He sat there for four months in those classrooms and asked questions and talked to the students and the teachers before he made any moves. Hes a benefactor of the poor. Perhaps in a in a story i heard from one of his close dallas friends, she said ross is the only man who would or could phone the Salvation Army headquarters in new york every january and ask the question, okay, how far short are you this year . And the guardian of the American Fighting man. He put our plight in hanoi on page one in the world. And today gulf war veterans thank him for the sponsorship of the private hospitalization and wounds too extensive for normal v. A. Care. So for me, this is a grand experience and a great opportunity. When ross phoned me last march to be his running mate, i was in the early stages of writing a book about my patron saint in prison, a First Century philosophy eftitus. He inspires tough people, like ross and i starting this campaign as underdogs. And i looked for the quote that would give me power in this clutch and i settled for this. A life not put to the test, is not worth living. And i thank providence for this life, with all its trials, and for this opportunity. When i wrote this article right here, sybil and i got on the plane in San Francisco this morning and when we got off it, the pilot somehow found out who we were. And he came to the door and he just stuck out his hand and he said i want to thank you he was the captain of the plane. A mane in his 40s, any way. I want to thank you for everything you did out there in hanoi. And suspect you flew over there. And he said no, the gulf war was my war. And before we got off he grabbed me and said tell ross, im going to vote for him. Theyre all over the country, folks. Thank you very much. [ applause ] and well turn the podium over to arsenal signal. Our national coordinator. Mr. Perot . Mr. Perot . I want to get my family safely out of here. I got that taken care of. Now just before everybody tarts yelling at once, i cant see you at all because it is so dark. But ill try. Tell us the kind of campaign youll run. Mr. Swindle there is a heavy emphasis on media and television. It is on the issues. Does this mean you will not be traveling around the country in will you just be on tv . Give us an idea. Assume you own a basketball team. Would expect to you ask me for my strategy but would you expect me to give you the strategy. We wont lay out the strategy for you. It is unconventional, ill tell you that. But i dont want to cut you off, but it doesnt make any sense for us to lay out our strategy. Will this be a strategy to highlight our issues or to win and if so how do you do that with just over a month to go in the election. We will win by highlighting our issues. Are you caming or just doing campaigning or just doing commercials. Now you are getting into our strategy. And i just feel it is not wise to tell you. I think just nobody would tell his opponents the strategy in any sort of confrontation and i dont think we should. [ overlapping speakers ] youre not going to tell us what your campaign plans are. Will you tell us when youre going to appear and when . We will not reveal our strategy. Well have it unfold day after day. Here is the one thing you can bet on, it is going to be serious and it is going to focus on the issues. And thats going to be but then exactly how we run a Serious Campaign focusing on the issues, that will unfold day after day. The plan, was it crafted by a former adviser to president carter whose stewardship of the economy was not widely praised . It. Now, if no one else will yell, try that again. Because i got part of it. Why should america put its trust in an economic plan crafted largely by a Carter Administration official . Number one, it was not crafted largely by that person. That person participated on the team, made an important contribution. That person is a very bright, wise, able person. I had absolute control over that plan. Was deeply involved in it myself and a very talented team made up of a number of people participated. But and so, again, your question is has a bad premise. And the gas tax, the increase tax and the Social Security benefits and this all revolved around the middle kplas and the rich dont participate as much as the middle class. You expect your opponents to distort and and i wouldnt digfy that answer with a comment. I know exactly who and where that comes from. He said it so many times i will at the proper time. But the point is, does everybody here mr. Perot, could you explain what interest it is in the average american to have his or her gasoline bill go up an average of 300 a year to solve the deficit when richer americans will not have to undergo that similar type of burden. Could you explain why it is in their interest. That is a simple question, sir. If you look at the cost of gasoline around the world, in italy it is up to 5 a gallon and most of the other industrial kpet tigs nations it is up to 4 a gallon. Mostly the cost is the same roughly all over the world. The variation is in the tax. Those nations take that tax and build infrastructure. Our infrastructure is falling apart. Our purpose in collecting ten cents a gallon over five years put us still way at the bottom of the industrialized world and infrastructure will create jobs and make our country stronger and get the Multiplier Effect from having a modern infrastructure as opposed to a decaying infrastructure. When you look at what germany is spending to improve its infrastructure and what japan is spending to improve its infrastructure, little taiwan is looking to improve its infrastructure and here nobody could afford to buy a car let alone gasoline. We have to do that sort of thing now. You talked about im here today to announce and have a positive, good time. And i mean, everything here is the usual hostile, negative and yelling and screaming. Ill take two more. [ overlapping speakers ] you said when you dropped out of the race, you were making a rational decision. When you dropped out on july 16th mr. Perot . Mr. Perot, you talked about young people and that youre interested in young people in your campaign. Many young people in this country are very apathetic when it comes to voting, how can your role in this campaign change that . Well, i certainly want to get them to participate and based on the number of young people who have contacted me and come to see me and in some cases driven across the country to come see me, my sense is theyre going to be very active this year. And i think it is terribly important that they be active. More and more, particularly once they finish school, finish high school and cant get a job. Finish college and cant get a job. Get a masters degree and cant get a job and a mab from a big name big school and cant get a job. They are starting to say, wait a minute. Something is wrong. They are really concerned about making sure we dont drop the 4 trillion burden on them. And as all you question why we have to have fair shared sacrifice across this country, please recognize, it is because we spent our childrens money. And please understand, wont it be neat if we were 4 trillion down but everything was perfect. They would say, well were 4 trillion in debt but we have the Industrial Base for the world and the finest schools and weve got no crime and we have alabaster cities on agreement with human tears and unfortunately with the bottom of the world in Public Education and most crime in the industrialized world our cities are in decay, and our Public Schools rank at the bottom of the industrialized world and we owe 4 trillion. This is going to be a tough pull to fix it. Now, why am i so blunt about it and nobody else is . Because the American People are ready to address it and fix it and both of the other parties say it is political suicide to talk about it. Well, my objective is not to commit political suicide but i do understand that the American People are ready to deal with this and every day is precious. If you delay, it is delaying once you know you have cancer. It is like going through a period where you denial, you refuse to accept. It it is pretty important to get treatment quick. Were at this point, we need to do it while were still strong. Ten minutes ago you said you were quitting the race because you didnt want to be a spoiler and didnt want to be disruptive. Now you say youre back to win this thing. Yes. Isnt your strategy to disrupt george bushs vote in a number of key states, including this one, texas . Absolutely not. That is press myth number 615. Wait just a minute. Wait a minute. Let me finish. Absolutely not. Absolutely not. Now, i love you guys. [ laughter ] he has called me every name in the book. All ive ever said, fine man and fine family. The only thing i ever criticized is his mistakes in office. Thats it. Were talking about performance here, not personality. See, im everything from a monster to crazy, coming from them, right . Nobody ever says, boy, you must really dislike that guy, because you keep saying those things. I show up here and you say, you dont like george bush. When you create these fairy tales an pass them on, get together sometime in the evening and say is there any basis for this stuff . There is no basis for that. I wouldnt spend 10 minutes because of personal dislike. I certainly wouldnt spend the money im having to spend on this. Im doing it for the reasons i gave in this speech. Very simple. Take one more. Mr. Perot sir im green and inexperienced. Let me ask im going to ask the nice quiet gentleman ill recognize you and well try it, yes. Mr. Perot in, your book you have an outline, your economic plan. On monday you held the most extraordinary political meeting here where their economic agenda was also discussed. But from what i understand, what most of us understand, there was similarity and commonalities and differences, but since then and now when you begin your campaign, do you think that you will be changing your economic agenda or altering them or making or any kind of adequate changes or will they stay remain exactly as you outlined. Any plan any plan should not be static. Any plan should be dynamic. Lets assume somebody has a better idea tomorrow. We should think about it. We should discuss it. We should debate it and do it. If you ask for me for 25 words or less for the reason for my business success, i dont get locked into a blue print. We start out with what everybody is all excited about as a good plan. And then as we start down the road to implement it, we have a thousand better ideas. Our government doesnt do that. We pass laws, freeze things in concrete and people cannot fine tune and optimize. So im a great believer in fine tuning and optimizing and certainly every step of the way we would want to say, wait a minute, as go along, is there a better way to do it. What is the goal . To serve the American People. What is the goal . To get the biggest bang for your buck. And that is the reason health care is a mess. It is frozen. There are people all over the place, if they could take a screwdriver and fine tune it, but you cant. [ inaudible question ]. Number one, your question is did i know that . No. Number two, lets look because i now have checked to find out what was going on. Number here is what happened. People we had 50 states, offices all over 50 states, manned by selfselected volunteers and someone would call dallas and say charlie is stealing money. In order to comply with the federal election rules, we would check it out and it was just false signal. And then we would have a situation, saying gee, we have a fellow out here in a county in an obscure area that your county coordinator that has done three terms in jail. Well, we would have to check that out. 90 of the contact for that firm, most of the effort with that firm was providing security people and offices that needed security. We would rent security people by the hour from them. Now, lets stop and think about this for a minute. I would urge someone to say, well how many people do you have in dirty tricks or Opposition Research . Dont have any and never are any. Isnt it fascinating that everybody goes bonker on the front day of the page the day i am going to make this acceptance on the issue and ignores both parties who are in absolute overdrive and overload trying to destroy one another personally. Step two, really now, if there is any balance and fairness in what you do, give the same attention to their investigative capability that youve created out of thin air about our nonexistent capability. Find out how many full time investigators they have checking everything is breathing and i think youll conclude there is paranoia, at least in one place. So i realize it is a tough game and i realize nobody has to there are rules and i dont care. But i find it silly to the point of ridiculous that if you write a nonstory just because it gives you something hot, that you dont take the time to say, well what about these other two guys . Listen, we are not even in the game when it comes to investigation. In terms of what theyre doing. And we dont all we try to do, if somebody said somebody is stealing, we check it out, were entitled to under the federal election commission, not to allow people to steal money. Now that is it. Now on that happy note, ill take one more. Mr. Perot . You said let me just take you up i cant hear, you sir. Mr. Perot, have you ever been approached by the Clinton Campaign on any of their representatives and have they offered you any sort of a cabinet post . No. In the white house . No. Nothing like that. And again, i guess, on a slow day of course not. I would like to i would like to. With all due respect. Think the American People are tired of the type of campaigns that have been run. At the same time, the American Public went through a traumatic experience when nixon was president many years ago. How much of a right do the American People have to know about your character . Is it fair for someone who might vote for you to wonder about your character and ask questions and how much should we be allowed to investigate your past . Of course, now. Let me ask you a question. Is it unfair for me to wonder why you dont write a balanced presentation. Lets assume you find well here is the good, the bad, the beautiful, the indifferent. Are you trying to present a balanced picture of a candidate, leave me out tv or are you trying to play gotcha journalism . Ill rest my case. Ill take any balanced piece that comes out. I dont claim to be perfect. Nobody look, i dont care what you do. Just have fun. Get raises and bonuses. Play gotcha. I dont care. But the point is, i want you to know that what im about is what i just said and i care about this country and i care about the American People and i love them and i will do whatever i can to serve them and theyve asked me to do this and i will do it for them. And with that youve been im going to take this gentleman and then i have to go to work, i have to make a living and have to pay for this. You just said ask the question and why dont we go after the other two candidates. No, i said only on the investigate issue. And you said that youve had several quotes about how they use investigators and they investigate everything breathing. Do you have chapter and verse about their use of investigators . Do they investigate you or the American People . I dont feed the press. You made the accusation. I dont give you a feed every morning anybody here ever get a nasty feed from me . Rest my case. Good luck to you. And good luck to you and thanks for being to pleasant and positive at my good way to open it up. [ applause ] tonight, youve been watching some of our American History tv programming in prime time. Youll find us here every weekend on cspan 3. Well take you live to conferences, symposiums and historical sites. On american artifacts, go behind the scenes with us to museums and archives and travel with us to the nations classrooms where youll hear from college and University Professors on lectures in history. As the 2016 campaign continues, watch past president ial campaigns on road to the white house rewind. And journey with us through the 20th century on real america which showcases documentaries and other archive films. Over the next few weeks, watch for our airings of portions from the 1975 Church Committee hearings, investigating the intelligence activities of the cia, fbi, irs and nsa. Look for all of our programming every weekend on cspan 3. Youre watching American History tv in prime time. Each week until the 2016 election, road to the white house rewind brings you archival coverage of president ial races. Up next, the 1988 campaign of candidate gary hart. We begin with the former colorado senator announcing his campaign in a tenminute speech in denver. The senator finished a close second to mondale in the race for the 1984 democratic nomination and was considered by many observers to be the frontrunner going into 1988. But within weeks of his announcement, the senator faced allegations of an extramarital affair which led him to withdraw from the race. Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis lost to george bush in the general election. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you. [ applause ] thank you very much. For out of town friends, welcome to colorado. If you dont like the weather, it will change in a few minutes. [ laughter ]. I want to say thanks to my good friends tim worth and Federico Pena and all the elected official and leaders of our community and our state here on this platform. I want to take this opportunity if i may to introduce the best daughter anyone ever had,