Career in entertainment and became president of the screen actors guild. Ronald reagan ended his can his acceptance speech in detroit with a moment of silent prayer. Thank you very much. [applause] thank you very much. [applause] thank you. Chanting] [cheering] thank you. [applause] you are singing our song. [applause] [indiscernible] to find cell for the first time in a long time in a movie on prime time. [applause] isthis, as you can imagine, the second big , mr. Vice president , mye, this convention fellow citizens of this great nation, with a deep awareness of the responsibility inferred by your justice, i accept your nomination for the presidency of the United States. [applause] our thanks to the people of detroit and michigan. [applause] and i thank you for your wholehearted response to my recommendations with regard to george bush, the candidate for Vice President. [applause] of our partyud tonight. This convention has shown to all of america, a party united with positive programs for solving the nations problems. A party ready to build a new consensus with all of those across the land who share a community of values embodied in these words, family, work, neighborhood, peace and freedom. [applause] a quarrel ore had two, but only to the method of attaining a goal. There was no argument here about the goal. Establishnt, i will with 50 governors to encourage them to eliminate wherever it exists, discrimination against women. [applause] i will monitor federal laws to ensure their implementation and to add statutes if needed. Else, i wantthing my candidate candidacy to unify the country, renew the american spirit and sense of privilege. Want too care very i carry our message to every american regardless of Party Official regardless of party affiliation. Have before in our history americans been called upon to phase 3 grave threats to our existence. Anyone of which will destroy us. We face a disintegrating economy, he weakened defense, and an Energy Policy based on the sharing of scarcity. The major issue of this campaign is a direct political, personal and moral responsibility of Democratic Party leadership in the white house and in the congress for this unprecedented calamity which has befallen us. [applause] they tell us they have done the most that could humanly be done. They say the United States has had its day in the sun, but our nations past it zenith. They accept they expect you to tell your children that the American People no longer have the will to cope with their problems, the future will be one of sacrifice and few opportunities. My fellow citizens, i utterly reject that view. [applause] the American People, the most generous on earth am i created the highest standard of living, are not going to accept the notions that we can only make a better world for others by moving backward ourselves. Those who believe we can have no business leading this nation. [applause] i will not stand by and watch this great country destroy itself under mediocre leadership that drifts from one crisis to the next, eroding our national will and purpose. We have come together here because the American People deserve better from those to whom they entrust our nations highest offices. We stand united. [applause] we stand united in our resolve to do something about it. We need a rebirth of the american tradition of leadership at every level of government, and in private life as well. Is United States of america unique in World History because it has a genius for leaders. Many leaders on many levels. In 1976, mr. Carter said trust me. A lot of people dead. Now, many of those people are out of work. Many have seen their savings eaten away by inflation, many others on fixed incomes, especially the elderly, have watched helplessly as the tax of inflation has their purchasing power. A great many who trusted mr. Carter wonder if we can survive the kind of policies of national defense. West me Government Asks concentrate our hopes and dreams on one man. That we trust him to do what is best for us. My view of government places trust not in one person or one those values that transcend persons and parties. [applause] trust is where it belongs, in the people. The responsibility to live up to that trust is where it belongs, in their elected leaders. That kind of relationship between the people lend their elected leaders is a special kind of compact. , a group ofo families dared to cross a mighty ocean to build for themselves in a new world. When i arrived in massachusetts, they formed a compact, an agreement amongst themselves to build a community and abide by its laws. This single act, the voluntary binding together of free people to live under the law, set the pattern for what was to come. A half later, the descendents of those people pledged their lives, fortune and honor to found this nation. Some forfeited their fortunes and their lives. None sacrificed honor. [applause] four score and seven years toer, Abraham Lincoln renew their dedication to a government of, for and by the people. Isnt it once again time to renew our compact of freedom . [applause] other all thatch gives meaning to them for the sake of this, our beloved and blessed land. Together, let us make this a new beginning. Let us make a commitment to care for the needy, teach our children the virtues handed down to us by our families, to have the courage to defend those values and virtues of the willingness and the willingness to sacrifice for them. Ours pledged to restore in time the american spirit of voluntary service, cooperation, private and community initiative, a spirit that flows like a deep and mighty river through the history of our nation. I pledge to you to restore to the federal government, the capacity to do the peoples work without dominating their lives. I pledge to you [applause] i pledge to you a government that will not only work well, but wisely. Tempered by prudence and its willingness to do good, balanced by the knowledge that government is never more dangerous then when our desire to have it help us blinds us to its great power to harm us. [applause] the first republican president once said, while the people retain their virtue and their vigilance, no administration by any extreme of wickedness or folly can seriously injure the government in the short space of four years. If mr. Lincoln could see what has happened in the last three and a half years, he might hedge a little on that statement. [applause] are our legacy as a free people. With a vigilance that sustains liberty, we have time to use our renewed compact to overcome the injuries that have been done to america these past three and a half years. First, we must overcome something the present administration has cooked up, a new and altogether indigestible economic. , one partnflation unemployment, one part for session, one part runaway taxes, one part deficit spending, seasoned with an energy crisis. Stew economics to that has turned the publics stomach. [applause] ours are not problems of abstract economic theory, these are problems of flesh and blood. Problems that cause pain and destroy the moral fiber of real people who should not suffer being told by the government that it is all somehow their fault. Have inflation because, as mr. Carter says, we have lived too well. The head of a government which has refused to look within its means, and has in the last few days turned showed us that this coming years deficit will be 60 billion, dares to point the finger of blame at business and labor, both of which have been engaged in a losing struggle trying to stay even. [applause] our taxes, we are told are somehow good for us. As if when government spends our money, it is not inflationary. But when we spend it, it is. [applause] though super side over the worst Energy Shortage in our history tell us to use less so we dont run out of oil, gas a little more slowly. Is desirable of course conservation is desirable of course, but conservation is not the sole answer to our energy needs. America must get to work producing more energy. [applause] the Republican Program will solve the 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 , taxes and controls than more energy. Cole offers a great potential. Sodas Nuclear Energy produced so does Nuclear Energy produced under rigorous safety standards. [applause] we could us we could supply electricity to millions of jobs and homes. It must not be thwarted by a minority opposed to economic growth, which often finds regulatory agencies for obstructionist campaigns. [applause] , we will notke 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. [applause] problems ill we hear from those in positions of leadership are the same tired proposals for more government bickering, more meddling and control. All of which led us to the starry this sorry state in the first place. Can anyone look at the record of this administration and say, well done . No. Can anyone compare the state of our economy when the carter withistration took place where it is today and say keep up the good work . Can anyone look at reduced spending and say lets have four more years of this . I believe the American People are going to answer these questions as you have answered them in the first week in november, and there answer will be no, we have had enough. Ause] 20, offernext january 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 win our Government Back under control. [applause] it is essential. [applause] 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 also believe it is essential that the integrity of all aspects of Social Security be preserved. [applause] beyond these essentials, i believe it is clear our federal government is overgrown and overweight. Indeed, it is time our government go on a diet. [applause] executivect as chief will be to impose an immediate and thorough freeze on federal hiring. [applause] then, we are going to enlist the best minds from business, labor and whatever. To conduct a review of every department that lives by federal appropriations. [applause] and, we are going to enlist 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 to. [applause] i know that many of them are demoralized by the confusion and as a result ofs failed policies. Our inspections through the group we enlist will be direct. We will remind them that Government Programs exist at the sufferance of the american taxpayer, and are paid for by money earned by working men and women and programs that represent a waste of their money , theft from their pocketbooks, must have that waste eliminated or that program must go. [applause] by executive order, 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. [applause] along with the funding to pay for it. Toare going to put an end the money merrygoround where our money becomes washingtons the way be spent federal bureaucrats tell us it has to be spent. [applause] i will not accept the excuse that the federal government has grown so big and powerful it is beyond the control of any president , administration or congress. We are going to put an end to the notion that the american taxpayer exists to fund the federal government. [applause] the federal government exists to serve the American People. [applause] tojanuary 20, we are going reestablish that truth. Also on that date, we are going to initiate actions to get substantial relief for our taxpaying citizens and actions to put people back to work. [applause] this, none of this will be based on any new form of monetary tinkering or fiscal sleightofhand. We will simply apply to government the common sense we all use in our daily lives. [applause] work and family are 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 their jobs, we destroy their dignity and undermine their families. We cant support families unless there are jobs and we can have jobs unless the people have money to invest and the faith to invest. [applause] that stemconcepts 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 fed millions around the globe. That system will continue to serve us in our 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. [applause] carryingcan people are the heaviest peace time tax burden in our nations history and it will grow heavier under present law in january. We are taxing ourselves into economic stagnation, crushing our ability and insist incentive to save. This must stop. We must halt this physical selfdestruction and restore sanity. I have long advocated a 30 reduction in income tax rates over a period of three years. [laughter][applause] [applause] this current tax reduction would begin with a 10 down payment tax cut in 1981, which the republicans and i have already proposed. A phased reduction of tax rates would go a long way to eat easing the heavy burden a long way to easing the heavy burden. We shouldnt stop there. Whatever the context of economic ambitions and appropriate Budget Priorities during each fiscal year of my presidency come i would strive to go further. This would include improvement in business depreciation taxes so we can stimulate investments. [applause] [no audio] [please stand by] [applause] [applause] when those in leadership give us tax increases and tell us we must do with less, have they thought about those who have always had less . Especially the minorities. Figures liked , just as they step on the first rung of the ladder of opportunity, the latter is being pulled out from under them. That may be the democratic leaderships message to minorities, but it wont be ours. [applause] ours will become a we have to move ahead. But, we are not going to leave anyone behind. [applause] of thec policies Democratic Party, millions of americans find themselves out of work. Millions more have never had a fair chance to learn new skills, hold a decent job or secure for a sharees and families in the prosperity of this nation. It is time to put america back to work. Townsur cities and resound with 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. [applause] for those without scale, we will find a way to help them get new skills. For those without job opportunities, we will stimulate new opportunities particularly in the inner cities. For those who have abandoned hope, we will restore hope and welcome them into a national crusius crusade to make America Great again. [applause] when we move from Domestic Affairs and cast our eyes abroad, we see an equally sorry chapter in the record of the present administration. Gate, trains in cuba 90 miles from our shores. A soviet army of invasion occupies afghanistan, threatening our vital interests in the middle east. Americas defense is at its lowest ebb in a generation while the soviet union is out spending us in both strategic and conventional arms. Our european allies, looking nervously at the growing menace from the east, turned to us for leadership and failed to find it. Incredibly, more than 50, as you have been told by some on this platform, more than 50 of our fellow americans have been held eight months by a dictatorial foreign power that holds this up to ridicule that holds us to ridicule across the world. Adversaries seek to confirm our resolve. We are given weakness when we need strength. When the times demand firmness. The Current Administration lives in a world of makebelieve. Every day drooling up a response to that days problems, troubles , regardless of what happened yesterday and what will happen tomorrow. You and i live in the real world. The disasters overtaking our nation without real response from washington. , and transparent hypocrisy. [applause] mr. Carter says he supports the volunteer army, but he lets military pay and benefits slip so low that many of our enlisted personnel are eligible for food stamps. Reenlistment rates drop. Week againstht all a proposed pay increase for our men and women in the military, he then helicopter out to the uss nimitz, returning from duty in the indian ocean command told the crew of that ship that he advocated better pay for them and their comrades. Where does he really stand now that he is back on shore . [applause] [indiscernible] favor a peacetime draft or registration. [applause] but, i do favor pay and benefit levels that will attract and keep highly motivated men and women in our volunteer forces. [applause] that, with an active reserve trained and ready for instant call in case of emergency. [applause] sailor at now be a the helm of the ship of states, but the ship has no redder. Rotor rudder. Conclusions are made sometimes in comic fashion, but who can laugh . Who is not an who was not embarrassed when the the enemies of israel, or stanch middle east allies for three decades, then claim t