 The President of the United States. Thank you very much. You know, thank you very much. And you know, I learned this in China, and it would be particularly appropriate right here. And that is to applaud you. It's great to be with the good guys. And it's a special pleasure to see friends like Lou Lairman, Jack Hume, Mark Holstman, Carol Hallett, all of you. And now my remarks are going to be brief because I'm eager to meet all of you personally, and I understand we're going to have a chance to do that. So just over a year ago was when Lou and Jack came over to the Oval Office and talked about creating a new organization that would get the word out on what conservatives stand for and what our agenda is, what we want for our country, and why we want it. And they felt that this would serve as an important adjunct to our efforts in the Congress, and it might also serve as an antidote to the efforts of our friends in the media who are I sometimes think in my rasher moments a little less than sympathetic to our point of view. But it's just over a year since that conversation, but already the group that came out of that effort, Citizens for America, has made an extraordinary contribution. You're getting the word out. Already you've organized in 230 congressional districts in 32 states. You have more than 4,000 active members working in the trenches. You're making a difference, and I'm very appreciative and impressed. Your hard work and commitment are unsurpassed. You know, I couldn't resist asking Lou something since he's made such a tremendous effort flying across the country, helping CFA grow by leaps and bounds. Lou, if CFA is growing that fast, aren't you afraid your organization might overheat? You know, shouldn't you put the brakes on now so you won't be destroyed by all that growth? As you've probably heard. I've been getting that kind of advice from some of the experts on the economy. I thought I'd pass it on to you knowing you might know just what to do with it. Yes, sir. I look at the liberal establishment in America today, and I have to think that they're not only out of touch with the mainstream, I think they've abandoned their own constituency. All they seem to stand for now are narrow appeals to interest groups. The gimmies and the get-mes are of the political scene. So much for a sense of national unity. So much for ask not what your country can do for you. So much for the general interest and the power of unifying ideas. Moderate, middle-of-the-road Democrats are refusing to go along. You might call them homeless by choice. I got in trouble for saying that once before. I wasn't saying it about them. But where does this leave advocates for conservative causes? With an historic opportunity to reach out and realign America's thinking. If we manage to do this, we'll create an historic policy shift in this country and it will likely endure for a very long time. We've got to get the word out. In the union halls and the fire stations, on the street corners and at the VFW halls, on the op-ed page at the local newspaper, we've got to get out there on radio and television and get the word out. I said yesterday in talking to some people that some of the things that we have accomplished here are the best-kept secrets in the history of Washington. They might be the only secrets. And I'm very good at the other kind. Tell them what we stand for. Tell them we know as they do that the great contention between the free world and the totalitarians is the preeminent struggle of our time. For too long the enemies of our way of life have been permitted almost by default to dominate the struggle of ideas and never again. Never again must the millions of persecuted souls who yearn for freedom be without champions for their cause in the highest councils of this great nation. Explain again to the American people that we're trying to discourage aggression and assure the peace by staying strong and by staying free. Explain that we believe in social justice and that the way to achieve it is through free enterprise. Explain again and keep driving at home that the free market is the path to production, expansion, wealth, a bigger pie, and a bigger peace for everyone. So get the message out on crime. That, of course, is that defendants have rights, but so, dear Lord, do the victims. It's time that maybe the taxpayers were able to take a walk in the park after 8 p.m. and know they'd get home. Get it across again and again that we're not afraid to defend the moral and spiritual values that form the character of this great and good nation. That, yes, we're for prayer and against abortion. And we're not ashamed and we'll tell you why. We've got to get the agenda across again and again from enterprise zones to a balanced budget amendment to a more simple and fair tax system with new incentives for growth and two prayer in the schools. And we've got to get the word out that conservative ideas are the ideas of the future. We must be learned. We must know our facts and the stance we must bring to our work is not anger but patience and conciliation and endless reason. We must make it clear in all we do that we're motivated by love of country and animated by a resolve to protect it. All of us here, just a few hundred people in a room, can change our country forever. It's wonderful to have the chance we have, wonderful to serve as a patriot in demanding times. We're very lucky. Well, we're more than lucky. We're blessed and we can win. I believe deeply that history is on our side and that the momentum is with us and that we can trust the people of our country to listen and to make the right choices. The final thing, the liberals always steal the good poems. I mean to steal one back. It's Tennyson and it sums up everything I feel as I stand here before you. Come, my friends, it is not too late to seek a newer world. Well, thank you all of you and may God bless you with not only happiness but endless reason and endless energy and now I understand there's a mark for me to stand on and I'm going to get a chance to say hello to you. Congratulations.