 of the United States and Wyatt Durett. Ladies and gentlemen, it is a unique, a truly unique honor to present to you a man whom I've admired for most of my active years in political life. I remember him first in 1964 in a memorable speech that certainly caused me to have the flames of commitment rekindled in my own breast. I supported his candidacy at every opportunity through the 70s and 80s. His presidency has brought a nation back to life, restored a vigor and a commitment and an optimism unparalleled in modern times. This nation and this world are indeed fortunate that this man has chosen to lead. Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States, Ronald Reagan. Thank you very much. Well, thank you, Wyatt, very much. Thank all of you very much. The members of the Congress are visiting our former governors, our visiting Governor Dick Thornberg of Pennsylvania and our governor-to-be. I've just come a short distance to be here today, but I feel worlds away from that town across the river. It's estimated that nearly 60 percent of all Virginians identify with the conservative philosophy. My only question is, what happened to that other 40 percent? And how are we going to help them see the light? I guess we all know the answer to that. He's sitting right here. Wyatt Duret, who is a candidate for governor, he ranks right up with the finest of the fine governors that have governed this great common wealth of Virginia. And that's why so many of Virginia's most respected elected officials have come out strongly for Wyatt. And Wyatt's support extends beyond the state and crosses party lines. I know at least two former Democrats who are giving Wyatt Duret their wholehearted endorsement. One is Harry Bird, who served this state so ably for so many years. And the other one is the current leader of the Republican Party, me. When I was a child, I spake as a child. I thought as a child. And when I became a man, I put aside childish things. Well, Virginia needs Wyatt Duret's strong principled leadership. But you all know that already, and I'm here today to tell you that America needs him, too. Because it's only if we pull together at both the state and national levels that we can give America the bright future of expanding hope and opportunity that she deserves. Wyatt understands that the road to that future is not paved with government programs. He knows it's freedom that creates economic growth and prosperity. And all over the world, we're seeing more and more freedom works. Not a, he knows it's, in addition to that, that it's not another new state office boondog, that we'll pay for by higher taxes that we need for any other problems that confront us. He knows the way to give minorities a fair shake is to open up with enterprise zones and a youth opportunity wage for teenagers. He understands the transportation needs of Northern Virginia. And he knows that the way to educational excellence is through incentives for achievement, higher standards for our students, and merit pay for teachers. I've been following this race in Virginia pretty closely, and in many ways it reminds me of that campaign I was going through not too long ago. Last year, too, we heard promise after promise for billions of dollars of new government spending programs. But at least my opponent then admitted that he wanted to raise your taxes. Well, the American people let it be known last November what they thought about that idea. And I'm convinced, come November 5th, the people of this great state are going to repeat that message loud and clear when they elect Wyatt Durrett, Governor of Virginia. While I'm on that subject of taxes, let me interject a note here about the national scene. I'm going to let you in on a little known fact. There are people in Washington, some of them even hold elected office who still harbor a secret desire way down deep in their hearts to raise your taxes. Now, I know you may find this hard to believe, but it's true. They pine for the old days when the special interests were lined up 10 deep at the federal trough gorging on taxpayer dollars. Some even want to pervert our fair share tax plan and turn it into a sneaky way of raising America's taxes. Well, they can keep on dreaming because there isn't going to be any tax hike. I've said it before and I'll keep on saying it as many times as it takes, no matter how it's disguised or packaged. If Congress sends me a tax hike, I'll send it right back with a big veto written across it. And for those who are trying to torpedo tax fairness, let's remind them exactly what's on the line. America's fair share plan, as submitted, would increase the gross national product by about 3 percent above projections. That translates into nearly 4 million more new jobs and $600 to $900 a year in added income for every American household. Now those are the benefits of America's fair share tax plan and those are the standards by which any alteration of the plan will be judged. Any plan that is less pro-growth, any plan that is less pro-family, will be robbing America of the jobs and prosperity that are rightfully hers. Now last Friday I announced our support for an historic deficit-busting measure called the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985. It would put the force of law behind deficit reduction, locking us into a spending reduction path that will bring the budget into balance by 1990. And then I think we should honor the words and the complaint of another great Virginia, Thomas Jefferson, who when he looked at the ratification of our Constitution said it lacks only one thing, a provision to prevent the federal government from borrowing. Well let's have that come 1990 with our Balanced Budget. Maybe it sounds like an awfully good idea to me and I gather from your reaction you agree. It's funny how some of those who've been screaming the loudest about deficits are now obstructing and delaying doing everything they can to try and sink this bill, which will be coming to a vote I understand in the Senate this afternoon. Now I'm not accusing anybody of insincerity, but the next time one of those folks gets up and complains about the deficit, they'd better have a smile on their face. You know there's been a lot of jousting and hustling going on there across the river in the Capitol. You learn that when you get between the hog and the bucket you get jousted about a bit. But when we talk about the future of Virginia and the future of America we're really talking about something more fundamental than dollars and cents. Why it understands that underneath all these issues lie basic questions of values. The big spending pressures that we still have to fight against on both the state and national levels are really an attempt to artificially pump up a failed and exhausted liberal ideology. It's an ideology that looks on America with despair and that has spent the last several decades trying to unravel the social order that binds us together as a nation and as a people. When it looks abroad it is an ideology that in Gene Kirkpatrick's famous phrase always blames America first, while too often making excuses for the enemies of freedom. At home it erects walls to lock out God and keep him away from our school children but has trouble locking up drug pushers, thieves and murderers. Well I just have to say and I think you'll agree with me that the real walls of separation we need in this country are prison walls that will keep criminals off the streets and away from our children. You know I often think the real heroes of today are the parents trying to raise their children in an environment that seems to have grown more and more hostile to family life. Music and the media floods their children's world with glorifications of drugs and violence and perversity and there's nothing they can do about it. They're told because of the First Amendment. Well I don't think James Madison, author of the Bill of Rights and one of Virginia's proudest sons ever imagined that his great document of liberty would be twisted into a pretext for license. I don't believe that our founding fathers ever intended to create a nation where the rights of pornographers would take precedence over the rights of parents and the violent and malevolent and benevolent would be given free reign to prey upon our children. I guess one of the things that I like best about Wyatt is that he has common sense enough to know the value of values. Family, faith, freedom and opportunity aren't just campaign slogans for him. They're the foundation upon which his political philosophy is built. Wyatt is an experienced principal leader that Virginia can depend on and trust. You know back in 1977, I spoke at my first fundraiser for Wyatt. By coincidence, the day of the fundraiser just happened to be my birthday so the event turned into kind of a dual celebration. There I was, 39 years old for the 27th time. Wyatt, I just want to make sure that when I reach 40 next year, you can give me a birthday call from the governor's office. You know I learned a little truism about this talk of age and everything else in addition to having 39th birthdays from here on out. And that is someone told me very wisely that getting old is 15 years from wherever you are now. Well, you know ladies and gentlemen, Virginia is one of the greatest states of the greatest nation on earth. Virginia deserves the very best. John Chichester for Lieutenant Governor, Buster O'Brien for Attorney General, and Wyatt Durett for Governor, and all of them I know endorse the fact that we must never forget that our very freedom is based on this fact. That this nation is a federation of sovereign states and they must never be reduced to administrative districts of the federal government as some in Washington would have us do. Thank you, God bless you all.