 May I have your attention just for a few more seconds ladies and gentlemen the president of the United States Ladies and gentlemen Ladies and gentlemen hold on just a second. We'll get the four more years. I'm gonna give you Reagan hold up. Okay. Settle down settle down I'd like to tell you a story. Hold with me just for a second You'll like this story You'll really like this story We have with us We have with us a young lady that I need to introduce to the President of the United States to show you That the appeal of this man With now let me tell you about her The last time That Edna duty voted Was 42 years ago And when we found her in our registration drive She said She wanted to get registered again So she could vote for Ronald Reagan even though She wasn't quite sure he was old enough to be president Mr. President I want you to meet Edna duty 96 years young Who's been free for you American dream is You know what the American dream is you were raised in the American dream Ladies and gentlemen, I give you a son of Illinois the president of the United States Ronald Reagan Thank you very much Thank you Thank you very much Thank you all very much I think I Thank Jim Thompson or that very wonderful and glowing introduction and Edna duty And the duty you and I know something that all of them must learn and that is that age Is what you'll have 15 years from where you are presently? well, it's wonderful to Be here at the College of DuPage and on such a modern-looking campus yesterday, I was down at the University of Alabama and The the architecture there is beautiful with all the charm of the old South but here in your buildings and sculpture We see the sharp clear lines of the future and it's a very striking campus indeed and It's great to be in Illinois Your support has always been very important important to me And I want to express my admiration for your governor Jim big Jim Thompson and And all all the fine members of your congressional delegation that are here today and I'm pleased to be here with my friend Chuck Percy whom we need back in the Senate You know, I think everyone Everyone should pay attention to the fact that True as the facts are that Governor Thompson gave you about how my opponent would increase Taxes I think you'd better pay attention to the fact that Chuck Percy's opponent has made it plain that if he was elected he would strive for twice as much in increased taxes as Mr. Mondale is talking about So we don't need him in Washington. There's nothing I'd like more than to see all your fine candidates of our party in the Congress in Washington Illinois has a special significance for all of us Abe Lincoln came to adulthood and practiced law here The political party that lifted him to his greatness is the party that I represent these others represent in the election of 1984 and So Illinois is a fitting place for my statement to you today Abe Lincoln said we must disenthrall ourselves with the past and then we will save our country Before years ago That's what we did We made a great turn We got out from under the thrall of a government Which we'd hoped would make our lives better, but which wound up living our lives for us the power of the federal government Had over the decades created great chaos Economic chaos social chaos international chaos Our leaders were adrift rudderless and without a compass Four years ago. We began to navigate by certain fixed principles Our North Star was freedom common sense was our constellation We knew that economic freedom meant paying less of the American family's earnings to the government And so we cut personal income tax rates by 25 percent We We knew that inflation the quiet thief Was stealing our savings and the highest interest rates since the civil war were making it impossible For people to own a home or start a business or enterprise We knew that our National system of military defense had been weakened So we decided to Rebuild and be strong again and this we knew This we knew would enhance the prospects for peace in the world It was a second American revolution and it's only just begun but what is What has already come of our efforts a great renewal? America is back a giant reemergent on the scene powerful in its economy powerful in the world economy Powerful in its ability to defend itself and secure the peace. Thank you very much, but listen four years after our efforts began small voices in the night are scurrying about sounding the call To go back To go backward to the days of confusion and drift the days of torpor to middity and taxes My opponent this year is known to you But perhaps we can gain greater insight into his leadership abilities and his philosophy if we take a look at his record To begin with His grasp of economics is well demonstrated by his economic predictions Just before we took office My opponent said that our economic program was obviously murderously inflationary and That was just before we lowered the inflation rates from twelve point four percent to four point two So then we got our tax cuts and right after we got those and started implementing them He said the most that he could see was an economic or an anemic recovery an anemic recovery and That was right before the revitalized economy created more than sixty or six million jobs in twenty two months And it was right before 900,000 businesses were incorporated in a 17 month period 900,000 new business and then but what I'm going to tell you now I have to explain to some of you I think a little bit because it was back in 1976 and some of you were very young in 1976 and Our opponents created a thing called the misery index They added the rate of inflation to the rate of unemployment And in the case of Jerry Ford it came out at twelve point twelve and a half points So they said that no one had a right to even seek re-election with a misery index of twelve twelve and a half percent Now my opponent has said that our Our policies would deliver a misery index the likes of which we haven't seen in a long time And you know something there was some truth in that Because we've got the misery index down to eleven point six and under them. It was over twenty You've know they aren't talking about the misery index anymore. They didn't talk about it in 1980 But just before we took office my opponent said that our economic program is quote Obviously murderously Inflationary Well as I said that again was before We had brought it down to where it is today My opponent said that control of oil prices would cost American consumers more than 36 million dollar billion dollars a year Well, we decontrolled oil prices. It was one of the first things I did and the price of gas went down eight cents a gallon Now, you know all of these things. I've just told you I Was thinking about all this the other day and it just occurred to me That maybe all we need to do to get the economy in absolutely perfect shape Is to get my opponent to predict absolute disaster? He says he cares about the middle class But he boasts and I quote again. I have consistently supported legislation time after time Which increased taxes on my own constituents? Now he's proud of that No doubt proud of the fact that he voted 16 times He voted 16 times in the United States Senate to raise the taxes of all Americans But this time he's outdone himself He's already promised of course as you've been told to raise your taxes But if the governor said he's to keep all the promises. He's made to this group and that He will have to raise taxes by the equivalent of $1,890 per household in the whole United States. That's more than a hundred and fifty dollars a month You know, that's like having a second mortgage And after the Mondale mortgage we're sure to see more than a few foreclosures I Think my opponent's tax plans will be a hardship for the American people And I believe it will bring our recovery to a roaring stop But I'll give it this He gave me an idea for Halloween If I could find a way to dress up as his tax program I could just scare the devil out of all the neighbors If you young people can spend four years doing what you're doing I guess I can spend four more years doing what I'm doing. I think my opponent's tax Plans would be a hardship for the American people But I'll give it this Well, let me just stop instead and say I want to do something much different than he would do He wants to raise everyone's taxes. So he'll have more money to spend on all his campaign promises. I Want to lower yours and everybody's tax rates So your families will be stronger our economy will be stronger and America will be Believe me. I must glad say I Also want to add I'm going to really be glad to have Chuck Percy in Washington because I know how hard he'll fight to protect your family's earnings And his opponent well, you know, I look I look out at all you wonderful young people And I want you to know nothing has warmed my heart like seeing so many of you at our rallies and our meetings like this believe me Working to give you a future Filled with hope and opportunity is what this job of mine is all about But But I'm not finished here There's so much more to say about my opponent His grasp of foreign affairs is demonstrated by his understanding of world events Sometime back he said the old days of a Soviet strategy of suppression by force are over and that was That was just before the Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia and After they invaded Afghanistan He said it just baffles me why the Soviets these last few years have behaved as they have I Didn't know it's their nature But then there's so much that baffles him one year ago this month We liberated Grenada from communist thugs My opponent my opponent called what we did a violation of international law that erodes our moral authority Eliminates our moral authority authority to criticize the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan Well still I'll say this his administration did meet out strong punishment after Afghanistan Unfortunately, they didn't punish the Soviet Union. They punished the American farmers My opponents supported the grain embargo spoke out for it often He even questioned the patriotism of a senator from his own party when that senator called the embargo unfair and unworkable But now there's a new Mondale out there and he seems to have changed his tune He says that he privately Opposed the embargo very privately As a matter of fact, he was in the last several months or he has in the last several months claimed That he opposed a number of the administration policies when he was vice president Well, Jody Powell who was also in that administration says and I quote I guess I was out of the room every time it happened After the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua My opponent said the winds of democratic progress are stirring where they have long been stifled That was right before the Sandinista slaughtered the mosquito Indians abused and deported church leaders slandered the holy father and moved to kill freedom of speech After the hostages were taken in Iran My opponent said it would be a temporary problem Later he called his administration's handling of the affair masterful. Well more recently My opponent failed to repudiate the Reverend Jesse Jackson when he went to Havana stood with Fidel Castro and cried long live Cuba long live Castro long live And my opponent has never disassociated himself from that kind of talk I Could could say of his economic program that he will either have to break his promises or break the bank But I won't say it because Senator John Glenn Democrat of Ohio has already said it Or I could call his economic program a collection of old and tired ideas held together by paralyzing commitments to special interests and constituent groups But Senator Gary Hart of Colorado a Democrat has already said that Well, I could predict that he will create deficits more than twice what they are now But Senator Frick's Hollings of South Carolina a Democrat has also said that Now if on political issues my opponent dares to be wrong on Domestic policy issues he has the courage to be cautious a Line item veto to help control wild government spending. No, he says that's not part of his liberal agenda I had that as the governor of California line item veto to be able to veto out one of those pork barrel items That had been smuggled into a good otherwise good bill. I used that veto as governor over 900 times And it was never overridden once He opposed the idea of enterprise zones to help the most troubled neighborhoods in the enterprise in the inner city But last Sunday night. He said he's for them Well, if he's for them Why didn't he ask Tip O'Neill to stop blocking the enterprise zone bill that he's bed buried in the House Committee ever since we introduced it last week an American woman walked in space Kathy Sullivan Kazrin Sullivan made made history and she returned to a space shuttle in which some of the great scientific and medical Advances of the future will be made and are being made Cures for diabetes and heart disease may be possible up there Advances in technology and communication This is a tremendous challenge for us and especially you young people who will be assuming leadership of our nation. I Don't see how anyone could fail to be supportive of that great achievement the space shuttle, but my opponent led the fight Against it as a horrible waste when he was a senator He was the leader of the fight trying to prevent there from being a shuttle program The truth is if my opponent's campaign were a television show it could be named. Let's make a deal You'd you'd get to trade your prosperity for the surprise behind the curtain If his campaign were a Broadway show it would be promises promises And if his administration were a novel It would only have a happy ending if you read it from the back end first Now I've probably been going on too long here. I was a I was afraid you'd say that But the point is we were right when we made our great turn in 1980. They were right We were right to disenthrall ourselves with the past We were right when we rejected the old days of tax and tax and spend and spend We were right to take command of the ship stop its aimless drift and get moving again And we're not going back to the old leadership and the old ideas that left us in so much trouble They can campaign on any issue they like For us it's enough to say that we're part of a great revolution. It's only just begun And we will never stop. We will never give up never our best days are ahead of us There are new worlds on the horizon We're not going to stop until we all get there together and I want to take up something that Now in a big Jim Thompson said up here just a little while ago Seeing all you young people here in this crowd seeing all of you is wonderful, but to see you young people especially The reason is that you're what this election in this campaign are all about What we're out to do Is to restore something that has been missing for too long in this country when my generation was back where you were We just took it for granted that America was a place where Whatever you wanted to do hard enough and bad enough and whatever you set out to do you could do when there was No limit no penalizing of efficiency or ability in this country This was the land for everyone that could have an equal start, but Not equal to the finish line go wherever you could go Your energy and drive take you and then we went into a period where some people began telling us that there were it was an era of limits That somehow we were never going to be able to go back to living at the same level that we had once before The things had changed Gone down for all of us Well, that just wasn't true and not only me, but the people in those several generations between me and you That are here today We all of us have one dream and one idea and it's for you We're determined that when it comes time for you to take over from us You're going to take over the same kind of an America that we took over from our parents Before us believe me believe me Believe me You you're a one and a jillion generation too. I've seen you from one end of this country to the other God bless all of you Thank you very much