 You must have expected at least an admiral. Well, thank you very much. It's wonderful having all of you with us, and I have a question. If your staff is here, and our staff is here, who's up on the Hill watching Tip O'Neill and Teddy Kennedy steps? If they think you've gone fishing, no telling what kind of trouble they'll get us into. To borrow a line that was probably some years ago in every murder mystery that ever took place, I know you're wondering why we asked you here. Well, that's easy to express our heartfelt thanks for all your cooperation and support, and to make sure that you know how much we'll be counting on you during the 98th Congress. We're hearing a lot of noise born on waves of hot air, that what we're doing for America is wrong and must be changed. Well, let's set something straight. Creating opportunity, permitting people to keep more of what they earn, placing limits on the size and power of government, making the United States a more reliable defender of independence, democracy, and human rights around the world, and through it all, trusting in the God that has blessed this land so much, these are not some strange new collection of ideas. They're heart and soul of America, a powerful force for good, and we will not betray them. I'm convinced that 1983 is going to be a year of new growth, jobs, and opportunities for the American people. We've made dramatic progress against the record inflation and interest rates that we inherited. We've reduced tax rates for every American. The first decent tax break they've had in nearly 20 years, and their tax rates will be indexed in the future to prevent inflation from robbing them when they get a cost of living pay raise. I'm proud of our tax cut and the people need it, and no one has a right to take it away from them, and no one will. Now, sure, we face a large projected deficit, and we're working to reduce it. But let's always remember the American people are shouldering the highest tax burden in peacetime history. We don't face these large deficits because our people aren't taxed enough. We face the deficits because the government still spends too much, and this is a time to believe in ourselves and a time to be optimistic about our country. Now, I know I'm accused of being on that optimism thing, the kind of fellow that if he's got a flat tire says, yeah, but it's only flat on the bottom. I have another story that's even more unkind about me and my optimism as a kind of a comparison. And don't tell me that you've heard it before because I like to tell it. It happens to be about the man who had two sons, two little boys, and you've heard it. I hope you all haven't. Both of them, well, one was a pessimist beyond reason. The other one was an optimist beyond all recall. And he finally got so disturbed about this, he took up the problem with a child psychiatrist who said he thought he had an answer for it. And he said, what is it? Well, he said, we'll fill a room with the most wonderful toys any boy ever saw. And we'll put the boy who's a pessimist in there. And when he realizes those toys are for him, he'll be, he'll stop being a pessimist. Well, he says, what are you going to do for the optimist? Well, he said, I have a friend who has a racing stable. And he said, they clean the stalls every day. And I can get a certain amount of substance. He said, we'll take another room. We'll fill that room with that. He will have seen his brother get all those toys. And then when we shove him in there, and he finds what he's got, he'll get over being an optimist. So they did it. And waited a few minutes and then went in with the toys. And he was sitting there crying as if his heart would break. And he said, what's the matter? He said, I know somebody's going to come in and take these toys away from me. So they went down all to the other room and they opened the door. And there was the kid on the pile of stuff, throwing it over his shoulders as fast as he could. And he said, what do you do? And he said, with all of this, there's got to be a pony in here. Well, I just happened to think there is a pony. He may not be quite here yet, but he's just down the road a ways. We mustn't allow anyone to destroy the good that's been accomplished, just as the skies are beginning to clear. We're seeing the beginning of a solid recovery in housing. 66% increase in new housing starts over last year. There's new strength in the automobile market and the surge in personal savings and equity investment. We're witnessing a new wave of American technological leadership in computers that's revolutionizing the entire concept of communications. The other day, I met with one of the people involved in that. And I cannot imagine this, but he showed me some of what they're doing and spoke of a satellite that would be able to reproduce the entire Encyclopedia Britannica in three seconds. And that's beyond my imagination, but not theirs. And they're going to do it. Our great challenge is to make the future work for us. We can create an agenda of growth that looks to the future rather than the past. An agenda that provides incentives and trains today's workers for tomorrow's world. And we can pursue an agenda for peace in which American strength and determination lead not just to arms limitation, but to actual arms reduction. I'm confident if we all do our best today and in the months ahead, we can finish the job that we've begun. So don't let the pessimists get you down. Let them cry. We're going to take their toys away from them. Big expensive toys here in Washington they've been playing with for the last 40 years or so. Americans are becoming more confident about the future again. And they're doing it with good reason because all the indicators point to recovery. Together we can make today's government a today's and today's America a model for generations to come. That is our trust and that's why we're here. And that's why I want to thank each one of you today in the bottom of my heart for all that you've done and all you're doing to make America great again. I'm counting on you, but what's more important, the American people are counting on you. Indeed, all the eyes of mankind are on us for we are the hope of the world. So God bless you and thank you all. And I've said enough and I'll get off of here.