March 10, 1999
Exploratory Committee Announcement Speech
"Hello. Thank you
for tuning in.
I know your life is busy: so many things
you need to do and not enough time for what you want to do, so, thanks for
choosing to spend a few minutes with me. I promise to be brief. But I have
some thoughts I'm eager to share with you about the future of our country.
And I'd like to talk a little about my own sense of obligation as a
citizen of the freest land on earth.
As you know, I have been thinking about
running for President.
Since I left the American Red Cross,
January 15th, I've been traveling around the country, and I've been
humbled by the response. It's been inspiring to appear before overflow
crowds in such places as New Hampshire, Iowa, Colorado, Florida, and
Texas. It's been that way everywhere, but I don't think I'm the cause. I
think the crowds and the enthusiasm are evidence of a great American
yearning to make our nation a better place.
Yes, I've seen many Presidential campaigns
up close. I know what they entail. And I know a run for the Presidency
should be undertaken only if you believe in something so strongly that its
accomplishment makes everything worthwhile.
And if I run, this will be why: I believe
our people are looking for leaders who will call America to her better
nature. Yes, we've been let down -- and by people we should have been able
to look up to. But it's not just that. Politics and the politics of
governing have become so negative, so paralyzed by special interests, that
as a people we're beginning to lose faith in our own institutions. It's
only a short step to losing faith in ourselves, and then we would be lost.
When I entered public service as a young
woman, it was considered a noble thing to do. Today, too many of our young
men and women can't see the wondrous possibilities of public life for the
ugliness of politics. And they turn away from public service.
We must rekindle a spirit in our hearts --
something very American, something still alive but buried beneath a
thickening layer of skepticism and doubt. We must renew faith in the
goodness of our nation, and a sense in ourselves that each one of us can
make a difference -- no matter how large the challenge. For both are true.
Restoring a national belief in the power of
the individual and the need for acceptance of personal responsibility is,
I believe, at the center of our challenge today as a nation.
Now, what would I as a woman offer our
country? I'm not a politician, and frankly, I think that's a plus today.
. But I have spent a lifetime in public service, and let me tell you a
bit about that.
First of all, I have had the opportunity to
serve five presidents, served as a federal trade commissioner, and of
course I've just recently been serving as president of the American Red
Cross, which is a $2.2 billion corporation.
Now at the Department of Transportation, my
mission was really to oversee the management of material resources. At
the Labor Department, it was human resources, and at the Red Cross, inner
resources. So let me describe that for a moment.
First of all, at the Department of
Transportation, we were responsible for highway construction,
shipbuilding, air traffic control, and indeed we had the flagship of
privatization and that was the sale of Conrail, our government freight
railroad. Now in order to do that, you had to be an anti-trust lawyer, a
rail expert and an investment banker. I learned a lot in selling that
railroad. That's experience, that's experience and that's what counts,
you know. You've got to have the experience in governing, and indeed I've
had a lot of that.
So we sold the freight railroad; we got $2
billion to help reduce the deficit. We also sold the Alaska railroad. We
also transferred two airports out of the federal government where they
were on the dole, excuse me for the pun. they were on the federal dole
and getting only a few million dollars, and they happened to be gateways
to the nation's capital, Dulles and National, which should be first class
facilities. And if you fly into National Airport, I hope you'll enjoy
that new airport. There have been eight efforts to do this since 1949.
We were able to get it done. Why? Because
I had a team of people, who were the best and the brightest, and I believe
that's what you need in every job that you're in. You get the best people
working with you. Volunteers, staff, people who really understand how to
get the job done. You find those areas that really need to be fixed. I'm
not a seat warmer, you know. I want to get in there and make a
difference, a positive difference for people. So you find the areas where
you can you really make a difference and you go for it. So we got those
airports transferred out of the government and they were able to get the
revenue bonds as a regional authority to build magnificent airports, and
that's what you'll see when you fly into Washington..
We also took safety on as a major
initiative, because what could be more important if you want to make a
difference than the safety of the airways, the railways, the waterways,
the highways. And we had to date at that time the safest in all those
modes of transportation. We did things like overhauling the inspection
system on the airlines. Why? Because we'd been through deregulation of
the airlines, and they were still using the same inspector's handbook for
28 years. So it was time to refurbish the inspection system for the
airlines. We also put those lights in, you know when you get on airplanes
you see the low level lights, you recognize that, the smoke detectors in
the lavatories, the less flammable seat covering, all of that to try and
make cabin safety better.
And we were the first civilian department
to undergo random drug testing, which was not exactly popular at the
time. But you have to take the risks, you have to do those important
things to make that difference. . Okay.
Now, Department of Labor. Okay, here we're
dealing with human resources. What could be more important than trying to
turn young lives around from the most negative behavior, gang leaders, et
cetera, to help them to prepare for a good job, and many of them for
college. That became our top priority. And that was a wonderful mission
field again for me.
We also wanted to try to make a difference
in a very, very bitter eleven-month coal strike. Families were torn
apart; communities were torn apart. I went down to the coal fields; I
couldn't believe what a really incredible situation for so many months
existed. So I called in the president of the Pittston coal company and
the president of the United Mine Workers, who I don't think were speaking
to each other at the time. And we had some talks and we worked together
to appoint a super-mediator who would help us to resolve this strike. It
took a long time, right through the holiday season, but on New Year's Eve
we were successful in settling that coal strike. Again, that's
experience, that's hands on experience that I think makes the difference.
And there were many other issues at the Department of Labor, but let me
move quickly to the Red Cross.
Because here I was trying to inspire people
to give of themselves as volunteers, to give of their financial resources
and to give of their blood, because the Red Cross provides half of
America's blood supply. So, inner resources, right? And I'll give you
one example, maybe two, of many.
One would be that we laid out a new
state-of-the-art system for delivering disaster relief. And I think you
know how important, with the Midwest floods I was here many times back at
that time. You have got to have material out in the field ready to be
utilized. We trained 21,000 people for the catastrophic events, so that
they'd be ready in a moment's notice to go out, and it never shuts down,
it's going 24 hours a day, seven days a week, monitoring disasters,
current threats, impending threats, and helping to move our people move
our equipment wherever needed. You notice I still speak in the present
tense about the Red Cross; I guess it'll always be a part of me and very
much in my heart.
Then I want to share with you blood
transformation. This was the most wrenching cultural change I have ever
been involved with, but I think it was crucial for America, because it
involved one half of America's blood supply. At the time that I arrived
at the Red Cross, we had 53 testing labs for infectious disease that were
non-standardized across the country. We had 28 computer systems trying to
interface all of that and we needed a quality assurance program that would
really tie our organization together and meet FDA standards.
So what we did was invest a great deal of
money in this state-of-the-art system that's now the best in the world.
We built eight brand-new, best-in-the-world testing labs, absolutely
standardized. We have one computer system now that gives us the largest
blood information database in the world for transfusion medicine research
and a quality assurance program that is second to none. Training that's
centralized instead of each region doing it a different way. Why is this
so important? Because it does set the standard, the gold standard now,
for our blood supply. And it gives us a humanitarian gift to share with
other countries that have problems with their blood. And that's a
wonderful result of this, because we do have others that need that help,
and I hope that Red Cross will continue down that path of providing
assistance.
So why do I say this? There is one
overarching theme, to my 30 plus years in public service, and I believe
there; it's that I placed service over politics, consensus over
confrontation. And I think it's important that you know that. Now I was
very pleased to be a lieutenant in Ronald Reagan's army. I served in his
cabinet. I served as assistant to President Reagan at the White House and
also as his secretary of transportation. And I'm sure many of you will
remember that famous comment of his, are you better off than were you four
years ago.
I would suggest that perhaps the relevant
question now is, are you better? Are your families stronger? Are your
children safe from drugs? Are our schools in America first in
excellence? Are you proud of the decisions you're making and the choices
that those decisions are producing in terms of our country and where our
country is going?
I want to talk a bit about drugs and about
education, but first let me say, for all us taxpayers in this room, can
you believe that taxes are the highest percentage of the grows domestic
product in this country in 50 years, the highest, so an average family is
paying 40 percent of their income in taxes today. In other words, an
average family has got to work five months for the government. Five
months to pay the local, state and federal taxes. I think something is
wrong, don't you? It's time for tax relief. Yes.
And at the same time, the amount that is
being spent on defense, the percent of our gross domestic product on
defense is the lowest in 50 years. We know there are problems with
regards to the readiness of our military, spare parts are needed,
equipment that needs to be to be replaced and talented people in the
military are leaving and I think our defense budget is too low. Yes.
Let's get it up. The president recommended in his budget $12 billion, but
only $4 billion of that is new money. The rest, the 8 billion is moving
money around the the Joint Chiefs, top military advisors recommended 17
billion. I say let's go with the Joint Chiefs, right? Need more money.
And, you know, at a time when the Secretary of Defense is saying that
north can Korea within a year may have nuclear bombs that could reach the
United States and we know Iraq is manufacturing biological weapons, we
need to do everything to develop and deploy a strategic missile defense
system immediately. Immediately. This is important.
Now, let me talk about drugs. You have a
real problem here in Iowa with methamphetamine. In fact you've been
labeled as a high intensity drug area. This is a very serious problem,
very toxic drug.
I'm told by pollsters that drugs is not
very high on the priority list for Americans today. My passion does not
come from polling. My passion comes from yes, leadership. We need
leadership. Let's move it up on the priority list. Let's get every
American concerned about this cancer on our society. This is a terrible
problem not just here in Iowa but all across our country. And first of
all, you must use the bully pulpit to preach constantly that drugs are not
cool, they kill. They kill. .
And I think the federal government needs to
provide more funding for anti-drug coalitions like Senator Grassley's
project, F.I.T., which is Face It Together, and what is he trying to do,
and I believe strongly in this, is to bring together parents, policemen,
pastors, community leaders. Let's make this a crusade. Remember Nancy
Reagan's Just Say No? She made a huge difference with that program. But
drug use among our teenagers has gone up, a tripling in marijuana and
cocaine use in recent years. And so if we join together in a crusade to
get rid of this evil on our society. My vision is a drug-free America.
Let's get after it, let's go for it.
Now education. I think that is at the top
of most people's lists today. Certainly it is for me. We must return our
public schools to greatness, return our public schools to greatness. And
you do have a wonderful system here in Iowa; I wish every state had the
quality of public school system that you have here. Also your community
colleges are tremendous, and this can be a big help in providing skills
for people who need to change and move into new jobs. The community
colleges are so important. But I believe that, first of all, we really
must get parents back into the classroom. Let's have a computer in every
classroom, let's have parents in every classroom, right, and discipline. .
I think my interest in education--and I do
have a masters degree, I've taught in this subject--but my interest became
a passion at the Department of Labor. And the reason is that many of the
businessmen and women I talked to said, you know the young people coming
out of high school don't have the skills that we need for the jobs that we
have available, it's like this, and we've got to do something about this.
They are not prepared with the right skills. And so we initiated the
number of ideas which we hoped could really help to get those young people
trained for the jobs that are available today. And it became a real
passion with me.
And I have great respect for our teachers.
I think that most of our teachers are great servants of the public. But
we know that some are not up to standard, that they're teaching a course
that they really are not properly qualified to teach, like a foreign
language when they don't know how to speak the language.
So, recently, I spoke to the university and
college presidents, and I said, you know something, I said, you really
have the lion's share of the responsibility here. You should make your
schools of education a more central part of your university and your
college. You need to have more rigorous training for your teachers,
rigorous certification and then of course a more prestigious degree. So I
think that's important.
I think that much more of our federal
money, your tax money, should go to the local school districts, because
yes one size doesn't fit all. In one school district it may be you need
new classrooms or a building to be repaired that's falling down or the
computers in the classroom or it may be more teachers, maybe smaller
classes. Let's give the money to the school districts--let them decide
what is important.
And as we raise regard for teachers, let's
hope that we raise the regard for public servants. Because I think
whether you're in the classroom or in government or whether you're working
at the local Red Cross, public service brings out the best in ourselves ;
it brings out the best.
And let me in closing just illustrate why I
think Americans are calling for leaders who really will help to call
America to her better nature. At the American Red Cross, I saw things
that'll haunt me the rest of my life. Praying with parents at Oklahoma
City, hoping their child would still be pulled alive from that rubble.
Over in Rwanda, Zaire, which is now Congo, I was stepping over dead
bodies after that rush of people, million people, left the country self
years ago. And this was a terrible situation where little children were
held by the Red Cross there, we were trying to find some extended family.
They had nothing. Their parents had been hacked to death with machetes.
They had no home, no parents, no food, no clothes, no hope, no future,
nothing but the humanitarian organizations to help them.
And you realize as you look at that how
often we take all these advantages in our country for granted, how blessed
we are to be Americans, ladies and gentlemen, how blessed we are. . And
we've been blessed to be a blessing, haven't we? We've received that we
might give.
And as I saw these things that would haunt
me the rest of my life, I also saw the power of the human heart. People
who would travel halfway around the globe or maybe all the way around the
globe to help people that they've never seen and will never see again.
Wonderful volunteers like licensed mental health workers, psychiatrists,
psychologists, who come and take Red Cross courses for disaster relief and
help the victims of plane crashes and earthquakes in Oklahoma City.
So I would just say this is what we yearn
for. These are the values, it is respect for our fellow man, isn't it,
civility, personal responsibility, the fact that the individual can make a
difference, every individual can. And certainly honesty and integrity,
this is what I think people yearn for today. And we're a great country,
yes. . Yes, that's neighbor helping neighbor, isn't it? That's what it
is all about.
And so let me thank you again, this
wonderful band and the great music you provided, all the people willing to
come out and be with us today to really help me launch this exploratory
committee. I hope this has given you an idea why I would run if I
ultimately throw my hat in the ring, also what qualifications I can bring
to this awesome position and some of the issues that I would be concerned
about. And there are many more. But let me tell you when you just left
the Red Cross five and a half weeks ago, you want to talk to a lot of
people, get really good ideas. This is a people to people effort on my
part. I want to hear from you, I want to listen. And then we're going to
be laying out positions on all of these issues. But we want to do it in a
thoughtful way, right?
So I look forward to being in touch with
all of you. Don't forget now that website because I want to hear from
you. And many, many thanks, heartfelt thanks, for being with me today.
God bless you and God bless America. Thank you very much.
Source: Elizabeth Dole for President
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