Raw Footage of Sen. Bob Smith Announcing His Presidential Candidacy in Wolfeboro (New Hampshire)

Thank you very much. And. Let me just raise this up a little bit. Kevin Miller let me thank you for emceeing today. Kevin came all the way up here from Alabama to be with us today and I'm very grateful to you. And thank you Kevin you're doing a great job. Andrea. Tell Kelly. Were to go to Andrea until I go right in front of Andrea and Kelly. Thank you for inviting me here. I did make a promise to you and it will be the first of all of the promises that I make that I will keep if I'm the next president of the United States. And. Rose I don't know where you are but what a beautiful rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner. My goodness. So proud to have you. Of course. And of course Father Ed who is such a dear friend. I don't know where he sneaked off to somewhere but a good family friend a spiritual adviser and the one who married my daughter Jenny and her

husband Eric so it was very special to have him to have him here. And let me thank my family first of all Jason Jason My son Jason and my son Bobby. My. Daughter Jenny. Good looking guy. She married Eric Blanchard. You know when you're like a guy your daughter marries you're in good shape you know. And Mary Jo my wife thought I don't know how I would do it. I can do without him. Politics is a tough business. It gets nasty and it gets ugly and the people that have to endure the worst of it are the family you know and all the years when the negative stuff was written. We used to have to hide the clips from the from the children and the. And the wife and now they're ready to give it back to them. So they're old enough now to give it back. So I'm proud so much to have them here.

I couldn't do it if it weren't for them. I promise you that this is an emotional day for me. I taught here I coached here I ran a small business here and I'm always going to cherish the memories of kings would Regional High School. And I'm so grateful that filled Michelle and Bob March and did take a chance on me. I remember standing right here. Well actually just a few feet away out in the cafeteria 19 years ago standing next to another presidential candidate who was seeking the Republican nomination for president. He asked for the support of people of Wolfeboro and he asked for the support of the people in New Hampshire. His name was Ronald Reagan and he did pretty well for himself. I say let's make it two for two. I think a fair question is. A fair question. What kind of a president would Bob Smith be in order to know that. I think you have to know who I am. Some of the folks here who spoke made some points about that. I don't have a big family name or a trust fund. I was raised on a small

farm by a single mom and two grandparents who loved me. My beliefs came not through political calculation or polling or focus groups or consultants or the talking heads in Washington or they were ingrained in my spirit through my life's experiences. Today I want to share with you how those experiences in my life have molded my conservative philosophy and how I would like to use those experiences and that philosophy to lead this nation into the 21st century. As president of the United States the great conservative New Hampshire governor Meldrum Thompson better known as Kelly's granddad. Kelly Thompson's Granddad told me once You either stand for something or you stand for nothing. I've never wavered and that's why I haven't I'm in politics to make a difference for you not to make a career for me. I'm not a leap you're conservative. Jumping out of the grass every four years and saying Here I am. I want to be president. I'm conservative. Look at me. I've been fighting day after day for the past 15 years

and the United States House and the Senate for the conservative values that I believe best to espouse and represent New Hampshire. I might be a new face in this presidential campaign but I'm an old warrior. And before we can find out where we want to go as a nation we need to know where we came from. The Pilgrims came here on the Mayflower on a divine mission. I believe they had a rough voyage but they knew where they wanted to go and they knew what they wanted to do when they got here. And they founded a new nation. Three centuries later came another ship called the Titanic was unsinkable. Remember you all saw the movie. They cruised in luxury. They ignored their navigational charts and their compass and the unsinkable ship went straight down to the bottom of the cold icy Atlantic. I want the American ship of state to be the Mayflower not the Titanic. And I'm asking all of you today all across America to join me to chart the right course for America America and to sail safely into the 21st

century and to keep America strong and free for millions yet unborn because I believe that is our destiny. We have the choice. We have the. Ladies and gentlemen we have them for us. All we have to do is follow them. The Constitution the Declaration of Independence and yes the Bible some people don't like to say that but our nation was founded on biblical principles. We need a captain and a crew who will follow those charts and steer us past the sea of icebergs that threaten our God given rights. It's not going to be an easy task. Jefferson wrote about those rights in the Declaration of Independence and interestingly he only mentioned three. The right to life the right to liberty and the right to the pursuit of happiness. Like Jefferson I want to start with the right to life. I lost my father as Capt. McDaniel said and the young ladies said two days before my fourth birthday March 28

1945 I lost a lifetime of experiences that I would have had with him that I never had the chance to do. No dad there to watch me play baseball. No dad there for graduation. No dad there to seek the advice and the counsel that only a father can give. But this experience taught me something. It inspired me to be. I hope a good father to my children you can ask them about that because I know the pain of not having a father there for me. And I tried to compensate for that with them. Secondly it has taught me that life is the most precious gift that God gives any of us. You cannot have liberty you cannot pursue happiness if you are denied the right to be born since 1973. Thirty five million children have been denied that right since the Roe versus Wade abortion decision. The Supreme Court.

In all due respect to those who disagree with me on this issue and I respect your right to do that this is immoral it's unconscionable. It is below the dignity of a great nation. To do that. Did you ever stop to think how many of those 35 million children might have been a doctor saving lives. Perhaps a military officer perhaps a scientist who came up with a cure for cancer or heart disease. They never had a chance to live their dreams. What a loss for America. My life's goal was to protect all children. Born and unborn. And as president I will nominate and you need to know this. Only pro-life justices to the Supreme Court within the first few days of my administration. I will sending a bill. To Congress. Defining life as beginning at fertilization. In the 1860s in the 1860s Abraham Lincoln ended the

moral outrage of slavery because he knew it was wrong. He didn't take a poll to figure it out. He knew slavery was wrong and he ended it. Abortion is the moral outrage of the 20th century and I'm going to end it too because it is wrong. I don't want to get in your face on abortion. If you're looking for confrontation you won't get it. I want to get in your heart. Another issue that's very dear to my heart as the U.S. military as you can see from the president today when you go home tonight and put your head down on the pillow you're going to sleep very soundly with the knowledge that the United States of America is free and secure. That is one of our richest blessings but that freedom that security is not without cost. Mary Jo and I went to visit the 50th anniversary of Normandy in 1994 94. Yes 1994. On the as we were walking down the rows of crosses. It was a very emotional time. Mary Jo's dad served in the second world war as did mine. Mary Jo just happened to look at one of those crosses it was

very strange it was not we weren't looking for this and there on the cross it's very hard to even talk about it was a young man who I believe at the age of 19 who died at Normandy on May 29 1944 the same day of my wife's birthday. It was a brawl. It was it was a vivid reminder that we should thank our veterans every single minute of every single day for the sacrifice that they have made for us and always strive to remain worthy of that sacrifice. That soldier died. That soldier died so that Mary Jo could be born free on the very day of our birthday if you need a little reinforcement on this go see the movie Private Ryan heroes. Role models America's

best my comrades here today. And certainly Captain McDonogh Daniel specifically soldiers sailors airmen Marines and veterans all across America all across America. I salute you as a little boy. As a little boy. I remember a handsome young naval officer in full uniform hugging a beautiful young woman in the doorway of our home. That handsome officer was my dad. And that beautiful woman was my mom. My dad left that day and never came back. He was a naval aviator who flew combat missions throughout the second world war and lost his life in the military aircraft. At the end of that war he was my hero. It is through my Mom and Dad's example that I gained my respect for what these men and women have done for us throughout the years. And they're both buried at Arlington National Cemetery and I'm proud of it. That is why my brother

Richard and I when we were called were proud to serve our country in the Vietnam War. I wish we could have brought red home a little sooner but. We got him home. Many of you upon graduation youngsters you may join the service you will then become a link in a long chain a long long chain of patriots who have kept America free and secure. Today our military is ready. But I want to issue a warning. One of the reasons I'm running danger is on the horizon. Our nation is completely vulnerable today to a nuclear biological or chemical missile attack from rogue nations such as North Korea Iran and Libya. Terrorists are poised to strike around the world. And America herself might be a target. The suffocating cloak of the Cold War has been lifted but the embers of old passions have drawn a fresh breath. There's ethnic cultural and religious hatred all around the world. In Bosnia Kosovo and the Middle East. And the

administration this administration has placed our soldiers right smack in the middle of that chaos with no exit strategy in sight. They serve magnificently but the president has asked them to do more with less. And the foundation of our military readiness is crumbling. By 2002 the Air Force will be 2000 pilots short of their requirement. The Army and Navy combined are 30000 below recruitment levels. Our Marine Corps is flying aircraft that saw action in Vietnam and should have been replaced years ago. Throughout the armed forces they can't even get enough spare parts to fix their equipment. We need a strong forceful commander in chief with the background the credibility and the knowledge and the passion to lead and inspire our troops and someone who cares about them and appreciates their sacrifices. And I'm prepared to meet that challenge if I'm president of the United States. I will before.

I will develop and deploy as soon as technologically feasible a national missile defense system and defense system to protect our troops in the field. I'll never send your sons or daughters in a military action and leches by a U.S. commander I'll immediately raise military pay restore military retirement health care benefits which have been cut so drastically over the years and commitments to our veterans will be honored and there'll be no military personnel on food stamps ever again in a smith administration. Let me say this. Our nation's w. And Captain McDaniel is the epitome of this our nation's Pue. His name is sacrificed their own freedom to protect ours. Their ultimate fate is still unknown. I've traveled to every corner of the world on behalf of my a family secret searching for answers trying to end their uncertainty. I've had to bang on the doors of our own government to open up intelligence files never again will these families have to beg our government and foreign governments for answers about their loved ones. Never again. Cathy McDaniel.

Could be certain that the sacrifices that we have made that these men and women have made for you and they say to the young people of America you must participate in the Democrat Democratic process. You must be good citizens good parents good community leaders. When I was a teacher I used to tell my students that they had no more important civic responsibility than to pass America on to the future. Strong and Free. It's a debt that we owe our founders Christa McAuliffe one of New Hampshire's finest teachers once said I touch the future I teach. And let me say to the young people of America you are the future. So learn accept personal responsibility and accountability for your actions. Be a good citizen. You are America's posterity. There is no public policy issue around today where my personal life experiences have had a more profound impact on my views than the issue of education as a teacher. School board

member and parent I learned firsthand that it's not the bureaucrats and the Washington to lead us in the Department of Education to teach our students it's the teachers the local school boards and the administrators and the parents. And that's what it'll be in a smith administration. Washington is a Washington tends to be a city of takers. They take away your decision making power over your children's education and then they are able to do it because they take so much of your money. Let's take more money back from Washington there's a funny story about my son Bobby who here today when he was working when he first worked he got his first check and he came home and he saw that all this money had been taken out of what he thought he had earned and he said Dad what's FICA. And I said Son we need to talk and Americans pay too much in taxes they spend countless hours every year agonizing over these complicated tax forms. I'd throw out the tax code and I'd start over I would eliminate the marriage penalty and the

inheritance tax. I would offer an across the board 10 percent tax cut for every American cut the capital gains tax double the personal exemption and fire any IRS agent in America who harasses. An American citizen. On the issue of taking. Washington D.C.. In this taking attitude that they have or are obsessed with taking away the right to keep and bear arms from innocent gun owners to friends of ours. Carlos and Maria Fiol escaped from Castro's Cuba and one of the first things they told me was the first thing that Castro did was to take our guns to be sure that we couldn't resist him when he made us defenseless against tyranny. I've always marveled at the brilliance and the foresight of the founders. Those of you that teach the Constitution and those of you that study it know that it seems as if the constitution prepared us for every challenge and they were right when they wrote the Second Amendment and I'm proud. For the last 15 years to lead the battle on behalf of the of the Second Amendment. And I will repeal any infringements on our 2nd

Amendment liberties as president George Washington George Washington said that the foundation of our national policy will be laid in the pure and immutable principle of private morality. It's been said that character is doing what's right when nobody's looking. I want to make a comment on this point about the impeachment trial and the only comment I'm going to make. I took an oath as an impartial juror to judge the president of the United States on the evidence and the facts as impartial as I could be and I kept the oath. I didn't go on national television. I turned down Larry King. I turned down the networks. I didn't talk about it. But the trial is over and I want to make a couple of comments that I've not yet had the opportunity to make. I voted to remove the president in states from office. And in spite of my vote the president was not removed but I believe that perjury and obstruction of justice

is wrong. And I think the president's acquittal is a sad commentary on the prevailing values in America today. And I'm going to try to do something about it. It's not whether I forgive President Clinton that's not for me to do. That's up to the Lord. But it's accountability for your behavior. A CEO would be accountable for such behavior. So what a student. So would a teacher show what anyone else in America and there should not be a higher standard for the president than there is for everybody else in America. I taught history in civics and this is not this is not what I taught my kids in those classes. What's happening what's happening to America we need to look in inward and think about it in the movie Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Senator Jefferson Smith played by Jimmy Stewart came to Washington as a good decent man. He believed that America was a great country and it is and he believed that the people were good and they are. And he went down there and found some bad things and he worked to correct them. And as chairman of the Senate

Ethics Committee I agree we need. Yes. My fellow Americans character does matter. We can restore America to the shining city on the Hill that President Reagan spoke so eloquently of a nation with respect for the Constitution the Declaration of Independence the Bible respect for freedom respect for life respect for the sacrifices of our military respect for our families respect for each other for our views and respect for the truth it's not going to be easy. Ferdinand Magellan said in 15 20 when he started off on his voyage the sea is dangerous and its storms are terrible but these obstacles have never been sufficient reason to remain ashore. Unlike the mediocre intrepid spirits seek victory over those things that they see that seem impossible each with an iron will that they embark on the most daring of all adventures to meet the shadowy future without fear and conquer the unknown.

Don't be mediocre. Be it intrepid spirit and your life. And don't be discouraged by the naysayers the pollsters and the pundits and the experts said that a vote for Jesse Ventura was a wasted vote. He's now the governor of Minnesota. Let me just say to every single American. I don't care who you vote for if you vote for somebody you believe in your vote is never wasted. And don't let anybody ever tell you it is. And. When you get down. And when you get down and you're out and you feel I can't get up this morning and deal with another crisis in my life. Think about George Washington at Valley Forge kneeling in that snow with general howl and the British troops sitting in warm Philadelphia while they froze to death. What do you think kept them together. It was that spirit that belief in a cause that passion for the United States of America we don't have anything to complain about. Think of what they did for us. That's what's important today. We make heroes out of the deal

makers and vilify the principle than the courageous of you take a view you're criticized for it. You've got to be you've got to be in the middle somewhere trying to finesse something. Those men were not. Dealmakers who won the Revolutionary War for us. They were men and women of courage and character and they weren't indecisive and Alice in Wonderland Alice skips down the road and she comes to a fork in the road and the Cheshire cat is sitting in the tree. Which way should I go said Alice. That depends on where you want to go said the Cheshire cat. Well I'm not sure said Alice. I just want to go someplace. And then the Cheshire Cat said then it doesn't matter which way you go because you're bound to get someplace if you only walk long enough. See today politicians take a poll to find out where they ought to go. Can you imagine Patrick Henry standing up before the idjit Virginia assembly and 1773 and he's just about to give his famous. Give me liberty or give me death speech. And he stands up and he starts and he turns to an aide he said I'm not

sure if they want liberty or death. We'd better take a poll on this. You've heard of the you've heard the term country club club Republican. Well I'm a country music Republican and one of my favorite all time singers is Merle Haggard and a line in his speech and his song is are we rolling downhill. Like a snowball headed for hell. With no kind of chance for the flag. Or the Liberty Bell. I don't think so. Ladies and gentlemen because I have faith in you and I don't believe we're headed anywhere downhill anywhere I'm come to the conclusion though that we're not going to save our country with dealmakers. We're going to save our country with people with commitment and passion and patriotism who believe in this country and we'll make it work. It's not going to be a campaign for the faint of heart that Senate chaplain wants to at one time told me our time in history is God's gift to us. But what we do with it is our gift to him.

We need to climb up on the deck of the American ship of state. All of us take a deep breath. Clean yourself. Take a deep breath get that fresh air get some wind in your sails get a firm hand on the ship's wheel and navigate the ship of state past those icebergs that we spoke of into the 21st century. A century of freedom morality respect for the Constitution and respect for the sacrifices that the founders and our military have made for us. Political leadership ladies and gentlemen is not about who gives the best speech. It's not about who has the most money. It's not about who the media thinks is the frontrunner and it's not about political resumes it's about character integrity commitment principle it's about bold courageous passionate leadership. Finally it's about each one of us joining together to rediscover our compass our navigational charts for America. There's nothing wrong with the charts. We have a leader now and then who goes off. Who strays. We need to come back. Nothing wrong with a chart comeback. Each

of us can make a difference in his own way. But don't be frustrated about how big the problem is in Canfield and Hansen's book Chicken Soup for the soul. They tell a story about two friends who are walking along the beach and on the beach are thousands and thousands of starfish all lying there and the friend begins to pick up a starfish and will use a little example here and throws the starfish into the water. And he did this over and over and over again. Finally his friend was puzzled because he said he said to his friend he said Do you realize how many starfish are on this beach there are tens of thousands or miles of beaches and you're picking up one starfish here and one starfish here. Do you really think you can make a difference. And he reached down and he picked up one more

starfish and he threw it into the water. And he said it made a difference to that one. Ladies and gentlemen. Ladies and gentlemen if we're going to change this great country and it is the greatest country on earth we're going to do it one starfish at a time. We need a leader who will make a difference. And it is without hesitation and with a deep respect. For the promise of America that I declare my candidacy today for the presidency of the United States of America. Thank you and God bless. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Andrea Kelly. I have a little something for you to remember your day today. Joe