Former Secretary of Labor and GOP presidential hopeful Elizabeth Dole made the following remarks Tuesday to the Republican National Convention.
I, too, wish to address our nation's security tonight.
I speak not of military weapons, but of moral ones, of the
defense of values as well as territory.
Long before there was an American dream, there was a dream of America as liberty's home and refuge.
It was for this that a million heroes fought and bled and died.
Not alone to protect land on a map, much as they might cherish
their home and hearth; nor to encroach on other lands or menace
other peoples, or impose our way of life on anyone -- but merely,
heroically, to ensure freedom's survival in a hostile world.
Let us be clear: the success of freedom can never be measured in
material terms alone. For one day, each of us will be held to
account, not for the money we made, but for the difference we made.
Not for the worldly status we may have enjoyed, but for the
stewardship we provided.
Freedom empowers the heart. It levels walls and shatters
ceilings -- including glass ceilings.
Ladies and gentlemen, in my eight years as President of the American Red Cross, I saw things that will haunt me the rest of my life -- the evil that humans can inflict on one another -- saw it in the dim eyes of starving
children in Somalia and in the paralyzing grief of parents in
Oklahoma City.
But I have also been uplifted by the extraordinary power of the
American heart, by those armies of compassion, who are willing to
cross town or cross the globe to minister to those they've never
met and will never see again.
People who go where government cannot, and others will not, who carry our values of peace and democracy around the world, putting service before self.
Such kindness and generosity are not legislated by any Congress.
They arise from faith, neighborliness, and yes, occasional saintliness.
Indeed, I learned long ago that you don't have to be a missionary to be filled with a sense of mission. The 20th century was America's century -- not because of our power, but because of our purpose.
Today, millions of Americans, of both parties and of no party, are seeking a politics of purpose.
The next president of the United States must defend both
America's interests and America's ideals. No one, no one
understands this better than Governor George W. Bush.
In an era of rampant cynicism and indifference toward
government, he is determined to bring civility to the public square
and restore our pride in our leaders.
Throughout his career, he has appealed to the best in people, bridging our differences rather than exploiting them.
As President, he will put an end to the smash-mouth politics of
recent years and to the name-calling that tarnishes our trust and
alienates so many real people whose real problems can never be
solved in a focus group or soothed by a spin doctor.
George W. Bush will be a different kind of leader, ladies and gentlemen. He will use words to inspire, not inflame. He will move beyond the stale labels
and sterile confrontations that all too often divide the American
family. And, make no mistake, there are divisions in liberty's home.
Tonight, too many of our neighbors are hurting. At a time of
economic prosperity, there are too many American homes without hope, too many street corners where despair reigns, too many
classrooms where children are being left behind.
Like any good conservative, Governor Bush deplores waste -- above
all else, wasted lives. He will repair the frayed strands of
community. And he knows that sometimes the best way to do this is
through nonprofits, businesses, civic and religious groups, schools
and charities.
George W. Bush understands there is power -- and there is a
higher power. He knows there is no strength without integrity; no
security apart from strong character. For these timeless values, ladies and gentlemen, form our first line of defense.
Let this be our mission and our mandate: to defend frontiers of
the heart, armed with faith and steeled by conviction.
Today, America resembles nothing so much as Joseph's
many-colored coat, and in our diversity lies our strength. With
that strength comes a matching responsibility to make wrong into
right, hope into reality. In the old, biblical words, to "let
justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty
stream."
Here, my friends, is the standard we raise. This is the faith of
our fathers and mothers, the American cause we hold sacred, our
politics of purpose.
In the words of that great hymn: America! America! May God thy
gold refine. 'Til all success be nobleness and every gain divine!
May God bless us in this great endeavor and may God bless America.
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