On monday, President Trump will give a speech on the u. S. Economy. Live coverage begins at 3 00 eastern on cspan. An effort to rescue american hostages in iran failed. Cubans emigrated to the u. S. The Winter Olympics were held in lake placid, new york. Mount saint helens erupted. This was the backdrop for the speeches made by president ial nominees Ronald Reagan and jimmy carter. By the time Ronald Reagan ran for president , he had served two terms as governor of california. He had an early career in entertainment and became president of the screen actors. Ronald reagan ended his nomination acceptance speech at the Republican National convention in detroit with a moment of silent prayer. Thank you very much thank you very much. Thank you. You are singing our song. [applause] for the first [indiscernible] the firstd myself for time in a long time in a movie on primetime. [laughter] you can imagine, is the second big thrill. Mr. Chairman, mr. Vice president to be, this convention, my fellow citizens of this great nation, with a deep awareness of the responsibility conferred by your trust, i accept your nomination for the presidency of the United States. [applause] i do so with a deep sense of gratitude. Our thanks to the people of detroit and michigan. [applause] and i thank you for your wholehearted response to my recommendations with regard to george bush, the candidate for Vice President. [applause] i am very proud of our party tonight. This convention has shown to all america a party united with positive programs for solving the nations problems. A party ready to build a new consensus with all of those across the land who share a community of values embodied in these words, family, work, neighborhood, peace, and freedom. [applause] i know we have had a quarrel or two, but only to the method of attaining a goal. There was no argument here about the goal. As president , i will establish and liaison with 50 governors to encourage them to eliminate wherever it exists discrimination against women. [applause] i will monitor federal laws to ensure their implementation and to add statutes if needed. More than anything else, i want my candidacy to unify the country, renew the american spirit and sense of privilege. Sense of purpose. I want to carry our message to every american regardless of party affiliation. Never before in our history have americans been called upon to face 3 grave threats to our existence. Any one of which could destroy us. We face a disintegrating economy, a weakened defense, and an Energy Policy based on the sharing of scarcity. The major issue of this campaign is a direct political, personal and moral responsibility of Democratic Party leadership in the white house and in the congress for this unprecedented calamity which has befallen us. [applause] they tell us they have done the most that could humanly be done. They say the United States has had its day in the sun, but our that our nations past it its zenith. They expect you to tell your children that the American People no longer have the will to cope with their problems, the future will be one of sacrifice and few opportunities. My fellow citizens, i utterly reject that view. [applause] the American People, the most generous on earth, who created the highest standard of living, are not going to accept the notion that we can only make a better world for others by moving backward ourselves. And those who believe we can have no business leading this nation. [applause] [air horns] i will not stand by and watch this great country destroy itself under mediocre leadership that drifts from one crisis to the next, eroding our national will and purpose. We have come together here because the American People deserve better from those to whom they entrust our nations highest offices. We stand united. [applause] we stand united in our resolve to do something about it. We need a rebirth of the american tradition of leadership at every level of government, and in private life as well. The United States of america is unique in World History because it has a genius for leaders. Many leaders on many levels. But back in 1976, mr. Carter said trust me. And a lot of people did. Now, many of those people are out of work. Many have seen their savings eaten away by inflation, many others on fixed incomes, especially the elderly, have watched helplessly as the tax of inflation wated a wasted away their purchasing power. Today, a great many who trusted mr. Carter wonder if we can survive the carter policies of national defense. Trust me Government Asks we concentrate our hopes and dreams on one man. That we trust him to do what is best for us. My view of government places trust not in one person or one party, but in those values that transcend persons and parties. [applause] trust is where it belongs, in the people. The responsibility to live up to that trust is where it belongs, in their elected leaders. That kind of relationship between the people and their elected leaders is a special kind of compact. 360 years ago, in 1620, a group of families dared to cross a mighty ocean to build for build a future for themselves in a new world. When they arrived in massachusetts, they formed a compact, an agreement amongst themselves to build a community and abide by its laws. This single act, the voluntary binding together of free people to live under the law, set the pattern for what was to come. A century and a half later, the descendents of those people pledged their lives, fortunes, and honor to found this nation. Some forfeited their fortunes and their lives. None sacrificed honor. [applause] four score and seven years later, Abraham Lincoln called upon the people of america to renew their dedication to a government of, for, and by the people. Isnt it once again time to renew our compact of freedom . [applause] to pledge to each other all that gives meaning to them for the sake of this, our beloved and blessed land. Together, let us make this a new beginning. Let us make a commitment to care for the needy, teach our children the virtues handed down to us by our families, to have the courage to defend those values and virtues of the and the willingness to sacrifice for them. Lets pledge to restore in our time the american spirit of voluntary service, cooperation, private and community initiative, a spirit that flows like a deep and mighty river through the history of our nation. As your nominee, i pledge to you to restore to the federal government the capacity to do the peoples work without dominating their lives. I pledge to you [applause] i pledge to you a government that will not only work well, but wisely. Its ability to act tempered by prudence and its willingness to do good balanced by the knowledge that government is never more dangerous than when our desire to have it help us blinds us to its great power to harm us. [applause] the first republican president once said, while the people retain their virtue and their vigilance, no administration by any extreme of wickedness or folly can seriously injure the government in the short space of four years. If mr. Lincoln could see what has happened in the last 3 1 2 years, he might hedge a little on that statement. [applause] the virtues are our legacy as a free people. With a vigilance that sustains liberty, we have time to use our renewed compact to overcome the injuries that have been done to america these past three and a half years. First, we must overcome something the present administration has cooked up, a new and altogether indigestible economic stew. One part inflation, one part high unemployment, one part for recession, one part runaway taxes, one part deficit spending, seasoned with an energy crisis. It is an economic stew that has turned the national stomach. [applause] ours are not problems of abstract economic theory, these are problems of flesh and blood. Problems that cause pain and destroy the moral fiber of real people who should not suffer the further indignity of being told by the government that it is all somehow their fault. We do not have inflation because, as mr. Carter says, we have lived too well. The head of a government which has utterly refused to live within its means, and has in the last few days turned showed us that this coming years deficit will be 60 billion, dares to point the finger of blame at business and labor, both of which have been engaged in a losing struggle trying to stay even. [applause] our taxes, we are told, are somehow good for us. As if when government spends our money, it is not inflationary. But when we spend it, it is. [applause] preside over the worst Energy Shortage in our history tell us to use less so we dont run out of oil, gas a little gas, and natural gas a littl emore little mroe more slowly. Conservation is desirable of course, but conservation is not the sole answer to our energy needs. America must get to work producing more energy. [applause] the Republican Program will solve the economic problems is based on growth and productivity. Large amounts of oil and natural gas lay beneath our land and off our shores, untouched because the present administration seems to believe the American People would rather see more regulation, taxes and controls than more energy. Coal offers a great potential. So does Nuclear Energy produced under rigorous safety standards. [applause] we could supply electricity to thousands of industry and millions of jobs and homes. It must not be thwarted by a minority opposed to Economic Growth, which often finds friendly ears in regulatory agencies for obstructionist campaigns. [applause] now, make no mistake, we will not permit the safety of our people or our environmental heritage to be jeopardized. But, we are going to reaffirm that the Economic Prosperity of our people is a fundamental part of our environment. [applause] our problems our problems are both acute and chronic, yet all we hear from those in positions of leadership are the same tired proposals for more government bickering, more meddling and control. All of which led us to the this sorry state in the first place. Can anyone look at the record of this administration and say, well done . No. Can anyone compare the state of our economy when the Carter Administration took office with where it is today and say keep up the good work . No can anyone look at reduced standing in the world today and say lets have four more years of this . No i believe the American People are going to answer these questions as you have answered them in the first week in november, and their answer will be no, we have had enough. [applause] and then it will be up to us, beginning next january 20, offer to offer an administration and congressional leadership of competence and more than a little courage. We must have the clarity of vision to see the difference between what is essential and what is merely desirable and then the courage to win our Government Back under control. [applause] it is essential. [applause] it is essential that we maintain both the Forward Momentum of Economic Growth and the strength of the safety net between those in our society who need help. We also believe it is essential that the integrity of all aspects of Social Security be preserved. [applause] beyond these essentials, i believe it is clear our federal government is overgrown and overweight. Indeed, it is time our government go on a diet. [applause] therefore, my first act as chief executive will be to impose an immediate and thorough freeze on federal hiring. [applause] then, we are going to enlist the best minds from business, labor and whatever. Whatever quarter to conduct a detailed review of every department that lives by federal appropriations. [applause] and, we are going to enlist the help and ideas of many dedicated and hardworking Government Employees at all levels who want a more Efficient Government just as much as the rest of us to. Us do. [applause] i know that many of them are demoralized by the confusion and waste they confronted in their work as a result of failing and failed policies. Our inspections through the group we enlist will be direct. We will remind them that Government Programs exist at the sufferance of the american taxpayer and are paid for by money earned by working men and women and programs that represent a waste of their money money, theft from their pocketbooks, must have that waste eliminated or that program must go. [applause] it must go, by executive order, where possible, by congressional action where necessary. Everything that can be run more effectively by state and local government, we shall turn over to state and local government. [applause] along with the funding to pay for it. We are going to put an end to the money merrygoround where our money becomes washingtons money to be spent by states and cities exactly the way federal bureaucrats tell us it has to be spent. [applause] i will not accept the excuse that the federal government has grown so big and powerful it is beyond the control of any president , administration or congress. We are going to put an end to the notion that the american taxpayer exists to fund the federal government. The federal government exists to serve the American People. [applause] on january 20, we are going to reestablish that truth. Also on that date, we are going to initiate actions to get substantial relief for our taxpaying citizens and actions to put people back to work. [applause] none of this, none of this will be based on any new form of monetary tinkering or fiscal sleightofhand. We will simply apply to government the common sense we all use in our daily lives. [applause] work and family are the center of our lives, the foundation of our dignity as a free people. When we deprive people of what they have earned or take their jobs, we destroy their dignity and undermine their families. We cant support families unless there are jobs and we cant have jobs unless the people have both money to invest and the faith to invest. [applause] these are concepts that stem from an Economic System that for more than 200 years has helped us master a continent, create a previously undreamed of prosperity for our people, and fed millions around the globe. That system will continue to serve us in our future if our government will stop ignoring the basic values on which it was built and stop betraying the trust and goodwill of the American Workers who keep it going. [applause] the American People are carrying the heaviest peacetime tax burden in our nations history and it will grow heavier under present law next january. We are taxing ourselves into economic exhaustion and stagnation, crushing our ability and incentive to save. This must stop. We must halt this fiscal selfdestruction and restore sanity. I have long advocated a 30 reduction in income tax rates over a period of three years. [applause] this Tax Deduction [applause] this tax reduction would begin with a 10 down payment tax cut in 1981, which the republicans in congress and i have already proposed. A phased reduction of tax rates would go a long way to eat easing the heavy burden on but werican people, shouldnt stop there. Whatever the context of economic ambitions and appropriate budget priorities, during each fiscal year of my presidency come i presidency, i would strive to go further. This would include improvement in business depreciation taxes so we can stimulate investments. [applause] put more americans back to work and put our nation bakck on the road to being competitive in world congress. We will also work our Gross National product. The first task of National Leadership is to set realistic and honest priorities, and i pledge my administration will do it. When i talk tax cuts, every major tax cut in this century has created new investment, new jobs, and more commerce among our people. [applause] the present administration has been forced to play follow the leader with regards to a tax cut, but we must take with a cutn of salt any tax proposed by those who have given increase inest tax our nations history. When those in leadership give us tax increases and tell us we must do with less, have they thought about those who have always had less . Especially the minorities. Them justke telling as they step on the first rung of the ladder of opportunity, the ladder is being pulled out from under them. That may be the democratic leaderships message to minorities, but it wont be ours. [applause] ours will be, we have to move ahead, but we are not going to leave anyone behind. [applause] thanks to the economic policies of the Democratic Party, millions of americans find themselves out of work. Millions more have never had a fair chance to learn new skills, hold a decent job, or secure for themselves and families a share in the prosperity of this nation. It is time to put america back to work. To make our cities and towns resound with confident voices of men and women of all races, nationalities, and faiths. Bringing home to their families a paycheck they can cash for honest money. [applause] for those without skills, we will find a way to help them get new skills. For those without job opportunities, we will stimulate new opportunities particularly in the inner cities. For those who have abandoned hope, we will restore hope and welcome them into a National Crusade to make America Great again. [applause] when we move from Domestic Affairs and cast our eyes abroad, we see an equally sorry chapter in the record of the present administration. A soviet combat brigade trains in cuba 90 miles from our shores. A soviet army of invasion occupies afghanistan, further threatening our vital interests in the middle east. Americas defense strength is at its lowest ebb in a generation while the soviet union is out spending us in both strategic and conventional arms. Our european allies, looking nervously at the growing menace from the east, turned to us for leadership and failed to find it. Incredibly, more than 50, as you have been told by some on this platform, more than 50 of our fellow americans have been held captive for over eight months by a dictatorial foreign power that holds us up to ridicule that across the world. Adversaries seek to confirm our resolve. But we are given weakness when we need strength. Vacillation when the times demand firmness. The Current Administration lives in a world of makebelieve. Every day drawing up a response to that days problems, troubles troubles, regardless of what happened yesterday and what will happen tomorrow. But you and i live in the real world. The disasters are overtaking our nation without real response from washington. This is makebelieve, selfdeceit, and transparent hypocrisy. [applause] for example mr. Carter says he supports the volunteer army, but he lets military pay and benefits slip so low that many of our enlisted personnel are eligible for food stamps. Reenlistment rates drop. And just recently, after he fought all week against a proposed pay increase for our men and women in the military, he then helicoptered out to the carrier, the uss nimitz, returning from duty in the indian ocean, and told the crew of that ship that he advocated better pay for them and their comrades. Where does he really stand now that he is back on shore . [applause] ill tell you where i stand. I do not favor a peacetime draft or registration. [applause] but i do favor pay and benefit levels that will attract and keep highly motivated men and women in our volunteer forces. [applause] and back them up with an active reserve trained and ready for instant call in case of emergency. [applause] there may be a sailor at the helm of the ship of states, but the ship has no rudder. Critical decisions are made sometimes in comic fashion, but who can laugh . Theis not embarrassed when propagandaion gave a victory to the enemies of israel, or stanch middle east allies for three decades, then claim the american with is a mistake due to a failure of communication between the president , his secretary of state and the u. N. Ambassador. Who does not feel unease as our allies, facing repeated and confused administrations, reluctantly conclude that america is unwilling or unable to fulfill its obligations as leader of the free world . Who does not feel rising alarm when the question in any discussion of Foreign Policy is no longer, should we do something, but do we have the capacity to do anything . [applause] the administration which has brought us to this state is seeking your endorsement for four more years of weakness, indecision, mediocrity, and incompetence. No. No american should vote until he or she has asked, is the United States stronger and more respected now than it was 3 1 2 years ago . No is the world a safer place in which to live . No it is a responsibility of the president of the United States in working for peace to ensure the safety of our people cannot successfully be threatened by a hostile foreign power. As president , fulfilling that responsibility will be my number one priority. [applause] we are not a warlike people. Quite the opposite. We always seek to live in peace. We resort to force infrequently and with great reluctance and only after we have determined it is absolutely necessary. We are awed, and rightly so by the forces of destruction let loose in the world by this nuclear era. Neither can we be naive or foolish. Four times in my lifetime, america has gone to war, bleeding the lives of its young men in the sands of beachheads, the fields of , and the jungles and rice patties of asia. We know too well that comes not when the forces of freedom are strong, it is when they are weak that triumphs are tempted. Tyrants are tempted. We cannot learn these lessons the hard way again without risking our [applause] Reagan Reagan [applause] the objectives we seek, first and foremost is the establishment of lasting world peace. We must always stand ready to negotiate in good faith, ready to pursue any reasonable the any reasonable avenue that holds forth the promise of lessening tensions and furthering peace. Let our friends and those who may wish us ill take note, United States has an obligation to its citizens and the people of the world, never to let those who would destroy freedom dictate the future course of life on this planet. [applause] i would regard my election as proof we have renewed our resolve to preserve world peace and freedom. This nation will once again be Strong Enough to do that. This evening [applause] this evening marks the last step save one of a campaign that has taken nancy and me from one end of this great nation to the other. Over many months and thousands of miles. There are those who question the way we choose a president , who say that our process imposes difficult and exhausting burdens on those who seek the office. I have not found it so. [applause] it is impossible to capture in words the splendor of this vast continent which god has granted. Granted as our portion of his creation. There are no words to express the extraordinary strength and character of this breed of people we call american. [applause] everywhere, we have met thousands of democrats, independents, and republicans from all economic conditions, from all walks of life, bound together in that community of shared values of family, work, neighborhood, peace, and freedom. They are concerned, they are not frightened. Theyre disturbed, but not dismayed. Theyre the men and women tom payne had in mind when he wrote during the darkest days of the american revolution, we have it in our power to begin the world over again. [applause] nearly 150 years after tom payne wrote those words, an american president told the generation of the Great Depression that it had a rendezvous with destiny. I believe this generation of americans today also has a rendezvous with destiny. [applause] tonight, let us dedicate ourselves to renewing the american compact. I ask you not simply to trust me, but to trust your values. Our values. And to hold me responsible for living up to them. I ask you to trust that american spirit which knows no ethnic, religious, social, political, or economic boundaries. The spirit that burned with zeal whohe hearts of immigrants came here in search of freedom. Some say that spirit no longer exists. I have seen it. I have felt it. All across this land, the big cities, the small towns, and rural america. It is still there, ready to blaze into life. If you and i are willing to do what has to be done. [applause] we have to do the practical thing. The down to earth things such as creating policies that will stimulate our economy, increase productivity and put america back to work. The time is now to limit federal spending, insist on a stable monetary reform and free ourselves from imported oil. [applause] the time is now to resolve that the basis of a firm and principled Foreign Policy is one that takes the world as it is and seeks to change it by leadership and example, not by harangue, harassment, or Wishful Thinking. The time is now. [applause] the time is now to say we shall seek new friendships and expand others, improve others. But we shall not do so by breaking our word or casting aside old friends and allies. [applause] the time is now to redeem promises once made to the American People by another candidate in another time at and another place. He said, for three long years, i have been going up and down this country preaching that government, federal, state, and local, costs too much. I shall not stop that preaching. As an Immediate Program of action, we must abolish useless offices, eliminate unnecessary functions of government, consolidate subdivisions of government, and like the private citizen, give up luxuries which we can longer no longer afford. And then he said, i propose to you my friends and through you that government of all kinds, big and little, be made solvent and the example be set by the president of the United States and his cabinet. End of quote. That was Franklin Delano roosevelts words as he accepted the democratic nomination for president in 1932. [applause] the time is now, my fellow americans, to recapture our destiny, take it into our own hands. To do this will take many of us working together. I ask you tonight all over this land to volunteer your help in this cause so that we can carry our message throughout the land. Isnt it time that we the people carry out those unkept promises that we pledged to each other and to all america on this july day 48 years later that now we intend to do just that. [applause] [applause] [cheering and chanting] i have thought of something that is not a part of my speech. I am worried over whether i should do it. Can we doubt that only a Divine Providence placed this land, this island of freedom here as a refuge for all of those people in the world that yearn to breathe free. Jews and christians and during prosecution behind the iron curtain. To the people of southeast asia, cuba and haiti, the victims of drought, famine in africa, the Freedom Fighters in afghanistan , and our own countrymen held in savage captivity. I will confess that i have been a little afraid to suggest what im going to suggest. I am more afraid not to. Can we begin our crusade, join together in a moment of silent prayer . God bless america. [applause] jimmy carter was president when he spoke to the democratic National Convention in 1980, looking for a second term. By that time, he had been governor of georgia, studied engineering in college, ran his familys peanut farm, and served on submarines in the u. S. Navy. Mr. Carter and his wife rosalynn have volunteered with habitat for humanity to build homes for families. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for advancing human rights by founding the carter center. Jimmy carter accepted his partys nomination in new york city. [applause] fellow democrats, fellow citizens, i thank you for the nomination you have offered me. [applause] i especially thank you for choosing as my running mate the best partner any president ever had. [applause] with gratitude and determination, i accept your nomination. [applause] i am proud to run on the progressive and sound platforms you have hammered out at this convention. [applause] we ran a campaign that defines the real issues. A campaign that responded to the intelligence of the American People. A campaign that talked sense. We are going to beat the republicans in november. [applause] we will win because we have a party of a great president that knows how to get reelected. Franklin delano roosevelt. [applause] we are the party that knew how to give them hell, harry truman. [applause] as truman said, he just told the truth and they thought it was hell. Were the party of John Fitzgerald kennedy. [applause] were the party of a great leader, Lyndon Baines johnson. [applause] the party of a great man who should have been one of the greatest president s in our history. [applause] i have appreciated [indiscernible] a great man who epitomizes the Democratic Party. I would like to say that we are also the party of governor jerry brown and senator edward kennedy. [applause] i would like to say a personal word to senator kennedy. Ted, you are a tough senator and a superb campaigner, i can attest to that. [applause] your speech before this convention was a magnificent sight of what the Democratic Party is and what it means to the people of this country. While a Democratic Victory is so important this year, i reach out to you tonight, and i reach out to all of those in your passionate campaigns. I need you. [applause] i need your idealism and your dedication. There is no doubt that even [indiscernible] lies a head of you. We are grateful to you. [applause] i have your Strong Partnership now. I thank you for your support. We will make great partners this fall and whip the republicans. [applause] we are democrats. We have had our differences. But we share bright visions of americas future, of a good life for all of our people, a secure nation, a just society, a peaceful world, a strong america. Confident and proud and united. And we have the memory of Franklin Roosevelt 40 years ago when he said there are times in our history when concern over our personal lives are overshadowed by the concern of what will happen to the country. This is such a time. [applause] i can tell you that this choice can transform our personal lives and the lives of our country as well. During the last president ial campaign, i went to the thousands of people, housewives and farmers, teachers, Small Business leaders, workers, the elderly and the poor, people of every race and background and walk of life. It was a powerful experience. A total immersion in the human reality of america. I have now had another kind of total immersion, being president of the United States of america. Let me talk for a moment about what that job is like and what i have learned from it. I have learned that some of the most complex and difficult tasks come before me in the oval office. No easy answers are found there because no easy questions are asked. Ive learned that for a president , experience is the best for the right decisions. I am larger than i was four years ago. [applause] i have learned that the places, my own heart is burdened for the troubled americans, the poor, the jobless, the afflicted. They become part of me. My thoughts and my prayers for hostages in iran, my sons and daughters. [applause] the life of every human being on earth can depend on the experience, judgment, and vigilance of the person in the oval office. The president s responsibility and his powerful instructions are awesome. The power is greatest where the stakes are highest, in matters of war and peace. I have learned something else, something i have come to see with extraordinary clarity, above all, i must look ahead. The president of the United States is a steward of the nations destiny. He must protect our children. We must protect our children. And the children they will have. And the children of generations to follow. We must speak and act for them. That is his burden and his glory, and that is why the president cannot yield to the shortsighted demands, no matter how rich or powerful the special interests might be that make those demands. [applause] that is why a president cannot bend to the passion of the moment. However popular they might be, that is why the president must sometimes ask for sacrifice when his nation would rather hear the promise of comfort. The president is a servant of today, but his true constituency is the future. That is why the election of 1980 is so important. [applause] some will say it makes no difference who wins this election. They are wrong. [applause] this election is a stark choice between two men, two parties, two sharply different pictures of what america is and what the world is. But it is more than that. It is a choice between two futures. [applause] the year 2000 is less than 20 years away. Just four president ial elections after this one. Children born this year will come of age in the 21st century. The time of the world of the year 2000 is nigh. The decisions of the next few years will set our course, perhaps and irreversible course, and the choices of the American People will be made at the polls less than three months from tonight. [applause] the choice could not be more clear or the consequences more crucial. One of the futures we can choose, the future you and i have been building together, i see security and justice and peace. I see a future of economic security, security from tapping our own resources of oil and gas, coal and sunlight to revitalize our economy, based on jobs and stable prices for everyone. [applause] i see a future of justice, the justice of good jobs, devent health care, quality education, opportunity for our own people regardless of color or language or religion. The justice of all rights for all men and for all women, guaranteed equal rights under the constitution of the United States of america. [applause] i see a future of peace, a peace born of wisdom and based on fairness for all countries of the world, guaranteed by American Military strength and american moral strength as well. [applause] that is the future i want for all people, a future of confidence and hope for a good life read good life. The future america must choose, and with your help and commitment, it is the future america will choose. [applause] but there is another possible future. In that other future, i see despair. The despair of millions who would struggle for equal opportunity and a better life and suffer. I see surrender, the surrender of our Energy Future to the merchants of oil, the surrender of our Economic Future to a bizarre program of massive tax cuts for the rich, service cuts for the poor, and massive inflation for everyone. I see risk, the risk of international confrontation, the risk of an uncontrollable, unaffordable, and unwinnable nuclear arms race. [applause] no one, democrat or republican, consciously seeks such a future. I do question the disturbing commitments and policies already made by my opponent and those with him who have now captured control of the republican party. [applause] the consequences of those commitments and policies would drive us down the wrong road. It is up to all of us to make sure america rejects this alarming and perilous destiny. The only way to build a Better Future is to start with the realities of the present. While we democrats tackle the real challenges of the real world, lets talk about the world of makebelieve. Lets look at the makebelieve world. Innercity people and laborers do not exist. Women, like children, are to be seen but not heard. [applause] the problems of working women are simply ignored. The elderly do not need medicare. The young do not need help getting a better education. Workers do not require the guaranty of a healthy and safe place to work. Conflicts, global changes since world war ii have never happened. In their fantasy america, all problems have simple solutions, simple and wrong. [applause] it is a makebelieve world. A world of good guys and bad guys, where some politicians shoot first and ask questions later. [applause] no hard choices, no sacrifice, no tough decisions. It sounds too good to be true. And it is. [applause] the path of sanity leads to irresponsibility. The path of reality leads to hope and peace. The two paths could not be more different, nor the futures to which they lead. Lets take a hard look at the consequences of our choice. You and i have been working to build a more secure future steadily, carefully, and responsibly. Republicans talk about military strength but they were in office for eight of the last 11 years. In the face of a growing soviet threat, they steadily cut real defense spending by more than a third. [applause] we reversed the republican decline and expense. Over the years i have been president , we have had commitment to nations, which are prudent and rational. There is no doubt that the United States of america can meet any threat from the soviet union. [applause] our modernized strategic forces, a revitalized nato, the cruise missiles, Rapid Deployment force, all these guarantee we will never be second to any nation. [applause] deeds, not words. Facts, not fictions. We must and will continue to build our own defenses. We must and will seek balance and reductions in nuclear arms. [applause] the new leaders of the republican party, in order to close a gap between their rhetoric and record, have now promised to launch an allout nuclear arms race. This would negate any further efforts to negotiate a strategic arms limitation agreement. There can be no winners of such an arms race. And all the people of the earth can be the losers. [applause] the republican nominee advocates abandoning arms control policies , which have been adopted and supported by every democratic president since harry truman and every republican president since dwight d. Eisenhower. This radical and irresponsible course will threaten our security and put the whole world in peril. You and i must never let this come to pass. [applause] it is simple to call for a new arms race, but when it threatens world peace, both tough sounding talk is not enough. A president must act responsibly. When soviet troops invaded afghanistan, we moved quickly to take action, suspending grain sales to the soviet union, we joined wholeheartedly with the congress. [booing] [shouting] and i join wholeheartedly with the congress and the u. S. Olympic committee and 60 other nations in boycotting the moscow olympics. [applause] the republican leader opposed two of these peaceful actions and waffled on the third. When we asked him what he would do about southwest asia, he suggested blockading cuba. [laughter] even his running mate would not go along with that. [applause] he does not seem to know what to do with the russians. He doesnt know whether to feed them, play with them, or fight with them. [applause] as i look back on my first term, im grateful we had a country a full four years of peace. [applause] that is what we are going to have for the next four years, peace. [applause] it is only common sense that for america to stay secure and at peace, we must encourage others to be peaceful as well. We still firm in rhodesia for Racial Justice and democracy. [applause] and we have also helped in the middle east. Some have criticized the camp david accords, and they have criticized some delays in the implementation of the middle east peace treaty. Before i became president , there no cap david accords camp david accords and there was no middle east peace treaty. [applause] before camp david, israel and egypt confronted each other with guns and tanks and planes, but afterwards, they sat facetoface with each other across the peace table. They communicated through their own ambassadors in cairo and tel aviv. That is the kind of future of peace in the middle east we are offering if democrats are reelected in the fall. [applause] i am very proud that nearly half the aid our country has given to israel during her existence has come during my administration. [applause] unlike our republican predecessors, we have never stopped or slowed that aid to israel, and as long as i am president , we will never do so. [applause] our commitment is clear, security and peace for israel. Peace for all the people of the middle east. If the world is to have a future of freedom as well as peace, america must continue to defend human rights. [applause] listen to this, the new Republican Leaders oppose our human rights policy. They seem to think it is naive for america to stand up for freedom and democracy. What do they think we should stand up for . [applause] as for the Political Prisoners who now live in freedom if we should abandon our stance on human rights. Ask the hungarian americans, the polish americans, listen to Pope John Paul ii, ask the millions who fled tyranny if america should stop speaking up for human principles. Ask the American People. As long as i am president , we will hold high the banner of human rights, and you can depend on that. [applause] here at home, the choice between the two futures is equally important. Nothing is more crucial to the future of america than energy. Long after the 1973 embargo, the republicans in the white house have done nothing to meet the threat to the National Security of our nation. Then, as now, their policy was dictated by the big Oil Companies. [applause] we democrats fought hard to rally our nation behind a comprehensive Energy Policy and a good program. A new foundation for challenging and exciting progress. After three years of struggle, we have the balance to secure an american Energy Future has been fully joined. Americans have cooperated with dramatic results. We have reversed decades of dependence on foreign oil. We are now importing 20 less oil, 1. 5 Million Barrels of Oil Every Day less than a day i took office. [applause] with our new Energy Policy now in place, we can discover more, produce more, create more, and conserve more energy and we will use american resources, american technology, and millions of American Workers to do it with. [applause] what do the republicans propose . Their Energy Program has two parts, the first part is to get rid of almost everything we have done for the American Public in the last three years. They want to reduce or abolish the synthetic fuel program. They want to slash the energy incentives, the conservation programs, aid to mass transit, aid to elderly americans to pay their fuel bills. They want to eliminate the 55 mileperhour speed limit. They were against the clean air act. They never liked it to begin with. [applause] that is one part of the program. The other part is worse. This is what they propose. To destroy the windfall property tax and to unleash the Oil Companies and let them solve the Energy Problem for us. Thats it. [booing] that is their whole program. There is no more. Can this nation accept this outrageous program . [crowd together no] no. We democrats will fight it every step of the way and we begin with a campaign for reelection in november. [applause] when i took office, i inherited a heavy load of economic problems besides energy. We have met them all headon. We put Free Enterprise back into airlines and financial and Trucking Industries of our country. We are doing the same thing for the railroads. This is the greatest change in the relationship between government and business since the new deal. [applause] we have increased our exports dramatically. We have reversed the decline in basic research and development. We have created more than 8 million new jobs, the biggest increase in the history of our country. [applause] but the road is bumpy, and last years skyrocketing opec prices helped trigger a worldwide inflation crisis. We took forceful action, and Interest Rates have now fallen. The dollar is stable. Although we still have a battle on our hands, we are struggling to bring inflation under control. We are now at a critical point, a turning point in the economic history of our country. Because we made the hard decisions, because we have guided our nation and its economy through a rough transition, we have laid the groundwork for a new economic age. Our economic Renewal Program for the 1980s will meet our immediate need for jobs and attack the same longrange problems that caused unemployment and inflation in the first place, it will move america towards the five great economic goals, lower inflation, better productivity, revitalization of american industry, energy security, and jobs. [applause] it is time to put america back to work, but not in make work, in real work. [applause] there is real work in modernizing american industries, creating new industries for america as well. Here are a few things we will rebuild together and build together. New industries to turn our coal and shale and Farm Products into energy and the light of the sun into heat and electricity for our homes. [applause] a modern Transportation System of rails to make american coal into a powerful rival of opec oil. [applause] industries that will provide the convenience of futuristic Computer Technologies to serve American Homes and offices and factories, job training for employees affected by job displacement, new investment in regions and communities where jobs are needed most, mass transit in our cities and in between cities, and a new generation of american jobs to make homes and vehicles and buildings that will house us with a lot less energy. [applause] this is important, too. I have no doubt that the ingenuity and dedication of the American People can make every single one of these things happen. We are talking about the United States of america. [applause] and those who count this country out as an economic superpower are going to find out just how wrong they are. [applause] we are going to share in the exciting enterprise of making the 1980s a time of growth for america. The republican alternative is the biggest tax giveaway in history. I call it a free lunch that americans cannot afford. The republican tax Program Offers rebates to the rich, deprivation for the poor, and inflation for all of us. [applause] their partys own Vice President ial nominee said it would result in an inflation rate of more than 30 . He called it voodoo economics. [laughter] [applause] he certainly changed his mind towards the end of the republican convention, but he was right the first time. [applause] along with this gigantic tax cut, the new Republican Leaders promise massive increases in defense spending. They claim they can balance the budget. If they are serious about these promises, and they say they are, then a close Analysis Shows that the entire rest of the government would have to be abolished. Everything from education to farm programs, from the g. I. Bill to the night watchmen at the lincoln memorial, and the budget would still be in the red. [applause] the only alternative would be to build more Printing Presses to print cheap money. Either way, the American People lose, but the American People will not stand for it. [applause] the Democratic Party has always invited the hope of our people for justice, opportunity, and a better life. We have worked in every way possible to strengthen the american family, to encourage selfreliance, and to defend the fair and give justice to the afflicted and needy. We have struggled to ensure no child in america ever goes to bed hungry, that no elderly couple in america has to live in a substandard home, and no young person in america is excluded from college because his family is poor. [applause] what have the republicans proposed . An attack on everything we have done in the achievement of social justice and decency that we have run the last 50 years , ever since Franklin Delano roosevelts first term. They would make Social Security voluntary. They would reverse our progress on the minimum wage, safety in the workplace, and a healthy environment. Lately, the republicans have been quoting democratic president s. Who could blame them . Would you rather quote Herbert Hoover or Franklin Roosevelt . [applause] would you rather quote Richard Nixon or John Fitzgerald kennedy . [applause] the republicans have always been the party of privilege, but this year, their leaders have gone even further. In their platform, they have repudiated the best positions of their own party. Where is the conscience of lincoln in the party of lincoln . What has become of the traditional republican commitment to fiscal responsibility . What happened to their commitment to a safe and sane arms control . I dont claim that every decision we have made has been right or popular. Certainly, they have not all been easy, but i will say this, we have been tested under fire. We have neither ducked nor hidden. [applause] we have tackled the great social issues of our time in the stark challenges of peace and energy which have been ignored for years. We have made tough decisions, and we have taken the heat for them. We have made mistakes, and we have learned from them. But we have built the foundation now for a Better Future. We have done something else. Perhaps even more important. In good times and bad, we have told people the truth, the hard truth. [applause] the truth sometimes hurts. One truth americans have learned is that our dream has been earned for progress and for peace. Look what our land has been through within our own memory. A Great Depression, a world war, a technological explosion, the civil rights revolution, the bitterness of vietnam, the shame of watergate, nuclear terror. Experiences, we have learned the hard way about the world and about ourselves. But we have matured and grown as a nation, and we have grown stronger. We have learned the uses and limitations of power. We have learned the duty and responsibility of freedom. We have learned the value and the obligation of justice, and we have learned the necessity of peace. Some would argue that these lessons should somehow limit our potential. That is not so. A nation that knows its true strength, can see the true challenges, to face them with legitimate strength. That nation is far stronger than one that seeks refuge or Wishful Thinking or nostalgia. [applause] the Democratic Party, the American People have understood these fundamental truths. All this consent because of the desire for easy answers. There is always the temptation to substitute idle dreams for hard reality. The do Republican Leaders are hoping that our nation will succumb to that temptation this year. But they profoundly misunderstood and underestimated the character of the American People. [applause] three weeks after pearl harbor, Winston Churchill came to north america, and he said we had journeyed all this way, we have not journeyed all this way, across the centuries, across the oceans, across the mountains, across the plains because we are made of sugar candy. We americans have courage. Americans have always been on the cutting edge of change. We have always looked forward with anticipation and confidence. I still want the same thing all of you want, a selfreliant neighborhood, strong families, work, good medical care for the sick, opportunity for our youth and dignity for our old, equal rights and justice for all people, teachers eager to explain what civilization really is. [applause] i want cities to understand their own needs and also the needs and yearnings of their neighbors. I want women to pursue without limits the full life of what they want for themselves. [applause] i want our farmers growing crops to feed our nation and the world, secure in the knowledge that the family farm will thrive. I want workers to see meaning in the labor they perform and work enough to guarantee a job for every worker in this country. [applause] i want the people in business free to pursue freedom, new ideas. I want minority citizens enjoying the mainstream of american life. I want, from the bottom of my heart, to remove the blight of racial and other discrimination from the face of our nation. I am determined to do it. [applause] i need for all of you to join me in fulfilling that. The choice between the two futures could not be more clear. If we succumb to a dream world, we will wake up to a nightmare. But if we start with reality and fight to make our dreams a reality, then americans will have a good life, a life of meaning and purpose in a nation that is strong and secure. [applause] above all, i want us to be what the founders of our nation meant us to become, the land of freedom, the land of peace, and the land of hope. Thank you very much. [applause] having a little trouble getting the balloons down on top of your screen. One is only partially opening. We are getting kind of a waterfall of balloons. [applause] president carter lost to Ronald Reagan in the general election with 49489 electoral votes. Cspan has covered every minute of every Political Convention since 1984. Our Video Library includes those and many more hours of conventions. As the democratic National Convention gets underway this week, watch more Historical Convention speeches at cspan. Org capmaign2020. [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2020] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] and bernie Obama Sanders address the democratic National Convention on monday. Live coverage begins at 9 00 eastern on cspan, Live Streaming and ondemand at cspan. Org dnc, or listen with the free cspan radio app. Cspan, your unfiltered view of politics. The role of the u. S. Postal service in the november election was the main topic on some of the sunday news programs. Here is reaction from the white house chief of staff and senator