Reading. Tonight, I wanna try to answer the question that I believe many people would ask me if we sat down for a cup of coffee

Tonight, I wanna try to answer the question that I believe many people would ask me if we sat down for a cup of coffee, or if we ran into each other at the store: You know him better than anyone else; you’ve seen things no one else has seen; why do you think we should re-elect your husband as President?

As you might imagine, I have to say a lot about that.

I could talk about my passion, education.

I could talk about the small business owners and entrepreneurs who are now creating most of the new jobs in our country.

I could talk about health care.

I could talk about the fact that my husband is the first President to provide federal funding for stem cell research.

I could talk about the recent record increase in home ownership.

All of these issues are important. But we are living in the most historic struggle my generation has ever known. The stakes are so high. So I wanna talk about the issue that I believe is most important for my daughters, for all of our families and for our future: George’s work to protect our country and defeat terror so that all children can grow up in a more peaceful world.

No American President ever wants to go to war. Abraham Lincoln didn’t want to go to war, but he knew saving the union required it. Franklin Roosevelt didn’t want to go to war, but he knew defeating tyranny demanded it. And my husband didn’t want to go to war, but he knew the safety and security of America and the world depended on it.

I remember some very quiet nights at the dinner table, George was weighing grim scenarios and ominous intelligence about potentially even more devastating attacks. I listened many nights as George talked with foreign leaders on the phone, or in our living room, or at our ranch in Crawford. I remember an intense weekend at Camp David. And I remember sitting in the window of the White House, watching as my husband walked on the lawn below. I knew he was wrestling with these agonizing decisions that would have such profound consequence for so many lives and for the future of our world.

And I was there when my husband had to decide. Once again, as in our parents’ generation, America had to make the tough choices, the hard decisions and lead the world toward greater security and freedom.

People ask me all the time whether George has changed. He’s a little grayer and, of course, he has learned and grown as we all have. But he’s still the same person I met at a backyard in Midland, Texas and married three months later. And you’ve come to know many of the same things that I know about him. He’ll always tell you what he really thinks. You can count on him – especially in a crisis. His friends don’t change – and neither do his values. He has boundless energy and enthusiasm for his job, and for life itself. He treats every person he meets with dignity and respect; the same dignity and respect he has for the office he holds. And he’s a loving man, with a big heart. I’ve seen tears as he hugged families who’ve lost loved ones. I’ve seen him return the salute of soldiers wounded in battle. And then, being George, he invites them to come to visit us at the White House. And they’ve come, bringing an infectious spirit of uniquely American confidence that we’re doing the right thing and that our future will be better because of our actions today.

George and I grew up in West Texas, where the sky seems endless and so do the possibilities. He brings that optimism, that sense of purpose, that certainty that a better day is before us to his job every day – and with your help, he’ll do it for four more years. These are times that require an especially strong and determined leader. And I’m proud that my husband is that kind of leader.

Thank you all, God bless you and God bless America.

(Republican National Convention Addressed by Laura Bush, August 31, 2004)