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323152015
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Radio Address 5/9/92 [OA 6102]
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323152015
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Radio Address 5/9/92 [OA 6102]
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13622-004
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Records of the White House Office of Speechwriting (George H. W. Bush Administration)
Speech Draft Files
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Originally Processed With FOIA(s):
FOIA Number:
S
S
FOIA
MARKER
This is not a textual record. This is used as an
administrative marker by the George Bush Presidential
Library Staff.
Record Group/Collection:
George H.W. Bush Presidential Records
Collection/Office of Origin:
Speechwriting, White House Office of
Series:
Speech File Draft Files
Subseries:
Chron File, 1989-1993
OA/ID Number:
13622
Folder ID Number:
13622-004
Folder Title:
Radio Address 5/9/92 [OA 6102]
Stack:
Row:
Section:
Shelf:
Position:
G
26
18
2
2
Draft 1
May 8, 1992
5:00 p.m.
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: RADIO BROADCAST
SATURDAY, MAY 9, 1992
Less than 24 hours ago, I returned from Los Angeles -- and
today I'd like to use this opportunity to report on what I saw,
and what I heard.
By now, each one of us has seen images of hate and horror we
won't soon forget. But what I saw during my time in Los Angeles
-- even in the hardest-hit parts of South Central L.A. -- should
give us all cause for hope.
Everywhere, the people I talked with told me about the acts
of individual heroism -- about the extraordinary courage of
ordinary people. Some braved the gangs of looters, to form
"bucket brigades" to put out fires when the firetrucks couldn't
get through. Some stood against the angry mobs -- reached across
the barrier of color -- to save lives. / Many of these aren't
the stories you'll see on the nightly news -- but they are
stories that tell us the power of simple human decency.
I went to L.A. to meet with community leaders -- to get
first-hand information as to how best the federal government
could help speed the recovery. Part of it is to provide -- as
we're doing now -- federal funds to help shop-owners get their
businesses open again, funds to help the people who lost jobs
when the places they worked were burned-out. But beyond this
2
immediate, emergency assistance -- I set out a broader agenda, a
means of bringing hope and opportunity to our inner cities.
First, we've got to preserve order, keep the peace: because
families can't thrive, children can't learn, jobs can't flourish
in a climate of fear. That's why I announced yesterday a $19
million dollar initiative I call "Weed and Seed" for the city of
Los Angeles: a program that "weeds out" the gang leaders, drug
dealers and career criminals -- and then "seeds" the community
with expanded employment, educational and social services.
Second, we must spark an economic revival in urban America.
That means establishing Enterprise Zones in our inner cities --
and reforming our welfare system -- to help people with
individual initiative work and save.
Third, we must revolutionize American education. That's why
we've built our America 2000 strategy around innovations like
choice, competition and community action. Children in our inner
cities deserve the same opportunities that kids in our suburbs
have.
Four, we must promote new hope through home ownership.
That's the aim behind my HOPE initiative -- to give the least-
advantaged among us a stake in their neighborhood, by turning
public housing tenants into homeowners.
At every turn during my time in L.A., I heard people talking
about the principles that guide these initiatives: Personal
responsibility. Opportunity. Ownership. Independence.
Dignity. 11
3
I can already hear some of the critics out there. They'll
say: you've proposed all this before." That's true -- they're
right. But now it's time to act on these proposals -- time to
try something new. My first order of business now that I am back
in Washington is to build a bipartisan effort in support of
immediate action on this agenda.
So far I have spoken about what government can do. Now let
me talk about what society must do. Because government alone
cannot create the scale and energy needed to transform the lives
of people in need. And all over America, people have already
found the answers for themselves -- and they're taking action to
make things better. 11
You can find them everywhere -- including South Central L.A.
I met a man there named Lou Dantzler -- a bear of a man who runs
the Challengers Boy's and Girl's Club. He started it out of the
back of an old pick-up truck, with a group of kids who wanted to
get off the streets. Today, across from a burned-out block in
South Central L.A., the Boys and Girls Club stands unscarred.
No, it wasn't a miracle that the building was left standing. The
real miracle is what goes on inside. / It's a place kids can go
to get the concern and the love they need -- a place where people
care.
That's why guaranteeing a hopeful future for the children of
our cities is about a lot more than rebuilding burned out
buildings. It's about building a new American community.
4
This I know: We have the strength and spirit -- in our
government, in our communities, and in ourselves -- to transform
America into the nation we have dreamed of for generations.
Thank you for listening -- and may God bless the United
States of America.
# # #
5
Lou Dantzler and others like him help us cultivate in ou
children something that government cannot provide -- something we
can't legislate. I'm talking about the moral sense that must
guide us all. In the simplest terms -- I'm talking about knowing
right from wrong -- and doing what's right.
5
Lou Dantzler and others like him help us cultivate in ou
children something that government cannot provide -- something we
can't legislate. I'm talking about the moral sense that must
guide us all. In the simplest terms -- I'm talking about knowing
right from wrong -- and doing what's right.
Draft 1
May 8, 1992
5:00 p.m.
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: RADIO BROADCAST
SATURDAY, MAY 9, 1992
Less than 24 hours ago, I returned from Los Angeles -- and
today I'd like to use this opportunity to report on what I saw,
and what I heard.
By now, each one of us has seen images of hate and horror we
won't soon forget. But what I saw during my time in Los Angeles
-- even in the hardest-hit parts of South Central L.A. -- should
give us all cause for hope.
Everywhere, the people I talked with told me about the acts
of individual heroism -- about the extraordinary courage of
ordinary people. Some braved the gangs of looters, to form
"bucket brigades" to put out fires when the firetrucks couldn't
get through. Some stood against the angry mobs -- reached across
the barrier of color -- to save lives. / Many of these aren't
the stories you'll see on the nightly news -- but they are
stories that tell us the power of simple human decency.
I went to L.A. to meet with community leaders -- to get
first-hand information as to how best the federal government
could help speed the recovery. Part of it is to provide -- as
we're doing now -- federal funds to help shop-owners get their
businesses open again, funds to help the people who lost jobs
when the places they worked were burned-out. But beyond this
2
immediate, emergency assistance -- I set out a broader agenda, a
means of bringing hope and opportunity to our inner cities.
First, we've got to preserve order, keep the peace: because
families can't thrive, children can't learn, jobs can't flourish
in a climate of fear. That's why i announced yesterday a $19
million dollar initiative I call "Weed and Seed" for the city of
Los Angeles: a program that "weeds out" the gang leaders, drug
dealers and career criminals -- and then "seeds" the community
with expanded employment, educational and social services.
Second, we must spark an economic revival in urban America.
That means establishing Enterprise Zones in our inner cities --
and reforming our welfare system -- to help people with
individual initiative work and save.
Third, we must revolutionize American education. That's why
we've built our America 2000 strategy around innovations like
choice, competition and community action. Children in our inner
cities deserve the same opportunites that kids in our suburbs
have.
Four, we must promote new hope through home ownership.
That's the aim behind my HOPE initiative -- to give the least-
advantaged among us a stake in their neighborhood, by turning
public housing tenants into homeowners.
At every turn during my time in L.A., I heard people talking
about the principles that guide these intiatives: Personal
responsibility. Opportunity. Ownership. Independence.
Dignity. //
3
I can already hear some of th critics out there. They'll
say: "you've proposed all this before." That's true -- they're
right. But now it's time to act on these proposals -- time to
try something new. My first order of business now that I am back
in Washington is to build a bipartisan effort in suppport of
immediate action on this agenda.
So far I have spoken about what government can do. Now let
me talk about what society must do. Because government alone
cannot create the scale and energy needed to transform the lives
of people in need. And all over America, people have already
found the answers for themselves -- and they're taking action to
make things better. //
You can find them everywhere -- including South Central L.A.
I met a man there named Lou Dantzler -- a bear of a man who runs
the Challengers Boy's and Girl's Club. He started it out of the
back of an old pick-up truck, with a group of kids who wanted to
get off the streets. Today, across from a burned-out block in
South Central L.A., the Boys and Girls Club stands unscarred.
No, it wasn't a miracle that the building was left standing. The
real miracle is what goes on inside. / It's a place kids can go
to get the concern and the love they need -- a place where people
care.
That's why guaranteeing a hopeful future for the children of
our cities is about a lot more than rebuilding burned out
buildings. It's about building a new American community.
4
This I know: We have the strength and spirit -- in our
government, in our communities, and in ourselves -- to transform
America into the nation we have dreamed of for generations.
Thank you for listening -- and may God bless the United
States of America.
# # #