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Remarks of the President from the Presidential Express, Niles (Michigan) Amtrak Passenger Station [Ford Speech or Statement]
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7344051
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Remarks of the President from the Presidential Express, Niles (Michigan) Amtrak Passenger Station [Ford Speech or Statement]
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White House Press Releases (Ford Administration)
Press Releases
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1976-05-15
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1976
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Digitized from Box 26 of the White House Press Releases at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MAY 15, 1976
OFFICE OF THE WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY
(Niles, Michigan)
THE WHITE HOUSE
REMARKS OF THE PRESIDENT
FROM THE
PRESIDENTIAL EXPRESS
NILES AMTRAK PASSENGER STATION
4:12 P.M. EDT
Hi, how are you. Nice to see you.
Let me just say it has been a great day. Betty
will be out in just a minute. We kept going down this
track and right before Niles the sun came out.
All of you wonderful people, thank you very,
very much.
Well, as I said, Betty and I have had a wonderful
day, starting in Flint and ending up here in Niles, on
this whistle stop tour through the heartland of Michigan.
The idea of this trip today I think took me back to a
campaign by a great Democratic President, Harry S. Truman,
when he whistle stopped across the country, and a great
Republican President, Ike Eisenhower, and both of them
were successful. So this train trip through the heartland
of Michigan is going right on to Kansas City, and from
Kansas City we are going to win in November.
Now, we have got a big election next Tuesday.
I think we have done a good job in the last 21 months,
and I want your vote next Tuesday.
Let me tell you what we have done in the 21 months
that I have been President. Let your mind go back to the
tough days in August of 1974. There had been a tremendous
loss of confidence by the American people in our Government,
in the White House. We were on the brink of an economic
recession, the worst in 40 years. Inflation was at the
rate of 12 percent per year. In foreign policy, our allies
were uncertain as to what we were going to do and our
adversaries were in a position where they might have taken
advantage of the uncertainty here at home.
When I took that oath of office on August 8,
the United States needed some leadership, both at home and
abroad. We started out by setting forth what we were going
to do to correct our economic problems. We have set a
very steady course, and the net result was, inflation,
which was 12 percent in 1974, is under 3 percent today.
That is a good record, and we ought to be proud of it.
MORE
(over)
Page 2
Then, a year ago, we were in the depths of a
recession. Again, there were those throughout the country
that wanted us to press a panic button -- add a lot of
people to the Federal payroll, approve budget-busting
bills that would have increased the inflationary pressures.
But, instead, I decided that the right thing to
do was to hold firm, to veto the kind of legislation that
was sent down from Capitol Hill. And, as many of you know,
I vetoed 49 bills -- 42 of them have been sustained and
we saved the American taxpayer $13 billion. That is a
darn good record.
But then, a year ago, we started our climb out
of the recession. In 12 months, from last May to this May,
we added 3,300,000 more jobs in America, 710,000 more jobs
in May of 1976, and the net result is that in May of this
year we have 87,400,000 people gainfully employed in this
country, an all-time record, and we ought to be proud of that.
But, the third point, the United States is at
peace today. We have the military capability to maintain
the peace. We have the diplomatic skill to convince our
allies that we are strong and our adversaries that they
ought to be respectful of the United States, which they are.
We have got peace today, we are going to keep it,
and if you give me four more years we will keep it for
four more years.
As you know, I had the great privilege of
representing the Fifth Congressional District just a few
miles north of here for almost 26 years. The policy that I
followed for that period of time was that we had an open
door, we were candid, we emphasized the integrity, we were
forthright, we called them as we saw them. We never promised
more than we could deliver and we delivered everything
we promised. And that is the way we have run the White House
for the last 21 months and that is the way it will be run
for the next 48 months if you give me the support that we
need on Tuesday, and the support that we will get between
now and November.
Well, Betty and I can't thank you all enough for
being here at Niles and welcoming us warmly and giving us
the opportunity to say a few words to you. We hope we have
earned your support. We believe we have done a good job,
and I ask you for your support next Tuesday so I can be the
Republican representative in the great contest that will
end on November 2.
I have worked hard. We have done the right thing.
We have got America on the right track. We will keep it
there. I can assure you that Jerry Ford, if you give me
your support next Tuesday and next November, I won't let
you down for the next four years.
Thank you very, very much.
END (AT 4:20 P.M. EDT)