We need to do the same thing here in America. So I'm here to ask you to get your fellow citizens to participate. Of course, once you get them headed to the polls I've got a suggestion of who they might be for. (Laughter.) And that's what we're going to talk about today.

I'm proud of brother, Jeb. I had the honor of spending the weekend with him. His oldest son, George P. got married, and the father of the groom handled his duties perfectly. (Laughter.) He's a great governor and a great brother. (Applause.) And I love him a lot. I love him a lot. And I love the First Lady a lot, too. (Applause.) When I asked Laura to marry me she was a public school librarian. There you go, yes! She didn't care for politics or politicians.

(Laughter.) Now, she's the First Lady of the United States and she's doing a great job. She really is. (Applause.) I wish she were here today, but she's campaigning in the Midwest, and she's doing a really neat experience. I like to tell people, I've got reasons why I'd like you to put me back in, but perhaps the most important one is so that Laura is the First Lady for four more years. (Applause.)

I'm going to talk a little bit about what I'd like to do. We've got some citizens here who are going to help me make some points about how America can be a better place. And then I'm going to answer some questions if we've got time.

I first want to say, thanks, to my friend, John McCain. John is a -- (applause) -- amazing guy who -- (applause) -- he's an amazing person. He's a great public servant. He served his nation in many ways. And I'm proud to be traveling with him. It's -- he's a lot of fun to be with. Plus, it helps -- (laughter) -- helps to have him stand by my side. So thanks for coming, friend. Appreciate you being here. (Applause.)

After the ranch, he and I are going to go over to Crawford -- I mean, after campaigning here in Panama City, he and I are going to go over to Crawford, and I'm going to show him the ranch. Then we're going to New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington and Iowa. (Applause.)

I want to thank -- I want to thank Congressman Jeff Miller, who is doing a fine job for the people. (Applause.) You're doing a great job, Congressman. Thanks for coming. Statehouse Speaker Designate Allan Bense, he's with us today. Allan, thank you for traveling. Where are you? (Applause.) He was with us. He probably heard I'm going to talk for about 45 minutes and left. (Laughter.) I'm proud to be traveling, as well, with Bev Kilmer. She's running for the congressional seat right next door to this one. Good luck to you. Thanks for coming. (Applause.) I'm proud to be here at Okaloosa-Walton College. I want to thank Bob Richburg, the president of this fine institution. (Applause.)

I tell people I'm running again because I want to work to make America safer, stronger and better. The biggest task we have in this country is to fight and win this war on terror. The most solemn duty a President has, the most solemn duty -- (applause) -- the most solemn duty those of us who hold high office have is to do everything we can to safeguard our country.

I never thought I'd be having to say this when I ran in 2000 -- John, we campaigned together, I don't remember saying, I anticipate war. Nobody wants to be the war President. People want to be the peace President. People want to be able to say, gosh, the world is peaceful. But that's not what happened under my watch. The country changed on September the 11th, 2001, and it's vital for the President to clearly see the world the way it is. (Applause.) I'll tell you some lessons I've learned that I don't think the country should ever forget. First of all, these people that killed us, they were training for years. They were preparing for years. They're evil people who cannot stand what we believe in. You cannot negotiate with these people. You cannot -- these are not the kind of people you can reason with. You cannot hope for the best. That's just the nature of these people. It's hard for the American people to understand the nature of somebody who's willing to kill an innocent child to achieve an objective. That's not the way we think. Nevertheless, we must be realistic about the nature of these folks.

The second lesson after September the 11th is when you say something you better mean it, in order to make the world a more peaceful place. (Applause.) I recognized right after September the 11th we were in a different kind of conflict. I noticed some World War II veterans who are here who fought a different kind of war. Freedom and liberty were at stake, but it was a different kind of war. This is a different kind of war here. This is a war that said not only must we bring justice to our enemies, wherever they hide, we cannot allow nations to provide them safe harbor or training, or to feed or equip them. We just can't do that. In order to be able to protect ourselves -- (applause.)

So that's why I said to the Taliban -- we gave the Taliban a warning: Quit harboring these people, quit feeding these people, quit providing safe haven so they can train to come and kill. And the Taliban chose defiance. And thanks to the United States and a coalition of the willing, the Taliban no longer is in power. (Applause.) And the world is safer for it. The world is safer for it. You know why? We've now got an ally in the war on terror. Al Qaeda can no longer find -- you know, attack and escape into the confines of a sovereign nation. That no longer is possible. But guess what else happened that is important? We liberated people. (Applause.) We freed people.

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