(Forbes began by acknowledging those on the stage with him). Well, my friends, as my father once said when he lost the governor's race in New Jersey, "We were nosed out by a landslide." [laughter]

But I have no regrets and you shouldn't either, for together you and I have transformed the public agenda, the political landscape.  Together we have created a new conservative agenda, and that agenda will come to pass, mark my words. [applause].  In 1964 Barry Goldwater lost his campaign for the presidency but he made history when he launched the great conservative movement of the 20th century and set the stage for Ronald Reagan.  Today I am withdrawing from the presidential contest, but I'm not withdrawing from the public square. [applause].

I don't believe in business in usual; I don't believe in politics as usual.  With every ounce of energy and passion that I have, I aim to set the stage, with your help, for the next great conservative century--the greatest era of economic freedom and spiritual renewal this country's ever experienced. [applause].

As you know, America today is on the cusp of what should be one of the most extraordinary eras in human history.  No nation has ever occupied the position that we do today.  We're the only superpower in the world, something that has never happened in five thousand years of human history.  And we achieved that position not by sending legions out on missions of conquest, we did it through the strength that comes from a free, vibrant and moral people.

But as you know, just because great opportunities are before us, they're not going to happen unless good people work to make them happen. It's true in raising a family, it's true in running a business, it's true in doing your civic activities.  You have to work to make good things happen, and the same is true in the public square.

On New Year's Eve, when it became clear that the computers were going to allow us to enter this new century and new millennium, you could sense around the world the excitement and anticipation of what should be an extraordinary new age. We should also remind ourselves of the optimism that greeted the 20th century.  People a hundred years ago thought this century would not only see great material advances, but they also thought that almost by an effortlessness, they thought it would happen almost automatically, that the rule of law and democracy would advance.  After all, even Russia under the autocratic Czar, was beginning to establish haltingly a constitutional monarchy.

Then came a catastrophic and political failure of leadership, the First World War--seemingly millions slaughtered senselessly on the Western Front.  That catastrophe undermined the faith of many in the tenets of Western civilization.  The First World War led to the rise of communism, then fascism, Nazism, a Great Depression, another world war, followed by a forty year Cold War.

Now we have an opportunity again to help create an environment here at home and around the world where our values can sink real roots in once barren and hostile soil.  But it's not going to happen unless good people work to make it happen.

To guide us, we need only look at the founding document of our republic, the Declaration of Independence with those immortal words penned by Thomas Jefferson that, "We are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."  And what Abraham Lincoln said at Gettysburg, when he said that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom.  Those words can guide us just as surely as they've guided previous generations.

A new birth of freedom means the freedom to be born.  Many in America don't share our goal of a human life amendment, but the ground is shifting.  It is shifting in part because of the partial birth debate, but also too because of technology, especially the sonogram, which vividly illustrates that the baby in the womb is a separate being with a separate soul, and therefore deserving of the full protection of the laws of the United States. [cheers, applause].

We must remind ourselves that life is a God-endowed right, not a state-endowed right, that when the least of us are vulnerable, ultimately all of us are vulnerable. That is why we must engage in a national dialogue with those who don't yet agree with our goal; try to persuade them each step of the way that life indeed does begin at conception and should end only in natural death. [applause].

As the 20th century has taught us bloodily and tragically, a new birth of freedom means America keeping faith with those who defend our freedom.  To have young people don our uniform, to put their lives on the line to defend us, and then not give them everything they need to do the job, that is a dereliction of duty.  This is not a money issue; this is not a military issue.  This is profoundly a moral issue.  We must keep faith with those who are defending our freedom, and we must keep faith with those who've defended our freedom in the past, with their benefits that have been promised and…[applause].

The new birth of freedom means freedom from fear of the Internal Revenue Service. After all we are overtaxed in America.  And who is hurt most with the kind of horrible system that we have today?  It's those who begin life with the least, those who are struggling to get on their feet.  This is an opportunity issue; this is a quality of life issue.  And we should start, as I've said, by taking this abomination known as the federal income tax code, and finally doing to it what Hollywood used to do to monsters in its movies before they discovered sequels, and that is to take the beast, kill it, drive a stake through its heart, bury it and hope it never rises…[cheers, applause].

The new birth of freedom means allowing working Americans to be in charge of their Social Security.  This is a fantastic opportunity, having those tax dollars go to their own personal accounts where every American partakes in the growing bounty of America, and we should work to make it happen.

A new birth of freedom too means allowing you to choose your own doctors or your own specialists.  We the people should be in charge of health care, not third parties. This is America.
[applause].

A new birth of freedom means the freedom for parents to choose schools that work for their children, not for bureaucracies or special interests. [applause].  No mother in America should be forced to send here child to a bad school, especially as we go in this Information Age.

So who will now pick up this banner of freedom and march on to victory?  This year I do not know, but let the contest begin.

In the meantime, I want to thank all of you who have been part of this effort. You did it for the right reasons.  You did it selflessly, for what is good for America. Today I'm here to thank you, to every one who has believed in our cause and worked in our cause.  And I leave this campaign, using Lincoln's words again, with malice towards none and with charity for all. [cheers, applause].

The good book says, to whom much is given, much is required, and that's sound advice for all of us.  My family and I, at least up 'til now, have enjoyed every minute of the campaign trail.  It's been a phenomenal experience.  We've had the opportunity to meet literally tens of thousands of Americans, a chance to talk to them, learn from them, have a dialogue with them.  I've gotten to know this country in a way that few have the privilege to know her.  And for all of our frailties, for all of our shortcomings
 
 
 

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