Governor Michael O. Leavitt

Last night, I sat on the floor of this convention and watched as Elizabeth Dole walked among the people and told America about Bob Dole the husband, Bob Dole the father, Bob Dole the soldier, Bob Dole the neighbor, Bob Dole the man.

I thought of my 18-year-old son, if he is ever called into battle, as Bob Dole was, there's a Commander in Chief he could follow. He's a man worthy of the title President of the United States of America.

Bob Dole wears on the lapel of his coat a small pin. The purple heart, a symbol of his devotion to this county. On the inside of his coat is another symbol, important enough that Bob Dole carries it with him all the time. It's a copy of the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution. A 28-word guarantee that the federal government will be limited and that all other powers will stay with the states and the people. And the best part . . . Bob Dole believes it.

I grew up in a family of six boys. It wasn't unusual for us to fight over desert. My mother would resolve those conflicts, probably in the same way your mother did. She'd say, Mike, you cut the pie and Dane (my brother) you choose.

I would with scalpel -ike precision cut that pie, knowing if one piece was bigger than the other, my brother would take it. There was a simple elegance about her system. We called it Mother's Rules.

Our nation's founders, men like Madison and Jefferson, used a version of Mother's Rules in writing the Constitution. Four hot, sweaty months in Philadelphia they battled, coming several times to the brink of failure. But in the end, a brilliant compromise. Two governments. A strong national government with limited duties, and state government, which would have all other powers. The founders believed both governments would jealously guard their roles . . . a check and balance system . . . Mother's Rules.

For the last 40 years, Mother's Rules have been broken over and over. States have been relegated to permission seekers . . . a mother-may-I relationship. Washington has bulged into a big, bloated bureaucracy. It's out of balance. It dominates our lives. Bob Dole believes in restoring the simple elegance and healthy tension of Mother's Rules to federal-state relations.

Two years ago, Americans launched a ballot box revolution. In the afterglow of that election, 30 Republican governors met in Williamsburg, Virginia, the birthplace of our democracy. Before dawn I walked the streets of that historic town, where Madison and Jefferson had walked.

I wondered what they would think about the condition of their creation? What would they think of 40 years of Democrats in Congress who DID NOT, WOULD NOT AND WILL NOT balance the budget? What would Madison and Jefferson say about federal bureaucrats who think their real job is to be the state legislature, city council or the school board in towns all over America?

They would say ENOUGH! We say ENOUGH!

Bob Dole wants to return power to the states and the people, not to weaken Washington, but to create a counterbalance, to protect the people of this country from a government that is OVER REACHING, OVER SPENDING, AND OVER PRIVILEGED.

The Republican party stands for lower taxes, less government and local control. Our message is simple. Democracy works best when it's within driving distance.

People just feel powerless when they deal with the federal government. When you hear their stories, it's easy to understand why. Jack and Eula Howard's family has used the same spring for 100 years. Thirteen years ago, a mud slide damage the well. Federal regulators won't let them fix it.

(Video clip of the Howards) You're right, Eula. Let's bring government home to the people.

Here's another story. A success story about what can happen when government is close to the people.

(Video clip of Patrick Horgan) The good news is we fixed Patrick's problem. The bad news is people all over America are still trapped by senseless federal regulations. It's the states where innovative solutions are happening.

Bob Dole believes the Constitution is a covenant with folks like Jack and Eula Howard and Patrick Horgan, and all the rest of us that our freedom must not be encroached upon by an unbridled national government.

The ballot box revolution that began two years ago must continue. It was a mandate for LOWER TAXES, LESS GOVERNMENT, AND LOCAL CONTROL. We are one election away from completing the job.

Madison and Jefferson would have one piece of advice for the American people today: finish the job, vote Republican.

God bless the United States of America!