The Honorable Mark Warner, Democratic National Convention, Thursday, July 29, 2004

/EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UPON DELIVERY OF SPEECH, SCHEDULED FOR 7:16 P.M. EDT TODAY, JULY 29/

BOSTON, July 29 /PRNewswire/ -- The following is a transcript of a speech by the Honorable Mark Warner at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday, July 29, 2004:

Good evening fellow Democrats, and a special good evening to my friends in Virginia.  My name is Mark Warner and I want to answer the question y'all have been asking me all week.

Yes, John Kerry can win in Virginia and across the South.  And with your help he will.  When I ran for Governor of Virginia in 2001 all the pundits said it couldn't be done.  The Republicans controlled everything in Virginia back then.  But thanks to the endless hard work of thousands of Virginia Democrats, lots of Republicans, Independents, folks who hadn't voted Democratic in a long time, we proved the pundits wrong; and today I stand before you as the commonwealth's first Democratic Governor in more than a decade!

This year, those same pundits are back. They shake their heads and say Virginia has not voted for a Democrat for President since 1964, forty years ago.  Come November Virginia is going to prove the experts wrong once again and help send John Kerry to the White House! That's because we embrace the kind of American values that have defined John Kerry's entire life: service to country and the armed forces -- opportunity for all -- and most unique American value, our basic sense of fairness.

Though we're just across the river from Washington, where George W. Bush currently lives, it's like a world apart.  In Washington, we've seen the first budget surplus in a generation become the largest deficit in history.  Could you imagine what they would say if a Democratic administration did that?

In Virginia, we Democrats are the party of balanced budgets, a fairer tax code, and a stronger economic future.  We've always said -- you can't prepare for tomorrow until you get your fiscal house in order today.  And that will be John Kerry's approach when we take back the White House.

John Kerry will work for educational opportunity and good jobs.  He'll work to give young people in small towns the chance to live and work in the place they grew up.  Because you shouldn't have to leave your family or your hometown to get a good job.  And to work for true fiscal responsibility, and economic opportunity it will take a president who will work across party lines and regional divisions. John Kerry will bring us together to get the job done. If we can do it in Virginia, we can do it in America!  And John Kerry will lead the way.

You know, it has been a while since Virginia voted for a Democrat for President.  Moses wandered in the desert for forty years.  Virginia has been wandering in the Republican desert for forty years. But this year, no Bush will tell us what to do.  This year our wandering is over.  This year, with old-fashioned values and new ideas, Virginia stands ready to help send John Kerry to the White House!

Thank you, God bless America and the Commonwealth of Virginia!

Source: Democratic National Convention Committee

CONTACT:  Peggy Wilhide of the Democratic National Convention Committee,
+1-617-366-3100

Web site:  http://www.dems2004.org/