Welcome to my campaign's home page! I appreciate your interest in my candidacy and our country.
I am running for President because -- as a two-term governor of our nation's fourth-largest state and as a leader in the United States Senate -- I am convinced that our country is headed in the wrong direction. In just a little over two years under George W. Bush, more than 2 million of our fellow Americans have lost their jobs, the stock market has lost nearly one-quarter of its value, and our federal budget has plunged from record surpluses to the deepest deficits in history.
In foreign policy, the War on Terrorism has lost direction, the alliances that came together after 9/11 are in a shambles, and our world is less -- not more -- secure.
I want to get America back on track. So that I can look into the faces of my four children and 10 grandchildren and tell them that I did everything I could to make the country a safer, more just, and more prosperous place for them. I want to expand health care, improve public schools, and make sure our seniors have the quality of life they deserve in retirement.
Please join me. This site offers opportunities for you to volunteer, make a contribution, even invite me to do a Workday in your hometown. Together, let's get to work for America's future!
Bob Graham's Declaration of Candidacy for President of the United States
(May 6, 2003)
We are gathered here today because this is where the future is built. In communities across America. And especially in places like Florida.
"...a dynamic future rests on a fragile foundation: an environment we must protect; diversity we must nurture; values we must safeguard; families and communities in which we must invest."
-- Bob Graham
This land at the southern tip of the United States has lured people for centuries with the promise of a better future.
But we Floridians know well that a dynamic future rests on a fragile foundation: an environment we must protect; diversity we must nurture; values we must safeguard; families and communities in which we must invest.
We know we will be judged by whether we leave our children and grandchildren an America that is better than the one we inherited.
I am an optimist. America's best days are still ahead of us. Yet, realizing that future starts with an honest assessment of where we are today.
In too many ways, the current Administration in Washington has diminished our inheritance.
President Bush took office at a time of unparalleled prosperity and historic budget surpluses --
when America counted itself not only the strongest but also the most admired nation in the world.
Today, barely two years later, we live in a very different America:
The stock market has lost nearly one-quarter of its value
2 million more Americans are jobless
1.4 million more of us lack health insurance
Budget surpluses have turned into the deepest deficits in history
And our country is viewed with increased hostility, not just by those who hate and threaten America but even by those who share our values.
For more than 200 years, this country has enjoyed phenomenal growth and success because of our commitment to a universal system of public education.
For nearly a century, Social Security has been a cornerstone of economic security for all Americans.
For nearly a half-century, Medicare has guaranteed every older American the basic medical care they need from the doctor of their choice.
Through four decades, America has recognized the need to promote, and not just pay lip-service to, civil rights and opportunity for all Americans.
For well over a generation we have improved the quality of life of every American with cleaner air to breathe and water to drink.
For as long as any of us can remember, America was a beacon for the world.
Yet on all these basic American values, the Bush Administration has reneged on America's promise and jeopardized our future.
Even in this Administration's singular success -- military victory in Iraq -- it has departed from historic American values and policies.
Americans have never cowered from facing down aggression abroad -- we freed Europe from Hitler and Kuwait from Saddam Hussein.
I am proud to have been among the few Democratic Senators to vote to authorize the use of force against Saddam by the first President Bush in 1991.
Yet, instead of pursuing the most imminent and real threats to our future -- terrorism--
this Bush Administration chose to settle old scores.
It is time to bring America back -- back to an emphasis first and foremost on protecting our own citizens.
We honor the service and the sacrifice of our men and women in uniform.
However, this Administration has ignored homeland security in all but name while it focused all its energy on Iraq.
We all agree that Saddam Hussein is an evil man -- but he was not our biggest threat.
I know firsthand as former Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee how little this Administration has done to provide real security at home while it has directed its attention away from the war on terror abroad.
It is time to bring America back -- back from one of our longest economic slowdowns ever--
and the only economic slowdown since, well, since the last time a Bush was in the White House.
It is painfully clear the President has no economic policy other than tax cuts for the very wealthy.
He shows no sign of knowing how to lead us back to economic prosperity.
We need a president who will bring America back -- back to economic health with policies that invest in our people and their future.
It is time to bring America back -- back to fiscal integrity.
The last Democratic administration not only put this country back on the road to fiscal solvency,
it produced the biggest budget surpluses in the nation's history.
The Bush Administration has squandered it all.
We need a president who will fight for our nation’s economic future instead of the short-term interests of a special few.
And most of all -- most of all -- it is time to bring America back together.
This President sought office claiming to be a uniter not a divider -- but he has united us only in our pride and support for our fighting men and women.
He has otherwise pursued a divisive domestic agenda.
He has talked the language of diversity and opportunity -- but walked away from doing anything to promote them.
As their friends at corporations like Enron pillaged the economy and the retirement hopes of millions of Americans -- as the stock market's fall robbed even more millions of their savings --
as executives raised their own salaries while firing workers -- this Administration has answered with damning indifference.
They have divided our nation between the few at the top whom they serve and the many who are left to fend for themselves with the moral equivalent of duct tape.
We have increasingly become two Americas.
We must become one America again -- an America energized with optimism -- an America that continues its never-ending experiment of democracy -- an America that looks to the dawn and the spring -- an America whose sights are higher, never lower, whose aspirations are greater,
never lesser.
THAT IS WHY...I AM TODAY...DECLARING THAT I AM A CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
I am running for President to bring back our economy.
As Governor, I led in the creation of over one million new jobs, invested in Florida's housing and infrastructure, and still kept the tax burden one of the lowest in the nation.
As a Senator, I helped pass an expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit, tax breaks for small businesses and homeowners and tax deductions to help pay for college tuition.
As President, I will revive the economy with needed investments in transportation and education,
and targeted tax cuts.
That's not just my promise -- that's the promise of America.
I am running for President to bring back fiscal responsibility.
As a Governor, I balanced eight budgets.
As a Senator, I've fought to eliminate the deficit, and promote fiscal prudence.
I voted against the President's tax giveaways in 2001, and -- unlike others who seek to replace him now -- I voted against the same ill-advised policies again in 2003.
As President, I will pass on to our children and grandchildren a strong and growing economy, not a burden of debt.
That's not just my promise -- that's the promise of America.
I am running for President to bring back America's commitment to protecting our families' health, promoting our children's educations, and preserving our environmental heritage.
As governor, I raised education standards, increased accountability and teacher salaries, and built new schools.
I've worked across party lines to craft a bipartisan Medicare prescription drug plan that helps seniors, not the drug companies.
I've launched efforts to save our everglades, our coast and beaches, our scenic and wild rivers,
and our wetlands.
That's not just my promise -- that's the promise of America.
I am running for President to bring back a focus on America’s security.
In the Senate, I helped lead the fight to mandate the first federal security standards for our nation's ports, spearheaded the investigation of 9-11, and even before that tragedy,
started the process of strengthening and reforming our Intelligence Agencies.
As President, I will make sure homeland defense consists of more than just plastic wrap.
And that's not just my promise -- that's the promise of America.
As president, I will bring America back -- back to the values of our past and the promise of our future.
And most of all, back together -- as one America.
In our America, people at the top don't play by different rules.
In our America, people work together.
In our America, leaders listen.
I've spent my life listening to the voices of America.
I've spent it working with America's people.
I've worked construction, and taught in our schools.
I've worked as a short-order cook and a security guard.
I've worked on the docks and on assembly lines.
I'm proud that many of the people I've worked with side-by-side over the years are here with us today.
And just as they are standing with me, throughout my career I have stood with them.
Working with Americans to me has meant learning from Americans.
At a time when we have a president who does not share their problems and concerns, but favors special interests over their own, it exemplifies the values to which we must return.
Those are the values I was raised with in the days when this community was still a farm and Florida was still a frontier.
My father was a dairy farmer.
He worked hard from sun to sun to carve his livelihood out of the edges of the Everglades.
Only 5 miles from this spot, he taught me how to work the land -- and how to love it.
He taught me how to value a dollar -- and to build a new community, this community that remains my home to this day.
Adele and I and our 4 daughters graduated from public schools.
Our grandchildren of school age attend public schools.
My mother, my wife, and two of my daughters have all been teachers.
They have constantly reminded me of the importance of education and of opportunity -- to each and every child...to all Americans.
Most of all, here at home I learned the importance of family.
My greatest influences were my father and mother.
My greatest counselors and advisors have been my brothers.
My greatest source of support has been my wife of 44 years, Adele.
And the greatest inspiration for all I do is my four daughters -- Gwen, Cissy, Suzanne, and Kendall -- and my 10 grandchildren: They represent the future.
This election is about their future -- and the futures of every child, in every town and city, in every family across America.
That’s why this election is so important.
It's why I'm running.
And why I ask you to join me in bringing America back to its historic role -- as one nation -- under God – indivisible -- with liberty -- and justice – for all.
And that is truly the promise of America.
Thank you and God Bless America!
Source: Bob Graham for President
Bob Graham 2004 Web Site
May 6, 2003
Welcome!
Welcome to my campaign's home page! I appreciate your interest in my candidacy and our country.
I am running for President because -- as a two-term governor of our nation's fourth-largest state and as a leader in the United States Senate -- I am convinced that our country is headed in the wrong direction. In just a little over two years under George W. Bush, more than 2 million of our fellow Americans have lost their jobs, the stock market has lost nearly one-quarter of its value, and our federal budget has plunged from record surpluses to the deepest deficits in history.
In foreign policy, the War on Terrorism has lost direction, the alliances that came together after 9/11 are in a shambles, and our world is less -- not more -- secure.
I want to get America back on track. So that I can look into the faces of my four children and 10 grandchildren and tell them that I did everything I could to make the country a safer, more just, and more prosperous place for them. I want to expand health care, improve public schools, and make sure our seniors have the quality of life they deserve in retirement.
Please join me. This site offers opportunities for you to volunteer, make a contribution, even invite me to do a Workday in your hometown. Together, let's get to work for America's future!
Bob Graham's Declaration of Candidacy for President of the United States
(May 6, 2003)
We are gathered here today because this is where the future is built. In communities across America. And especially in places like Florida.
"...a dynamic future rests on a fragile foundation: an environment we must protect; diversity we must nurture; values we must safeguard; families and communities in which we must invest."
-- Bob Graham
This land at the southern tip of the United States has lured people for centuries with the promise of a better future.
But we Floridians know well that a dynamic future rests on a fragile foundation: an environment we must protect; diversity we must nurture; values we must safeguard; families and communities in which we must invest.
We know we will be judged by whether we leave our children and grandchildren an America that is better than the one we inherited.
I am an optimist. America's best days are still ahead of us. Yet, realizing that future starts with an honest assessment of where we are today.
In too many ways, the current Administration in Washington has diminished our inheritance.
President Bush took office at a time of unparalleled prosperity and historic budget surpluses --
when America counted itself not only the strongest but also the most admired nation in the world.
Today, barely two years later, we live in a very different America:
The stock market has lost nearly one-quarter of its value
2 million more Americans are jobless
1.4 million more of us lack health insurance
Budget surpluses have turned into the deepest deficits in history
And our country is viewed with increased hostility, not just by those who hate and threaten America but even by those who share our values.
For more than 200 years, this country has enjoyed phenomenal growth and success because of our commitment to a universal system of public education.
For nearly a century, Social Security has been a cornerstone of economic security for all Americans.
For nearly a half-century, Medicare has guaranteed every older American the basic medical care they need from the doctor of their choice.
Through four decades, America has recognized the need to promote, and not just pay lip-service to, civil rights and opportunity for all Americans.
For well over a generation we have improved the quality of life of every American with cleaner air to breathe and water to drink.
For as long as any of us can remember, America was a beacon for the world.
Yet on all these basic American values, the Bush Administration has reneged on America's promise and jeopardized our future.
Even in this Administration's singular success -- military victory in Iraq -- it has departed from historic American values and policies.
Americans have never cowered from facing down aggression abroad -- we freed Europe from Hitler and Kuwait from Saddam Hussein.
I am proud to have been among the few Democratic Senators to vote to authorize the use of force against Saddam by the first President Bush in 1991.
Yet, instead of pursuing the most imminent and real threats to our future -- terrorism--
this Bush Administration chose to settle old scores.
It is time to bring America back -- back to an emphasis first and foremost on protecting our own citizens.
We honor the service and the sacrifice of our men and women in uniform.
However, this Administration has ignored homeland security in all but name while it focused all its energy on Iraq.
We all agree that Saddam Hussein is an evil man -- but he was not our biggest threat.
I know firsthand as former Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee how little this Administration has done to provide real security at home while it has directed its attention away from the war on terror abroad.
It is time to bring America back -- back from one of our longest economic slowdowns ever--
and the only economic slowdown since, well, since the last time a Bush was in the White House.
It is painfully clear the President has no economic policy other than tax cuts for the very wealthy.
He shows no sign of knowing how to lead us back to economic prosperity.
We need a president who will bring America back -- back to economic health with policies that invest in our people and their future.
It is time to bring America back -- back to fiscal integrity.
The last Democratic administration not only put this country back on the road to fiscal solvency,
it produced the biggest budget surpluses in the nation's history.
The Bush Administration has squandered it all.
We need a president who will fight for our nation’s economic future instead of the short-term interests of a special few.
And most of all -- most of all -- it is time to bring America back together.
This President sought office claiming to be a uniter not a divider -- but he has united us only in our pride and support for our fighting men and women.
He has otherwise pursued a divisive domestic agenda.
He has talked the language of diversity and opportunity -- but walked away from doing anything to promote them.
As their friends at corporations like Enron pillaged the economy and the retirement hopes of millions of Americans -- as the stock market's fall robbed even more millions of their savings --
as executives raised their own salaries while firing workers -- this Administration has answered with damning indifference.
They have divided our nation between the few at the top whom they serve and the many who are left to fend for themselves with the moral equivalent of duct tape.
We have increasingly become two Americas.
We must become one America again -- an America energized with optimism -- an America that continues its never-ending experiment of democracy -- an America that looks to the dawn and the spring -- an America whose sights are higher, never lower, whose aspirations are greater,
never lesser.
THAT IS WHY...I AM TODAY...DECLARING THAT I AM A CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
I am running for President to bring back our economy.
As Governor, I led in the creation of over one million new jobs, invested in Florida's housing and infrastructure, and still kept the tax burden one of the lowest in the nation.
As a Senator, I helped pass an expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit, tax breaks for small businesses and homeowners and tax deductions to help pay for college tuition.
As President, I will revive the economy with needed investments in transportation and education,
and targeted tax cuts.
That's not just my promise -- that's the promise of America.
I am running for President to bring back fiscal responsibility.
As a Governor, I balanced eight budgets.
As a Senator, I've fought to eliminate the deficit, and promote fiscal prudence.
I voted against the President's tax giveaways in 2001, and -- unlike others who seek to replace him now -- I voted against the same ill-advised policies again in 2003.
As President, I will pass on to our children and grandchildren a strong and growing economy, not a burden of debt.
That's not just my promise -- that's the promise of America.
I am running for President to bring back America's commitment to protecting our families' health, promoting our children's educations, and preserving our environmental heritage.
As governor, I raised education standards, increased accountability and teacher salaries, and built new schools.
I've worked across party lines to craft a bipartisan Medicare prescription drug plan that helps seniors, not the drug companies.
I've launched efforts to save our everglades, our coast and beaches, our scenic and wild rivers,
and our wetlands.
That's not just my promise -- that's the promise of America.
I am running for President to bring back a focus on America’s security.
In the Senate, I helped lead the fight to mandate the first federal security standards for our nation's ports, spearheaded the investigation of 9-11, and even before that tragedy,
started the process of strengthening and reforming our Intelligence Agencies.
As President, I will make sure homeland defense consists of more than just plastic wrap.
And that's not just my promise -- that's the promise of America.
As president, I will bring America back -- back to the values of our past and the promise of our future.
And most of all, back together -- as one America.
In our America, people at the top don't play by different rules.
In our America, people work together.
In our America, leaders listen.
I've spent my life listening to the voices of America.
I've spent it working with America's people.
I've worked construction, and taught in our schools.
I've worked as a short-order cook and a security guard.
I've worked on the docks and on assembly lines.
I'm proud that many of the people I've worked with side-by-side over the years are here with us today.
And just as they are standing with me, throughout my career I have stood with them.
Working with Americans to me has meant learning from Americans.
At a time when we have a president who does not share their problems and concerns, but favors special interests over their own, it exemplifies the values to which we must return.
Those are the values I was raised with in the days when this community was still a farm and Florida was still a frontier.
My father was a dairy farmer.
He worked hard from sun to sun to carve his livelihood out of the edges of the Everglades.
Only 5 miles from this spot, he taught me how to work the land -- and how to love it.
He taught me how to value a dollar -- and to build a new community, this community that remains my home to this day.
Adele and I and our 4 daughters graduated from public schools.
Our grandchildren of school age attend public schools.
My mother, my wife, and two of my daughters have all been teachers.
They have constantly reminded me of the importance of education and of opportunity -- to each and every child...to all Americans.
Most of all, here at home I learned the importance of family.
My greatest influences were my father and mother.
My greatest counselors and advisors have been my brothers.
My greatest source of support has been my wife of 44 years, Adele.
And the greatest inspiration for all I do is my four daughters -- Gwen, Cissy, Suzanne, and Kendall -- and my 10 grandchildren: They represent the future.
This election is about their future -- and the futures of every child, in every town and city, in every family across America.
That’s why this election is so important.
It's why I'm running.
And why I ask you to join me in bringing America back to its historic role -- as one nation -- under God – indivisible -- with liberty -- and justice – for all.
And that is truly the promise of America.
Thank you and God Bless America!
Source: Bob Graham for President
Bob Graham 2004 Web Site
October 3, 2003
Statement by Senator Bob Graham, D-Florida
October 6, 2003
Tonight I am announcing the end of my campaign for President of the United States.
Five months ago, I began this campaign with two goals.
The first was to be the next President of our nation. I felt the best prepared and most able Democratic candidate to be elected President. I have concluded that is not to be. A combination of factors has convinced me, reluctantly, that my dreams for the Presidency are not attainable.
My second goal was to lead this great nation to an even greater place. I am an optimist - a better America is just over the horizon. But we will not achieve that better America under President Bush. We must change the direction that this President is taking us.
So while I end my personal Presidential quest, I don't end the fight that led me to run for the Presidency in the first place. I will continue that fight with all my energy.
In Florida and across this great nation, I will continue to fight for a more secure America - an America more secure than we have been since September 11th, 2001. We must have greater homeland security, greater economic security and greater health care security.
Homeland security for all Americans is only achievable if:
Our nation stays focused on the war on terror until it is won. We must reject distractions from that victory. The quagmire in Iraq is a distraction that the Bush administration, and the Bush administration alone, has created.
We protect ourselves with real homeland security. The President's rhetoric is not a substitute for a genuine financial commitment to America's police, firefighters, EMS and others on the front lines of the battle to protect our homeland. I will continue to be a voice for those who dedicate themselves every day to protecting this great nation from the plague of terrorism.
I will continue to fight for an economic policy that has the goal of jobs - good jobs - for all Americans. Here, again, the President has taken us in the wrong direction. His only plan is massive tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans - tax cuts that have not and will not flow down to create new jobs for the three million working Americans who have lost theirs under the flawed leadership of President Bush.
I will continue to fight to create real jobs by moving those tax cuts to benefit middle America. I will continue to fight to create jobs by actually creating jobs - jobs rebuilding our aging and unreliable electric systems, roads, bridges and schools.
What I have said time and time again on the campaign trail is true today. If we can spend hundreds of billions of dollars occupying and rebuilding Iraq, we can employ Americans in America to rebuild America.
I will continue to fight to lift the burden from our children and grandchildren of out-of-control deficits, which the President accepts with indifference. We will not allow this President to pass his debts on to future generations. I will continue to fight to hold this President accountable.
I will continue to fight to give our families quality education and health care, including a prescription drug benefit under Medicare. One of the most important measures of a nation is how it takes care of its most vulnerable. This President is failing that measure. We must find a new direction.
I will continue my longstanding fight for our environment. We will not allow this President to put in place policies and programs that chip away at the natural resources that are the very core of our nation. Our soils, trees, rivers and beaches are not there to be exploited for profit, they are there for all Americans to cherish today, tomorrow, and a hundred years from now.
This campaign has been an uplifting experience for our family and me. From a Fourth of July parade in Merrimack, New Hampshire, to an August family tour of Iowa, this has been an unforgettable time for the Graham family. We have shared this journey with a talented staff which, despite the odds, has worked tirelessly and professionally on my behalf.
And, to our supporters, both in Florida and across America, thank you for believing in me, for your help, and for sharing the dream. We entered this campaign for the right reasons, and we will continue to stand together - to fight to put our nation back on the right track.
We believe America's best days are ahead. We believe the best chance of realizing our enormous national potential is through the election of a Democrat as the next President of the United States of America. We will continue to fight for that victory
Bob Graham 2004 Web Site
October 6, 2003
COPYRIGHT 2000-2024 - 4PRESIDENT CORPORATION/MIKE DEC PHOTOGRAPHY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
COPYRIGHT 2000-2024 - 4PRESIDENT CORPORATION/MIKE DEC PHOTOGRAPHY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
COPYRIGHT 2000-2024 - 4PRESIDENT CORPORATION/MIKE DEC PHOTOGRAPHY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
COPYRIGHT 2000-2024 - 4PRESIDENT CORPORATION/MIKE DEC PHOTOGRAPHY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED