In this country, it doesn't make any difference where you were born. It doesn't make any difference who your parents were. It doesn't make any difference if you're like me and you couldn't even speak English until you were in your twenties.

America gave me opportunities and my immigrant dreams came true. I want other people to get the same chances I did, the same opportunities. And I believe they can. That's why I believe in this country. That's why I believe in this Party, and that's why I believe in this President.

Now, many of you out there tonight are "Republican" like me -- in your hearts and in your belief. Maybe you're from Guatemala. Maybe you're from the Philippines. Maybe you're from Europe or the Ivory Coast. Maybe you live in Ohio, Pennsylvania, or New Mexico. And maybe -- And maybe, just maybe, you don't agree with this Party on every single issue. I say to you tonight that I believe that's not only okay, but that's what's great about this country. Here -- Here we can respectfully disagree and still be patriotic, still be American, and still be good Republicans.

My fellow immigrants, my fellow Americans, how do you know if you are a Republican? Well, I['ll] tell you how.

If you believe that government should be accountable to the people, not the people to the government, then you are a Republican.

If you believe that a person should be treated as an individual, not as a member of an interest group, then you are a Republican.

If you believe that your family knows how to spend your money better than the government does, then you are a Republican.

If you believe that our educational system should be held accountable for the progress of our children, then you are a Republican.

If you believe -- If you believe that this country, not the United Nations, is best hope for democracy, then you are a Republican.

And ladies and gentlemen -- And ladies and gentlemen, if you believe that we must be fierce and relentless and terminate terrorism, then you are a Republican!

Now there's another way you can tell you're [a] Republican. You have faith in free enterprise, faith in the resourcefulness of the American people, and faith in the U.S. economy. And to those critics who are so pessimistic about our economy, I say: "Don't be economic girlie men!"

The U.S. -- The U.S. economy remains the envy of the world. We have the highest economic growth of any of the world's major industrialized nations. Don't you remember the pessimism of 20 years ago when the critics said that Japan and Germany are overtaking the U.S.? Ridiculous!

Now they say that India and China are overtaking us. Now don't you believe it. We may hit a few bumps -- but America always moves ahead. That's what Americans do.

We move prosperity ahead -- We move prosperity ahead. We move freedom ahead. And we move people ahead. And under President Bush and Vice President Cheney, America's economy is moving ahead in spite of the recession they inherited and in spite of the attack on our homeland.

Now -- Now the other Party says that we are two Americas. Don't you believe that either. I have visited our troops in Iraq, Kuwait, Bosnia, Germany and all over the world. I've visited our troops in California, where they train before they go overseas. I have visited our military hospitals. And I tell you this: that our men and women in uniform do not believe there are two Americas. They believe there's one America and they are fighting for it!

We are one America -- We are one America and President Bush is defending it with all his heart and soul.

That's what I admire most about the President: He is a man of perseverance. He's a man of inner strength. He's a leader who doesn't flinch, who doesn't waiver, and does not back down.

My fellow Americans -- My fellow Americans, make no mistake about it: Terrorism is more insidious than communism, because it yearns to destroy not just the individual, but the entire international order. The President did not go into Iraq because the polls told him it was popular. As a matter of fact, the polls said just the opposite. But leadership isn't about polls. It's about ma -- It's about making decisions you think are right and then standing behind those decisions. That's why America is safer with George W. Bush as President.

He knows -- He knows you don't reason with terrorists. You defeat them. He knows you can't reason with people blinded by hate. You see, they hate the power of the individual. They hate the progress of women. They hate the religious freedom of others. And they hate the liberating breeze of democracy. But ladies and gentlemen, their hate is no match for America's decency.

We are -- We are the America that sends out the Peace Corps volunteers to teach our village children. We are the America that sends out the missionaries and doctors to raise up the poor and the sick. We are the America that gives more than any other country to fight AIDS in Africa and the developing world. And we are -- And we are the America that fights not for imperialism but for human rights and democracy.

You know, when the Germans brought down the Berlin Wall, America's determination helped wield the sledgehammers. And when the lone, young Chinese man stood in front of those tanks in Tiananmen Square, America stood with him. And when Nelson Mandela smiled in election victory after all those years in prison, America celebrated, too.

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