George and I grew up in Midland, Texas -- a small town in a vast desert -- a place where neighbors had to help each other because any other help was too far away.
Midland was a place of family and community, and it had a sense of possibility as big as the West Texas sky. Midland formed value reserves as deep and longer lasting than any of its oil wells. And from the wellspring of those values, George developed the strength and constancy of conviction.
His core principles will not change with the winds of polls or politics or fame or fortune or misfortune. I know because I've known him through big legislative successes and a few defeats. I sat by his side during some winning and many losing baseball seasons. But George never loses sight of home plate.
I was looking through some family scrapbooks recently. The first year we married, George ran for Congress in West Texas. As I thumbed through the old brochures, what struck me is how the things George said then are the same things he believes now ... that government should be limited ... that local people make the best decisions for their schools and communities ... that all laws and policies should support strong families ... that individuals are responsible for their actions.
George stood on these principles as Governor, and he worked with Republicans and Democrats to build consensus and get things done.
He shares credit and doesn't cast blame. He sets a tone that's positive and constructive, a tone that is very different from the bitterness and division that too often characterizes Washington D.C. Finally, George has a strong sense of purpose.
To quote the hymn that inspired his book, he believes we all have "a charge to keep," -- a responsibility to use our different gifts to serve a cause greater than self.
The President of the United States of America is more than a man -- or a woman, as I hope the case will sometime be. The President is the most visible symbol of our country, of its heart and its values and its leadership in the world. And when Americans vote this November, they will be looking for someone to uphold that high honor and that trust.
You can see it in the pictures. The pictures are one of the most compelling stories of this campaign. We first saw them on our very first campaign trip. They're the pictures of America's future.
Moms and Dads and grandparents bring them to parades and picnics. They hold out pictures of their children and they say to George ... "I'm counting on you ...I want my son or daughter to respect the President of the United States of America."
George is a leader who inspires the best in others and he will bring out the best in our country. George and I recently went to the high school graduation in Crawford, Texas, population 631. Like so many Americans, the people in Crawford are down-to-earth people with big dreams for their children.
This early summer night, the sky was huge and full of more stars than you could take in at once. The graduation was especially poignant because one young man who should have been there wasn't.
He died of cancer two years ago, during his sophomore year. His parents were on the front row, and we all cried with them. The community embraced them, on this special occasion that was so happy and so sad all at once.
As I watched George visit with the graduates and their families, I thought ... This is America. Down-to-earth people who work hard, who care for our neighbors, who want a better life for our children. And the people of America deserve a leader who lifts our sights, who inspires us to dream bigger and do more.
In the midst of this presidential campaign, at our ranch outside of Crawford, George and I are building a house. It's a foundation to come home to -- with a big sky to look up to.
As we worked on the plans, I put a door between bedrooms that our teenagers will probably want closed to keep us from hearing their conversations. But one day, we'll want to open that door so we can hear our grandchildren playing.
One day, God willing, George will be a fabulous grandfather. In the meantime, he'll make a great President.
Thank you, God bless you all, and God bless America.
