m I
speak--you, the citizens of this blessed land. Your dreams, your hopes,
your goals are going to be the dreams, the hopes, and the goals of this
administration, so help me God.

We shall reflect the compassion that is so much a part of your makeup.
How can we love our country and not love our countrymen, and loving
them, reach out a hand when they fall, heal them when they are sick, and
provide opportunities to make them self-sufficient so they will be
equal in fact and not just in theory?

Can we solve the problems confronting us? Well, the answer is an
unequivocal and emphatic "yes." To paraphrase Winston Churchill, I did
not take the oath I have just taken with the intention of presiding over
the dissolution of the world's strongest economy.

In the days ahead I will propose removing the roadblocks that have
slowed our economy and reduced productivity. Steps will be taken aimed
at restoring the balance between the various levels of government.
Progress may be slow--measured in inches and feet, not miles--but we
will progress. Is it time to reawaken this industrial giant, to get
government back within its means, and to lighten our punitive tax
burden. And these will be our first priorities, and on these principles,
there will be no compromise.

On the eve of our struggle for independence a man who might have been
one of the greatest among the Founding Fathers, Dr. Joseph Warren,
President of the Massachusetts Congress, said to his fellow Americans,
"Our country is in danger, but not to be despaired of.... On you depend
the fortunes of America. You are to decide the important questions upon
which rests the happiness and the liberty of millions yet unborn. Act
worthy of yourselves."

Well, I believe we, the Americans of today, are ready to act worthy of
ourselves, ready to do what must be done to ensure happiness and liberty
for ourselves, our children and our children's children.

And as we renew ourselves here in our own land, we will be seen as
having greater strength throughout the world. We will again be the
exemplar of freedom and a beacon of hope for those who do not now have
freedom.

To those neighbors and allies who share our freedom, we will strengthen
our historic ties and assure them of our support and firm commitment. We
will match loyalty with loyalty. We will strive for mutually beneficial
relations. We will not use our friendship to impose on their
sovereignty, for our own sovereignty is not