You and I have a rendevous with destiny.

And how stands the city on this winter night? More prosperous, more secure, and happier than it was 8 years ago. But more than that: After 200 years, two centuries, she still stands strong and true on the granite ridge, and her glow has held steady no matter what storm. And she's still a beacon, still a magnet for all who must have freedom, for all the pilgrims from all the lost places who are hurtling through the darkness, toward home.

I have recently been told that I am one of the millions of Americans who will be afflicted with Alzheimer's Disease. . .. I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life. I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead.

This is not to say that the government should confiscate from the "haves" and bestow upon the "have-nots", beyond the requirements of a compassionate welfare program to provide for those who cannot provide for themselves. Far from it. But it is to say that our duty is to foster a strong, vibrant wealth-producing economy which operates in such a way that new additions to wealth accrue to those who presently have little or no ownership stake in their country.

And let us never forget that in honoring our flag, we honor the American men and women who have courageously fought and died for it over the last 200 years, patriots who set an ideal above any consideration of self. Our flag flies free today because of their sacrifice.

One of the traditional methods of imposing statism or socialism on a people has been by way of medicine.

If history teaches us anything, it teaches that simple-minded appeasement or wishful thinking about our adversaries is folly.