DECISION ‘92: SPECIAL VOTER’S GUIDE TO THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION : THEIR PROMISES: Excerpts from the candidate’s basic stump speeches, a look at what they vow to do for the nation : BUSH:

. . . It’s the beginning . . . of a new era for America, and I’m proud to be the first President to visit Colorado and say, the Cold War is over and freedom finished first.

But this election is about more than the past. It’s about the future. It’s about what kind of country we’re going to leave for the young kids here today. And here’s our challenge: In the next century, America must be not only a military superpower, but also an export superpower and an economic superpower.

And this year, you’re going to hear two very different versions of how we get there, and I want to have us look forward to prepare our kids to compete, to save and invest and to strengthen the American family. And if we can do this, when it comes to the new challenges of the ‘90s, America will finish first again. . . .

A grand canyon divides me and my opponent on the issues. . . . You see it in every issue that we care about: education, health care, economic growth, creating jobs. . . .

And my agenda for American renewal lays out the answers. . . . I put my trust in the American people, the same people who made this country the greatest economic power the world has ever seen. And I want more competition to keep health care costs down.

SCHOOL CHOICE

And I want more competition to give parents the power to choose their kids’ schools--to make our schools the very best in the entire world.

But for my opponent, it doesn’t matter what the problem is, he always sees the same solution. He wants more government mandates, more government regulations and more government burdens on workers and businesses.

And Gov. Clinton wants to give government more power, and I want to give you, the American people, more power. Gov. Clinton wants to make the bureaucrat’s life easy, to provide one-size-fits-all service in schools and in day care, and I want you to be able to choose your schools and choose your day care, so that we make your lives easier.

THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT

Now, business people here might be a little frightened of this one, but my opponent is for what they call an industrial policy, where government planners decide how high the American economy will go, and if you try to go any further, they’ll tax you down to Earth. And I want to unleash the incredible power of entrepreneurial capitalism so you can climb as high as your dreams will carry you.

And that’s what this debate is about, the role of government in America. It’s not just the difference between big government and smaller. It’s the difference between a big government that thinks it knows best and a smaller government that believes you know better. . . .

TAXES

And when it comes to taxes and spending, the difference couldn’t be more clear. I hold a firm belief that the government is too big and it spends too much of your money. And my opponent disagrees. Gov. Clinton has already called, and get this now, it’s in his plan, for $200 billion in new spending, and Newsweek magazine says the real total could be three times higher. Right out of the box, he wants to raise taxes by $150 billion.

And, of course, he says we won’t tax you. It’s always somebody else, big corporations, foreign investors, the rich. He’s even come up with a new twist. He’s going to tax jobs. A new training tax and a health care system leading to a new 7% payroll tax, all to feed the overfed bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. . . .

They say I think that every day is the Fourth of July. Well, governor, I do. I do. I believe America’s best days are ahead of us. But Gov. Clinton seems to believe that every day is April 15th.

And his tired, old tax-and-spend philosophy is wrong for this country. We all know that because it’s been tried before. And it’ll be like going back to the used car lot, picking up the lemon that you sold 12 years ago, only this time it would have higher prices on it from inflation, skyrocketing interest rates for credit and a hot air bag thrown in. America, this is not the deal for you.

LEADERSHIP

Now, I want you to listen closely to him this fall, but you’re going to have to do that. Because on issue after issue, he takes one position and then another. He’s been spotted in more places than Elvis Presley on these issues. Let me give you some specifics.

Take the issue, the question, of whether to stand up to Saddam Hussein, the defining test of American leadership in the post-Cold War world. Two days after Congress followed my lead, and I had to fight to get them to do that, he said, and I quote: “I guess I would have voted with the majority if it was a close vote, but I agree with the arguments that the minority made.”

Now, maybe that--maybe that’s why he wants an Oval Office; he spends all his time running around in circles. . . .

Now, how about one of the defining issues of the next four years--whether we’re going to continue to open new markets, tap new consumers around the world so we can create more jobs here at home. . . .

I know Americans aren’t afraid of competition because when we compete fairly, we win. And where does Gov. Clinton stand? It depends on who he’s standing in front of. . . .

And they asked him about our new plan to open markets in Mexico, and here’s what he said: “When I have a definitive opinion, I’ll say so.” You figure it out. Before he went to the labor unions, he was for the (North American) Free Trade Agreement. When he went there, he had serious reservations.

(Clinton later announced qualified support fot the free trade pact.)

LEGAL REFORM And there is something else I want to do. I want to get rid of all these crazy lawsuits. They are costing our economy up to $200 billion in a single year, and I think that’s crazy.

And somebody asked me the other day, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away; what works for lawyers?” Now, my opponent doesn’t think this is a problem. You’ve got Little League people that can’t coach who are worried about suits, you’ve got doctors afraid to deliver babies, you have people out there doing good works, Good Samaritan works on the highway, afraid they’ll get sued if they stop to help somebody. . . .

You see, I don’t think America is a vast collection of interest groups to be appeased: trial lawyers over here, big labor over there, the environmental extremists on the other side, each clamoring for favors from Washington bureaucrats. I believe we are a nation of special individuals, not special interests, and I believe our genius lies in our people, in our families, in our communities, not in the government. . . .

And we have the right ideas to renew America, to make America stronger, safer and more secure. Thank you, and may God bless the United States of America. . . .