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[no audio]

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[applause]

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And we know this to be true because

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 during these days with all this talk we
 hear

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 going around about his time for a
 change.

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We know that North Carolinians are not

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 going to be short changed by electing a
 part-time,

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first term congressional drop out
 as their governor.

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[applause]

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We began this campaign

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 last January the 10th.

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In making that announcement at that time,

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I said that the people of our state
 deserve,

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 desire, and expect strong, discerning leadership.

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And I want to give such leadership and I
 want

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 to join hands with you and your family

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 in a partnership for progress.

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And I also said on that icy winter day,

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 I don't want just to be governor,

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I want to be one of North Carolina's
 best governors.

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[applause]

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Ladies and gentlemen, that is my pledge

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 to the people of North Carolina. To be
 the best

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 governor that I can possibly be for

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 all of our people of our great state.

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North Carolinians do not want for their

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 governor, a man who pits people against
 people,

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 like my opponent has done in his
 campaign.

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They don't want a governor who plays on
 emotions and fears.

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Our people do not want a governor who
 plays section

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 against section, as my opponent has
 done.

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The people of North Carolina are not
 buying Jim

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 Gardner's campaign.

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And I think his actions during the past
 few days

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 have given us a clear indication that he
 knows

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 they are not buying it.

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I want to quote what Jim Gardner has
 said,

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 and I remind you, these are his words
 and his

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 prophecy, not mine.

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He said, "The man who gets involved

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 in mudslinging is the man who gets
 drowned."

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He made that statement in Wilkesboro on
 April the 25th.

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And what we are seeing in the twilight

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 hours of campaign '68 is a

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 desperate man sinking in the quicksand
 of his own mud.

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He's drowning and he predicted it
 himself.

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[applause]

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When we win Tuesday,

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it will not be because of me,

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it will be because of people like you.

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One thing that makes me so proud of our
 campaign

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 is that we have done it ourselves.

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I asked you for your help and you
responded enthusiastically.

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We didn't have to go to Hollywood for help.

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We didn't have to import finance
 directors from

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 out-of-state, advertising agencies from

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 Madison Avenue, or assemble a campaign

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 staff from half a dozen other states.

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We have run a campaign for governor of
 North Carolina

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 and we have done it with North
 Carolinians

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and I'm a immensely proud of it.

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[applause]

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You, and thousands of people like you

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 throughout our state, have been the
 real strength,

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 the real foundation of this campaign.

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It has been you and people like you who
 have organized

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 precincts, who have attended rallies.

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It has been you and people like you who
 have mailed out

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 letters and made phone calls.

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That commitment and that dedication has
 been so important

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 in this campaign.

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So will the same kind of dedication and
 commitment

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 be needed during my administration.

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 Just as I do not and will not

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 claim that Bob Scott won this
 election by himself,

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neither will I claim that I alone

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 advanced North Carolina along the road
 of progress.

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You and I working together will determine
 our state's

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 future and progress.

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And I have said on many occasions, and

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 I believe it deeply, that the question

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 of our future is what is really at stake

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 in this election. 

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In what direction do we want to go? 

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What kind of state do we want? Not just in 1972,

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 but for the remainder of this century
 and beyond?

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This is the -- North Carolinians

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 love their state and they don't think,

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 and I agree with them, that every
 problem ought to be swept under the rug.

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Nor do they agree that we ought to always

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 talk about what's wrong without

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 providing some good and sound ideas
 about

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 how to eliminate the problems we have.

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And thus it is that during this campaign,

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 stretching back over the long months,

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 I have gone about this state proposing

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 proudly and without apology

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 those programs which I earnestly believe

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 will enable North Carolina to go forward
 again.

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Ladies and gentlemen, I love North
 Carolina.

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My roots go deep. This state

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 and her people have been good to me and
 to my family

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 for generations.

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And I want to repay that debt that I

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 owe by providing good

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 and strong leadership with the help

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 of you and all citizens of North
 Carolina.

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I want to provide a leadership in which
 you have confidence.

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I want to provide a leadership that you
 can depend upon.

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But to do this, we must win the

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 election next Tuesday and we must win

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 it by such a margin that there will be
 no question

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 about the mandate that we have to keep

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 North Carolina on the road to progress.

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[applause]

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And let us leave this rally tonight,

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 proud of the fact that we are North
 Carolinians

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 and let it be known that we are willing
 to stand up and say so.

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 Let us renew our determination

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 to win and having won,

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 to keep working in a positive

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 direction, to build a better state

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 and to build a better life for us all.

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My friends, my loyal supporters,

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 my fellow campaigners from all over
 North Carolina, 

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 I am depending upon you.

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[applause]

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[music and clapping]