Continuity is the key to America's brighter future through these challenging times. We have seen some incredibly tough times here in the United States over the past three years. We were all caught off-guard by the September 11, 2001 surprise attacks. Our government was not at all prepared for such an event, but in these past three years since we have made incredible progress. Our nation's economy has recovered at a very amazing. In the past year alone we've experienced an economic growth spurt of over 4.5%; that's as high as any year since the 1980s! This economy has created over 1.5 million new jobs in the past year alone. Home ownership is at a historical level of almost 70% of all US families and a new record high of over 50% of minority families nationwide. Every single one of these statistics is incredible when you recall the devastation our country has suffered so recently from the burst of the dotcom bubble, the recession beginning in the late 1990s, the despicable attacks on our innocents on 9/11/01, and our continuing global war on terrorism.
Our homeland is more secure than it has ever been due to increased attention, funding and overall awareness by citizens. We have developed new, stronger allies abroad and even received cooperation from old foes. Working with allied governments we have taken the fight to the terrorists, across multiple borders where they lurk and hide, employing both our unmatched military power and our continually improving intelligence operations. Many of those whom we identified as terrorist leaders and coordinators have been captured or were killed in our attempts to detain them. And by the grace of God we have not suffered another terrorist attack on American soil.
President George W. Bush has had to face obstacles and events unlike anything encountered by any American president before him ever. I believe that he has responded valiantly and has led us with integrity and fearlessness in the face of extreme adversity. His path has been a lonely one for the most part, but he has stayed the course nonetheless. Some might call it stubbornness, but I define it as decisiveness. President Bush's faith in doing what must be done to ensure the future of America is truly inspirational. His decisions are obviously formulated to enhance the long-term future of our nation rather than simply to cover his time in office. He focuses more on the preservation our country's freedoms rather than only having the shortsighted and selfish goal of seeing himself reelected for another term. Isn't this the type of man we desperately need to retain in the Oval Office? I believe that we must reelect President Bush to maintain the continuity of our current progresses. George W. Bush's steady leadership is imperative in these times of dramatic change.