"THE U.S. PRESIDENCY IN THE 21ST
                                    CENTURY: OPPORTUNITIES AND
                                    OBSTACLES" 

                                    By Steve Forbes

                                    Address to the Eccles Centre for American
                                    Studies, 
                                    The British Library 

                                    The following are excerpts from Mr. Forbes's
                                    remarks: 

                                    ...Strengthening the alliance between the United
                                    States and Great Britain and expanding the
                                    economic and political cooperation between our two
                                    countries must be a top priority of the next American
                                    President. 

                                    Simply put: If Great Britain is strong, secure, and
                                    sovereign, America benefits. But if Great Britain is
                                    weakened economically or militarily then American
                                    interests suffer. Likewise, if the U.S is strong, secure
                                    and sovereign in the 21st century, Great Britain and
                                    the rest of the world will benefit enormously. But if
                                    the U.S. is weakened or withdraws from the world
                                    stage, then Great Britain and the rest of the world are
                                    in serious trouble. It's just that simple... 

                                    ...One of the most important international
                                    opportunities facing the next American President is
                                    to dramatically expand free trade and economic
                                    growth around the world. 

                                    Why? Because the expansion of free markets and
                                    free trade is essential to the prosperity of your
                                    country and mine. 

                                    It empowers consumers and businesses with
                                    immensely greater freedom, choices and
                                    opportunities 

                                    It creates jobs and wealth for working families. Every
                                    time my country increases our exports by $1 billion,
                                    we create 20,000 good, high-paying jobs. Wages go
                                    up. Unemployment goes down. Working families,
                                    small businesses and high-tech entrepreneurs are
                                    better off. 

                                    Now is not the time to give in to the forces of
                                    socialism and stagnation. Now is not the time to
                                    sacrifice our moral and economic strength on the
                                    altar of misguided global institutions. 

                                    Now is not the time to follow. Now is the time to lead.

                                    So tonight, I announce that if I am elected the first
                                    American President of the 21st century, I will invite
                                    the people of Great Britain and the Republic of
                                    Ireland to join the United States in a North Atlantic
                                    Free Trade Agreement. Because the barrier that lies
                                    before us is not the Atlantic Ocean. It's big
                                    government. It's an ocean of taxes, tariffs and fees
                                    that prevents working families and consumers from
                                    enjoying the full benefits of economic freedom. 

                                    And that is why as President of the United States, I
                                    will build a great bridge of economic freedom that
                                    spans the Atlantic Ocean a bridge that links London
                                    with Los Angeles...Dublin with Detroit...Edinburgh
                                    with Pittsburgh...a toll-free bridge that brings new
                                    benefits to both sides of the Atlantic. Lower taxes
                                    and higher wages fewer gatekeepers and faster
                                    growth...less government and more freedom for
                                    farmers and families and a new generation of savers
                                    and investors. 

                                    Together, let us tear down the barriers that divide us
                                    and build a bridge to unite us. 

                                    Let us work together to create a dazzling new
                                    century of hope, growth and opportunity for every
                                    American, British and Irish citizen, bar none. 

                                    Let us remove every barrier that stands in the way of
                                    working people to pursue their dreams, raise their
                                    families, protect their children, surf the Net, save for
                                    the future and participate in the prosperity of this
                                    exciting new Age of Opportunity. 

                                    I am not a politician. I am a businessman. And as the
                                    head of the world's foremost business magazine, it
                                    is my sincere belief that the American-British-Irish
                                    approach of free markets and free trade is the wave
                                    of the future and the model for the new millennium. 

                                    And I believe that it is time to show the world that the
                                    Reagan-Thatcher-Forbes model offers true
                                    economic liberation for those who languish in
                                    poverty and economic stagnation  be they in
                                    Russia, Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East,
                                    and even on the continent of Europe. 

                                    Where others impose limits, let us pursue growth. 

                                    Where others define boundaries, let us blaze new
                                    trails. 

                                    Where others empower big government
                                    bureaucracies, let us empower workers and families.

                                    Where some speak of a "Third Way," let us pursue
                                    the right way free markets, free elections, free trade
                                     because these are the tools of a free people. 

                                    The European Union wants to "harmonize" economic
                                    policy throughout the entire region. That means
                                    trying to force sovereign people such as yourselves
                                    to accept higher taxes, more regulations, more
                                    bureaucracy, top-down social policy, and the end of
                                    the British pound, one of the great and enduring
                                    currencies in the history of man. 

                                    But what model is this? It imposes policies that
                                    punish venture capital, risk-taking and
                                    entrepreneurship...crushingly-high tax rates...zero
                                    innovation...pitifully poor growth rates...structural
                                    unemployment averaging 10-12%...massive social
                                    welfare bureaucracies...debt, discouragement and
                                    despair. This is no model for the 21st century. 

                                    Let me be clear: The Euro and the "Third Way"
                                    theory of socialism and statism that comes with it 
                                    could doom the prosperity of your country and your
                                    neighbors in Ireland. And I submit to you that such a
                                    prospect is not in your interest, or in ours. 

                                    So I ask you to consider my proposal for a North
                                    Atlantic Free Trade Agreement in the spirit of
                                    friendship and cooperation and mutual respect in
                                    which it is offered. 

                                    Come with us, and together let us offer the world a
                                    model of authentic freedom and prosperity for a new
                                    millennium!

