I'm so glad to be here today. I haven't exactly had a lot of time these last few months to curl up with a good book. As a former economics professor, I hope you don't mind if I spend a few minutes browsing the shelves after our talk.

Many of you here today have good jobs, and I know, like me, you're thankful for what you have. But too many people in New Hampshire aren't as lucky. These last three years have not been kind to many Americans and their families.

That's why I want to talk to you about today. About how our President has spent his term squandering everything we worked so hard to build. About how under George W. Bush our country has suffered from a leadership deficit.

About how for three years, George W. Bush has taken this country in one direction: the wrong direction.

This is a President who is all bully and no pulpit when it comes to our nation's security ... all mouth and no money when it comes to supporting our children ... and all photo and no opportunity, when it comes to fixing the mess here at home.

I'm running for President because I want to provide the leadership that will get us going in the right direction - and I have a Turnaround Plan to do just that.

Back in the 2000 campaign, George W. Bush said he was going to bring compassionate conservatism to the White House.

He said he was going to create jobs. He's lost them.

He said he was going to protect our environment. He's polluted it.

He said he was going to leave no child behind. Our schools are cash-starved, overcrowded, and failing.

He said he was going to have a humble foreign policy. He's alienated nearly every single one of our allies.

He said he was going to bring fiscal responsibility to Washington. He's turned record surpluses into record deficits.

Everything that should be going down is going up. And everything that should be going up is going down. Ironically, this time it involves another Bush Administration.

And it's going to take real leadership to put us back on the right track. Today, we need a president who can bring a lifetime of leadership experience to put America back on top again.

Someone who's been in the trenches and on the frontlines.

Someone who's been working these issues on the ground.

Someone who has a real record of turning things around.

Someone who just doesn't talk the talk, but walks the walk. Someone who wants to lead. Someone who is a doer.

And that's just we are taught in the U.S. Army, where I served for thirty-four years. Dealing with real issues and real problems - on bases, in barracks, and out in the field.

One of the things many people don't realize is that Generals don't just give orders and wage wars. Most of the battles we fight aren't against the enemy. They're battles to make sure that our troops have the tools they need to succeed in their jobs and raise their children.

That's what I did every day as an officer in the U.S. Army. I was responsible for the lives of tens of thousands of men and women and their families.

I realized that we would never win in battle if we didn't invest in the lives of our soldiers. That's why I fought to make sure that our soldiers had top notch health care. That their children had first-class schools and Headstart. That they had safe and affordable housing.

That they had time with their families - that they could go to church and PTA meetings and baseball games. And that everyone on my base learned to work together - no matter what their background or the color of their skin.

But like any city or state - no matter how good your programs and policies are - there are always challenges. And I saw my fair share of them over the years.

One of my first assignments was in 1970 after I'd come home from Vietnam. I was sent to Fort Knox in Kentucky where they put me in charge of C Company, Sixth Battalion.

It wasn't a glamorous assignment. C Company was supposed to have 91 soldiers, but only about 70 reported for duty. Many of the men had been wounded and were still recovering. Others were early returnees. On top of that, the administration announced it wanted to end the draft.

The newspapers were filled with reports of drug use, racial tensions and demoralization within the ranks.

The task at hand wasn't exactly an easy one. A lot of these guys had lost hope, and none of them thought they had a future in the Army. What these soldiers needed more than anything was good, strong leadership - and I did my best to provide it.

And together, we turned C Company around. Believe it or not, by the end of that summer, much to even our surprise, C Company actually won the reenlistment award.

The lesson here was simple: with the right plan, hard-working troops and good leadership, you can turn any situation around.

And during my thirty-four years in the Army, I learned a lot about good plans, good people and good leadership. In the Army, when you have a tough challenge - you apply five principles of leadership. These are the principles I will apply to the challenges we face here at home today.

First, you set clear, ambitious goals. You lay them out and make sure everyone understands them.

Second, you inspire the people you lead. You give credit where it's due. You bring people together - and get everyone pulling in the same direction.

Third, you never forget that it's the soldiers - not the generals - who win the battles. It's the people who roll up their sleeves, get mud on their boots, and do the heavy lifting that make the difference.

Fourth, no matter what, there can be no alternative but success. In the Army, where we held the security of a nation in our hands - where life and death matters were at stake - we had only one alternative: success.

Fifth, the buck stops with you. You must always be accountable for your decisions, and always be straight with your soldiers.

I'm going to take those same leadership lessons I learned in the military, apply them to our domestic challenges, and make America better. That's what my Turnaround Plan for America is all about: taking a country that's on the wrong track and getting it moving forward again.

Today I'm announcing my Turnaround Plan for America. Each day this week, I'll be highlighting a benchmark for success that I will achieve as President.

These are goals that I want voters to hold me accountable to in the first four years of my administration. Let me be clear: As President, I will set specific goals -- and I will meet them. And I will do so while reducing the deficit each and every year."

First, family income: Under President Bush, the average family income has dropped by almost $1,500 a year.

We're going to turn it around.

After four years of my economic policies, family incomes will be up $3,000. The American people work hard, pay taxes, and play by the rules. As President, I will do my part to make sure Americans can get ahead and get their fair share of the American dream.

Second, the environment: Under President Bush, our industries have had free reign to pollute America. As a result it's projected that by 2020, 100,000 people will die prematurely.

We're going to turn it around.

I will put environmental policies in place that will save lives not destroy them.

Third, education: Under President Bush, college tuition costs have gotten out of control with the average tuition and fees for public colleges have risen by 28 percent.

We're going to turn it around.

My education plan will help ensure that an additional one million students are enrolled in college. We should be making it easier, not harder, to get a good education in this country.

Fourth, child poverty. Under George W. Bush, more than half a million children have sunk into poverty. That this is happening in the United States of America is nothing but a disgrace.

We're going to turn it around.

At the end of our first term, we will lift 2 million children out of poverty - including 3,000 children here in New Hampshire. There is nothing more important than helping our children.

Fifth, health care: President Bush's policies have led to an additional 3.8 million Americas joining the ranks of the uninsured. There's no point in having the best health care system in the world if so many Americans can't use it.

We're going to turn it around.

My plan will extend health care coverage to 30 million uninsured Americans - including 78,000 people right here in New Hampshire.

Over the next five days, I will lay out my plans to achieve these goals. On Tuesday, I will announce my environment plan, on Wednesday my education policy, Thursday child poverty, and Friday health care.

Today, I want to discuss my plan to turn the economy around and raise family incomes by $3,000. It's time we put money back into America's wallets.

George W. Bush is already declaring Mission Accomplished for America's economy. We all want the economy to pick up. But George Bush's optimism is just wishful thinking.

The statistics paint a different picture. The number of jobs being created on a monthly basis are simply not enough to keep up with the number of new people entering the job market. And it doesn't help that we've lost more than 3 million private sector jobs over the past three years.

We see it right here in New Hampshire. This past Friday, it was announced that a food manufacturing plant in Manchester is closing -- laying off 550 workers in Manchester alone.

These numbers aren't just statistics on a page. They're a mom or a dad getting a pink slip during the holidays ... a whole family that's struggling to make ends meet ... an entire community left out in the cold.

During the Clinton years, the average family income surged by more than $7,200, giving families the resources they need to pay the bills, save for college, and make their mortgage payments. But under President Bush, instead of helping families, he's taken from them.

My plan will increase family incomes by $3,000.

Let me put that in real terms. For the average family, $3,000 can buy 10 months of groceries or pay 5 months rent. That's real money that American families need to get by.

Here's how I'm going to do it.

We've to begin by creating job. My Jobs Creation Plan that will take back President Bush's tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans - those earning more than $200,000 -- and use that money to jumpstart the economy and create jobs.

We also need to restore fiscal discipline. I have proposed a "Savings for America's Future" plan which will save $2.35 trillion over ten years to reduce the deficit each and every year and help put our fiscal house in order.

In the Clinton economy, we saw the benefits of a fiscally responsible approach to the economy.

And finally, we can't just focus on the next paycheck or next quarter. We need to think about the next generation.

As President, I will expand economic opportunity for all by creating the conditions for long-term prosperity. It is not just about turning the economy around.

It's about putting in place the policies to sustain long-term growth: investments in research and technology, pro-growth tax reform, and sustainable energy policies.

By turning around President Bush's failed policies and restoring sound economic policies, the American economy will be able to generate the same income growth it achieved in the 1990s.

Every day that I served in the Army I had to make tough decisions about the security of our country -- sometimes life and death decisions.

And every day, I made these decisions based on one factor and one factor only: what is in the best interest of the United States of America. This is the leadership that I will bring to the White House.

We need to get back to the simple principle that it's the duty of leaders to look after the people they lead -- not just for themselves.

Most of us keep our part of that bargain -- we work hard, pay taxes, and play by the rules. But leaders have to keep their part of the bargain too -- and they have to expect to be held accountable.

As President, I promise that I'll never forget that. Working together, we're going to turn America around, one step at a time.

Thank you.

» Read Clark's Plan to Increase Family Income
» Read Clark's Turnaround Pledge (PDF)
» State by State Breakdown of Goals