Remarks at a Democratic National Committee Dinner in Cincinnati, Ohio July 23, 1999
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July 23 / Administration of William J. Clinton, 1999 Remarks at a Democratic National Committee Dinner in Cincinnati, Ohio July 23, 1999 Thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen, finest human beings I have ever known in my first, let me say that I think in the spirit of life, and Ohio can be very, very proud of him. candor, I should tell you that the real reason And I thank you, sir, for all you’ve done and that the air-conditioning is not on tonight is all you have been and the way you have been that it’s part of my continuing effort to convince there for me as a friend as well as an ally. the American people that Al Gore is right about And I want to thank my friend Bill Daley global warming. [Laughter] And I hope you will for serving in the Cabinet, being a brilliant Sec- join us now in this crusade. retary of Commerce, a great political leader, When Stan gave me this purple shirt, I and I think that even though I have to retire thought instead of saying, ‘‘no one more regal,’’ in a year and a half, you haven’t heard the I thought he was going to say, ‘‘I’m going to last of him. give him this purple shirt, because no one is As you know, this has been a highly emotional more wounded than him.’’ [Laughter] week for me and for Hillary and for Chelsea. Joe Andrew, every time he says that line We are friends of Senator Kennedy and his fam- about we’re going to win everything from Presi- ily. We knew and had the greatest respect for dent to dog catcher, as if that’s a wide gulf, John Kennedy. I had a wonderful, long evening I said, plenty of times in the last few years, with John and Carolyn. We thought the world I thought that was a very short distance, those of Jackie Kennedy. And we’re Americans, so we two positions. [Laughter] went through this last week experiencing it both I’d like to begin, if I might, by saying a few in a personal way and experiencing it just in thank-you’s. I want to thank Stan and his whole the same way every other citizen did. So I’m family, and I want to thank Dick and his won- not going to give you a whoop-dee-doo tonight; derful family. And to Jim, I want to thank you I’m going to ask you to think about why you’re and all the people that are associated with you here and what you will say tomorrow if someone and have been there for me and for my party asks you why you came. for all these years. I’m grateful to the people When Senator Kennedy—and I was just told of Ohio who have voted for me and for Al at the table tonight that the eulogy for his neph- Gore twice, under what would normally seem ew is now available on the Internet. It may to be adverse political conditions, when the Re- be printed in full in your paper tomorrow. publicans were doing pretty well here statewide, Somehow, you ought to get the whole thing and conventional wisdom would have it that we and read it. wouldn’t do so well. The last sentence in the eulogy was this: I want to thank Joe Andrew for agreeing to ‘‘Like his father, he had every gift but length leave the security of his home in Indiana and of life.’’ I say that not to be morbid or even take on the challenge of the Democratic Party. sad, because it was actually quite a wonderful And David Leland, who in ’96, had what I service, but to remind us all that life is fleeting thought was the cleverest idea. He had a $96 and fragile; things we don’t deserve happen to fundraiser for the Democrats, and as I remem- us, both good things and bad things, and our ber, he had 4,000 people there, which was a only obligation can be to get up every day and pretty impressive turnout, and I knew we were try to be children of God and do the best we going to carry Ohio again. can with the life we have. I want to thank Jody Richards, my longtime I believe that the work that we have been friend, who was the Speaker of the House in engaged in, the political work of the country, Kentucky. We were working on education to- is good work. I believe most people who do gether back when I was a young Governor with it in both parties are good people and personally no gray hair and no reasonable prospects of compassionate, by the way. I believe that. I de- this happy occasion. And I want to say a special spair that so much of the politics of the last word of thanks to Tony Hall, who is not only few years has been about, you know, personal one of the finest Congressmen but one of the attacks, because it diverts the attention of the 1306 VerDate 11-MAY-2000 14:26 Sep 06, 2001 Jkt 010199 PO 00000 Frm 00210 Fmt 1240 Sfmt 1240 C:\TEMP\PAP_TEXT txed01 PsN: txed01 Administration of William J. Clinton, 1999 / July 23 public from the life we share in common and The natural order of things will reassert itself, the obligations we have to each other and to and we Republicans will rule America again.’’ our children and to our country. I want you to understand that I’m glad I And today I left that church, that beautiful had the chance to serve. But I could give the old church, thinking that all of us, including best speech in the world, and if the ideas were me, ought to do more every day to remember wrong or if there were no implementation, we that life is fleeting and fragile, but a great gift; would not have been able to turn the country with all of its troubles and tears, it’s a great around. And I want you to understand that very gift. little of what I did could have been done if And so when I think about what I’d like to I hadn’t had the Vice President I did, who knew say to you, it is this, that in 1992 when I ran a lot more than I did when we started about for President—and early on in the race I saw a lot of the things we had to work on; if I John Kennedy, Jr., and his mother at events hadn’t had people like Bill Daley and his great for me when I didn’t know them, really, and predecessor, Ron Brown, and a lot of other peo- I was running fifth in the New Hampshire pri- ple helping us; if I hadn’t had allies like Tony mary—I did it because I felt the country needed Hall in the Congress. And I say that to make this point: Tomorrow when they ask you why to change direction. And I offered some ideas you were here, I hope you will say, ‘‘Because to the American people based on the premise I like the ideas they had, and they worked for that we ought to be trying to create a country America. And I’m not just supporting Bill Clin- in the new century where every responsible cit- ton; I’m supporting what we all believe.’’ And izen has the opportunity to live out his or her we have the proof now. We no longer have dreams, and where we’re coming closer together to debate these things; we now have evidence. as an American community even as we grow The second thing that I’d like you to think more diverse in our racial and ethnic and reli- about is, we now are in a great hazardous pe- gious characteristics, and where we do more to riod. We human beings are all inherently weak be the world’s leading force for peace and free- in some way or another, and sometimes the dom and prosperity. Now, I am very grateful worst thing in the world for us is the illusion that those ideas, when put into action, turned that everything is perfect and can’t go bad. And out to have pretty good results. so we have all this prosperity now, and I would You know what has happened in the economy. argue that’s a hazardous time, because pros- We also have a 30-year low in welfare and a perity and security can lead people to arrogance 26-year low in the crime rate. A lot of our and shortsightedness if they’re not careful. I social problems, our evading teen pregnancy and used to carry around with me when I was a drug use, are down. Our test scores are begin- Governor 10 little written rules of politics, and ning to rise after years and years and years one of them was, ‘‘You’re always most vulnerable in our schools; last year in the 4th, 8th, and when you think you’re invulnerable.’’ 12th grade they were all up in both reading And so I say to you, we have this huge sur- and math for the first time in a long time. plus. We had a $290 billion deficit when I took Ninety percent of our children immunized office.