Remarks in Sioux Falls, South Dakota November 4, 1996
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Administration of William J. Clinton, 1996 / Nov. 4 days are still ahead. And the fundamental choice Thank you. God bless you, and God bless that underlies all these issue differences is as America. crystal clear as can be. We believe that we're better off when we work together to help each other make the most of our own lives. They believe you're on your own. They believe it's NOTE: The President spoke at 8:10 p.m. at the okay to say, ``There's a future out there. It will Five Seasons Center. In his remarks, he referred be pretty exciting if you get there, and I hope to Leonard Boswell, Donna Smith, and Bob Rush, you do.'' I believe every single one of us are candidates for Iowa's Third, Second, and First better off if we roll up our sleeves and join Congressional Districts, respectively; President hands and build that bridge to the 21st century Vaclav Havel of the Czech Republic; and Presi- together. We need you tomorrow. Go call some- dent Michal Kovac of Slovakia. A portion of these one! Go ask someone to vote! Go do your work remarks could not be verified because the tape tonight; we'll see you tomorrow! was incomplete. Remarks in Sioux Falls, South Dakota November 4, 1996 Thank you very much. Thank you. Well, I stand, in the best sense, as Hillary often says, didn't expect to see so many of you here this it does take a village for us to raise our children late at night. Senator and Mrs. Daschle; Senator- and build our future. to-be and Mrs. Johnson; Congressman-to-be and This is the last election of the 20th century Mrs. Weiland. And I want us to give a real for President, the first election of the 21st cen- good hand here to Rick Weiland and his fine tury, an election occurring against a background wife. They've done a great job out there cam- of almost breathtaking, unimaginable changes in paigning, give them a hand. [Applause] Pam technology and science, in the way we are sim- Nelson, thank you for your candidacy. Give Pam ply organized to work and live and relate to Nelson a hand. Stand up, Pam. She needs your each other and the rest of the world. The young help tomorrow. [Applause] I want to thank people here in this audience today, in a few CeCe Peniston for singing so beautifully; the years many will be doing jobs that have not Bill Gibson Orchestra. Thank you, South Dakota been invented yet. Many will be doing jobs that State University Marching Band. You were fabu- have not been imagined yet. lous. One little piece of evidence about how much Now, you know, if the rest of us can maintain the world is changing: When I became President that level of energy till the polls close tomorrow there were 3 million Americans who were living night, we're going to be just fine, and this is and working in their homes, making a living. great. We're going to be fine. Thank you. That was 4 years ago. Today, there are 12 mil- And I want to thank my longtime friend who lion Americans doing that because of tech- was with me 4 years ago on this night under nology, and 4 years from now there will be similar circumstances. He's going to bring us 30 million Americans doing that. good luck again, Jerry Jeff Walker and his band. We just signed a contract, the United States Thank you for being here. God bless you, friend. did, with IBM to develop a supercomputer that You know, folks, I appreciate what Tom will do more calculations in one second than Daschle said in thanking us for our lavish atten- you can do at home tonight on your hand-held tion to South Dakota and all that. It's not com- calculator in 30,000 years. That is an example plicated. I like it here. I like coming here. I of what is happening. enjoy being here. I feel at home here. I feel I say that to make this point: This is an elec- this is a place where people still know their tion of enormous consequence, not because of neighbors and where they care about what hap- Tim Johnson or Bill Clinton but because of the pens to their neighbors and where they under- sweeping changes going on in our country. And 2071 VerDate 29-OCT-99 11:11 Nov 17, 1999 Jkt 010199 PO 00001 Frm 01025 Fmt 1240 Sfmt 1240 C:\96PUBP~2\PAP_TEXT txed01 PsN: txed01 Nov. 4 / Administration of William J. Clinton, 1996 the great question is, how shall we respond to and disciplined approach: more opportunity for those changes? everybody, more responsibility from everybody, There's been a lot of back and forth in this and an American community in which everyone campaign that I think is, unfortunately, a by- who works hard and is responsible has a place product of much of modern politics, a lot of at the table and a role to play. We have done negative stuff. My experience has been that that for 4 years, and you don't have to guess most people in public life in both parties are anymore. good, honest, hard-working people who give Our friends on the other side, they honestly their lives to their country and love their coun- believe that we're better off when we're on our try. In this case we just have different views. own. I think we're better off when we work And you should be happy about that because together to give each other not a guarantee but in an election of great consequence there ought a chance to make the most of our own lives to be a clear choice and you ought to have and our families and our future. And you don't some way of measuring whether the choice have to guess anymore. you're making is right. And I would argue to This economy is stronger than it was 4 years the people of South DakotaÐI know that there ago. The deficit has gone down by 63 percent are more registered Republicans than Demo- and there are 10.7 million more jobs and the crats here; I know there are a lot of registered lowest rates of unemployment and inflation in independents here. This vote tomorrow should 27 years. Something that's always been impor- be the first vote of the 21st century. It ought tant to hard working families in this part of to be a vote about people and progress and our country is that everybody who works hard hopes and dreams. Party is not nearly as impor- ought to have a fair share. We've had the big- tant tomorrow as reaching out for our dreams gest decline in inequality of incomes among and our deepest hopes for our children, and working people in 27 years, the biggest drop that is what I am asking. in child poverty in 30 years, the lowest rate Now, you know, maybe some of you have of poverty among seniors in America ever re- noticed this, but I am now speaking at the last corded since we've been keeping statistics. We rally of the last campaign I will ever run. And are moving in the right direction to the 21st I'm honored to share it with you. It's hard for century. We are. me to believe that this January it will be 23 And in our country as a whole the crime years ago when, as a young 27-year-old man, rate has gone down to a 10-year low. The wel- I asked the people of my rural hill country con- fare rolls have dropped by nearly 2 million. gressional district in Arkansas to send me to Child support collections, by the way, are up Congress. They said no, by the way. [Laughter] by about 50 percent. And more children are And everybody thought I was washed up. getting what they are entitled to. Our economy Then I got to be my State's attorney general is in better shape than it was 4 years ago, but and Governor, and then in the Reagan landslide so is our environment. We've taken millions of of 1980 they said no again. [Laughter] By the tons of pollutants out of the atmosphere, raised time I was 34 years old, I had already been the standards for safe drinking water and the defeated twice. I was in Ripley's already. I was purity of food. And I might add, we've done the youngest ex-Governor in the history of that with the support of the agricultural commu- America. [Laughter] But the people of my home nity. We've cleaned up more toxic waste dumps State were good to me. We learned a lot to- in 3 years than our opponents did in 12. gether, and we did a lot together. And 4 years So we're moving in the right direction. And ago you gave me the chance to be President. you have this clear choice. They say all these The American people 4 years ago took us terrible things they say about all of us, you on faith when I said that I hated what had know, but it obscures the fact that we're moving happened in politics in Washington; it was too in the right direction, that we have now 4 years much hot air, too many insults, not enough of evidence that ``you're on your own'' is not issues, not enough results, not enough people nearly as good as ``we're working together to reaching across the partisan divide and working build a bridge to the 21st century we can all together in a new and different time to try and walk across.'' And that's what this is about.