    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book II)]
    [November 4, 1993]
    [Page 1894]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Exchange With Reporters in Lexington, Kentucky
    November 4, 1993

    Elections and NAFTA

        Q. Mr. President, isn't it going to be a lot tougher to get NAFTA
    votes from Democrats after the election results?
        The President. No.
        Q. Why not?
        The President. What in the world would that have to do with
    anything?
        Q. Well, Members are going to say that you can't get the numbers.
        The President. That's ludicrous. That's just a Washington story.
    That's ridiculous. What about all the mayors that walked in with no
    opposition that were active in my campaign in the primaries? That's
    ridiculous. I'm proud of the showing that those two guys had, Florio and
    Dinkins. They came back from the dead. Everybody wrote them off. Besides
    that, NAFTA wasn't an issue in any of those races. I just think it's
    ridiculous. The only thing they need--[inaudible]--is doing the right
    thing for America. And I think they will.
        The real evidence is that if people think you're for change you get
    elected, and if they think you're for the status quo that's not working,
    you're--[inaudible]--and the proper change this time is to support
    NAFTA.

    Note: The exchange began at approximately 1:30 p.m. at Lexmark
    International, Inc. A tape was not available for verification of the
    content of this exchange.