    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1994, Book II)]
    [November 4, 1994]
    [Pages 1990-1992]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Interview With John Watson of WILM Radio, Wilmington, Delaware
    November 4, 1994

        Mr. Watson. Good morning, Mr. President, how are you?
        The President. I'm fine. How are you?
        Mr. Watson. Thanks for being with us. You've been very busy these
    days; not much time for the saxophone, I guess, which happens to be my
    favorite instrument, by the way.
        The President. Oh, thank you. I love it myself. I'm not playing too
    much. I did get a chance to play a couple of weeks ago with a group

    [[Page 1991]]

    that was in the White House, but I don't play enough. My lip is getting
    weak; I've got to practice.

    Midterm Elections

        Mr. Watson. Well, your message seems to be getting pretty strong,
    seems to be playing pretty well with the American people. I see where
    your personal approval rating is up quite a bit, and Democrats in
    general seem to be a bit more secure for reelection.
        The President. Well, I hope so, not for partisan reasons but because
    I think it's good for the country. You know, I came in with a commitment
    to try to make this country stronger, with more jobs and stronger
    families and safer streets and to make us stronger abroad.
        And we've still got some problems in this country, but we're plainly
    moving in the right direction. If you just take Delaware, for example,
    there have been 5 times as many new jobs coming to Delaware in 20 months
    of our Presidency as during the previous 4 years. And we were able to
    pass the family and medical leave law, which protected 147,000 families
    in Delaware, if a worker needs to take a little time off when there's a
    baby born or a parent sick. We've reorganized the student loan program
    to provide more affordable college loans to more middle class students.
    It made almost 42,000 students and former students in Delaware eligible
    for lower costs on their loans. So we're making progress. We passed the
    crime bill, thanks to Joe Biden's unbelievable leadership. And I have to
    say, that was an example of bipartisanship. You had Congressman Castle
    there coming in at the end and trying to help us to get through the
    crime bill. It's going to make a difference. It's going to empower local
    communities to reduce crime and violence.
        So we're moving in the right direction. We're moving forward. And I
    don't want to see the country go backward in this election, even though
    there are a lot of people who are upset.
        Mr. Watson. [Inaudible]--I suppose you'll be here to campaign for
    Attorney General Charles Oberly, trying to unseat Republican Senator
    Bill Roth. But Oberly is seen as something of an independent Democrat.
    Is that going to be a problem?
        The President. No, I like Oberly. I think--he's an exciting
    character to me. You know, the Democrats are not like the Republicans;
    we don't mind a little independence in our party. I think it's good for
    people to exercise independent judgment.
        I've just come from Iowa where a retiring Congressman, Republican
    Congressman Fred Grandy, was complaining about how the Republicans
    didn't want any independence and that--he pointed out how they were
    ordered not to work with me on health care. So I think Oberly has the
    kind of characteristics and character and ability and energy that would
    be very good at this time.
        Mr. Watson. Sir, what is your game plan, just in case the
    Republicans are successful, as they think they'll be, and win control of
    the House? Could this work in your favor at all?
        The President. Well, I don't know. Some people think it could work
    politically for me personally, but I'm not interested in that. I'm
    interested in moving our country forward. And the thing that bothers me
    is that the Republicans have committed to a program which would take us
    right back to the 1980's and what got us in trouble in the first place.
    I mean, their contract says that if they win control of the House and
    the Senate, they're going to--they want to promise huge tax increases,
    almost all of it to wealthy individuals. They want to have an increase
    in defense again, and they want to bring back Star Wars. They promise to
    balance the budget. Now, one of two things--that costs a trillion
    dollars. So if the Republicans get a hold of the Congress, one of two
    things is going to happen. They're going to do what they say, which
    means they'll have to cut everything in the Federal Government besides
    defense and Star Wars by 20 percent, including Social Security----
        Mr. Watson. We're almost out of time----
        The President. All right, well, listen--but that's $2,000 a person.
    And on Social Security that's a lot. If they don't do that, they're
    going to explode the deficit, start shipping our jobs overseas again,
    like they did in the eighties, and we'll be in big trouble.
        So I hope the American people will take a look at people like
    Oberly. He's an aggressive, independent, progressive person, the kind of
    person I think that can bring new ideas, new energy, and keep this
    country going forward, which is what I think we need to do.
        Mr. Watson. One final question, Mr. President. You're just about out
    of time, but you mentioned Congressman Castle is helping you.

    [[Page 1992]]

    So how do you see the Republican Castle versus Democrat Carrie DeSantis?
        The President. Well, I mentioned that Castle helped on the crime
    bill because I think it's important for me not to be as partisan as they
    have been, and I want to give him credit for that.
        But the reason that I'm supporting the Democrats in these races is
    that even Mike Castle voted against our economic plan. And our economic
    program for America is working. Just look at Delaware. You've had 5
    times the job growth since our administration has been there as you did
    in the previous 4 years, that is, in 20 months, 5 times as many jobs in
    the previous 4 years. The economic approach we have taken, bring the
    deficit down, invest in education and training, expand trade, invest in
    new technologies, these things will grow the American economy. And the
    figures that came out today show that we have now had 5 times as many
    high-wage jobs coming into this economy in this year than in the
    previous 5 years.
        Mr. Watson. There are many more things that we could talk about, Mr.
    President, but you're out of time. And I appreciate very much you
    calling in. Thank you very much.
        The President. Thank you very much.

    Note: The interview began at 10:51 a.m. The President spoke by telephone
    from the Holiday Inn in Duluth, MN.