[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1994, Book II)]
[November 9, 1994]
[Pages 2045-2052]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



[[Page 2045]]


The President's News Conference
November 9, 1994

    The President. Good afternoon.
    Ladies and gentlemen, last night and again this morning I spoke with 
both Republicans and Democrats to congratulate those who won and console 
those who lost their elections. I also called the leaders of the next 
Congress, Senator Dole and Congressman Gingrich, to tell them after this 
hard-fought campaign that we are ready to work together to serve all the 
American people in a nonpartisan manner.
    The American people sent us here to rebuild the American dream, to 
change the way Washington does business, to make our country work for 
ordinary citizens again. We've made a good start by cutting the deficit, 
by reducing the size of the Federal Government, by reinventing much of 
our Government to do more with less. We have increased our investment in 
education and expanded trade, and our economy has created more than 5 
million jobs. We've also made a serious start in the fight against the 
terrible plague of crime and violence in this country. I remain 
committed to completing the work we have done.
    Still, in the course of this work, there has been too much politics-
as-usual in Washington, too much partisan conflict, too little reform of 
Congress and the political process. And though we have made progress, 
not enough people have felt more prosperous and more secure or believe 
we were meeting their desires for fundamental change in the role of 
Government in their lives.
    With the Democrats in control of both the White House and the 
Congress, we were held accountable yesterday. And I accept my share of 
the responsibility in the result of the elections.
    When the Republican Party assumes leadership in the House and in the 
Senate, they will also have a larger responsibility for acting in the 
best interest of the American people. I reach out to them today, and I 
ask them to join me in the center of the public debate where the best 
ideas for the next generation of American progress must come.
    Democrats and Republicans have often joined together when it was 
clearly in the national interest. For example, they have often chosen to 
put international affairs above politics. I urge them to do so again by 
passing the GATT agreement this year. Our prosperity depends upon it, 
and there can be no compromise when the national interest and the 
livelihood of American households are at stake.
    Last night the voters not only voted for sweeping changes, they 
demanded that a more equally divided Congress work more closely together 
with the President for the interest of all the American people. So I 
hope that we can do that on GATT and that by doing so, we will pave the 
way for further cooperation on welfare reform and on health care reform, 
on a continued investment in our people's educational opportunities and 
the continued strength of our economy.
    We must also take more steps to restore the people's faith in our 
political institutions and agree that, further, in the best tradition of 
our own foreign policy, that politics will continue to stop at the 
water's edge.
    To those who believe we must keep moving forward, I want to say 
again, I will do everything in my power to reach out to the leaders and 
the Members of this new Congress. It must be possible to make it a more 
effective, more functioning institution. It must be possible for us to 
give our people a Government that is smaller, that is more effective, 
that reflects both our interests and our values.
    But to those who would use this election to turn us back, let me say 
this: I will do all in my power to keep anyone from jeopardizing this 
economic recovery by taking us back to the policies that failed us 
before. I will still work for those things that make America strong: 
strong families, better education, safer streets, more high-paying jobs, 
a more prosperous and peaceful world. There is too much at stake for our 
children and our future to do anything else.
    Well, a lot has changed since yesterday. But what hasn't changed is 
the reason I was sent here and the reason the Members of the Congress 
will be sent here, to restore the American dream and to make this 
country work, this Government work, this city work for the interest of 
ordinary Americans again. That is what the American people expect of us.

[[Page 2046]]

    Last night they said they were not satisfied with the progress we 
had made. They said the Democrats had been in control of the White House 
and the Congress. They said they were going to make a change, and they 
did make a change. But they still want the same goal. I pledge today to 
work with all the Members of the Congress, and especially the new 
Republican leadership, to achieve that goal. If they will work with me, 
and they have pledged to do so today, then we can make great progress 
for this country. We should be optimistic, and we should work to make 
that optimism real.
    Terry [Terence Hunt, Associated Press].

Midterm Elections

    Q. Yesterday not a single Republican incumbent lost in any race for 
Governor, House, or Senate while the Democratic Party, your party, 
suffered its worst losses for decades. Do you view this as a repudiation 
of you, or is there another common denominator in this election that 
we're missing?
    The President. Well, I think that I have some responsibility for it. 
I'm the President. I am the leader of the efforts that we have made in 
the last 2 years. And to whatever extent that we didn't do what the 
people wanted us to do or they were not aware of what we had done, I 
must certainly bear my share of responsibility, and I accept that.
    You know, a lot of us haven't had a lot of sleep, and we're going to 
need a few days to digest all these results. There will be a lot of you 
doing exit surveys, asking the American people what they meant and said. 
But what I think they said is, they still don't like what they see when 
they watch us working here. They still haven't felt the positive results 
of things that have been done here that they agree with when they hear 
about them, but they don't feel them. They're still not sure that we 
understand what they expect the role of Government to be.
    I think they want a smaller Government that gives them better value 
for their dollar, that reflects both their interest and their values, 
that is not a burden to them but that empowers them. That's what I have 
tried to do, but I don't think they believe we're there yet, by a long 
shot. They want us to do more.
    I went back today and read my announcement speech for President, and 
I said in that speech that the job of Government was to create 
opportunity and then to expect citizens to assume the responsibility to 
make the most of that opportunity. I think that's about where the 
American people are. They don't think we've done that yet.
    And the only thing I think they knew to do yesterday was to try to 
make a change in the people who were in control and who had been. I 
regret that some of the people who lost are people who made this a lot 
better country and who will always, when the history books are written, 
get the credit they deserve, in hindsight, for helping to make the 
American people more secure.
    I don't believe the American people were saying, ``We're sorry the 
deficit has been reduced; we're sorry the size of Government has been 
reduced; and we're sorry you've taken a tough stand on crime; we're 
sorry you're expanding trade.'' I don't believe that. I don't think they 
were disagreeing with a lot of the specifics. I do think they still just 
don't like it when they watch what we do up here, and they haven't felt 
the positive impact of what has been done. And since I'm the President, 
I have to take some responsibility for that.
    Q. Would you have survived if you had been on the ballot yesterday?
    The President. Well, some Democrats did. I like to think I would 
have because I believe that I would have been a ferocious defender of 
what we have done, and I hope that I could have characterized what the 
choices were. But I don't know that, and neither does anybody else.
    I think it's important to say that yesterday's election, like every 
election, was fundamentally about the American people. And they looked 
at us, and they said, ``We want some more changes, and we're going to 
try this and see if this works.'' There is a lot of evidence--I've read 
it in a lot of your reporting--that the American people believe, a 
majority of them, and have believed for decades now that divided 
Government may work better than united Government. As you know, I 
disagree with that--why I did my best to make it work the other way--but 
they didn't agree, and they're in charge. We all work for them, every 
one of us. And their will, their voice was heard. We got the message. 
And now we have to think about it, analyze it, rest up, and move on.
    But this country is facing its problems. And what I think they told 
us was, ``Look, 2 years ago we made one change; now we made another

[[Page 2047]]

change. We want you to keep on moving this country forward, and we want 
you to accelerate the pace of change,'' in the areas that I mentioned.
    I do not believe they voted for reversals of economic policy or the 
positions on crime. I don't think they voted for a reversal of the Brady 
bill or the military assault weapons ban. I don't believe that. But I do 
think they sent us a message, and I tried to hear it. And we're going to 
work together and do the best we can.

Republican Agenda

    Q. What do you think this does for your expected bid for reelection, 
and how will you deal with the contract for America if there are 
proposed cuts in Social Security, Medicare, veterans benefits, the whole 
9 yards?
    The President. Well, first of all, we've got plenty of time to worry 
about the next election. The American people are sick of the one they 
just had, and they want to get away from politics for a while. I think 
we should think about the people, their interests. I think we should 
say, ``What message were they sending us, and what are we going to do 
about it, and how can we pull this country together?'' How can the 
Democrats and the Republicans in the Congress and the White House and 
the Republican leadership work together in a nonpartisan way to push 
this country forward?
    Now, on the contract, as I said specifically in Cleveland and 
elsewhere, there are some things in that contract that I like. I hope 
the Congress will give me the line-item veto and do it quickly. If they 
do, we'll bring this deficit down even more quickly. I hope that we will 
have aggressive efforts to work together on welfare reform. I hope we 
will be able to still reduce several areas of Federal spending and 
continue this whole reinventing Government effort to do more with less.
    The issue in the contract is what it has always been. I do not 
believe that we can afford to go back to the days of exploding deficits, 
which I believe would lead to a weaker economy, to lost jobs, and to a 
more difficult future for ourselves and for our children. So the 
question there is, how will all of this be paid for?
    I do not believe, now many Republicans in the campaign said they do 
not believe that we should cut Social Security or Medicare. So if we 
can't cut Social Security or Medicare, if we must maintain the world's 
strongest defense, which I think the Republican leadership and I are 
strongly in agreement on, then what else are we going to do? And that 
will be a challenge. But you know, give them a chance. They've got to 
enjoy their victory today. Give them a day or so to enjoy their victory, 
and don't push them too far in the future. They will come to grips with 
that, I'm sure.
    Q. Do you really think you are going to be able to compromise with 
them on that?
    The President.  Well, I'm not going to compromise on my convictions, 
what makes America strong. We are stronger today, but we have more 
strength to get. We have to have--I'll say again what I think makes our 
country strong: strong families, better education, safer streets, more 
high-paying jobs, a Government that reflects their values and the 
interest of the American people, and work to make a world that's more 
prosperous and more peaceful. Those are the principles on which I do not 
intend to compromise.
    But I want to work with them. Look, let me just give you one 
example. I have always wanted to make The Tax Code more fair. The Tax 
Code is more fair today than it was when I took office. We did cut 
income tax rates for families with incomes of up to $27,000. They want 
to go further than that. I would like to go further than that. The 
question is, how far can we go; can we focus on working families with 
children; how are we going to pay for it? We have to answer now the 
details. And in large measure, that is a question that can only be 
answered by some sort of partnership and by getting their views. And 
again, I say: Let's give them a day or two to enjoy their victory, and 
then they'll have an opportunity to work forward.

Tax Cut

    Q. Mr. President, following up on that, would you support a tax cut 
such as they propose in their Contract With America, of $500 for every 
family under $200,000 income, if you don't think it's paid for? Or, 
would you veto it? Would you get into that kind of confrontational mode 
with them on something specific?
    The President. Well, first of all, let me say they have to have a 
chance to look at the budget now. When you're in opposition, you can be 
an advocate entirely, and you can put out ideas you think are good.
    I hope we can find some way to continue to improve the fairness of 
the Tax Code and

[[Page 2048]]

to help middle class working Americans. When I was trying to reduce the 
deficit in 1993 and make the Tax Code fairer, we had to stop at $27,000 
in income for families with children, working families with children, in 
our tax relief. I think perhaps we can go further. But I don't want to 
get into a lot of details today. I'd just say that if we do this, we 
need to pay for it. We don't need to explode the deficit again. We do 
not need to weaken the economic recovery again. We need to be 
responsible with our budget and with our future. I still believe that 
the American people want us to do that.
    Yes, Bill [Bill Plante, CBS News].

Welfare and Health Care Reform

    Q. Mr. President, you talked a moment ago about the role of 
Government. And Government's intervention seems to be what a lot of the 
voters ruled out, voted against. Are you willing to scale back your 
expectations in areas like health care and welfare reform, or are you 
going to go in with plans that look like the ones you had this past year 
and wait for them to compromise, or will you go to them with something 
less than you had asked before?
    The President. Well, first of all, let me say, if you look at the 
welfare reform issue--let's take that first. I sent them a bill last 
March that is quite similar to one that several Republicans themselves 
have proposed. I don't think anybody would characterize it as a 
Government intervention bill. It's a bill designed to move people from 
welfare to work after a certain set time, to have tougher child support 
enforcement, to provide education and training and support for people 
who go into the workplace so they can know their children are all right. 
I think there is over 80 percent support in this country among Americans 
of both parties, among people of all races and backgrounds for doing 
something like this. So I think we will get an agreement.
    On the health care issue, I will concede that by the time the folks 
who were characterizing our program had finished with it--and one of 
your publications said that they thought about $300 million had been 
spent in lobbying against the health care reform--it looked like a 
Government program designed to solve the problem by restricting the 
choices of the American people and injecting the Government more into 
health care. That is not what I want to do. And I will concede this: I 
have got to find a way to reassure the American people that if they like 
what they've got, they can keep it.
    But let me say, I remain committed to solving the health care 
problem. Last year another million Americans, almost all of them in 
working families, lost their health insurance. We have more and more 
people--I talk to them all the time when I go out in the country--small 
business people and others who have health insurance that is so limited 
because their copays and deductibles are so high that all they've really 
got insurance against is losing their home if they get sick. So I remain 
committed to finding a way to keep Americans from losing their health 
insurance if they change jobs or if someone in their family gets sick; 
to controlling the cost increases in health care by market mechanisms; 
to providing ways for people in small businesses and self-employed 
people to buy health insurance at the same rates that those of us in 
Government or big employers, working for big employers, can do it.
    This is still a problem. And let me say, as the Republicans leaders 
know--they've been here working on this budget--we reduced both defense 
and domestic spending this year for the first time in 25 years. The only 
thing that went up this year was the cost of Medicare and Medicaid. So 
this problem will not go away, and I expect to work with the Congress to 
address it.
    Mike [Michael Duffy, Time].

Entitlement Programs

    Q. You seem to have backed yourself into a corner on the budget. You 
say that Medicaid and Medicare cuts will go to fund health reform. Will 
your next budget outline what you will do to keep the budget deficit 
going down, particularly if you won't cut Social Security?
    The President. Well, I will work with the Republican leadership on 
that. I will be interested to see what their ideas are. I believe 
furthermore--as you know, the Kerrey commission has been looking at the 
whole entitlement question and the long-term implications for our 
country. I have said, on the Medicare savings, that I thought Medicare 
savings should be used to help deal with the health care problem because 
Medicare is paid for entirely by a payroll tax, the purpose of which is 
to deal with health care. So that's what I have said.
    Now, Social Security I think should be dealt with on its own terms. 
As you know, several

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years into the future, it is projected that we will once again have a 
Social Security problem. Ten years ago, a bipartisan commission met and 
worked out the problems and dealt with that in ways that have, in 
essence, solved the Social Security problem well into the next century. 
But we must always be vigilant about that.
    The point I want to make about Social Security, though, is that as a 
percentage of our national income, Social Security is about the same it 
was 20 years ago, 22 years ago. The Social Security tax has, in fact, 
produced a surplus for some years now. So it doesn't seem to me to be 
the right thing to do to try to restrict benefits to recipients overall 
when the Social Security tax has more than paid its own way all these 
years.
    Now, as you know, in the last session of Congress, we did ask the 
most well-off--about 12 or 13 percent--of Social Security recipients to 
pay taxes on a higher percentage of their income, more like private 
retirees. But I do not believe we should be in the business of cutting 
Social Security to pay for a tax cut in some other area. I think that 
would be an error.
    Brit [Brit Hume, ABC News].

Midterm Elections

    Q. Mr. President, did you mean to say here, sir, that the message 
the voters sent yesterday was basically an extension of the demand for 
change they made when you were elected in '92, and that you've been 
going in the right direction but perhaps need to go farther and faster 
with the sense of the same agenda?
    The President. Well, I think they were saying two things to me--or 
maybe three. They were saying--maybe 300. [Laughter]
    I think they were saying, ``Look, we just don't like what we see 
when we watch Washington, and you haven't done much about that.'' You 
know, we haven't changed the lobbying reform laws. Congress is still not 
required to live under the same laws that it imposes on private 
employers. There's still no line-item veto. There's still not campaign 
finance reform. ``We don't like it when we look at it. It's too 
partisan, too interest group oriented; things don't get done, too many 
people up there playing politics. Democrats are in charge; we're holding 
you accountable. And we hope you hear this, Mr. President.'' I think 
they said that.
    The second thing I think they said is, ``Look, you may have done all 
these things, although we haven't heard much of it, and we're not sure 
we believe it. But even if the deficit is down, the Government is 
smaller, more is being invested in education, the crime bill passed, and 
the economy is growing, we still feel insecure. We don't feel that our 
incomes are going up, that our jobs are more stable, that our 
neighborhoods are safer, that the fabric of American life is growing 
more civilized and more law-abiding.''
    Then I think the third thing they were saying--and this maybe gets 
to the point of your question--is, ``There are things we expect 
Government to do, but we don't think Government can solve all the 
problems. And we don't want the Democrats telling us from Washington 
that they know what is right about everything. We want the Government to 
be smaller. We want it to be more efficient. We want it to create 
opportunity, to empower us. And we want it to demand responsibility of 
people who aren't behaving responsibly. In short, we want it to reflect 
our interests and our values.'' And I think what they were saying is 
that the Republicans did a good job of defining us as the party of 
Government, and that's not a good place to be. I think that was a clear 
message that they were sending in the election.
    Q. Those are all things, sir, that you have said. Are you 
essentially saying that the electorate yesterday was agreeing with you?
    The President. I think they were agreeing with me, but they don't 
think we produced them. In other words--let me say it in another way. 
I'm saying that I agree with much of what the electorate said yesterday. 
Now, there were segments of that majority the Republicans put together 
obviously that I do not agree with and on matters of conviction I can't 
say I agreed with. I don't agree that we should repeal either the 
assault weapons ban or the Brady bill. The NRA would like to do that. I 
don't think we should. I don't agree that the answer to the abortion 
problem is to criminalize abortion again. That was a big part of that 
vote. So I'm still pro-choice, not because I'm pro-abortion; I'm not. 
But I still believe that it's a mistake to criminalize that. So I don't 
agree with all that.
    But I think that the swing voters, the people that first of all 
voted for Bill Clinton and Ross Perot in '92 against the incumbent 
President and then voted for the Republicans for Congress against the 
incumbent Democrats--and in the

[[Page 2050]]

challenging races and out in the country--were making a statement about 
what they think about Government. They still believe that Government is 
more often the problem than the solution. They don't want any party to 
be the party of Government. They don't want the presumption to be that 
people in Washington know what's best. They do want the Government to 
protect their interest, promote their values, I think, and to empower 
them. And then they want people held accountable.
    So I'm saying that, to that extent, that message--I got it. I accept 
responsibility for not delivering. To whatever extent it's my fault that 
we haven't delivered back to the American people what they want on that, 
I have to accept that responsibility.
    But you know, I've worked hard, the Vice President has worked hard 
on this whole business of downsizing the Government, deregulating 
several areas of our national life. We have not done as much as we are 
going to have to do to satisfy the voters, but we also have to recognize 
that this Government has a responsibility to protect and promote certain 
fundamental interests that I think the people really also want protected 
and promoted.
    But they sent us a clear message. I got it, and I'm going to try to 
redouble my efforts to get there. I think that the Republican 
congressional leadership will at least have the chance to work with us. 
I'm going to do my dead-level best to do that, and to be less partisan. 
Most Americans are not strongly partisan, and they don't want us to be.

Downsizing Government

    Q. Mr. President, if one of the signal messages of yesterday is that 
Americans want smaller Government, how much smaller do they want it, and 
what can you do to shrink it?
    The President. Well, we're shrinking it already. One thing we can 
do----
    Q. What can you do that you haven't done, that you haven't done 
already, to shrink it?
    The President. Well, I think it's important, though--let me put the 
record out. All we have to do is to stay with the present 6-year plan, 
and we will reduce the size of Government by 272,000. We have already 
passed major laws to deregulate banking and interstate trucking. We have 
already given 20 States total freedom from Federal regulations to pursue 
their welfare reform experiments and about 9 States freedom to pursue 
their health care experiments. And the education bill cuts a lot of 
Federal strings that are tied to the States to improve the performance 
of children in the schools.
    So what I think we have to do is to look at every single Government 
department, every single Government program, and especially the nature 
of Government regulation and ask ourselves: Is there a better way to do 
this? Is this something where the American people will think we're more 
of a burden than a help? Is there a way to give more flexibility to 
people at the State and local level and in private life to achieve the 
same goal?
    We're going to have to continue, in other words, to review 
everything that this Government does. And I think that there are more 
things that can be done. I'm going to propose them. I encourage the 
Republicans in Congress to propose them and the Democrats in Congress to 
propose them. I think that this is--we're in the middle of a revolution 
here in the way organizations work in America, in the world, and the 
Government is still behind the eight ball. And we're going to have to 
keep pushing until people believe that they have a Government that works 
for them, that they have confidence in, and that they think gives them 
good value for their dollar, and that doesn't overreach where they think 
it shouldn't overreach.
    Wolf [Wolf Blitzer, Cable News Network].

Whitewater Investigation

    Q. Mr. President, you know, the Republicans are taking over the 
Senate now and the House, so they'll be in charge of all of the 
committees. Are you especially concerned that Senator Alfonse D'Amato, 
if he becomes chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, and 
Representative Jim Leach, if he becomes chairman of the House Banking 
Committee, will now intensify their Whitewater investigations?
    The President. No. I have said I would cooperate with the Congress, 
and I will continue to cooperate with the Congress, as I have. I think 
that they will have, obviously, other responsibilities as well now, and 
I think that they will just fulfill those responsibilities as they see 
fit. I'll do my best to fulfill my responsibilities.
    One more.

Midterm Elections

    Q. Mr. President, the recurring refrain in the preelection 
interviews was that this was the

[[Page 2051]]

nastiest campaign in modern times. Do you agree with that? If you do 
agree, what do you think caused that, and what do you think can be done 
about it?
    The President. Well, I think it is--the causes are many and complex, 
partly because of the real feelings people have about where they are in 
their own lives and what they saw here in Washington and how it was 
presented to them for a good long period of time, partly because of the 
enormous expenditure of funds for negative ads of all kinds. And I think 
campaign finance reform would help some. But let me say that there were 
pockets in this country, there were elections in this country where 
people won by being more positive and less negative, but they could only 
do it if the voters felt that they were part of a process.
    If you ask me for one of the mistakes that I think that I have made 
since I've been here, I have spent so much time trying to pass bills 
through Congress that I haven't spent as much time as I was able to 
spend when I was running for President making sure that the people 
understood, were in on, and felt a part of the process by which we make 
decisions. And I believe that, again I will say, as much as the specific 
decisions that were made, it was the alienation people feel from the 
Government and the process.
    Let me just give you another example. If you look at North Dakota, 
where Senator Conrad and Congressman Pomeroy were elected in a State 
where I lost by a large margin in 1992, and yet they supported these 
programs, these initiatives, and the economic plan, I asked myself: Did 
that happen in part because it's a small enough State where people can 
talk together, they can work together, they are less easily moved by the 
negative ads? What can I do to use modern technology better, to work 
with the Republicans in Congress and the Democrats to involve the 
American people in this as we go along? What responsibility is there? In 
other words, the President can work 60, 70 hours a week and lose his 
voice several times and pass a bunch of bills, and if people don't feel 
that they're a part of it, then so what if I'm signing another piece of 
paper up here.
    If you look at--Governor Romer in Colorado has some very interesting 
thoughts about this and has worked very hard on this. But I think this 
is something that I'm going to have to really ask others about and get 
some advice about, because one of the things I prided the 1992 campaign 
on--and I give credit to the other candidates as well--but for all of 
the attacks and the criticisms in `92, the fact that there were some 
negative ads back and forth, the truth is we had a big turnout based 
largely on hope. We had three debates, one of which people were involved 
in, ordinary citizens. We had countless town meetings, two of the 
candidates did. We had other things that constantly made the American 
people feel that they had some say up here. And I think that--to go back 
to Brit's question--I think that part of it is they think that we get up 
here and we just get up every day and, even if we're working hard, we 
just are going this way, when they may want to go this way. And it just 
doesn't mean anything to them. They worry then about having a Government 
that is more of a burden than a support. And it's something we have to 
find a way to crack. It's not a simple issue.
    I'll take one more. Go ahead.

Democratic Party's Future

    Q. Do you feel at all that this election has pushed you politically 
to the right? And would you have any message for the Democrats in 
Congress, like Senator Shelby, who are considering or might be 
considering switching to the Republican Party?
    The President. I think he did switch.
    Q. Yes, I know, but if there are Democrats in the House who are 
considering switching.
    The President. Oh, I see what you mean. Well, first of all, let me 
say that if we can have a bipartisan coalition, then we can be both 
nonpolitical and more centrist. I ran for President saying that we 
should not be governed--we should not be governed by either Republicans 
or Democrats who are pushed too far in either direction, that most of 
the good ideas are ideas that take us into the future, not push us left 
or right.
    There were times when our inability to have cooperation in the 
Congress dictated a solution that came primarily out of the Democrats. 
When we got cooperation, when we were able to work together--to give you 
two examples--on NAFTA and on the crime bill I ultimately signed, we had 
a bill I think that resonated pretty well with the American people. So I 
feel good about that. I want to have a bipartisan cooperation.

[[Page 2052]]

    A lot of the things they have advocated I have advocated, like the 
line-item veto, the lobby reform, the congressional reform, further 
reductions in unnecessary spending and regulation. I do not believe that 
we should give up on our efforts to make the economy stronger, the 
streets safer, our people better educated, our families more supported 
in the work of parenting and work. But I think there's a lot we can work 
together on that will be consistent with my convictions, consistent with 
what I have always believed, consistent with what I've always worked 
for. And when we can do that, we ought to do that.
    I always felt, in the last 2 years, that we could work together, 
consistent with our convictions, more than we were working together 
because of politics. When we can't work together because our convictions 
are different, I will stand on my convictions.
    Yes, go ahead.
    Q. Even before you ran for President, you had an idea of where the 
Democratic Party had to go to reclaim the center and become a majority 
again. Now that your party is a minority in Congress and in the 
statehouses, what do Democrats have to do to avoid becoming a permanent 
minority party?
    The President. I think we have to, first of all, as I said, take a 
little nap, take a little sleep, take a little rest, let the Republicans 
enjoy their victories, and analyze why they won, and ask ourselves to 
what extent do we also believe some of the things the voters believe.
    You know, sometimes in life--let me just say this--sometimes in 
life, you have to be in the minority because you just cannot, in good 
conscience, go along with what's popular. Sometimes that happens. I 
really regret the loss of some of these fine young progressive Members 
of Congress who clearly are in the mainstream of their views to the 
people back home, because they could not defend themselves against 
either the efforts of certain groups on votes like the crime bill or 
because they couldn't find a way to convince the majority of their 
constituents that when they voted for that economic plan it would bring 
the deficit down, it was a sacrifice worth making, it will make the 
country stronger. I regret that.
    But those people did what was right for their country and for the 
future. And if they hadn't done it, we wouldn't be where we are today 
economically, and we would be in a terrible fix with regard to the 
deficit. And we wouldn't have the middle class college loan program. We 
wouldn't have a lot of things. So I regret that.
    But I think we have to analyze the results of the elections, hear 
what the voters were saying, and go back to them and say: We believe 
that the Government is not inherently bad. We agree that the Government 
needs to be smaller and more efficient. We believe it needs to reflect 
our values as well as our interests. And we believe that we have more to 
offer in that regard, and here is what it is and here is what the 
distinctions are.
    That, I think, was the work that we have been trying to do for 10 
years. I believe that a lot of these things that we saw yesterday were 
the culmination of many years of trends, as well as a dissatisfaction 
with the last 2 years. And I think that we have an opportunity now to go 
back and capture the imagination of the American people with good ideas 
consistent with Democratic values.
    I've got to go. Thank you.

Note: The President's 78th news conference began at 3:33 p.m. in the 
East Room at the White House.