    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book II)]
    [October 16, 1996]
    [Pages 1836-1837]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Exchange With Reporters on the Presidential Debate in San Diego,
    California
    October 16, 1996

        Q. Can you tell us what you're thinking about--[inaudible]--today?
        The President. It's been a long time since I've done one of these
    townhalls, so I'm looking forward to that. I'm interested to see what
    the people have on their mind, and I'm looking forward to it. I've done
    my best to prepare. I've still got some reading to do. I'm going to go
    back and do a little work now.
        Q. If Bob Dole goes real negative, how are you going to respond to
    that today, Mr. President?
        The President. Well, we're going to respond to the people who are in
    the audience. That's the way this was designed, and we'll just see what
    happens. I'm going to do my best to re-

    [[Page 1837]]

    spond to their questions and to talk about what I'm going to do for the
    next 4 years.

    Note: The exchange began at 12:30 p.m. en route to the debate site. A
    tape was not available for verification of the content of this exchange.