    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book II)]
    [August 31, 1996]
    [Page 1441]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 1441]]

    Remarks in Fulton, Kentucky
    August 31, 1996

        The President. Good morning!
        Audience members. Good morning!
        The President. Thank you for coming out. Thank you for waiting. I
    want to thank the mayors of both these communities. I'm glad to be in
    Kentucky and Tennessee, and I want to thank all of you who worked hard
    on this event. I see a lot of work has been done on the buildings. I see
    a lot of work has been done to make us feel welcome in these two proud
    communities and I thank you. I am glad to be here, and I am glad to see
    you.
        We are fighting for your future. Will you help us build that bridge
    to the 21st century?
        Audience members. Yes!
        The President. Will you help us send Steve Beshear and Houston
    Gordon to the United States Senate and Steve Null to the Congress to
    help us build that bridge to the 21st century?
        Audience members. Yes!
        The President. Will you help us make 2 years of college education as
    universal as a high school education is now in the next 4 years?
        Audience members. Yes!
        The President. Will you help us close two-thirds of the toxic waste
    dumps so our kids live near parks and not poison in the next 4 years?
        Audience members. Yes!
        The President. Will you help us balance the budget without doing
    what our friends in the opposition want to do, without hurting Medicare,
    Medicaid, our commitment to education, and the environment? Will you
    help us do that?
        Audience members. Yes!
        The President. Folks, this country is in better shape than it was 4
    years ago. We are on the right track to the 21st century. But we still
    have work to do. On Thursday night in Chicago, I outlined the direction
    that the Vice President and I and our administration will take, and I
    want you to help us. This is an election about whether we're going to
    build a bridge to the future or a bridge to the past, about whether we
    believe we're all in this together and everybody has a role to play and
    a place, or whether we ought to say you're on your own.
        I believe that my job is to give you the tools you need and the
    conditions you need to make the most of your own lives, your family's
    lives, your community's lives. I think that's our responsibility. That's
    what we've been doing for 4 years. That's why we're on the right track.
    But we have got more to do.
        We need to build a big, strong bridge that's wide enough for
    everybody to walk across so every child in this audience will have a
    good, good life in the 21st century. Will you help us?
        Audience members. Yes!
        The President. For 68 days will you help us?
        Audience members. Yes!
        The President. Thank you, and God bless you. We're glad to see you.
    Thank you.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:58 a.m. in the Town Square. In his
    remarks, he referred to Mayor Elaine Forrester of Fulton, KY; Mayor Kent
    Greer of South Fulton, TN; Steven Beshear, Kentucky senatorial
    candidate; Houston Gordon, Tennessee senatorial candidate; and Dennis
    Null, candidate for Kentucky's First Congressional District.