    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book II)]
    [November 2, 1997]
    [Pages 1482-1484]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 1482]]

    Remarks at a Rally for Congressional Candidate Eric Vitaliano in
    Staten Island, New York
    November 2, 1997

        The President. Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, as you may have
    noticed in the last couple of days, I'm a little hoarse--[laughter]--so
    I can't speak too loud, though I hope I will be heard.
        I want to thank President Springer for making us feel so welcome.
    Thank you, Assemblywoman Connelly, and all the other leaders of our
    party who are here. I want to thank Senator Bob Torricelli from New
    Jersey for being here with me, and in a moment I want to ask him to say
    a few words--he is always in stronger voice than I am. [Laughter] But
    most of all, I want to thank Eric Vitaliano and his wonderful family for
    making this race for Congress for your future and for our country.
        I'm so happy to be back in Staten Island. I'm glad to be here
    especially on this mission, because the people who live on this island
    and the people who live in Brooklyn in this congressional district are
    representative of the people I ran for President to give voice to and to
    give a future to.
        I want to just ask you to remember what it was like in 1991 and '92,
    when I started running for President. The economy was down, the country
    was drifting, politics was used to divide people with hot air and bogus
    charges, and we had no strategy to restore the middle class, to rebuild
    the economy, to reclaim the future for our children. And so I set out
    from a very different place, but representing people very much like you,
    to bring a vision to this country and unite us behind the idea that in
    the 21st century every American responsible enough to work for it,
    regardless of their race or station in life, ought to have a chance to
    live the American dream; that this country ought to continue to lead the
    world for peace and prosperity; and that we ought to unite, across all
    the lines that divide us, into one America.
        Now, no one can come into this district and tell you for whom to
    vote. But I want to ask you, why has the other party spent all this
    money on ads trying to tear down Eric Vitaliano? And why did my
    predecessor and my distinguished opponent in the last election come here
    on behalf of his opponent? Because they are still trying to implement
    the contract on America and their agenda--and we don't think they're
    right--and because they have--this is the most important thing--they
    have opposed every single thing we have tried to do that has moved this
    country forward in the last 5 years.
        So I don't want you to vote for me or against President Bush or
    Senator Dole or even Speaker Gingrich. I want you to vote for yourselves
    and your families and your future. This election--this is not about New
    York City politics, New York State politics. This is about what this man
    can do for you to set the right course for this country that will help
    the children of Staten Island and Brooklyn to have a brighter future.
    That's what this is about, nothing more and nothing less. I'll just give
    you some examples. And you remember, they all came for Mr. Vitaliano's
    opponent. I'm proud to be here for him.
        But let me just give you some examples--vote for your future. I said
    we ought to break out of the bogus political debate in Washington that
    was paralyzing America. I said we could reduce the deficit and balance
    the budget and still invest in the education of our children. They all
    opposed it. We were right and they were wrong. We've got 13 million jobs
    and low unemployment.
        I said that we could talk tough on crime till the cows come home,
    but until we acted tough and smart, till we supported more punishment
    and prevention, and until we put 100,000 police on the street in
    America, we couldn't bring down crime. Well, they opposed it. But we
    were right, they were wrong. Crime has been going down in this country
    for 5 years. That's what you ought to vote for.
        They said Government was inherently bad and ought to be demolished.
    I said, no, it ought to be smaller and less bureaucratic, but we still
    ought to invest in the education of our children, in cleaning up our
    environment, in protecting the public health. They opposed us on all
    those issues. Today, the deficit has been reduced by 90 percent, the
    Government is 300,000 people smaller, but we're spending more on
    education

    [[Page 1483]]

    and public health and environmental protection. We were right, and they
    were wrong.
        Make no mistake about it, this is about you and your life. This man
    has shown you in his public service that he knows how to take sensible,
    tough, but smart policies on crime; that he is committed to preserving
    the environment--when he got the legislation through to close that
    landfill. He has shown you that he cares about middle class families and
    middle class values and the future of children and that he believes it
    ought to be a future that includes all kinds of Americans. That is what
    is at issue. Make no mistake, that is what is at issue.
        And what you have to decide is whether you believe the course that I
    have taken, which has moved away from the old liberal-versus-
    conservative debate to build a common future for America's future--
    whether that kind of course, which requires independence, which requires
    the ability to differ, which requires the ability to think, and requires
    the ability to pull people together--whether that's the course you want,
    or whether you want one more soldier in the army that opposed our
    economic policies, our education policies, our environmental policies,
    our crime policies, right down the line. If you believe the country is
    better off today by having that kind of leadership and that kind of
    direction, you have only one choice on Tuesday: you have to show up for
    Eric Vitaliano and send him to Congress.
        We are determined to open the doors of college to every American who
    will work hard enough to earn the grades to go. We are determined to
    make sure every 8-year-old in this country can read, that every single
    classroom in America is hooked up to the Internet, that every adult who
    loses a job has an immediate--immediate--chance to go back and get new
    skills and get back into the work force. We are determined to move this
    country forward together. We are determined to prove we can keep
    cleaning up the environment while we grow the economy. We are determined
    to keep working on the crime problem until it not only goes down but
    everybody in every neighborhood feels safe when their children are on
    the streets and in the parks again. That's what we're determined to do.
        And maybe most important of all, we are determined to give families
    and communities the tools to solve their own problems. The first bill I
    signed was the family and medical leave law. The people who are trying
    to beat Eric Vitaliano opposed it.
        So I ask you to think about this. And on Tuesday when you get up,
    don't be thinking about me; don't be thinking about those other folks
    that came in here for Eric's opponent. Be thinking about your children,
    your grandchildren, the people you live here with, the kind of Staten
    Island you want to build, the kind of New York you want to build, the
    kind of future you want to build. And make sure you show up, and drag
    three or four of your friends along with you, and tell them that America
    has a lot riding on the decision made in Staten Island and Brooklyn.
        Thank you, and God bless you. [Applause] Thank you.
        Now, 2 years ago, I was in the same sort of fight with Bob
    Torricelli in New Jersey. They said we couldn't win. They ran the same
    kind of negative ads against him. They said the same things against him.
    One thing is, they're perfectly predictable. [Laughter] But Bob
    Torricelli triumphed with the help of people like you. He's worked all
    over America to help us have that kind of election in other places, and
    I'd like to ask you to make him welcome. Senator Bob Torricelli from New
    Jersey.

    [At this point, Senator Robert G. Torricelli of New Jersey made brief
    remarks.]

        The President. One more thing. One more thing. In these elections,
    these special elections, very often the outcome is determined not by
    those who vote but by those who have an opinion who don't vote. And I
    want to say a special word of thanks to the unions, to the police
    officers' association, to the teachers, to the firefighters, the city
    workers, to every group of people who are supporting Eric.
        But let me tell you, those of you who are part of organizations and
    those of you who are active in the Democratic Party and those of you who
    are here as concerned citizens and especially those of you who are here
    who are students, who have the most at stake because you have the most
    years still ahead of you--you must go, and you must bring your friends.
    Don't make your endorsements meaningless by not making them manifest by
    a big turnout. Don't let the people who don't vote determine this. Let
    the people whose eyes are bright and focused on the future have the
    energy and the compassion and the patriotism to show up on

    [[Page 1484]]

    Tuesday so we'll have a big celebration Tuesday night.
        God bless you. Thank you.

    Note: The President spoke at 12:06 p.m. in the athletic center at the
    College of Staten Island. In his remarks, he referred to Marlene
    Springer, president, College of Staten Island; State Assemblywoman
    Elizabeth A. Connelly; and Mr. Vitaliano's opponent, Vito Fossella,
    Republican candidate for New York's 13th Congressional District.