[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1998, Book I)]
[June 16, 1998]
[Pages 975-976]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at a Democratic National Committee Dinner
June 16, 1998

    Thank you. I want you to look up on that screen. This is as close as 
I'll ever get to the BET jazz channel. [Laughter] You know, Bob was doing such a good job up here, I was kind of 
hoping he'd never call me up. [Laughter] Ramsey did such a good job on ``Body and Soul,'' I 
was kind of hoping he'd never quit. [Laughter]
    Let me thank Bob and Sheila for having us here, Debra, all 
the other people associated with BET and with this wonderful restaurant. 
It's a beautiful place; the food was terrific; the atmosphere is great. 
I thank all of you for coming. I especially want to thank Congressmen 
Charles Rangel and Don Payne and Bill Jefferson 
and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton for being here. I think Mayor Webb from Denver is here along with Governor Romer, the chairman of our party. The hour is late; we've had 
good food, good music, and good companionship. And I won't give a long 
speech.
    Let me say that I was very moved by what Bob had to say about our 
trip to Africa. It was for me, and for Hillary also, a truly 
transforming experience, although she had already been. I don't think 
I'll ever quite be the same again. I came back determined to continue to 
build our relationship with Africa, determined to work with Congressman 
Rangel and others to pass the Africa trade 
bill, determined to build a better future for all of us together.
    Let me make just a couple of brief statements. When I ran--started 
running for President in late 1991, I was concerned about the direction 
of our country, not just the problems we had at the moment but the 
direction. And I had some ideas that I thought were both modern and 
consistent with what my party had always stood for. I wanted to get the 
country

[[Page 976]]

moving again, get the society coming together again, and reassert our 
leadership for peace and freedom and prosperity and humanity around the 
world.
    And the American people, in no small measure because of overwhelming 
support from the African-American community, gave me a precious chance 
to serve as President and gave our party a chance to try our ideas for 
the 21st century out on the country.
    Five and a half years later, we have the lowest crime rate in 25 
years, the lowest unemployment rate in 28 years, the lowest welfare 
rolls in 29 years, the first balanced budget and surplus in 29 years, 
the lowest inflation rate in 32 years, the smallest Federal Government 
in 35 years, the highest homeownership, the lowest African-American 
unemployment, and the highest rate of business formation among 
minorities in the history of the country. I think that's a pretty good 
record for 5\1/2\ years of our working together.
    And I want to thank all of you who made that possible. There are a 
lot of people in this room tonight that started with me in '91 and '92. 
I will never forget that. A lot of you have come on, thanks to 
Bob and other friends, and I'm very 
grateful to you.
    But I want to say, ideas, if they're translated into action, have 
consequences. And a great number of the things I have done never would 
have been possible if it hadn't been for the congressional support I 
have received. I think the people in this room and those that are 
running on the ticket with them in November deserve to be rewarded for 
being right. You know, when they voted for the economic plan in 1993, 
the other guys said it would bring a recession. Well, we've got 5\1/2\ 
years and 16 million jobs of experience. We know who was right and who 
wasn't.
    When we passed a crime bill to put 100,000 people on the street and 
ban assault weapons and passed the Brady bill, the other side said we 
were going to take guns away from law abiding people, and the crime rate 
would skyrocket. Well, 5\1/2\ years later we've got 300,000 people with 
criminal records who couldn't get handguns and a crime rate at a 25-year 
low and 75,000 more police paid to go on the street. We know who was 
right and who was wrong.
    And these Members of Congress here and those who are running with 
them deserve the chance to take the next steps, to take advantage of 
this economic opportunity to really make a dent in inner-city poverty 
where the recovery hasn't reached yet; to take advantage of this 
economic prosperity; to take a serious look at what we have to do to 
improve our school systems and make them the best in the world, like our 
colleges and universities are; to take advantage of this moment of real 
security and prove we can grow the economy and preserve the environment; 
to take advantage of this moment of security and reach out to Africa, to 
the Caribbean, to Latin America, to help our friends in Asia in their 
moment of trouble, so that we can build a unified world that is coming 
together instead of being torn apart; to take advantage of this moment 
to say to America, if you want to lead a world that is more and more 
bedeviled by racial and ethnic and religious conflicts--that is, if you, 
America, want to do good around the world, you must first be good at 
home. We have to do this right. And we have a unique opportunity to do 
that. That's what this is about.
    These people need your help. They deserve your help. I'm not running 
anymore. I'm going out there working for them because I believe in what 
we have done together; I believe in what we can do in the next 2\1/2\ 
years, I believe what we can do in the next 10 years, if we get a chance 
to shape 21st century America. And you have done a very good thing 
tonight. I hope you will continue to be involved.
    And again, let me say to Bob and 
Sheila, I'll never forget you for all the 
wonderful things you've done, but this was special tonight. Thank you, 
Ramsey Lewis. I always loved hearing you play, 
but I'll have dreams about ``Body and Soul'' tonight.
    God bless you all. Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 10:30 p.m. at the BET On Jazz Restaurant. 
In his remarks, he referred to Robert L. Johnson, chairman and chief 
executive officer, and Debra Lee, president and chief operating officer, 
BET Holdings, Inc.; Mr. Johnson's wife, Sheila; and jazz musician Ramsey 
Lewis. The President also referred to BET On Jazz: the Cable Jazz 
Channel.