    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1999, Book I)]
    [June 7, 1999]
    [Pages 897-899]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at a Democratic National Committee Dinner for Terence
    McAuliffe
    June 7, 1999

        Thank you very much. I want to thank Ron and Beth for having us here; and
    Chairman Andrew, Mayor Archer, the other officials of the Democratic Party who are
    here. I want to thank all those who have spoken before; but I have to
    say a word about the two women.

    [[Page 898]]

        Ann Richards is my former colleague and my
    longtime friend who tells me jokes that make me laugh, but which she
    knows good and well I can never repeat. [Laughter] So tonight she
    referred to me as ``her lovely husband, Bill.'' And then
    Hillary said my being a member of the
    Senate spouses club was a good reason to run. [Laughter] No offense,
    Senator Daschle, but until you change the
    numbers up there, if I were given the choice, I'd rather be in the
    spouses club. [Laughter] I'm looking forward to it.
        However, I've also made it clear that I'm available for any and all
    other services. I would be happy to run the New York City casework
    operation--there will never be a difficult reelection if they let me do
    that; it'll be over. [Laughter]
        Let me say, I want you to all ask yourselves something. What is it
    that you like about Terry McAuliffe? I like the fact that he lies to me
    about his golf handicap, and I can't get mad at him. I like the fact
    that for a rich guy, his politics go a little left and his golf ball
    goes a little right. I like the fact that he did wrestle an alligator,
    and if you offered to give the Democratic Party enough money, he'd lay
    down on the bottom of that swimming pool for 3 to 4 minutes, until you
    finally came across. [Laughter]
        I like the fact that he is always seeing the bright side of things.
    After we were totally wiped out in '94--I mean, it was awful; there was
    nothing good about the '94 election--I called McAuliffe. He said, ``Hey,
    look at it this way. It's a great opportunity for next time; we could
    have lost 60 seats!'' [Laughter] And he went back to work. It never
    occurred to him to do anything else.
        I like the fact that the more successful he's become, financially
    and otherwise, the more intense his devotion to our party and to people
    who are less fortunate than he is has become. I like the fact that he
    loves his family; he wants it to get bigger; he is unabashedly proud of
    them all, from his parents to his wife and children to his brother and
    others. I like the fact that he is proud of what he has done as a
    citizen to help make our party successful.
        Terry and I have never been of the school that believed that we
    ought to act embarrassed because we ask people in the system we have to
    contribute so that we could get our message across. Because of what he
    has done and because of what we have done, all of you together, there
    are 18 million more jobs in this country; 12.5 million people have taken
    advantage of the family leave law; millions and millions of more people
    are in their own homes. We have a 25 year low in the crime rate, half as
    many people on welfare. I think it's worth an investment in America; so
    does he. We're proud of you. And I like that about Terry McAuliffe.
        I like the fact that Terry gets up every day, like we all should--
    anybody who can be in this room tonight--and know that whatever the
    problems are out there, whatever difficulties he's had--and he and
    Dorothy, even though they live totally
    charmed, their life has not been totally free of bumps in the road--he
    gets up every day and thinks, ``I am a lucky man; I am alive; I've got a
    wonderful family; I'm making more money than I ever dreamed, and I get
    to go out and help people I believe in make this a better country and a
    better world.''
        And if we all had more of his energy, his positive attitude, his
    belief in himself and in the fundamental goodness of people, that you
    bring it out and unleash that energy, this would even be a greater
    country, and we would have even fewer problems than we have, and we'd be
    making even more progress than we are.
        I love this guy. I want you to understand, I had all these funny
    jokes, and I threw them away before I got in here because I want to tell
    you this. I want you to remember this. We've been through a lot of
    things together. We've walked over coals; we've had coals dumped on our
    heads; we've dodged a lot of bullets; we've taken a few. And every day,
    he just gets up and thanks God he's alive, looks on the bright side of
    things, doesn't quit believing in what he believes in, and always
    believes there's somebody else to help, somebody else to bring in,
    someone else to involve.
        And again, I say to you, I think that's why we're all here. We like
    him. There are even some people here who don't share his politics, or
    mine, who are here because they like him. And so when you go home
    tonight and you get up tomorrow, just think--you can have a little of
    his energy, a little more of his positive outlook, a little more of his
    basic faith that we can bring out the goodness in people, we can even do
    more for the party and the country we love.
        Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. McAuliffe. Thank you very much.

    [[Page 899]]

    Note: The President spoke at 10:05 p.m. at a private residence. In his
    remarks, he referred to Beth Dozoretz, national finance chair, Joseph J.
    Andrew, national chair, and Mayor Dennis W.Archer of Detroit, general
    cochair, Democratic National Committee; former Gov. Ann Richards of
    Texas; and Mr. McAuliffe's wife, Dorothy. The President also referred to
    Mrs. Dozoretz's husband, Ronald, who cohosted the dinner with his wife.