    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (2000, Book I)]
    [May 24, 2000]
    [Pages 1019-1021]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at the Democratic National Committee's ``National Tribute to
    President Clinton''
    May 24, 2000

        Well, first of all, thank you, thank you very much. Let me tell you
    something--wait, turn this on. If you'd turn this on, they could hear me
    instead of them.
        Now, I don't believe that it's corruption to take money to pass the
    Brady bill, instead of beat it; to pass the family and medical leave
    bill, so 21 million ordinary working people can take some time off when
    their babies are born and their parents are sick, instead of to beat it;
    to pass the Patients' Bill of Rights, instead of to beat it; to reduce
    the deficit and get rid of the debt, instead of keep giving big breaks
    to special interests. I don't think that is corruption. I think that's
    good for America. That's why we're here tonight; that's why you're here
    tonight. We made a difference, and I'm glad you're helping us to win the
    next election. Thank you.
        Let me also say to all of you how grateful I am that you're here,
    how grateful I am for your support. I thank Ed and Joe and Loretta and Dennis and all their
    predecessors in the Democratic Party. I thank my good friends Dick
    Gephardt and Tom Daschle, who will be the leaders of their respective
    chambers after the election. I thank Terry McAuliffe for making sure we'll be able to stick out there and
    give our message to fight for our candidates and elect our President in
    the year 2000. Thank you, Terry, and thank all of you who helped
    tonight.

    [[Page 1020]]

        And I want to thank Al and Tipper and Hillary and all
    the others who were part of our team. All those things that were on that
    film--mostly they were just my face up there. We had a great team, the
    four of us; we had a great White House; we had a great Cabinet; we had
    all these great young people working for us who believed in what we were
    doing every day. To every one of you who had anything to do with any of
    the progress of this administration, I thank you from the bottom of my
    heart.
        Now, I also want to thank my buddies from Sims and Lindsey's and the
    Rendezvous for bringing us barbecue so Al and I could feel at home
    tonight, and I hope you felt at home tonight with that barbecue. And
    besides that, we needed a backdrop for McAuliffe to do that comedy gig he did on the Republicans. So,
    thank you for bringing the barbecue. It was wonderful.
        Now, I don't know about you, but I came here to hear the
    entertainment, not to hear the politicians speak. So, since I'm really
    grateful to you for your support, I'm going to spare you much of a
    speech. But I want to say just two or three things real seriously.
        Number one, the election of 2000 is every bit as important as the
    elections of '92 and '96. And in some ways, we are handicapped by all
    those good things that were just recounted on the film. A lot of younger
    voters have even forgotten what the economy was like in 1992. A lot of
    people have forgotten that 7\1/2\, 8 years ago no one thought the
    deficit could be brought down, much less the budget balanced and the
    debt begin to be repaid. No one thought the crime rate could be bought
    down, the welfare rolls could be reduced, that the performance of our
    public schools would be increasing dramatically. No one believed that
    back in 1992.
        Now, what is the problem? The question is, what are we going to do
    with our prosperity and with our social progress? And I would argue to
    all of you, just in one moment of seriousness tonight, that how a great
    nation handles its success can be an even sterner test of character than
    how it deals with adversity.
        I have sort of mixed feelings looking at that film, actually. I
    watch myself get grayer and grayer and grayer. [Laughter] And I thought
    to myself, before I got into my second term here, I was always the
    youngest person who did everything. Now I'm up here in my old boots and
    my old jeans, and I'm just kind of an old gray-haired redneck trying to
    put in some good months here. [Laughter] But I've learned a few things
    earning those gray hairs.
        And what I want to say to you is that if you believe, as I do, that
    it's just a test of our character that's as severe as any we've had,
    what are we going to do with our prosperity, then this election matters,
    and I'll tell you what I think we need.
        We need to elect someone President who understands the future and
    knows how to take us there. We need to elect someone President who's
    actually made tough decisions and not just talked about it. And we need
    to elect people to the Senate and the House who supported us on our
    economic program, supported us when we brought the crime rate down,
    supported us when we cleaned up the environment and grew the economy at
    the same time, supported us when we protected the individual liberties
    of America, supported us when we said we could build one America across
    all the lines that divide us. That's what we need to do in the year
    2000, looking toward tomorrow.
        Terry has already said this. Ed has already said this. But I want
    you to know that not only as President but as something of an historian,
    there is no one in the history of the Vice Presidency who has ever, ever
    had remotely the positive impact on the lives and the future of the
    people of the United States as Al Gore has
    these last 7\1/2\ years. It's not even close--ever.
        From casting the deciding vote on our economic plan in '93, to
    sticking up for us when we had to go into Haiti, into Bosnia, into
    Kosovo, to all the tough calls we made in helping to end the financial
    crises in the world, down to voting to close the gun show loophole and
    require child trigger locks, Al Gore has
    led the way.
        Now, when you think about the future, what are the questions? Well,
    how are we going to get the country out of debt, keep the prosperity
    going, and give people who live in poor areas who have been left behind
    a chance to be part of our prosperity? How are we going to deal with the
    environmental challenges of global warming and grow the economy? How are
    we going to give all working people the security of access to health
    care and world-class education for their kids? How are we going to
    proceed in a world full of uncertainty, where you have to make
    complicated judgments about the

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    security threats out there and still try to build a better and brighter
    future based on trade, not conflict, based on lifting labor standards
    and environmental standards, not walking away from the human rights of
    the people of the world? How are we going to do these things?
        The answer is, we ought to pick the person who is the best qualified
    person based on experience. We ought to pick the person who has proved
    that he makes good decisions based on lots of evidence. We ought to pick
    a person whose mind and heart have always been focused on the future
    that his children--now his grandchild--and all of our children ought to
    have. Al Gore should be, and with your
    help, will be, the next President of the United States of America.
        Ladies and gentlemen, Vice President Al Gore.

     Note: The President spoke at approximately 9:15 p.m. at the MCI Center.
    In his remarks, he referred to Edward G. Rendell, national chair, Joseph
    J. Andrew, national finance chair, Representative Loretta Sanchez,
    general cochair, Mayor Dennis W. Archer of Detroit, MI, general cochair,
    and Terence McAuliffe, former national finance chair, Democratic
    National Committee. The transcript released by the Office of the Press
    Secretary also included the remarks of the First Lady, Vice President
    Gore, and Tipper Gore.