    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (2000, Book I)]
    [February 22, 2000]
    [Pages 287-289]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at a Reception for Lieutenant Governor Ruth Ann Minner of Delaware
    February 22, 2000

        The President. Thank you very much, Lieutenant Governor Minner,
    Senator Biden, ladies and gentlemen. I
    was sitting here looking at all of your faces, and I reached over and
    whispered to Joe Biden, I said, ``You know, I really like Delaware.''
    [Laughter] It has certain unique parallels to my home State. It's two of
    the places in America where there are more chickens than people.
    [Laughter] And depending on what day it is, that's not all bad.
    [Laughter]
        I am profoundly grateful to Delaware for many reasons. You have been
    so good to me and to Al Gore. Twice you have given me your electoral
    vote; you supported the Vice President, for
    which I am very grateful. I couldn't even begin to tell you, in the time
    I have allotted tonight, all the reasons for my gratitude, respect, and
    affection for Senator Biden.
        Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Go
    ahead and tell them. [Laughter]
        The President. Beginning with his
    uncommon humility. [Laughter] His retiring personality. [Laughter] His
    always muted voice. [Laughter] Actually, if you're looking for somebody
    in American politics who understands what life is like for ordinary
    people, who's always there to defend the Constitution of the United
    States, and understands the rest of the world--in other words, the three
    big things you've got to do if you're a Senator--there is nobody in the
    Senate who can do all three as well as Joe Biden. You are very well
    served.
        And the third thing I'd like to say is, I'm also grateful to your
    Governor for a lifetime, nearly, it seems
    like, a political lifetime of friendship and all the work we've done
    together on welfare reform, on strengthening families, on child support
    enforcement. I'm elated that he's running for the Senate. And I look
    forward to his success and to his service.
        The fourth reason I'm here is, this is my year to support women for
    elected office. I'm into that. I think we ought to do more of that.
    [Laughter] Hillary tried to call me
    right before I got here. She's up in New York and coming home tonight.
    And I would imagine she was trying to call me before I got here to say
    that she thinks you guys ought to stick together--[laughter]--and so do
    I.
        But let me tell you, finally, I'm here because I really admire Ruth
    Ann Minner. I really admire Ruth Ann Minner. Some of you know this, but
    I was born to a widowed mother who had to leave to go back to school. I
    can only imagine

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    what it was like. She had to go back to get a GED, start her own
    business, depend on herself, raise three sons--
    I met two of them
    tonight. They both look like--they look like they ought to be playing
    for the Redskins--[laughter]. They'd improve our defense a little bit.
    And I've watched her in public life.
        And you know, people make fun of little States. When I ran in '92,
    President Bush kept referring to me as the Governor of a small southern
    State. I had to hear him say it five times before I realized it was a
    putdown; I thought he was bragging on me. [Laughter] I was proud of it;
    I didn't have any better sense than to think that was a good thing.
    [Laughter]
        You can't really play games with people in a place like Delaware,
    and you can't posture. And people don't hire you for hot air; they hire
    you to produce. And people know most of the problems we have are human
    problems, and they don't expect us to let our political differences
    paralyze us. And I just wish there were more people like Ruth Ann who
    have been through the kind of life experiences she's been through, who
    still had enough energy and optimism left to devote themselves to public
    life.
        We need more people who are making decisions in State capitals who
    know what it's like to try to feed kids without a high school diploma.
    We know. We need more people who can remember what it was like when they
    wondered if their children would be able to get a decent education, who
    understand what it's like to be on the other side of life's arc of
    opportunity--both because they understand the government ought to give
    people a helping hand and because they understand that if the hand is
    outstretched and you don't work for it, you still won't reach it. We
    need that. Our country needs it.
        And I was flattered that she said that what we needed in this
    election was to ratify the direction in which we're going. I have only a
    slightly different take on that, and I'd just like to close with a few
    moments speaking to you more as a citizen than as your President.
        Before I was President, I had the privilege of being Governor for a
    dozen years, and I loved it, and I was not burned out on it. And every
    time I got tired, a week or two later I'd get a second wind and go on. I
    think I could be doing it still, because if you are a truly committed
    Governor or a truly committed mayor or you have some other
    responsibilities at the grassroots level, you can actually see people's
    lives changing before your very eyes.
        And we have--the way I view this last 7 years is that we basically
    turned the ship of state around. When I took office, we had high
    unemployment, and the social problems were getting worse, and there was
    political gridlock in Washington. And we had decades of national
    elections decided by the politics of division, us and them. And it never
    made much sense to me, and I tried to turn it around. And I think we
    have turned it around.
        The question for the country now is, what are you going to do with
    this good fortune? I'd like for more people in positions of influence to
    have the memories Ruth Ann Minner has of what's it like not to have good
    fortune. They are more likely to make good decisions in times of
    prosperity. They are more likely to remember that not all people and
    communities have participated in this economic recovery; more likely to
    remember that we still need to keep paying the debt down, get this
    country out of debt so we'll keep interest rates down for other people;
    more likely to remember that not every child has a world-class
    education; more likely to remember that there are still young families
    out there struggling to balance work and family, trying to succeed at
    home and at work. And that is very important.
        I told somebody the other day, if somebody stood up and ran on a
    platform, ``Vote for me; I'll do just what Bill Clinton did,'' I'd vote
    against them, because times are changing. We're living in a time of very
    rapid change. But I do believe we ought to change in the direction in
    which we have been going. The question is, ought we turn the country
    around now? Not me--we. All of us, together.
        Now we have a chance to meet the big challenges out there. The
    longest economic recovery in our history--what are we going to do with
    it? Now is the time to think about the big challenges: What are the big
    challenges our kids face? How are we going to deal with the retirement
    of the baby boom generation? How are we going to grow the economy and
    continue to improve the environment? Big, big challenges.
        And you are so lucky to be backing someone who not only has a
    distinguished career in public service, a proven ability to make
    progress, but a life story which guarantees that even in these good
    times she won't forget what our shared

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    mission is. That is a great privilege. You ought to make sure the people
    of Delaware take full advantage of it.
        Thank you very much.

    Note: The President spoke at 7:09 p.m. in the ballroom at the Washington
    Court Hotel. In his remarks, he referred to Gov. Thomas R. Carper of
    Delaware; and Wayne and Gary Ingram, sons of Lieutenant Governor Minner,
    who was a candidate for Governor.