[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (2000, Book I)]
[May 16, 2000]
[Pages 947-948]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at a Reception Following the New York State Democratic 
Convention in Albany, New York
May 16, 2000

    First of all, I want you to know how I came to be here tonight. 
[Inaudible]--but before we knew exactly when Hillary was going to give her speech, I agreed to appear 
tonight at the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund and to a campaign 
event for the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee. So I told all that 
group, I said, ``I've been with you folks a long time, and if you'll let 
me go hear my wife give a speech, I'll do any event you want, anywhere 
in America, any time.'' [Laughter] And I told the Democratic Senate 
Campaign Committee that the Senate campaign I was most interested in was 
otherwise occupied tonight, and I was going there. [Laughter]

    So I'm delighted to see you. And I want to thank Judith Hope for doing a wonderful job as the chair. A lot of you 
don't know this, but Judith Hope grew up in Warren, Arkansas, in a 
community that I never failed to carry as Governor, proof positive that 
people from Arkansas can do very well in New York.

    I want to thank all the leaders of Congress and the State 
legislature and your State officials who are here with me tonight, and 
my good friend Andrew Cuomo, for the 
wonderful job he's done as our HUD Secretary.

    I want to ask you one question. Did Hillary give a great speech tonight? I was sitting next to 
Senator Moynihan, and she kept going 
over all these issues. And Senator Moynihan looked at me, and he said, 
``Good speech.'' [Laughter] ``Now, that would be like the rest of us 
who--[inaudible]--into the Gettysburg Address.'' [Laughter] And I knew 
that she was on a roll.

    I want to say three things very quickly. First of all, I do not have 
the words to express to the people of New York my gratitude for the 
primary victory in '92, for the magnificent convention in '92, for the 
overwhelming margin of victory in '92, and the even bigger margin of 
victory you gave to me and to Al Gore in 1996. I will never forget it.

    The second thing I want to say is that I am profoundly grateful to 
you for the way you have embraced Hillary and the way you supported her tonight and the way you 
have been helping her. And I thank you for that. But I can tell you 
this, that she will not disappoint you. She'll be one of the great 
Senators this country has ever--[applause].

    And the last thing I want to say is this. On this night we've had a 
lot of fun. And big tests facing New York and America is what are we 
going to do with this magic moment of prosperity we have all worked so 
hard for? And a moment like this imposes a test on people just as severe 
as great adversity does. When we were flat on our back in the Depression 
and we elected Franklin Roosevelt President, we did in part out of 
desperation. We knew we had to have somebody who was upbeat and strong 
and who would try new things.

    When I was elected President in 1992, the American people took a 
huge chance. I was just, as President Bush used to say, the Governor of 
a small southern State. [Laughter] And I was so dumb and inexperienced, 
I thought he was complimenting me. I was kind of proud of it. [Laughter]

    But we were feeling rather desperate, and now we feel good. But I 
was so proud by the response you gave Hillary tonight, because this is a great test for us. And make 
no mistake about it, this election in 2000 is every bit as important as 
the election in '96 was, every bit as important as the election in '92 
was. I worked so hard for 8 years with clearly the finest and most 
effective Vice President in the history of the United States to turn 
this country around.

    Now we've got a campaign, and the people have to choose. And the 
Republicans are telling us they're compassionate. [Laughter] And

[[Page 948]]

they're saying, ``I'm for all the same things that they're for, we're 
just doing it a little different. And we want to give you a whole lot 
bigger tax cut. We'll give you everything else you ever dreamed of.'' 
And it's all sort of being blurred.

    What I want to tell you is if you believe the things that Hillary 
said, that you clapped for tonight, if you believe that she's worth 
fighting for, then you have to believe me. I'm not running for 
anything--[laughter]--but I know a little something about American 
history. It may be 30, it may be 50, it may be 80 or 100 years before 
our country ever has so much prosperity, so much social progress, so 
little internal crisis and external threat as we have today. We are 
being tested as surely as if we were in the middle of war or a 
depression. And we are being tested.

    It's easy for us to be distracted. And I'm telling you, if you want 
this to go on, if you want to continue to change in this direction, 
you've got to elect Al Gore; you've got to 
elect Hillary; you've got to elect 
these Democrats who have supported this direction. I will do my best to 
be a supporting part in that.

    The next Senator of New York, my wife.

 Note:  The President spoke at 11 p.m. in the Ten Eyck Ballroom at the 
Crown Plaza Hotel. In his remarks, he referred to Judith Hope, chair, 
New York State Democratic Party. A tape was not available for 
verification of the content of these remarks.