[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (2000, Book II)]
[September 19, 2000]
[Pages 1868-1869]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at a Luncheon for Gubernatorial Candidate Heidi 
Heitkamp
September 19, 2000

    Thank you. You know, I have a lot of interest in this race. Heidi 
was attorney general; I was attorney general. And I was Governor for a 
dozen years. It's a wonderful job. It really matters whether we have a 
few more Democratic Governors. This year more than ever, I think women 
should be elected to public office. [Laughter] But the main thing I want 
to say is, you've got Dorgan, 
Conrad, and Pomeroy. 
And you all know how strong I've been for diversity. I just want anyone 
who doesn't look like a spy during the cold war--[laughter]--
representing North Dakota. [Laughter]
    I'm convinced that sometime years ago when the Republicans were 
winning all the races, these brilliant guys made a pact and said, 
``Listen, guys, if we all have short hair, if we're thin, if we wear 
glasses, we ain't going to scare nobody, and we can do whatever we want 
to do.'' [Laughter] And look, what can I say? It worked. I never carried 
North Dakota. [Laughter] It was great, but I think they're really 
stepping out here. [Laughter] I mean, they're really stepping out.
    Now, I'll be brief and serious. The two things should always go 
together. One of the greatest things about this country is its genuine 
diversity, going beyond even race and religion and all the other things 
we talk about in Washington, to the way people make a living off the 
land, the way they organize themselves in their communities, the 
difference in what it's like to live in a place like North Dakota where 
Heidi can invite you all to come and mean it, and it's so big we could 
all be missed if we showed up, and a place where nobody's got any elbow 
room.
    And the genius of our system is that if we all do our part, the 
country works better. Central to that is what happens in all these 
States. And North Dakota, too, is growing more diverse and more faced 
with the challenges of the 21st century. And I can just tell you I have 
an enormous amount of respect for Heidi Heitkamp, and I know how 
important it is that we have good Governors.
    I'll give you just one example. I could give you 20, but after she 
scared me by saying I talked an hour and a half in North Dakota, I'm not 
going to do that. [Laughter] I started to bring a cup of coffee up here, 
too, and I couldn't. [Laughter] But anyway, I'll give you one example. 
We passed in the balanced budget bill in 1997, with a bipartisan vote in 
both Houses, big majorities, the largest expansion in federally funded 
health care for children since Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance 
Program. And we knew that the number and circumstances of the children 
were different from State to State. So we reached a bipartisan agreement 
that instead of just expanding Medicaid, we would allow the States to 
build and design these programs and enroll the children.
    Now, there's enough money in that program to enroll 5 million kids. 
And if the program really identified all the people who were eligible, 
it would also pick up another 2 million or 3 million kids who could be 
served by Medicaid. There is a drastic difference in how well the 
different States have done in identifying and enrolling their children. 
It matters who the Governor is in a State.
    I'll give you another example. Under the leadership of Secretary 
Riley over the last 7 years, we have cut 
Federal regulations on States and local school districts by two-thirds, 
but we have increased the focus of Federal spending on certain 
standards, so that for example, all the schools--all the States that get 
Federal funds have to have some standards, have to identify failing 
schools, and have to have strategies to try to turn them around. As some 
of you know, I've tried to get Federal funding tied a little tighter, to 
say you've got to turn them around, shut them down, or give the kids 
some other alternative. But already, we have required them to identify 
failing schools.
    Now, some States have said, ``So what?'' Some school districts have 
said, ``So what?'' But I was in an elementary school in western Kentucky 
the other day that was one of their failing schools 3 years ago that's 
now one of the 20 best schools in the State. Lots of poor kids, lots of 
problems--it worked.
    I was in a school in Harlem the other day, to take a totally 
different culture, that 2 years ago had 80 percent of the kids reading 
and doing math below grade level, elementary

[[Page 1869]]

school. Today, 76 percent are reading and doing math at or above grade 
level--in 2 years.
    Now, if you do it on a--one of the biggest problems with education 
reform is that no one has ever done it systematically. Every problem in 
American education has been solved by somebody somewhere. Places like 
North Dakota have generally done very well because they have time and 
space enough to give everybody the personal attention they needed. But 
they will have a lot of these challenges, too. And I'm telling you, it 
really matters who is Governor. No one has ever succeeded in 
systematically doing what teachers and principals do every day in the 
most difficult circumstances, creating miracles all over this country. 
It's never been done in any State in a systematic way, but some have 
done much better than others. It matters who the Governor is.
    And those are only two examples. It matters economically. It matters 
in terms of the social services. It matters in terms of how the elderly 
are treated, and especially those that get nursing home care. And what 
about the people who are going to be living in boarding homes, and what 
about the people that are going to be--you're going to see the most 
unbelievable explosion of living options for elderly and disabled 
people, as we are able to keep more disabled people alive and 
functioning and doing well, and more elderly people live longer, that 
you can imagine.
    And a lot of it--I don't care what we do at the national level and 
who's the President and what the Congress does; it will matter who the 
Governor is. I just--the first time I ever met her, I thought she was 
great. I wanted to take her home to meet Hillary and keep her there for 
a couple weeks. And she had other obligations. [Laughter] She is an 
extraordinary woman. You did a good thing coming here and giving her 
money today. And if we all keep doing it, I think she'll win in 
November.
    Thank you very much.

Note: The President spoke at 12:30 p.m. in the Crystal Ballroom at the 
St. Regis Hotel. State Attorney General Heidi Heitkamp was a candidate 
for Governor of North Dakota.