[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 32, Number 6 (Monday, February 12, 1996)]
[Pages 187-188]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at the National Governors' Association Dinner

February 4, 1996

    Good evening. Governor and Mrs. Thompson, Governor and Mrs. Miller, 
ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the White House. It's always a 
delight to have all of you here. I look forward to it every year, but I 
especially look forward to it this year.
    As all of you know, we are living through a time of enormous change 
and great opportunity. I rather think the Founding Fathers would enjoy 
what is going on here today because we are debating a lot of first 
principles of American Government; what should Government do, which 
level of government should do it, what are our ultimate objectives. 
These are questions that Governors live with in a very practical and 
immediate way every single day. And they are questions that, frankly, I 
have relished being a part of this public debate in America.
    We are obviously moving into a time that is very different from any 
the American people have ever lived in before. Our economy is changing. 
We are now clearly in a global village that will be dominated for the 
rest of our lifetimes by information and technology. That requires 
certain changes in government, as well.
    I believed when I came here, and I believe more strongly today, that 
the great questions before us are how we can make the American dream 
available to all Americans who are willing to work for it, how we can 
come together to deal with our challenges and our problems as one 
community amidst all our diversity, and how we can maintain the 
leadership of our great country for peace and freedom throughout the 
world.
    We have many challenges, and I tried to deal with those at some 
length in the State of the Union Address. One of our greatest challenges 
is to give the American people a Government that commands their 
confidence and that does its part in meeting our common problems. We 
have reduced the size of the Government in the last 3 years; it's now as 
small as it was in 1965. Next year it will be as small as it was when 
President Kennedy was living in this house. We have also given an 
unprecedented amount of power back to State and local governments and to 
individual citizens. We are about to do some more of that. And that is 
obviously what you are here to work on and try to reach common agreement 
among yourselves first, and then with the leaders of Congress and the 
White House. I am looking forward to this.
    The thing I wish more of our citizens knew is how hard we are 
working to do the right thing over great issues of high principle. This 
is not a normal political debate. It is a profoundly important 
discussion of the direction our country will take and what all our 
responsibilities will be in seeing that that direction is achieved in a 
way that benefits all the American people.
    I am looking forward to our discussion tomorrow morning, to all the 
times that we have together, and I know that all the members of the 
Cabinet and the White House are as well. To each and every one of you 
who has participated in trying to formulate the new policies and trying 
to reach across partisan and other divisions to reach common

[[Page 188]]

ground, I thank you again for that. To each and every one of you who has 
had a good working partnership with our administration, I thank you for 
that.
    I look forward to further progress. I do believe that the American 
people are now living and will move into a future which is characterized 
by greater possibilities for more people than have ever lived in this 
society. And what we have to do is to make sure that we can go forward 
together and that every single one of our citizens who is willing to do 
what it takes can realize those possibilities in his or her own life and 
that all of our children, without regard to their race, their income, 
their region, their station in life, have a chance to be a living 
embodiment of the American dream.
    If we keep that as our goal we can bridge our differences. And when 
we leave here, and when the work of this year is done, we will be much 
better prepared to reap the benefits of that age of possibility. It is 
in that spirit that I ask you all to stand now as I offer a toast to 
Governor and Mrs. Thompson and to all the Governors and their spouses 
and to our beloved United States.

[Following the President's toast, the dinner, and the entertainment, the 
President spoke again. His remarks are joined in progress.]

    The President. ----Gary Morris, thank you, Gary Hooker. We are 
doubly blessed tonight that Gary joined us because he just got married, 
and he's still here. And his wife, Elizabeth, is here. Thank you for 
coming. Please stand up. This man has a great gift, and I'm so glad he 
shared it with us tonight.
    You're all welcome to stay awhile, music will be out in the foyer. 
It's been a wonderful evening for Hillary and for me. And again, you're 
welcome and I look forward to seeing you tomorrow.
    Thank you. Thanks again, it was great.

Note: The President spoke at 8:57 p.m. on the State Floor at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to chairman of the National 
Governors' Association Gov. Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin and his wife, 
Sue Ann; and vice chairman Gov. Bob Miller of Nevada and his wife, 
Sandy.