    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 33, Number 4 (Monday, January 27, 1997)]
    [Pages 59-60]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Remarks at a Democratic National Committee Brunch

    January 19, 1997

        Thank you very much. Thank you. When I see all of you here with your
    enthusiasm--this is actually the first event I have attended--and I see
    the pictures of all the thousands and thousands of people in the
    shivering cold who were out on The Mall yesterday, all the children
    taking in the exhibits, and I sense the freedom and the feeling and the
    enthusiasm on the streets as I--maybe this will be better the second
    time around. It's pretty good. I like this.
        I want to thank my friend Alan Solomont for taking on this immense
    responsibility. And obviously, I'm indebted to my longtime friend
    Governor Roy Romer and to Steve Grossman and to Carol Pensky. I'll have
    more to say about all that the day after tomorrow. I thank Don Fowler
    and Chris Dodd and Marvin and Scott and everybody else that helped us so
    much in the last 4 years. And I ask you only to think about this--I have
    to be very careful because I've been thinking about nothing but my
    Inaugural Address; if I'm not careful I'll give you half of it right
    here. [Laughter] How can I say this differently?
        I actually, in the darkest days of 1994 and '95, always believed
    that we would be doing this on this day. But it didn't have so much to
    do with me or even our wonderful Vice President, but what I think about
    the American people, what makes us tick, where we are in history, and
    where we have to go. And I ask you to think about that, because we've
    come a long way here in building a party that is true to the internal
    principles of the Democratic Party but geared to the challenges of the
    present and the future.
        And I've run my last race, but we haven't done all the work we need
    to do for our country for the 21st century. And we have to maintain both
    the commitment to progress and a commitment to community. That's what's
    unique about us, we believe that we'll all do better if we all do
    better. That's what's unique about the Democratic Party.
        And so, with a heart full of gratitude for all that has been done
    for me, I ask you to redouble your efforts and to renew your commitment
    and not to grow exhausted from doing so in the next few years. Because
    we've only begun to scratch the surface of what can be done to mobilize
    younger people, what can be done to mobilize people who have never been
    active in political affairs before

    [[Page 60]]

    to participate, financially and as citizens, in our common endeavors.
    And we have to do that. We have to leave here with a system, with a
    structure for ordinary citizens to participate more in the affairs and
    the life of this party in order to have really been successful.
        In that regard, I would like to mention just two other people. First
    of all, I would like to thank Reverend Jackson, who is over here to my
    left, appropriately enough, who has never flagged in his belief in our
    country and his determination to get more people involved in it, to get
    people to register to vote, to vote, to participate. We all need to do
    more of what he has been doing.
        The second thing I'd like to ask all of you to do on this Sunday,
    each in your own way, is to say a prayer of gratitude for the life of
    Senator Paul Tsongas. You know, we had an interesting campaign in 1992.
    I had read both the books that he had written by that time. We went all
    over New Hampshire, in that wonderful atmosphere that only New Hampshire
    has, where you're supposed to meet every voter 3 times before they take
    you seriously. [Laughter] And we had--he and I had these crazy ideas
    that people might actually not object to policy wonks running for
    President. It might be a good thing if the President actually knew
    something about the problems of the country. [Laughter] And it was
    really quite an interesting phenomenon, the town meetings that the two
    of us had and the crowds that would show up just to hear people talk
    about the issues.
        And my admiration for him and for his sense of commitment to our
    future, to the integrity of the political process, and to the ultimate
    ability of America always to renew itself, only grew with all of our
    contacts. Our country is deeply indebted to him for having had the
    courage to stay active in public life and to battle through his own
    illness and his own pain and his own disappointment to continue to fight
    for America's well-being. That is citizenship in the best sense. So I
    ask you to say a prayer of gratitude for the life and the soul and the
    family of Paul Tsongas.
        Finally, let me encourage you to have a wonderful time. This is
    supposed to be fun in the best sense. I hope you enjoy it. And I hope
    every day for the next 4 years you will always be immensely proud of
    what you did to make this day come about.
        Thank you, and God bless you.

    Note: The President spoke at 12:44 p.m. at the Mayflower Hotel. In his
    remarks, he referred to the following Democratic National Committee
    officials: Alan Solomont, incoming national finance chair; Governor Roy
    Romer of Colorado, incoming general chair; Steve Grossman, incoming
    national chair; Carol Pensky, incoming treasurer; Donald L. Fowler,
    outgoing national chair; Senator Christopher J. Dodd, outgoing general
    chair; Marvin Rosen, outgoing finance chair; and Scott Pastrick,
    outgoing treasurer; and civil rights leader Jesse Jackson.