[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 33, Number 11 (Monday, March 17, 1997)]
[Pages 366-367]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks to the Saxophone Club in Miami, Florida

March 13, 1997

    Thank you. Thank you, Buddy MacKay. Thank you, Elaine Bloom. I want 
to thank all the people here from the Saxophone Club, and Merry Morris 
and Mr. Berger, the co-chairs of tonight's event. I want to thank Ed Kia 
and his trio who played earlier, and Albita and John Secada and these 
wonderful musicians. They were fabulous at the Inaugural, and they were 
great here tonight. I only wish they had sung about 10 more minutes. I 
love that song.
    Let me say, first and foremost, this is my first trip back to 
Florida since the election. It has been 60 years since a Democrat was 
reelected President and 20 years since a Democrat carried the State of 
Florida. And I came to say, more than anything else, thank you, thank 
you, thank you.
    And it is true what Buddy MacKay said--my whole odyssey, the whole 
struggle that I have waged these long years, not just to be President 
but to change the direction of our country, got its first big boost in 
the State of Florida in December of 1991, in the straw poll. And Buddy 
was there, and Elaine Bloom was there, and a number of others were, and 
we won it. And it was the beginning of a terrific personal adventure for 
Hillary and for me, but more importantly for a different direction for 
our country.
    And I want all of you to be proud who are here at this Saxophone 
Club event. You know, the Saxophone Clubs really started with the 
campaign of '92 with some young people who wanted to find a way for 
people who couldn't give a lot of money but wanted to give some money 
and work and to be a part of the political process and to be valued and 
to have their voices heard to do that. And that gave birth to the 
Saxophone Clubs.
    And they spread all across the country now. And I always say, 
wherever I go, I don't want to do any kind of event unless we also have 
something for the Saxophone Club because I especially want to see the 
young people who come out to these events. And I want them to know that 
we're working every day for them and their future in Washington to make 
this country better in the years ahead. And I thank you for that.
    I want all of you who have helped us these last few years to be 
proud of the fact that we have the lowest combined rates of unemployment 
and inflation in over 30 years, that we just had an economy that 
produced more jobs in one Presidential term than any before in history, 
that we've had 4 years of declining crime rates and the biggest 
reduction in welfare rolls in history, that our country is leading the 
world toward reducing the nuclear threat, dealing with the new threats 
of biological and chemical weapons, working for people in the Middle 
East and Northern Ireland, working--I'm going to meet with President 
Yeltsin next week in Helsinki to try to work on making sure that Europe 
will be free and democratic and it will have a positive relationship 
with Russia and that we can get rid of the nuclear problems that are 
still out there overhanging us from the cold war.
    We are moving ahead. And as Buddy MacKay said, I'm also going around 
the country on what has become a personal crusade for me and for Hillary 
and for the Vice President. Today I spoke in the North Carolina 
Legislature; Al Gore spoke in California. In a couple of weeks, Hillary 
and I are going to sponsor a conference in Washington on early childhood 
learning. And all of this is designed to make sure that for the next 4 
years, we commit ourselves to making sure that in the 21st century every 
person in this country, without regard of their racial or ethnic 
background, will have access to world-class education and a chance to 
live out their dreams by developing their goals.
    Make no mistake about it, that's what all this is about. You are 
part of a movement to build this country and move it into a new century 
with the American dream alive for everyone, where we reject the 
divisions that so many try to impose on us at political times for 
political reasons and come together as one country, and where we 
continue to lead the world for peace and freedom and prosperity. That is 
the world I'm determined to leave to you in 4 years when I go out of 
office and a new century and a new millennium come into our lives. And 
together that's exactly what we're going to do.
    Thank you, and God bless you all.

[[Page 367]]

Note: The President spoke at 10:15 p.m. at the Sheraton Bal Harbour 
Hotel. A tape was not available for verification of the content of these 
remarks.