[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 34, Number 5 (Monday, February 2, 1998)]
[Pages 145-146]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks to an Overflow Crowd at the University of Illinois in Champaign-
Urbana

January 28, 1998

    The President. Thank you very much. Thank you. Let me, first of 
all----
    Audience member. [Inaudible]
    The President. [Laughter] Thank you. Let me ask you a question. Did 
you see the event in the other place? [Applause] One fellow over here 
said, ``Yeah, you don't have to say anything again. It was great.'' 
[Laughter] Well, I want to thank Secretary Riley and thank the Vice 
President, but mostly, let me tell you we are overwhelmed at the crowd 
that has come out today. Here--5,000 people here. There's another 3,500 
people in another room. I'm overwhelmed, and I thank you very much.
    Look, here's the bottom line. Here's the bottom line. For 5 years we 
have worked basically on two things: First of all, we tried to get the 
country in shape, in good shape, so that it just works in a good way for 
people; and secondly, we tried to get the American people to imagine the 
future, to think about the 21st century, to think about what kind of 
country we want this to be and how we're going to build it. Now that we 
have the lowest unemployment in 24 years, the lowest inflation in 30 
years, the highest homeownership ever, record drops in welfare, 5 years 
of dropping crime, things are pretty well in shape; we need to be 
thinking about the future. And that's what I tried to talk about last 
night.
    We need a future in which all these areas that have been left behind 
in the economic recovery have a chance to educate their children well, 
to have their kids on safe streets, to have jobs in places that have 
never been there. We need a future like that. And we need a future that 
you can help us with--younger people especially can help us with, a 
future where we understand that our future is tied to the rest of the 
world, that we have to work in cooperation with other countries and it 
doesn't make us weaker, it makes us stronger when we reach out a hand of 
friendship to Africa, to Latin America, to Asia, to all these other 
countries and we work together to go forward. We have to understand 
that.
    We need a future in which we understand--we believe that America can 
lead the world in growing an economy and not only saving but actually 
improving our natural environment. We can cure this problem of global 
warming and grow the economy. Young people believe that. America has to 
believe that. And you have to make it happen.
    And finally, we need a future in which we really believe that 
education is for everyone. We have worked so hard--you heard us talking 
about it in the other room--we worked so hard to make it possible for 
every young person in this country to go on to college. And you have to 
tell people who are coming along behind you, ``You can do it. Don't be 
discouraged.'' That little baby in your arms

[[Page 146]]

can go to college. Every baby in this country I want to be able to go to 
college.
    We have to figure out a way when the Vice President and I--when our 
generation retires, the so-called baby boomers, we provide for a system 
that preserves our retirement, guarantees it for the 20 and 30-year-olds 
today, and doesn't bankrupt you. We can do that, if you'll help us do 
it, next year.
    And the last thing I want to say is this, and in some ways this may 
be more important than anything else. America--look at this crowd here 
today. Look at you. Look at each other. Now, we've got people who are 
young and not so young. [Laughter] We have people who are in wheelchairs 
and people who may play varsity athletics. We have people from every 
conceivable racial and ethnic group here in what you used to think of as 
homogeneous Champaign-Urbana. Why is that? Because America is changing. 
We're becoming more and more and more diverse.
    Now, a lot of the time that Al Gore and I spend working for you, 
we're out there worrying about these ethnic problems in Bosnia, or 
religious and ethnic differences in the Middle East, or old hatreds in 
Ireland, or tribal warfare in Africa. And we still see examples of 
horrible discrimination from time to time in America. But you know, just 
look around this room. This is our meal ticket to the future, our 
diversity and sharing values, believing in each other, believing in the 
fundamental unity of human nature. That's our meal ticket to the future. 
You can make one America. And I want you to help us make one America for 
a new century.
    Thank you, and God bless you.

Note: The President spoke at 12:41 p.m. in Gymnasium 1 of the Intramural 
Physical Education Building.