[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 8 (Monday, February 28, 2000)]
[Pages 354-356]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a Reception Honoring Lieutenant Governor Ruth Ann Minner of 
Delaware

February 22, 2000

    The President. Thank you very much, Lieutenant Governor Minner, 
Senator Biden, ladies and gentlemen. I was sitting here looking at all 
of your faces, and I reached over and whispered to Joe Biden, I said, 
``You know, I really like Delaware.'' [Laughter] It has certain unique 
parallels to my home State. It's two of the places in America where 
there are more chickens than people. [Laughter] And depending on what 
day it is, that's not all bad. [Laughter]
    I am profoundly grateful to Delaware for many reasons. You have been 
so good to me and to Al Gore. Twice you have given me your electoral 
vote; you supported the Vice President, for which I am very grateful. I 
couldn't even begin to tell you, in the time I have allotted tonight, 
all the reasons for my gratitude, respect, and affection for Senator 
Biden.
    Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Go ahead and tell them. [Laughter]
    The President. Beginning with his uncommon humility. [Laughter] His 
retiring personality. [Laughter] His always muted voice. [Laughter] 
Actually, if you're looking for somebody in American politics who 
understands what life is like for ordinary people, who's always there to 
defend the Constitution of the United States and understands the rest of 
the world--in other words, the three big things you've got to do if 
you're a Senator--there is nobody in the Senate who can do all three as 
well as Joe Biden. You are very well-served.
    And the third thing I'd like to say is, I'm also grateful to your 
Governor for a lifetime, nearly, it seems like, a political lifetime of 
friendship and all the work we've done together on welfare reform, on 
strengthening families, on child support enforcement. I'm elated that 
he's running for the Senate. And I look forward to his success and to 
his 
service.
    The fourth reason I'm here is, this is my year to support women for 
elected office. I'm into that. I think we ought to do more of that. 
[Laughter] Hillary tried to call me right before I got here. She's up in 
New York and coming home tonight. And I would imagine she was trying to 
call me before I got here to say that she thinks you guys ought to stick 
together--[laughter]--and so do I.
    But let me tell you, finally, I'm here because I really admire Ruth 
Ann Minner. I really admire Ruth Ann Minner. Some of you

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know this, but I was born to a widowed mother who had to leave to go 
back to school. I can only imagine what it was like. She had to go back 
to get a GED, start her own business, depend on herself, raise three 
sons--I met two of them tonight. They both look like--they look like 
they ought to be playing for the Redskins--[laughter]. They'd improve 
our defense a little bit. And I've watched her in public life.
    And you know, people make fun of little States. When I ran in '92, 
President Bush kept referring to me as the Governor of a small Southern 
State. I had to hear him say it five times before I realized it was a 
putdown; I thought he was bragging on me. [Laughter] I was proud of it; 
I didn't have any better sense than to think that was a good thing. 
[Laughter]
    You can't really play games with people in a place like Delaware. 
And you can't posture, and people don't hire you for hot air; they hire 
you to produce. And people know most of the problems we have are human 
problems, and they don't expect us to let our political differences 
paralyze us. And I just wish there were more people like Ruth Ann who 
have been through the kind of life experiences she's been through, who 
still had enough energy and optimism left to devote themselves to public 
life.
    We need more people who are making decisions in State capitals, who 
know what it's like to try to feed kids, without a high school diploma. 
We know. We need more people who can remember what it was like when they 
wondered if their children would be able to get a decent education, who 
understand what it's like to be on the other side of life's arc of 
opportunity--both because they understand the government ought to give 
people a helping hand and because they understand that if the hand is 
outstretched and you don't work for it, you still won't reach it. We 
need that. Our country needs it. And I was flattered that she said that 
what we needed in this election was to ratify the direction in which 
we're going. I have only a slightly different take on that, and I'd just 
like to close with a few moments speaking to you more as a citizen than 
as your 
President.
    Before I was President, I had the privilege of being Governor for a 
dozen years, and I loved it, and I was not burned out on it. And every 
time I got tired, a week or 2 later I'd get a second wind and go on. I 
think I could be doing it still, because if you are a truly committed 
Governor, or a truly committed mayor, or you have some other 
responsibilities at the grassroots level, you can actually see people's 
lives changing before your very eyes.
    And we have--the way I view this last 7 years is that we basically 
turned the ship of state around. When I took office, we had high 
unemployment, and the social problems were getting worse, and there was 
political gridlock in Washington, and we had decades of national 
elections decided by the politics of division--us and them. And it never 
made much sense to me, and I tried to turn it around. And I think we 
have turned it around.
    The question for the country now is, what are you going to do with 
this good fortune? I'd like for more people in positions of influence to 
have the memories Ruth Ann Minner has of what's it like not to have good 
fortune. They are more likely to make good decisions in times of 
prosperity. They are more likely to remember that not all people and 
communities have participated in this economic recovery; more likely to 
remember that we still need to keep paying the debt down, get this 
country out of debt so we'll keep interest rates down for other people; 
more likely to remember that not every child has a world-class 
education; more likely to remember that there are still young families 
out there struggling to balance work and family, trying to succeed at 
home and at work. And that is very important.
    I told somebody the other day, if somebody stood up and ran on a 
platform--vote for me; I'll do just what Bill Clinton did--I'd vote 
against them, because times are changing. We're living in a time of very 
rapid change. But I do believe we ought to change in the direction in 
which we have been going. The question is, ought we turn the country 
around now? Not me--we. All of us, 
together.
    Now we have a chance to meet the big challenges out there. The 
longest economic

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recovery in our history: What are we going to do with it? Now is the 
time to think about the big challenges. What are the big challenges our 
kids face? How are we going to deal with the retirement of the baby boom 
generation? How are we going to grow the economy and continue to improve 
the environment? Big, big challenges.
    And you are so lucky to be backing someone who not only has a 
distinguished career in public service, a proven ability to make 
progress, but a life story which guarantees that even in these good 
times, she won't forget what our shared mission is. That is a great 
privilege. You ought to make sure the people of Delaware take full 
advantage of it.
    Thank you very much.

Note: The President spoke at 7:09 p.m. in the ballroom at the Washington 
Court Hotel. In his remarks, he referred to Gov. Thomas R. Carper of 
Delaware; and Lieutenant Governor Minner's sons Wayne and Gary Ingram. 
Ruth Ann Minner was a candidate for Governor.