[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 41 (Monday, October 16, 2000)]
[Pages 2381-2382]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Telephone Remarks to a Reception for Hillary Clinton

October 7, 2000

    The President. Well, I'm just sorry I'm not there. I've looked 
forward to coming to visit you in Indiana for a long time. I want to 
begin just by thanking you and Mel for being such good friends to 
Hillary and me. I've been with you in Colorado and Florida, and I really 
wanted to come up there and see you.
    And I want to thank Cindy and Paul for hosting this tonight. And I 
want to thank all the people who are there to help Hillary. I really--as 
I said, I looked forward to being there. But as I told Bren a few hours 
ago, I've been up almost without sleep for 2 days trying to deal with 
the situation in the Middle East. It's quite violent, and it presents a 
real threat to the peace process that everybody there has worked for, 
for 7\1/2\ years now. I just couldn't leave the telephone and my 
responsibilities here. I hope you'll forgive me for not being there with 
you.
    Bren Simon. Well, we certainly understand. We do want you to know 
that Senator Evan Bayh and Susan are with us tonight, and they send 
their best regards to you.
    The President. I'm just trying to get another vote for Evan up there 
in the Senate. [Laughter] He doesn't need a lot of help, but he could 
use all the help he can get. I want to say to all of you there, Evan and 
Susan have been friends of Hillary's and mine for a long time, since 
Evan knocked me out as being the youngest Governor in America. We like 
them. We respect them. We care for them, and I'm just thrilled that 
they've done as well as they have for Indiana and for the United States 
in Washington. Evan has really, really had an impact on the Senate, and 
you should be very proud of him.
    The only other thing I want to say is that I know how difficult it 
is to raise funds for a candidate from another State a long way away, 
even somebody who is the First Lady. But this is really a worthy cause. 
The other side has raised, I think, between the two candidates that have 
run against Hillary, a total of $50 million. So we've had to work real 
hard and get support from our friends around the country.
    She has done so well. She's got a big debate tomorrow morning, and 
keep your fingers crossed for her. I must say, I'm absolutely convinced, 
based on over 30 years of working in politics and seeing people in 
public life, that she will be one of the great United States Senators of 
the last several years, if we can just get through these next 4 or 5 
months. And I think all of you will be very proud that you came there 
and helped her win. I just can't tell you how grateful I am.

[[Page 2382]]

    Mrs. Simon. Well, we agree with you, as far as Hillary's campaign is 
concerned, and we're all here to support her. And I wanted you to know 
also that George Hamilton flew in from L.A. especially to be with us 
tonight, so he's a little disappointed, too.
    The President. I'm sorry I didn't get to see George. [Laughter] I 
kind of resent it. You know, when I came here, I was like George. I 
looked younger than I am, and now I look like I'm about half-dead. 
[Laughter] I still feel pretty good for a guy with a lot of miles on 
him. [Laughter] Thank you for coming, George.
    Mrs. Simon. Mr. President, is it possible for Ian, our grandson, to 
say hello to you?
    The President. Absolutely.
    Mrs. Simon. Ian, say hello.
    Ian Skjodt. Hello, Mr. President.
    The President. Hello, Ian, how are you?
    Ian. Good.
    The President. How old are you?
    Ian. Six.
    The President. I think you're on your way to being a good public 
speaker. [Laughter]
    Mrs. Simon. Would you like to say hello, Samantha? Come up here, 
Eric and Samantha. They're very, very disappointed you couldn't be here, 
but they're excited to say hello to you.
    Samantha Skjodt. Hello?
    The President. Hello, Samantha.
    Samantha. Hello, Mr. President.
    The President. How are you?
    Samantha. Fine.
    The President. And how old are you?
    Samantha. Eleven.
    The President. That's great. Well, I'm sorry I didn't get to meet 
you.
    Mrs. Simon. Eric and Samantha are twins, so Eric is going to say 
hello to you now.
    Eric Skjodt. Hello.
    The President. Hi, Eric.
    Eric. Hi. Hello, Mr. President.
    The President. Good job. I think you ought to bring them to see me 
in the White House before I go.
    Mrs. Simon. You know, we were excited to find out that we'll 
probably come in and see a movie or something in the near future with 
the children, if that's okay.
    The President. Absolutely. We'll set it up.
    Mrs. Simon. Okay, great.
    The President. I'm so grateful to all of you who are there. And let 
me say just one little serious word. I'm also very grateful for the 
chance I've had to serve, and I'm glad our country is in such good 
shape. But this is a really important election, because the decisions we 
make will determine whether we stick with an economic policy that's 
working, build on a health care policy, stick with an education policy 
that's working, and continue to change in the right direction or do 
something entirely different that I think won't work nearly as well.
    This is an election that's going to have real consequences for the 
American people, and sometimes I'm concerned that because times are 
good, people think it doesn't much matter. It matters a lot. I guess you 
know that, or you wouldn't be there tonight, even for Mel and Bren and 
Cindy and Paul. But I'm very grateful to you, and I thank you very, very 
much.
    Mrs. Simon. Thank you very much. Thank you for calling.
    The President. Thank you all, and good night.
    Mrs. Simon. Good luck with everything.
    The President. Thanks. Keep your fingers crossed. Thanks, Evan.

Note: The President spoke at 9:25 p.m. from the Residence at the White 
House to the reception at a private residence in Indianapolis, IN. In 
his remarks, he referred to reception hosts Bren and Melvin Simon; their 
daughter, Cindy Simon Skjodt, their son-in-law, Paul Skjodt, and their 
grandchildren Ian, Samantha, and Eric Skjodt; Senator Bayh's wife, 
Susan; and actor George Hamilton.