[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 44 (Monday, November 6, 2000)]
[Pages 2746-2747]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a Reception for Representative Calvin M. Dooley in Beverly 
Hills, California

November 2, 2000

    Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. I'm honored to be here 
tonight. What Cal Dooley told you is true. He represents a totally 
different district, lots of big farms. Some of the farms in Cal's 
district are almost as large as Haim's and Cheryl's backyard. [Laughter] 
Yes, Cal said he'll bring a tractor next time he comes to see you here. 
[Laughter]
    I want to thank all of you for being here, and thank Governor Davis 
and Sharon. They've been with me all day today. We had a meeting with 
people who are working on the Coordinated Campaign, and then we went to 
an event for Gerrie Schipske. Before that, we went to a great rally in 
Watts today, and we had a really good time, trying to stir the voters 
up. And I'm honored to be here tonight with Cal and Lou Dooley. And I 
thank the other Members of Congress who are here: Representatives 
Waxman, Berman, and Becerra, my friends and partners; Hilda Solis, who 
will soon be with us in Congress; and Jim Costa, whom I've known for 
many years.
    I was supposed to do this before, and I had to go to the Middle 
East; we had to put this off. And I wanted to come back to answer 
Governor Davis' call, trying to make sure that we did as much as we 
could, not only to make sure that Al Gore and Joe Lieberman would get 
California's 54 electoral votes and not have to come back in the 
eleventh hour, but also to help the Members of Congress who are running 
here.
    We have a bona fide chance in five districts now held by 
Republicans. And we have a real contest in Cal Dooley's district, 
because it's a rural, agricultural district, and a lot of American 
voting is cultural. And a lot of the folks in Cal's district like him, 
but they're sort of not acculturated to voting for Democrats yet. 
[Laughter] You know, they still give Republicans the rhetorical credit. 
Even though they quadrupled the debt and we got rid of the deficit; you 
know, there is a disconnect there. But it's a real challenge for him. 
And he has a formidable opponent who's got a lot of money.
    You know, this is the first time in 26 years I've not been on the 
ballot. I'm not running for anything, for the first time since 1974. And 
it gives me a certain amount of freedom to say what I think, although 
I'm trying not to be so free that I imperil either my wife or the Vice 
President in the election--[laughter]--about saying what I think.
    But I want you to know, I really wanted to be here tonight. I'm 
crazy about Cal Dooley and about his wife. And I feel so grateful that 
we have people like him who can represent the Democratic Party to rural 
America, to people who are culturally far more conservative than most of 
the people in Los Angeles, but who have the same real long-term values 
and interests that the rest of us do.
    And I have always believed that to succeed over the long run, the 
Democratic Party would have to prove that we could be fiscally 
responsible and compassionate, that we could be pro-business and pro-
labor, that we could be pro-economic growth and pro-environmental 
preservation.
    We have to be a unifying force in the country. And Cal Dooley is all 
that. We've worked together for years on the Democratic Leadership 
Council. There is a reason the farm workers endorsed him: Because he 
cares about every poor kid in his district and believes every single one 
of them--every boy and girl--ought to have a chance to live their 
dreams. And there is a reason that the chairman of Commerce endorsed 
him: Because he's been an integral part of the new economy that we've 
worked so hard to build.
    People ask me all the time what we did to turn the economy around. 
We had just three simple ideas: One, get rid of the deficit; it's 
killing us on interest rates, and it's hurting the private economy; two, 
sell more American products and services around the world; and three, 
invest more in the capacity of the American people.
    And the one area--it's no secret to anybody that I have not yet 
succeeded in convincing a vast majority of my party in Congress I was 
right in was on the second area, the trade area. But Cal Dooley was with 
me

[[Page 2747]]

because he could see the farmers that he represented needing those 
markets, and he could see the positive side of that. I will always be 
grateful to him for that, because I am convinced that we've done a lot 
in the last 8 years to build a modern economy.
    But I just want to make--I want to close with three quick points, 
because I know it's late, and a lot of you don't live in this district, 
but you may live in districts where some of these other people are 
running, where we've got a chance to win. It's amazing how close all 
these races are. And in the Presidential race, there are probably a 
dozen States that are within two points.
    Now, if you look at where we were 8 years ago and where we are 
today, with the economy, with the declining crime rate and improving 
environment, improving schools, improving health care, it is not 
rational that----

[At this point, a member of the audience had a medical problem.]

    The President. Are you going to take him off? That's okay. I gave a 
speech once, and my father-in-law had a heart attack during it. 
[Laughter] He was rushed to the hospital and had a quadruple heart 
bypass, and when he woke up, I told him it wasn't that good a speech. 
[Laughter]
    But let me just say this. If you live in any of these places, I 
can't tell you how close these races are. And I just want you to go out 
and tell people that there are differences between the parties; they 
have grave consequences for our future. And if you want to keep the 
prosperity going and the social progress going, you'd better vote for Al 
Gore and Joe Lieberman and Cal Dooley or whoever else is your 
Representative in Congress, and Dianne Feinstein.
    Because, believe me, the great achievement of the last 8 years is 
that we have shown again we can all go forward together. We have more 
millionaires and more billionaires than we ever had before, but we also 
had, the first time in history, average income has topped $40,000 with 
15 percent increase in earnings.
    So we can do this. Thank you for your money. If you can give Cal 
Dooley any more money, you ought to give him some more money. [Laughter] 
But I'm telling you, this man is very, very important to the national 
Democratic Party. He helps us reach out to people who normally aren't 
for us. He forces all of our Members to think. He brings people together 
in unique and powerful ways, and he needs to be here. He is a very, very 
special person, and I'm grateful.
    Thank you very much.

Note: The President spoke at 8:35 p.m. at a private residence. In his 
remarks, he referred to reception hosts Haim and Cheryl Saban; Gov. Gray 
Davis of California and his wife, Sharon; Gerrie Schipske and Hilda 
Solis, candidates in California's 38th and 31st Congressional Districts, 
respectively; State Senator Jim Costas; Rich Rodriguez, Republican 
candidate in California's 20th Congressional District; and 
Representative Dooley's wife, Linda (Lou). Representative Dooley is a 
candidate for reelection in California's 20th Congressional District. A 
tape was not available for verification of the content of these remarks.