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March 4, 1996

Thank you very much. Thank you so much. Thank you, Senator Levin, for that kind introduction and for your service in the Senate. I'm depending on all of you to make sure he continues that service in the Senate. We need him.

When you remember in 1996 what the other party attempted to do in 1995 to our budget and to our country, remember that the President alone could not stop it. If we had not had a veto-proof Senate and House, it would not have been possible to stop. So I ask you to reelect Carl Levin and John Dingell and David Bonior, and all the other members of the Democratic caucus of Michigan who are here. I see Sandy Levin and I think John Conyers is here. I see Bart Stupak out there, and I'm sure Lynn Rivers is here. And we need more people. So I want you to work hard in these races because they matter. They matter to you. They matter to our country.

It was a pretty long, lonely, cold fight for the last year, until the American people began to be heard loud and clear to make it possible for us to do some positive things which I hope will come forward in 1996. But I'm telling you it really matters not only to Michigan but to the entire United States for these people to be reelected and for you to send others of good will to join them.

So I thank you, Senator. And I thank you, David, for your leadership. And I want to say a special word of thanks to John Dingell. When Democrats lost the House for the first time in a long time, a lot of Members announced their retirement. And it wasn't so much fun anymore if you were a committee chairman or you had a nice subcommittee. And one day Hillary and I were sitting alone in the White House talking - this is a true story - we were talking, and some senior Member of the House had announced his retirement. And I looked at her and I said, "You know what, I'll bet you a hundred dollars John Dingell won't quit. He doesn't think you should quit when you're down, you ought to keep fighting until you get up again. Then you can quit." And I thank you for that.

Thank you, Ed McNamara, for that subtle reference to the airport and the funds you want. [Laughter] We were sitting there, and Ed in his nice Irish charm said, "You remember when you started running for President and nobody knew who you were, but I was there for you?" [Laughter] I said, "Yeah." He said, "Didn't you remember when everybody said you were just dead as a doornail and you were dropping like a rock and I didn't quit you?" [Laughter] I said, "Yeah." He said, "I've always been there, haven't I? Well," he said, "the bill's come due. [Laughter] I don't want anything for myself, but my airport needs $15 million a year for the next 10 years."

If every public official asked for the bill to come due only for the public interest, this country would be a better place. Thank you, Mr. McNamara. Thank you.

I want to say it's nice to see Ambassador Blanchard here. I had occasion last week to talk to the Prime Minister of Canada, who is a remarkable man. And he was helping us to maintain our mission of peace and freedom and democracy in Haiti. And just in passing he said, "You know, you need to know that Jim Blanchard is the best Ambassador to Canada in my lifetime." He has done a remarkable job. Thank you.

I want to thank all the former Members of Congress who are here, the leaders of labor, the leaders of the teachers organizations, the business leaders, and all others who have come here for the Democratic Party today. And I want to thank all these folks here at our table who helped to sponsor this event for the work that they did. And I want to say a special word of thanks to Mayor Archer for proving that the empowerment zone could work, because Detroit has set the standard for the rest of the country.

The other day we had a meeting in Washington of all the communities who had participated in our empowerment zone enterprise community initiative. And for a modest investment of cash and a modest cluster of tax incentives, it is remarkable what is going on. But in no community in America can it be said that Detroit has been matched by taking this roughly $100 million in cash, and about that much, perhaps a little more, in tax incentives and turning it into a $2 billion private commitment. I thank all the business community who participated in that and the fact that everybody is working together here. But, Mayor, more than anything else, it's a tribute to your leadership, and I thank you for what you have done.

I also want to thank the mayor for introducing everybody. He did a good job of introducing everybody. It reminded me of - he kept on introducing people, you know; it reminded me of the very first speech I ever gave as an elected official - was when I became attorney general of my State almost 20 years ago. And I was very nervous, and there were 500 people at a Rotary Club installation banquet in Pine Bluff, Arkansas - I never will forget this - January 1977. The banquet started at 6:30 p.m. I got up at a quarter to 10 p.m. to talk. [Laughter]

There were 500 people there and everybody had been introduced in the entire audience, except three people, and they went home mad. [Laughter] And the guy that got up to introduce me looked out at the crowd and said "You know, we could have stopped here and had a real nice evening." [Laughter] And I thought, now, that's not what he meant, but that's what he said. [Laughter] Ever since then I've been more careful about what I said.

I also want to thank David Bonior for telling that joke. I used to tell jokes, but they told me it wasn't Presidential, so I had to quit. [Laughter] So now I just have to laugh at other people, and I'm always grateful when I get one.

Let me say a special word of thanks to the DNC Chairman, Don Fowler, who is here with us, and to Terry McAuliffe and Laura Hartigan for the work they've done. I'm very grateful to them. And let me say to all of you, again, I don't want to give a long talk today, but I want you to understand exactly what is at stake.

In 1992 when I ran for President and the people of Michigan were good enough to vote for me, the real issue was whether we had to have a change or stay with the status quo; whether we would adopt an aggressive approach to the challenges facing America, the economic challenges and the social challenges, or whether we would basically say that the Government could kind of stand pat and wait for things to get better. And so the American people, both those who voted for my candidacy and those who supported Mr. Perot, voted for change.

In 1996 there is a different issue. It may be papered over from time to time, and people may claim they're more moderate or whatever you will hear. But the truth is that the choice will be between two very different changes, two very different approaches to the future. And you will have to decide, along with all our fellow Americans, which approach you favor. At least now, as I think the mayor said or the Senator said - somebody said - you have some basis for comparison that goes beyond rhetoric.

When I became President I was basically driven into the race by the conviction that this country could not sit by and permit the American dream to be squandered for a generation of Americans, permit the leadership of 50 years to be squandered for the future of America, and permit this country to be divided and to come apart when we ought to be coming together. I had a very simple, straightforward vision for the country that I still think about every single day. I believe we have to go into the next century with the American dream alive and well for every person who is willing to work for it; with America the world's leading force for peace and freedom and prosperity and security; and with America coming together around our basic values of work and faith and family, of responsibility along with opportunity, and more important than anything else, of a sense of community - that we are going forward together if we are going forward at all - and that we don't need to become a place and not a country. We don't need to become a swarm of isolated individuals. We don't need to become a group of people who think that we can only advance if our neighbors fall back, who think that we can only be important if we can somehow diminish the significance of others who share this land with us.