Remarks at a Luncheon Honoring Representative James H. Maloney in Danbury, Connecticut - Transcript

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Sept 18, 2000

We believe the rest of us are going to make more money when the average Americans are all out there working, making a good living, and able to support their children. So I'm just saying to you--I realize I'm preaching to the choir, but what I'm really trying to do here is to drive home the imperative of your taking some time every day to talk to your fellow citizens.

Most of you are more interested in politics than most of your friends. Is that right? Isn't that right? Every one of you has friends who--even the Congressman's in-laws, I'll bet, have friends. [Laughter] I used to have an uncle--let me tell you, I had a great uncle I buried a couple of years ago. He was 91 years old, and I loved him like he was my own father. And he was my total barometer about how I was doing when I was Governor. This guy had about a sixth grade education and about a 200 IQ and total recall of events that occurred in the 1930's.

And I called him one time to ask about something. He said, "I don't care about politics." He said, "I wouldn't care about you if you weren't my nephew." [Laughter] And so whenever I needed to know how I was doing, I called him, and he was better than any poll I ever took. [Laughter] So I'm telling you, you all know people who--they think they're too busy. They're too preoccupied with their lives. They don't think about this all the time like you do. They've never been to one of these political fundraisers. They've never heard their Congressman give a speech like this, and they may never get a chance to.

And it may be that the only direct flesh-and-blood contact they ever have with any-body asking them to think about this is with you. Otherwise, it's just some secondhand experience with the television ads or the debates for President or whatever.

Now, I've done everything I could to turn this country around. You know there are big differences in this election. I hope you believe me when I tell you, as good as the last 8 years have been, the next 8 years can be better. And we can keep building on this if we decide that we're going to use and not abuse what is a truly unique moment in our history.

But the members of the clergy who are here will tell you that throughout human history, people have been more likely to make a mistake when things were so good than when things were full of adversity and the options were clearer. So I implore you. This is a good man representing you in Congress. He is a good man, and he deserves to be reelected. And I want Joe Lieberman to be the next Vice President, and I believe he will be.

But believe me, you can make a difference here. You can make a difference if every day--you just look at how many people there are in this room--if every one of you talk to three people every day between now and November, it's enough to turn the entire margin--that would be far more, by the way--if every one of you talk to three people between now and November, that would be far more than the victory margin he had in the last election. Far more, right?