Remarks at a Get Out the Vote Rally in New York City - Transcript

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Nov 13, 2000

Now, in every one of these issues--in every single one of these issues--the leaders of the other party have a different position--every one of them. No on hate crimes, no unemployment nondiscrimination, no on the equal pay law for women, no on the court appointments to protect a woman's right to choose--every one of them a different position.

So if somebody tells you that, why should they vote, there's no real difference, you have to say, oh, no. If you want to keep the prosperity going and build on it, if you want to keep the social progress going and build on it, if you want to keep building one America, you only have one choice: Al Gore, Joe Lieberman, Hillary, Major, and Greg.

Now, let me ask you this: Don't you believe if you told everybody you knew of voting age just what I told you and what the three big issues were in the election, that the overwhelming majority of them would vote for Al Gore and Joe Lieberman and Hillary? Don't you believe that? [Applause] So I want you to think about this.

A lot of you have friends in neighboring States that are close in the Presidential election. A lot of you have friends here in New York who are trying to decide whether they should vote. A lot of you have friends who say, "Oh, I just saw a couple of TV ads; it's all just a mess to me; I don't know what the deal is here." You've got to tell them what the deal is. This is a big thing. And young people have the biggest stake of all in this election.

Even when it comes to preserving Social Security, you've got a big stake. Why? Because when people my age retire, the baby boomers, there will only be two people working for every one person drawing Social Security. The reason we want to preserve Social Security is not just for us; it's so our retirement does not bankrupt our kids and their ability to raise our grandkids. Even that is a young person's issue.

Now I just want to say something real personal in closing. I believe I know Al Gore and Joe Lieberman and Hillary better than virtually any other voter in the country. [Laughter] As a matter of fact, I'm quite confident that I'm the person who knows the three of them put together the best of anybody who will vote. And I've had some passing experience with the White House in the last 8 years. [Laughter]

So I want to tell you a couple things that are personal about this. John Kennedy said the Presidency is a place of decisionmaking. Vice President Gore has more experience than his opponent. Vice President Gore, whether it was in hooking up our schools to the Internet or trying to develop new high-mileage vehicles or reducing the size of the Federal Government and putting more services on computer or helping to bring economic opportunities to poor areas or helping us to stand up for freedom around the world, he has done more good in the position of Vice President than anybody that ever held the job. Second, he has more knowledge. Third, he works harder than just about anybody I've ever known, and it matters how hard you work. Fourth, he's a good student; he keeps on learning, and it's a job that is constantly a learning experience. Even today I learned something new about my job--even today. And finally, he makes good decisions,