Remarks at a Unity Reception in Coral Gables

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Dec 20, 1999

December11, 1999

Thank you very much. Well, first of all, I want to thank Senator Torricelli for that uncommonly generous introduction. He thwarted one of my rules of politics. Normally, when you get an introduction like that, it's from someone you've appointed to a good office. [Laughter] And so he just did it out of the goodness of his heart and a laundry list of what I'll have to do for New Jersey next year. [Laughter] And I thank him for that.

I want to thank Congressman Kennedy for his leadership. He's done a wonderful job. And his father, who is a very, very close friend of mine, is actually proud of him, but too proud to admit it--that he has a son as the only chairman in the Kennedy family.

I want to thank Bill Nelson and his wonderful wife, Grace, for making this race for the United States Senate. And I want to thank my longtime friend Elaine Bloom, who was on my committee when I started in Florida in 1991, for making this race for Congress. And she can win this race if she gets the kind of support that I see around this place tonight.

And most important of all, I want to thank Chris and Irene for letting me come back again to this humble abode--[laughter]--that makes the White House look like public housing. [Laughter] You know, you look out here and you expect Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn to come up on the African Queen any minute. [Laughter] I mean, it is amazing. I want to thank them for their generosity. I want to thank Andrew, Kristina, and Angela for being here-their wonderful children.

Thank you, Gene Prescott, for having us over to your and Coral Gables great hotel, which I love so much. And thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for being here.

You might ask yourself, what am I doing here, besides the fact that I would come to see Chris and Irene at the drop of a hat. I'm not running for anything, and I can't. I'm here because, number one, the things that we've done in the last 7 years would not have been possible had it not been for the support of the Democrats in the House and the Senate. And I've worked with the Republicans whenever I could. I think the record will reflect, when all the evidence is in, that I have been far more forthcoming toward them than they have toward me--although we had a pretty good little mutual deal going at the end of the last budget session.

But the truth is that when it came to the '93 budget, which started this economic recovery and started us on the road to getting rid of the terrible deficit, it was only members of my party that voted for it. We would never passed the Brady bill or the crime bill of '94, with its 100,000 police and its assault weapons ban, if it hadn't been for the members of our party. We would have never been able to defend the environment and continue to make the progress we have from the Everglades to the redwoods in California to setting aside 40 million acres, roadless acres, in our national forests, if it weren't for the Democrats.

We wouldn't have 2 million more children with health insurance since 1997 if it weren't for the Democrats. And if we had a few more Democrats--in this last session, we did get 100,000 teachers, 50,000 police, 60,000 housing vouchers for poor people to move from welfare to work. We doubled the after-school programs, and we got money for the first time for States to turn around or shut down schools that are failing. So we had a good run. But if we had a few more Democrats, we also would have gotten a Patients' Bill of Rights, an increase in the minimum wage, hate crimes legislation, and goodness knows what else--something that's very important to Florida--we would have gotten a national effort, the first national effort ever, to try to help school districts build or repair school facilities. This is very important.

You know, I went to Jupiter not very long ago--some of you may remember that--they had 12 housetrailers out behind the grade school. And I was up in Tampa, and there was a woman who was in my high school class; and in my grade school graduating class, who is in the administration of the school district in Tampa. And we were great pals trom the time we were 9 years old. And, you know, I went to Tampa High School, and they had four or five housetrailers out behind the high school. And at a time when we think education is so important, I think it's a good reason for having a few more Democrats.

I want you to understand that, number one, what we have done would not have been possible without them, the people they represent; and number two, the country has a lot more to do.

I've given a lot of speeches today. I started out at the Florida Democratic Convention where, 8 years ago this week, I got the first victory I received in the Presidential primaries, in the Florida straw poll--where we got over a majority of the vote and I went from being an anonymous person who was running fifth in the national polls to somebody who actually had a chance. And then it took us 4 more years of hard work, but we won Florida in the Presidential election in '96, Al Gore and I did. And I'm very grateful for that. So my heart is full of gratitude tonight.