Remarks at San Jacinto Community College in Houston, Texas

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Oct 6, 1997

Thank you. Well, Esmerelda may be getting a degree in mathematics, but today she got an A in public speaking. [Laughter] Let's give her another hand. I thought she was great. [Applause]

Mayor and Mrs. Lanier, Mayor Isbell, and Commissioner Mauro, Chancellor Horton. I also see out there Mr. George Abbey, the Director of the Johnson Space Center, something that's very close to my heart. I've tried to promote the space program as President. I think Ellen Ochoa may be here as well. But I thank them for their work. And weren't you proud when we landed that little vehicle on Mars, and we got to see those pictures. I loved it. I'd like to say a special word of appreciation, too, to Congressman Ken Bentsen. He has done a very, very fine job for you in the United States Congress, and he has steadfastly supported our efforts to balance the budget, to restore health to the economy, but to do it in a way that kept educational opportunities increasing, not decreasing, for the people of this country and the people of this district. And I thank him for that.

I'm very excited to be here today for a couple of reasons. First of all, I know we're actually close to the place where the battle of San Jacinto occurred. Right? And Sam Houston, in addition to having an interesting life which was amazing - he lived with the Cherokees; he led the Texas army in the battle for independence; he was a president of the Republic of Texas and a United States Senator; he also was a teacher. And if you have read much about Sam Houston, you may have seen that he - and I quote - he said that his time as a classroom teacher was, quote, "the most satisfying time of my life." I think that I would be remiss if I did not say to all the educators who are here, as I look at this sea of young people, I thank you for your devotion to education, and I hope that it will always be something that brings you great satisfaction.

Here, so near the site where Texas fought a battle to win its political independence, you are all gaining your economic independence by being in this marvelous institution. And the way the community college system works here in Texas and across America, in my view, is a model of the way America ought to work.

You think about it. This place, first of all, is open to all. Nobody gets turned away because they're too old or too young or because of the color of their skin or because of their gender or anything else. If you're willing to work and take responsibility for yourselves and your course of study, it's open to all - first thing.

Secondly, it very much focuses on results, not rhetoric, because the graduates of community colleges, they either succeed - that is, they get a job, or they go on further with their education - or they don't get a job based on what they studied, and so you have to change the curriculum. So there is not much room for a lot of hot air and talk. You either produce or you don't.

The third thing about the community colleges is that they're always about change, not the status quo. Because of the way they're hooked into the economy of every area in our country, they are - much more than educational institutions or institutions of any kind - supersensitive to what's going on in people's lives, because otherwise the students wouldn't show up after a while if the institution weren't relevant to the future, to their future, and to the community's future.

So, open to all; rhetoric, not results; change, not the status quo; and the last thing that I think is very important is, it's much more about partnerships than politics. Nobody asks you whether you're a Democrat or a Republican. Nobody asks you whether you like or dislike some person or thing. The whole thing only works when people are working together to build a community. I say that because I really believe, as I have said all over this country, that America would be better if we all worked in the way the community colleges of our country work, in the way San Jacinto works.

Almost 6 years ago, I started my candidacy for President with a vision for what I wanted America to look like in the 21st century and a commitment to prepare us for that. And it's a pretty simple thing. When the century turns, when all of you younger people in this audience have your own children coming up, I want to know that the American dream is still alive for everybody who will work for it. I want to know that our country will still be leading the world for peace and freedom and prosperity. And I want to know that we are coming together across all the lines that divide us into one America. Opportunity for all, responsibility from all, a community of all: That's what I believe we should be doing.

I knew then, and now I know even better than I did 6 years ago, that that would require both new policies and a new kind of Government. Policies that would be focused on the future, not the past; on unity, not division; on partnerships more than politics; on people and values, not power; on keeping America leading, not following; and that we had to start with a good economic policy because in 1991 the economy wasn't working for most of the people.