Remarks to the Governor's Leadership Conference in New York City

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Oct 24, 1994

October 19, 1994

Thank you very much. You know, after the last several months in Washington, I'm sort of disoriented. I don't know how to react to that sort of reception. When I came in and you were so wonderful and warm and you were cheering, I said to the Governor, I said, "Well, shall we sit down now?" He said, "No, no, no." He said, "That's part of your problem." He said, "Let them cheer. When they boo, you sit down." [Laughter]

When Andrew Cuomo, who as you know is a Presidential appointee, wrote his father a note and said, "Ten minutes, don't be too long," and then the Governor came up and embarrassed his son by telling you that, I wrote a note on the note. I said, "Clinton's Eighth Law: Blood is thicker than water, but the paycheck is thicker than blood." [Laughter]

I appreciated what Governor Lundine said about my supporting tourism in New York. I have supported it in two ways. I brought the Democratic Convention here, and I come here. And then when I come here, no one else can get out, so they have to spend money. [Laughter] And so you know, I've gotten to feeling like a thief when I come to New York. I have to leave in the middle of the night so I don't inconvenience anybody. But I love to come, and I am delighted to be here. And I am delighted to be here with so many of you.

I want to say a special word of thanks to Congressman Schumer for his work on the crime bill. Thank you, sir. And to Congressman Rangel for many things, but especially for supporting our policy on Haiti before anybody else was for it. Thank you, sir.

I appreciate the presence here of my longtime friend Bob Reich and the other members of our administration who are here, and those who have been here already. I'm proud that they are a part of this.

You know, we're kind of practical people of this administration. There are a lot of folks who worked in State government and local government and the private sector who came to Washington. As a matter of fact, we think it's kind of strange that Congressman Gingrich says his goal in life is to convince you that I am the enemy of normal Americans. As somebody pointed out to me the other day, before I came to Washington, I was one. [Laughter] And we tried to bring a lot of normal Americans to Washington who would not forget that most of what counts in this country is done somewhere else and that our job was to change the role of Government away from this back-and-forth pendulum of either trying to solve all the problem or sitting on the sidelines and acting as if they didn't exist. We have tried to bring a genuine constructive partnership to this country. And I must say, it is a lot easier in New York State and New York City because we've had good leadership to work with, and I thank the Governor and I thank the mayor for that.

I must tell you that because I was a Governor for a good long while, I have a sympathy for people who like to be Governor for a good long while. [Laughter] It's the best job I ever had, in some ways. And I like it because it was a real job, dealing with real peoples and real problems and real opportunities.

I think it makes a difference whether you have a partnership for growth in New York; I really do. And whether you think that or not is a big part of whether you will make any kind of difference. I think it makes a difference who's in the partnership. It makes a difference whether you have new ideas. Long before I ever dreamed of running for President and thought it was a practical option for me, I read the first volume of the Cuomo commission report. And I remember both volumes very well, all the ideas that they had, all the suggestions they gave not only to States but to our country for dealing with these problems. To me, that's what we ought to be doing in government, being catalysts for helping people take responsibility for their own lives and get together in their communities and reach across the lines that divide them and solve their problems and seize their opportunities.

Twenty-one months ago I went to Washington, determined to do what I could to restore the economy, to make our Government work for ordinary Americans again, and to empower people to compete and win in the 21st century. After 21 months, there's a lot we still have to do. But it is clear that America is in better shape. We have more jobs, a lower deficit, low inflation, a smaller Federal Government doing much more. We're doing things that make Government work for ordinary people, valuing work and family with things like the family leave law, our initiatives in welfare reform, tax credits for working families just above the poverty line so they don't fall into the poverty line--no one who raises kids and works 40 hours a week should fail at either task--immunizing all the children in the country under the age of 2 by 1996.

We've made a serious assault on crime. You've already talked about it a lot. Let me just say that a lot of the ideas in that crime bill have been pioneered here by Governor Cuomo, including the boot camps and the after-school programs as prevention. It is a bill of punishment, police, and prevention, and it's a bill which will lower crime, not because of what the Federal Government will do but because of what the Federal Government has empowered you to do.