Remarks at a Democratic National Committee dinner in Miami

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Oct 28, 1996

The President. Thank you.

Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!

The President. Thank you. Thank you so much. Well, this crowd's a little rowdy tonight. But it's only 2 weeks until voting time; it's about time to get a little rowdy. So I'm glad to see you.

Let me ask all of you to join me in once again expressing our appreciation to the wonderful, wonderful entertainment we had tonight. [Applause] Thank you. Peabo Bryson, thank you. Thank you; you were fabulous. Thank both of you so much. Thank you.

I am so glad to see you here. I'm glad to be up here with Buddy MacKay and Lawton Chiles and Bob Graham. We've all been friends a long time. We've worked together on so many things for so long. We read each other's mind. I think we can say each other's speeches. [Laughter] Tonight I was kind of tired; I thought maybe I could be Lawton. He won't talk very long. [Laughter] Then maybe I can be me and not talk very long - who knows. [Laughter]

Let me say to all of you, I expect to be back here in Florida before this election is over, but - and I have worked hard for this State for 4 years and with your leaders for 4 years in trying to help you overcome the impacts of the hurricane, in trying to help deal with the challenges of education and health care, in trying to help you grow your economy, in trying to help you save your environment, in trying to help you save and enhance the State's program.

This is my last election unless I run for the school board someday. [Laughter] For me, as Lawton Chiles said, it all started in Florida in December of 1991. You gave me the first step up on the road to the White House, and I will never forget that. I will always love you for it and always be grateful. And I'd sure like to go out with a victory in Florida.

We have worked together to try to seize the future not only on the things I mentioned but the Summit of the Americas - which Senator Graham spoke about - the extra efforts we have made over the last 4 years to try to bring freedom to Cuba, the work that we must do - the work that we have done and must continue to do to shore up democracy in the rest of our hemisphere and our neighborhood.

But tonight, I just want to ask you very briefly - this will be brief - to take some time when you go home tonight - I hope you will pat yourself on the back for the contributions you have made and the efforts you have made and then I hope you will redouble your efforts in the next 2 weeks. And I think you can do it if you go home tonight and go through an exercise that I frequently go through myself, if you ask yourselves before you go to bed, "What do I want my country to look like when we start the 21st century just 4 years away? And what do I want my country to be like when my children are my age? What do I want it to be like when my grandchildren are my age?"

We are going through one of those periods of profound change in how we work and live, how we relate to each other, how we relate to the rest of the world. You know it here in Florida and particularly here because you're on the cutting edge of so many of those changes. It is not as if we have an option to repeal those changes. That's nothing I can take credit for. These changes are big, deep, historical currents. The issue is how will we respond to these challenges? How will we make these changes our friend? How will we be able to meet the challenges and preserve our values?

For me, the answer has always been very simple. It's the thing that got me into the Presidential race in 1991. It has driven our administration every day for the last 4 years. It is, what can we do to make sure that when we start that new century in a new millennium, opportunity is still alive for every single person in this country who's willing to be responsible and work for it? What can we do? What can we do to make sure that the United States continues to lead the world toward peace and freedom and prosperity? And what can we do to make sure America incorporates all these vast changes in a way that strengthens our American community, that brings us together instead of driving us apart? How can we learn to help people succeed more at home as parents and in the workplace? How can we livein greater harmony with our natural environment? And how can we live in greater harmony with each other, in spite of all of our differences?

And I have worked very hard, and I'm proud to be able to say that compared to 4 years ago, in virtually every category of measurement, by those standards, we are better off than we were 4 years ago. We are on the right track to the 21st century.

You know, in nearly every election and in too many over the last 10 years or so, as you get along toward the end of the election, things tend to get sometimes harsh and personal. And many of you said to me tonight - I appreciate it - that you liked the way I avoided that in the second debate. I thank you for your comments about that. But let me say that to me it is not necessary to do that, and in fact, doing that undermines what I think we ought to be doing, which is to look at the fact that we have two candidates and two philosophies here that are very different about how to reach the 21st century. And they are so different and clear, a vote should be easy to cast, and no one should be willing to stay home, because the consequences are so significant for how we'll have to live.