Bill Clinton: “We're not--we're only very far away if you turn this into--if you insist on a tax cut which requires unacceptable levels…”

“We're not--we're only very far away if you turn this into--if you insist on a tax cut which requires unacceptable levels of cuts in education and the environment and Medicare and Medicaid, or you insist on fundamentally changing those programs in ways that will erode the protections that Medicare and Medicaid now give to seniors and to poor children and to disabled people, or you insist on cuts in education that will cut back on scholarships or Head Start, or you insist on cuts which will really weaken our ability to protect the environment. If that's the deal, it's reconciling not only the level of cuts--it's not just the money here, I want to emphasize that. It's the policy. The Republicans--if I might, let me just take Medicare for an example, just for example. The Republicans and I agree that there should be changes in the Medicare program to encourage more seniors to have more options to join managed care programs. And we agree on a number of other provisions that should be changed that will strengthen Medicare and give more options to our senior citizens. I do not agree with changes that I think will, in effect, break up Medicare and put more and more seniors at the mercy of the present private insurance system so that the older and lower income and sicker you are, the more at risk you are. I don't want to do that. So if we can work that out, we'll have an agreement. It's the same thing----”