Bill Clinton: “Thank you so much, Senator Graham, Senator Mitchell, Secretary and Mrs. Bentsen, Members of the Congress, my fellow…”

“Thank you so much, Senator Graham, Senator Mitchell, Secretary and Mrs. Bentsen, Members of the Congress, my fellow Democrats and my fellow Americans. I couldn't help thinking, as I listened to George Mitchell talk, that he is always so cool, calm, collected, and still intense and eloquent. He always seems to have such a great sense of balance. He did make one huge mistake this year: People wanted to see a resumption of baseball and a cessation of the Senate, and he got it in reverse. [Laughter] I want to thank Senator Graham first for his leadership of the DSCC and his long friendship to me, his long personal friendship to me. We used to sit near each other in the Governors' Association, and both of us sometimes think that's the best job we ever had. And I have loved working with him. I admire him immensely. I have a lot to be grateful to him for on a very personal basis, but especially I thank him tonight for his support, steadfast and longstanding, for our attempts to end the human rights violations and restore democracy in Haiti. I thank you, Senator Graham, for that. I'd like to say a few words about Haiti tonight, and then go back to my remarks. I think, just as Americans, you ought to know where we are and what happens next. We had a good day there. Our troops are carrying out their mission. To date, we now have 8,500 American troops in Haiti. All of them have entered peacefully. They have not shot at any Haitians. No one has shot at them.…”