Bill Clinton: “I told Andy that I had already seen him on television; even I, when I'm channel-surfing, sometimes catch the…”

“I told Andy that I had already seen him on television; even I, when I'm channel-surfing, sometimes catch the skateboarders. [Laughter] Every time I see him do that I think, you know, a couple of years ago I fell 6 inches and was hobbled for 6 months. [Laughter] Thank you. Let me say, as important as this advertising is, it isn't enough. And I want to say a special word of appreciation for the partnerships at the national and community level, because everywhere young people go during every part of the day, they will see more than the television. They will see the message that drugs are wrong; they can kill; they are illegal. This will outdo the ``Star Wars'' promotion for name and brand. You will see not just television, radio, newspapers, magazines, the Internet; you will see this message on bus stops and subway cars, movie screens, and video games. It will be in the classroom through cable programming in schools and substance abuse materials we'll provide the teachers. It will be part of after-school activities, through organizations like the YMCA. The message will be part of an increasing number of sporting events, like basketball tournaments sponsored by the New York Knicks. And last month during the X Games, not only did we place antidrug messages everywhere the TV viewer could constantly see them, we also handed out stickers with the slogan, ``Get vertical, not high.'' They became one of the hottest items for the hundreds of thousands of spectators who came to the X Games. And as General McCaffrey said, we will get the word out in 11 languages other than English, including Spanish, Cantonese, Vietnamese, and Navajo and Lakota, a language I just tried out when I was at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. I think that this phase will be even more effective than the last phase of the campaign. And I think you will see real impacts on the behavior of our young people and that teen drug use will continue to decline. But I would also say that no matter how effective all of you are, we still have to have more help as close to home as possible, with the parents sitting down and talking to their children, not waiting until their children are using drugs to talk about them, and with all the teachers, the coaches, the mentors, the community police, the health care workers and, of course, the religious leaders, making up what the First Lady always calls the village, that have to help raise our children. And finally, I'd like to say that young people should not ever minimize the impact they can have not only on their own lives but on their friends and their siblings. In every school in America there's a young person who is a good kid but just a little lost or confused, who can be reached by a friend, very often who can be reached by a friend more than the President or any other figure in apparent authority. So I say to all of you, first, thanks, and second, let's keep going. Together, we can give every single child in this country a chance to grow up in a world where the only limits are the outlines of their hopes and dreams. Not every child can be a skateboard champion like Andy, but every child can fly. Thank you, and God bless you.”