Bill Clinton: “Thank you. Thank you. Somebody was whispering, ``What's different at this moment in history is the President's crazy…”

“Thank you. Thank you. Somebody was whispering, ``What's different at this moment in history is the President's crazy enough to take on this fight.'' [Laughter] No, what is different? This time the American Medical Association, the American Association of Family Practice, the pediatricians, the American Nurses Association, the medical schools of the United States, the American Association of Retired People, the AFL-CIO and an association literally, literally, of hundreds of thousands of small businesses and many of the biggest businesses in the country, as well as a majority of the American people, all have agreed that the best way to do this is to have employers and employees share the responsibility for buying private insurance. Now, how are we going to do it? Let me say that I desperately want a bipartisan bill. I have reached out to members of the other party; this bill passed with a bipartisan majority. At one point, two dozen Republican Senators supported Senator Chafee's bill for universal coverage. But every time I have reached out, they have moved further away. I feel like I keep reaching out. I wish we were in a car, and they would eventually run up against the door and have to come back to my way--[laughter]--because I keep reaching out. Let me say that 22 years ago--22 years ago--a Republican President, Richard Nixon, and one of the incumbent Republican Senators from Oregon, Robert Packwood, offered a bill to require employers and employees to share the responsibility for private health insurance. If it was a good idea 22 years ago, it is a better idea today when things have gotten more difficult in terms of cost and coverage, and we ought to do it. Now, let me say--you heard the Vice President with that quote from the Republican consultants say, ``Let's send them home emptyhanded.'' We've done that a lot, you know. We've done that a lot. It took 5 years to pass the ADA. When I showed up in town here, it had taken 7 years until we could finally pass the Brady bill last year--7 years--7 years; 7 years until we could finally pass the family and medical leave law last year--very important to you; 7 years until we could finally get the worldwide trade agreement that will add a half a million jobs in America between now and the end of the decade. A lot of times, if you want bipartisan consensus on a tough issue, it takes forever. But I tell you, we dare not wait longer. For 60 years, Presidents of both parties have known we should cover all Americans. We now see health care costs going up, and the only Government spending going up is in health care while we are desperately trying to bring this deficit down and invest in our future. And we know that in only 5 years, 5 million Americans have lost their coverage. We are at an historic moment. For the first time ever, there are bills on the floor of both Houses of the Congress that will give Americans health care. We must say we don't care about politics. There are Democrats and Republicans and independents in this audience. There are people here today who voted for all three people who ran for President last time. I do not give a rip what your politics are, but I do want you to have health care so you can contribute to America's future. Audience members. Health care now! Health care now! Health care now!”