Bill Clinton: “I'm really trying to. And I think what happened was that from the time I gave my speech outlining the plan in February…”

“I'm really trying to. And I think what happened was that from the time I gave my speech outlining the plan in February to the American people directly, including telling everybody exactly what we were going to cut and exactly what it would cost, after that the details got lost in all the word games going back and forth and the shouting. And what I tried to do last week by giving a prime-time news conference and doing a number of other things was to let the American people know exactly what was in this bill. Maybe it's worth restating. There are $250 billion of spending cuts and $250 billion of revenue increases and $500 billion of deficit reduction in this package. Of every $10 in cutting the debt, $5 comes in spending cuts; $3.75 comes from people with incomes above $100,000; $1.25 comes from people with incomes below $100,000 but above $30,000. People below that are held harmless. That's about how it works. Mr. Scheld. One Member of Congress over the weekend, I think, was quoted as saying that's engaging in politics of envy, pitting the higher income brackets against those that can't afford it.”