Bill Clinton: “Well, first of all, the tax cut won't reduce the deficit unless it leads to increased growth in the context of a deficit…”

“Well, first of all, the tax cut won't reduce the deficit unless it leads to increased growth in the context of a deficit reduction plan. If it does lead to increased growth, if it's part of--if it's a balanced plan so that the deficit reduction still has credibility, then the tax cut can play an important part of that by helping to provide some extra income, particularly to hard-pressed families with children who have had a more difficult time the last 10 or 15 years. Let me ask you--you could make the same argument about education. You could say, well, how can you invest money on education and reduce the deficit? You do it because it strengthens the economy over the long run. So if we target this tax relief particularly to families, to people seeking an education, to some of the priorities of the White House Conference on Small Business, some of those things that we've all talked about that I think we have broad agreement on, it will strengthen America, and in so strengthening America, it will make us stronger, we'll grow more, and we'll do better. But we have to do it in the context of knowing we're going to balance that budget. Yes, Peter [Peter Maer, NBC Mutual Radio]. Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich”