Bill Clinton: “I've got news for him. The worst economy California had in 20 years was when I got elected President. It's better now.…”

“I've got news for him. The worst economy California had in 20 years was when I got elected President. It's better now. Now--but it's not all bad because yesterday he said we had the worst economy in 20 years, but just 2 weeks ago he said we had the worst economy in 100 years. [Laughter] Now, I think you ought to vote for a guy who can make up 80 years in 2 weeks. I've done a pretty good job. But you have to decide who's right. Let me tell you, I don't approve--I'll say right now, I do not approve, even when we do it, even sometimes when I have lapsed into it--do not approve of all this attempt that people in politics make today to convince people that their opponents are no good, they're bad people, they're corrupt, you know. It's not true; that's not right. After the Vice President and I and Mr. Panetta spent 55 hours negotiating the budget with Senator Dole and Speaker Gingrich and the leaders of the Democratic Party, Mr. Armey, on their side, we were alone in the White House one day, just the three of us. And I looked at them and I said, ``You know, I've enjoyed being with these people, and I've learned a lot. They're just different from us.'' And I do not mean it in any hateful way. They really believe things that are different from what I believe. And if every American understood that, every American would show up, they would show up Tuesday, and they would cast their votes, and we would all chart our course to the 21st century. I'll just give you a few examples. The family and medical leave law has helped 12 million people to take a little time off from work when their babies are born or when their family members are sick. They led the fight against it, because they said it would hurt the economy, we were interfering with the economy. My attitude is, the most important job anybody's got is raising their kids. If we had more people doing the job, we'd be in less trouble than we are in. And almost all families are having some trouble raising their kids and doing their jobs. Even well-to-do people often find terrible conflicts between the demands of their work and the demands of children, so you know how much harder it is for people that are just struggling to get by. And we have to fashion a world in the 21st century, we have to use the technology, we have to use our ingenuity, we have to use all our creativity, to help people succeed in raising their kids and doing their work. Nobody here is doing any more important work than Sherman is, trying to save our kids. But his first job now is to save his own child and give his own child a good future. We all have to succeed at both. So I think we were right. I want to expand the family leave law and say people ought to be able to go see their children's teacher twice a year and take them to the doctor without losing their job. I think that's right. I think when people work overtime, if they've got a problem at home they ought to have the option to take their overtime in pay or time at home dealing with their sick spouses or their children. That's what I believe, because we have to find ways for people to succeed at home and at work. It's a big challenge in the 21st century. They disagree. You have to choose. Should we build a bridge together, or would it be better if you were on your own? I know the answer to that. And I think you do, too. I'll give you another example. When I was for the Brady bill, they led the fight against it. When I supported Senator Feinstein in her finest hour in banning those assault weapons, they led the fight against it. When I said, ``I've been talking to all these police officers and they say we cannot jail our way out of this crisis; we've got to prevent crime and give our kids something to say yes to, and we need to put police back on the streets in the neighborhoods, building trust in partnership with people again. That's why I want 100,000 police,'' they led the fight against it. They really believed it was a mistake. And now we know it's bringing the crime rate down, and they're still trying to get rid of it. I don't think they're bad people, but I sure think they're wrong. And I hope you do, too. Their idea of balancing the budget included cuts in Head Start, cuts in college loans, abolishing the Department of Education. Audience members. Boo-o-o!”