Bill Clinton: “I think they were agreeing with me, but they don't think we produced them. In other words--let me say it in another way.…”

“I think they were agreeing with me, but they don't think we produced them. In other words--let me say it in another way. I'm saying that I agree with much of what the electorate said yesterday. Now, there were segments of that majority the Republicans put together obviously that I do not agree with and on matters of conviction I can't say I agreed with. I don't agree that we should repeal either the assault weapons ban or the Brady bill. The NRA would like to do that. I don't think we should. I don't agree that the answer to the abortion problem is to criminalize abortion again. That was a big part of that vote. So I'm still pro-choice, not because I'm pro-abortion; I'm not. But I still believe that it's a mistake to criminalize that. So I don't agree with all that. But I think that the swing voters, the people that first of all voted for Bill Clinton and Ross Perot in '92 against the incumbent President and then voted for the Republicans for Congress against the incumbent Democrats--and in the challenging races and out in the country--were making a statement about what they think about Government. They still believe that Government is more often the problem than the solution. They don't want any party to be the party of Government. They don't want the presumption to be that people in Washington know what's best. They do want the Government to protect their interest, promote their values, I think, and to empower them. And then they want people held accountable. So I'm saying that, to that extent, that message--I got it. I accept responsibility for not delivering. To whatever extent it's my fault that we haven't delivered back to the American people what they want on that, I have to accept that responsibility. But you know, I've worked hard, the Vice President has worked hard on this whole business of downsizing the Government, deregulating several areas of our national life. We have not done as much as we are going to have to do to satisfy the voters, but we also have to recognize that this Government has a responsibility to protect and promote certain fundamental interests that I think the people really also want protected and promoted. But they sent us a clear message. I got it, and I'm going to try to redouble my efforts to get there. I think that the Republican congressional leadership will at least have the chance to work with us. I'm going to do my dead-level best to do that, and to be less partisan. Most Americans are not strongly partisan, and they don't want us to be. Downsizing Government”