Bill Clinton: “Thank you very much, Willie Brown. And thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for letting me join you by high-tech…”

“Thank you very much, Willie Brown. And thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for letting me join you by high-tech communications for just a few minutes. First of all, let me say how very impressed I was by the comment of the previous speaker. He may not have been in California very long, but I think his prescription for how to solve our Nation's problems, concentrating on investment and achieving consensus, is what we all have to focus on. I wish I could be with you in person today. You know, I have spent a great deal of time in California in the last 16 months talking to people about the problems and the promise of your State. I don't believe for a moment that America's economy can recover until California recovers, and I applaud what you are doing in this economic summit. I understand the economic summit that I sponsored down in Little Rock for our Nation may have been part of the inspiration for this meeting, and if so, I'm very grateful. I applaud Willie Brown and Senator Roberti and Governor Wilson for cosponsoring this, and all the rest of you who are part of it. Let me get to the point very quickly because I think that these summits work so much better when there is interaction, so I don't want to intrude on what I think is going very well. First, I want to reaffirm my commitment to the economic revitalization of California. Californians played a major role in my election as President and play a very major role in my Presidency now, people who are important to your future.…”