Bill Clinton: “Well, what we have to do is get the record out there. All the opinion surveys show that there's literally almost no…”

“Well, what we have to do is get the record out there. All the opinion surveys show that there's literally almost no awareness among the voters of what this administration has accomplished but that it's changed rather dramatically in the last 10 days to 2 weeks as Congress has gone home and people have been able to focus on the fact that there are more jobs, a lower deficit, a smaller Federal Government, less regulation, more help for ordinary working families: the family and medical leave law; the Brady bill; the crime bill; immunizations for all the kids in the country under 2; middle class college loans; apprenticeships for people who aren't going to college; an expansion of Head Start. It's been a very long time since there has been such a productive relationship. But the people don't know it because this has been a contentious 2 years. The Republicans have been more partisan than any party has against a President of the opposing party since World War II. There's no precedent for it. And I've taken on a lot of tough issues, a lot of special interest groups. I've tried to change the direction of this country. And when you do that, you have to be willing to make enemies and you have to be willing to see your approval ratings go down in the short run as people are, at least, confused by all the conflict which is engendered. Plus, everybody knows that the nature of the way Americans get their information today is more contentious, more divisive, more adversarial than ever before. So I've been given an opportunity now in the last week or 10 days of this campaign to get out and talk to the American people and make my case. The people of Iowa are fair-minded people. And I was there when you needed me and so was everybody in my administration, in a hurry, in the flood. And we stayed, and we've seen this through. I have been a good President for the farmers of this country and good for the Iowa economy and good for the ordinary working people of this country. And when the record comes out, the people will make the right decision. Plus, the Republicans are offering us an unbelievable journey into the past that got us in so much trouble. I mean, they want to go back to trickle-down economics. They're making a trillion dollars' worth of promises: big tax cuts for the wealthy, more defense expenditures, a balanced budget. The only way to do it is to have a 20 percent across- the-board cut in Social Security, Medicare, and everything else. And if they don't intend to do it, they're going to explode the deficit and put our economy in deep trouble once again. Mr. Bachman. Mr. President, I know you'll be saying more of that tomorrow right here in Des Moines. Thank you very much for joining us.”