Bill Clinton: “Chicago September 25, 1998 Thank you. I don't think Glenn can hear us, but I want to say that if I were a school…”

“Chicago September 25, 1998 Thank you. I don't think Glenn can hear us, but I want to say that if I were a school principal today, I would happily give him an excused absence from this lunch--[laughter]--because I, too, wanted him to be in Washington. Finally, after almost 9 months now, 8 months, of virtual complete inaction, some votes are being cast in Congress. And I think this decision that is before the Congress today is terribly important. We're quite close to an election. In a week we'll have the first balanced budget and surplus we've had in 29 years. And the majority party wants to make everybody happy close to an election by passing a tax cut. And believe me, I'd like to make everybody happy close to an election, too. Even though I'm not running, I've got a lot of friends on the ballot. But it's not the right thing to do. We have a tax cut in our balanced budget for child care, for education, for the environment, but it's paid for. But you know, we have waited 29 years, and we have worked hard for 6 years to get this country a balanced budget. It has been instrumental, pivotal in bringing the country back economically. And before the red ink turns to black and it dries a little bit, people now want to turn around and spend it again before we do what I think must be our first priority, which is to save Social Security. There are a lot of younger people here, and I thank you for being here.…”