Bill Clinton: “Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, Members of the 104th Congress, my fellow Americans: Again we are here in the sanctuary of…”

“Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, Members of the 104th Congress, my fellow Americans: Again we are here in the sanctuary of democracy, and once again our democracy has spoken. So let me begin by congratulating all of you here in the 104th Congress and congratulating you, Mr. Speaker. If we agree on nothing else tonight, we must agree that the American people certainly voted for change in 1992 and in 1994. And as I look out at you, I know how some of you must have felt in 1992. [Laughter] I must say that in both years we didn't hear America singing, we heard America shouting. And now all of us, Republicans and Democrats alike, must say, ``We hear you. We will work together to earn the jobs you have given us.'' For we are the keepers of a sacred trust, and we must be faithful to it in this new and very demanding era. Over 200 years ago, our Founders changed the entire course of human history by joining together to create a new country based on a single powerful idea: ``We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, . . .…”