Bill Clinton: “That's what the big decision is here, don't make any mistake about it. That's what this bridge to the future is all…”

“That's what the big decision is here, don't make any mistake about it. That's what this bridge to the future is all about. And I want you to think about that when you decide how you're going to vote and whether you're going to vote and what you can still say to others between now and Tuesday. You know, this is my last campaign unless I run for the school board someday. [Laughter] And I'm thinking about what we're going to be like in the 21st century, what we're going to be like when our children are our age, whether we can give the great genius of America for continuous improvement and advancement and moving closer to our ideals on to our children. And I know we can. We've just scratched the surface. We now know that there are two genes that cause breast cancer. And if we can figure out how they do it, we'll be able to cure virtually all cases and maybe even prevent all cases. We now know how to move drugs and mix drugs in a way that has more than doubled the life expectancy for people with HIV and AIDS in only 4 years. We know how to do that. We now know that for the first time in history laboratory animals with their spines completely severed have shown movement in their lower limbs because of nerve transplants from other parts of the body to their spines. If we can do that for people, we can revolutionize life in America for so many of our fellow citizens who deserve a better chance. We now know that all this money that we have spent for satellites in the sky to look at the planets beyond and to find out what's going on here on Earth--they have to see real well to do that. We now know we can do that and use that technology to look at our bodies and maybe find all kinds of problems way before they get out of hand. We know that. We're about to build a computer, the U.S. Government and IBM, that can do more calculations in a second than you can go home tonight and do on your hand-held calculator in 30,000 years. You get the point. The Internet, which a lot of you are on, was started as a Government research project. The American winners of the Nobel prizes in chemistry and physics got research money from the Government to explore the mysteries. We know now how fast we're going. Four years ago only physicists knew about the Internet. Today my cat has a home page. [Laughter] Four years ago there were only 3 million Americans working at home making their living. Today there are 12 million. Four years from now there will be 30 million. That will change everything for all of us in ways that will be some good and some challenge. And you have to decide. And if you want to know why I have spent so much time on this, it's because I believe that we've got an opportunity that our country has never had before. We're going through this period of change in how we work and live and relate to each other and the rest of the world. And if we do it right, it will be the most remarkable experience in democracy ever--ever. Now, look around this sea of people tonight, all the way back there, and I want to make my last point. One of the great moments for our family in the Presidency was when Hillary and Chelsea and I got to go to open the Olympics, to represent you and all of our country men and women at the opening of the Olympics. And I was filled with pride as I looked at those delegations from 197 different nations and nationalities walking around the Olympic stadium. And I thought to myself, we are the only country in the world that has people from nearly every one of those places in our country. And when I get up and I go to work on trying to keep people from killing each other in Bosnia, or trying to resolve the problems of the Middle East, or trying to resolve the problems in Northern Ireland; when I sent our troops to Rwanda with the French to stop the starvation of hundreds of thousands of people, I think to myself how sad it is that all over the world there's still so many people who have to define themselves in terms of what they aren't, who have to say, ``Well, whatever's wrong with me, at least I've got somebody I can look down on here; I've got somebody I can kick around; I've got somebody I can feel is subhuman.'' It's just a terrible, heartbreaking thing to see. And I go around the world and I say all these things, you know, and make all these arguments, and what all these arguments amount to is I'm trying to get people to let it go. It's what Sherman had to do, he had to let it go. He said he could never get revenge. Folks, I'll tell you something, nobody gets even in this world. Only God can get even and help us get even. Nobody gets even. And there's a certain amount of injustice that everyone endures. I read something the other day where Mark Twain--he was a pretty smart fellow--said, ``Every dog needs a few fleas in his life; keeps him from worrying so much about being a dog.'' [Laughter] Now, I want an America where we all have a chance and where we respect each other. We don't have to agree with what we do; we don't have to agree with some of the choices we make. But we need a country where everybody's got a chance and where everybody is respected. My problem with this 209--I know it's maybe popular and maybe not-- but let me tell you what I know. Audience members. Boo-o-o!”