Bill Clinton: “I believe that that's the story you want to write, one way or the other. [Laughter] And the right, the correct, position…”

“I believe that that's the story you want to write, one way or the other. [Laughter] And the right, the correct, position for the United States is not to become involved in any direct way. I have had a good relationship with President Yeltsin. He has done a lot of good things in terms of removing the nuclear threat from the world and in terms of increasing the security of the Russian people, the American people, and others who are affected by it. And we have worked together to get international financial institutions to support Russia's economic transition because it's been a very difficult thing. And everyone knows of that relationship. But it is not right for the United States or for any other country to tell people how they should vote. That's what democracy is about. How would you like it and how would you be affected by it if leaders of all the other countries in the world showed up in the United States between now and November and said vote for President Clinton or vote for Senator Dole? Most Americans would say, ``Well, I hope we'll be friends when this is over, but I don't much care who you think I should vote for. I believe I'm smart enough to make that decision for myself.'' That's the only point I'm making. You should read nothing into this one way or the other except the fact that the United States and Russia, in my view, have a big obligation to their people to continue to be allies, to have a constructive relationship, to resolve as many of their differences as possible, and to move forward together into the future. Our soldiers are side by side with IFOR in Bosnia today. We have done a lot of things together. And my specific belief is that neither the President of the United States nor anyone else has any business telling the citizens of Russia in any kind of explicit way how they should vote. Yes, there will be consequences to the votes they cast, and they will be able to sort out those consequences. And sometimes voters are right about what the consequences are of their votes, and sometimes they're not. And that's not only true in Russia, that's true in the United States and lots of other places. But our business is to support a certain direction, to reaffirm our own values, our own interests, and the terms on which we want to engage Russia in partnership. That's our business here. The business of the Russian people is to be good citizens in a new democracy and become well-informed and make up their own mind and go and vote and chart their own destiny. And that's what they're going to do. Domestic Criticism and Foreign Relations”