Bill Clinton: “October 21, 1999 Thank you. Is this a rowdy crowd or what? [Laughter] You know, I'm not used to showing up and being the…”

“October 21, 1999 Thank you. Is this a rowdy crowd or what? [Laughter] You know, I'm not used to showing up and being the straight man. [Laughter] This is a very emotional moment for me. [Laughter] When I was in the 10th grade, Ted Kennedy was in the Senate. [Laughter] And when I retire from two terms as President, Ted Kennedy will be in the Senate. [Laughter] And I resent it. [Laughter] I don't know what Patrick's doing here. He's supposed to be raising money for House Members. [Laughter] You may have cost us four seats tonight, with all this money going here. [Laughter] Actually, he got an excused absence from Master Gephardt to come here tonight, and I'm grateful. Let me say a couple of words seriously. I am genuinely honored to be here. I love Edward Kennedy. And I am something of a student of the history of our country. I just--one of our guests tonight gave me a biography of Chester Arthur, because I don't own one. I've got this great--I've read all about all of our Presidents; I've studied the history of the United States Congress. I do believe that any fair reading of that history would say that Edward Kennedy was one of the four or five most productive, ablest, greatest United States Senators that ever served this great Republic of ours. And I am grateful for this family's commitment to public service. There is no question--I was a Governor for 12 years, and I care a lot about these issues that the States deal with.…”