Political Quotes

Bill Clinton: Well, they had lots of money on their side. They had--all the vested interest groups were campaigning against us because…

On the recordAugust 25, 1996
Well, they had lots of money on their side. They had--all the vested interest groups were campaigning against us because they didn't want change. So I just point out--you can't give me another example. Let me give you some examples. First 2 years, Democratic Congress, we reduced the deficit, gave 15 million working families a tax cut, radically reformed the student loan program to lower costs and improve the repayment terms, passed the national service program, something I campaigned on. We passed the Brady bill. We passed the family and medical leave law. We passed the toughest crime bill in American history, with the Republican leadership fighting against us. It had 60 death penalties; it had 100,000 police; it had a ban on assault weapons. They were fighting against all that. That is what we did. We passed a bill to protect the pensions of 40 million workers; it was all private sector stuff. So if you look at our record in the first 2 years, it was a moderate, mainstream, progressive record. And the economy is in the shape it's in today mostly because of what we did in the first 2 years, not what we've done in the last 2. Education and Job Creation Mr. Blitzer. All right. Very briefly, if you had to pick two or three priorities, unfinished business for a second term, what are the two biggest--two or three biggest priorities, specific ones?
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Bill Clinton
Democratic · Arkansas

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