Bill Clinton: “Well, first of all, I haven't bashed all the Republicans. Senator McCain--I bragged on the bill that came out of his…”

“Well, first of all, I haven't bashed all the Republicans. Senator McCain--I bragged on the bill that came out of his committee, 19 to one. I talked--I called Senator Lott a few days ago and said that I very much wanted to get this bill passed. What has caused our concern here is this apparent dramatic change in the statements made by Republicans about this. I mean, it wasn't so very long ago when the Speaker said that there's no way in the world that I could ever be for a more progressive tax bill--tobacco bill than he would be for. And I, frankly, loved hearing that. I don't mind sharing the credit for this. I don't want this to be a partisan thing; I want this to be an American thing. Let's look what had happened here. All of us have been talking about trying to get bipartisan agreement on this. The tobacco industry says they don't like the McCain bill, and they refuse to negotiate any further, and they're fighting for their life, and this is war. And all of a sudden, we get different public statements coming out of people in important positions in the Republican Party. I still believe and hope that there will be enough Republicans to make a genuinely bipartisan effort to pass sensible, sound, strong legislation. And that is my commitment. That is all of our commitments. We are responding to events as they have unfolded. But I would remind you that what sparked all this was the bipartisan action of the Senate committee. That is what I have lauded, and that is what I want. Education Legislation”