Bill Clinton: “Well, just for the record, when I was a Governor, we had the lowest--second lowest tax burden of any State in the…”

“Well, just for the record, when I was a Governor, we had the lowest--second lowest tax burden of any State in the country, the highest job growth rate of any State when I ran for President, and were widely recognized for a lot of other advances. But the important thing is, what are we going to do now? I think a targeted tax cut is better for our future, targeted to education and childrearing, with the rest of the education plan--hooking up all of our classrooms to the Internet by the year 2000, making sure we've got an army of reading volunteers, trained people to teach with parents and teachers so that our 8-year-olds can learn to read; investing in our environment, cleaning up two-thirds of the worst toxic waste dumps. Those plans are better than this $550 billion tax scheme. Now, remember, folks, even Senator Dole's campaign cochair, Senator D'Amato, says he's got to cut Medicare to pay for this. Everybody who has looked at it, 500 economists, 7 Nobel Prize winners, say it's bad for the economy. It's going to blow a hole in the deficit, raise taxes on 9 million people, and require bigger cuts than the one I vetoed. Our plan is better. It will take us into the future with a growing economy and healthier families. Senator Dole. Well, I'm really encouraged to know of your renewed friendship with Al D'Amato, and I know he appreciates it. [Laughter] You didn't even have tax cuts in your budget, Mr. President, the first 2 years you were President. It wasn't until we had a Republican Congress that you even thought about--you talked about tax cuts. And getting back to personal differences, I think, Jim, if you're a little more specific, but I think the President could clarify one thing tonight, and that's the question of pardons. I know you talked about it with Jim Lehrer on the PBS show. And I've never discussed Whitewater, as I've told you personally; I'm not discussing Whitewater now. But I am discussing a power the President has to grant pardons, and hopefully in the next segment you could lay that to rest. Mr. Lehrer. Mr. President.”