Bill Clinton: “Thank you. Boy, I like being here. I like this. When I got off the airplane today and I thanked the people at the…”

“Thank you. Boy, I like being here. I like this. When I got off the airplane today and I thanked the people at the airport rally for giving me a drier reception than I had the last time--[laughter]--I began to think about all the times I've been to Iowa and how every time I come away with a renewed energy, a renewed connection to the people of this country, a renewed sense of energy that I can make a difference because of the feelings, the spirit, the character of the people I sense here. And I just want to thank you for that. I was listening to Tom give his sermon up here, and I was thinking, you know, Harkin just has no strong feelings about anything. [Laughter] You never know how he stands, doesn't have any energy for the task at hand. [Laughter] I'll tell you what, if the rest of us had half as much energy and conviction as he did, this country would have about half as many problems as it has. I want every one of you to know that he has been--in ways that have been public like the fight on ethanol, in ways that haven't been so public like the fight to get more money into health research, more money into projects to look into women's health, more money into the general development of our educational emphasis in all areas of research--he has made a critical difference not only for the people of Iowa but for the people of the United States. I don't know what I would have done without him in the last 2 years.…”