Bill Clinton: “That issue has not been brought up to me, but I can tell you this: There were a lot of people who urged that we ought to…”

“That issue has not been brought up to me, but I can tell you this: There were a lot of people who urged that we ought to have a $2-a-pack tobacco tax, if you remember. I asked for the 75 cents because that's what our searching effort, our agonizing effort to determine what the cost of this program would be turned up as what is needed. And therefore, I cannot foresee circumstances under which I would be willing to change that position, because it would imperil the whole health care program. So there has been no--I didn't want to raise any money from anybody to do anything other than to pay for the health care program, although I think that higher tobacco taxes discourage use, and that's a good thing. But that wasn't what was behind it. So----”