Bill Clinton: “Thank you very much. If you listen closely, you will hear that I am in my annual voice-loss mode. [Laughter] I think I…”

“Thank you very much. If you listen closely, you will hear that I am in my annual voice-loss mode. [Laughter] I think I can get through this talk. We celebrated Hillary's 50th birthday over the weekend. A lot of our friends came in, and the weather changed. And about once a year when this happens, this happens. [Laughter] I'll do my best. Let me thank Al From and Senator Lieberman. My good friend Sandy Robertson, thank you for what you said. To all the Members of the Senate and House who are here and who have been so good to the DLC over the years; to all my predecessors as chairman of the DLC, including several Members of the Congress and former Congressman McCurdy. It's hard for me to believe that it's been 7 years since Al From, in his sort of gentle, demure way--[laughter]--persuaded me to become chairman of the DLC. It's hard to believe it's been 6 years since I announced my candidacy for President, nearly 5 years since we began to work together to prepare America for the 21st century. But it has been. And for nearly 5 years, we have worked together on a simple but profound vision to say that the American dream should be alive for everybody who is responsible enough to work for it; that our country must continue to lead the world for peace and freedom and prosperity; that we have to find a way to bring our people together, across all the lines that divide us, into one America.…”