Bill Clinton: “It was a light-hearted question, and it wasn't in the context of some sort of endorsement of drug use, and they know…”

“It was a light-hearted question, and it wasn't in the context of some sort of endorsement of drug use, and they know that. If you look at the record I established as Governor, the record I've established as President, the things I've worked on, and if you look at the terrible price my own family has paid and my brother's problem which literally nearly killed him, I think that my position on this is clear. I'm very concerned about it really because every so often, you know, years go by and we see drug use going down. We still see drug use going down among adults; that's the interesting thing. In the last 4 years, drug use among people 18 to 34 has gone down because people have begun to think more about their own lives, their responsibilities then when they have children, and they began to be concerned about the risks. But every few years, apparently, younger people believe it's not dangerous anymore and believe that the risks, if there are any, can be borne. The risks of, let's say, cocaine, heroin, and hallucinogens and marijuana are different kinds of risks, but there are real risks associated with all of them. And I'm very hopeful, now that General McCaffrey has come on and agreed to be our drug czar and we're focusing now--I wouldn't say exclusively but clearly primarily on people under 18, that we and people around the country will be able to do something about this. Democratic National Convention Ms. Soren. I wanted to ask you another question about the convention. I think a lot of people were confused by what they saw at both conventions; they saw singing Senators and delegates macarena-ing. Obviously it's a party, you know, but many people didn't hear the message coming from the conventions. For instance, obviously Christopher Reeve has done a lot of good for people who suffer from his disability, but why is his disability an argument to vote for you?”