Bill Clinton: “Thank you, Jane Campbell, and thank you, Senator Lack, and thank you to the other leaders of the NCSL for meeting me…”

“Thank you, Jane Campbell, and thank you, Senator Lack, and thank you to the other leaders of the NCSL for meeting me outside. And welcome, all of you, to Washington. I know you just heard from Secretary Reich. He actually--he hasn't been here? [Laughter] That gives me something else to make fun of my staff about. That's what it says. Let me try-- what else does it say? Maybe I should put my glasses on, and it will come out differently. [Laughter] Let me say, I am delighted to see all of you. I'm about as happy to see you as you acted like you were to see me. [Laughter] I loved the legislative process when I was Governor, and in Arkansas we had an interesting system. We were all there in our old State capitol, and the legislature was on the third floor, and I was on the second floor. And when the legislature was in session I just sort of kept open house. If a legislator showed up, I saw him or her. And we'd have morning planning meetings at 7:30 a.m. every morning, and half the time legislators just wandered in and sat at the administration's planning meeting. And I must say, I often think in the course of working here both for the last 2 years and for the last 2 months, if we wouldn't be better off as a country if we worked more like that up here. [Applause] Yes, you can clap for that. That's all right. That's a pretty good idea.…”