Bill Clinton: “Thank you very much. Thank you, Steve, and thank you all for being here. I would just like to briefly make a few points.…”

“Thank you very much. Thank you, Steve, and thank you all for being here. I would just like to briefly make a few points. I've seen almost everybody around this table in the last few weeks, and I wouldn't think of putting you through another speech. [Laughter] But I would like to say a couple of things. First of all, I want to thank you for your extraordinary labors on behalf of our party. Second, I want to say that I believe the upcoming 150th anniversary of our party is a great opportunity for us to send a signal to America that we expect to be around for another 150 years by continuing to press our country forward into the future together. I spent a lot of time in the last few weeks reading about the beginning of the Democratic Party and Andrew Jackson's Presidency and all the things he did right--and one or two things he probably did wrong in the light of history. [Laughter] But I have very strong convictions now, that are stronger than they were when I came here even, that our party has shed a lot of the baggage that was holding us back in public perception. We have proved that together we can take the country into the future with a strong economy, a declining crime rate, a mending social fabric, a strong position in the world, and that we have a great obligation at this good time for our country to bear down and press forward. And I hope we can all do that around the 150th celebration.…”