Tom Carper: “It's easy to imagine the frenzy that would be engulfing Washington if it was President Clinton now revising his…”

“It's easy to imagine the frenzy that would be engulfing Washington if it was President Clinton now revising his explanation of a controversial 12-year-old stock deal. Rush Limbaugh would be reacting in outrage. Robert Bork would be decrying the loss of moral authority in the Oval Office. [One of our Senators] would be demanding a special prosecutor. Congressional committees would be subpoenaing the president's old business partners. This is a whole lot more important than trying to find political advantage in a particularly difficult debate and a difficult time in this economic recovery. This is about the economy. As a nation, we are trying to come out of a recession. There is a fair amount of financial data which suggests we are heading in the right direction. The number of people being laid off is slowing. Manufacturing activity is increasing. Even economic activity among some of the most hard-hit sectors of the economy, technology sectors, is showing signs of life. I am encouraged by that. If you look at the stock exchange for much of the last several weeks and months, it does not really reflect the returning, emerging vibrancy in the rest of the economy. That is not a good thing. One of the reasons why it is so important for us to pass this legislation is to send a clear signal to investors not just around the country, but around the world that the United States is a good place in which to invest.”