Political Quotes

“Thank you, Joe; thank you, Coach. It is a great-- thank you very, very much. Thank you. Thank you very much, Coach Paterno. It's one thing to have to play after one of your pep talks, but it's a little tougher to have to give a speech after one of your pep talks. Thank you for that great introduction. Last time I gave a speech on a college campus, one student came up to me afterwards and said, ``That was the best imitation of Dana Carvey I've ever seen.'' [Laughter] I never knew I had such talent. But let me just say a word about the coach. And I'm talking to the choir here, but a lot of people won't take a position; a lot of people out in life want to protect themselves and not stand up for what they believe in. So in a tough political year when a man with the standing of Coach Joe Paterno stands at my side as a friend and speaks for me, I am very, very grateful to him not just for the support but for his courage. Just to get this rally open, I want to do to Governor Clinton this year what Penn State did to Cincinnati last year. I'm glad I'm not running against Joe Paterno and also glad I'm not running against that world-renowned baton twirler, John Mitchell. Where is the man? There he is, right back there. You can't see him, but I can; real talent. Now before I get started, let me simply acknowledge some up here with me on the dais, two great Members of Congress, Bud Shuster and Bill Clinger. If we had more people like these two in the Congress, the American people wouldn't have those brooms out, yelling ``Clean House!'' But as a matter of fact, we ought to clean House. May I salute Sue Paterno and Tricia Giannini--and thanks, Tricia, the president of the college Republicans; she did a great job on this rally--and so many others working on behalf of the party in Pennsylvania; and Anne Anstine, our chairman; Joyce Haas, Mary Dunkel. I didn't come here today, you'd be happy to know, to give a big rally or a grand speech. I came here to talk a bit about where we've been and where we are and what I want to do to get us where we've got to be. You know, as I was walking through the old ``Main'' I saw a plaque on the wall. Not too shiny, but then again, it didn't need to be. It was dedicated to 374 Americans who died in World War II, all from Penn State. I was there, and I survived to see a lot of history between then and now, the heated battles and a long cold war, won by people with the right stuff and the people with the right ideas. We stood fast. We stayed strong, and I am the first President that can say we won the cold war. It is over. And people say, ``Are you better off?'' Well, I think it's a good thing that every kid on this campus goes to bed at night without the same fear of nuclear war that the generations precedent had. But the challenges we face today are different, and so are the demands. The challenge of the nineties is to win the economic competition, to win the peace. Yesterday I went to six States. For months now my opponent is taking me on and taking this country down. So I figured it was time to introduce candidate Clinton to Governor Clinton, because the rhetoric and the reality are like night and day. You know what we discovered? Whether it's candidate Clinton or Governor Clinton, it doesn't matter. Governor Clinton is wrong for the United States of America if you want to move this country forward. Some in the press will be saying, ``Well, talking about the Governor's policy record is like going after an unarmed man.'' Well, I say, he should have armed himself. He should have packed more than promises. My opponent and I may argue towards some of the same ends, but we start from radically different premises, premises built on different experience and different philosophies. I will point out the differences in our visions, because I believe it explains the differences in our views. Two weeks--hey, listen, maybe we can get this guy to shut up. I'll answer your question. He's raising--no, seriously, he's raising a legitimate question. He's asking about AIDS. It's a terrible curse. We have spent $4.3 billion on that. I have asked now for $4.9 billion. No researcher in this country is going to rest until we find the cure for AIDS. And so we care about it. Two weeks ago in Detroit, I presented my views and my Agenda for American Renewal. I didn't just hammer away at what's wrong with America. I gave fair due to what's right. I offered a comprehensive, integrated approach to win the new global economic competition, to create the world's first $10 trillion economy by the dawn of the century. My opponent will say we can't do it. I say: When America sets its sights on a goal, we always succeed. We are the United States of America. Audience members. U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!”