For much too long we have denied at our nation's capital the principles of representative government for which we stand throughout the world.

We are extremely proud of you for that.

It does not have to be loose in order to be liberal.

So thank you for coming here to the White House.

For much too long this nation has tolerated in the District of Columbia conditions that our ancestors fought a revolution to eliminate.

I am the man who turns out the lights around this house.

But for too long all the arts have had an uncertain footing in our society.

We know more than man has ever known before.

And we think, as Emerson once put it, 'that our civilization is near its meridian, but we are yet only at the cock crowing and the morning star.'

This country can be very proud of you young people.

If you feel like protesting, I hope you will.

I feel confident that Members of the House, given the opportunity, will join with Members of the Senate to afford their fellow-citizens the flail blessings of democracy and liberty.

I cannot emphasize too strongly my conviction that this action by the Senate must not meet the fate of home rule bills passed by the Senate in previous Congresses.

If you want to change what you have seen this summer, and if you want to improve upon it, and if you believe this Government can and should do a better job for all the people, then I am proud of you.

We want change.

I am not disturbed by what some describe as the restlessness among young Americans today, because I share that feeling with you.

Yes, this is a new day in America.

For much too long we have imposed on many hundreds of thousands of citizens who live in the District a badge of inferiority--the stigma of unworthiness to guide their own affairs.