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Inaugural Speech Preps (73 pages)
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Subject: speech prep, morning 1/15
THE WHITE HOUSE
Inaugural Speech Prep
January 15, 1996
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think we're a little closer
here. I've got a couple of ideas that I wanted to mention, and I
think we have to be -- get into these laundry lists. I think we have
to be careful what we mention and don't mention and the order in
which we put them to give some consistency to the speech.
But, anyway, let me -- on the first page, I think it's
okay -- good. I think that we ought to say, recall the greatness of
our past, understand the progress of our present, and chart our
course to the future. If you chart the potential for the future,
you're talking about what might happen. We want to talk about w h a t ' s
going to happen. The potential is that course -- chart the courses
so it's almost staidy, but it says what we're trying to do.
On the other one -- on the next paragraph, I think when
�you all redid it, you took out that repetition of do our duty, but I
don't think we should take it out. Do you know what I'm talking
about?
Q
Yes.
THE PRESIDENT: Not only a new century in a new
millennium, but of an age of possibility in which if we do our duty,
more people at home and throughout the world would have the chance to
live their dreams than ever before. But first we must do our duty.
I mean, I think it resonates better. Now, I don't -Q
You don't like this next --
THE PRESIDENT: No, I don't. I just think it's a little
too much. What I was going to say is, I had something last night
which said -- but I thought it was too kind of rhetorical, too. I
was going to say, in this we are fortunate because it is the destiny
of our generation to chart America's course for decades to come.
Q
Michael was making a similar point earlier about
how we needed that up top -THE PRESIDENT: What I was going to say is something
like, let us do so w i t h a grateful heart, for in our hands together
rest the promise of America for decades to come. You don't want to
say we should be grateful for this; this is something we should be
happy about.
Q
That's great. One thing you might want to add to
that is to say something like let us finish the unfinished business
of the 20th century and let us begin the new business of the new
century ahead so that both -- the idea that you're finishing out this
century and moving forward is sort of a signal -Q
You're the bridge. The speech is not the bridge.
So it provides the opportunity to make that case.
THE PRESIDENT: Why don't you make a note of that and
we'll figure out where to put that in. I think the image of the
bridge, finishing and creating -- I think that's good. But let's
don't -- I like that, put it in. But I think saying, let us do so
w i t h a grateful heart, for in our hands rest the promise of America.
Q
-- say about this rhetoric in here is that it does
have a real power to it. It moves -THE PRESIDENT: That they cannot ask too much, for we
are Americans?
Q
Yes. And we must be strong for there is much to
bear - those t w o sentences we got from Tony Tempolo (sp?), w h o uses
�those from time to time. They're quotable -THE PRESIDENT: Okay -- no, I like that. Actually, I
like that one. I don't want to do bold again, because we said bold a
lot in the last speech, in the last inaugural. And I don't want to
invite the ridicule of the people w h o think the only bold thing is
the accountant's mission on the entitlements.
Q
We must be determined?
THE PRESIDENT: No, I think one sentence is enough. How
about this -- but first we must do out duty. We must be strong, for
there is much to dare. The demands of our time are great and
different. But they do not ask too much -- they do not ask too much
of us, for we are Americans. Let us meet them w i t h a happy and
grateful heart, for in our hands rests the promise of America for
decades to come.
Q
That's great.
THE PRESIDENT: Did we get that? You see, that's
better, isn't it? First we must do our duty. We must be strong, for
there is much to dare. The demands of our time are great and
different, but they cannot ask too much of us, for we are Americans.
So let us meet them w i t h a happy and grateful heart, for in our hands
rests the promise of America.
You d o n ' t have to say for decades to come. You might
even say the eternal promise. And then here's how I would like to I think this is a little stronger if I read it this w a y . See if it
rings better. In the 18th century -- no, no, I want to say America was born instead of founded on. How about this? America was
born out of the bold conviction -- see, then you can use bold America was born under the bold conviction that all of us are created
equally endowed by God w i t h inalienable rights -- life, liberty and
the pursuit of happiness.
But you almost have to say in the 18th century up front
there, see. Because then if you make the sentence that long you
can't say in the 18th century.
In the 18th century, America was born under the bold
conviction that all of us are created equal, endowed by God w i t h
certain inalienable rights -- life, liberty, the pursuit of
happiness. In the 19th century, our nation spread across the
continent, preserved our union, and abolished the awful scourge of
slavery. Then we exploded onto the world's stage in turmoil and
triumph to make this the American century. And then -- what a
century it has been.
Q
That's good.
Q
One idea on the 19th century, you may want to say
in the 19th century our nation rededicated itself to those
�propositions -- and then what you have -- the Gettysburg Address and
constantly going back to the Declaration -- rededicating ourselves -THE PRESIDENT: If you do that, though, then don't you
say -- don't you have to say --
Q
-- preserving our union --
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, but if you say rededicate ourselves
to those propositions in the second sentence, don't you have to say
something then in the third sentence about it? Think about it. Just
put a question mark there.
Okay, then I would say, what a century it has been.
America built the world's greatest -- I'd say instead of built, I'd
say became - became the world's greatest industrial power, w o n t w o
world wars. And then I would say against tyranny, instead of for
freedom and peace, because we say freedom and peace so much. Waged a
long cold war to defeat communism; built institutions to advance
peace and - and I would say time and again reached out a helping
hand to millions in every part of the globe, who long for the
blessings of liberty -- I'd say we came to take for granted, because
everything else is in the past tense, so if you put this in the past
perfect, or present perfect -- "have come" is present perfect, isn't
it? "Had come" is past perfect.
Q
We could just say that we take for granted.
THE PRESIDENT: Okay. Even better. Fewer words is
better.
In the next paragraph, it's environment and public
health, not public lands. I think you ought to say something about
space here. I'd say science, technology and the arts explored the
heavens, advanced the quality.
The only problem I have about this is it may make it
look like the 2 0 t h century was bigger than the 21st will be or could
ever be for America. But that's something -Q
Well, that may be a -- ain't seen nothing yet.
THE PRESIDENT: Something like that.
Q
That gets to the point I want to raise --
THE PRESIDENT: Because we're sketching out here a
series of achievements that we can't -- you know, at some point we
ought to say the problem is the natural place to put it is right
after dignity of w o m e n , and you've got the Martin Luther King here
and then you lose the transition.
�Q
For all that has come before, America's -- the best
days for America, for the w o r l d , for our people are yet to come, or
are yet to be.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, it might work. Let me tell you
how I redid the King thing a little bit, and it might work right
there. That America is a land of constant becoming, always at home
in the future.
Q
Is that your line? Is that some poet's line?
Q
It's your line now.
THE PRESIDENT: Always at home w i t h the future, or in
the future.
Q
You could link that -- say, these changes could
only be dimly seen at the beginning of this century, but America is
always constantly becoming. They knew something was going on, but
they couldn't have predicted all this stuff -- we can't really
predict w h a t ' s going to happen in the next century.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, what you could say, a hundred
years ago even the most visionary Americans could not have predicted
that a century of so much bloodshed and strife would produce -blah-blah-blah. And so today, on the edge of a new century, we
cannot predict all the things which together we might achieve. But
we know from our past that if we stay true to our course our best
days are still to come. Something like that.
Q
Or America is -
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, you might say that - well, no.
Well, let me show you what I did on this, because I think this is
—34 years ago the towering spirit whose life we celebrate today
spoke to us on this very mall in words that moved the conscience of
the nation. He told of his dream, deeply rooted in the American
Dream, that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true
meaning of its creed. "We hold these truths to be self-evident that
all men are created equal." Too soon thereafter, Martin Luther King
gave his life for that dream so that his fellow Americans might live
it.
His story is the story of America. The next paragraph.
His story is the story of America, the story of the constant
dream-driven striving to live out our true creed. Our future has
ever been built on such dreams and labors. Dreams and labors made
this hundred years the American century. And it is out of dreams and
labors that we will build our bridge to the 21st century.
Q
That's very good.
�THE PRESIDENT: See, it connects it.
Q
That's good.
THE PRESIDENT: Does that make sense?
Q
Yes, it's very nice.
THE PRESIDENT: And then -- okay, the next sentence is
fine. Now on this, I reworded this a bit and filled it out. I know
we don't need more words, but I take out some at the end.
Scientists are decoding the blueprint of human life.
Cures for cancer, AIDS, spinal cord injuries seem within reach. In
this century we will have - in this century we have seen the bulk of
our labor shift, or our work -- the bulk of our work shift from
foreign to factory to computers. Tomorrow, children will work in
jobs that have not been invented and enterprises not yet imagined.
I d o n ' t say, we cannot imagine, that's defeating -- and
enterprise not yet imagined.
I think that's -- then I would say, the world is no
longer divided into t w o armed camps, w i t h the capacity to destroy
each other. Instead, the growing connections of commerce across
borders give our world an unprecedented chance for both peace and
prosperity.
Then I do to the next paragraph -- I'd like to say this
age of possibility again, and let me explain w h y . Here's what I do.
Instead of -- here's what I do in the next paragraph. See if you
like it.
Such advances herald the dawn of the age of possibility.
But there is a darker side to this moment. Ancient threats like
ethnic and religious hatreds take on new and dangerous dimensions.
Science and technology and global interdependence can be used for
evil, as well as good, brandished by rogue states, terrorists, drug
traffickers, organized criminals w h o exploit the very advances and
openness -- the very progress and openness we cherish to advance
their dark designs. I think that's a pretty good sentence. Because
we're saying w e ' r e going to beat them back. This is an optimistic
speech.
Q
I want to raise a point here, and I know you
brought this up the other day, that we want to be relentlessly
optimistic about the domestic side of age of possibility. But what
I'm concerned about is that we do not make clear enough here that
this is a moment of opportunity that if we don't seize it, there will
be consequences.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, I say that later.
Q
That's really critical to this whole speech.
�Because then t h a t ' s where you could bring in a line like, but America
is a land of constant becoming, always at home in the future. A n d ,
you k n o w , we are not going to let that happen -THE PRESIDENT: Look at this. Here's what I said.
Such advances herald the dawn of the age of possibility.
But there is a darker side to this moment. Ancient ethnic and
religious hatreds take on new and dangerous dimensions. I don't
think you have to say "threats like," I think you just take that.
Science, technology and global interdependence can be used for evil
as well as g o o d , brandished by rogue states, terrorists, drug
traffickers, organized criminals w h o exploit the very progress and
openness we cherish to advance their o w n dark designs.
The future will not simply unfold. It will be forged
into hard steel by the choices we make or fail to make. And time is
passing ever so quickly.
Q
Good. Let's make it, "and our time is passing ever
so quickly." That is the point.
THE PRESIDENT:
Q
Anyway
-- that nuclear threat --
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, I think you can say, by rogue
states, terrorists, drug traffickers.
How about this? What I'd like to say is -- you want to
say something about people w h o would actually sell and use nuclear,
biological, and chemical weapons. We'll figure out a w a y . We should
say that.
Q
Can I bring in the Post and U.S. News
photographers?
THE PRESIDENT: Sure.
But anyway, the thing about our time, though, Don, is
t h a t ' s kind of a defeatist thing. I think if you say, time -- people
know you're talking about their time. I'm worried about our time.
Our time should be something people enjoy and uplift and focus -Q
I'm trying to get us still -- an end to this last
sentence, it is our time to build, which is all the way at the end.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, let's keep going. The time is
passing ever so quickly. We must use it to build -- or whatever.
Q
The point is, standing still and avoiding our
duties has consequences.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes. That's w h y I said, make or fail to
�make.
Q
It's good.
THE PRESIDENT: I do more about this later. Then
paragraph. Scratch the first sentence, because I put, time is
passing ever so quickly, in the other one. Then paragraph. And it
reads: Just four years ago, our march to the future seemed less
certain than today. Then, though we gathered here in hope, we stood
in the shadow of drift and division.
Then the next paragraph: Since that day, w i t h the
stands we have taken, the battles we have waged, the progress we have
built, we have begun together to renew America.
Q
They want a photo w i t h just you in here working,
so ~
THE PRESIDENT: Okay.
Where once the ground seemed to shift beneath our feet,
we have found a new center. What I would say -- I wanted to say
something about the center, though. I think it's very important we
say the center. And what I said, we have found a new center,
dynamic yet rock solid, a center that can hold and carry us forward
on our historic mission.
Q
Or a center that can hold from which we will carry
f o r w a r d . You know, it's a rock-solid foundation from which we do
that - small point.
THE PRESIDENT: Okay, whichever one.
A new center, dynamic yet rock solid, a center that can
hold. How about instead of carry us, say, propel us. Propel us.
Can hold us together and propel us forward on our historic mission.
Once again, America stands strong as the world's
indispensable nation. For the first time in history, more citizens
of the Earth are living under democracy than dictatorship. Here I
think you have to say the nuclear threat has been reduced. Commerce
among nations has expanded to record levels. And from the snows of
Bosnia to the sands of the Middle East, to the cobblestone streets of
Belfast - did you leave out Haiti on purpose - to the sunny shores
of Haiti - I had it in the other one - to the sunny shores of
Haiti, those w h o love peace and freedom look to America for
inspiration and support. Inspiration is the same thing as hope.
Once again, America's economy is an unrivaled engine of
opportunity for our people, w i t h record numbers of new jobs and new
businesses, the smallest deficit of any large economy, and at long
last, rising incomes for working families. Once again, we have put
family and faith and community at the center of our concerns - our
most urgent social problems - crime, welfare, poverty - if you're
�going to mix crime, welfare, poverty, social problems, w i t h family,
faith, and community, which is like the t w o things I said separately
last Saturday, I think you have to say this: Crime, welfare,
poverty, inequality among working people, all are bending to our
efforts. Families are receiving support in their efforts to succeed
at home and at work, and in raising children in a culture too often
at odds w i t h their values.
Q
Mr. President, I have one question. When you take
out the "our economy is the strongest on Earth," did you do that for
a reason, because I think that's a ringing thing to say.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, it looks to me like it's either -I'm trying to avoid --
Q
Bombastic.
THE PRESIDENT: Braggadocio here. I don't know that it
gets us anything. Somebody said, well, although it is. It has been
voted the most competitive economy three out of the last four years.
You know what you could do, which is even better, I
think. Once again, our economy is the strongest on Earth, because it
w a s n ' t in ' 9 2 , you know, by every measure. That's even better. I
just didn't want to say it again -- an unrivaled engine of
opportunity, because you say it's an unrivaled -- once again, our
economy is the strongest on Earth.
Q
I just think that's a very powerful thing for you
to say -THE PRESIDENT: Yes, I do, too, but then I'd like to say
it first, lead w i t h it. With record numbers of new jobs and new
businesses, the smallest deficit of any advanced nation, or large
nation, and at long last, rising incomes for working families.
Q
The only thing in there which I think sounds tinny,
not quite -- is the phrase "record numbers," although I know it's
trivial, we could probably say millions or -THE PRESIDENT: But it's true. It's the first time in
four years that 11 million jobs have been produced in a four-year
period.
Q
Why don't you say, there are more jobs produced in
the last four years than in any similar period in history, something
like that. If you just say the record, it sounds like something
you'd read in a newspaper rather than THE PRESIDENT: Yes, okay. Yes, we'll fool w i t h it,
okay.
�Crime, welfare, poverty, inequality among working people
all are bending to our efforts. I like "bending to our efforts,"
because it says we're making progress, not that they're perfect.
Did you leave out teen pregnancy on purpose?
Q
No. Trying to keep the list short --
THE PRESIDENT: It might -- it's probably better to
leave it out, actually, in this context.
Families are receiving support in their efforts to
succeed at home and at work, and in raising children in a culture too
often at odds w i t h their values.
Then here's what I did on this. My o w n view is that
this is not the w a y to do this because the government issue, I think
we fought that and w o n that fight in 1995 and 1 9 9 6 , and I think the
issue now is n o w what are we going to do. Having resolved the role
of government, what are we going to do. What are we going to do and
what are you going to do. And I think that's the way - let me read
you how I did this.
Once again we are moving forward toward a genuine
American community, exalting citizen service and resisting the use of
race, religion, and politics to sow hatred and threaten our o w n union
even as they destroy the lives and hopes of millions around the
world.
I mean, reminding people that these are the forces that
are destroying people around the world I think is important. Let me
just read it again and then I'll read the next sentence and then I'll
tell you kind of what I think.
Once again we are moving forward toward a genuine
American community, founded in mutual respect, exalting citizen
service; resisting the use of race, religion, or politics to sow
hatred, divide us, and threaten our o w n union, even as these forces
destroy the lives and hopes of millions around the world.
It may not be well w r i t t e n , but I think it - you know,
I'm trying to get most of what I said Saturday in here because I
think it's important. Then I would say, once again we have resolved
for our time the age-old debate of the role of our government in our
common endeavors, moving beyond at competing philosophies that
threaten our progress. Today we can declare, government is not the
problem, government is not the solution. We the American people are
the solution. Government's role is to give us the tools to make the
most of our o w n lives those of our families and neighbors.
Q
Let's see where we're going to go now.
THE PRESIDENT: Okay. I just went right into this
government litany, but I said - Consistent w i t h the present needs,
�w i t h the needs of the present, the government bureaucracy and
regulations have been reduced, many activities have been shifted to
state and local governments and to private citizens. But when it
comes to our common challenges, Americans cannot be left on their
o w n . Where it can stand up for the values and interests -- see, it
transitions there, but you don't say -- that's the logical place. We
could leave all that out because it's not all that important to
people, that sentence about reducing stuff and shifting back and all
that. We can talk about that in the State of the Union. It's not
all that important.
Q
Personally, I think it makes more sense --
THE PRESIDENT: It's not all that important.
Q
It's smaller --
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, it's smaller. Yes, but what you
can do is leave out that sentence and -- but we need a transition.
What we need to say is, the question before us now, the great
questions before us n o w , my fellow Americans, are what should the
government do to build our bridge to the 21st century, and what must
you do.
Q
What must you do, and how must we all act together.
It's the three. It is government. It's personal responsibility THE PRESIDENT: Yes, what must the government do to
build our bridge to the 21st century. What should the government do
to build our bridge to the 21st century. What must you do to build
it. And w h o shall we do this together.
Q
I don't know if you've scratched it out, but the
paragraph that began w i t h the Lincoln was meant to be kind of -THE PRESIDENT: It's interesting. I had that in my
draft, t o o , the first one.
Q
But then what we tried to add here, and I actually
think we need to adjust the words - right after you asked the
questions, you can answer it in a billboard paragraph that says,
Lincoln says this -- as we turn to face this new century -- let us
build a new government, let us summon a new sense of responsibility,
let us establish a new spirit of community.
THE PRESIDENT: We can do it there, but this next
paragraph is very good. I think we have to fill it out if we're
going to do it like this. We can do it there. Or we can do it more
toward the end, before the laundry list. And my problem is -- let me
just say I like this paragraph, I love it -- but if you make it
whole, if you don't obviously leave some things out, there is the
risk that the laundry list at the end will be seem to be a repetition
�of this unless this is clearly general, and that is clearly specific.
Like Q
-- never been recorded -- (inaudible) --
Q
See, the one thing, Mr. President, is I think that
you may want to -THE PRESIDENT: How about this? Make the most of our
o w n lives and those of our families and our neighbors. I think it's
better to say "make the most of our o w n lives."
Q
That's fine.
THE PRESIDENT: Okay. Then you can say, to do this, we
must forge a new government for a new century. Or we need a new
government for a new century.
Q
We need a new sense of responsibility.
THE PRESIDENT: Where it can stand up for the values and
interests of ordinary Americans and give them -- then you can get out
of that great question before us. You can just say to do this we
need a new government for a new century. And then say, where it can
stand up for the values and interests of ordinary Americans. To do
this, we need a new government for a new century. When it comes to
our common challenges, Americans cannot be left on their o w n . When
it can stand up for the values and interests of ordinary Americans
and give them the power to make a real difference in their everyday
lives, then our government should - more, not less.
Q
We should stop there.
Q
Why don't we get this part redone and -- the rest
of it. The question I wanted to leave on is will we come back and
say we need a new sense of responsibility for a new century?
THE PRESIDENT: No. What I say - here's how I did it.
I had this -- which is w h y I think it needs a little -- then I'd say,
Beyond that, my fellow citizens, the future is up to you. We need a
new sense of responsibility for a new century. After our
constitution was founded, Benjamin Franklin was asked about what had
been created. He replied, "a Republic if you can keep it."
You see? That's w h y I want to get -- and then I want to
do the new spirit. And then I want to scratch the first t w o
paragraphs of this thing because w e ' v e all said all this, and go
right into -- and then if we said, w i t h a new government, a new sense
of responsibility, a new sense of common spirit we can create — we
can build that bridge to the 21st century.
Q
That's it.
THE PRESIDENT: A bridge to an America that -- So you
�paint the picture, you see?
Q
And that way you say -- we have forged a new
government and now we must forge the new responsibility and the
new --
Q
We haven't forged it yet. We need it and we're
going to finish the job. That's good. That's very good.
THE PRESIDENT: See what I mean? And that will get you
to the end.
Q
Thank God.
THE PRESIDENT: I changed the end.
END
�•9
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THE WHITE HOUSE
Inaugural Speech Prep
January 15, 1996
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think we're a little closer
here. I've got a couple of ideas that I wanted to mention, and I
think we have to be -- get into these laundry lists. I think we have
to be careful what we mention and don't mention and the order in
which we put them to give some consistency to the speech.
But, anyway, let me - on the first page, I think it's
okay -- good. I think that we ought to say, recall the greatness of
our past, understand the progress of our present, and chart our
course to the future. If you chart the potential for the future,
you're talking about what might happen. We want to talk about w h a t ' s
going to happen. The potential is that course -- chart the courses
so it's almost staidy, but it says what we're trying to do.
On the other one -- on the next paragraph, I think when
�you all redid it, you took out that repetition of do our duty, but I
don't think we should take it out. Do you know what I'm talking
about?
Q
Yes.
THE PRESIDENT: Not only a new century in a new
millennium, but of an age of possibility in which if we do our duty,
more people at home and throughout the world would have the chance to
live their dreams than ever before. But first we must do our duty.
I mean, I think it resonates better. Now, I don't Q
You don't like this next --
THE PRESIDENT: No, I d o n ' t . I just think it's a little
too much. What I was going to say is, I had something last night
which said -- but I thought it was too kind of rhetorical, too. I
was going to say, in this we are fortunate because it is the destiny
of our generation to chart America's course for decades to come.
Q
Michael was making a similar point earlier about
how we needed that up top -THE PRESIDENT: What I was going to say is something
like, let us do so w i t h a grateful heart, for in our hands together
rest the promise of America for decades to come. You don't want to
say we should be grateful for this; this is something we should be
happy about.
Q
That's great. One thing you might want to add to
that is to say something like let us finish the unfinished business
of the 2 0 t h century and let us begin the new business of the new
century ahead so that both -- the idea that you're finishing out this
century and moving forward is sort of a signal -Q
You're the bridge. The speech is not the bridge.
So it provides the opportunity to make that case.
THE PRESIDENT: Why don't you make a note of that and
we'll figure out where to put that in. I think the image of the
bridge, finishing and creating -- I think that's good. But let's
don't -- I like that, put it in. But I think saying, let us do so
w i t h a grateful heart, for in our hands rest the promise of America.
Q
-- say about this rhetoric in here is that it does
have a real power to it. It moves THE PRESIDENT: That they cannot ask too much, for we
are Americans?
Q
Yes. And we must be strong for there is much to
bear -- those t w o sentences we got from Tony Tempolo (sp?), w h o uses
�those from time to time. They're quotable -THE PRESIDENT: Okay -- no, I like that. Actually, I
like that one. I don't want to do bold again, because we said bold a
lot in the last speech, in the last inaugural. And I don't want to
invite the ridicule of the people w h o think the only bold thing is
the accountant's mission on the entitlements.
Q
We must be determined?
THE PRESIDENT: No, I think one sentence is enough. How
about this -- but first we must do out duty. We must be strong, for
there is much to dare. The demands of our time are great and
different. But they do not ask too much - they do not ask too much
of us, for we are Americans. Let us meet them w i t h a happy and
grateful heart, for in our hands rests the promise of America for
decades to come.
Q
That's great.
THE PRESIDENT: Did we get that? You see, that's
better, isn't it? First we must do our duty. We must be strong, for
there is much to dare. The demands of our time are great and
different, but they cannot ask too much of us, for we are Americans.
So let us meet them w i t h a happy and grateful heart, for in our hands
rests the promise of America.
You don't have to say for decades to come. You might
even say the eternal promise. And then here's how I would like to -I think this is a little stronger if I read it this way. See if it
rings better. In the 18th century -- no, no, I want to say -America was born instead of founded on. How about this? America was
born out of the bold conviction -- see, then you can use bold -America was born under the bold conviction that all of us are created
equally endowed by God w i t h inalienable rights -- life, liberty and
the pursuit of happiness.
But you almost have to say in the 18th century up front
there, see. Because then if you make the sentence that long you
can't say in the 18th century.
In the 18th century, America was born under the bold
conviction that all of us are created equal, endowed by God w i t h
certain inalienable rights -- life, liberty, the pursuit of
happiness. In the 19th century, our nation spread across the
continent, preserved our union, and abolished the awful scourge of
slavery. Then we exploded onto the world's stage in turmoil and
triumph to make this the American century. And then -- what a
century it has been.
Q
That's good.
Q
One idea on the 19th century, you may want to say
in the 19th century our nation rededicated itself to those
�propositions -- and then what you have -- the Gettysburg Address and
constantly going back to the Declaration -- rededicating ourselves -THE PRESIDENT: If you do that, though, then don't you
say -- d o n ' t you have to say --
Q
-- preserving our union -
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, but if you say rededicate ourselves
to those propositions in the second sentence, don't you have to say
something then in the third sentence about it? Think about it. Just
put a question mark there.
Okay, then I would say, what a century it has been.
America built the world's greatest -- I'd say instead of built, I'd
say became -- became the world's greatest industrial power, w o n t w o
world wars. And then I would say against tyranny, instead of for
freedom and peace, because we say freedom and peace so much. Waged a
long cold war to defeat communism; built institutions to advance
peace and -- and I would say time and again reached out a helping
hand to millions in every part of the globe, w h o long for the
blessings of liberty - I'd say we came to take for granted, because
everything else is in the past tense, so if you put this in the past
perfect, or present perfect -- "have come" is present perfect, isn't
it? "Had come" is past perfect.
Q
We could just say that we take for granted.
THE PRESIDENT: Okay. Even better. Fewer words is
better.
In the next paragraph, it's environment and public
health, not public lands. I think you ought to say something about
space here. I'd say science, technology and the arts explored the
heavens, advanced the quality.
The only problem I have about this is it may make it
look like the 20th century was bigger than the 21st will be or could
ever be for America. But that's something -Q
Well, that may be a -- ain't seen nothing yet.
THE PRESIDENT: Something like that.
Q
That gets to the point I want to raise --
THE PRESIDENT: Because we're sketching out here a
series of achievements that we can't -- you know, at some point we
ought to say the problem is the natural place to put it is right
after dignity of w o m e n , and you've got the Martin Luther King here
and then you lose the transition.
�Q
For all that has come before, America's -- the best
days for America, for the w o r l d , for our people are yet to come, or
are yet to be.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, it might work. Let me tell you
how I redid the King thing a little bit, and it might work right
there. That America is a land of constant becoming, always at home
in the future.
Q
Is that your line? Is that some poet's line?
Q
It's your line n o w .
THE PRESIDENT: Always at home with the future, or in
the future.
Q
You could link that -- say, these changes could
only be dimly seen at the beginning of this century, but America is
always constantly becoming. They knew something was going on, but
they couldn't have predicted all this stuff -- we can't really
predict w h a t ' s going to happen in the next century.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, what you could say, a hundred
years ago even the most visionary Americans could not have predicted
that a century of so much bloodshed and strife would produce -blah-blah-blah. And so today, on the edge of a new century, we
cannot predict all the things which together we might achieve. But
we know from our past that if we stay true to our course our best
days are still to come. Something like that.
Q
Or America is -
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, you might say that - well, no.
Well, let me show you what I did on this, because I think this is
- 3 4 years ago the towering spirit whose life we celebrate today
spoke to us on this very mall in words that moved the conscience of
the nation. He told of his dream, deeply rooted in the American
Dream, that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true
meaning of its creed. "We hold these truths to be self-evident that
all men are created equal." Too soon thereafter, Martin Luther King
gave his life for that dream so that his fellow Americans might live
it.
His story is the story of America. The next paragraph.
His story is the story of America, the story of the constant
dream-driven striving to live out our true creed. Our future has
ever been built on such dreams and labors. Dreams and labors made
this hundred years the American century. And it is out of dreams and
labors that we will build our bridge to the 21st century.
Q
That's very good.
�THE PRESIDENT: See, it connects it.
Q
That's good.
THE PRESIDENT: Does that make sense?
Q
Yes, it's very nice.
THE PRESIDENT: And then - okay, the next sentence is
fine. Now on this, I reworded this a bit and filled it out. I know
we don't need more words, but I take out some at the end.
Scientists are decoding the blueprint of human life.
Cures for cancer, AIDS, spinal cord injuries seem within reach. In
this century we will have - in this century we have seen the bulk of
our labor shift, or our work - the bulk of our work shift from
foreign to factory to computers. Tomorrow, children will work in
jobs that have not been invented and enterprises not yet imagined.
I d o n ' t say, we cannot imagine, that's defeating - and
enterprise not yet imagined.
I think t h a t ' s - then I would say, the world is no
longer divided into t w o armed camps, w i t h the capacity to destroy
each other. Instead, the growing connections of commerce across
borders give our world an unprecedented chance for both peace and
prosperity.
Then I do to the next paragraph - I'd like to say this
age of possibility again, and let me explain w h y . Here's what I do.
Instead of -- here's what I do in the next paragraph. See if you
like it.
Such advances herald the dawn of the age of possibility.
But there is a darker side to this moment. Ancient threats like
ethnic and religious hatreds take on new and dangerous dimensions.
Science and technology and global interdependence can be used for
evil, as well as good, brandished by rogue states, terrorists, drug
traffickers, organized criminals w h o exploit the very advances and
openness - the very progress and openness we cherish to advance
their dark designs. I think that's a pretty good sentence. Because
we're saying we're going to beat them back. This is an optimistic
speech.
Q
I want to raise a point here, and I know you
brought this up the other day, that we want to be relentlessly
optimistic about the domestic side of age of possibility. But what
I'm concerned about is that we do not make clear enough here that
this is a moment of opportunity that if we don't seize it, there will
be consequences.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, I say that later.
Q
That's really critical to this whole speech.
�Because then t h a t ' s where you could bring in a line like, but America
is a land of constant becoming, always at home in the future. A n d ,
you k n o w , we are not going to let that happen THE PRESIDENT: Look at this. Here's what I said.
Such advances herald the dawn of the age of possibility.
But there is a darker side to this moment. Ancient ethnic and
religious hatreds take on new and dangerous dimensions. I don't
think you have to say "threats like," I think you just take that.
Science, technology and global interdependence can be used for evil
as well as good, brandished by rogue states, terrorists, drug
traffickers, organized criminals w h o exploit the very progress and
openness we cherish to advance their o w n dark designs.
The future will not simply unfold. It will be forged
into hard steel by the choices we make or fail to make. And time is
passing ever so quickly.
Q
Good. Let's make it, "and our time is passing ever
so quickly." That is the point.
THE PRESIDENT:
Q
Anyway
- that nuclear threat -
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, I think you can say, by rogue
states, terrorists, drug traffickers.
How about this? What I'd like to say is - you want to
say something about people w h o would actually sell and use nuclear,
biological, and chemical weapons. We'll figure out a w a y . We should
say that.
Q
Can I bring in the Post and U.S. News
photographers?
THE PRESIDENT: Sure.
But anyway, the thing about our time, though, Don, is
that's kind of a defeatist thing. I think if you say, time - people
know you're talking about their time. I'm worried about our time.
Our time should be something people enjoy and uplift and focus -Q
I'm trying to get us still - an end to this last
sentence, it is our time to build, which is all the way at the end.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, let's keep going. The time is
passing ever so quickly. We must use it to build - or whatever.
Q
The point is, standing still and avoiding our
duties has consequences.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes. That's w h y I said, make or fail to
�make.
Q
It's good.
THE PRESIDENT: I do more about this later. Then
paragraph. Scratch the first sentence, because I put, time is
passing ever so quickly, in the other one. Then paragraph. And it
reads: Just four years ago, our march to the future seemed less
certain than today. Then, though we gathered here in hope, we stood
in the shadow of drift and division.
Then the next paragraph: Since that day, w i t h the
stands we have taken, the battles we have waged, the progress we have
built, we have begun together to renew America.
Q
They want a photo w i t h just you in here working,
so -THE PRESIDENT: Okay.
Where once the ground seemed to shift beneath our feet,
we have found a new center. What I would say - I wanted to say
something about the center, though. I think it's very important we
say the center. And what I said, we have found a new center,
dynamic yet rock solid, a center that can hold and carry us forward
on our historic mission.
Q
Or a center that can hold from which we will carry
f o r w a r d . You know, it's a rock-solid foundation from which we do
that - small point.
THE PRESIDENT: Okay, whichever one.
A new center, dynamic yet rock solid, a center that can
hold. How about instead of carry us, say, propel us. Propel us.
Can hold us together and propel us forward on our historic mission.
Once again, America stands strong as the world's
indispensable nation. For the first time in history, more citizens
of the Earth are living under democracy than dictatorship. Here I
think you have to say the nuclear threat has been reduced. Commerce
among nations has expanded to record levels. And from the snows of
Bosnia to the sands of the Middle East, to the cobblestone streets of
Belfast - did you leave out Haiti on purpose - to the sunny shores
of Haiti - I had it in the other one - to the sunny shores of
Haiti, those w h o love peace and freedom look to America for
inspiration and support. Inspiration is the same thing as hope.
Once again, America's economy is an unrivaled engine of
opportunity for our people, w i t h record numbers of new jobs and new
businesses, the smallest deficit of any large economy, and at long
last, rising incomes for working families. Once again, we have put
family and faith and community at the center of our concerns - our
most urgent social problems - crime, welfare, poverty — if you're
�going to mix crime, welfare, poverty, social problems, w i t h family,
faith, and community, which is like the t w o things I said separately
last Saturday, I think you have to say this: Crime, welfare,
poverty, inequality among working people, all are bending to our
efforts. Families are receiving support in their efforts to succeed
at home and at w o r k , and in raising children in a culture too often
at odds w i t h their values.
Q
Mr. President, I have one question. When you take
out the "our economy is the strongest on Earth," did you do that for
a reason, because I think that's a ringing thing to say.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, it looks to me like it's either I'm trying to avoid -
Q
Bombastic.
THE PRESIDENT: Braggadocio here. I don't know that it
gets us anything. Somebody said, well, although it is. It has been
voted the most competitive economy three out of the last four years.
You know what you could do, which is even better, I
think. Once again, our economy is the strongest on Earth, because it
w a s n ' t in ' 9 2 , you know, by every measure. That's even better. I
just didn't want to say it again - an unrivaled engine of
opportunity, because you say it's an unrivaled - once again, our
economy is the strongest on Earth.
Q
I just think that's a very powerful thing for you
to say THE PRESIDENT: Yes, I do, too, but then I'd like to say
it first, lead w i t h it. With record numbers of new jobs and new
businesses, the smallest deficit of any advanced nation, or large
nation, and at long last, rising incomes for working families.
Q
The only thing in there which I think sounds tinny,
not quite - is the phrase "record numbers," although I know it's
trivial, we could probably say millions or THE PRESIDENT: But it's true. It's the first time in
four years that 11 million jobs have been produced in a four-year
period.
Q
Why don't you say, there are more jobs produced in
the last four years than in any similar period in history, something
like that. If you just say the record, it sounds like something
y o u ' d read in a newspaper rather than THE PRESIDENT: Yes, okay. Yes, we'll fool w i t h it,
okay.
�Crime, welfare, poverty, inequality among working people
all are bending to our efforts. I like "bending to our efforts,"
because it says we're making progress, not that they're perfect.
Did you leave out teen pregnancy on purpose?
Q
No. Trying to keep the list short -
THE PRESIDENT: It might - it's probably better to
leave it out, actually, in this context.
Families are receiving support in their efforts to
succeed at home and at work, and in raising children in a culture too
often at odds w i t h their values.
Then here's what I did on this. My o w n view is that
this is not the way to do this because the government issue, I think
we fought that and w o n that fight in 1995 and 1996, and I think the
issue now is now what are we going to do. Having resolved the role
of government, what are we going to do. What are we going to do and
what are you going to do. And I think that's the way - let me read
you how I did this.
Once again we are moving forward toward a genuine
American community, exalting citizen service and resisting the use of
race, religion, and politics to sow hatred and threaten our o w n union
even as they destroy the lives and hopes of millions around the
world.
I mean, reminding people that these are the forces that
are destroying people around the world I think is important. Let me
just read it again and then I'll read the next sentence and then I'll
tell you kind of what I think.
Once again we are moving forward toward a genuine
American community, founded in mutual respect, exalting citizen
service; resisting the use of race, religion, or politics to sow
hatred, divide us, and threaten our o w n union, even as these forces
destroy the lives and hopes of millions around the world.
It may not be well w r i t t e n , but I think it - you know,
I'm trying to get most of what I said Saturday in here because I
think it's important. Then I would say, once again we have resolved
for our time the age-old debate of the role of our government in our
common endeavors, moving beyond at competing philosophies that
threaten our progress. Today we can declare, government is not the
problem, government is not the solution. We the American people are
the solution. Government's role is to give us the tools to make the
most of our o w n lives those of our families and neighbors.
Q
Let's see where we're going to go now.
THE PRESIDENT: Okay. I just went right into this
government litany, but I said — Consistent with the present needs,
�w i t h the needs of the present, the government bureaucracy and
regulations have been reduced, many activities have been shifted to
state and local governments and to private citizens. But when it
comes to our common challenges, Americans cannot be left on their
o w n . Where it can stand up for the values and interests - see, it
transitions there, but you don't say - that's the logical place. We
could leave all that out because it's not all that important to
people, that sentence about reducing stuff and shifting back and all
that. We can talk about that in the State of the Union. It's not
all that important.
Q
Personally, I think it makes more sense —
THE PRESIDENT: It's not all that important.
Q
It's smaller -
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, it's smaller. Yes, but what you
can do is leave out that sentence and -- but we need a transition.
What we need to say is, the question before us n o w , the great
questions before us now, my fellow Americans, are what should the
government do to build our bridge to the 21st century, and what must
you do.
Q
What must you do, and how must we all act together.
It's the three. It is government. It's personal responsibility THE PRESIDENT: Yes, what must the government do to
build our bridge to the 21st century. What should the government do
to build our bridge to the 21st century. What must you do to build
it. And w h o shall we do this together.
Q
I d o n ' t know if you've scratched it out, but the
paragraph that began w i t h the Lincoln was meant to be kind of THE PRESIDENT: It's interesting. I had that in my
draft, t o o , the first one.
Q
But then what we tried to add here, and I actually
think we need to adjust the words - right after you asked the
questions, you can answer it in a billboard paragraph that says,
Lincoln says this - as we turn to face this new century - let us
build a new government, let us summon a new sense of responsibility,
let us establish a new spirit of community.
THE PRESIDENT: We can do it there, but this next
paragraph is very good. I think we have to fill it out if we're
going to do it like this. We can do it there. Or we can do it more
t o w a r d the end, before the laundry list. And my problem is - let me
just say I like this paragraph, I love it -- but if you make it
whole, if you don't obviously leave some things out, there is the
risk that the laundry list at the end will be seem to be a repetition
�of this unless this is clearly general, and that is clearly specific.
Like Q
-- never been recorded - (inaudible) --
Q
See, the one thing, Mr. President, is I think that
you may want to -THE PRESIDENT: How about this? Make the most of our
o w n lives and those of our families and our neighbors. I think it's
better to say "make the most of our o w n lives."
Q
That's fine.
THE PRESIDENT: Okay. Then you can say, to do this, we
must forge a new government for a new century. Or we need a new
government for a new century.
Q
We need a new sense of responsibility.
THE PRESIDENT: Where it can stand up for the values and
interests of ordinary Americans and give them - then you can get out
of that great question before us. You can just say to do this we
need a new government for a new century. And then say, where it can
stand up for the values and interests of ordinary Americans. To do
this, we need a new government for a new century. When it comes to
our common challenges, Americans cannot be left on their o w n . When
it can stand up for the values and interests of ordinary Americans
and give them the power to make a real difference in their everyday
lives, then our government should - more, not less.
Q
We should stop there.
Q
Why don't we get this part redone and - the rest
of it. The question I wanted to leave on is will we come back and
say we need a new sense of responsibility for a new century?
THE PRESIDENT: No. What I say - here's how I did it.
I had this - which is w h y I think it needs a little - then I'd say.
Beyond that, my fellow citizens, the future is up to you. We need a
new sense of responsibility for a new century. After our
constitution was founded, Benjamin Franklin was asked about what had
been created. He replied, "a Republic if you can keep it."
You see? That's w h y I want to get - and then I want to
do the new spirit. And then I want to scratch the first t w o
paragraphs of this thing because we've all said all this, and go
right into — and then if we said, w i t h a new government, a new sense
of responsibility, a new sense of common spirit we can create - we
can build that bridge to the 21st century.
Q
That's it.
THE PRESIDENT: A bridge to an America that - So you
�paint the picture, you see?
Q
And that way you say - we have forged a new
government and now we must forge the new responsibility and the
new -
Q
We haven't forged it yet. We need it and we're
going to finish the job. That's good. That's very good.
THE PRESIDENT: See what I mean? And that will get you
to the end.
Q
Thank God.
THE PRESIDENT: I changed the end.
END
�THE WHITE HOUSE
Inaugural Speech Prep
January 15, 1996
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I t h i n k we're a l i t t l e closer
here. I've got a couple o f ideas t h a t I wanted t o mention, and I
t h i n k we have t o be — get i n t o these laundry l i s t s .
I t h i n k we have
t o be c a r e f u l what we mention and don't mention and the order i n
which we put them t o give some consistency t o the speech.
But, anyway, l e t me — on the f i r s t page, I t h i n k i t ' s
okay — good. I t h i n k t h a t we ought t o say, r e c a l l the greatness o f
our past, understand the progress o f our present, and chart our
course t o the f u t u r e . I f you chart the p o t e n t i a l f o r the f u t u r e ,
you're t a l k i n g about what might happen. We want t o t a l k about what's
going t o happen. The p o t e n t i a l i s t h a t course — chart the courses
so i t ' s almost s t a i d y , but i t says what we're t r y i n g t o do.
On the other one — on the next paragraph, I t h i n k when
you a l l r e d i d i t , you took out t h a t r e p e t i t i o n o f do our duty, but I
don't t h i n k we should take i t out. Do you know what I'm t a l k i n g
about?
Q
Yes.
THE PRESIDENT: Not only a new century i n a new
millennium, b u t o f an age o f p o s s i b i l i t y i n which i f we do our duty,
more people a t home and throughout the world would have the chance t o
l i v e t h e i r dreams than ever before. But f i r s t we must do our duty.
I mean, I t h i n k i t resonates b e t t e r . Now, I don't —
Q
You don't l i k e t h i s next —
THE PRESIDENT: No, I don't. I j u s t t h i n k i t ' s a l i t t l e
too much. What I was going t o say i s , I had something l a s t n i g h t
which said — but I thought i t was too kind o f r h e t o r i c a l , t o o . I
was going t o say, i n t h i s we are f o r t u n a t e because i t i s the destiny
of our generation t o chart America's course f o r decades t o come.
Q
Michael was making a s i m i l a r p o i n t e a r l i e r about
how we needed t h a t up top —
THE PRESIDENT: What I was going t o say i s something
l i k e , l e t us do so w i t h a g r a t e f u l heart, f o r i n our hands together
r e s t the promise o f America f o r decades t o come. You don't want t o
say we should be g r a t e f u l f o r t h i s ; t h i s i s something we should be
happy about.
Q
That's great. One t h i n g you might want t o add t o
t h a t i s t o say something l i k e l e t us f i n i s h the u n f i n i s h e d business
of the 2 0th century and l e t us begin the new business o f the new
century ahead so t h a t both — the idea t n a t you're f i n i s h i n g out t h i s
century and moving forward i s s o r t o f a s i g n a l —
Q
You're the bridge. The speech i s not the bridge.
So i t provides the opportunity t o make t h a t case.
THE PRESIDENT: Why don't you make a note o f t h a t and
w e ' l l f i g u r e out where t o put t h a t i n . I t h i n k the image o f t h e
bridge, f i n i s h i n g and c r e a t i n g — I t h i n * t h a t ' s good. But l e t ' s
don't — I l i k e t h a t , put i t i n . But I t h i n k saying, l e t us do so
w i t h a g r a t e f u l heart, f o r i n our hands r e s t the promise o f America.
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Q
— say about t h i s r h e t o r i c i n here i s t h a t i t does
have a r e a l power t o i t . I t moves —
THE PRESIDENT:
are Americans?
That they cannot ask t o o much, f o r we
Q
Yes. And we must be strong f o r there i s much t o
bear — those two sentences we got from Tony Tempolo (sp?), who uses
those from time t o time. They're quotable —
THE PRESIDENT: Okay — n o , I l i k e t h a t . A c t u a l l y , I
l i k e t h a t one. I don't want t o do bold again, because we said bold a
l o t i n t h e l a s t speech, i n t h e l a s t inaugural. And I don't want t o
i n v i t e t h e r i d i c u l e of t h e people who t h i n k t h e only bold t h i n g i s
the accountant's mission on the e n t i t l e m e n t s .
Q
We must be determined?
THE PRESIDENT: No, I t h i n k one sentence i s enough. How
about t h i s — but f i r s t we must do out duty. We must be strong, f o r
there i s much t o dare. The demands of our time are great and
d i f f e r e n t . But they do not ask too much — they do not ask t o o much
of us, f o r we are Americans. Let us meet them w i t h a happy and
g r a t e f u l h e a r t , f o r i n our hands r e s t s t h e promise o f America f o r
decades t o come.
Q
That's great.
THE PRESIDENT: Did we get that? You see, t h a t ' s
b e t t e r , i s n ' t i t ? F i r s t we must do our duty. We must be strong, f o r
there i s much t o dare. The demands of our time are great and
d i f f e r e n t , b u t they cannot ask t o o much o f us, f o r we are Americans.
So l e t us meet them w i t h a happy and g r a t e f u l h e a r t , f o r i n our hands
r e s t s t h e promise of America.
You don't have t o say f o r decades t o come. You might
even say t h e e t e r n a l promise. And then here's how I would l i k e t o —
I t h i n k t h i s i s a l i t t l e stronger i f I read i t t h i s way. See i f i t
r i n g s b e t t e r . I n t h e 18th century — no, no, I want t o say —
America was born instead o f founded on. How about t h i s ? America was
born out of t h e bold c o n v i c t i o n — see, then you can use bold —
America was born under t h e bold c o n v i c t i o n t h a t a l l o f us are created
equally endowed by God w i t h i n a l i e n a b l e r i g h t s — l i f e , l i b e r t y and
the p u r s u i t of happiness.
But you almost have t o say i n t h e 18th century up f r o n t
there, see. Because then i f you make t h e sentence t h a t long you
can't say i n t h e 18th century.
In t h e 18th century, America was born under t h e bold
c o n v i c t i o n t h a t a l l o f us are created equal, endowed by God w i t h
certain inalienable r i g h t s — l i f e , l i b e r t y , the pursuit of
happiness. I n t h e 19th century, our n a t i o n spread across t h e
continent, preserved our union, and abolished t h e awful scourge of
slavery. Then we exploded onto t h e world's stage i n t u r m o i l and
triumph t o make t h i s t h e American century. And then — what a
century i t has been.
Q
That's good.
Q
One idea on the 19th century, you may want t o say
i n t h e 19th century our n a t i o n rededicated i t s e l f t o those
p r o p o s i t i o n s — and then what you have — t h e Gettysburg Address and
constantly going back t o the Declaration — r e d e d i c a t i n g ourselves —
say —
THE PRESIDENT: I f you do t h a t , though, then don't you
don't you have t o say —
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Q
—
preserving our union
—
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, but i f you say rededicate ourselves
to those propositions in the second sentence, don't you have to say
something then i n the third sentence about i t ? Think about i t . Just
put a question mark there.
Okay, then I would say, what a century i t has been.
America b u i l t the world's greatest — I'd say instead of b u i l t , I'd
say became — became the world's greatest industrial power, won two
world wars. And then I would say against tyranny, instead of for
freedom and peace, because we say freedom and peace so much. Waged a
long cold war to defeat communism; b u i l t institutions to advance
peace and — and I would say time and again reached out a helping
hand to millions i n every part of the globe, who long for the
blessings of l i b e r t y — I'd say we came to take for granted, because
everything else i s in the past tense, so i f you put t h i s i n the past
perfect, or present perfect — "have come" i s present perfect, i s n ' t
i t ? "Had come" i s past perfect.
Q
We could j u s t say that we take for granted.
THE PRESIDENT:
Okay.
Even better.
Fewer words i s
better.
In the next paragraph, i t ' s environment and public
health, not public lands. I think you ought to say something about
space here. I'd say science, technology and the arts explored the
heavens, advanced the quality.
The only problem I have about t h i s i s i t may make i t
look l i k e the 2 0th century was bigger than the 21st w i l l be or could
ever be for America. But that's something —
Q
Well, that may be a —
THE PRESIDENT:
Q
ain't seen nothing yet.
Something l i k e that.
That gets to the point I want to raise
—
THE PRESIDENT: Because we're sketching out here a
series of achievements that we can't — you know, at some point we
ought to say the problem i s the natural place to put i t i s right
after dignity of women, and you've got the Martin Luther King here
and then you lose the transition.
Q
For a l l that has come before, America's — the best
days for America, for the world, for our people are yet to come, or
are yet to be.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, i t might work. Let me t e l l you
how I redid the King thing a l i t t l e b i t , and i t might work right
there. That America i s a land of constant becoming, always at home
in the future.
Q
I s that your line?
Q
I t ' s your l i n e
THE PRESIDENT:
I s that some poet's line?
now.
Always at home with the future, or in
the future.
Q
You could link that — say, these changes could
only be dimly seen at the beginning of t h i s century, but America i s
always constantly becoming. They knew something was going on, but
they couldn't have predicted a l l t h i s s t a f f — we can't r e a l l y
predict what's going to happen in the next century.
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THE PRESIDENT: Well, what you could say, a hundred
years ago even the most visionary Americans could not have predicted
that a century of so much bloodshed and s t r i f e would produce — blahblah-blah. And so today, on the edge of a new century, we cannot
predict a l l the things which together we might achieve. But we know
from our past that i f we stay true to our course our best days are
s t i l l to come. Something l i k e that.
Q
Or America i s —
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, you might say that — well, no.
Well, l e t me show you what I did on t h i s , because I think t h i s i s —
34 years ago the towering s p i r i t whose l i f e we celebrate today spoke
to us on t h i s very mall in words that moved the conscience of the
nation. He told of h i s dream, deeply rooted in the American Dream,
that one day t h i s nation w i l l r i s e up and l i v e out the true meaning
of i t s creed. "We hold these truths to be self-evident that a l l men
are created equal." Too soon thereafter, Martin Luther King gave his
l i f e for that dream so that h i s fellow Americans might l i v e i t .
His story i s the story of America. The next paragraph.
His story i s the story of America, the story of the constant dreamdriven s t r i v i n g to l i v e out our true creed. Our future has ever been
b u i l t on such dreams and labors. Dreams and labors made t h i s hundred
years the American century. And i t i s out of dreams and labors that
we w i l l build our bridge to the 21st century.
Q
That's very good.
THE PRESIDENT:
Q
That's good.
THE PRESIDENT:
Q
See, i t connects i t .
Does that make sense?
Yes, i t ' s very nice.
THE PRESIDENT: And then — okay, the next sentence i s
fine. Now on t h i s , I reworded t h i s a b i t and f i l l e d i t out. I know
we don't need more words, but I take out some at the end.
S c i e n t i s t s are decoding the blueprint of human l i f e .
Cures for cancer, AIDS, spinal cord i n j u r i e s seem within reach. In
t h i s century we w i l l have — in t h i s century we have seen the bulk of
our labor s h i f t , or our work — the bulk of our work s h i f t from
foreign to factory to computers. Tomorrow, children w i l l work in
jobs that have not been invented and enterprises not yet imagined.
I don't say, we cannot imagine, that's defeating —
enterprise not yet imagined.
and
I think that's — then I would say, the world i s no
longer divided into two armed camps, with the capacity to destroy
each other. Instead, the growing connections of commerce across
borders give our world an unprecedented chance for both peace and
prosperity.
Then I do to the next paragraph — I'd l i k e to say t h i s
age of p o s s i b i l i t y again, and l e t me explain why.
Here's what I do.
Instead of — here's what I do in the next paragraph.
See i f you
like i t .
Such advances herald the dawn of the age of p o s s i b i l i t y .
But there i s a darker side to t h i s moment. Ancient threats l i k e
ethnic and religious hatreds take on new and dangerous dimensions.
Science and technology and global interdependence can be used for
e v i l , as well as good, brandished by rogue states, t e r r o r i s t s , drug
t r a f f i c k e r s , organized criminals who exploit the very advances and
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�- 5-
openness — the very progress and openness we cherish to advance
t h e i r dark designs. I think that's a pretty good sentence. Because
we're saying we're going to beat them back. This i s an optimistic
speech.
Q
I want to r a i s e a point here, and I know you
brought t h i s up the other day, that we want to be r e l e n t l e s s l y
optimistic about the domestic side of age of p o s s i b i l i t y . But what
I'm concerned about i s that we do not make clear enough here that
t h i s i s a moment of opportunity that i f we don't seize i t , there w i l l
be consequences.
THE PRESIDENT:
Yes, I say that l a t e r .
Q
That's r e a l l y c r i t i c a l to t h i s whole speech.
Because then that's where you could bring i n a l i n e l i k e , but America
i s a land of constant becoming, always at home i n the future. And,
you know, we are not going to l e t that happen —
THE PRESIDENT:
Look at t h i s .
Here's what I said.
Such advances herald the dawn of the age of p o s s i b i l i t y .
But there i s a darker side to t h i s moment. Ancient ethnic and
religious hatreds take on new and dangerous dimensions. I don't
think you have to say "threats l i k e , " I think you j u s t take that.
Science, technology and global interdependence can be used for e v i l
as well as good, brandished by rogue states, t e r r o r i s t s , drug
t r a f f i c k e r s , organized criminals who exploit the very progress and
openness we cherish to advance t h e i r own dark designs.
The future w i l l not simply unfold. I t w i l l be forged
into hard steel by the choices we make or f a i l to make. And time i s
passing ever so quickly.
Q
Good. Let's make i t , "and our time i s passing ever
so quickly." That i s the point.
THE PRESIDENT: Anyway
Q
— that nuclear threat
—
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, I think you can say, by rogue
states, t e r r o r i s t s , drug t r a f f i c k e r s .
How about t h i s ? What I'd l i k e to say i s — you want to
say something about people who would actually s e l l and use nuclear,
biological, and chemical weapons. We'll figure out a way. We should
say that.
Q
photographers?
Can I bring i n the Post and U.S. News
THE PRESIDENT:
Sure.
But anyway, the thing about our time, though, Don, i s
that's kind of a defeatist thing. I think i f you say, time — people
know you're talking about t h e i r time. I'm worried about our time.
Our time should be something people enjoy and u p l i f t and focus —
Q
I'm trying to get us s t i l l — an end to t h i s l a s t
sentence, i t i s our time to build, which i s a l l the way at the end.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, l e t ' s keep going. The time i s
passing ever so quickly. We must use i t to build — or whatever.
Q
The point i s , standing s t i l l and avoiding our
duties has consequences.
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THE PRESIDENT:
Yes.
That's why I said, make or f a i l to
make.
Q
I t ' s good.
THE PRESIDENT: I do more about t h i s l a t e r . Then
paragraph.
Scratch the f i r s t sentence, because I put, time i s
passing ever so quickly, in the other one. Then paragraph. And i t
reads: Just four years ago, our march to the future seemed l e s s
certain than today. Then, though we gathered here i n hope, we stood
in the shadow of d r i f t and division.
Then the next paragraph: Since that day, with the
stands we have taken, the battles we have waged, the progress we have
b u i l t , we have begun together to renew America.
Q
so
They want a photo with j u s t you in here working,
—
THE PRESIDENT:
Okay.
Where once the ground seemed to s h i f t beneath our feet,
we have found a new center. What I would say — I wanted to say
something about the center, though. I think i t ' s very important we
say the center.
And what I said, we have found a new center,
dynamic yet rock solid, a center that can hold and carry us forward
on our h i s t o r i c mission.
Q
Or a center that can hold from which we w i l l carry
forward. You know, i t ' s a rock-solid foundation from which we do
that — small point.
THE PRESIDENT:
Okay, whichever
one.
A new center, dynamic yet rock solid, a center that can
hold. How about instead of carry us, say, propel us. Propel us.
Can hold us together and propel us forward on our h i s t o r i c mission.
Once again, America stands strong as the world's
indispensable nation. For the f i r s t time in history, more c i t i z e n s
of the Earth are l i v i n g under democracy than dictatorship. Here I
think you have to say the nuclear threat has been reduced. Commerce
among nations has expanded to record l e v e l s . And from the snows of
Bosnia to the sands of the Middle East, to the cobblestone streets of
Belfast — did you leave out Haiti on purpose — to the sunny shores
of Haiti — I had i t in the other one — to the sunny shores of
Haiti, those who love peace and freedom look to America for
inspiration and support. Inspiration i s the same thing as hope.
Once again, America's economy i s an unrivaled engine of
opportunity for our people, with record numbers of new jobs and new
businesses, the smallest d e f i c i t of any large economy, and at long
l a s t , r i s i n g incomes for working families. Once again, we have put
family and f a i t h and community at the center of our concerns — our
most urgent s o c i a l problems — crime, welfare, poverty — i f you're
going to mix crime, welfare, poverty, s o c i a l problems, with family,
f a i t h , and community, which i s l i k e the two things I said separately
l a s t Saturday, I think you have to say t h i s : Crime, welfare,
poverty, inequality among working people, a l l are bending to our
efforts. Families are receiving support in t h e i r efforts to succeed
at home and at work, and in raising children in a culture too often
at odds with t h e i r values.
Q
Mr. President, I have one question. When you take
out the "our economy i s the strongest on Earth," did you do that for
a reason, because I think that's a ringing thing to say.
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THE PRESIDENT:
I'm trying to avoid —
Q
Well, i t looks to me l i k e i t ' s either
~
Bombastic.
THE PRESIDENT: Braggadocio here. I don't know that i t
gets us anything. Somebody said, well, although i t i s . I t has been
voted the most competitive economy three out of the l a s t four years.
You know what you could do, which i s even better, I
think. Once again, our economy i s the strongest on Earth, because i t
wasn't in '92, you know, by every measure. That's even better. I
j u s t didn't want to say i t again — an unrivaled engine of
opportunity, because you say i t ' s an unrivaled — once again, our
economy i s the strongest on Earth.
Q
to say
I j u s t think that's a very powerful thing for you
—
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, I do, too, but then I'd l i k e to say
i t f i r s t , lead with i t . With record numbers of new jobs and new
businesses, the smallest d e f i c i t of any advanced nation, or large
nation, and at long l a s t , r i s i n g incomes for working families.
Q
The only thing in there which I think sounds tinny,
not quite — i s the phrase "record numbers," although I know i t ' s
t r i v i a l , we could probably say millions or —
THE PRESIDENT: But i t ' s true. I t ' s the f i r s t time in
four years that 11 million jobs have been produced in a four-year
period.
Q
Why don't you say, there are more jobs produced in
the l a s t four years than in any similar period in history, something
l i k e that. I f you j u s t say the record, i t sounds l i k e something
you'd read i n a newspaper rather than
—
THE PRESIDENT:
Yes, okay.
Yes, we'll fool with i t ,
okay.
Crime, welfare, poverty, inequality among working people
a l l are bending to our efforts. I l i k e "bending to our e f f o r t s , "
because i t says we're making progress, not that they're perfect.
Did you leave out teen pregnancy on purpose?
Q
No.
Trying to keep the l i s t short
—
THE PRESIDENT: I t might — i t ' s probably better to
leave i t out, actually, in t h i s context.
Families are receiving support in t h e i r efforts to
succeed at home and at work, and in raising children in a culture too
often at odds with t h e i r values.
Then here's what I did on t h i s . My own view i s that
t h i s i s not the way to do t h i s because the government issue, I think
we fought that and won that fight in 1995 and 1996, and I think the
issue now i s now what are we going to do. Having resolved the role
of government, what are we going to do. What are we going to do and
what are you going to do. And I think that's the way — l e t me read
you how I did t h i s .
Once again we are moving forward toward a genuine
American community, exalting c i t i z e n service and r e s i s t i n g the use of
race, religion, and p o l i t i c s to sow hatred and threaten our own union
even as they destroy the l i v e s and hopes of millions around the
world.
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I mean, reminding people that these are the forces that
are destroying people around the world I think i s important. Let me
j u s t read i t again and then I ' l l read the next sentence and then I ' l l
t e l l you kind of what I think.
Once again we are moving forward toward a genuine
American community, founded i n mutual respect, exalting c i t i z e n
service; r e s i s t i n g the use of race, religion, or p o l i t i c s to sow
hatred, divide us, and threaten our own union, even as these forces
destroy the l i v e s and hopes of millions around the world.
I t may not be well written, but I think i t — you know,
I'm trying to get most of what I said Saturday i n here because I
think i t ' s important. Then I would say, once again we have resolved
for our time the age-old debate of the role of our government i n our
common endeavors, moving beyond at competing philosophies that
threaten our progress. Today we can declare, government i s not the
problem, government i s not the solution. We the American people are
the solution. Government's role i s to give us the tools to make the
most of our own l i v e s those of our families and neighbors.
Q
Let's see where we're going to go now.
THE PRESIDENT: Okay. I j u s t went right into t h i s
government litany, but I said — Consistent with the present needs,
with the needs of the present, the government bureaucracy and
regulations have been reduced, many a c t i v i t i e s have been shifted to
state and local governments and to private c i t i z e n s . But when i t
comes to our common challenges, Americans cannot be l e f t on their
own. Where i t can stand up for the values and interests — see, i t
transitions there, but you don't say — that's the logical place. W
e
could leave a l l that out because i t ' s not a l l that important to
people, that sentence about reducing stuff and s h i f t i n g back and a l l
that. We can t a l k about that i n the State of the Union. I t ' s not
a l l that important.
Q
Personally, I think i t makes more sense
THE PRESIDENT:
Q
—
I t ' s not a l l that important.
I t ' s smaller —
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, i t ' s smaller. Yes, but what you
can do i s leave out that sentence and — but we need a transition.
What we need to say i s , the question before us now, the great
questions before us now, my fellow Americans, are what should the
government do to build our bridge to the 21st century, and what must
you do.
Q
I t ' s the three.
What must you do, and how must we a l l act together.
I t i s government. I t ' s personal r e s p o n s i b i l i t y —
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, what must the government do to
build our bridge to the 21st century. What should the government do
to build our bridge to the 21st century. What must you do to build
i t . And who s h a l l we do t h i s together.
Q
I don't know i f you've scratched i t out, but the
paragraph that began with the Lincoln was meant to be kind of —
THE PRESIDENT:
draft, too, the f i r s t one.
I t ' s interesting. I had that i n my
Q
But then what we t r i e d to add here, and I actually
think we need to adjust the words — right after you asked the
questions, you can answer i t i n a billboard paragraph that says,
Lincoln says t h i s — as we turn to face t h i s new century — l e t us
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build a new government, l e t us summon a new sense of responsibility,
l e t us establish a new s p i r i t of community.
THE PRESIDENT: We can do i t there, but t h i s next
paragraph i s very good. I think we have to f i l l i t out i f we're
going to do i t l i k e t h i s . We can do i t there. Or we can do i t more
toward the end, before the laundry l i s t . And my problem i s — l e t me
j u s t say I l i k e t h i s paragraph, I love i t — but i f you make i t
whole, i f you don't obviously leave some things out, there i s the
r i s k that the laundry l i s t at the end w i l l be seem to be a repetition
of t h i s unless t h i s i s c l e a r l y general, and that i s c l e a r l y s p e c i f i c .
Like —
Q
Q
you may want to
—
never been recorded —
(inaudible)
—
See, the one thing, Mr. President, i s I think that
—
THE PRESIDENT: How about t h i s ? Make the most of our
own l i v e s and those of our families and our neighbors. I think i t ' s
better to say "make the most of our own l i v e s . "
Q
That's fine.
THE PRESIDENT: Okay. Then you can say, to do t h i s , we
must forge a new government for a new century. Or we need a new
government for a new century.
Q
We need a new sense of responsibility.
THE PRESIDENT: Where i t can stand up for the values and
interests of ordinary Americans and give them — then you can get out
of that great question before us. You can j u s t say to do t h i s we
need a new government for a new century. And then say, where i t can
stand up for the values and interests of ordinary Americans. To do
t h i s , we need a new government for a new century. When i t comes to
our common challenges, Americans cannot be l e f t on t h e i r own. When
i t can stand up for the values and interests of ordinary Americans
and give them the power to make a real difference in t h e i r everyday
l i v e s , then our government should — more, not l e s s .
Q
We should stop there.
Q
Why don't we get t h i s part redone and — the rest
of i t . The question I wanted to leave on i s w i l l we come back and
say we need a new sense of responsibility for a new century?
THE PRESIDENT: No. What I say — here's how I did i t .
I had t h i s — which i s why I think i t needs a l i t t l e — then I'd say,
Beyond that, my fellow c i t i z e n s , the future i s up to you. We need a
new sense of responsibility for a new century. After our
constitution was founded, Benjamin Franklin was asked about what had
been created. He replied, "a Republic i f you can keep i t . "
You see? That's why I want to get — and then I want to
do the new s p i r i t . And then I want to scratch the f i r s t two
paragraphs of t h i s thing because we've a l l said a l l t h i s , and go
right into — and then i f we said, with a new government, a new sense
of responsibility, a new sense of common s p i r i t we can create — we
can build that bridge to the 21st century.
Q
That's i t .
THE PRESIDENT:
paint the picture, you see?
A bridge to an America that —
So you
Q
And that way you say — we have forged a new
government and now we must forge the new responsibility and the
new —
�- 10 -
Q
We haven't forged i t yet. We need i t and we're
going to f i n i s h the job. That's good. That's very good.
THE PRESIDENT:
See what I mean?
And that w i l l get you
to the end.
Q
Thank God.
THE PRESIDENT:
I changed the end.
END
�INAUGURAL SPEECH PREP
January 13, IS 97
THE PRESIDENT: ( I n progress) — might be an argument
f o r leading w i t h our s p e c i a l r o l e i n the world and ending w i t h the
domestic s t u f f , and so you k i n d o f get down t o the c h i l d ' s eyes,
whatever t h a t was. The t h i r d t h i n g i s t o give an accountant's
t r e a t i s e o f , a Chicken L i t t l e account o f e n t i t l e m e n t reform. Since I
don't t h i n k t h a t t h a t i s an o p t i o n f o r the Inaugural address, I t h i n k
we should have a phrase i n t h e i r a l l u d i n g t o our o b l i g a t i o n s t o
secure h e a l t h and retirement not only f o r t h i s generation o f seniors,
but f o r seniors i n generations y e t t o come.
We should w r i t e i t l i k e t h a t . And t h e y ' l l get i t
without — but I t h i n k t o have a chance t o do — t h i s t h i n g has t o —
so anyway, l e t ' s keep going.
I ' l l give you the language here t h a t I wrote, and I'm
not wedded t o a l o t o f t h i s language. When you say a l l t h i s s t u f f
the challenges, the s t r e n g t h o f our f a m i l y , the s a f e t y o f our
s t r e e t s , I t h i n k you ought t o say the s a n c t i t y o f our environment,
the power o f our science and technology — I t h i n k you ought t o put
t h a t i n t h e r e . I t doesn't take long t o say t h a t .
Q
(Inaudible.)
THE PRESIDENT:
Q
There may be.
(Inaudible.)
THE PRESIDENT: Tom Patterson — and then on t h i s "our
most urgent problems" here, I wrote some s t u f f on t h a t which I t h i n k
y o u ' l l be able t o read. Let's go through t h i s and remind me t o t e l l
you what Tom Patterson said about i t . You know Thomas Patterson, t h e
guy t h a t ' s —
Q
P o l i t i c a l scientist?
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, he's the guy t h a t — he's the one
t h a t defended me i n '94 and said I ' d kept more o f my promises.than
the l a s t f i v e Presidents and I was g e t t i n g a bum deal. A guy I never
met before. He sent a memo t o a f r i e n d of mine who sent i t t o me
about two t h i n g s t h a t he thought — one's p o l i c y , one r h e t o r i c a l
about the Inaugural.
The next paragraph i s , okay. I t i g h t e n i t up a l i t t l e
b i t . The government t h a t the Americans b u i l t achieved great t h i n g s .
And, see, I l i k e t h i s because — t h a t i s something i n the 2 0th
century. But what I wish we could do here — instead o f saying
they've run t h e i r course, they've served us w e l l , t h e i r time i s gone
— t h a t ' s not e n t i r e l y t r u e . We s t i l l are b e n e f i t t i n g from these
t h i n g s . What I r e a l l y wish we — what I s o r t o f t h i n k we ought t o do
here, and I j u s t t h i n k we should t h i n k about t h i s — and t h a t
requires us t o reorganize i t , but i f you look a t t o t h i s p o i n t , what
have we done, we said — I swore the oath, I take i t s e r i o u s l y , thank
you very much, four years ago, blah, blah — we've got a l o t t o be
g r a t e f u l f o r since then, we're l i v i n g i i a time of profound changes
— t h i s new time c a l l s upon us t o seek new s o l u t i o n s — t h a t ' s
disconnected. That's what we're supposed t o have been doing the l a s t
four years. We have t o say there's more t o do. That's one o f the
t h i n g s t h a t bothers me.
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�- 2 -
The second t h i n g t h a t bothers me i s t h i s . This i s
something about the government we have b u i l t . What I would l i k e t o
do — keep i n mind, t h i s i s the l a s t Inaugural address of the 2 0th
century. What I ' d l i k e t o do i s t o , j u s t from the r h e t o r i c a l
standpoint, c o n s t r u c t some s o r t of v a l e d i c t o r y t o the 2 0th century.
This was an amazing moment i n human h i s t o r y , and America made i t
amazing. That i s , America helped i t t o come out r i g h t .
So t h i s should be not about the government, i t should be
about — what d i d t h a t book say — the time of the Americans — the
2 0th century, the time of the Americans? I mean, you'd have t o say
we b u i l t — we emerged on the world stage i n the 20th century as a
great i n d u s t r i a l power, we f i n a l l y — we abandon i s o l a t i o n i s m t o
f u l f i l l our r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s f o r freedom and peace i n the world. I n
the process, we won two Cold Wars — we won two world wars and waged
a long Cold War t o defeat the forces of communism. And here a t home,
we b u i l t a great American middle class. We took the e l d e r l y out of
poverty, we began t o preserve and restore our environment, preserve
and restore — t h a t ' s conservation and cleanup — preserve and
restore our environment.
And whatever else you want t o say.
Q
Civil rights.
THE PRESIDENT: The c i v i l r i g h t s r e v o l u t i o n , the
emerging r o l e of women i n our society — you know, whatever you want
t o say about t h a t s t u f f . That's the 20th century. I t was an amazing
century f o r the world, an amazing century i n the United States — or
an amazing century i n the United States and amazing century f o r the
world i n no small measure because of the Americans who l e d i t . You
know, j u s t a v a l e d i c t o r y t o the 2 0th century.
And t h a t s o r t of — so we went through — we were
created i n the 18th century, preserved i n the 19th century, exploded
on t o the world stage i n the 2 0th century i n a way t h a t gave people
o p p o r t u n i t i e s they never dreamed o f , and came t o g r i p s w i t h our most
serious s o c i a l problems. This i s a huge — see, and i t doesn't take
long t o say.
What?
Q
— i f you do t h a t v a l e d i c t o r y — i n a seamless way,
the o b l i g a t i o n s we have t o the people who came before us and our
r e s p o n s i b i l i t y t o the generations t o come.
THE PRESIDENT: I was s o r t of t h i n k i n g we s t a r t w i t h the
v a l e d i c t o r y , j u s t simply s t a t e — we gather today a t the l a s t
Inauguration of an American President i n the 20th century, 200 years
a f t e r George Washington departed the White House. You know. Our
nation, which was founded on l i f e , l i b e r t y and the p u r s u i t of
happiness i n the 18th century, preserved i n the 19th century —
preserved — our u n i t y was preserved and deepened i n the 19th
century, exploded on the world stage i n the 2 0th century, and because
of our economic — and a l l t h a t s t u f f I j u s t said.
So what w i l l the 21st century be about and what w i l l we
do w i t h i t ? Four years ago, we met here i n the season — yes,
spring, a l l t h a t s t u f f you said f i r s t I t h i n k i s p r e t t y good — we
renewed the country, t h a t kind of s t u f f . And then you go through a l l
t h i s s t u f f , but when you get t o t h i s government cannot — I t h i n k at
some p o i n t , you have t o say — a t some p o i n t i n t h i s s o r t of t h i n g
about the r o l e of government and a l l of t h i s , what you r e a l l y have t o
say i s something about the f u t u r e and the — each new age has
required us t o renew our commitment t o the f u t u r e , t h a t we don't act
j u s t f o r the moment, but we act t o preserve our country and improve
i t f o r the f u t u r e . And t o require us t o r e a f f i r m the p e c u l i a r
balance we have forged i n America between i n d i v i d u a l freedom and our
n a t i o n a l union, our o b l i g a t i o n s t o work together t o solve our
problems and t o meet our challenges.
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�- 3 -
You know, Daniel Webster gave a famous speech one time
c a l l e d " L i b e r t y and Union." Remember that? " L i b e r t y and Union."
And so what we have t o do today i s t o define the f u t u r e . That what
we want i s f o r the 21st century t o be an even greater American
century, more characterized by peace and harmony and p r o s p e r i t y and
the r e c o n c i l i a t i o n s of people w i t h i n and beyond our borders, you
know, t h a t kind of s t u f f . So i t ' s about the f u t u r e , i n terms of
opportunity and r e s p o n s i b i l i t y ; but i t ' s also about the community
thing.
Then I t h i n k you can say a p a r t of t h a t i s we have had
t o do a l o t of t h i n g s . We've had t o put i n place an economic
approach adequate t o the times. We've had t o prove t h a t together our
s o c i a l problems could be r o l l e d back. We've had t o prove t h a t —
we've had t o put family and community back a t the center of our
concerns. We've had t o reassert the leadership of America i n the
world, t h a t i s i n c r e a s i n g l y interdependent of where America i s s t i l l
the indispensable nation.
You know, I don't know what order these ought t o be i n .
You lead w i t h the — and i n jbhe process of r e d e f i n i n g our sense^of
/Y
ott^-ebl-rg^tions t o one another, we have-had-to'"come~~to~a~hevr~
I consensus adequate t o the f u t u r e on the r o l e of our government i n our
^ i f v e s . Years ago we discarded the notion t h a t government could solve
a l l our problems, but we seemed t o embrace enough so t h a t the
government was the problem. Now we know t h a t the government i s our
partner i n t h i s great adventure, t h a t government has a r o l e t o play
i n helping t o give people the t o o l s t o make the most of t h e i r own
l i v e s , t o b u i l d strong f a m i l i e s and strong communities.
I t seems t o me i f you do i t — and, again, I've done
some work on the r h e t o r i c , but t h a t ' s not as important as the
s t r u c t u r e . Then vou get down t o the demands of t h i s moment are great
and d i f f e r e n t T The only t h i n g I would say here — and i t ' s a very ^
- d e l i u d t t i t h i n g — i s we have not r e a l l y painted a p i c t u r e of the 21st
century. So having done the v a l e d i c t o r y t o the 20th, I t h i n k we
somehow have t o p a i n t a l i t t l e — t h a t i n the l a s t four years we have
gathered, we've seen a glimmer of what might happen of the wonders,
the p o t e n t i a l wonders of the 21st century. And you can go through
each of the categories we deal w i t h — you know, the c h i l d r e n of a l l
kinds l e a r n i n g a t r a p i d rates on computers, where f o r the f i r s t time
/
i s possible, you know. That the whole s t r u c t u r e of the human gene i s
unlocked i n ways t h a t o f f e r the opportunity t o — you know, medical
miracles and a l l t h a t kind of s t u f f .
1
/
And also we see the darker side of the f u t u r e , where
/modern technology might be used t o make o l d hatreds, o l d demons, o l d
/ weaknesses even worse — you know, i n ethnic and r e l i g i o u s wars, and
/ t e r r o r i s m and b i o l o g i c a l and chemical warfare. You know, t h a t kind
1 of s t u f f .
And so compared t o four years ago/ my f e l l o w Americans,
/WP. have much'EB' be g^atafnl-TSFT- To b u i l d a futuYg^Vgrthy of the
/ Americans who created t h i s country, who kept i t together and who
/ b u i l t the 2 0th century, we have much more t o do. We have much t o be
( g r a t e f u l f o r and much more t o do. Just t r y i n g t o make i t cohere,
here.
Then you've got t o get t o the — you've got t o f i g u r e
out how t o do the laundry l i s t , and t h i s i s where you come i n . What
the laundry l i s t i s and what i t should be. My view i s t h a t we would
be — and by the way and I t h i n k i t ' s kind of — then a t the end I
t h i n k i t i s good t o say we have t o remember t h a t i t ' s as important as
what we do, as how we do i t . We cannot say we believe i n a f u t u r e
for a l l Americans and a community i n which everyone plays a p a r t i f
we conduct our business i n Washington or i n any community i n t h i s
country i n a way t h a t b e l i e s t h a t commitment.
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�- 4-
And then you go into the Cardinal Bernardin stuff and
a l l that. But on the laundry l i s t I simply don't think you can say,
I see an America — I mean, Richard Nixon did i t and we w i l l be
ridiculed, I think, i f we do i t . I f we use a Nixon rhetorical device
I think we would l i t e r a l l y be ridiculed. And so we have to find out
— what I think we should do i s use i t as painting a picture of the
21st century. You know, because you say, what i s t h i s century that
we're building a bridge to? You know when you end on a preposition
i t ' s not acceptable, but you get the idea. We launched a season of
renewal based on opportunity, responsibility, community. We
reaffirmed — our people have reaffirmed t h e i r determination to
pursue t h i s course for the future, to stay at home with the future,
to keep working for the future and to do i t with a strong American
community where the government i s part of a new partnership to help
people make the most of t h e i r own l i v e s . We have made t h i s 20th
century what i t i s . What i s i t that we seek to make of the 21st
century?
And then you can j u s t do an America, an America, an
America. You wouldn't even have to say, I see. But, see, i f you
s t a r t with a valedictory to the 20th century; then you say, four
years ago; then you say, we've got a l o t to be grateful for; then you
say, there's s t i l l challenges out there and they're different — and
you explain i n the middle, you know, how we got a new economic
policy, a new s o c i a l policy, a new policy toward community — a l l
those, a different l i s t , self-congratulatory way of dealing with
those s i x categories, you know, the things I talked about Saturday.
Then you say, what kind of world i s i t we're seeking to
build? What newer world do we seek? You know, that kind of thing
you can do. I f you did that, i f you could get the structure right
then we could figure out the rhetoric and the h i s t o r i c a l and b i b l i c a l
and other references and poetry and b e l l s and wheels and everything.
But i t ' s got to somehow cohere. And I think beginning with the
valedictory of the 2 0th century and ending with a picture of the 21st
century and then a strong reminder that we never got anywhere except
in the right s p i r i t . And that, I think, i s — I even wrote some — I
don't even know i f I brought that i n here, but I wrote something
about the Bernardin thing with a l i t t l e , even stronger than
— although, I think t h i s i s very good. I think — e pluribus unum.
Q
That passage i s from the Austin speech.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes. I t ' s good. And I think you have
to do Martin Luther King. And you can either do i t here or as part
of your valedictory to the 2 0th century. And I don't know whether
that's what I want to use, but that's not important. The point i s
you've got to do i t and i t ' s good. And i f you do t h i s l i k e , you
know, t h i s I see an America deal, but you keep thinking of i t as
painting a picture of what l i f e w i l l be l i k e i n the 20th century —
21st century for people and you make sure i t ' s about values and not
j u s t money, because i t ' s not — you don't want to get into technology
worship, which I want to couch the threats of the new century i n the
same — that the same r e a l i t i e s that opened these p o s s i b i l i t i e s also
aggravate the threats. But then you paint t h i s valedictory of what
you want to see i t . I mean, you want to look at i t and see i t .
Then I think i t — the end i s — i t ' s okay. Strengthen
our hands for the good work ahead and a l l that — that's okay. We've
got to think about i t .
I f we could get the structure right and point rights,
then we could think about what the s p e c i f i c s are. And Mark would
have a good sense of i t . And you don't want to t a l k about policy,
but you want to describe the world — where parents can r a i s e their
children on safe streets with good schools i n a manner consistent
with t h e i r values — that kind of stuff.
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�- 5-
But on the other hand — now, some o f these are very
c l e a r . The l a s t two — I don't know i f i t ' s j u s t as c l e a r , but i t
may be a l l r i g h t . Let me see i f I — anyway, here i t i s — got i t i n
order? You know, I thought t h a t our speech — somebody t o l d me
repeatedly — my speech l a s t time was the t h i r d s h o r t e s t . That's
what I was t o l d . I t must be because I d e l i v e r e d i t f a s t , because I
read t h a t book, and there's four i n them i n there t h a t take less time
and less space on the page —
Q
AP reported there were others w i t h fewer words.
THE PRESIDENT:
Q
Yes.
THE PRESIDENT:
Q
Fewer words.
They j u s t d i d n ' t say them as f a s t .
They d i d n ' t have microphones.
THE PRESIDENT: So they had t o speak slower. Yes, Teddy
Roosevelt's inaugural, i n t e r e s t i n g l y enough, was shorter than mine.
Q
Michael d i d a count — (inaudible) —
inaugural was shorter than (inaudible) radio address.
second
THE PRESIDENT: I t was a great speech. Let me see i f
I've got t h a t . I ' l l t e l l you exactly what he says. I don't agree
w i t h the s p e c i f i c s , but I hear you generally. The s p e c i f i c
suggestion he made, he b a s i c a l l y said, you know, there was s t i l l no - and he suggested a new partnership, which I t h i n k i s f l a t . I t ' s
blah ~ f l a t .
Q
—
t h i s partnership theme because —
(inaudible)
THE PRESIDENT: But we don't want t o — I don't t h i n k we
have t o use the word partnership, but we have t o — but when t h e
speech i s over, an ordinary person needs t o be able t o t e l l you what
i t was about. That's what my — my dread i s t h a t i f we d i d t h i s
speech t h a t the ordinary person said he's thrown together a whole l o t
of p r e t t y words, but I don't know what the h e l l t h a t was about. And
you've got t o say 20th century i s about t h i s and t h i s and t h i s i s how
we d i d i t . The 21st century i s going t o be about t h i s . That's what
we've been doing the l a s t four years, t h a t ' s what we're going t o do
and — . We've got t o be able t o say what i s t h i s about? There's no
hook there.
Q
(inaudible)
THE PRESIDENT: You see, one o f the t h i n g s we don't say
e x p l i c i t l y , and maybe i t doesn't mean anything t o people, but one of
the t h i n g s t h a t we don't say e x p l i c i t l y here t h a t I t r y repeatedly t o
say i s , why do we have a special o b l i g a t i o n ? I t r y t o analogize t h i s
to the Teddy Roosevelt-Wilson time. You say we're l i v i n g through a
time — the present graph says we're l i v i n g through a time o f change
as profound as any i n our h i s t o r y . And then we describe t h e
i n f o r m a t i o n r e v o l u t i o n . But there ought t o be an end t h a t says, so
what? So what? This i s changing the way we work and l i v e , the way
we r e l a t e t o each other and the r e s t o f the world.
And t h a t means t h a t those o f us who have r e s p o n s i b i l i t y
here, and those o f you who have r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s wherever you l i v e
have t o change how we work together t o meet the challenge o f t h i s
time. Something l i k e t h a t . We have t o e x p l i c i t l y — j u s t because
there's a technology r e v o l u t i o n or a r e v o l u t i o n i n the g l o b a l
economy, you know, there's always been changes. And knowledge and
has been expanding f o r — i t has happened i n — the q u a l i t y and
q u a n t i t y o f i t i s such, t h i s change i s such, t h a t i t r e a l l y i s
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�- 6 -
markedly and v i s i b l y changing the patterns of l i v i n g and working and
s o c i a l intercourse.
Q
— on something you said before, that may be a
place to then t a l k about the dark side and the upside of the future,
because i f the future i s going to be so dependent, what does
opportunity mean; how are we going to create opportunity or create
value i f in the future education means computer — l i t e r a c y means
everything.
Do you want to sort of paint any of the dark side
s p e c i f i c a l l y about the future also or —
THE PRESIDENT: Only in the way that I said e a r l i e r ~
on the threats of the future and on the foreign front. I think we
should be completely optimistic at home — don't you?
Q
You might want to make the following — that we
should be optimistic about the promise of the future — (inaudible)
about victory to mean putting the address in the h i s t o r i c a l context
of where we are and where you are —
To me, the important l i n k
missing in t h i s outline i s your — to change in the philosophy of
government and p o l i c i e s and s p i r i t and people —
THE PRESIDENT: He wrote about that in ~ they've got
good rhetoric in there about the changing role of government. You
j u s t need to read i t and see i f you —
Q
— that's the key element. I believe everyone w i l l
understand your h i s t o r i c a l context and I believe t h e y ' l l a l l
understand the things we have to do and what we have to balance —
and that w i l l be perceived as consistent with everything you've said.
But to me, the big h i s t o r i c a l element i s that you're now defining a
different s t y l e to meet these challenges of the future —
THE PRESIDENT: Well, i f you think about what the
h i s t o r i c significance here i s , in order to — I mean, we b a s i c a l l y
changed the thinking about government, about how government should
work and what government could achieve. Somebody told me the other
day, on Saturday — I can't remember who said t h i s — but they said
i t wasn't j u s t — they said, keep in mind, when you started people
thought a l o t of things about government and our common enterprise
they no longer think, l i k e they didn't think you could balance the
budget or reduce the d e f i c i t and increase investment. They didn't
think you could vigorously protect the environment and grow the
economy. They didn't believe that you could role back our s o c i a l
problems. There are a l l these things people believed that they
r e a l l y don't believe anymore.
We j u s t don't have to accept — and I s t i l l believe that
the h i s t o r i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t thing that we did was to redefine the
role of government in a way that reasserted the role of community and
the r e s p o n s i b i l i t y of ordinary people with — and reconciled i t with
leading a vigorous fight for the future from the government. That's
why I say i t ' s about — so our h i s t o r i c achievement was that we
redefined and modernized and updated the government — most people
didn't believe you could downsize the government and actually make i t
more e f f e c t i v e . They thought you downsize the government you'd have
to quit the f i e l d .
So i t seems to me that's what we did.
Go ahead.
Q
— Roosevelt redefined government — (inaudible.)
We defined the government in terms of — (inaudible) —
THE PRESIDENT:
Q
(inaudible)
Economic and other —
—
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that's right.
�- 7 -
rhetoric
t h i s for
going to
mutuality
THE PRESIDENT: I f you go back and read Roosevelt's
i t i s very different from — Roosevelt said government does
you, government i s going to do t h i s for you, government i s
do that for you. This idea of mutual obligation, the
of obligation —
(inaudible)
Q
~
(inaudible) —
closer together with government
THE PRESIDENT: And then you can figure out, Mark, what
s p e c i f i c s you want to put i n or how you want to describe i t .
Q
— (inaudible) — but your main point was we've got
to work together. And you blow that up and bring that into t h i s —
THE PRESIDENT: And that we changed the thinking of the
American people about how we're going to approach the problems of the
future and what the government's role i s . We have to do i t together.
That's why people who l i v e i n all-white areas have a stake i n r a c i a l
reconciliation. That's why we have to have t h i s r e l i g i o u s
reconciliation I've worked on, which I think when historians write
about t h i s I ' l l get more credit for i t than I do now.
I j u s t think that you have to think what i s i t that we
changed, because the economic p o l i c i e s we adopted, the s o c i a l
p o l i c i e s we adopted, a l l that was a r e f l e c t i o n of what Mark said. I t
was l i k e government has to affect the l i v e s of ordinary people i n a
positive way, but to do i t i t has to do i t i n a different way.
Instead of doing things for people i t has to do things with people.
I t has to give people the tools they need to make the most of t h e i r
own l i v e s .
So that's sort of — and i t has to empower them to take
responsibility for themselves and t h e i r families and t h e i r
communities. And I think that r e a l l y i s sort of our h i s t o r i c a l l y
unique contribution here. And i n the end, I do believe there i s a
way, with the stuff we're doing t h i s week l i k e the Medal of Honor
thing today and what we're going to do l a t e r i n the week, some of the
other things, I think there's a way to r e a l l y come down hard on t h i s
p o l i t i c s of personal destruction that's been practiced and excessive
partisanship and a l l that, because people are ready to hear i t .
What you said on Bernardin, I think mine's over-written,
now that I read i t — I wrote i t l a s t night. I went to — he said
l i f e i s too short to waste the precious g i f t of time on acrimony and
division. We never get even, and in the effort we diminish ourselves
and reduce the time and energy we give to our nation and i t s future.
We want to take that "never get even" out. Precious
g i f t of time on acrimony — we need to do something with that, I
mean, r e a l l y do something with i t .
Let me read some more notes here.
Q
—
be reelected for a second term.
THE PRESIDENT:
was reelected was —
Q
Yes, because Teddy Roosevelt, when he
He was only elected once.
THE PRESIDENT: Actually, when he was elected he was
about my age the f i r s t time — 46, wasn't he?
Q
Grant was the closest to you
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—
�- 8 -
than I was.
need to
urgency
created
and now
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, Grant was four or five months older
He had a harder l i f e .
Q
One thing I know Rahm was concerned about was the
impart the sense of urgency — of the 21st century, the
of the moment, that we have no war, no depression. We've
that moment and so did our forebears, but we've created i t
i t ' s not an ordinary time, i t ' s r e a l l y an extraordinary time.
THE PRESIDENT: We don't have a war, we don't have a
depression, don't have an excuse for not focusing on the bigger longterm issues, and we have to do i t with urgency. We go to work
tomorrow and work l i k e crazy every day on i t .
—
Q
(inaudible) —
but we've got to do i t .
the future we believe can be better
THE PRESIDENT: I think saying i t ' s not inevitable i s
important. And I think saying that we've got t h i s window of time
here where we're blessed to be at peace and to have things rocking
along pretty well now, and that one of the things we've done in
laying the — in the l a s t four years to lay the foundation for even
more rapid progress — t h i s i s not a time to sort of relax in our
efforts because we have no idea how long we'll have t h i s —
Q
Also, peace and prosperity are not an excuse for
standing s t i l l because of the p o s s i b i l i t y (inaudible) — people
perhaps need to be reminded of that.
Q
One other thing, Mr. President, i s I think you
should consider challenging the public f a i r l y s t i f f l y on the role in
the world. In other words, making sure the people hear that you're
challenging an accepted view in the public, e s p e c i a l l y on the trade
stuff.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes. I think there should be a l i t t l e
more international in here, on the role in the world, we have to
lead. We have to lead. We are maintaining a strong defense, but we
also have to continue to push the frontiers of trade. We have to
continue to stand up against terrorism and we have to f i n i s h the
unfinished business of the Cold War and end the nuclear threat; stand
against chemical and biological warfare. And I think we ought to say
we have to recognize our r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s in the community of
nations, including to the U.N.
I'm j u s t afraid there's not enough s p e c i f i c i t y here —
I'm afraid i t ' s j u s t too general. Keep in mind, when people —
remember l a s t time they remembered — nothing wrong with America that
can't be fixed by what's right with America. And after that i t was
the s p e c i f i c things t h i s guy i s going to work on. He's going to work
on health care, he's going to work on education — whatever he's
going to do. This time you want to remember the story l i n e ,
essential change we made but also there needs to be some meat on
these bones.
Q
That works with the valedictory because j u s t as in
t h i s century, in our next century America's leadership w i l l be what
defines the world.
THE PRESIDENT: Instead of saying the best educated kids
in the world, that sort of — i f you say you're going to — l e t us
connect a l l of our schools to the Information Superhighway, establish
the highest standards for learning in the world, and open the doors
of college to everyone, that's very general, but that i s your agenda
that sort of resonates with your program more. And i t ' s s t i l l
nowhere near the State of the Union, you're j u s t sort of referencing
it.
You could do some similar things on law enforcement and
family-related issues, family and work and a l l that kind of stuff.
�- 9 -
Well, you work w i t h them on the s p e c i f i c s , kind of
plugging i n , f i l l i n g i n the blanks. Well, t h i s i s good. I hope t h i s
i s h e l p f u l . I r e a l l y worked hard on t h i s yesterday.
END
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�THE WHITE HOUSE
Inaugural Speech Prep
January 14, 1996
THE PRESIDENT: (in progress) — I think i t breaks down
a l i t t l e b i t i n the middle and then picks up a l i t t l e .
Q
— one suggestion that somebody had, what might be
(inaudible) messing i t up, which i s i n the v i s i o n portion about the
21st century (inaudible) rather than being up (inaudible) four years
ago —
THE PRESIDENT: I'm also not sure — I ' l l go through —
l e t me reread to you the f i r s t two pages and then l e t me j u s t comment
on th© rest, okay? But you ought to look at — have you got your
copy?
Q
I do not.
THE PRESIDENT: You guys got a copy? Give Don a copy.
You've got a copy, Mike? You got another copy? Mark, you got your
copy.
Q
We're okay.
THE PRESIDENT:
I j u s t want you to see
—
Fellow c i t i z e n s , we gather at the l a s t American — we
gather at the l a s t American inauguration. And that ought to say
President — I don't know — of the 20th century. Exactly 200 years
after George Washington said farewell to h i s office and h i s fellow
c i t i z e n s , having launched h i s new country with i t s then unique
constitutional democracy, on the great adventure which has brought us
to t h i s time and place.
We can always d i s t i l l i t — at t h i s moment of
consecration and dedication, we come together to r e c a l l the greatness
of our past, understand the progress of our present, and chart the
potential of our future. By the grace of God and the labor of our
people,]we enjoy the blessings of peace and prosperity. Yet though
we are free from war and depression and s o c i a l unrest, t h i s , too, i s
no ordinary time.
I want to say " t h i s , too," because i t ' s at l e a s t an
oblique reference to the Doris Kearns book — so that I'm not j u s t
l i f t i n g i t without any even allusion to —
Q
I t ' s not audacious to pretend i t ' s l i k e World War
II.
THE PRESIDENT: This, too, i s no ordinary time. For we
stand on the threshold not only of a new century and a new
millennium, but of an age of p o s s i b i l i t y in which i f we do our duty,
more people here at home and throughout the world w i l l have the
chance to l i v e their dreams than ever before i n recorded history.
But f i r s t , we must do our duty.
That's your obligation thing without making i t an ~
taking i t out of the body of the. Okay, and then the next paragraph.
America was founded on the ideals of l i f e , l i b e r t y and
the pursuit of happiness in the 18th century. Our nation spread
across the continent, preserved our union and abolished the awful
scourge of slavery in the 19th century. And we exploded on to the
world stage i n turmoil and triumph to make t h i s the American century.
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�- 2-
In t h i s century, America brought the world's greatest
i n d u s t r i a l power, won two world wars for freedom and peace, waged a
long Cold War to defeat communism, and b u i l t i n s t i t u t i o n s to advance
peace and prosperity for the world, and time and again, reached out a
helping hand to those i n every continent who long for the blessings
of l i b e r t y we have come to take for granted.
Here at home our people b u i l t the great middle c l a s s .
We l i f t e d the elderly out of poverty, provided medical care and
nutrition to poor children, worked to restore and preserve our
environment and public health, provided free public education to a l l
our children — That's a major contribution to the 2 0th century —
And b u i l t the world's greatest system of u n i v e r s i t i e s ; brought
breathtaking advances i n science, technology and the a r t s ; advanced
equality for African Americans and other minorities; and extended the
c i r c l e of citizenship, opportunity and dignity to women.
Women didn't get to vote u n t i l the 20th century. Do you
know that women have never been mentioned separately i n any inaugural
address.
Q
(inaudible)
THE PRESIDENT: Yes. But, you know who else called and
told me that? Betty Freidan — said nobody's ever said anything
but working men and women or families.
Anyway, now t h i s i s what I've t r i e d to do to King. I'm
not sure t h i s King quote works here, because I think i t — but l e t me
try to — but t h i s , I think, i s better.
Thirty-four years ago, the man whose b i r t h and l i f e we
celebrate today spoke to us i n words that rang out across t h i s very
mall. Martin Luther King told of h i s dream deeply rooted i n the
American Dream, that one day t h i s nation w i l l r i s e up and l i v e out
the true meaning of i t s creed. W hold these truths to be s e l f e
evident that a l l men are created equal. Dr. King gave h i s l i f e for
that dream so that others might l i v e i t .
His words are as real to us today as they were 34 years
ago. For we know America i s about dreams, labors and s a c r i f i c e s , the
constant movement toward l i v i n g out our true creed. I t i s our ideals
and the s t r i v i n g to make them real that made t h i s 100 years the
American century. And i t i s out of our dreams, labors and s a c r i f i c e s
that we w i l l build our bridge to the 21st century.
That's what I was doing there — something l i k e that.
Q
I l i k e that. — want to bring you back, though,
because there was something so quotable and (inaudible) about the
future i s b u i l t on labor and dreams. That would be the B i l l Clinton
quote — I mean i t could be.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, whatever. The words may not be
right, but you get the d r i f t of i t . I t ' s got a l i t t l e more l i f t .
I t ' s moving into the thing.
Q
One thing — j u s t raised after the beginning of
George Washington, the way you had i t — George Washington called
America the great experiment. And that may be something —
THE PRESIDENT:
Yes. Did he say that i n h i s farewell
address?
Q
I saw i t i n the Doris Kearns Goodwin essay.
don't know where —
Q
We'll find i t .
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I
�- 3 -
THE PRESIDENT: Then t h i s next part, there's stuff I
want to do with t h i s , but i t ' s not worth worrying about now.
I think
we ought to reword that four years ago stuff.
And I think i t — here's where I think i t kind of breaks
down. I think we r e a l l y get mushy when we t a l k about working
together. We don't — we're not as e x p l i c i t as we often are about
how we have — what I want to do — getting into t h i s change of the
role of government — we made a fundamental decision that we cannot
— that we are one nation, we are undivided, we're not going forward
j u s t on our own.
We have mutual r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s to each other. And
that i s — and then the role of government business about not —
government can't solve the problems. Government can't walk away.
I t ' s got to give people the tools they need to make the most of their
own l i v e s . There's something there, i t ' s j u s t not as tight as I
think i t should be.
And then — build a new kind of government for a new
century. I think that's pretty good. I think that's real good.
That paragraph I think i s a winner. My own view i s that I j u s t want
to work on rewording three and four. I think i t ' s not as clear and
stuff as i t ought to be and not as — the language i s not as good.
But I l i k e the idea that we b a s i c a l l y — what I want to say before
you get into — I want to reword the paragraphs about — starting
from four years over to our most — above a l l , we're again putting
more opportunity i n the hands of individuals and that kind of stuff.
But then, what I want to say here i s — what you want to
say i s that we had to break down the old ways of thinking to break
down the old ways — and the bid ways of doing — that we forged a
new consensus on the role of government, but also a new idea about
what we had to achieve, that we couldn't be — d e f i c i t versus
investment, pollution versus — growth versus environment. That kind
of stuff. We had to think about. But we couldn't j u s t say, well,
crime w i l l always be with us. We couldn't say, welfare w i l l always
be with us. We changed our old ways of thinking. And I think that's
worth saying because I think that's a major contribution to what
we've done.
I s t i l l think that Jeremy Paul (sp) essay i s about the
best statement of — he wrote me a l e t t e r yesterday, the day before.
He j u s t — the guy got i t . Once in while — he's j u s t one of those
people that got i t .
Q
(LONG INAUDIBLE)
THE PRESIDENT: Our old r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s . A l o t of what
we're trying to do i s to get people to assume t h e i r — act, think new
thoughts, do new things, act on t r a d i t i o n a l values.
Q
I think Mark and Bruce were talking about a way to
kind of repeat that — a new government for a new century, a new
responsibility for a new century, new challenges for a new century.
THE PRESIDENT:
Q
—
I need to think about i t .
and you're right, i t i s —
THE PRESIDENT: Did you ever get any of those other
submissions that you asked for?
Q
Some.
THE PRESIDENT:
Q
Did Sheldon Hackney ever send anything?
No.
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�- 4-
Q
Did he say he had some stuff?
THE PRESIDENT:
Q
He was going to send me something.
Didn't we send him a bunch of stuff?
Q
We did and there are some late ones that have come
in. We can get you a packet of those. They came i n i n dribs and
drabs.
THE PRESIDENT: Anyway, now, after — then you t a l k
about what our challenges are here and the problem you got here i s —
I love t h i s f i r s t sentence.
Q
Where are you?
THE PRESIDENT: We must build a new kind of government
for a new century where i t can stand up for the values i t should,
helping c i t i z e n s and a l l that.
Q
—
(inaudible)
—
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, yes, i t ' s fine. But here's ~ l e t
me j u s t say what I think the problem with i t i s . Okay? You're
giving some thematic direction here to the next term, but you're not
mentioning a l l the themes even that you mentioned i n the l a s t litany.
And then you go into t h i s deal which sounds l i k e Reagan-Bush sort of.
I mean, I don't know — I don't want i t to be about government. I do
want i t to be about the people, but — see, then you go, see, well
i t ' s r e a l l y the people who have to do i t , then you say, look what we
see i n the next four years — l a s t four years. And then you go back
to the laundry l i s t which i s rather long now, although i t might be a
good l i s t . And then we get to the end which says, l e t ' s k i s s and
make up and we don't mention Bernardin's name. Nobody w i l l know
that quote. But I got an idea about how to do i t unless — we use i t
before.
And then on 9 and 10 i t looks l i k e we j u s t kind of d r i f t
off or repeat ourselves or something. And so I j u s t — I don't know
i f I can —
Q
— a couple of ideas that we've batted around about
how to tighten t h i s section up. One i s that John mentioned — the
section that s t a r t s on page — r e a l l y the bottom of page 5, the top
of page 6 i s a description of the change that's going on and i t ' s
something that you do frequently i n your speeches —
Q
— you said you wanted yesterday
—
Q
— so the question i s we could tighten that very
dramatically and j u s t bring i t down to a sentence or two.
THE PRESIDENT: What?
Q
The change i n the way we work and l i v e — the
change i n technology —
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, but see we kind of alluded to t h i s .
We may not need i t as much because of what we said up front, although
maybe we need a l i t t l e of i t . I ' l l work on that.
Q
We could put a l i t t l e b i t of i t up front and make
i t clear that there's a l o t going on and there's up sides and
downside consequences to not getting with i t right now and that
that's why four years ago people were uncertain. I n the four years
since, you've begun to show how we can l i t e r a l l y make change our
friend. And that would clear things out — s t r u c t u r a l l y and probably
would tighten that whole thing down a l i t t l e b i t .
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�- 5 -
THE PRESIDENT: Yes. But I s t i l l don't think we've got
the right words here. From sent me h i s l a t e s t . He sent me a copy of
what he sent us before. Galston's proposed was too wordy, but i t was
pretty good. Did you read what he said?
Q
Yes.
THE PRESIDENT: Then From also sent me a copy of this
thing that's coming out in the book, t h i s sort of philosophical
statement. I want to give i t to you. I t might tighten i t up a
l i t t l e . I s t i l l don't think we're saying i t j u s t right about —
Q
About the working together part?
THE PRESIDENT: Yes. What's the new way we're working
together? What does i t r e a l l y mean? There's — the opportunity and
the r e s p o n s i b i l i t y and i t ' s — the government should give people the
tools to make the most of t h e i r own l i v e s . And i t ' s focusing on the
future. And i t ' s community. But I j u s t don't know, i t ' s s t i l l not
— I s t i l l don't know what the speech i s about.
Q
One way to do i t i s to do i t more with a challenge
— right here, here's how to do i t , rather than saying, so therefore,
l e t us, l e t our communities —
THE PRESIDENT:
Yes, but at least we got to be sort of
-- what?
Q
I don't think j u s t challenging people alone i s
going to do i t to s a t i s f y you.
THE PRESIDENT: I j u s t want to get the words right.
Anyway, I guess t h i s i s the best King quote we can use here.
Q
Do you have the speech we can
—
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, I've got a l l h i s speeches.
got a book over there with a l l h i s speeches in i t .
beginning?
I've
But do you l i k e the beginning — the way I read at the
Do you l i k e i t ? I t kind of moves, doesn't i t ?
Q
Yes, absolutely.
THE PRESIDENT:
I t ' s got a l i t t l e pulse to i t .
Q
On that quote — because I think there's something
r e a l l y powerful to that. What worries me about the structure i s that
i f we don't say what t h i s i s about right up front, they won't stay
with us. We have to decide what we think i t ' s about right up front.
And I think we've come closer to i t there. I t i s about a new
understanding and a new approach and a new direction —
THE PRESIDENT:
Q
—
And what do you want i t to be about?
(LONG INAUDIBLE)
THE PRESIDENT: What I thought i t — we must do our
duty, there's a deal about — you got that shrinking thing
Q
We explain our part, we don't come back and explain
t h e i r part.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, and I know you guys love t h i s , "we
must be there, we must be there," but I j u s t — I'm j u s t t e l l i n g how
the e l i t e s w i l l read t h i s . I mean, he's going to spend four more
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�- 6-
years — going around, standing around saying t h i s i s great for
school uniforms and t h i s i s great for t h i s . That's the way t h e y ' l l
read that. The e l i t e s w i l l read that i n a negative way.
Q
You know what, l e t ' s take out — i t ' s more what
they must do. That i s Michael's point about the challenges, i t ' s
what they must do. What I think you want here —
THE PRESIDENT: See, I think i t ' s not e x p l i c i t enough.
I mean, I think — my own view i s that we ought to kind of l i t a n i z e
what we have to do maybe even i n greater, with a few more s p e c i f i c s
up here at the top of t h i s page f i v e . And then say, we know from the
progress of the l a s t four years that we can shrink the government
without shrinking from our r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s . But you must not shrink
from yours.
Q
(INAUDIBLE) — a new government that w i l l work —
only i f t h i s i s a community — only i f parents —
THE PRESIDENT: I want to work on i t — I've got some
ideas. I think the structure i s much better. And we do our pay on
to the 20th century well. And then i t may be that after we do our
pay on to the 2 Othcentoiryv-maybe thfeit s-^here--we__ought to do our pay
on to the Zlst^cerfEury.
1
Right.
THE PRESIDENT: And — i t i s out of those dreams — we
11 build that bridge to the 21st century. And then you go back
up that 21st century stuff, say the revolutions and informat;
communications, increased mobility, f a l l i n g b a r r i e r s among com
give us a chance to do a l l these wonderful things. The things you
lentioned there, maybe one or two others, maybe d i f f e r e n t — and that
the world which we face.
Then you can say
beaau«e^our triumphant march seems
kind of discormecrbed-,—Fou-r^earfsago our triumphant march toward
that world seemed to f a l t e r as we approached centuries' end. And
then what I'd l i k e to do here, t a l k a l i t t l e about the changes we
effected and then t a l k about, you know, what are the grand bargains
here, what are the grand bargains? Grand bargains are, you know, new
role for government, that means new opportunities for people, but
only i f they're more responsible. I t means that we have to find ways
— that we have i n t h i s new global society of ours, we have to
recognize that — you know, something about our diversity, which i s
f i r s t and foremost, as i t always has been i n t h i s country, a question
of race; but also deals with religious differences, p o l i t i c a l
differences and others. We have to learn to l i v e together as one
people i n a very new and different time.
And then j u s t sort of — ethic of understanding i n t h i s
new role — the reason that we have to do t h i s i s that we cannot
succeed on our own, we have to help, we have to work together to make
the most of our own l i v e s . That's the new bargain. Now, what does
that mean? That means that we must protect the hard-won gains —
I ' l l give you an example, t h i s i s not i n any order — of income and
health security i n old age, but we also reform those systems to make
sure they're there for future generations. I t means we must require
— to end the culture of poverty we have to require people who can
work, to go to work; but i t means that we have to provide incentives
for people to hire them. And you, my fellow Americans, you have got
to hire those people off welfare.
And you take — I don't know — you do some Tweedle-Dee
and Tweedle-Dum stuff, l i k e that. And since you've already litanized
up there the major challenges, i f you don't get back to a l l of them
i t ' s okay. Does that make sense?
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Q
Yes.
THE PRESIDENT: This i s something we're going to do
together. And then you can — then you could even go back to that
— one of the things that Benjamin Franklin said at the end of the -convention — what have you done. He said, "A republic, s i r , i f you
can keep i t . " The founders knew that t h i s — the future i s an
achievement. I t ' s not a g i f t , i t ' s an achievement. And i t always
w i l l have to be worked at.
I mentioned Jefferson i n my f i r s t Inaugural, how he said
that every generation or so we have to have a revolution to get
things right again. I mean, none of t h i s would surprise them. The
d e t a i l s would surprise them, but the generic problems and the issues
would not surprise them. They were very smart. They knew a l l t h i s
stuff was going to have to be redone over and over and over again.
Q
Structurally, what you j u s t proposed i s the new
government — what you didn't put i n there was kind of the new
personal — a new c i t i z e n responsibility. And then t h i s sort of new
respect. I don't know that we should use a l l these words, but
b a s i c a l l y , the new acceptance, the new respect of our d i v e r s i t y .
Those are the — right, and those things lead to our a b i l i t y to sort
of deal with our challenges i n the way —
THE PRESIDENT: You ought to look at the way From's got
i t i n that l i t t l e philosophical segment. I ' l l give i t to you. I
think they're pretty good over there with fooling with words.
Q
Do you l i k e the way From t a l k s about i t i n terms of
modernizing our i n s t i t u t i o n s , modernizing our country? I t ' s sort of
a bracing way of talking about i t , but —
THE PRESIDENT: Yes. I mean, I do. I think i t ' s got
something to — but there are two things here. This idea of mutual
responsibility, i f you're going to get opportunity you've got to be
responsible. And we've got to be responsible to one another as well
as for ourselves. There's the idea of community — we have to not
exclude people based on what groups they're i n , i f they believe in
the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and the B i l l of
Rights and they show up for work every day. And then we have to
actually reform our systems — we have to change these things to make
them f i t the future.
Q
To f i t those models.
To f i t exactly what you
described.
THE PRESIDENT: You've got to reform the systems to f i t
the future. So i f you have more responsibility — so you've got the
government can create the tools to where you can seize the
opportunities of the age and you have more responsibility. I f you
have the sense of how we have to work together and the government's
role i n that i s to get people the tools to make the most of t h e i r own
l i v e s . And then you have the sense of t h i s larger community that
everybody i s a part of i t . And then — and that we have to make our
way i n the world, there's no a r t i f i c i a l dividing l i n e , domestic and
foreign — a l l that.
Those are the ideas. But i f you — at some point you
almost have to say i t j u s t that plain seriatim so people know what
the h e l l you're talking about. You almost have to. There needs to
be some core paragraph, philosophical core paragraph that i s in
language plain enough for people to understand.
Q
I t sounds l i k e what you want us to do i s go back
now and l e t us reorder i t and do some of t h i s .
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THE PRESIDENT: Yes, work on i t . Well, we're making
progress, don't you think? Getting a l i t t l e better every day. I
mean, i t ' s an acceptable speech now. We could make i t a b r i l l i a n t
speech.
Q
What we've j u s t done i s clear out a whole l o t of
the back half and s h i f t i t —
THE PRESIDENT:
don't need i t .
The back half i s j u s t words and ~
you
Q
— very quickly from the sort of the modernized
systems into you and Congress working together and then not wasting
our time on acrimony, and you're out of there, with the bridge that
you've b u i l t .
Q
For example, t h i s stuff about race which i s now at
the end i s one of the false endings — i t ' s now part of the theory in
the middle where i t r e a l l y belongs.
Q
I s there something — we're talking about building
a bridge here. We've not done enough with t h i s metaphor. I s each
one of those things a p i l l a r to the bridge? I s a new government for
a new century a p i l l a r ? I s a new sense of mutual responsibility a
p i l l a r ? I s a new respect among the c i t i z e n s —
THE PRESIDENT: No, I don't think you have to overdo the
analogy. We j u s t play with i t . Think about i t . But the main thing
i s I think movement — the way I redid i t I think i t moves. You want
people to feel l i k e they're being moved.
You s t i l l want to t r y and keep i t short, r e l a t i v e l y
short.
Q
minute speech.
This i s about —
right now t h i s i s about a 20
THE PRESIDENT: I put a l o t of stuff i n i t , but I also
took a l o t of stuff out of i t . But I think painting a f u l l picture
of the 20th century i s pretty important •— i s pretty impressive.
I t ' s a valedictory. And what are we going to do to be worthy of
that, you know. This was done — every good thing on t h i s l i s t was
done by people of goodwill thinking about others.
Basically,
everything here.
But I l i k e i t . I ' l l work on the rest of i t and t r y to
make i t — I ' l l j u s t work on i t a page at a time now. But I kind of
wanted to t a l k to you about the structure that I've —
Q
I think we should go back and keep working on our
draft, too.
THE PRESIDENT:
Absolutely.
Q
And take what you've got —
THE PRESIDENT: Why don't you make a copy. I ,
unfortunately, did i t i n that blue pen, but you've got i t there on
tape.
Q
We can bring i t to you l a t e r t h i s evening —
p.m. or whatever.
10:00
THE PRESIDENT: What I normally do i s I go home and have
dinner and — about an hour, and then I j u s t go back to my desk and
s t a r t reading stuff and come up with ideas.
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Q
And you don't mind i f we fiddle a l i t b i t with that
language to make i t more quotable?
THE PRESIDENT: No, no. No, you want ~ I'd l i k e a core
paragraph which says what t h i s whole thing i s a l l about, that you can
l i f t out, and then a l o t of quotable sentences that w i l l ring.
Q
One other idea — I don't know i f we'll have i t
done for you tonight — i s I think that the way you structured the
end with a l o t of forward momentum, you could come back to the vision
of the 21st century, but not so much talking about technology but
almost the moral vision of i t .
THE PRESIDENT: Absolutely.
Q
—
have people have more —
are able
—
THE PRESIDENT: As a matter of fact, what I'd l i k e to
say — when you talked about the hazards of the 20th century, that
thing you've got there, which you may want to move up — where you
painted a pretty picture of the 20th century and then you t a l k about
the hazards of i t , and you b a s i c a l l y have to say that i f we can't
recover our old values and sense of responsibility, b a s i c a l l y , and
spread that to the world, then we won't harness the potential of the
age of p o s s i b i l i t y — because science and technology can be used for
harm as well as good. And t h i s i s not j u s t about material
prosperity. Misery i s about — we have to a l l e v i a t e those problems
but we also have to — you want to make that point.
And then i f you can figure out somewhere at the end to
say what I said i n that interview, that a l l of us here today are on a
journey of l i f e which must come to an end, but America must go on.
Q
The journey of America must go on.
THE PRESIDENT: But the journey of America must go on.
And I think the idea — I may be wrong, but I think i t ' s quite a
powerful idea to t e l l people — everybody i s l i s t e n i n g to you — that
think about t h i s , your l i f e i s going to come to an end; instead of
asking people what do you want your legacy to be, sometimes I think
we give up a l o t of eloquence by asking people these kinds of
rhetorical questions when you can say i t in a different way and i t ' s
more powerful.
So instead of saying, what do you want your legacy to
be, which i s one of the questions, say the journey of America must go
on. I mean, I think —
Q
That could be very powerful. And the question of
whether, from a writer's standpoint, f i t i t with the bridge at the
end, the building —
THE PRESIDENT: I f we build the right — i f we do our
duty, i f we build the right bridge to the 21st century i t w i l l go on.
Then our people w i l l cross over that bridge with the
American Dream a l i v e for a l l of her children. With the American
promise of citizenship a r e a l i t y for a l l of her people. With
America's flame of freedom burning brightly throughout the world.
That's what you ought to say. When we walk over that bridge we w i l l
find a new century. And i f we do our duty — blah, blah, blah — and
build that bridge, then the American people in four short years w i l l
walk over i t to a new century with the American Dream a l i v e for a l l
of her children. With American citizenship a r e a l i t y for a l l of her
people, and with the bright flame of America's — with America's
flame of freedom burning brightly throughout the world.
Something l i k e that. I think that's — the way I did i t
at Renaissance Weekend, but what t h e y ' l l find — you've got to say
what t h e y ' l l find on the other side. That old Moses looking over the
�- 10 -
Promised Land; I can't get there — I killed that son of a bitch back
in Egypt and God won't l e t me go now, but you're a l l going over
there. I'm s t i l l glad I killed him, he's no damn good. (Laughter.)
END
�THE WHITE HOUSE
INAUGURATION SPEECH PREP
Afternoon, January 15, 1997
THE PRESIDENT: I t r i e d to remember the words. I t was
something I did when I was 17 or 18 that has brought me to t h i s .
With whatever i t i s , t h i s i s now functioning on a p a r t i c u l a r day.
Q
Well the real t r i c k i s to remember that i t was
worth i t .
THE PRESIDENT:
Yes.
— Did I ever t e l l you the story of Jim Pledger*?
Pledger was my — we were — you ought to go and work on that
connecting paragraph, right?
Q
Jim
Yes.
THE PRESIDENT: And then we're going to t a l k about where
i t can stand up to the values and interests of ordinary Americans —
We got to work that out. I've got a l o t of stuff there. But I'd
rather defer that because i t ' s j u s t a question of what we put in in
what order in the next paragraph.
Think about whether at'least we have to say anything
about the world — how you have to — that kind of stuff. Just think
about i t i n that order — the world maintaining a stable economic —
that kind of stuff.
THE PRESIDENT:
Yes, yes, so we can —
that's not
important.
And then we said, beyond that, my fellow c i t i z e n s , the
future i s up to you. We need a new sense of responsibility for a new
century.
After our Constitution was finished, Benjamin Franklin
was asked what had men created? He replied, a republic, i f you can
keep i t . For 2 00 years, Americans have kept our republic, meeting
every challenge by moving toward a more perfect union — by always
moving toward a more perfect union. Our troubles have come only when
we denied our problems and shortcomings or rested on our l a u r e l s . I
am determined that we w i l l not rest.
Q
I l i k e that
—
THE PRESIDENT: — and then paragraph. You too have
your responsibility to keep our republic for the 21st century. And
then again you've got a laundry l i s t here about what business has to
do. I would — we could defer, for the moment, whether there should
be anything added or the order should be changed. But I would not
say have a responsibility then. I would say, you too have — you too
have your responsibility — you too have your responsibility to keep
our republic for the 21st century.
And then I would say, instead of have a responsibility
over and over again because i t ' s too many words, I would say, must.
Business and community leaders must provide jobs for welfare
recipients, must demand tougher standards for our schools. Young
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�- 2 -
people must — and on the — even though we do the parents in the end
in the litany, I think i t ' s a mistake to say families, neighbors and
communities must band together to bring values unless you — I think
you're going to have to say f i r s t either or. I think the l a t t e r i s
the better. You either have to say parents must support and care for
t h e i r children; families, neighbors and communities must band
together to help parents bring values, d i s c i p l i n e and hope to our
children or you can leave out the parents sentence and j u s t say
families, neighbors and communities must band together to help
parents. I t ' s immaterial to me whether we — but I think you have to
say something about parental responsibility coming f i r s t .
And again, I think we ought to say something about
community. I think saying something l i k e , and t h i s i s a private
sector thing, but I think coming — i f we're going to do future and
community, I think — I have t h i s sentence: And we must understand
that our r i c h texture of r a c i a l and ethnic diversity, deeply held
religious convictions and widely different p o l i t i c a l philosophies i s
a godsend for the 21st century world i f we had the maturity and
generosity of s p i r i t to repress or r e s i s t the destructive impulses
that lurk in the dark regions of the soul everywhere in the world. I
think that's a pretty good — because I think the more I can convince
the American people that what we have hare i s what i s not right in
Bosnia, what i s not right in the Middle East, what i s not right —
Q
And that i t ' s a strength, i t ' s something
THE PRESIDENT:
Q
—
—
I t • s a strength.
that you draw strength from.
THE PRESIDENT:
So t h i s i s —
we say t h i s in a positive
sense.
Q
Right.
THE PRESIDENT:
But I think saying something l i k e that
i s good.
Q
And then do you follow i t — can we follow i t by
saying that, so above a l l , we need a new s p i r i t of community for a
new century?
THE PRESIDENT:
Q
Well
~
So then you have your three.
THE PRESIDENT:
No, here —
no I was coming down to
this.
Q
Okay.
THE PRESIDENT:
A new s p i r i t of
understanding.
Q
Can we consider a different word?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, what I was going to say i s —
because t h i s i s r e a l l y about responsibility and community —
Q
Yes.
THE PRESIDENT: Why don't you make another — because
here's how I see. We must affirm that ours are not the challenges of
one family, one neighborhood, one community, one c i t y ; they are the
challenges of one nation and we must meet them as one America. We
need a new sense of community for the 21st century. You can end i t
that way.
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But then you've got to figure out how to t r a n s i t i o n
because I — I think you can do that. You s t a r t with private c i t i z e n
responsibility — community. I think that's okay.
Q
Yes.
THE PRESIDENT: And then, see — We must affirm that
ours are not the challenges of one family, one neighborhood, one
community, one c i t y ; they are the challenges of one nation and we
must meet them as one America. Above a l l we need a new s p i r i t of
community for the 21st century.
See and then you can — and then — then — j u s t a
minute. With a new government, a new sense of responsibility, a new
sense of community, we can build our bridge to the 21st century — a
bridge that — one the one side — on one side of that bridge, we
w i l l f i n i s h the unfinished business of t h i s century. On the other
side, we w i l l lay the foundation for an even greater one.
We w i l l build a bridge to an America that leads the
world in the next century. Then you go through the laundry l i s t .
See, and you get r i d of a l l that s p i r i t business because you've got
s p i r i t at the end.
Q
Yes.
THE PRESIDENT: You've got, what do we have to do —
we're dealing with s p e c i f i c a l l y here, what are we going to do at the
end. We're going to t a l k about how we're going to do i t . Okay?
Q
Yes.
THE PRESIDENT: See, with a new government, a new sense
of responsibility, a new s p i r i t of community, we can build our bridge
to the 21st century. On the one side of that — that bridge,
anchored on one side by our completing the unfinished business of
t h i s century and anchored on the other by laying the right
foundations for the next. We can build a bridge to an even greater
America. We w i l l build a bridge to an even greater America, an
America that leads the world, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
And i f you want me to I ' l l come back to some of the
s p e c i f i c s there. I didn't change a l o t of these s p e c i f i c s . Let's
t a l k about s p e c i f i c s here. An America that leads the world into the
next century, promoting peace and freedom, fighting the forces of
destruction, expanding f a i r and open commerce. This i s more than a
responsibility; i t i s a priceless opportunity without precedent. But
i f we want the benefits of leadership, we must shoulder the burdens
and pay our way. Now, arguably, "shoulder the burdens" means the
same thing, but I think saying "pay or way" i s a clean reference to
the United Nations and Congress w i l l get i t . Okay.
An America, with the world's finest education. With a l l
our schools connected to the Information Superhighway, the highest
standards for learning in the world and the doors of college open to
a l l our people. We are defining —
Q
You're describing the country.
THE PRESIDENT: The only thing you're leaving out there
i s that l i t e r a c y thing, which you might want to put i n . The only
other thing we're leaving out — I ' l l come back to that.
THE PRESIDENT: An America where everyone moves —
that's fine. An America where familiar places, that's fine. An
America where parents have a chance to succeed at home and at work,
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where children can be protected from dangerous influences, l i k e
tobacco ads and t e l e v i s i o n violence, and where no child's health i s
ever put at r i s k for lack of health care or safe water, a i r and land.
Parent changing jobs — we're also doing some more child
health stuff, and there's an a r t i c l e in the Wall Street Journal today
that we might be able to get, you know, implying we might be able to
get a l l the parties toward coverage of a l l children. So i f they
decide to help us, we could do i t . We might as well p u l l i t out
there. Because that's the America we're trying to build. We don't
have to get i t a l l done in four years.
THE PRESIDENT: And safe water, safe a i r and safe land,
that's toxic waste. And we've already talked about cancer and AIDS
here. So I would say an America where the miracles of science extend
our l i v e s and the wonders of technology f i l l s them with knowledge.
I'd say knowledge and undreamed of opportunity or something — new
opportunity i s kind of a stale phrase. But you want to say these
technologies are not going to j u s t give us knowledge, they're going
to give us power. Knowledge and the power to shape our own destiny - whatever. You know, to construct a better, compose a better l i f e .
I don't know. Knowledge and something else, knowledge and either
opportunity or power or something.
Okay, now, t h i s America where the loudest voice in
p o l i t i c s i s a quiet voice of the voter, where a smaller government
does a better job — i s that obviously about campaign finance reform?
Q
I think i t may be a l i t t l e oblique.
THE PRESIDENT: You might tnink about i t . You know,
I ' l l go think about i t , but i t struck me — I agree with Mark, we
don't want to beat t h i s thing to death; out on the other hand we
don't want to be accused of not mentioning i t when we did.
THE PRESIDENT: An America where McCain-Feingold i s the
most important thing in America except for entitlement reform.
Q
Can you imagine?
THE PRESIDENT: We have to raise the incomes of the
editors of the Washington Post and cut the incomes of these middle
c l a s s suckers who were stupid enough to believe in the promise of
America. We're now going to have campaign finance reform, so that
only right-wing crazies and r i c h Republicans can control the outcome
of elections.
THE PRESIDENT: An America where we have kept our
obligations to provide health care to our parents.
Q
Did you say, "to provide for our parents"?
THE PRESIDENT: Yes. I'm not so sure you shouldn't say
"reformed our systems" here or — "kept our obligations" i s more
powerful, but I don't know — you see, you can read t h i s as saying,
well, what he wants to do i s leave the same old system in place and
r a i s e the s h i t out of our taxes, so we j u s t keep doing the same
thing.
Q
Q
So that we can keep our obligations
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—
�- 5 -
THE PRESIDENT: Yes. An America where we have reformed
our systems of health care and retirement for our parents, so that we
can keep our obligations, not only to t h i s generation of parents, to
but t h e i r children and grandchildren when they come of age, when they
reach that age — when they reach that age. I j u s t think that — and
"children and grandchildren" that's better because i f you say
"generations to come," I mean, r e a l l y the capacity of any of us — I
don't think we know enough about health care to reform Medicare for
more than 25 years. I do think we know enough about demographics and
the structure of Social Security to f i x i t for 50 years.
But do you see what I'm saying? I think you've got to
be careful about — we want to make sure we — okay. And I would
say, instead of t h i s l a s t thing, I would simply say an America where
we balance our budget and invest in our future.
Now the only thing I would say about t h i s laundry l i s t - there's another way you could do t h i s . You know, we took out that
sentence about breaking down the walls in our thinking, you know?
And I think i t ' s okay, we've got enough stuff in here. But one of
the things you could do here i s you could say, an America strong at
home and abroad; an America where we balance our budget and invest in
our future; grow our economy and improve our environment.
THE PRESIDENT:
things up here —
But since you've given a l l these other
Q
Q
THE PRESIDENT: No, no, no, no. I disagree with doing
i t farther up. I think now you have shown — well, at a minimum I
think the way to say t h i s i s balance our budget and invest in our
future. Then I think the only question i s , you've already said
you've got to be strong at home and strong abroad, but there's
nothing in here about the economy.
So you can say an America with a stronger economy and a
cleaner environment; an America where we balance our budget and
invest in our future; an America strong at home and strong abroad.
Of course, you've already said that. You don't have to say that
again, because you already said you've got to be strong abroad.
Q
THE PRESIDENT:
You think we should?
Pretty powerful.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes. Anyway, we're improving t h i s . I
think after t h i s draft I think we can consider — I would l i k e to
consider two things after t h i s draft — three things. One i s in the
two c l u s t e r s where we have the issues, the f i r s t i s what government
should do, what business should do. The second i s an America that.
Have we mentioned the right things? I s there anything we should take
out, anything we should put in?
And secondly, i s i t in the right order. Okay? The
second big set of questions — are there audiences that we should
mention things to refer to, l i k e we've got t h i s — we've got t h i s
nice l i t t l e reference to women here, which I think i s important. I s
there something we should do — and the women and the families. I
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�- 6-
think we've got — I think women w i l l be pleased with t h i s speech.
Yes, I want to say — I think we should say something to new
immigrants. You know, one of the things that I wanted about race —
you see, I think — what I'm trying to harking back to, and I don't
think I was so clear, i s I think that the Christian Coalition, t h i s
religious hatred thing i s a big problem i n America. I also think
p o l i t i c a l extremism — I'm talking about p o l i t i c a l philosophies; I'm
talking about the m i l i t i a and a l l those people we beat back. I wish
we could find a way to say race, immigration, r e l i g i o n and p o l i t i c s ,
but we may not be able to. About how we are a nation of immigrants.
Except for the Native Americans, we a l l came from somewhere. We
should r e l i s h t h i s and respect i t . I f you — we can even have a
separate thing there.
Q
and —
(inaudible)
THE PRESIDENT: I f you work hard and play by the rules
figure i t out — we need to put something about immigrants.
The only other question I have i s — the only other
(inaudible) I can think of i s whether we should say anything about
any p a r t i c u l a r regions or lands, you know, i n addition to any farm
issues. I mean, the truth i s that the real reason I don't want to do
i t i s , i t ' s — i f you say that — i n speechy words — i f you say, you
know, one of our biggest challenges i s China, and we have to have a
better — deal with trade, you have to do a l l that kind of stuff,
(inaudible) — then you go t a l k about NATO expansion i n Russia and
our special relationship with Latin America, and then (inaudible)
make a pass at Africa. But we need to think about a l l t h i s , about
the audiences. And we also need to make a pass at — ask ourselves
i f we shouldn't make some e x p l i c i t appeal to younger Americans. We
did so well. Women and younger Americans. We've done right by the
minorities here, especially i f we do something on immigrants. We
maybe could do a l i t t l e more on women, but we've got some e x p l i c i t
things on families and children.
Q
(inaudible)
THE PRESIDENT:
That's what I mean.
But that's
—
Q
The gays have asked that i f there i s a litany of
inclusion that they be included i n the litany.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, I think that's a mistake a l i t t l e
bit.
I mean, my d i a l meters went down when I did i t at the
convention. But what you could say — one of the things you could
say i s l i f e s t y l e s . But, you know, l i f e s t y l e i s so broad that i t ' s
l i k e — well, you mean dope smokers or people l i v i n g together without
wedlock or —
Q
(inaudible)
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, l e t ' s — we're going to have to
polish t h i s , but at least — I'm j u s t trying to get i t s t r u c t u r a l l y
Q
(inaudible)
THE PRESIDENT: Well, see the service thing — we got a
lot out of that season of service l a s t time. And one of the things
that I wish we could say i s i n t h i s thing — I j u s t didn't amplify i t
enough because I j u s t was thinking about t h i s — by the time I got to
that once again business, i t was 2 o'clock i n the morning l a s t night.
But I wish we could t a l k about what a difference young Americans have
made i n responding to the c a l l of service — i n AmeriCorps. Now
another 100,000 of them w i l l have a charce to earn money for college
by teaching our children to read or something l i k e that.
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That's a very powerful thing.
Q
-
That may be the way to do the reading thing i s to
l a s t time you called for a season of service i n general —
THE PRESIDENT:
Well, think about i t .
Q
Q
— and t h i s time you can c a l l —
— there are two other more dramatic ways to do the
(inaudible). One i s at toward the beginning of the speech — c a l l
t h e i r special attention to what you're about to say. The other i s at
towards the end of the speech where you b a s i c a l l y do the same thing.
THE PRESIDENT: But c a l l i n g t h e i r special attention
about what I'm about to say i s not the same thing as saying something
d i r e c t l y to them. Think about i t , okay?
We can't solve a l l t h i s right now.
But anyway, how
about t h i s — l i s t e n to t h i s . Let's get to the end. Today — I want
to see what you a l l think of t h i s .
Today, I pledge to you to use every ounce of my strength
and every power of my office to bind us together as one nation and
prepare us for — prepare our people for the century ahead. You see,
our people — I'm talking to our people. I'm pledging to you — I
think i t would be — bind us together and prepare our nation for the
21st century.
You know, one of the things that I thought was so
powerful about Lincoln's language — i f you go back and look at the - l i k e the second inaugural, or you look at Gettysburg, I ' l l bet you
anything what he did i s he wrote down what he wanted to say and then
he j u s t took out words so that i t looked l i k e — so that a l l of h i s
speeches looked l i k e they'd been put into a pressure cooker. So l i k e
he would never say, as one nation, because bind us together would
create the image that he wanted. He also had a l o t of b i b l i c a l
allusions i n there.
Q
Ted Sorenson writes that when Kennedy was working
with him he asked him to look at the Gettysburg Address for i t s
secret. And the secret he came up with was never use three words
when you can use one word, and never uses a three-syllable word when
you can use a one-syllable word.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, absolutely. A l l of h i s speeches - the great speeches looked l i k e they bean i n a pressure cooker. But
you started with — used to give very long speeches, you know. But
they were a l l closely reasoned. And he grew up i n that age of where
b a s i c a l l y people were driven by rhetoric, and the only allusions they
had were coming out of the Bible or Shakespeare e s s e n t i a l l y . Because
people didn't have that many books, but people haven't done much
better since then. And i t was very interesting to see, but they a l l
look l i k e — you read the, r e a l l y , the great short speeches look l i k e
they've j u s t been squeezed and squeezed and squeezed.
Q
(inaudible)
THE PRESIDENT: You know, for example — I'm not saying
we shouldn't do t h i s , but i f you look at what he said — the most
powerful — I think the most powerful part of the second inaugural i s
that neither side wanted war, but one side would make war rather than
stay i n the union, and the other would accept war rather than give i t
up, and the war came.
You could have taken 25 sentences to say that. And so
that's another thing we need to think about when — .
But anyway,
l e t ' s see —
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�- 8 -
Today I pledge to you to use every ounce of my strength,
every power of my office to bind us together and to prepare our
nation for the century ahead. Like you, I cannot do t h i s alone. I
ask the members of Congress especially to j o i n in that pledge here on
t h i s platform beside me. The American people — I l i k e t h i s — with
eyes wide open, returned to office a president of one party and a
Congress of another. I l i k e that.
Q
(inaugural)
THE PRESIDENT: Now, you may not l i k e t h i s , but l e t me
— instead of saying — because we've been saying we've got to work
together a l l the time. Surely they did not do t h i s to advance the
p o l i t i c s of petty bickering and destruction they claim they deplore.
No, they have put us in the same boat, given us a l l oars and told us
to row.
You l i k e i t ?
Q
—
i t works.
THE PRESIDENT: I t does, doesn't i t . You could have
people say "row, row, row your boat gently down the" —
I mean, i t
could be —
metaphors —
Q
The question i s whether you want to mix the
you're on a bridge, now you're on a boat. I t works.
The image of you and Gingrich in a boat rowing i s
kind of
—
THE PRESIDENT: Well, you think about i t . Because
there's another way to say i t . Here's tne straight way to say i t .
No, they have asked us to honestly debate our divergent views, then
work together in a s p i r i t of mutual respect. Nothing big ever came
of — I'd reverse t h i s — America demands and deserves big things
from us, and nothing big ever came from being small.
Let us remember the timeless wisdom of Cardinal
Bernardin j u s t weeks before the end of h i s l i f e . I t i s wrong to
waste the precious g i f t of time given to us on acrimony and division.
We must not waste the precious g i f t of t h i s time. A l l of us are on
that same journey of l i f e — you don't have to say here today, but
say "that same," not a journey.
A l l of us are on that same journey of l i f e which must
surely come to an end. But the journey of America must go on. And
i t w i l l , i f we do our duty.
Now, my problem with "the future i s a g i f t , not an
achievement" i s that i t ' s somebody else's l i n e and we've said i t
before. Who said that g i f t and achievement?
I don't mind the fact
that we've said i t before because we've said — but here's what I
said.
And i t w i l l , i f we do our duty. And t h i s i s the thing
that Tony — said I thought we ought to say, that comes out of —
So l e t us run the race that i s before us with patience. So I said,
And so, my fellow Americans, l e t us run the race that i s before us
with patience and determination, with mercy and charity. With our
dreams and our labors, l e t us build our bridge to the 21st century,
wide enough and strong enough to carry a l l Americans across,
especially those in generations to come whose faces we w i l l never
see.
Let i t be said of us that fce led our beloved land into a
new century with the American Dream a l i v e for a l l her children; with
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the American promise of f u l l c i t i z e n s h i p a r e a l i t y for a l l her
people; with America's bright flame of freedom spreading throughout
the world.
And then at the end I j u s t said — I was going to have a
kind of a benediction here instead of t h i s l a s t sentence. What I was
going to say — May God guide our every step and strengthen our hands
for the good work ahead, and always bless our America.
Q
I f you want to —
and always bless the bridges that
Q
That's l i k e asking for a blessing on our
Q
No, you don't want to do that, but the building
we build?
slogan.
concept.
THE PRESIDENT: How about — May God guide the building
of our bridge and strengthen our hands for the good work ahead, and
always bless our America.
Q
Or you could say, rather than the building of our
bridge, may God always bless our building — j u s t take out the
bridge. Because Michael may be right, i t ' s l i k e invoking Providence
on what some people regard as a campaign slogan.
Q
We should also see i f there are any builder's
prayers. Any t r a d i t i o n a l prayers to bless a building or bless those
who work building —
builders —
Q
That's a nice l i n e — and may God always bless the
as well as the p i p e f i t t e r s .
Q
May God always bless those who would build.
THE PRESIDENT: We ought to say guide our builders. May
God guide our builders and give us strength — and strengthen our
hands for the good work ahead. And always bless our America.
Q
—
State of the Union.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes. I t ' s good. I think i t ' s good. I
said i t a f t e r the election, you know. I said something l i k e t h i s
after the election. Did I not say i t in public? I t ' s pretty funny,
though, i s n ' t i t ?
Q
With the State of the Union you could do i t with a
twinkle and r e a l l y i t would make them —
THE PRESIDENT: They have put us in the same boat, given
us the oars and told us to row.
I t ' s good, i s n ' t i t ? And i t would
go off the charts — the meter would go —
Q
and j u s t say i t .
And leave out of the prepared text that's released
Q
remembered for —
that?
Your second of the three things you want us to be
f u l l citizenship for a l l our people — what i s
THE PRESIDENT: What I'm thinking about i s — that's my
community. B a s i c a l l y , i t ' s the — American Dream a l i v e for a l l our
children — that's the opportunity, that's the future we're building.
American promise of f u l l citizenship — I want to say everybody
counts here. Everybody who — I r e a l l y l i k e that l i n e — we wouldn't
want i t in the kind of slangy way I used i t in the campaign, but you
could have a dignified way of saying in t h i s nation, t h i s i s not a
nation of race or creed. In t h i s nation a l l that i s required i s that
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�- 10 -
a c i t i z e n believe in the Constitution, the Declaration of
Independence and the B i l l of Rights. Everyone who does that,
everyone who holds those — We c a l l them Americans. They must be
part of our community and they must walk across that bridge with us.
Something l i k e that.
That was a very powerful l i n e . I j u s t remember what
people clapped for in the campaign. And; i t was amazing, they always
clapped for the 48-hour pregnancy, they always clapped for opening
the doors of college education for everybody. And they always
clapped when I said, i f you believe in the Constitution, the
Declaration of Independence and the B i l l of Rights, you're our kind
of American and you can walk across that bridge with us. And they
always clapped. I don't exactly know what the more eloquent way of
saying i t i s .
Anyway, i t ' s getting there, i s n ' t i t ?
Q
We have waves.
THE PRESIDENT: But i t should be in waves.
some r e a l l y powerful stuff in here. Don't you think?
But there i s
Q
I'm very pleased. We»/e got to go get t h i s down,
because I think r e a l l y where we are now i s steaming.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, here's the deal. My view of t h i s
i s — and t h i s i s why I'm glad to hear what you said about t e s t ban
and a l l that kind of stuff — we have some r e a l l y lofty, powerful
things we are trying to do here that w i l l happen in these next four
years. And I think we need to make these three or four things stand
out clear. And then we need to compress the language and think of
imagery and i l l u s i o n and how to say peace and freedom differently
l i k e putting in tyranny instead of peace and freedom, so i t doesn't
sound l i k e a laundry l i s t .
But I think i t i s getting there. I think i t i s truly
getting there. And I'm quite pleased with i t . I f people don't l i k e
i t , i t ' s my fault.
What are you a l l doing? Have you got anybody else
working on t h i s s t i l l ? My view i s when you get t h i s draft one of the
things you might do i s give i t to — I would give i t to the whole
speechwriting s t a f f and j u s t see i f they've got any ideas and t e l l
them what we're trying to achieve. I s there something we've l e f t
out, i s there something we've said wrong. How can we compress, how
can we reword so we don't repeat the same words over and over again.
When you get something l i k e t h i s you can r e a l l y — t h i s
thing hasn't been in the shape where you can sort of take other
suggestions too much.
Q
Now
they know t h i s i s your vision
now.
THE PRESIDENT: But David, and Carol and Terry — they
might a l l be able to make some contribution to t h i s . Have you shown
t h i s to Blinken at a l l ?
Q
(inaudible) —
THE PRESIDENT:
Q
yesterday?
She's good, I think.
And he's good.
She's got a real g i f t for ceremonial writing.
THE PRESIDENT: Who wrote that Perry statement
I t was good. Who wrote the Medal of Honor —
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�- 11 -
Q
good that was.
very much.
name?
That was very good.
People were talking about how
THE PRESIDENT: I embellished i t a l i t t l e b i t , but not
I read i t pretty much the way he wrote i t . What's h i s
Q
James —
they brought him over from the State
Department.
THE PRESIDENT: He did a h e l l of a job on that. That
was a great moment. That's something I ' l l always remember, that guy
crying when I put that Medal of Honor around h i s shoulders — 52
years l a t e r .
Q
We're glad to get a l l these speechwriters
—
THE PRESIDENT: We don't even have to do that. What we
might do i s — l e t ' s get t h i s draft here and see i f i t ' s good enough
to j u s t show around, l e t people work on i t , make suggestions. And
then we can a l l get together and have a l i t t l e t a l k —
Q
I f you're comfortable with t h i s next draft — I
think we've already faxed to Tommy and he's coming i n i n the next day
or so. But I don't know where Taylor i s in the process, whether
you've been working with him or not.
THE PRESIDENT:
show i t to Taylor.
No, I haven't.
END
But we might ought to
�PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
TRANSCRIPT OF MEETING
JANUARY 6,1997
. . . Some of them were too long . . . but even Lincoln's second Inaugural was very short and the
only one of any substance that was shorter than mine was. They tell a story and they put the
President in the context of history. We have steadfastly gotten away from doing that, not putting
me into opposition to conditions I found when I got here, and the consequence is that we got
articles like we got in the NYT magazine where the sheer volume of significant things we have
accomplished is truly breathtaking. Now I can't keep up with that. But we have no story line.
That why I get pissed off when everybody wants to abandon this bridge to the 21st century. At
least it's something people remember, they may [inaudible - 17] build bridges [inaudible -18] . . .
at least they remember it. We have no story line.
Social policies rhetoric, social policies like community action based on responsibility,
and opportunity . . . and in ways that reduce the crime rate, reduce the welfare roles. You know
we basically launched a whole series of initiatives that relates to what the family can [inaudible 27] in modem society whether it be culture or problems of family and work . . . like raising their
kids with and tobacco and all that kind of stuff. We took on the whole . . . what I call the
disintegration movement, the government haters, the people that want to use race and religion
and other things to divide the country. We took them on and faced them down over affirmative
action and over the role of government in our lives, and all that. And we succeeded in
fundamentally winning a war about what the role of the federal government is that I had to wage
in effect against both parties; to say it's not a savior and not a Satan, it's a partner . . . and give
people the tools to make the most of their lives and build strong families and strong
communities. We also did a huge amount of the unfinished business of the cold war, articulated
the new rational for foreign policy and dealt with the new security threats of the 21st century, and
went a long way to building a global trading system that has the US positioned as the center of
all these different blocks.
Now any one of these things would be not insignificant achievement. Bruce Babbitt sent
me a memo and said that only the two Roosevelts had set aside as much land for conservation in
the history of the Republic. No one [inaudible - 56]. They know generally I've done a good job
with the economy and generally I care a lot about education. I need to talk about education, you
know with the [inaudible - 60] historical expansion of opportunity in education and at least a
beginning towards significant reform, but if you look at the crime and welfare things, there's two
problems that people thought that would essentially never get better. Did demographics help
some, yes, did the economy help some, yes. Is it a full explanation of what's happened, no. So, I
think the most important thing is, the Inaugural is your best chance for the story line, and we
should not be concerned in the Inaugural as much about having the words and phrases that
resonate well when you get your 20 second deal on the evening news as having a tightly distilled
story where are we in American history, what did we confront?
A lot of this stuff can be in a phrase. You read that Lincoln 2nd Inaugural. It's
�interesting. He gives the whole history of the Civil War and how it came about in a minute. I'm
not talking about just laboring over this, but I just think that you've got to, we have got to have a
story line. This book I'm reading, this fascinating book by S
, The Politics Presidents Make
[inaudible - 82] . . . one of the points he makes in this book is that there are all kinds of
presidents that had significant accomplishments, I mean really significant accomplishments, that
never got any credit in history because they couldn't control the story line and their legitimacy
was robbed from them because they couldn't control the story line. In ways that the people who
were communicating could understand. Which is one of the reasons . . . particularly today . . .
that you have to have something that at least somebody who writes for a living can relate to.
That's really the big [inaudible - 93 ], frankly, of doing something on the entitlements. It
isn't the biggest problem facing the country and it basically needs to be micromanaged over a
long period of time until the problem goes away, which it can be done but the elites think it is.
The elites think it is and they also think that the republic will crash, it's going to be Rome all
over again, because you didn't have the discipline to deal with it. I mean, we can [inaudible 100] . . . it's not the biggest problem. I think the management of our diverse culture is the
biggest problem, the challenge of that, and you know basically a coherent whole . . . But you
know, we won the first 3 debates. The people decided that they wanted a government that
challenged them to work as a community and gave them the tools to make the most of their own
lives; that no longer pretended to be their savior but didn't think they were better off on their
own. That is a huge historic battle. Reversing Reaganomics was a huge historic battle.
Reversing 20 years of income inequality was a huge historic battle. Actually, you know, but
nobody gets it. And I just think that part of is that nobody ever gets it while you're going
through it because everybody's got a vested interest in crapping on it. Like, they called Lincoln
a baboon — a Springfield, Illinois paper said we'd be better off if he got killed. Still, they had a
story line that people later could go back and read and pick up.
And the one thing I think is that too much of our stuff is sort of disembodied and it has
the words and phrases that sound good in polls and resonate in our research, but we ought in this
Inaugural address, I think in a compact and powerful and lofty and [inaudible - 126] way, we
need to say: 4 years ago, I came to this office when the conditions were such and such. And I
had a vision for our country and a strategy to achieve it. And we have pursued it and the results
have been good for the American people. And you mention it in phrases ~ not anything else, but
in phrases saying this is what they were. But our work is far from over. Building a bridge to the
21st century is the work of a generation. And it is a profoundly important time in American
history because of the dimensions and scope of change, a time that will in the future rank with
these other important times in history like blam, blam, blam because they were [inaudible - 142].
We therefore cannot afford the luxury of [inaudible 144], even though our economy is good and
most indications [inaudible - 146] . . . We can't just drift now, we have to keep doing what has
brought us this far, we have to build on it, we have to blah blah blah and focus on the things that
are still out there. But I think somehow we've got to have a credible and compelling story line
because otherwise the whole is less than the sum of its parts, which is basically what [inaudible 154]...
�People just don't get it. And I'm not just talking about the [inaudible - 156] . . . I guess
all these people that write about this just think that all this stuff just happened. And yet it's
interesting to me. I think a lot of it is the failure of rhetorical advocacy in the right way. Even in
the campaign I didn't go out and say "This is what I found in 1992 and this is what we did." I
did talk a lot about the opposition to the '95 budget, and I think a nice delicate reference to that is
important. You don't have to attack the other people, but. . .
One of the things this S
guy points out is that all Presidents are either opposition
presidents or affirming presidents. They either affirm the preceding order or they're opposed to
it and committed to shattering it and creating a new order. And it's difficult to be a great
president unless you are an opposing president. We have had a few very . . . you know, Monroe
was the last affirming president, and Thomas Jefferson, he was so popular he was the only
president besides George Washington who didn't have an opponent. And sometimes you can do
that, because Teddy Roosevelt took over from McKinley, he was basically an affirmer, he was
brilliant, he was great. But, anyway, we got here because we were opposed to the existing order
of things. And we said we would follow a different philosophy and we would make it work. A
lot of people would come across as sort of a poll reading technocrat who would do a lot of little
things that would be accumulating in popularity and would be concerned about the efficiency of
it. I think the voters at large get it in election terms or I wouldn't have a 60 approval rating. I
think they get it, but I don't think they have a story line. And I certainly don't think we've got
one for history. So I think that if you look at the truly successful Inaugural addresses, and there
aren't all that many, if you look at Kennedy's, even, Kennedy had a strong sense of history and
here's where we are, and all that.
[COMMENT]
Well, one thing is, we didn't portray crime and welfare and all of these things as big
crises they were that we were solving, that's part of the problem. One of our big problems now
if we decide to try to take a hard line Medicare is that people have lied about this, that Medicare
and Social Security are in a crisis.
[COMMENT]
I think a lot of this is the passage of time. All I'm saying is that we need to develop a
language. You take a look at the Radio Address, the one I did last Saturday, I just went back and
I put about 40 seconds in it, about what we've done . . . it was 40 seconds, a sort of story line. It
wasn't just here's a laundry list of achievements. All I'm saying is . . . Look I think we did a
hell of a good job; I think history will look back on this term and say it was great. Everybody's
coming up to me and saying "Gosh, I hope now you can really do what you really want to do." I
thought "Screw you, we'll be lucky as hell to do as much in the next 4 years as we did in the first
one. And not just because we have accomplished the first two years, I mean it worked out,
you've got to work at it. The only point I'm trying to say, is that Reagan as an opposition
president had a storyline. Big government's damn near screwed this country up but there's
nothing wrong with America. I'm going to return America to its basic faith which is in
opposition to big government, the lives of the people and their values and their impulses and I'm
going to stand up for America around the world and roll back the tide of communism. . . . That
was historical.
�And actually, this guy points out, even the most activist presidents like Thomas Jefferson
and Andrew Jackson and Franklin Roosevelt did specific things that were far more prudent in
their rhetoric. Whereas what we've done is we've been so worried about not offending that we
haven't... we don't have to attack, but we have to have rhetoric that explains what we're doing,
which resonates with people not only in particular, like Bill Clinton shares my values, he wants
to help with Family Medical leave, you know, fight criminals and welfare queens, but that he's
The Inaugural address needs to be written for people who wonder where we are in history
but in a way that ordinary Americans can understand. You just go back and look at. .. There's
no question that Lincoln second inaugural address just dwarfs all the others. It's shorter than the
one I gave last time. But it literally gives a whole history of the Civil War, its causes, what
happened, what he found, why he wouldn't let the Union go down, where we are and what still
needs to be done. And he did it all in 2.5 minutes, or ten minutes . . . but here we are at this
moment in time, here is how we got there, here is its significance. And I just think we need a
little more of that.
[COMMENT]
You only need just a phrase. People will remember "a time of discord, division and
drift," that's what I remember.
[COMMENT]
. . . You don't want this to drift into being too touchy feely. That is, my view is that we almost
have to talk about it the way it was today in this religious service. I think . . . making people feel
confident about themselves again is important, but I think it's important to point out that it grew
out of not exhortation but step by step we actually did things, people actually saw these beliefs
come on the street, they actually saw the Brady Bill take effect, they saw these welfare people
start to move from welfare to work. And they also saw what they didn't like. They didn't like
Oklahoma City. And I don't want to put these things in the same [inaudible - 272]. They didn't
like Oklahoma City. They didn't like the church burnings. They didn't like the budget. They
didn't like things that they thought were both dividing them and where we were walking away
from each other in our common responsibilities. That one page article by that kids from Harvard
is about the best anybody's done on analyzing what this election was about.
[COMMENT]
I think that one of the things you can say that in every period of profound change, more is
required of us, consistent with our old values. The confidence of the people can be shaken
because of the difficulties of the past and [inaudible - 310] of the problem, but there is no new
answer to that. That only answer is to roll up your sleeves and go to work with your neighbors,
all across America. And that's what we did, and now people do have a greater faith again,
because we got results from their concerted effort, they pushed against the rocks and they were
able to move them. It's worth saying that in the end, that's what America has always had to do.
Pitting one group against another within America or trying to blame other people for our own
problems has never worked. Working together to solve them has always worked. That's what
we got around to doing in the last 4 years and that's what we've got to keep doing.
�[COMMENT - FLIP TAPE - followed by largely inaudible dialogue on whether the next four
years are a continuation of the last 4 years or something new]
The truth is, we are going to finish the job of balancing the budget and finish the job of
putting 100K police on the streets, but we're talking about attempting something new, making a
college education available to all, making it more accessible. Creating enough jobs, moving
people from welfare to work . . . There are new things . . . we could say "because we've done
this, this is possible." Or, " yes, we've done this, but now we have to go on to this big thing
which is important." I think we ought to talk about the entitlements, and the welfare reform.
And I think you ought to mention some of the other stuff, the big stuff. We need to decide which
things we're going to mention and which things we aren't. . . [largely inaudible passage about
limiting the number of things "mentioned"] That ought to be done in the State-of-the-Union
I think this ought to be short, tightly worded, argued and be moving [inaudible - 384-5]
about what you want the country to be like, what you're going to hand off to the future. James
Michener's book . . . This Noble Land . . . is interesting . . . He said he felt like if we didn't do
anything, our macho culture would go the way of Sparta . . . We're obsessed with macho and
games and we don't tend to the fundamentals. He thought if we didn't do anything, we'd still be
the leading country for the next 50 years, after which we'd be history. He said this was really
about whether we were going to renew the wellspring of America's union and go forward
[inaudible - 432] He goes through the whole social contract very carefully . . . [inaudible]
[COMMENT and largely inaudible dialogue]
I came in to change the status quo. You don't even have to . . . blame George Bush. A
lot of [the problems] were accumulated over 30 years. The truth is, the central victory that I've
won so far first the idea that there is a role for the federal government, so the Republican
[inaudible] are wrong, but it's not the role that's predominated throughout the last 50 years. It
focuses on emnpowering people to make the most of thier own lives and their families and their
communities. And the second big battle that we won was the battle represented by the church
burnings and Oklahoma City and the militias and the Republican contract to some extent,
[inaudible].
It's a question of whether the future will be a class [inaudible - 473] at home and abroad. .
. or whether you can build a multi-racial, multi-ethnic multi religious multi-[inaudible] country
based on shared values and common interests and working together or whether those differences
will continue to be used primarily to be exploited by political leaders for their own purposes.
And I think that the argument that we are well positioned for the 21st century economically and
politically because we have all of those people here in our country and we've got to learn to get
along is a very important and powerful argument, [inaudible 181]
I don't think any of us should underestimate the enormity of the historical challenge that
the US took on. Sure we've always been a nation of immigrants, but we've largely taken
immigrants in waves. Like we had the Chinese immigrants, that's basically what we had,
[inaudible] to build a railroad [inaudible] and a lot of them were persecuted . . . [inaud. - 489]
Then we had the Irish, and then we had the Italians, waves of immigrants. Now, we've got all
�these people from everywhere coming in here. It's a lot more complex; and whirlwind that
begins with the external threat of the Cold War. The differences are exploding people
everywhere else. To stand against that and try to create the right spirit of reconciliation
all the stuff we talked about to today.. . that speech about [inaudible - 493]. . . I think that's truly
significant. We may never get credit for it. . . [inaudible 495]
[The conversation continues on the subject of recognition for accomplisments.] From
this I can only conclude that part of the problem is a failure of language. We still don't have a
way to talk about this is a way that people yet can acknowledge . . . You need powerful, spare
language and our version or history and a story line. And I agree that the story line shouldn't be
this is what I did in the last four years. It should be what we did, and how much difference there
is. But it drives me crazy when I read this stuff.. . it's like we never did this. The only time
my stuff gets noticed is like with Oklahoma City because everybody was paying attention, so
they listened to me. Maybe they just never listened . . .
I'll give you one example. WTien I went to Hollywood in Dec. 93 to challenge the
entertainment industry to stop screwing with the kids, it got pretty good publicity. The . . . press
didn't screw with me over. When Bob Dole attacked the movies it didn't merit one single
solitary mention that I had gone there two years before and done the same thing. Not one. And
so I think it's fair to say that somehow it's just not all registering.
One of the audiences that the Inaugural address plays to is history. And one of things we
ought to do is try to give our people a sense of it. For example, we do all this research . . . that
shows that people are bored and not moved by all this discussion about the role of government or
what about history, how does this relate to what Lincoln faced or Teddy Roosevelt or Franklin
Roosevelt. You can say all that but I'm telling you that when the President talks to the American
people about the history of their country, and puts them in the context of history, and thereby
elevates their role to something historically significant, it resonates with people. It's the most
popular thing I did in all these private campaign meetings I did, talking about... I'd end on the
emotional thing about what America should look like and explaining how American history was
formed at these critical junctures when we went through this big changes and worked together. It
had a huge impact on people.
Every major President, every major reformer, has said he was basically reforming the
country to the covenant and the values that this country was formed on. I think you have to do
that. The book I've been reading points out that Presidents who really change things are in the
bizarre situation where they are shattering an old order and trying to recreate a new one, because
people can't stand not having order . . . [inaudible - 561] and one of the ways that you bridge that
is by affirming the order that the values themselves give you. So if you are making changes to
the established values that are in the collective conscious of the American people, this is where
we ought to talk about. .. [inaudible - 564] crime and welfare; that's a gold mine because they
offer that [inaudible 565] . . . then it's easier to bridge the gap. . .
[Inaudible anecdote about Andrew Jackson - 578]
�[In the Inaugural . . .] Basically, we redefine the role of the federal government. . . their
partner in power which means that the people have be one. The second thing we do is define the
good society as we enter the 21st century, one that is multi-racial, multi-religioius, multi-ethnic,
multi-lifestyle but with shared values, because there are some things we have to do together that
we can't do alone. And that means that when coming out of this we have to say, yes, there are
things that the government must do, and we will, but they will largely light a spark ... I think we
might ever use Ashby's line or some version of it. . . The American people [inaudible - 594]...
You don't want to say it like that but use the idea.
Is it your opinion that on balance the American people thought the first Inaugural was a
success? [Answer is "yes."]
American citizenship should be fully felt with participation . . . and the flame of
America's freedom is burning bright throughout the world. Why isn't that our objective? You
ought to lay a predicate. You want the Congress to say the country is still with this guy. Isn't
that what you want them to say. You want the country to say that's why I voted for him, or I
wish I had voted for him and I'm damned glad he won because he's got a handle on where we
are and what we're doing and he has done a good job. We want historians to say I see where he
is at this moment in history and where he's going.
�
Dublin Core
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Title
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Michael Waldman
Description
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<p>Michael Waldman was Assistant to the President and Director of Speechwriting from 1995-1999. His responsibilities were writing and editing nearly 2,000 speeches, which included four State of the Union speeches and two Inaugural Addresses. From 1993 -1995 he served as Special Assistant to the President for Policy Coordination.</p>
<p>The collection generally consists of copies of speeches and speech drafts, talking points, memoranda, background material, correspondence, reports, handwritten notes, articles, clippings, and presidential schedules. A large volume of this collection was for the State of the Union speeches. Many of the speech drafts are heavily annotated with additions or deletions. There are a lot of articles and clippings in this collection.</p>
<p>Due to the size of this collection it has been divided into two segments. Use links below for access to the individual segments:<br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=43&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=2006-0469-F+Segment+1">Segment One</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=43&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=2006-0469-F+Segment+2">Segment Two</a></p>
Creator
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Michael Waldman
Office of Speechwriting
Date
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1993-1999
Identifier
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2006-0469-F
Extent
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Segment One contains 1071 folders in 72 boxes.
Segment Two contains 868 folders in 66 boxes.
Provenance
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Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
Publisher
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William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
Format
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Adobe Acrobat Document
Text
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Original Format
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paper
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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Speech Preparation Transcripts [2]
Creator
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Office of Speechwriting
Michael Waldman
Is Part Of
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Box 45
<a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/show/36404"> Collection Finding Aid</a>
<a href="https://catalog.archives.gov/id/7763296">National Archives Catalog Description</a>
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
2006-0469-F Segment 2
Provenance
A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource.
White House Staff and Office Files
Publisher
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William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
Format
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Adobe Acrobat Document
Medium
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Preservation-Reproduction-Reference
Date Created
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6/3/2015
Source
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7763296
42-t-7763296-20060469F-Seg2-045-011-2015