This is historical material, "frozen in time." The web site is no longer updated and links to external web sites and some internal pages will not work.

THE WHITE HOUSE

                      Office of the Press Secretary
                      (Champaign-Urbana, Illinois)
________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                   January 28, 1998

                       REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
                          TO OVERFLOW CROWD
        
                        University of Illinois
                      Champaign-Urbana, Illinois

12:41 P.M. CST

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Let me, first of all -- let me ask you a question. Did you see the event in the other place? (Applause.) One fellow said, yeah, you don't have to say anything again. It was great. (Laughter.) Well, I want to thank Secretary Riley and thank the Vice President, but mostly, let me tell you we are overwhelmed at the crowd that has come out today. Here -- 5,000 people here. There's another 3,500 people in another room. I'm overwhelmed and I thank you very much. (Applause.)

Look, here's the bottom line. Here's the bottom line. For five years we have worked basically on two things -- first of all, we tried to get the country in shape, in good shape, so that it works in a good way for people. And secondly, we tried to get the American people to imagine the future, to think about the 21st century, to think about what kind of country we want this to be and how we're going to build it. Now that we have the lowest unemployment in 24 years, the lowest inflation in 30 years, the highest homeownership ever, record drops in welfare, five years of dropping crime, things are pretty well in shape, we need to be thinking about the future. And that's what I tried to talk about last night.

We need a future in which all these areas that have been left behind in the economic recovery have a chance to educate their children well, to have their kids on safe streets, to have jobs in places that have never been there -- we need a future like that. (Applause.) And we need a future that you can help us with -- younger people especially, can help us with. A future where we understand that our future is tied to the rest of the world, that we have to work in cooperation with other countries. And it doesn't make us weaker. It makes us stronger when we reach out a hand of friendship to Africa, to Latin America, to Asia, to all these other countries and we work together -- to go forward. We have to understand that. (Applause.)

We need a future in which we understand -- we believe that America can lead the world in growing an economy and not only saving, but actually improving our natural environment. We can cure this problem of global warming and grow the economy. Young people believe that. America has to believe that. And you have to make it happen. (Applause.)

And, finally, we need a future in which we really believe that education is for everyone. We have worked so hard -- you heard us talking about it in the other room -- we worked so hard to make it possible for every young people in this country to go on to college. And you have to tell people who are coming along behind you, you can do it, don't be discouraged. That little baby in your arms can go to college. Every baby in this country I want to be able to go to college. (Applause.)

We have to figure out a way when the Vice President and I, when our generation retires, the so-called baby boomers, we provide for a system that preserves our retirement, guarantees it for the 20 and 30-year-olds today, and doesn't bankrupt you. We can do that if you'll help us do it next year.

And the last thing I want to say is this -- and in some ways this may be more important than anything else. Look at this crowd here today. Look at you, look at each other. (Applause.) Now, we've got people who are young and not so young. (Laughter.) We have people who are in wheelchairs and people who may play varsity athletics. We have people from every conceivable racial and ethnic group here in what you used to think of as homogenous Champaign-Urbana. Why is that? Because America is changing. We're becoming more and more and more diverse.

Now, a lot of the time that Al Gore and I spend working for you, we're out there worrying about these ethnic problems in Bosnia, or religious and ethnic differences in the Middle East, or old hatreds in Ireland, or tribal warfare in Africa. And we still see examples of horrible discrimination from time to time in America. But, you know, just look around this room. This is our meal ticket to the future -- our diversity,and sharing values, believing in each other, believing in the fundamental unity of human nature. That's our meal ticket to the future (Applause.)

You can make one America. And I want you to help us make one America for a new century. Thank you and God bless you. (Applause.)

END 12:46 P.M. CST