[Charles Fishman, editor] Please Distribute 10/08/92 THE ESSENTIAL CLINTON: CHARACTER/VALUES "I'm fed up with politicians in Washington lecturing the rest of us about 'family values.' Our families have values. But our government doesn't. THE VISION --------------------------- "I'll tell you the families I'm worried about. I'm worried about the families that live by family values and play by the rules and still get the shaft. Those are the people we ought to be fighting this election for. They are the people whose future is at stake. . . ." [I have a] "passionate commitment . . . to bringing people together without regard to race. . . ." "we have an obligation, all of us, to call attention to prejudice wherever we see it." "It is time to heal America. And so we must say to every American: look beyond the stereotypes that blind us. We need each other. . . . We don't have a person to waste." THE PLAN --------------------------- [George Bush] "won't give mothers and fathers the simple chance to take some time off from work when a baby is born or a parent is sick. But I will." "He won't streamline the federal government and change the way it works; [he won't] cut a hundred thousand bureaucrats and put a hundred thousand new police officers on the streets of American cities. But I will." "George Bush won't guarantee a woman's right to choose. I will. . . . I am not pro-abortion. I am pro-choice, strongly. I believe this difficult and painful decision should be left to the women of America." "The new budget has the unkindest cut of all. It cuts benefits to disabled veterans by 10.3 billion over the next four years. That would slash benefits completely for 1.2 million disabled veterans. Mr. Bush wants to go back on that historic commitment Americans have made and veterans have trusted for decades; I don't." "to the fathers in this country who have chosen to abandon their children by neglecting to pay their child support: take responsibility for your children or we will force you to do so." FAITH IN THE FUTURE --------------------------- "One of the reasons we have so many children in so much trouble in so many places in this nation is because they have seen so little opportunity, so little responsibility, and so little loving, caring community that they literally cannot imagine the life we are calling them to lead." "Somewhere at this very moment, another child is born in America. Let it be our cause to give that child a happy home, a healthy family, a hopeful future. Let it be our cause to see that child reach the fullest of her God-given abilities. Let it be our cause that she grow up strong and secure, braced by her challenges, but never, never struggling alone; with family and friends and a faith that, in America, no one is left out, no one is left behind." "What is eating the heart out of this country today is that we have lost two of the things that always drive us to do better. First, a faith in the future. More and more of our people do not believe that tomorrow will be better than today. . . . The other thing that's killing this country is that most people don't believe they matter very much to their friends and neighbors. We don't have the sense of community that we need that embraces people across racial and ethnic lines and income lines." "what is killing this country today is not the size of our challenge but the dimension of our disbelief. . . . we need faith and the conviction that we can confront these problems in an American way that goes beyond the kind of paralysis we've had at home for the last 10 years. . . ." AMERICA IS AN IDEA --------------------------- "Frankly, I'm deeply concerned by the cynicism, the intolerance, the ugliness that threatens our society today. . . . It is the responsibility of our leaders to counter intolerance, bigotry and hatred. As president, my commitment to opposing fear and hate and prejudice will not bend with the prevailing political wind. It will be strong, steady, and certain." "I think patriotism requires all of us to love our country enough to right its wrongs. Patriotism is not silent in the face of wrong-headed policy; it is vocal. . . . A Clinton- Gore administration will never give sanction to intolerance and bigotry." "If we're serious about what this country means and can yet mean, then we know America is not just a place; it's an idea. An idea cherished and given life by Puritans and Catholics, by Jews and Baptists, by Republicans and Democrats, by women and men, by people of all colors, of all races, of all religions." "That means an America where hatred and bigotry are not tolerated, an America where we have a Supreme Court that will respect our Constitution, protect a woman's right to choose and protect the rights of all Americans." A NEW DIRECTION FOR AMERICA --------------------------- "We have an opportunity not only to win a campaign but to change this country, not just to get a few more votes than our opponents, but to do more to change the lives of the American people, to summon the American people to a new call of opportunity and responsibility and genuine community. And I believe the American people are aching for it." "We need a new direction in this country. . . . we need a partnership. We cannot go forward unless we go forward together, without regard to race or region or income. We need a partnership. . . . And it can't be trickle down. We've tried that for 12 years. "We need an America that stands up for human rights and independence here at home and around the world. . . . The end of the Cold War gives us the freedom to stand up for our values. . . . We've got to have a passion for progress." "this election is about more than the state of our economy and the government's responsibility to provide every American a decent chance at a decent way of life. It is also about what kind of country we want to be and what kind of values we choose to cherish and to pass on to our children." A NEW COVENANT --------------------------- "we need a new approach to government--a government that offers more empowerment and less entitlement, more choices for young people in the schools they attend, in the public schools they attend, and more choices for the elderly and for people with disabilities and the long-term care they receive--a government that is leaner, not meaner." "[This will be] a government that expands opportunity, not bureaucracy--a government that understands that jobs must come from growth in a vibrant and vital system of free enterprise." "our platform is tough on crime, pro-growth, and innovative in the most modern and best sense, and emphasizes the personal responsibility of every American." "being a citizen involves responsibilities as well as rights--including the responsibility to love your country even enough to fight its wrongs; the responsibility to get involved, to make a difference, to serve." "I call this approach a New Covenant--a solemn agreement between the people and their government--based not simply on what each of us can take but on what all of us must give to our nation. We offer our people a new choice based on old values. We offer opportunity. We demand responsibility. We will build an American community again." THE FUTURE --------------------------- "We can all give our speeches, and we can all give our talks. We can plead our cases, we can all tell our stories. But at the end of the day, what will matter is whether we have done anything to change the human condition of people in our country and the future of this great land. This [plan] will change the future." "I'll fight to create high-paying jobs so that parents can afford to raise their children today. . . . I'll fight to make sure women in this country receive respect and dignity --whether they work in the home, out of the home, or both." "In the end, every decision must be guided by principle as well as experience." "When I am your president, the rest of the world will not look down on us with pity but up to us with respect again." ENDORSEMENTS --------------------------- Families USA The Fraternal Order of Police All major teachers' associations The Detroit Free Press (10/4/92): "Bill Clinton will give the country a better balance of belief, leadership and ability to communicate [than George Bush]. Mr. Clinton represents a common-sense alternative to the drift of the Bush years. . . ." The Seattle Times (10/4/92): "Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton, by addressing anxieties about jobs, unemployment, health care and education, has connected better with the hopes and frustrations of the ordinary citizen in the last few months than [President] Bush has in the last 4 years." Gerald W. McEntee, International President, and William Lucy, International Secretary-Treasurer, AFSCME (American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, AFL- CIO), October, 1992: "Bill Clinton has directly addressed every issue of major concern to AFSCME's members as workers and citizens. He puts a priority on building the nation's infrastructure, on creating jobs, on universal access to decent health care, on improving public education, on tax fairness, on family and parental leave, on civil rights and women's rights and workers' rights. . . . We urge each and every one of you to take an active hand in helping elect Bill Clinton and Al Gore." Business and Professional Women's PAC, by unanimous vote. The 7,000 participants at the B&PW convention in Minneapolis made the first presidential endorsement in B&PW's 75-year history. Said Chairwoman, Mariwyn Heath (7/28/92, "This political action committee looked at the voting records of the candidates, their vetos and the power that they use for and against women, and took this bold step to endorse the presidential ticket of Bill Clinton and Al Gore." John P. White, former Issues Director, Perot Petition Committee (10/5/92): "Today, I am announcing my support for Governor Bill Clinton for President of the United States. Over the past few months, I have been deeply involved in the Presidential campaign. As a result, I have had a special opportunity to observe the candidates in the context of personal capabilities, positions on issues, and leadership characteristics. I believe that a Clinton presidency will achieve for the country the essential combination of economic growth, good jobs, and long-term fiscal strength. I believe Clinton has an excellent economic plan and will provide the long-term deficit reduction that will be necessary to return America to a sound footing."