Now in American History tv, bill clintons speech accepting the 1996 democratic nomination for president. Ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states, bill clinton [applause] thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you. Mister chairman. Mr. Chairman, mr. Vice president , my fellow democrats and my fellow americans. Thank you for your nomination. [applause] i dont know if i can find a fancy way to say this, but i accept. [applause] thank you. So many have contributed to the record we have made for the American People, but one above all, my partner, my friend, and the best Vice President in our history, al gore. [applause] tonight i think the city of chicago, its great mayor and its wonderful people for this magnificent convention. I love chicago for many reasons. For your powerful spirit, your sports teams, you are lively politics, but most of all for the love and light of my life, chicagos daughter, hillary. You and i set forth on a journey four years ago to bring forth our vision for the country. To keep the American Dream alive for all who are willing to work for it. To make our American Community stronger. To keep america the worlds Strongest Force for peace and freedom and prosperity. Four years ago, with high unemployment, stagnant wages, crime, welfare, and the deficit on the rise, with a host of unmet challenges and a rising tide of cynicism, i told you about a place i was born. And i told you that i still believed in a place called hope. Well, for four years now, to realize our vision, we have pursued a simple but profound strategy. Opportunity little opportunity for all, responsibility from all, a strong united American Community. Four days ago, as you were making your way here, i began a train ride to make my way to chicago through americas heartland. I wanted to see the faces. I wanted to hear the voices of the people for whom i have worked and fought these last four years. And did i i ever see them. Met an ingenious business woman, who was once on when phil welfare and was virginia. Break police officer, shot and paralyzed, now a civic leader, in kentucky. And autoworker, in ohio, once unemployed, now proud to be working in the oldest auto plant in america, to help make america number one in ottawa diction again, for the first time in 20 years. I met a grandmother fighting for her grandsons environment, in michigan. And i stood with two wonderful little children, proudly reading from their favorite book, the little engine that could. At every stop, large and exuberant crowds greeted me, and maybe more important, when we just rolled through little towns, there were always schoolchildren their, waving their american flags. All of them believing in america and its future. I would not have missed a trip, for all the world. For the trip showed me that hope is back in america. We are around that dry track to the 24 century. Look at the facts. Just look at the facts. 4. 4 million americans now living in a home of their, own for the first time. Hundreds of thousands of women have started their own new businesses, more minorities owned businesses than ever before. Record numbers of new Small Businesses and experts. Look at whats happened. We have the lowest combined rates of unemployment, inflation, and homework edges in 28 years. Look at what happened, 10 million new jobs, over half of the them highways. Jobs 10 million workers, getting raise they deserve with a minimum wage law. 25 Million People now having protection in their Health Insurance, because to kennedy kassebaum bill says you cant lose your insurance anymore, when you change jobs, even if somebody in your family has been sick. 40 million americans with more pension security, a tax cut for 15 million over hardest working. Hardest pressed americans, and all Small Businesses. 12 million americans, 12 million of them, taking advantage of the family and medical leave law, so they can be good parents and good workers. 10 Million Students have saved money on their College Loans we are making our democracy work. We have also passed political reform, the line item veto, the motor voter bills, tougher registration for laws for lobbyists. Making Congress Live under the laws they impose on the private sector. Stopping unfunded mandates, to the state and local government. Weve gone a long way, weve got one more thing to do. Will you help me get Campaign Finance reform in the next four years . [applause] we have increased our investments in research and technology. We have increased investments in Breast Cancer research dramatically. We are developing a supercomputer, a supercomputer that will do more calculating in a second, then a person with a hand calculator can do in 30,000 years. More Rapid Development of drugs to deal with hiv and aides and moving them to the market quicker, have almost doubled Life Expectancy in only four years. And we are looking at no limit in sight for that. Will keep going until normal life is returned, to people who deal with this. Our country is still the strongest for force for peace and freedom on earth. On issues that once before, tore us apart. We have changed the whole politics of washington. For too long, leaders in washington asked whos to blame what. We asked, what are we going to do . Cylinder [applause] on prime, for putting 100,000 police on the streets. We made three strikes in your out, the law of the land. We stopped 60,000 felons, fugitives and stalkers from getting handguns under the brady bill. We banned assault rifles, which supported tougher punishment and prevention programs, to keep our children from drugs and gangs and violence. For years now, for four years now, the crime rate in america has gone down. On welfare, we worked with states to launch a quiet revolution. Today there are 1. 8 million fewer people on welfare, then there were the day i took the oath of office. We are moving people from welfare to work. We have increased Child Support collections by 40 . The federal workforce is the smallest it has been since john kennedy. And the deficit has come down for four years in a row, for the First Time Since before the civil war, down 60 on the way to zero. We will do it. We are, on the right track to the 21st century. We are on the right track, but our work is not finished. What should we do . First, let us consider how to proceed again. I say, the question is no longer whos to blame, but what to do. I believe that bob dole and jack camp, and ross perot, love our country. And they have worked hard to save it. It is legitimate, even necessary, to compare our records with players. Our proposals for the future, with theres. And i expect them to make a vigorous effort to do the same. But i will not attack. I will not attack them personally, or permit others to do it, in his party if i can prevent it. My fellow americans, this must be a campaign of ideas, not a campaign of insults. The American People deserve it. Now, heres the main idea. I love and for here the rich and proud history of america. And i am determined to take our best traditions into the future. But with all respect, we do not need to build a bridge to the past. We need to build a bridge to the future. And that is what i commit to you to do. So tonight, tonight let us resolve to build that bridge to the 21st century. To meet our challenges and protect our values. Let us build a bridge to help our parents raise their children, to help young people and adults to get the education and training they need. To make our streets safer, to help americans succeed at home in that work. To break the cycle of poverty and dependence. To protect our environment for generations to come. And to maintain our world leadership, for peace and freedom. Let us resolve to build that bridge. Tonight, my fellow americans, i ask all of our fellow citizens to join me and to join you, in building that bridge to the 24 century. From years from now, just four years for now, think of it, we begin in a century, full of enormous possibilities. We have to give the American People the tools they need, to make the most of their god given potential. We must make the basic bargain of opportunity, and responsibility available to all americans, not just a few. That is the promise of the democratic party, but is a promise of america. I want to build a bridge to the 21st century, in a way to expand opportunity through education. Work and theaters are as much a part of the classroom, as blackboards. Where highly trained teachers demand Peak Performance from our students. Where every eight year old can point to a book and say, i can read it myself. By the year 2000, the single most critical thing we can do, is to give every single american who wants it, the chance to go to college. We must make two years of college, just as universal in four years, as a High School Education is, today. And we can do it. We can do it. And we should cut taxes to do it. I propose a 1500 a year to a shun tax credit for americans, a hope scholarship for the first two years of college, to make the Typical CommunityCollege Education available to every american. I believe every working family ought also to be able to deduct up to 10,000 dollars in College Tuition costs per year, for education after that. I believe the families of this country ought to be able to save money for college in a tax free ira. Save it year in and year out, with dried for College Education without penalty. We should not tax middle income americans for the money they spend on college. Well get the money back down the road, many times over. I want to say here, before i go further, that these tax cuts, and every other one i mentioned tonight, are all fully paid for in my balanced budget plan. Line by line, dime by dime, and they focus on education. Law now, one thing, so many of our fellow americans are learning, is that education no longer stops on graduation day. I have proposed our new gi bill for american workers, a 2600 dollar grant for unemployment and underemployed americans, so that they can get the training and the skills they need to go back to work at better paying jobs, good high skilled jobs for a good future. But we must demand excellence at every level of education. We must insist that our students learn the old basics we learned, and then you basics they have to know, for the next century. Tonight let us set a clear national goal, all children should be able to read on their own by their third grade. When 40 of our eight year olds cannot read as well as they should, we have to do something. I want to send 30,000 reading specialists, and National Service corpse members, to mobilize a volunteer army of 1 million reading tutors for third graders all across america. They will teach our Young Children to read. Let me say to our parents, you have to lead the way. Every tired night you spend reading a book to your child will be worth many times over. I know that, hillary and i, so talk about the book spirit to chelsea when we were so tired record hardly stay awake. We still remember them, and more importantly, so does she. But we are going to help the parents of this country make every child able to read for himself or herself by the age of eight like third grade. Do you believe we can do that . Will you help us do that . [applause] thank you. We must give all parents the rights to choose which Public School their children will attend and to let teachers for new Charter Schools where the charter they can keep only if they do a good job. We must keep our schools open late so that young people have someplace to go and something to say yes to and stay off the street. [applause] we must require that our students passed tough tests to keep moving up in school. A diploma has to mean something when they get out. We should reward teachers that are doing a good job and remove those who dont measure up. But in every case, never forget that none of us would be here tonight if it werent for our teachers. I know i wouldnt. We ought to lift them up, not tear them down. We need schools that will take our children into the next century. We need schools that are rebuilt and modernized in an unprecedented commitment from the National Government to increase school construction. And with every single library and classroom in america connected to the information super highway by the year 2000. Now folks, if we do these things, every eight year old will be a victory. Every 12yearold will be able to logging on to the internet. Every 18 year old will be able to go to college and all americans will have the knowledge they need to cross that bridge to the 21st century. I want to build a bridge to the 21st century in which we build a strong and growing economy. To preserve the legacy of opportunity for the next generation. By balancing our budget in a way that protects our values and ensuring that every family will be able to own and protect the value of their most important asset, their home. Tonight lettuce proclaim to the American People we will balance the budget. Let us also proclaim that we will do it in a way that preserves medicare, medicaid, education, the environment, the integrity of our people. The strength of our people. Last year, when the a public and Republican Congress sent me a budget that violated those values and principles, i vetoed it, and i would do it again tomorrow. [applause] i could never allow cuts the devastate education for our children. That pollute our environment. The guarantee of health care for those who are served under medicaid. That in our duty, but in the guarantee of health care to those who are served under medicare. That and our duty or violate our duty to our parents through medicare. I just could not do that. As long as im president , i will never let it happen. And it doesnt matter if they try again, as they did before, to use the blackmail threat of a shutdown of the federal government to force these things on the American People. We did not let it happen before and we will not let it happen again. [applause] of course, there is a better answer to this dilemma. We could have the right kind of a balanced budget with a new congress, a democratic congress. I want to balance the budget with real cuts in government, in waste. I want a plan that invests in education, as mind us, in technology, and yes, in research, as christopher relieve so powerfully reminded us we must do. And my plan gives americans tax cuts that will help our economy to grow. I want to expand i. R. A. S so that young people can save tax free to buy a first home. Tonight, i propose a new tax cut for homeownership that says to every middle income working family in this country, if you sell your home, you will not have to pay a Capital Gains tax on it ever, not ever. I want every american to be able to hear those beautiful words, welcome home. [applause] let me say again that every tax cut i call for tonight is targeted, its responsible and it is paid for it within my balance budget plan. My tax cuts will not undermine our economy, they will speed Economic Growth. We should cut taxes for the family sending a child to college, for the work or returning to college, for the family saving to buy a home or for Long Term Health care, and a 500 dollar per child credit for middle income families raising their children who need help with childcare and what the children will do after school. That is the right way to cut taxes, pro family, pro education, pro Economic Growth. Now. [applause] now, our opponents have put forward a very different plan. A risky 550 billion dollar tax scheme that will force them to ask for even bigger cuts in medicare, medicaid, education, and the environment, then they passed and i vetoed last year. But even then, they will not cover the costs of their steam, so that even then this plan will explode the deficit, which will increase Interest Rates by 2 according to their own estimates last year. It will require huge cuts in the very investments we need to grow and to Grow Together and, at the same time, slow down the economy. You know what higher Interest Rates mean . To you in means a higher mortgage payment, a higher car payment, a higher credit card payment. To our economy it means Business People will not borrow as much money, invest as much money, create as many new jobs, create as much wealth, raise as many wages. Do we really want to make that same mistake all over again . No do we really want to stop Economic Growth again . No do we really want to start piling up another mountain of debt . No do we want to bring back the recession of 1991 and 92 . No do we want to weaken our bridge to the 21st century no of course we dont. We have an obligation, you and i, to leave our children a legacy of opportunity, not a legacy of debt. Our budget would be balanced today. We would have a surplus today if we did not have to make the Interest Payments on the debt run up in the 12 years before the Clinton Gore Administration took office. [applause] so let me say. Let me say this is one of those areas in which i respectfully disagree with my opponent. I dont believe we should bet the farm, and