THE SECOND PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE BETWEEN PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON AND SENATOR BOB DOLE
MR. LEHRER: Mr. President.
PRESIDENT CLINTON: One of the reasons that I ran for President is because not just children, a lot of grownups felt that way. If you remember, four years ago we had not only rising unemployment, but a lot of rising cynicism. I had never worked in Washington as an elected official. It seemed to me that most of the arguments were partisan -- Republican-Democrat, left-right, liberal-conservative.
That's why I said tonight I'm for opportunity, responsibility, and community. And we've gotten some real progress in the last four years. I've also done everything I could at every moment of division in this country -- after Oklahoma City, when these churches were burned -- to bring people together and remind people that we are stronger because of our diversity. We have to respect one another.
You mentioned Washington and Lincoln; they were Presidents at historic times. This is an historic time. It's important that we go beyond those old partisan arguments and focus on people and their future. When we do that, instead of shutting the government down over a partisan fight on the budget, we're a better country, and that's why we're making progress now.
And, BTW, does anyone know if images of the bombed-out federal building in Oklahoma City ever showed up in Clinton re-election ads?