CBS News - Democratic Convention - 1992-07-16 - 3 of 3

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Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:00] they attend in the public schools they

[0:02] attend

[0:09] and

[0:10] more choices for the elderly and for

[0:13] people with disabilities and the

[0:14] long-term care they receive.

[0:20] A government that is leaner, not meaner.

[0:24] A government that expands opportunity,

[0:26] not bureaucracy. A government that

[0:29] understands that jobs must come from

[0:31] growth in a vibrant and vital system of

[0:34] free enterprise.

[0:36] I call this approach

[0:38] a new covenant, a solemn agreement

[0:44] between the people and their government

[0:47] based not simply on what each of us can

[0:49] take but what all of us must give to our

[0:53] nation.

[1:02] We offer our people a new choice based

[1:05] on old values. We offer opportunity. We

[1:09] demand responsibility.

[1:12] We will build an American community

[1:14] again. The choice we offer is not

[1:18] conservative or liberal. In many ways,

[1:20] it's not even Republican or Democratic.

[1:23] It's different. It's new. And it will

[1:27] work.

[1:32] It will work because it is rooted in the

[1:35] vision and the values of the American

[1:38] people.

[1:40] Of all the things George Bush has ever

[1:43] said that I disagree with, perhaps the

[1:46] thing that bothers me most is how he

[1:50] derides and degrades the American

[1:54] tradition of seeing and seeking a better

[1:58] future. He mocks it as the vision thing.

[2:11] But just remember what the scripture

[2:14] says.

[2:16] Where there is no vision, the people

[2:21] perish.

[2:30] I hope

[2:33] I hope nobody in this great hall tonight

[2:35] or in our beloved country has to go

[2:38] through tomorrow without a vision. I

[2:41] hope no one ever tries to raise a child

[2:44] without a vision. I hope nobody ever

[2:47] starts a business or plants a crop in

[2:49] the ground without a vision. For where

[2:52] there is no vision, the people perish.

[3:00] One of the reasons we have so many

[3:03] children in so much trouble in so many

[3:07] places in this nation is because they

[3:10] have seen so little opportunity,

[3:14] so little responsibility,

[3:16] so little loving, caring community that

[3:20] they literally cannot imagine the life

[3:24] we are calling them to lead.

[3:33] And so I say again, where there is no

[3:36] vision, America will perish.

[3:41] What is the vision of our new covenant?

[3:46] An America with millions of new jobs and

[3:49] dozens of new industries moving

[3:51] confidently toward the 21st century. an

[3:54] America that says to entrepreneurs and

[3:56] business people, we will give you more

[3:58] incentives and more opportunity than

[4:00] ever before to develop the skills of

[4:03] your workers and to create American jobs

[4:06] and American wealth in the new global

[4:09] economy.

[4:14] But

[4:16] you must do your part. You must be

[4:20] responsible. American companies must act

[4:23] like American companies again. Exporting

[4:26] products, not jobs.

[4:43] That's what this new covenant's all

[4:46] about. An America in which the doors of

[4:49] college are thrown open once again to

[4:51] the sons and daughters of stenographers

[4:54] and steel workers.

[4:58] We'll say everybody can borrow the money

[5:01] to go to college, but you must do your

[5:04] part. You must pay it back

[5:09] from your paychecks

[5:11] or better yet by going back home and

[5:14] serving your communities.

[5:23] Just think of it.

[5:25] Think of it. Millions of energetic young

[5:28] men and women serving their country by

[5:31] policing the streets or teaching the

[5:34] children or caring for the sick are

[5:36] working with the elderly and people with

[5:38] disabilities or helping young people to

[5:40] stay off drugs and out of gangs giving

[5:43] us all a sense of new hope and limitless

[5:46] possibilities. That's what this new

[5:48] covenant is all about.

[5:59] An America in which healthc care is a

[6:03] right, not a privilege.

[6:08] in which we say to all of our people,

[6:12] your government has the courage finally

[6:16] to take on the health care profiters and

[6:19] make health care affordable for every

[6:22] family.

[6:23] Yes,

[6:28] >> but

[6:30] you must do your part. preventive care,

[6:34] prenatal care, childhood immunization,

[6:37] saving lives, saving money, saving

[6:39] families from heartbreak. That's what

[6:42] the new covenant is all about.

[6:46] An America in which middle class

[6:49] incomes, not middle class taxes, are

[6:51] going up. An America, yes, in which the

[6:56] wealthiest few, those making over

[6:59] $200,000 a year, are asked to pay their

[7:03] fair share.

[7:08] >> An America

[7:10] in which the rich are not soaked, but

[7:13] the middle class is not drowned either.

[7:19] Responsibility

[7:24] starts at the top. That's what the new

[7:27] covenant is all about.

[7:29] An America where we end welfare as we

[7:32] know it. We will say to those on

[7:35] welfare, you will have and you deserve

[7:40] the opportunity through training and

[7:42] education, through child care and

[7:45] medical coverage to liberate yourself.

[7:54] But then when you can, you must work

[7:58] because welfare should be a check second

[8:00] chance, not a way of life.

[8:04] That's what the new covenant is all

[8:06] about.

[8:10] An America with the world's strongest

[8:13] defense, ready and willing to use force

[8:17] when necessary.

[8:19] An America at the forefront of the

[8:22] global effort to preserve and protect

[8:25] our common environment

[8:27] and promoting global growth. An America

[8:31] that will not coddle tyrants from

[8:34] Baghdad to Beijing.

[8:45] An America that champions the cause of

[8:49] freedom and democracy from Eastern

[8:52] Europe to Southern Africa and in our own

[8:56] hemisphere in Haiti and Cuba.

[9:07] The end of the Cold War permits us to

[9:11] reduce defense spending while still

[9:14] maintaining the strongest defense in the

[9:16] world. But we must plow back every

[9:21] dollar of defense cuts into building

[9:24] American jobs right here at home.

[9:35] I know well that the world needs a

[9:38] strong America, but we have learned that

[9:42] strength begins at home.

[9:50] But the new covenant is about more than

[9:52] opportunities and responsibilities for

[9:55] you and your families.

[9:57] It's also about our common community.

[10:02] Tonight,

[10:05] every one of you knows,

[10:09] deep in your heart,

[10:12] that we are too divided.

[10:18] It is time to heal America.

[10:29] And so

[10:31] we must say

[10:35] to every American,

[10:37] look beyond the stereotypes that blind

[10:41] us.

[10:43] We need each other. All of us. We need

[10:47] each other.

[10:49] We don't have a person to waste.

[10:53] And yet for too long politicians have

[10:56] told the most of us that are doing all

[10:58] right that what's really wrong with

[11:01] America is the rest of us.

[11:05] Them

[11:07] them the minorities

[11:10] them the liberals.

[11:14] Them the poor.

[11:17] Them the homeless. Them the people with

[11:20] disabilities. them the gay. We've gotten

[11:23] to where we've nearly themmed ourselves

[11:25] to death. Them and them and them.

[11:41] But

[11:45] this is America.

[11:49] There is no them. There is only us.

[12:06] One nation

[12:09] under God,

[12:12] indivisible,

[12:14] with liberty and justice for all.

[12:39] That

[12:41] that is our pledge of allegiance and

[12:46] that's what the new covenant is all

[12:50] about.

[12:58] How do I know we can come together and

[13:00] make change happen? Because I have seen

[13:03] it in my own state. In Arkansas, we're

[13:07] working together and we're making

[13:09] progress.

[13:11] No, there's no Arkansas miracle, but

[13:14] there are a lot of miraculous people.

[13:22] And because of them,

[13:25] our schools are better, our wages are

[13:28] higher, our factories are busier, our

[13:32] water is cleaner, and our budget is

[13:34] balanced. We're moving ahead.

[13:41] I wish I wish I could say the same thing

[13:45] about America under the incumbent

[13:48] president.

[13:50] He took the richest country in the world

[13:54] and brought it down.

[13:59] We took one of the poorest states in

[14:03] America and lifted it up.

[14:10] And so tonight,

[14:12] I say all to all of those in this

[14:15] campaign season who would criticize

[14:18] Arkansas,

[14:20] come on down.

[14:25] Especially

[14:28] Especially if you're from Washington,

[14:30] come on down.

[14:34] Sure,

[14:37] you'll see us struggling against some of

[14:39] the problems we haven't solved yet, but

[14:42] you'll also see a lot of great people

[14:46] doing amazing things, and you might even

[14:49] learn a thing or two.

[14:55] In the end, my fellow Americans,

[14:58] this new covenant simply asks us all to

[15:03] be Americans again.

[15:06] Oldfashioned Americans for a new time.

[15:11] Opportunity,

[15:13] responsibility,

[15:15] community.

[15:16] When we pull together, America will pull

[15:21] ahead. Throughout the whole history of

[15:24] this country, we have seen time and time

[15:27] and time again when we are united, we

[15:30] are unstoppable.

[15:37] >> We can seize this moment, make it

[15:40] exciting and energizing and heroic to be

[15:43] American again.

[15:45] >> We can renew our faith in each other and

[15:48] in ourselves. We can restore our sense

[15:51] of unity and community. As the scripture

[15:54] says, our eyes have not yet seen, nor

[15:57] our ears heard, nor our minds imagined

[16:00] what we can build.

[16:10] But I I can't do this alone. No

[16:14] president can. We must do it together.

[16:18] It won't be easy. And it won't be quick.

[16:21] We didn't get into this mess overnight

[16:23] and we won't get out of it overnight.

[16:26] But we can do it with commitment,

[16:31] creativity, diversity, and drive.

[16:36] We can do it.

[16:41] We can do it. We can do it. We can do

[16:45] it. We can do it. We can do it.

[16:49] You can do it.

[17:03] I want every person in this hall and

[17:07] every person in this land to reach out

[17:11] and join us in a great new adventure to

[17:14] chart a bold new future. As a teenager,

[17:18] I heard John Kennedy's summons to

[17:21] citizenship.

[17:23] And then as a student at Georgetown, I

[17:26] heard that call clarified by a professor

[17:30] named Carol Quigley who said to us that

[17:34] America was the greatest nation in

[17:37] history because our people had always

[17:41] believed in two things. that tomorrow

[17:45] can be better than today and that every

[17:48] one of us has a personal moral

[17:52] responsibility to make it so.

[18:03] That

[18:05] that kind of future

[18:08] entered my life the night our daughter

[18:11] Chelsea was born.

[18:14] As I stood in the delivery room,

[18:17] I was overcome with the thought that God

[18:21] had given me a blessing my own father

[18:24] never knew. The chance to hold my child

[18:29] in my arms.

[18:32] Somewhere at this very moment, a child

[18:37] is being born in America.

[18:41] Let it be our cause to give that child a

[18:45] health a happy home, a healthy family,

[18:50] and a hopeful future.

[18:52] >> Let it be our cause to see that that

[18:55] child has a chance to live to the

[18:58] fullest of her God-given capacities.

[19:04] Let it

[19:06] let it be our cause to see that child

[19:09] grow up strong and secure, embraced by

[19:13] her challenges, but never struggling

[19:15] alone with family and friends and a

[19:18] faith that in America no one is left

[19:22] out. No one is left behind.

[19:33] Let it be,

[19:35] let it be our cause that when this child

[19:37] is able, she gives something back to her

[19:40] children, her community, and her

[19:43] country. Let it be our cause that we

[19:46] give this child a country that is coming

[19:48] together, not coming apart. A country of

[19:51] boundless hopes and endless dreams. A

[19:54] country that once again lifts its people

[19:57] and inspires the world. Let that be our

[20:01] cause, our commitment, and our new

[20:04] covenant.

[20:17] My fellow Americans,

[20:21] I end tonight

[20:23] where it all began for me.

[20:27] I still believe in a place called hope.

[20:32] God bless you and God bless America.

[20:40] Heat.

[20:53] Heat.

[21:00] Yeah. Heat.

[21:11] Heat.

[21:21] Heat.

[21:37] Heat. Heat.

[22:15] The tuners don't stop thinking about

[22:17] tomorrow.

[22:21] Wake

[22:37] this door.

[22:51] Madison Square Garden

[22:55] the balloons 15,000 of them now

[23:00] in 1980

[23:02] 1980 at President Carter's renomination

[23:05] here in Madison Square Garden Wars did

[23:09] not come down Charles remember that

[23:12] I'm told this time that they required of

[23:14] the balloon supplier

[23:17] contractor

[23:22] some cash put away and said if the

[23:24] balloons don't come down this time it's

[23:26] going to cost you. He agreed.

[23:36] Well, Charles, conventions, speeches,

[23:38] and balloon drops are one thing. winning

[23:40] elections.

[23:42] Quite another.

[23:44] One of the purposes of these conventions

[23:46] is to create a kind of pep rally

[23:49] attitude. Reminds you one of those great

[23:51] bonfire before the big game from high

[23:54] school to college. So to get some of the

[23:57] flavor, let's go down to the floor and

[23:58] Susan Spencer. Susan,

[24:02] you can get the balloons out of the way.

[24:04] Say a few words with Senator Prior.

[24:07] Senator,

[24:07] >> he's trying to help you. He's trying to

[24:09] help us.

[24:10] >> Was that the speech of his wife,

[24:11] Senator?

[24:12] >> Pardon,

[24:12] >> Senator Brier. Was that the speech of no

[24:14] one's wife?

[24:15] >> I think that was a very fine speech. I

[24:18] think he annunciated some of the some of

[24:20] not only the goals of the campaign, but

[24:23] some of the policies of this

[24:25] administration. First, he's trying to

[24:27] achieve unity in this country. He's

[24:29] trying to bring us together. He's trying

[24:32] to reach out. He's trying to reach out

[24:34] to parole to labor and business and

[24:36] black and white and all segments of

[24:39] America. He wants to bring us back

[24:41] together.

[24:41] >> He's going to play with Perau

[24:42] supporters.

[24:44] >> I I pardon.

[24:45] >> He's going to play with supporters of

[24:47] Ross Perau and create a specific appeal

[24:48] to them.

[24:49] >> Yes. I I think it will. I hope it will.

[24:52] A lot of the roau people are

[24:54] disenchanted with government.

[24:56] >> They want new leadership and now I'm

[24:58] hoping they're saved that Bill Clinton

[25:00] is that person. Thank you very much,

[25:02] >> Dan.

[25:03] >> Susan Spencer with David Prior, Senator

[25:05] for Marcus. Let's go over to Ed Bradley

[25:06] who's down there also uh under the

[25:09] bombardment of balloons. Ed.

[25:10] >> Dan, I've got a big bag of balloons

[25:12] trying to shake loose. Maybe I got about

[25:15] a minute before it comes down. I tell

[25:17] you, this speech played very well here.

[25:19] Some people started to feel it was a bit

[25:21] long uh about 5 10 minutes from the end,

[25:24] but the reaction here was positive. He

[25:25] hit every note he needed to hit. And you

[25:28] sort of looked around in the crowd here

[25:29] and you you sort of see what the

[25:31] Democratic Party is trying to do because

[25:33] you see people of every stripe here. I

[25:35] looked at a woman who was born standing

[25:37] behind me in the Philippines. Blacks,

[25:40] whites, Christians, Jews, all trying to

[25:44] get united. And Clinton feeling that he

[25:46] has a unified party. I tell you, Dan,

[25:49] it's hard to imagine that he could have

[25:50] put together a better convention. He got

[25:53] uh an opportunity to play hard ball with

[25:56] those he wanted to play hard ball with

[25:57] in negotiations to keep them off the

[26:00] podium if they didn't do what the

[26:02] Clinton team wanted them to do. And he

[26:05] negotiated and compromised with those

[26:07] who were willing to negotiate and

[26:08] compromise and in the end he got the

[26:10] balloons to come down. So it was a good

[26:12] convention. Dan

[26:15] >> Bob Shever is on the podium watching all

[26:17] this. Bob.

[26:21] >> All right. Well, uh, Dan, I'm up here on

[26:23] the podium and everybody who's anybody

[26:25] in politics or Democratic politics and a

[26:28] lot of other people, too, are coming on

[26:30] to this podium. Uh, there's Senator John

[26:33] Bro. Senator, how'd you like to speak?

[26:34] It's going to win in Louisiana. All

[26:36] right.

[26:39] >> We just saw Well, you're seeing them as

[26:41] they come out onto the stage now. I'm

[26:43] back here at the door where they're

[26:45] where they're coming in. This, of

[26:47] course, was a very different kind of

[26:49] speech for a Democratic candidate to

[26:50] make tonight. Clearly an appeal to the

[26:52] middle class.

[26:54] Here I see uh Governor and Mrs. Dukakus.

[26:58] What did you think, Governor?

[26:59] >> It was terrific.

[27:00] >> Wonderful. Wonderful.

[27:01] >> Two great speeches. Just fabulous.

[27:07] >> All right, back to you, Dan.

[27:10] >> Well, thanks, Bob. There's still a few

[27:11] balloons to drop as the Clintons and the

[27:14] Gors do what you do on the night when

[27:17] you accept the nomination for president

[27:19] and vice president. Charles, the speech

[27:23] itself, Ed Bradley referred to its

[27:25] length. It was a different assignment

[27:28] that Bill Clinton had in Atlanta where

[27:30] he got so much criticism in Atlanta. He

[27:32] spoke for about 33 minutes when he was

[27:34] supposed to speak for about 15. Tonight

[27:36] was a whole different thing. accepting

[27:38] the presidential nomination, he spoke

[27:39] for 52 almost 53 minutes, I think. And

[27:43] as Ed noted, while certainly there were

[27:45] those on the floor who thought it might

[27:47] be a tad long when just before he got to

[27:49] the close, he rallied at the close and

[27:51] and really brought it home. Well, it was

[27:54] uh it was perilously close to an hour.

[27:57] It u

[27:59] you know was not without its eloquence

[28:02] but it u it typified the well-known

[28:05] tendency of uh this man when you ask him

[28:09] what he thinks to tell you everything he

[28:11] thinks about he mentioned South Africa

[28:14] he mentioned prenatal care and he

[28:16] mentioned people who ride in pickup

[28:18] trucks uh he has a vision for the

[28:21] country I don't think there's any doubt

[28:23] about that he left no doubt tonight he

[28:25] mentioned uh everything he wants to do

[28:28] as president.

[28:29] >> Well, he hit hard on the theme of the

[28:31] economy, the economy, the economy. There

[28:33] was no foreign agenda. Supported

[28:35] scripture, appealed to women and the

[28:38] middle economic class, and certainly

[28:40] appealed to the supporters of Ross Perau

[28:43] left today by Perau himself with his

[28:46] line speaking of his new covenant.

[28:49] Quote, "It's not conservative or

[28:51] liberal, Democrat or Republican. It is

[28:53] different. It is new." Unquote. Bill

[28:55] Clinton

[28:56] >> and he left nothing out.

[28:59] >> Well, time for us to leave the

[29:01] Democratic National Convention. We will

[29:03] of course be covering in similar ways

[29:06] the Republican convention in Houston the

[29:08] middle of August. Story lines of this

[29:11] night and this Democratic convention on

[29:13] the night Ross Perau quit said no I'm

[29:16] out of here. Austa Vista. After four

[29:18] nights of spotlight on the Democrats and

[29:20] their nominee, the Clinton Gore ticket

[29:22] heads out of New York trying to adjust

[29:26] its strategy a bit. Now, it's not a

[29:28] three-way race. It's once again a

[29:29] two-way race. Now, you don't need 37,

[29:32] 38, 39% of the vote to win. Now, you

[29:35] need something over 50%. apparently

[29:38] going to head directly for shopping for

[29:40] votes in the malls and suburbs of

[29:42] America so they can especially appeal to

[29:44] the people who were for Ross Perau after

[29:47] as they see it moving the Democratic

[29:48] party to the middle of the road and

[29:50] opening up lines of attack on Bush

[29:52] Quail. But it'll be a cold shower when

[29:55] they leave New York in the sense that

[29:57] they can now expect counterattacks by

[29:59] Bush Quail beginning almost immediately.

[30:02] And one question that we are left to

[30:05] consider as we think about this week and

[30:07] tonight, the Democrats have built

[30:09] momentum here. Clinton Gore ticket has

[30:11] built momentum, but does the momentum

[30:14] last for the long haul till election

[30:15] day? More coverage coming up on your

[30:18] late local news and later on the CBS

[30:20] News program up to the minute. Of

[30:21] course, Harry Smith and Paul will have

[30:23] the morning after on CBS this morning

[30:26] with Charles Caralt. for all of us here

[30:29] at CBS News. Dan Rather, thank you for

[30:32] tuning us in. Good night, everybody.

[30:58] Stay with CBS News for continuing

[31:01] coverage of campaign 92.

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