Ask the Scholar
Document scope · 1 page
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory.
For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
134758472
label
Kennedy Center Honors 1999
core
doc
dtoType
document
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
134758472
contentType
document
title
Kennedy Center Honors 1999
citationUrl
collections
Records of the Office of Speechwriting (Clinton Administration)
Joshua Gottheimer's Files
imageCount
1
hasImages
yes
source
import
hasTranscription
no
Source extras
naId
134758472
levelOfDescription
fileUnit
otherTitles
42-t-7431940-20160201S-023-012-2017
recordType
description
ocrSource
nara-archive
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
document
mediaId
0a8006766b02bfef
ocrText
dy Center Honors: Historical Timeline
http://www.kenncdy-center.org/honors/years/ineline/1999grp.html
The Kennedy Center
1999
1999 The Kennedy Center Honorees
Victor Borge, Sean Connery, Judith Jamison, Jason
Robards and Stevie Wonder.
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts today revealed
the recipients of the 22nd annual Kennedy Center Honors for career
achievement in the performing arts. The honored artists elected by the
Center's Board of Trustees are comedian and pianist Victor Borge,
actor Sean Connery, dancer and teacher Judith Jamison, actor Jason
Robards, and singer and songwriter Stevie Wonder.
The Kennedy Center Honors program was instituted by the Kennedy
Center Board of Trustees "to provide deserved recognition to
individuals who throughout their lifetime have made significant
contributions to American culture through the performing arts."
1 of 2
11/19/1999 12:02 PM
Sean Connery
http://www.kennedy-center.org/honors/years/connery.htr
The Kennedy Center
Sean Connery
(actor; born August 25, 1930, in Edinburgh, Scotland)
The man who came to define dash and elegance for an entire generation of moviegoers
grew up in a poor tenement in Edinburgh, Scotland, the eldest of two sons of a truck
driver and a charwoman. Young Thomas Sean Connery began helping to support his
family with his first job at the age of seven, delivering milk. By 13 he had to quit
school, working as a day laborer, a steel bender, a cement mixer. He joined the Royal
Navy in 1947 for a 12-year stint, but he was discharged due to severe stomach ulcers in
1950. Then came his first job in show business: movie usher. He was also a bricklayer, a
lifeguard, and a coffin polisher as well as a weightlifter and artist's model. It was his
impressive physique that landed him the job of representing Scotland in the 1950 Mr.
Universe pageant in London, where he was spotted by the producers of the hit Rodgers
and Hammerstein musical South Pacific and given the role of a singing, dancing,
shirtless sailor.
After this modest West End debut, which afforded the novice actor intensive dancing,
singing and acting lessons, Sean Connery began landing roles and was particularly
acclaimed in another American classic, Requiem for a Heavyweight, staged by the BBC.
In 1958 he played his first leading role on screen, opposite Lana Turner in the romantic
war drama Another Time, Another Place. He was noticed. And when it came time to
bring to the screen the most intriguing and fascinating character in Cold War fiction,
Connery beat out Cary Grant, Rex Harrison, Trevor Howard, Patrick McGoohan and
Roger Moore for the role of Ian Fleming's Agent 007.Dr. No in 1962 turned out to be
the beginning of the most successful film series in history.
Connery's screen spy - Bond, James Bond - was dapper, virile, sexually liberated and
politically savvy, disarmingly witty and irresistible. He captured the imagination of
1 of 2
11/19/1999 12:54 PM
Sean Connery
http://www.kennedy-center.org/honors/years/conmnery.htm
millions and triumphed at the box office for three decades beginning with Dr. No and
continuing with undiminished excitement in From Russia With Love (1963), Goldfinger
(1964), Thunderball (1965), You Only Live Twice (1967), Diamonds Are Forever
(1971), and Never Say Never Again (1983).
He played a different sort of hero in Alfred Hitchcock's 1964 thrillerMarnie. But it was
after the wildly successful Diamonds Are Forever that Connery felt the need to breakout
from his own 007 creation and prove himself in a variety of roles. He succeeded. He
starred in the science-fiction epic Zardoz and in Sidney Lumet's opulent adaptation of
Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express, both in 1974. He followed this in 1975
with what many consider his finest work, an enigmatic adventurer in John Huston's film
version of Rudyard Kipling's The Man Who Would Be King. The next year, he teamed
up with Audrey Hepburn in what may be the wisest and most romantic of all movie
versions of the Robin Hood legend, Robin and Marian.
Brain DePalma's The Untouchables brought Connery the 1987 Academy Award. In The
Russia House, Tom Stoppard's adaptation of the bittersweet John LeCarre bestseller,
Connery played a very different Cold War warrior from Ian Fleming's glamorous secret
agent. And Connery's appeal as an action hero has shown no signs of diminishment as
the actor matured on screen in The Hunt for Red October, Indiana Jones and the Last
Crusade, Rising Sun, The Great Train Robbery, First Knight, The Rock, and
Entrapment.
Sean Connery has received numerous international accolades including the Legion
d'Honneur and Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres (the highest civilian honors given in
France), and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Best Actor
award for The Name of the Rose in 1987, the 1990 Lifetime Achievement Award for a
British actor or actress who has made an outstanding contribution to world cinema, and
in 1998, BAFTA's highest award, The British Academy Fellowship. In 1995 Connery
received the Cecil B. DeMille Award for "outstanding contribution to the entertainment
field," given by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association at its annual Golden Globe
Awards.
Steven Spielberg has said that "there are seven genuine movie stars in the world today,
and Sean is one of them." There is, in fact, no one quite like Sean Connery.
Honors Home Page
About the Honors
History of the Honors
KC Home Page
2 of 2
11/19/1999 12:54 PM
Victor Bage
http://www.kennedy-center.org/honors/years/borge.html
The Kennedy Center
Victor Borge
(comedian and pianist; born January 3, 1909, in Copenhagen)
He looks like a elder statesman and speaks with the charming accents of a middle
European fairytale kingdom, but the whole world knows him as the Great Dane. Victor
Borge's unique combination of concert pianist and sit-down comedian - an intoxicating
mixture of melodies and mirth - has made him a living legend for most of the 20th
century. His ability to puncture the pretensions of humanity in general, musicians in
particular, whether he's lampooning stuffy conductors or grandiose concert pianists,
remains undiminished, seventy years after his professional debut. As every good
musician and comic knows, it's all in the timing and Borge is a master. He holds the
Guinness Book of Records citation for longest-running one-man show in the history of
the theater, with 849 performances on Broadway of his "Comedy in Music," which
began in 1953. For the four decades that followed there was never a theater season,
when the name Victor Borge didn't light up a Broadway marquee.
"Victor Borge is world-famous as the funniest pianist on Earth," declared The
Washington Post a few years ago. And he gets as many laughs at the keyboard as under
it. Borge has made an art of finding excuses not to play the piano--falling off the bench,
swatting imaginary flies, stopping to reprimand a late-arriving audience member,
suddenly remembering a joke or anecdote. "But when Borge finally does perform,"
reports The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, it's the real thing: music-making of
surpassing warmth and charm."
Ninety years ago, he was born Borge Rosenbaum in Copenhagen, Denmark. He started
playing the piano when he was only three years old. He was hailed as a prodigy and
given a scholarship to the Royal Danish Music Conservatory, making his orchestral
debut as a soloist with the Copenhagen Philharmonic when he was 10. In public recitals,
of2
11/19/1999 12:54 PM
Victor Borge
http://www.kennedy-center.org/honors/years/borge.htn.
he was a serious musician, but at school, in clubs, and at family gatherings he played
more humor than humoresque. His incredible wit combined with his musical ability
established him quickly as a one-of-a-kind artist. Word got out, and by his early
twenties Borge was established as one of the leading film and stage personalities of
Scandinavia.
With the rise of the Nazis to power, Borge was blacklisted because of his biting barbs
about Hitler and the Nazi party. He escaped from Finland on the SS American Legion in
1940, the last American passenger ship to leave northern Europe before the start of
World War II. When he arrived in the United States, Borge knew no English. Yet that
same year he started a year-long run on the "Kraft Music Hall" radio hour with Bing
Crosby. Borge discovered a gold mine of humor in his struggle with the English
language, and the immigrant's nightmare was transformed into one of the most enduring
and endearing parts of the act.
In 1963 he helped to establish the Thanks to Scandinavia scholarship fund in gratitude
for the heroic deeds of the Scandinavians who, while risking their own lives, saved
thousands during the Holocaust. The multimillion-dollar fund has already brought more
than a thousand students and scientists to the United States from Scandinavian countries
for study and research.
In recent years he has added opera and symphony conducting engagements to his heavy
stage and television commitments. Among others, the National Symphony, New York
Philharmonic, London, Philadelphia, Boston, Cleveland, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Los
Angeles, Detroit, and the Royal Copenhagen orchestras have taken a beating under his
baton.
He has been knighted by the five Nordic countries and honored by both the U.S.
Congress and the United Nations.
Reflecting on his success, Borge has said: "Basically there is no difference between
Scandinavian humor and American humor because when you play a thing upside down
you don't have to have a language to do that." His art, though, is a language all
understand--the conservatory-trained and the first-time concertgoer, young people and
grownups, in concert halls around the world.
"If I knew what the secret was, it wouldn't be a secret," mused Victor Borge.
Honors Home Page
About the Honors
History of the Honors
KC Home Page
2 of 2
11/19/1999 12:54 PM
Stevic Wonder
http://www.kennedy-center.org/honors/years/wonder.html
The Kennedy Center
Stevie Wonder
(singer and songwriter; born May 13, 1950, in Saginaw, Michigan)
Stevie Wonder has been an integral part of the world of music for the past four decades,
as a singer, songwriter, musician and producer. The boy wonder burst onto the music
scene when he was just ten years old, and his mission ever since has been to bring joy
into people's lives. "He has been pop music's unquenchable optimist for nearly a
generation," said The New York Times in 1986. "His skills at writing sinuous melodies
and gently uplifting harmonies, and his cheerful yet determined eclecticism - from funk
to ballads, bossa nova to quasi-showtunes - have made Mr. Wonder a one-man Tin Pan
Alley through two decades of rock."
Since his prodigious beginnings, Wonder has grown into an artist who combines
musical innovation with political activism. The magic of his music is matched by his
passionate commitment to political causes and charities. As much a teacher and leader
as a supreme entertainer, he was an early and outspoken critic of apartheid in South
Africa and has also been deeply involved in the global war against famine. "I love
touching people with love songs," explains Wonder, "but I also want to reach people's
consciences and trigger some emotion on matters other than the heart."
Blind since birth, Wonder sang like a seasoned veteran even as a toddler, and at age 7 he
had mastered the harmonica and drums. At 11, he had a contract with Motown that led
to the birth of "Little Stevie Wonder." Wonder and his label hit the jackpot in 1963 with
"Fingertips-Pt. 2." In two years he became one of Motown's finest artists, recording a
series of brilliant singles for a solid nine years. By the end of the '60s, he was not only
hitting the charts with his own records - including "Uptight," "Castles in the Sand," and
"My Cherie Amour" - but also by writing for many other Motown artists, including "It's
a Shame" for the Spinners and co-writing "The Tears of a Clown" with Smokey
1 of 2
11/19/1999 12:56 PM
Stevie Wonder
http://www.kennedy-center.org/honors/ycars/wonder.htm
Robinson.
Wonder's creative spirit soon felt constricted by Motown's strict production and
publishing contracts. When his record contract expired in 1971, Wonder recorded two
full albums by himself and used them as a bargaining tool during contract negotiations
with Motown. The record label gave him total artistic control of his albums, as well as
the rights to his own songs.
In that first decade of his artistic emancipation which began in 1972, the singer,
songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist released seven classic albums: Music of
My Mind, Talking Book, Innervisions, Fulfillingness' First Finale, Songs in the Key of
Life, The Secret Life of Plants, and Hotter Than July. The hit singles that emerged from
this period include "Superwoman," "Superstition," and "You Are the Sunshine of My
Life." Music of My Mind, especially, helped usher in a new era in which soul and R&B
albums became not just a collections of singles anymore, but a cohesive artistic
statement, in which artists could extend their music beyond the confines of a
three-minute hit single. Wonder's lyrics began to address social and racial issues as
eloquently and incisively as any other artist or social activist.
And social activism became increasingly important to his career and his life. He lobbied
the federal government to create the Martin Luther King, Jr. national holiday; he
performed in concerts to protest nuclear weapons and promote peace; and he recorded
songs that urged racial harmony ("Ebony and Ivory," with Paul McCartney), opposed
drunk driving ("Don't Drive Drunk'), advocated stiffer handgun control laws ("My Love
Is With You"), and fought world hunger ("We Are the World").
During the past decade, Wonder put together the soundtrack for Spike Lee'sJungle
Fever and he released the critically acclaimed Conversation Peace.
His work has earned him 17 Grammy Awards and an Oscar for "I Just Called To Say I
Love You" from the 1984 film The Woman in Red. He has sold more than 70 million
LPs and ranks alongside The Beatles and Elvis Presley in having the most Top Ten
records.
Stevie Wonder is a true American phenomenon.
Honors Home Page
About the Honors
History of the Honors
KC Home Page
2 of 2
11/19/1999 12:56 PM
Jason Robards
http://www.kennedy-center.org/honors/years/robards.htm
The Kennedy Center
Jason Robards
(actor; born July 26, 1922, in Chicago)
Recognized around the world as the definitive interpreter of the works of Eugene
O'Neill throughout his long and esteemed career, Jason Robards has been hailed as one
of this country's finest stage actors and acclaimed for his outstanding work in film and
on television. Ellis Rabb, who directed Robards in a 1980s revival of the classic
American comedy You Can't Take It with You, put into words what Robards
demonstrates every time he steps onto a stage or in front of a camera: "Robards can do
anything, from O'Neill to light comedy to Shakespeare, a range we seldom see in this
country."
In addition to O'Neill, his stage performances span works by many of the major
playwrights who define 20th-century theater: Arthur Miller, Clifford Odets, Lillian
Hellman, Brian Friels, Kaufman and Hart, and Harold Pinter. One of his early stage
appearances, in Jose Quintero's 1956 Circle in the Square revival of The Iceman
Cometh, won Robards an Obie Award and restored O'Neill's crumbling reputation as
perhaps this country's finest dramatist. A Tony Award followed in 1959 forThe
Disenchanted. Two decades later he won back-to-back Academy Awards for motion
picture portrayals of Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee in 1976's sAll the President's
Men and novelist Dashiell Hammett in 1977'sJulia. The top acting prize awarded by the
Cannes Film Festival is his, as is an Emmy Award for his role in "Inherit the Wind."
Born in 1922, in Chicago, Robards was the son of a well-known actor of the 1920s and
early '30s, Jason Robards, Sr. After graduating from Hollywood High School, he
enlisted in the Navy at the age of 17 and became a radioman stationed at Pearl Harbor
on December 7, 1941. He saw seven years of service. After the war, on his father's
advice he enrolled in his father's alma mater, the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.
1 of 2
11/19/1999 12:55 PM
Jason Robards
http://www.kennedy-center.org/honors/years/robards.htn
For a decade Robards squeaked by with jobs on radio and live television. His Broadway
debut came in 1951 in the concentration-camp drama Stalag 17 and then five years later
he was cast in the landmark Iceman Cometh in 1956. The following season he played
Jamie in the American premiere of O'Neill' sLong Day's Journey into Night and that
now legendary relationship between actor and playwright blossomed with productions
of Hughie, A Moon for the Misbegotten, A Touch of the Poet, and revivals of Long
Day's Journey into Night, this time playing the father, and The Iceman Cometh, in
which Robards recreated his first major role, Hickey, 30 years later and astonished a
whole new generation of theatergoers.
Among his most memorable films are Tender Is the Night, A Thousand Clowns, The St.
Valentine's Day Massacre, Isadora, Once Upon a Time in the West, The Night They
Raided Minsky's, Parenthood, Philadelphia, and The Ballad of Cable Hogue. His
rendering of Howard Hughes in Melvin and Howard earned him an Oscar nomination.
On television he has been seen in several acclaimed specials, including "The Atlanta
Child Murders," "Sakharov," "FDR: The Last Year," "Washington Behind Closed
Doors," and "The Day After."
But it is as an American stage actor that Robards has few equals. He has been directed
by everyone from José Quintero to John Gielgud. He has played in virtually every
playhouse on Broadway: they are his beloved homes. In them he has made not only the
works of O'Neill, but also such classic plays as Toys in the Attic, After the Fall, We
Bombed in New Haven, The Devils, A Thousand Clowns, Love Letters, A Month of
Sundays, The Country Girl, No Man's Land, and Moonlight, part of our nation's culture
that we will always treasure.
Jose Quintero, his brilliant O'Neill collaborator, put it simply: "He is an artist in
complete command."
HISTORY
Honors Home Page
About the Honors
History of the Honors
KC Home Page
2 of 2
11/19/1999 12:55 PM
Judith Jamison
http://www.kennedy-center.org/honors/years/jamison.htl
The Kennedy Center
Judith Jamison
(dancer, choreographer, and teacher; born May 10, 1943 in Philadelphia)
Judith Jamison's interpretation of Cry, the epic 1971 solo Alvin Ailey created especially
for her, was and remains the stuff of legend: a superhuman feat of intensity and clarity,
drenched in a powerful feminine presence with an immensely generous, universal
appeal. And yet Cry was just one triumphant moment in a long career blessed with
triumph. Ailey described Jamison as "one of the giants in my life," and her stature has
only grown since her mentor's death in 1989, when she took the helm of the Alvin Ailey
American Dance Theater.
Jamison the dancer already has earned a place in history as one of our century's most
individualistic and beloved artists. Jamison the choreographer and teacher, is leading a
great American dance company into the next century. Jamison once spoke of Ailey, a
1988 Kennedy Center Honoree, as her "spiritual walker," and now it is Jamison who is
guiding the steps of Ailey's spiritual children. As Ailey's successor, as a major force in
dance in her own right, Jamison is nurturing the future of American dance.
She was born in Philadelphia and began her ballet studies there at the age of six with
Marion Cuyjet and later with Antony Tudor. Her debut came at 15, as Myrtha in Giselle.
She enrolled as a freshman at Fisk University in Nashville, intent on studying
psychology. Dance beckoned, however: she left Fisk, joined the Philadelphia Dance
Academy and never looked back. In 1964, Agnes de Mille spotted Jamison in a master
class and invited her perform in Four Marys with American Ballet Theatre.
It was in New York that Alvin Ailey first saw her, while Jamison auditioned for a
television show choreographed by Donald McKayle. She did not get the job with
McKayle, but within three days Ailey invited Jamison to join his troupe. Ailey and
I of 2
11/19/1999 12:54 PM
Judith Jamison
http://www.kennedy-center.org/honors/years/jamison.htm
Jamison were a perfect match, both statuesque and more than a little wild, their dance
marked at once by emotional abandon and intellectual rigor. From 1965 to 1980,
Jamison was Ailey's muse, his company's biggest star - even as Jamison herself often
cautioned, "Don't call me a star, call me a dancer."
Her majestic presence brought to life dance after glorious new dance, including Ailey's
Revelations, Blues Suite, Aridness, Yemanja, Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Reflections in
D, Masekela Language, Lark Ascending, The Mooch, and two memorable duets: Pas de
Duke with Mikhail Baryshnikov, and Spell with Alexander Godunov. She excelled, too,
in Geoffrey Holder's Prodigal Prince, John Butler's Blood Memories and Carmina
Burana, Louis Falco's Caravan, and Jose Limon's Missa Brevis. At the Hamburg Ballet,
Jamison was partnered by Kevin Haigen in John Neumeier' sJosephslegend in 1976. In
1979, Maurice Bejart choreographed Le spectre de la rose for her and Patrice Touron
with Bejart's Ballet du XXme Siecle ( "Ballet of the 20th Century"). In 1980, Jamison
left the Ailey company to star on Broadway in Sophisticated Ladies. She founded the
Jamison Project in 1988. When Ailey died in 1989, Jamison came home to the Alvin
Ailey American Dance Theater, to build on Ailey's vision and make her own unique
contribution. Under Jamison's aegis, the company's already broad repertory has been
enriched with dances by Lar Lubovitch, Billy Wilson, Elisa Monte, Jawole Willa Jo
Zollar, and Jamison herself.
Jamison's own growing choreographic oeuvre includes her 1984Divining, her first work
for Ailey, as well as a moving memory piece about him called Hymn with a libretto by
Anna Deveare Smith, and such challenging ballets as Just Call Me Dance, Time Out,
Time In, Into the Life, Tease, Forgotten Time, Rift, Riverside, Echo: Far From Home,
and Sweet Release.
Ailey believed that "dance came from the people: we must take it back to the people."
Jamison shares that belief, and she is taking to the people everywhere, a shining
ambassador of our country, a living example of the very best and most exciting in
American culture.
HISTORY
Honors Home Page
About the Honors
History of the Honors
KC Home Page
2 of 2
11/19/1999 12:54 PM
http://www.pub.whitehouse.gov/uri-res/12..pdi://oma.eop.gov.us/I996/10/31/2.text.1
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
October 29, 1996
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
AT THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE
SAXOPHONE CLUB PRESIDENTIAL VICTORY CONCERT
Constitution Hall
Washington, D.C.
9:27 P.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Let me say to all of you, you
have honored me and our party by being here tonight. I can't thank you
enough. I want to say a special word of thanks to the Saxophone Club,
to the D.C. Chapter and to Bennett Kelly, to all of you who had anything
to do with putting this together. (Applause.)
I thank Bruce Hornsby and his wonderful band for keeping us
pumped up and playing so brilliantly. (Applause.) I thank Stevie
Wonder for so brilliantly taking us back across the years and bringing
us back today again. (Applause.) He was magnificent, let's give him a
hand. (Applause.)
And thank you, Kevin Spacey, for being here and for showing
your versatility, your patience, your talent. You know, from the Usual
Suspects to Seven to A Time To Kill to Johnny Carson, to killing time
creatively (applause) -- this man has a brilliant past and a more
brilliant future. I am so honored that he was here tonight. We ought
to give him a Purple Heart for how much time he had to stand up.
(Applause.)
You know, I felt SO sorry for Kevin up here. It reminded
me of some of the licks that I have taken in this campaign. And one day
when I was kind of feeling sorry for myself, somebody reminded me of
something Mark Twain said and I wish I could have whispered to Kevin.
The fella said, you know, you ought to consider yourself like the dog
Mark Twain talked about. He said, every dog needs a few fleas, it keeps
him from worrying SO much about being a dog. (Laughter.) And SO no
matter whatever happens to Kevin in his performing life, he'll always
remember it will never be as bad as when he had to stand in Constitution
Hall and make up jokes for 20 minutes during acts. You were great.
Thank you and God bless you. (Applause.)
You know, this election is in seven days. It has always
been about the future. The work that Al Gore and I have done for four
years has been about building an America for the 21st century. Whatever
else people say or talk about in the end, it's about the future of the
young people in this grand old Constitution Hall tonight and all your
counterparts all across our great country.
And so I ask you to give seven more days of effort and your
voice, your passion, your commitment to making sure that we roar into
that next century together; that we build a bridge we can all walk
across; that we say no to division, no to going back, no to the
short-sighted, negative forces that would tend to divide us and cloud
our clear vision of the tomorrow we can make together.
Our best days are still ahead. Thank you and God bless you
1 of 2
11/19/1999 12:58 PM
http://www.pub.whitchouse.gov/uri-res/I2RPun:pdi://oma.eop.gov.us/1996/5/9/3.text
You know from what we've done in the last three-and-a-half years I'll
do my dead-level best to do what I say I want to do in the next four
years.
And now you know where they stand and what they will do.
They passed a budget in 1995 which will become the law of the land
if they control the Congress and the White House in 1997. They tried
to do certain things to the environment and to the fabric of this
country, which they will be able to do and which they will do. And
you don't have to guess.
So we can look ahead. One side says their side
that in this great new Information Age with so many opportunities,
government is the problem; and what we really need for the American
people is an unlimited number of choices and freedom from government.
If we all just walk away, everything will work out fine. Our side
says, that view forgets history. Remember what the great writer,
Anatole France, said: "The rich and poor are equally free to sleep
under the bridge at night."
We believe that the future requires not only the
existence of opportunity, but making sure that every American has the
chance to seize that opportunity, and that what we should be doing
here at this moment is giving people the ability to make the most of
their own lives as workers, as family members in communities, and
as citizens. That is the central difference between the two
approaches in the debate in Washington, D.C., and in the country
today. And the American people must choose which road they will walk
into the 21st century. (Applause.)
And let me reiterate what others have said. I don't
care what the polls say today. This is a time of profound change.
And just as there is volatility in the economy, just as their is
volatility in our society, there will inevitably be volatility in our
political life. If you want this to come out in a way that you
believe in, then you have to leave here tonight committed to doing
everything you can to reach every friend, every neighbor, every
person you come in contact with, to try to convince that person that
this is the road we should walk together into the 21st century. This
is the road we should walk together.
And you have lots of specific examples. They talked
about the deficit; we brought it down. They say they want to help
working people and value families, but we stood up for the Family and
Medical Leave Law that Chris Dodd had to fight seven years for
because they fought it every step of the way. (Applause.)
We, those of us who are here tonight, can afford to be
here, but we're still for raising the minimum wage, because we want
people who raise families and work full time to be able to live in
dignity. (Applause.) That's important.
It's one thing to say you're for law and order, but we
put a hundred thousand on the street, helping to reduce the crime
level. We put money into community programs to prevent crimes so our
children have something to say yes to, as well as something to say no
to. We did pass the Assault Weapons Ban, and we also passed the
Brady Bill. (Applause.) And you know what? None of those hunters
shooting at those moose that Robin portrayed SO well tonight have
lost their guns. But 60,000 people 60,000 people did lose out.
Sixty thousand people with criminal records have not been able to buy
handguns because of the passage of the Brady Bill. We were right.
That was the right decision for America. (Applause.)
3 of 6
11/19/1999 12:59 PM
http://www.pub.whitchouse.gov/uri-res/I2R?urn:pdi://oma.eop.gov.us/1996/5/9/3est.l
We think everybody ought to be able to go to college,
because what you can earn depends on what you can learn. And SO we
fought for a new student loan program lower cost, less hassle,
better repayment terms. We were for it and, by and large, they
weren't.
So we have very different views. None of those cases
not a single, solitary one - - involves the government guaranteeing
an outcome to any citizen. What did we try to do? We tried to
guarantee safe streets, the opportunity to get an education, the
opportunity to get a job, a healthy economy. And the same thing is
true with the environment. I plead guilty to believing we cannot
grow the American economy over the long run unless we preserve the
quality of our land, of our water, our natural resources, and the
animals who inhabit this earth with us. I am guilty. I plead
guilty. And I believe most of the American people would say the same
thing. (Applause.)
That doesn't guarantee us anything except the chance to
have a decent, coherent life. And so I say to you again, if you
believe that every person ought to have a chance to make the most of
his or her life, if you are sick and tired of seeing this country
divided by race, by religion, over these issues that serve to drive a
wedge between the American people and you know that unless we come
together we'll never be the country we ought to be; if you want your
country to stand up for peace and freedom, even when you may not
agree with the President on every issue I've done a lot of things
that weren't popular with some groups, whether it was Haiti or Mexico
or getting involved in the Northern Ireland situation for the first
time -- and I know that a lot of people say from time to time, well,
maybe he does this, that or the other thing too much.
But let me say this, 20 years from now I want your
country to ge the strongest country in the world. But other
countries will be stronger than they are today. And we have to make
sure that other countries join us in fighting terrorism, in standing
up against dangerous weapons, in standing up to drug smuggling, in
standing up for a decent life for all the children of this world. If
we don't cooperate with these countries and try to lead and shape the
future, then it will diminish the future for all of us. And if you
believe all that, then I ask you to leave here committed not to
saying, okay, I did my part, I went to that fundraiser, we raised $12
million. Big deal.
No, I ask you to walk away and say, I'm
going to work every day between now and election day in November so
we walk the right road into the future. That is my commitment and
that's what I want you to do. (Applause.)
Lastly, let me make this point. If we seek to prevail,
we must have a strong sense of history and a big heart. This country
has had a few major decision points in its history. When we started
Robin did a little debate about the Founding Fathers all the
things we take for granted today, they were big decisions would we
have a Bill of Rights or not; how were we going to limit government
to protect people; would we be one country or just a little
collection of states.
The next big crisis we had was the Civil War, when
Abraham Lincoln gave his life, first to keep us one country and,
second, to make us live up to the letter of the Constitution and get
rid of slavery. Then, a hundred years ago we had an age very like
today, when the economy changed, the way we lived and worked changed.
And Theodore Roosevelt, a great Republican president, and Woodrow
Wilson, a great Democratic president, led us into what we now call
the Progressive Era, when we said, hey, this Industrial Age is a
great thing. People being able to move out of the country and live
4 of 6
11/19/1999 12:59 PM
http://www.pub.whitchousc.gov/uri-res/I2R?um:pdi://oma.cop.gov.us/I996/5/9/3.text.1
in the city, it's a great thing. But it's not a great thing that
children are working 60 hours a week. It's not a great thing that
women are being abused in the workplace. It's not a great thing that
we are destroying our natural resources. It's not a great thing that
small businesses are being crushed by unfair monopolies and not
having a chance. We think we'll use the power of government to help
??people make more of their own lives and preserve what is essential
to this country. And that's what we've got to do again today.
(Applause.)
When President Roosevelt got us through the Depression
and stood up for freedom against fascism in World War II, when we
stood up against communism in the Cold War, all these things kept
America what it is today. And believe me, the decisions we have to
make today as we move from the Cold War to the Global Society, as we
move from the Industrial Age to the Information and Technology Age,
they're every bit as profound.
No one has all the answers. The most important thing
is, what road are we going to walk down. If you want America to be
something, we have to have a strong sense of history. We have to
understand that we are here today because our forbearers were
committed to living up to the promise of the Constitution, to meeting
our challenges and protecting our values and giving everybody a
chance.
And the other thing we have got to have is a little bit
of heart. You know, they make fun of me sometimes. They say Bill
Clinton is too emotional, feels your pain, and all that sort of
stuff. Let me tell you something: You just think about it. When
they lay you down for the last time, what are you going to remember?
You wish you had spent a few more hours at the office? No, you're
going to think about your children, your family, the people you like,
the people you love, how it felt to learn and experience things for
the first time, the music that made you feel alive and big. That's
what makes life worth living.
Yesterday I was in a little town in New Jersey that was
dominated by, basically, white ethnic schoolkids. We were at an
anti-teen smoking event. But in this blue collar, ethnic town, there
were Jewish kids, there were Hindus of Indian heritage, there were
two young women in their Muslim formal dress in the school all
living together as Americans. All proving, once again, that we
believe that anybody who just shares our values and will respect the
honest differences of others should have the chance to live in this
way, to live out their dreams that go way beyond economics. And I
just want you to know why I feel that way.
Just before I left to come over here tonight, I met with
a group of people. I frequently have coffee with people from around
the country who are active in public affairs, and most of them
couldn't afford to come here tonight. The people I met with tonight
were four local government leaders from the Northeast, three state
legislative leaders from the South and the West, and some Hispanic
and African American women who are active in political organizations
all over the country. And I just go around the table and let them
talk.
About the tenth person to talk was this very tall,
stately, impressive African American woman from San Francisco. She
looked at me this is self-serving, but I am going to tell you
anyway this woman looked at me and said, before we get down to
what I came to talk about, let's get first things first. She said, my
daddy is 75 years old and he lives in St. Louis, but he was born and
grew up in Hope, Arkansas the same little town in Arkansas I was
5 of 6
11/19/1999 12:59 PM
http://www.pub.whitehouse.gov/uri-rcs/2R?um.pdi://oma.cop.gov.us/996/5/9/3.text.l
born in. And he went to Yeager High school, which was the all-black
high school at the time when the schools were segregated. And he
told me that your grandfather, at his little store, was one of only
four white people in town that would really do business with black
folks. She said, is that true?
I said, yes, ma'am, it's true. And I can still remember
when I was five years old, sitting on that wooden store counter next
to a big jar of Jackson's cookies that were this big and sold for a
penny apiece, listening to my granddaddy tell me that those people
who came into his store were good people and they worked hard and
they deserved a better deal in life. (Applause.)
Now, let me tell you folks, that's what makes this
country great. Our political system is not great because it's a
political system. It is not even great because it works
economically. It's great because it gives us all a chance to live
out our dreams, and because in every generation we keep trying to
meet the challenges and protect our values and live up to what we
say we believe in. That is really what this is all about.
And we cannot go into the global economy of the 21st
century by walking away from our common responsibilities and saying
that we don't have a common responsibility to help everybody's kids
live up to the fullest of their dreams. (Applause.) You think about
it, talk about it, stand up for it, work for it. Don't be
overconfident and we will prevail.
Thank you and God bless you. And good night.
(Applause.)
END
10:54 P.M. EDT
6 of 6
11/19/1999 12:59 PM
http://www.pub.whitehouse.gov/uri-res/I2.pdi://oma.eop.gov.us/1990/10/31/2.text.1
all. Thank you. (Applause.)
END
9:31 P.M. EST
2 of 2
11/19/1999 12:58 PM
http://www.pub.whitehousc.gov/uri-rcs/I2R?um:pdi/oma.cop.gov.us/996/5/9/3.te8t.
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
May 8, 1996
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
AT THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE GALA
The Washington Convention Center
Washington, D.C.
10:32 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr.
Vice President. You may have held your humor in check tonight, but
you don't ever hold anything back from America every day in your job.
The American people will never really know -- at least, until I write
my memoirs -- all the magnificent things Al Gore has done as Vice
President. But I'm telling you, we should all be very grateful to
him, and I appreciate it. Thank you. (Applause.)
I want to thank Tipper for so many things. For making
me more sensitive to the whole issue of mental health; for making me
see the world in a deeper and different way, through the lens of her
camera; and for sharing my birthday and all those crazy
characteristics we Leos have. (Laughter.) You know, there comes a
time when the four of us are out at 12:30 in the morning on Saturday
evening, I don't want to talk about public policy anymore --
(laughter) -- so we just let Al and Hillary go on their way and we
talk about music or something.
I want to thank Don Fowler and Chris Dodd for the
incredible labor of love and effort they have exerted, and all of
those who work with them Marvin Rosen and the others who have
raised SO much of the funds, and Terry McAuliff and those who have
helped our campaign. I thank them all so much.
I want to thank Dan and Beth and the other co-chairs,
and all the committee who worked so hard tonight. And I'm very
grateful to Stevie Wonder and to Robin Williams for not only adding a
little glamour, but adding a little depth to our lives in their songs
and in their humor. They made us think about what's really important
in life and what's really important in public life. I thank them
especially for honoring our friend, Ron Brown. As I said when I
spoke at his memorial service, I probably wouldn't be here if it
weren't for Ron Brown, and I'm glad we could be here for him tonight.
And thank you, Alma, for being here with us. (Applause.)
I want to thank the host and chairman of this dinner,
Peter Knight, who has if you want to clap for him after what he
has done to you for months, I think that is a wonderful thing.
(Applause) Any man who can pick your pocket and still win your
applause -- (laughter) -- deserves to be the campaign manager of the
Clinton-Gore campaign. So tomorrow he goes to work in a new job.
(Applause.) Ever since he played a major role in our campaign in
1992, I have been profoundly impressed with his mind, his heart, his
skill, his discipline. And I look forward to his leadership as we go
down the road ahead. I thank him very, very much.
I want to thank the First Lady for so many things over
what now are nearly 21 years of our marriage, for these remarkable
three-and-a-half years we have had in the White House, for putting up
1 of 6
11/19/1999 12:59 PM
http://www.pub.whitehousc.gov/uri-res/l2R?um:pdi:/oma.eop.gov.us/I996/5/93.tcxt.
with a phenomenal amount of abuse solely because she happened to be
married to me, and doing it with good humor and good grace and a
strong heart. (Applause.) And not quite solely because she happened
to be married to me, she also happens to stand for some things that
some of those in the other party don't like.
But I think it's a good thing that woman as well as men,
and girls as well as boys, should have a chance to live this life to
the fullest of their ability. And I do believe it takes a village to
raise a child. (Applause.) And I think it takes a village to solve
our problems and a village to make this country what it ought to be.
Stevie Wonder sang it: All for one and one for all.
And finally let me thank all of you, and let me say I
don't want to speak long tonight because, as Robin Williams said, I
know I'm preaching to the saved. But I want to tell you one more
time as clearly as I can what is at stake in this year, and why it
goes beyond the bounds of a normal election, and why you cannot leave
your commitment at this door no matter how much you gave or how
difficult it was. For your citizenship cannot end here.
When Al Gore and I ran in 1992, I had a clear vision of
what i hoped our country would like in the 21st century and I haven't
lost that vision. I want America to be a place where every child can
grow up to live out his or her dreams without regard to their race or
their religion or their ethnic group or the station in life from
which they start. If they're willing to work, I want them to have a
chance to live out their dreams. (Applause.)
I want America to be a place where our incredibly rich
diversity of heritage brings us together, and where we live together
in peace and respect, with safe streets and good schools and a clean
environment. I want America to be a place where everyone knows that
we're doing our best to preserve our values together, to move forward
together. I want America to be the strongest force for peace and
freedom in the world in the 21st century. I want us to continue
reaching out to other people and standing up for the things we've
stood up for.
And I believe in order to do that we have got to be
willing to work together, to face our challenges and not deny them,
to protect our values, not just to talk about them and regularly
violate them. These last three-and-a-half years have been a great
opportunity for us. We've still got a long way to go as a country,
but no one can doubt that in every important way we're better off
today than we were in 1992, when the deficit was twice as high
(applause) when we had 8-and-a-half million fewer jobs, when we
had a higher crime rate, higher welfare rates, higher poverty rates,
when we seemed to be drifting.
But what I want to say to you tonight is, more important
than any single issue is the differences now before the American
people in this election about how we will walk into the 21st century.
In 1992 there was SO much talk about change. Robin did that great
imitation of Ross Perot. Ross Perot and I said we represent change.
Sixty-two percent of the people said, okay, we're for change against
the status quo and kind of a hands-off policy to our problems. And
thank goodness in that 62 percent more people voted for me than Mr.
Perot, SO I got to show up here tonight. And that's what happened.
(Applause.)
But it was change against the status quo. That is not
true now. There is no status quo option. In this election there are
two very different visions of change. And, unlike most elections,
you don't have to guess. You know where I stand, what I stand for.
2 of 6
11/19/1999 12:59 PM