Appreciation of Debate & Negociation
Speech of President Clinton
First, I"d like to thank the commission and my opponents for participating in these debates and making them possible. I think the real winners of the debates were the American people. I was especially moved in Richmond a few days ago, when 209 of our fellow citizens got to ask us questions. They went a long way toward reclaiming this election for the American people and taking their country back. I want to say, since this is the last time, I"ll be on platform with my opponents, that even though, I disagree with Mr. Perot on how fast we can reduce the deficit and how much we can increase taxes in the middle class, I really respect what he"s done in this campaign to bring the issue of deficit reduction to our attention. I"d like to say that Mr. Bush even though I have got profound differences with him, I do honor his service to our country. I appreciate his efforts and I wish him well. I just believe it"s time to change.
I offer a new approach. It"s not trickle-down economics. It"s been tried for 12 years and it"s failed. More people are working harder, for less, 100,000 people a month losing their health insurance, unemployment going up, our economics slowing down. We can do better, and it"s not tax and spend economics. It"s invest and grow, put our people first, control health care costs and provide basic health care to all Americans, have an education system second to none, and revitalize the private economy. That is my commitment to you. It is the kind of change that can open up a whole world of opportunities toward the 21st century.
I want a country where people, who work hard and play by the rules, are rewarded, not punished. I want a country where people are coming together across the lines of race and region and income. I know we can do better. It won"t take miracles and it won"t happen overnight, but we can do much, much better, if we have the courage to change.
Thank you very much.
首先，我要感謝組委會，感謝參加這次論辯的同仁對手，有了這一切才使我們這次論辯有可能進行。我想我們這場論辯的真正贏者是美國人民。幾天前，我在裏士滿時特別受感動，因為有209名市民向我發問。他們對美國人民開拓這次選舉及重組國會是大有好處的。既然這是最後一次，我得說我決意與同仁對手們齊驅並進。盡管我不贊成皮爾特關于加快減少財政赤字，提高對中產階級課稅的做法，但我還是感謝他能把減少赤字的問題提出來，以引起人們的關註。盡管我與布希的見解相去甚遠，我還是十分敬佩他為這個國家的效勞和努力。我感謝他的努力。我祝願他身體健康。不過，我相信現在應該是改革的時候了。
我主張另一種新的改革。那不是積極投資的經濟。經過了12年的嘗試，已經證明那種方法失敗了。我們更多的人更勤奮地工作，可得到的卻更少。每月10萬人得不到醫療保障，失業率不斷上升，經濟日益下降衰退。我們能搞得更好，但不是依靠稅收和經濟消費，而是靠投資和成長。首先，向人民投資，即控製醫療費，提供必要的醫療保障，給美國人民提供無與倫比的教育，重振私人經濟，這就是我對你們的承諾。隻有提供這樣的改革，當我們進入本世紀末即將面臨21世紀的時候，美國人民才會有更多的發展機遇。
我要建立一個這樣的國家，她的人民勤奮工作，按規則辦事，能得到報酬，而不是得到懲罰。我也想建立這樣一個國家，她的人民無論是什麽種族、住在什麽地區、收入多少都能和睦相處。我知道我們能搞得更好，那不需要奇跡，但那也不是一夜之間就可發生的事。隻要我們有勇氣改革，我們就能搞得更好。
我十分感謝各位!