10:06 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT:
Thank you very much. Thank you to the die-hard in the back there.
(Laughter.) tank you very much, I'm delighted to be here. I
was told on the way in that since I came here as a governor in
1992, I have made seven of nine possible
NIAF dinners, and I am delighted to be here again for the last time as
President. (Applause.)
I want to thank
Chairman Gaurini; your dinner chair, Dick Grasso. I thank the Representatives
of Congress who are here, Representatives Morella and Pelosi and my good
friend, Geri Ferraro, Ambassador Browner, Ambassador Tufo -- Administrator
Browner -- Ambassador Rosapepe. And the President of NIAF, Joe Cerrell.
I also want to
say, as all of you know, I have had a penchant for Italian American Chiefs
of Staff -- they have been over-represented. (Laughter.) So far,
we have staved off any affirmative action suits. (Laughter.)
When Leon Panetta was my Chief of Staff, he used to say that it was such
a hard job he thought Panetta was Italian for pinata. (Laughter.)
Now, John Podesta
is here. We were doing a little research the other day -- this is
true, this is not an after dinner joke -- and we discovered that in Renaissance
Italy the rulers of the city states were often quite apprehensive that
they wouldn't be able to maintain authority. So they from time to
time hired an enforcer to come in from outside the city state, and the
enforcer was called a "podesta." (Laughter.) So he is well-named.
And since then, we have a disproportionate number of Italians throughout
the White House. Two of them -- Karen Tramontano and Loretta Ucelli
are here tonight; I thank them for their work. (Applause.)
I also want to
congratulate Tommy LaSorda on the fabulous job he did with our baseball
team at the Olympics. (Applause.) And congratulations to you,
Mr. Barry, your spirit was alive and well at the World Series. (Applause.)
I want to congratulate
the honorees tonight, my good friend, Muhammed Ali and Angelo Dundee --
(applause) -- Andrea Bocelli, John Paul DeJoria, Joseph Nacchio,
Miuccia Prada, Dick Vermeil and my friend of many, many years, Millard
Fuller. Thank you for honoring them and thank you for all the work
you do.
The legacy of
Italian Americans has been celebrated by this organization for 25 years
now. This is an important milestone for you. I know that you have
just begun. One of the things I particularly appreciate is your interest
in one America, trying to reach across the cultural divide. Just
a couple of nights ago we had a birthday party for Hillary up in New York.
And Robert De Niro was trying to teach me how to "speak New York."
(Laughter.) And I don't know if you saw it, but I was really appreciative
that he was so generous and understanding of my culturally challenged accent.
(Laughter.) So he tried to teach me how to
say "fuhgeddabowdit." (Laughter.) And I finally learned, see?
(Laughter.)
At the turn of
the last century, an Italian American said, I came to America because I
heard the streets were paved with gold. When I got here I found three
things: first, the streets weren't paved with gold; second, they
weren't paved at all; third, I was expected to pave them. (Laughter and
applause.)
In the century
that has elapsed, our streets aren't paved with gold yet, but our nation
has entered a golden era, thanks in no small part to the efforts of Italian
Americans -- (applause) -- to your intellect, your industry, your goodwill
and, above all, your contagious love of life. I must say, I am especially
grateful for all the opportunities that I have had these last eight years
to work with not only the Italian
American community, but also to work with
Italy.
I thank the Italian
Ambassador, whom I'm sure is here tonight, along with the other distinguished
guests from Italy for all you have done to help make the work of the United
States and the world more successful. And I thank the Italians who
have been with us from the beginning. An Italian discovered America,
another named it. We have two busts in the Blue Room at the White
House on the formal State Floor
-- only two -- one of Christopher Columbus,
one of Amerigo Vespucci, brought here in the early 1820s by President James
Monroe.
Two Italians signed
the Declaration of Independence, thousands fought in the Civil War, millions
came ashore early in this century, fought in our wars, stood with us in
the Cold War, built a great American middle class and now are leading America
into the global information age.
Many Italian Americans
from the beginning excelled in athletics -- no small number in boxing.
I grew up watching Rocky Marciano. There was Carmen Basilio, Jake
LaMotta, and so many others. (Applause.)
It is, therefore,
altogether fitting that you would give your first One America Award to
Muhammed Ali. (Applause.) In the ring, he captured the imagination
of the world with his distinctive fighting style. Before and after
the fights, he captured the imagination of the world with his distinctive
speaking style. He's the first fighter ever to win the Heavyweight
Title three times. But outside the ring and what he's done since,
in my mind, are even more impressive: his work for children and feeding
the hungry and dedicating his life to his faith and his fellow human beings.
I am sure I'm
not alone when I say that four years ago when Muhammed Ali lit the Olympic
Torch in Atlanta, it was one of the greatest personal thrills I have ever
had as an American citizen, and I thank you, sir. (Applause.)
And, of course,
he didn't do it alone. In his corner for more than four decades was
tonight's other nominee, his trainer, the great Angelo Dundee. (Applause.)
Truly, this Italian American-African American team symbolizes the one America
you believe in. They are an inspiration for the one America we all
still have to build.
I am profoundly
grateful that the National Italian American Foundation has been a vital
partner in our administration's efforts to do that, with your programs
in schools and communities all across America. I am especially grateful
for your concern for young people. The first thing I was asked tonight
when I was standing outside waiting to come in is whether after my remarks
I would walk over and speak to
the young people who are just a few yards
down the way. And I'll be happy to do that, because they are your
future and mine and ours. (Applause.)
In the struggle,
in the beginning of Italian American immigrants and in the triumphs of
Italian American immigrants we are reminded that our diversity is our greatest
strength, as long as we celebrate it and understand clearly that our common
humanity is even more fundamental; that our nation, as ever -- indeed,
more than ever -- is a family of immigrants.
For eight years
now, it has been my great honor, along with Vice President Gore, to work
to strengthen America's families, to give people the tools and create the
conditions for a better life. We've tried to do that through things
like the Family and Medical Leave law, which has now given some 22 million
Americans a chance to take the time off from work when a baby is born or
a parent is sick without losing their jobs; by adding 2.5 million children
to the ranks of those with health insurance; by providing after-school
and mentoring programs to a million kids; by ending welfare as we knew
it, but giving families the support hey need to succeed as parents, as
well as workers; it has given us the lowest welfare rolls in 32 years,
half the size they were in January of '93. (Applause.)
We did it with
the HOPE Scholarships and lifetime learning tax credit to open the doors
of college to all. Ten million American families are now benefitting
from it, and the college-going rate in America is by far the highest it
has ever been.
We have worked
hard to strengthen America's families. And, like you, we've worked
hard to strengthen it by creating one America with the most diverse Cabinet
and administration appointments in history, with a real commitment to empowering
those who have too long been left out and left behind.
When I came here
in 1992, it was a very different America. We had a troubled economy,
a divided society, a paralyzed political system. I think it's worth
pointing out -- because I watched the news tonight on the way over, and
all the news is about the continuing arguments I'm having with the Congress.
I never thought I would see a bunch of politicians stay in Washington so
close to election. And I know that
when you see this, you must think of one
of Mr. Berra's immortal lines, that we may be lost, but we're making good
time. (Laughter.)
But the truth
is, this has actually been quite a productive Congress for the American
people. We've set aside more land than ever before in an act of Congress
for all time. (Applause.) We have passed an historic bill that
I've not yet had the opportunity to sign, but the agreement is there to
do America's part to relieve the debt for the poorest countries in the
world, as long as they put the money into education and health care and
development for their children and the future. (Applause.)
We have provided
an unprecedented outreach to Africa and our Caribbean neighbors.
It has been a good session of Congress, and they are working on an education
bill that I think all Americans, without regard to party, will be proud
of. So while we fight and argue -- which
is, after all, the essence of democratic representation -- we're actually
making a good deal of good progress. Today, the American community
and the American family is stronger than it has ever been.
I know and you
know that many of the social indicators have gotten better in no small
measure because our economy has been so strong, because we have the lowest
unemployment in 30 years and the longest expansion in history, the lowest
poverty in 20 years, the lowest minority unemployment ever recorded and
the highest homeownership in history. A lot of you deserve a lot
of the credit for that. I think about that every time I see Mr. Grasso
ring the bell down at the Stock Exchange.
But tonight, what
I want to say to you is, America's business is not done. America's
business will never be done. All of you have to decide how to vote
in the coming election, and I did not come here to discuss this.
But I will say that I hope that whatever happens, we will make decisions
consistent with keeping this economy strong, keeping it growing.
Because that is what will enable us to give economic opportunity to people
and places left behind. That is what will enable us to bring health
care and education at excellent levels to people who still don't have either
at the quality they should.
We have to do
the things that immigrants did when they came here. We have to forget about
short-term gains in time to look for the long run. I must say, from
time to time, people come up to me and they ask me, well, what great, new
economic idea did you bring to Washington? How did the government makes
its contribution to this boom? What new thing did you bring?
And I always have a one-word answer: arithmetic. We tried to bring
arithmetic back to Washington. And that's how we've turned a $290-billion
deficit into a $237-billion surplus. That is yours now. (Applause.)
That is yours now. It belongs to all the American people.
And what I want
to say to you is that never before in my lifetime has our nation enjoyed
at once so much economic prosperity and social progress with the absence
of domestic crisis or foreign threat to our security. Therefore,
never before in our lifetime have we had a chance like this to build the
future of our dreams for our children. There are big challenges out
there. How are we going to handle the aging of America? When
all us baby boomers retire, there will only be two people working for every
one person on Social Security. That is, unless we can get even more
immigrants into the country and treat them more fairly than we treat some
of our legal immigrants today, I might add -- something I'm trying to correct
in the closing days of this Congress.
(Applause.)
We have the largest
and most diverse school population in history. How shall we guarantee them
all excellence in education? We've just been through a little bit
of an energy scare. But we know that the development of new technologies
on the horizon -- and, in some cases, already on the shelf -- could dramatically
alter our future in ways that would strengthen our economy. Will
we have the will and vision to do that?
General Motors
announced just last week that their efforts, through our Partnership For
the Next Generation Vehicles, which the Vice President and I have been
working on for eight years, have given them a car that gets 80 miles to
the gallon. I signed today the research budget for the Agriculture
Department -- listen to this -- which involves funds where they're trying
to figure out how to make ethanol and other biomass fuels from gasoline.
Today, the problem with that is, it takes seven gallons of gas to make
eight gallons of ethanol. But the chemists are on the verge of discovering
how to make eight gallons of ethanol with one gallon of gas, and when that
happens you will be getting the equivalent of 500 miles to the gallon.
All of this is
out there. The young women in the audience who are still in their
child-bearing years, within five to 10 years, will be bringing babies home
from the hospital, thanks to the human genome project, who will have a
life expectancy of 90 years. (Applause.) We will see the cure
-- in the lifetime of virtually everybody in this audience, we will
see cures for Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. We may even see people
be able to -- the scientists be able to reverse Alzheimer's.
Digital chips
now can be implanted deep into the ear canals of profoundly deaf people
and they can hear. And they believe, the scientists do, that soon
they will be able to implant them into the spinal cord of profoundly injured
people, and they will be able to get up and walk. The future is incredible
out there, and I am very grateful that I have had the chance to serve at
this time.
But what I want
to say to all of you is, this country, as always belongs to the people.
It may not always be clear, except at election time when everybody's vote
counts exactly the same. But every day, in every way, the greatness
of America fundamentally depends upon the people, and our belief that everybody
deserves a chance, and we all do better when we help each other, that there
should be opportunity for every responsible citizen, but in the end, we
must be one community. That's what this foundation has been all about.
That's what your One America Award is all about.
And I have to
tell you today, if someone were to give me one wish, it would be that,
somehow, America would find a way out of the thicket that so bedevils people
everywhere. And we're still fighting in this most modern of age over
the most ancient of demons -- the fear of those who are different from
us. (Applause.) It is the source of anxiety in the country
from which my ancestors hail, Ireland, where we've made a lot of progress
on the peace process, but it's not completely finished yet. It is
the heartbreaking source of this upsurge in violence in the Middle East
after over seven years of working together -- people that know each other
by their first name, know their children, know their grandchildren, all
of a sudden at each other's throats again, almost in the blink of an eye,
both sides shaking their heads, wondering how it could have happened.
It was the source
of all that awful tribal warfare in Africa and the ethnic cleansing in
Bosnia and Kosovo, which, thank God, has come to an end because the United
States, with our allies -- Italy and our other allies in NATO stood up
against it, and then the people of Serbia finally threw off the shackles
of Mr. Milosevic and decided to vote for the rule of law over the rule
of hatred. (Applause.)
Now, I say all
this because I really believe that in the new century, in order for America
do to good around the world, we must first be good at home. And we
must say we're not going to let the lines that divide us tear us apart
as long as we share a common commitment to a law-abiding, cooperative future.
That's why I support the hate crimes legislation and the employment nondiscrimination
legislation and the
equal pay legislation for women -- because
I believe they symbolize those kinds of things. (Applause.)
But the larger
point is the one I want to make. We're about to give an award to
Muhammed Ali and Angelo Dundee. (Applause.) But all across
America today, in little play yards and dusty rural roads, there are young
people with their dreams. Some are of European descent, some are
African American, some are Hispanic, more and more are Asian. They're from
everywhere.
Just across the
river here in the Alexandria school district, there are people, children,
from 180 different racial and ethnic groups. Their parents speak over 100
different languages. So when we say we're a nation of immigrants,
we have to also say, but we're one nation, determined to build one family.
Determined to make the decisions today with discipline to preserve the
future for tomorrow, and determined to give all these kids a chance to
live their dreams.
Not every child
can be a Muhammad Ali, a Yogi Berra, an Andrea Bocelli. But every
child can serve in the way that Millard Fuller has served, and every child
can learn to respect his or her own heritage and faith and ethnic or racial
background, but also those of every other American. That is the genius
of America. That is the soul of the justification for this award
you give.
It has been a
profound honor for me to be able to come here representing the people of
the United States these last eight years. I have loved the work;
I've even liked the fight. But more importantly, I have just loved
seeing Americans pull together, move forward and believe in each other
again. Whatever happens, no matter what comes to this country, don't
you ever let that change. As long as it doesn't, our best days will
always still be ahead. Thank you very much. (Applause.)
Thank you.
Now, I have the honor to present Muhammad Ali and Angelo Dundee with this
first-ever One America award. And I ask Angelo and Mrs. Ali to come
up here. Let's give them a big hand. Thank you. (Applause.)
END 10:32 P.M. EDT
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