Chapter 1 | Part 1 | Clinton | American Experience

we interrupt your regular program for a quite an extraordinary moment in the history of the United States a short while ago President Clinton's staff came to tell us that he was going to come to the Rose Garden now and make some remarks Peter the president make another attempt to say he's sorry about what he's caused [Music] Bill Clinton had come into office with notions of an heroic presidency to inscribe his name in history alongside FDR and JFK good afternoon but on the afternoon of December 11th 1998 he came to the Rose Garden of the White House to apologize to the American people I am profoundly sorry for all I have done wrong in words and deeds I never should have misled the country the Congress my friends are my family quite simply I gave in to my shame it's almost as if all of this was just too easy for him it's almost as if he had to set up these barriers that he could then leap across or stagger across but get across in any event always I'm gonna give you this election back and if you give it to me I won't be like George Bush I'll never forget who gave me a second chance and I'll be there for you til the last dog dies how many second chances right how many second chances is any one person deserve you know Clinton's view is as many second chances as a person is willing to try to take you know I mean as many times as you fail don't you deserve the chance to redeem yourself isn't history loaded with people who have fallen and gotten up and fallen and gotten up and fallen and gotten up and done great things we will together build a bridge to the 21st century wide enough and strong enough to take us to America's best days will you do that there's a stick-to-itiveness about him that's just phenomenal an abiding belief that if he can just have enough time he can win over just about anybody the central repetitive theme of Bill Clinton's life is lost in recovery never count him out because always he will find his way back I am tonight where it all began for me I still believe in a place called hope [Music] [Applause] where does it come from the unwillingness to quit on self on the things he believes in on the people he cared about he disappoints him every time on some level but he always gets up and tries to make it better you know what else can you ask from a sinner success misjudgment in some cases catastrophe followed by comeback that resilience is central to who he is as a politician I think it's central to who he is as a man [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] he would emerge from the political back waters of Arkansas like a country tornado one newspaper wrote a political natural unlike anyone had seen in a generation but in the winter of 1992 as Bill Clinton began campaigning for president in New Hampshire he was still a relative unknown eager to win over voters and his young campaign staff it was just so clear dead he was exceptionally talented politician from the kind of get go says how do you get the ideas we develop in America in the manufacturing jobs there is ability to adapt there's ability to walk into a room to size up initiative to understand I've now seen a candidate and I've seen a human being who who with the most limited briefing can understand the dimensions to parameters the nuances of everything of any kind of a policy or political problem if we had a broad based on policy was not to hire you because he could see six hours of Pentagon's in a primary field crowded with Democratic candidates Clinton's determination and skill quickly distinguished him from his rivals his aides nicknamed him after a legendary racehorse Secretariat he spent $200 on medication yes there was this famous instance just before the New Hampshire primary a woman started talking about that she couldn't afford the drugs that she needed to survive and she started to cry and Clinton's reflex action was to get down on his knees put his arms around her and he's crying to the story that I heard from people over and over was for that one moment he looked me in the eye he touched me on the arm he listened to my story and I felt like I was the only person in the world and he did it over and over and over and the only way you can have that moment over and over and over if you really are interested [Music] throughout New Hampshire in union halls truck stops and diners Clinton heard stories of depressed wages and vanishing jobs as the state and the nation struggled to emerge from a recession he knew these people knew what they were thinking knew their concerns and felt that government in Washington in large measure was just not addressing those concerns the mostly white working-class voters Clinton met in New Hampshire like those in his own state of Arkansas had been fleeing the Democratic Party for years I knew the Democrats were not going to regain the presidency until they reestablished a connection with these middle class and lower middle class voters who had been attracted for various reasons to Republican politicians and to conservative ideas for nearly a decade as he rose through the ranks of democratic politics Clinton had been honing a message to win back these so-called Reagan Democrats the entire thrust of the traditional Democratic Party was based on entitlements and endowments they would bestow money on people Bill Clinton's incredibly bold idea was to change the grant to a transaction we'll give you something but we demand something back the way he would phrase that is we'll give you opportunity but you have to take responsibility if you want the right to receive welfare benefits you have to assume the responsibility to get educated do it have job printing and to go to work if you can do it and when he went out and said we need opportunity for all but responsibility from all Americans that was different from what Democrats have been saying preaching his new democrat message in New Hampshire Clinton began to catch fire people say I'm not a real Democrat and I say I'm against bright that politics in both parties by mid-january he pulled ahead of his strongest competitors and into the lead you