[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (2000-2001, Book III)]
[October 28, 2000]
[Pages 2361-2365]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at a National Italian American Foundation Dinner
October 28, 2000

    Thank you very much. Thank you to the diehard in the back there. 
[Laughter] Thank 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.
    I want to thank Chairman Guarini; 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 overrepresented. 
[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.
    I also want to congratulate Tommy Lasorda 
on the fabulous job he did with our baseball team at the Olympics. And 
congratulations to you, Mr. Berra. Your spirit 
was alive and well at the World Series.
    I want to congratulate the honorees tonight, my good friend Muhammad 
Ali, and Angelo Dundee, 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

[[Page 2362]]

he was so generous and understanding of my culturally challenged accent. 
[Laughter] So he tried to teach me how to say ``fuggeddaboudit.'' 
[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]
    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, to your intellect, your industry, your 
good will, 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 8 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 1820's 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 the 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.
    It is, therefore, altogether fitting that you would give your first 
One America Award to Muhammad Ali. 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 4 years ago when Muhammad 
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.
    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. 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.
    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 8 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 they 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.

[[Page 2363]]

    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 benefiting 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. 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. 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 and 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--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.
    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,

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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 8 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 7 gallons of 
gas to make 8 gallons of ethanol. But the chemists are on the verge of 
discovering how to make 8 gallons of ethanol with 1 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 5 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. 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. [Inaudible]--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. 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 7 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.
    Now, I say all this because I really believe that in the new 
century, in order for America to do 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.
    But the larger point is the one I want to make. We're about to give 
an award to Muhammad Ali and Angelo 
Dundee. 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.

[[Page 2365]]

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 8 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. 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. 
[Applause]
    Thank you.

 Note:  The President spoke at 10:06 p.m. at the Washington Hilton 
Hotel. In his remarks, he referred to Frank J. Guarini, chairman, 
Geraldine Ferraro, board member, and Joseph R. Cerrell, president, 
National Italian American Foundation; Richard Grasso, chairman and chief 
executive, New York Stock Exchange; U.S. Ambassador to Hungary Peter F. 
Tufo; U.S. Ambassador to Romania James C. Rosapepe; Tommy Lasorda, 
manager, 2000 U.S. Olympic baseball team; former professional baseball 
player Yogi Berra; tenor Andrea Bocelli; John Paul DeJoria, chairman, 
John Paul Mitchell Systems; Joseph P. Nacchio, chairman and chief 
executive officer, Qwest Communications International; fashion designer 
Miuccia Prada; former professional football head coach Dick Vermeil; 
Millard Fuller, founder and president, Habitat for Humanity 
International; actor Robert De Niro; Italian Ambassador to the U.S. 
Ferdinando Salleo; former President of the Federal Republic of 
Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) Slobodan Milosevic; and Muhammad 
Ali's wife, Lonnie.