Statement on Announcing Presidential
  Exploratory Committee 
   
    For 30 years as a basketball player, a Senator, a writer,
    a speaker and a businessman, I have traveled and
    listened throughout America. During that time, I have
    learned that America is a country full of good people
    who are, by and large, industrious, talented, optimistic,
    and generous. In our short history Americans have
    settled a continent, won world wars and created
    unparalleled prosperity. When we are given the facts
    honestly, our common sense usually puts us on the right
    course. I have tremendous respect for the wisdom and
    decency of the American people. Today, when too many
    of our young people have diminished life chances and
    when we stand on the brink of convulsive changes
    wrought by technology and globalization, it is good to
    remember that we are up to meeting these challenges.
    We have done great things here and we will again. 

    Now, I am seeking the Democratic nomination for
    President in the year 2000. 

    I run to improve the opportunity for more Americans to
    live healthier, more economically secure, more
    personally fulfilling lives. 

    I run to help unleash the enormous potential of the
    American people. We see it every day in the energy that
    makes our economy move, fuels our technological
    advances and produces individual acts of compassion. I
    want to help take that energy and channel it, not only
    toward further economic vitality, but also toward finishing
    our agenda of obligations that we have to one another. 

    I believe, as the most powerful nation in the world today,
    we have an obligation to give the world a map to
    democracy, a sense of physical security against blatant
    aggression, and a set of economic institutions that allow
    more people a chance to turn their dreams for a better
    life into a reality. 

    I believe in a type of leadership that doesn't stand in the
    spotlight as much as call attention to millions of
    Americans who shine everyday. I believe in the kind of
    leadership that faces up to our problems. Let me give
    you a specific example. More than 2.8 million children in
    America live in what is called deep poverty. They live in
    homes that don't even reach the poverty level. As they
    grow up, many of them become armed, dependent on
    drugs, preoccupied with a distorted sense of "respect"
    and uninterested in the future. We won't reach our
    potential as a nation until we improve this unacceptable
    situation. 

    Today, many hard working parents who hold several
    jobs in order to make ends meet, worry that they don't
    have enough time with their children to imbue them with
    a proper set of values. Helping parents help their
    children must be a national priority. Children need a
    caring adult in their lives, and America needs a next
    generation that appreciates a meaning in life that is
    deeper than just the acquisition of material goods. If that
    next generation doesn't reach its full potential, America
    can never reach its own. 

    Today, we're told by the cynics that a large vision for our
    country is somehow unrealistic. That things can't be
    changed; they say that we can't assure quality healthcare
    at reasonable costs for all Americans. We can't have
    dramatically more effective schools. We can't have all
    American families share in at least a portion of our
    prosperity. 

    I don't believe that. 

    I say, think of the unlikely miracle that was the founding of
    our country. Think of the GI bill or the creation of
    Medicare or Social Security. 

    It's not that we should live in the delusion that nothing is
    impossible - we're not nave - but that we should live in
    the spirit that nothing is impossible. 

    By living in that spirit, not only can individual Americans
    achieve personal fulfillment more easily, but as a country
    we can assure better living conditions for most
    Americans. By doing both, we can be worthy of our
    founders' ideals. 

    When I observe Americans who can see deeper than
    skin color or eye shape to a person's individuality, I think
    all of us can be that good. When I see American
    companies innovate, thereby changing the way we
    conceive our future, I think most of our companies can
    be that good. When I see neighbors help neighbors after
    a hurricane, tornado or earthquake, I think more of us -
    more often - can be that good. 

    We can move forward and affirm the basic goodness of
    the American people. We can realize our potential as
    workers, citizens and human beings. I believe we can be
    that visionary. I believe we can be that generous and
    thoughtful. I believe we can be that smart and innovative. 

    If you believe as I believe, I ask you to join me. Because
    together, we can take on the biggest and most important
    challenges that remain. 

    Together we can be that good.


