Bill Clinton in 2012 Democratic National Convention speeches

On Budget & Economy: No one could fix mess in 4 years; but policies are working

A lot of Americans are still angry and frustrated about this economy. If you look at the numbers, you know employment is growing. But too many people do not feel it yet. I had this same thing happen in 1994 and early `95. We could see that the policies were working, that the economy was growing, but most people didn't feel it yet. Thankfully, by 1996, the economy was roaring, everybody felt it. But the difference this time is purely in the circumstances. Obama started with a much weaker economy than I did. No president--not me, not any of my predecessors--no one could have fully repaired all the damage that he found in just four years. But he has laid the foundations. And if you will renew the president's contract, you will feel it.

On Budget & Economy: How to balance budgets? Arithmetic; which GOP ignores

If the Republicans stay with this $5 trillion tax cut plan in a debt reduction plan, the arithmetic tells us, no matter what they say, one of three things is about to happen.
1. They'll have to eliminate so many deductions, like the ones for home mortgages and charitable giving, that middle- class families will see their tax bills go up an average of $2,000, while anybody who makes $3 million or more will see their tax bill go down $250,000.
2. Or, they'll have to cut so much spending that they'll obliterate the budget and put the future on hold.
3. Or, in spite of all the rhetoric, they'll just do what they've been doing for more than 30 years. They'll go and cut the taxes way more than they cut spending.

On Corporations: Republicans cut taxes for the rich & deregulate banks

They want to cut taxes for high-income Americans even more than President Bush did. They want to get rid of those pesky financial regulations designed to prevent another crash and prohibit federal bailouts. They want to actually increase defense spending over a decade $2 trillion more than the Pentagon has requested, without saying what they'll spend it on. And they want to make enormous cuts in the rest of budget, especially programs that help the middle class and poor children.

I like the argument for President Obama's re-election a lot better: He inherited a deeply damaged economy. He put a floor under the crash. He began the long, hard road to recovery and laid the foundation for a modern, more well-balanced economy.

On Environment: If you double your gas mileage, it cuts cost & reduces CO2

The president's energy strategy, which he calls all-of-the-above, is helping, too. The boom in oil and gas production, combined with greater energy efficiency, has driven oil imports to a near 20-year low and natural gas production to an all-time high. And renewable energy production has doubled.

(APPLAUSE).

On Health Care: ObamaCare has already insured millions and reduced costs

1. Individuals and businesses have already gotten more than $1 billion in refunds from insurance companies because the new law requires 80% of your premium to go to your health care, not profits or promotion.
2. More than 3 million young people between 19 and 25 are insured for the first time because their parents' policies can cover them.
3. Millions of seniors are receiving preventive care
4. Soon the insurance companies will have millions of new customers, many of them middle-class people with pre-existing conditions who never could get insurance before.
5. For the last two years, health care costs have been under 4% in both years for the first time in 50 years.

On Jobs: Democratic presidents have created more jobs than Republican

Now, there's a reason for this. It turns out that advancing equal opportunity and economic empowerment is both morally right and good economics. Why? Because poverty, discrimination, and ignorance restrict growth. When you stifle human potential, when you don't invest in new ideas, it doesn't just cut off the people who are affected. It hurts us all.

We know that investments in education and infrastructure and scientific and technological research increase growth. They increase good jobs, and they create new wealth for all the rest of us.

On Principles & Values: Conflict makes good politics, but cooperation works

When times are tough and people are frustrated and angry and hurting and uncertain, the politics of constant conflict may be good, but what is good politics does not necessarily work in the real world. What works in the real world is cooperation.

What works in the real world is cooperation, business and government, foundations and universities. Now, why is this true? Why does cooperation work better than constant conflict? Because nobody's right all the time, and a broken clock is right twice a day.

Unfortunately, the faction that now dominates the Republican Party doesn't see it that way. They think government is always the enemy, they're always right, and compromise is weakness.

On Welfare & Poverty: "We're in this together" better than "You're on your own"

We Democrats, we think the country works better with a strong middle class, with real opportunities for poor folks to work their way into it, with a relentless focus on the future, with business and government actually working together to promote growth and broadly shared prosperity. You see, we believe that "We're all in this together" is a far better philosophy than "You're on your own."