My fellow Americans. I come before you on the eve of a very important date, a date which could very well change the direction of our government for many years. You've seen and heard me many times and you've also been exposed quite extensively to my opponent, Governor Bush.
Tonight is not the night to repeat the slogans, phrases and issues of this campaign. I trust that most of you have already made up your minds and there is little I can say which would change it. You also know that election day is the most important day in my life and whether its verdict will deliver me my lifelong ambition of the Presidency of the United States.
No, tonight, I want to ask for something even more important, whether you decide I should only be your president for the next eleven weeks or longer. Regardless of your choice in the election, I want to ask you all for three things-- your prayers, your forgiveness and your understanding.
Whatever verdict the voters will deliver, I am prepared to accept, even if that choice is not me. However, I am not prepared to accept the judgement of history and of God if I wait any longer to tell you what I must.
Bill Clinton has been a longtime friend of mine. He has given me an opportunity to serve and to run for this great office. However, I can no longer stay quiet and let my remark about him being one of our greatest president become a quote attributed to me. I'm afraid it is not the truth. And more than being untruthful, it is downright misleading and harmful. It is a lie.
Bill Clinton has damaged the presidency and the country beyond the ability of either myself or Governor Bush to repair it. This is why I ask for your prayers.
Mrs. Clinton has been an enthusiastic accomplice. She is unworthy to serve in the U.S. Senate or any public office. Within the next few days, I shall detail why.
I shall also detail my role in their various affairs. If I were to beat the odds and be elected without doing this, our country will undoubtedly undergo the trauma of another impeachment. I will ask for your forgiveness as my own role is detailed.
Finally, I will ask for your understanding. The understanding of how I could become a less than willing accomplice in the low culture of holding onto power at any price in our national government. The understanding of good people who have supported me and a good man, Senator Lieberman, who has consented to run with me even though it meant he had to abandon many of the positions which made him popular in the attempt to give me the integrity which I needed so badly.
Now I can tell you that no position of power or ambition is worth giving up this integrity taught to me by my parents and by those great people who have occupied the office which I seek. It wasn't worth it to Senator Lieberman, it will not be worth it to me.
Win or lose, I shall detail to the American people why Bill Clinton must leave office for the good of our nation. If he can rediscover any integrity dormant within him, he will resign now.
Should you still feel inclined to vote for me, even with this less than full confession, I am grateful. I want you to know the version of Al Gore you will be voting for will be the version when I was first elected to Congress from the great state of Tennessee back in 1976-- an idealist who sees a role for government somewhat larger than does Governor Bush; a man who still believes abortion is arguably the taking of a human life and feels that even if my party is mostly opposed to this stand, we should be doing more to minimize the number rather than celebrating this symptom of a sick society. I could go on, but I think you get the idea.
I would not blame you if you should reject me resoundly. My confession is late and it is incomplete. However, please understand the difficulty for me to come this far and be assured that going the rest of the way will come easier after you, the people, deliver your verdict on November 7.
As the people of this great nation do every four years, they have delivered their verdict. And, though I am disappointed in the results, I accept them and congratulate Governor Bush. You have earned this office without guile or subterfuge. You have earned the respect of America and of this American.
I would like to keep my promise made last night and I would like to like to sleep tonight with a clear conscience, perhaps clear for the first time in eight years.
It is my turn to be president, if only for 11 weeks, to ensure that the transition to President-elect George W. Bush is both smooth and cooperative. To acheive that small ambition, and the greater ambition of renewing our country's strength, I will give a full and complete confession.
As his last act as President, I ask that Bill Clinton immediately call the congress into a special session to hear this confession and anyone else in the administration who is so inclined. Failing that, I ask the President-elect and the current congress convene immediately for an impeachment which will result from my confession.
If President Clinton will be cooperative and resign immediately, sparing us the trauma of impeachment, I will ask that he fill in the details which I will not be able to. If he does so, I will give him a complete and unconditional pardon in the short 11 weeks before President-elect Bush takes office. We can spend the time to contain the grevious damage which has been done to our nation during the eight years of the Clinton administration.
No, I will not give details of new improper sexual relationships. As much as this would provide great material for the pulp press, the important improper relationships which must be dealt with have to do with grave matters of national security.
China has contributed greatly to the Clinton campaigns. Like most big campaign contributors, they expect something in return. While my role was merely to collect the money, it will be up to Bill Clinton to disclose the nuclear secrets and other matters of national security which were compromised. This he will do to earn my pardon. I leave myself to the mercy of the incoming president to pardon me as he sees fit for my supporting role.
This is not all, but it is the most urgent matter as it endangers the security of our nation. We need a full confession so that we may know and deal with the full extent of the damage. Even though a pardon may be unpopular once this full confession is made, please understand that our nation's security is more important than revenge. Bill Clinton, having told the truth and escaped prison, or worse, will serve us better than Bill Clinton punished without these important truths disclosed.
This is not all. Many lives both great and small have been ruined by Bill Clinton's ambitions to maintain power. He has used and abused the Justice Department, the US Marshalls Service, the IRS and the FBI, just to name a few. Once the security breech matters are dealt with, we must also deal with these important, but lesser matters, even if it should extend well into the next administration. Mrs. Clinton has played a major role in many of these abuses. She will also need to testify. I will urge the President-elect to grant her the same full and unconditional pardon for the same reasons as it is unlikely that I will be able to even deal with these matters before January 20.
For those who have had their celebrations cut short, I apologize. For those who have had their disappointments deepened, I apologize. For those who will see their stock values shrink in the coming days, I apologize. For those in the Pentagon, the State Department, the Justice Department, Congress and their staffs who will have their year-end holidays curtailed by dealing with this national crisis, I apologize. Most of all, to the American people who will reap unimagined tax increases and/or wave goodbye to their promised tax cut to deal with these breaches of security of the last eight years, I apologize.
However, I am confident we will emerge a stronger and more united nation in spite of it. God bless you all and God bless America. We are going to need all the blessings we can get. Good night.
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Threat to control of our prairie empire. Core beliefs of the State Church.
We need Al Gore to mollify China!
Must Read: Maintaining Control of the Masses.
