Press Release
October 5, 1996

STATEMENT BY JOE LOCKHART
NATIONAL PRESS SECRETARY

There is a widening credibility gap between Bob Dole’s "vision" and Bob Dole’s plan for America’s future. Bob Dole’s risky economic plan would saddle future generations with massive deficits. The Dole plan could force cuts in Medicare, Medicaid, education, and environmental protection that are even deeper than the record-breaking cuts proposed by the 1995 Dole/Gingrich budget. Experts as broad-ranging as the nonpartisan Concord Coalition, BusinessWeek, and the New York Times say it could force 40 percent cuts in the FBI, Border Patrol, Air Traffic Control, education, and other crucial areas.

But Bob Dole’s credibility gap extends beyond his economic plan. Just this week, Dole’s economic staff admitted that they fudged the numbers when attacking the President’s record. The Washington Post reported that "His campaign acknowledged yesterday that its accounting doesn’t quite add up ... and they acknowledge that the President has not sought to increase overall federal spending"” (10/3/96)

What Bob Dole sees as the "the future", President Clinton has already made a reality for millions of Americans. Under the President’s leadership, the deficit has been cut by 60 percent, a 15 year low according to USA Today (8/22/96). Real hourly wages are rising for the first time in a decade. Family income has risen $1,600 since 1993. Taxes have been cut for 15 million working families and government is at its smallest level since the Kennedy Administration.

Bob Dole’s vision is clouded by faulty facts, but he saw the light on one point -- there are "real, distinct differences" between President Clinton and Bob Dole. President Clinton’s vision for the future is connected to a record that has America moving forward. Bob Dole can only wonder about what lies ahead because it’s too scary for him to focus on the record he’s left behind.

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Paid for by Clinton/Gore ’96 General Committee, Inc.