and do this. and that responsibility goes to the children. we cannot sit back here, make a lot of money, pretend there is not something wrong. but in terms of what you think of normally as candidate and candidate's wife being totally excited about the prospect of living in the white house, it is wanting it to you can make the changes. it is that wanting it because that is a better life. >> paul tsongas, thank you very much and good luck. mr. tsongas: thanks. announcer: road to the white house rewind continues with more from the 1992 campaign of democrat paul tsongas. he officially announced his candidacy on april 30, 1991 in his hometown of lowell, massachusetts. he called his campaign a journey of purpose. arkansas governor bill clinton would go on to win the 1992

democratic presidential nomination with senator tsongas carrying seven states and finishing third. ♪ [applause] [cheering] [applause] >> good morning. >> good morning. [cheering] >> i accept the nomination, thank you. [laughter]

[applause] >> today, we planned the seeds of america's economic renaissance. and the rain is going to make them grow. [applause] 200 years ago, our funding fathers gave us the democracy. it was based on the simple yet noble idea that government derives its validity from the consent of the governed. that consent must be constantly renewed. it can only be renewed by a full and vigorous debate on the issues that confront our nation. today, that search for renewable begins. precedese for consent as the constitution has provided. today, the national debate will commence. it begins here in the city. [cheering]

[applause] lowell is my home. it is where i drew my first breath. it is where i will always derive a sense of place and a sense of belonging. it is what i am. and you, my neighbors and my friends, are what i am as well. i am an american. i love this country. [applause] [cheering] [cheering] [applause] you are americans. you love this country. [applause] together, we entrust the principles that wrapper meant mankind greatest political and social achievement.

america is hope. america is compassion. it is excellence. it is valor. it is humanity. its values have drawn us here from every corner of the globe. these values are a manifest destiny. yet the leadership in washington has squandered that promise. we were never meant to be the world's greatest debtor nation. we were never meant to have our ancestors' tax money sold to the highest bidder. we were never meant to have america's workers ranked ninth in the world and wages. we were never meant to have dysfunctional schools or imploding cities or racial disharmony or an environment at risk. [applause] america is more than this. we are more than this.

our destiny is greatness, and we must return to its fulfillment. [applause] enough of this washington of oregon's. enough of this washington mediocrity. we must return to the glory of our forbearers by unleashing the greatness of our people. we need leadership that calls upon the best of us. we need leadership that pursues a higher vision. [applause] today, that leadership is not in washington. that leadership is here and across america. [applause] [cheering] [applause] hearts and minds

and souls of the american people. leadershipeploy that to meet the challenges that face us, and to restore america's greatness. [cheering] [applause] that is why today, i declare my candidacy for president of the united states. [cheering] [applause] [cheering] [applause] [cheering] [applause] are you ready?

let's go! [cheering] [applause] today, i begin a journey of purpose. and i ask you to come with me. on this journey, we will reaffirm the values of our ancestors: hard work, determination, will, thrift, productivity, perseverance. and through that information, we will again be the greatest economic power on earth. [cheering] [applause] on this journey, we will

rediscover the caring and compassion for one another that has been dishonored by the reagan-bush years. [applause] and in that discovery, we will look upon each other as brothers and sisters, and as a community which nurtures its young, its ailing, and its young fortunate -- less fortunate. [applause] journey, we will reach into the future and commit ourselves to thinking in generations. , just as wetinuum reach back to our ancestors for our fundamental values, so we as guardians of that legacy must reject head to the children -- must reach i had to the children to the reach ahead

children and their children. these are the children. [applause] and these, too, of course. [laughter] we do so with a sense of sacredness in that reaching. that sense of sacredness, that thinking in generations, must begin with reference for this earth. [cheering] [applause] this land, this water, this air, this planet, this rain, this is our legacy to our young. yet the reagan-bush years have been a time of cynical avoidance of one environmental issue after another. conservation,rgy depletion of the ozone layer, global warming, and uncontrolled world population. journey with me to a true

commitment to our environment. [applause] journey with me to the serenity of leaving to our children a planet in equilibrium. [applause] thinking in generations also means enabling our young to have a decent standard of living. to that reagan-bush legacy our children of an additional $3 trillion of debt. that that will forever burden and handicap them. george bush promised, read my lips, no new taxes. it won an election. but what he really meant was, read my lips, add new debt. that is generally showing --

generationally immoral. [cheering] [applause] our children deserve better. on this journey of purpose, i commit myself to making this thriving,striving, triumphant competitor in the world marketplace. [applause] i commit myself to in america where a standard -- an america where a standard of living and our industrial output are second to none in the world. [applause] i commit myself to economic security, for this generation and their children. this obligation to our young is as old as civilization. worde apache tongue, the

for grandfather and grandson is the same. they understood linkage. they understood honor. they understood mutual obligation. in washington, there is no such wisdom. [applause] in washington, it is all here and now. it is all phony data. the vision extends only to the next election. it is time to look to our children and feel our responsibility to them. that is my journey of purpose. i want to meet that responsibility so we can rest easy in our guardianship of this time and this place. from a viable economy to the full funding of head start, from a clean environment to true equality for women, from a strong military to a commitment to racial brotherhood, from schools that are honored to streets that are free of excessive violence, these are

our responsibilities to our children. [applause] i will devote myself to the search for their for filament. and finally, this journey of purpose must be a journey of choice. we must choose action. we must choose commitment. i offer a different path. harder, but more hopeful. longer, but more compelling. deeper, but more worthy. seven and a half years ago, i began my own journey. for me and my family, it was a time of adversity. a journey of adversity i discovered. and born out of that adversity was a commitment to devote

myself to those people into those issues that truly matter to me. today, together with nikki and ashley and molly, i pledged to for fill that commitment. we all journey in this world. it is our calling. america is the sum of all their journeys as research for our national identity -- of all the journeys as we search for our national identity. come with me. we are a great nation. [applause] [cheering] [applause] we are a great people! [cheering] [applause]

may god give us the strength to be worthy of this greatness. let's go get them! [cheering] [applause] [applause] ♪

announcer: c-span takes you on the road to the white house. best access to the candidates at town hall meetings, rallies, and meet and greets. we are taking your comments. as always, every campaign event recover is available on our issite, -- we cover available on our website, c-span.org. "very week, "reel america brings your archival films. >> [singing]