Good afternoon, good morning I should say. I am State Representative Antonio Riley from Wisconsin, and I have the distinct pleasure serving as the Chair of the Democratic Leadership Council State Legislative Advisory Board.

When I look across this room, I have to say Al, from that first national conversation we had in that conference room at the Watergate Hotel, I believe it was, and the Vice-President came in and spoke with us, this movement has come a long, long, way, and we should all be very proud of that. We should also be very proud of the fact that the Democratic Leadership Council has made a very clear commitment that we have to go out there and help build the farm team back in the states, and that's why we formed a new leadership team. And I'm so honored to be joined in the state by my friends here, but also to be joined by Lt. Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, who was the leader of the Statewide Elected Officials Network, Mr. Carroll Robinson who heads up the LEON Group, which is our Local Elected Officials Network, and our advice chair, Ellen Tauscher, who was the Vice-Chair for this great man here leading the DLC forward.

You know, I have to tell you that I'm very honored to be speaking here with you today, and as I said, as I look across the audience, I see the future of the Democratic Party, a future rich with possibilities and great opportunities, a party that will once again be the voice for America, promising the renewal of prosperity that President Clinton delivered during his Presidency. But we can only achieve this if we keep focus on the core values of the Democratic Leadership Council: the ethic value of moral responsibility and mutual responsibility; the values of opportunity and community. These are the enduring values that will continue to lift our party, and these are the values that separates the politicians and the idealists from those who only seek political advantage. And as new Democrats, we understand that you can be a new Democrat and not necessarily abandon the great traditions of the Democratic Party, the party of Jefferson and Jackson, of FDR. It is the party of Clinton and it is the party of Joe Lieberman, and Senator Bayh and others here.

I believe that we can accomplish these things. Now there is no place where that ethic of mutual responsibility and that great enduring values is more self-evident than in the social welfare policies of this country. That is why new Democrats back in Wisconsin helped lead the charge -- and I'm proud to say I played a major role in that -- of ending the old welfare system, and committing this country to a new dawn of a social welfare policy. And that led to that historic bill being placed on President Clinton's desk, and the President having the will and the vision to sign that bill and commit America to a new dawn. As new Democrats, we understand something else very clearly: that often on both sides of the political spectrum people exacerbate.

For example, scriptures tell us that you are your brother's and your sister's keeper. On the left, some seem to say that our brothers and sisters want to be coddled and have their heads rubbed and shoved off into a corner; don't want to help themselves, and on the right, they talk about rugged individualism. But as new Democrats, we understand that there's a broader community, that we have a responsibility to ourselves and to each other, that that concept does not exonerate your brothers and your sisters from responsibility for themselves, but that all of us have a responsibility in helping them to acquire the means by which to help themselves. That is something that this movement has understood clearly and has breathed tremendous life into for America. And I have to tell you that today I am proud and honored to have the opportunity to introduce to you someone who understands the value of breathing life and hope and to helping people to acquire the means by which to help themselves.

You know, I have stood before this body in the past and have had the distinct honor of introducing her husband, President Clinton. And I reflected, at that time, upon when I met him one day in a park in downtown Milwaukee on a crisp Saturday morning, and walked up to him and said, Governor, you must run, and by running change this party and our country for the better. And I can recall election eve, as Mrs. Clinton and then Governor Clinton, crisscrossed the country on a marathon tour. Being at the Milwaukee Arena on that stage and seeing them enter that arena, and standing on that stage and that dimly lit arena in that bright light, and in that bright light was a great hope for America. But today, she stands in her own bright light, and in that bright light tremendous hope and opportunity for this great country.

She really needs no introduction because we all know her very well. She has been one of the pillars of strength for our party, she has been instrumental in rebuilding the faith and the ability of government to help Americans solve and meet their most urgent challenges. Reviving the fortunes of the Democratic Party, a partner in administration, they gave this country eight years of unprecedented economic prosperity, her ability to articulate both our values and our ideas, to unite Democrats and attract independents and to install in this project, modernize the Democratic Party and the American public sector with passion and excitement accumulated in her successful run for the United States Senate. It is an honor for me to have the opportunity here today to present to you, the Senator from the state of New York, Hillary Rodham Clinton.