Clinton Takes Shot At Bush Win

Bidding farewell to this Democratic stronghold, President Clinton summed up the cliffhanger election, telling supporters that in the end, the only way the Republicans could win was to "stop the voting in Florida."

It was his most pointed observation on the election since it ended in Republican victory, but President-elect Bush's team opted not to fire back.

Mr. Clinton was joined Tuesday night at a downtown hotel by the brothers of a powerful political family in Chicago - Mayor Richard Daley and William Daley, chairman of Vice President Al Gore's presidential campaign.

When William Daley became chairman of Gore's campaign, the Democrats were "way behind" and the Republicans thought they'd already won the race, Mr. Clinton said.

"By the time it was over, our candidate had won the popular vote and the only way they could win the election was to stop the voting in Florida," Mr. Clinton told the crowd of about 3,000 who waved signs that said, "Thank you, brother Bill" and repeatedly chanted, "Four more years!"

On Wednesday, Bush press secretary Ari Fleischer responded: "There is a ... tradition in this country of presidents leaving office with the respect of their successors and I'm certain that President Clinton will want to follow that."

"I think the tradition extends in two directions and I'm not going to characterize what the president said," Fleischer added.

During the rest of his Chicago speech on Tuesday night, Mr. Clinton turned nostalgic, recalling visits to the Windy City at key moments in his political career - and telling the crowd not to be discouraged about Mr. Bush's win.

"I'm leaving this country in good shape. The best is still to be. You just rear back, stay together and keep fighting for tomorrow," Mr. Clinton said as multicolored confetti rained down on the audience.

During that speech and also at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Mr. Clinton said his administration was leaving the nation in better economic shape than when he took office eight years ago.

"We are still experiencing the largest economic expansion of our history," the president told some 10,000 cheering students and supporters. "Our economy is 50 percent bigger than it was eight years ago ... and unlike some of our previous recoveries, this rising tide is lifting all boats."

Before appearing in the hotel ballroom in Chicago, Mr. Clinton visited James Ward Elementary School — the oldest school in the city — and trumpeted his education record.

"All told, we have doubled education funding in the past eight years, more investment, provided the largest expansion of college opportunity in 50 years since the GI Bill and gotten the results with more accountability," Mr. Clinton said. "Test scores are up, the dropout rate is down, advanced placement courses in high schools are being taken by 50 percent more kids, ... not surprisingly the SAscores are at a 30-year high in America and the college-going rate had gone up 10 percent."

Mr. Clinton is defending his record on his way out of the White House. President-elect Bush and Vice President-elect Dick Cheney have missed few opportunities recently to voice concerns that the country could be heading into its first recession since Mr. Bush's father occupied the White House.

Such comments have irritated the Clinton administration, which has called the comments irresponsible and an attempt to build support for Bush's proposed $1.3 trillion tax cut.

Since his administration took office in 1993, Mr. Clinton said, there has been: