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NEWS : STORIES
P. Diddy, lately a.k.a. Citizen Combs, caught up with former first lady and current junior senator from New York Hillary Clinton at the Democratic convention last week. As they discussed the importance of young folks getting out to vote, Clinton
P. Diddy: We are here with the legendary Hillary Clinton, from my home state of New York. Thank you for talking to us. Hillary Clinton: I am delighted and I am delighted by what you're doing. Diddy: Thank you. We're not going to get into sophisticated politics, we're gonna get into a problem that we have in young America, and that is young Americans being disenfranchised. Only 36 percent of us have voted. You are one of the few politicians that young people relate to. And we want to get a message on why you think it's important for young people to vote this year. And please talk to the people who are disenfranchised and don't believe in the power of their vote. Clinton: I really think that this year — more than any other — that young people have their lives at stake. When I go to the floor of the Senate to cast a vote, I'm casting a vote about what the economy is going to look like and what kind of jobs are going to be available, whether there is going to be health care, whether there is going to be good education, every issue that you can imagine has a direct impact on how every young person is going to live his or her life. So I would hope this year more than any other people would stop and think, "Hey, do I want to wake up in five years and have more violence in the streets than we do now, more homelessness, more people out of work? Kids not even having a chance to get educated, hospitals closing down?" This is a direct impact on their lives and I believe your slogan, "vote or die," is accurate. Diddy: Thank you. And one thing I'm getting from young people, especially people in the inner city, minorities, is they feel like things aren't going to change for them. Can you address that as a politician? Lower-income families feel like it doesn't matter if it's four years or eight years [of Bush], things are not changing. Clinton: Well, I can only think back to the 1990s when Bill Clinton was president and we created 23 million new jobs. When more people were lifted out of poverty than at any point in our history and a lot of people made a lot of money at the same time. So it was lifting both those people who already had something and those people who had nothing. We also lowered the crime rate. We did so much to improve health care for people without insurance. That is all going backwards now. So if people would just look around their neighborhood and think about places they couldn't walk before, think about jobs they couldn't get before, think about health care that they were not able to afford before. Yes, we still have problems, but we know how to make progress and leaders are essential to that. Diddy: Last question and I'm gonna let you go, because your outfit looks so incredible. You're definitely one of the best-dressed politicians in the game — that's a little sidebar, I just love your outfit. The last thing is that this race is neck-and-neck. I'm telling young people that we are going to decide who is the next president of the United States of America. If you could express to them how in the last couple of months it's been neck-and-neck, and the power they have in their vote, then I will let you go. Clinton: Well, I love being with you and I want to thank you again. This election is going to be close. And I believe, as you do, that young people can determine it. And if that happens, then people like me and the new president have to listen to you and the people watching us. They have to be willing to hear what is on your mind. First though, you have to get registered. If you don't know how to get registered, follow what Sean is doing. You can go to my Web site, www.friendsofhillary.com, and you can download a registration form for any state in the country. We have already registered 20,000 young people on my Web site. But then we've got to convince people to vote. And the best reason to vote is: Why do you want to turn over power to somebody else? Somebody who doesn't look like you, doesn't care about what you care about, doesn't have the same feelings you have, doesn't have as much at stake for the future. So let's hope that this campaign that you are running that is so important really reaches all the young people. Because I remember back in the 1960s I worked to change the Constitution so that people between the ages of 18 and 21 could vote. But unfortunately nobody has shown up [at the polls]. Diddy: Well, we're gonna make you proud this year. We're gonna come out in numbers you've never seen before. And we thank you for your time. Clinton: God bless you.
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