PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES IN FIRST PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE IN HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT

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DOLE: I have three very special people with me. My wife Elizabeth, my daughter Robin, who's never let me down, and a fellow named Frank Carafa who, from New York, who along with Ollie Manninen helped me out in the mountains of Italy a few years back.

I've learned from them that people do have tough times. And sometimes you can't go it alone. And that's what America's all about. I remember getting my future back from doctors and nurses, a doctor in Chicago named Dr. Kelikian. And ever since that time, I've tried to give something back to my country, to the people who are watching us tonight.

America's the greatest place on the face of the earth. Now I know millions of you still have anxieties. You work harder and harder to make ends meet and put food on the table. You worry about the quality and the safety of your children and the quality of education.

But even more importantly, you worry about the future, and will they have the same opportunities that you and I have had. And Jack Kemp and I want to share with you some ideas tonight. Jack Kemp is my running mate, doing an outstanding job.

Now I'm a plain-speaking man, and I learned long ago that your word was your bond. And I promise you tonight that I'll try to address your concerns and not try to exploit them. It's a tall order, but I've been running against the odds for a long time. And again, I'm honored to be here this evening.

LEHRER: Mr. President, first question. There's a major difference in your view of the role of the federal government and that of Senator Dole. How would you define the difference?

CLINTON: Well, Jim, I believe that the federal government should give people the tools and try to establish the conditions in which they can make the most of their own lives. That to me is the key. And that leads me to some different conclusions from Senator Dole. For example, we have reduced the size of the federal government to it's smallest size in 30 years. We've reduced more regulations, eliminated more programs than my two Republican predecessors.

But I have worked hard for things like the Family and Medical Leave Law, the Brady bill, the Assault Weapons Ban, the program to put 100,000 police on the street. All these are programs that Senator Dole opposed that I supported, because I felt they were a legitimate effort to help people make the most of their own lives.

I've worked hard to help families inpart values to their own children. I supported the V-chip so that parents would be able to control what their kids watch on television when they're young, along with the ratings systems for television and educational television.

I supported strong action against the tobacco companies to stop the marketing, advertising and sale of tobacco to young people. I supported a big increase in the Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program. These were areas on which Senator Dole and I differed, but I believe that they were the right areas for America to be acting together as one country to help individuals and families make the most of their own lives and raise their kids with good values and a good future.

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