Senator KENNEDY. Ladies and gentlemen, Jim
Fazio, Jack English, I first of all want to express my regret to all of
you for being so late. I have not been playing golf. We have been covering
this county and Queens and Manhattan, and in the last 2½ days we
have traveled in nine States, all the way, from California here to Nassau
County. [Applause.] But I must say I don't know any place in the United
States where Democrats would turn out in the rain on a Saturday afternoon,
and I want to thank you. [Applause.]
I don't want all of you to be home in bed
Tuesday, sick, so I will be quite brief. I understand the sun is shining
on Mr. Nixon in California but on Tuesday [response from the audience],
on Tuesday, the sun is coming up for us. [Applause.]
There are many opportunities and many responsibilities
which will be before the people of the United States in the 1960's. One
of those that I think is especially important to the whole question of
preparing ourselves to be the best educated country in the world [applause].
I do not want to have 35 percent of our brightest boys and girls fail to
get into college after graduating from high school, 7,000 - officers, they
will be all right, I think - 7,000 students in this area of New York, in
this county, did not get into college last year, and by 1970 we are going
to have twice as many students try to get to college as now. We are going
to have to do something about it, and the Republicans never will.
[Applause.] I see somebody has a Nixon sign which they have taken down.
I don't blame them. [Laughter and applause.] If you can name me one single
problem, one single opportunity that has been before this country that
the Republicans or Mr. Nixon have ever done anything about, I will be glad
to have you put the sign up again. [Applause.]
Ladies and gentlemen, in 48 hours this campaign
will be over. Then you have to decide. I come here to Nassau and ask your
help, I ask your support. I ask your support in moving this country forward.
Let's go. [Applause.] Let's have the word come out Tuesday night all the
way to California that Nassau County has gone Democratic. [Applause.]
So anyway, thanks for coming today, thanks for your help on Tuesday, and
on Wednesday this country will begin to move forward again. Thank you.