EVERYBODY, WE'RE HERE WITH TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY PETE
BUTTIGIEG. YOU'RE-- YOU'RE AN EXCELLENT
COMMUNICATOR. I THOUGHT YOU WERE A GREAT
CANDIDATE IN 2020. AND WHENEVER, YOU KNOW, DOWN THE
ROAD YOU EVER RUN FOR OFFICE AGAIN, WHETHER IT'S, YOU KNOW,
TWO YEARS FROM NOW OR 18 MONTHS FROM NOW--
( LAUGHTER )
THAT THERE ARE 300 REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES ON THE BALLOT IN JUST
A FEW WEEKS WHO QUESTION THE LEGITIMACY OF THE LAST ELECTION,
AND SOME WHO OUTRIGHT BELIEVE IT SHOULD BE OVERTURNED?
YOU SAW "THE NEW YORK TIMES" POLL, 71% OF AMERICANS BELIEVE
THAT DEMOCRACY IS IN PERIL. HOW DO YOU RUN FOR OFFICE AND DO
SO TO A PUBLIC THAT IS LOSING ITS FAITH IN THE LEGITIMACY OR
AT LEAST THE EFFICACY OF THEIR VOTE?
>> SO, ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PRINCIPLES IN DEMOCRACY IS THAT
WHEN YOU LOSE, YOU ACCEPT THE OUTCOME.
AND I'VE HAD TO DO THAT. WINNING IS MUCH MORE FUN THAN
LOSING, I'VE DONE BOTH, BUT WHEN YOU LOSE YOU ACCEPT THE OUTCOME.
AND THE REASON THAT IS SO IMPORTANT IS BECAUSE WE EXPECT
THE SAME THING FROM CITIZENS IN TERMS OF POLICY DECISIONS.
IN OTHER WORDS, PARENT OF WHAT IT MEANS TO LIVE IN A DEMOCRACY
IS THAT WE HAVE THIS PROCESS FOR GETTING DECISIONS THAT ALL OF US
HAVE TO LIVE BY-- THOSE OF US WHO AGREED WITH THE DECISION AND
THOSE OF US WHO WERE AGAINST IT, WHETHER IT'S A COURT DECISION OR
A DECISION BY CONGRESS ON WHAT THE LAW OUGHT TO BE.
SO IF WE ALL HAVE TO LIVE WITH THE OUTCOME OF EACH OF THESE
POLICY CHOICES, IT'S ONLY FAIR THAT THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE THEM
HAVE TO LIVE WITH THE OUTCOME OF WHEN WE CHOOSE WHICH ONE OF THEM
IS GOING TO BE IN CHARGE. THAT'S HOW THE BARGAIN WORKS.
( APPLAUSE )
AND I WERE HERE TOGETHER, YOU'RE NOW A DAD.
YOU AND YOUR HUSBAND ARE NOW DADS OF TWINS.
( APPLAUSE )
ASA CITIZEN AND YOUR ROLE AS A PUBLIC SERVANT AND THE
IMPORTANCE OF OUR COUNTRY? >> I MEAN, IT CHANGES EVERYTHING
BECAUSE, FIRST OF ALL, YOU'RE TRAINING YOUR REPLACEMENT,
RIGHT. SO YOU'RE --
>> Stephen: THEY ARE HERE TO REPLACE US.
>> YEAH. SO YOU HAVE A DIFFERENT
RELATIONSHIP WITH THE FUTURE. AND I THINK POLITICS AND POLICY
IS ALL ABOUT THE FUTURE. IT'S DEFINITELY TRUE WITH
INFRASTRUCTURE, BECAUSE WE'RE MAKING DECISIONS THAT WILL, YOU
KNOW, MY CHILDREN, WHEN THEY ARE OLD, WILL BE DEPENDING IN SOME
CASES ON BRIDGES AND TUNNELS AND TRAINS AND AIRPORTS AND THINGS
WOO WE'RE GOING TO BUILD RIGHT NOW IN THE EARLY 2020s.
THE SAME WAY WE, FOR BETTER OR WORSE, DEPEND ON INFRASTRUCTURE
THAT WAS BUILT 100 YEARS AGO. AT WORK, I THINK ABOUT THAT
DIFFERENTLY. AT HOME, I THINK THE BIGGEST
THING YOU DISCOVER-- THE FIRST THING THAT AMAZED ME, I THINK
CHAFT AND I KNOW ME IT BOTH, WHEN YOU HOLD THEM IN YOUR ARMS
HOW TINY AND HOW VULNERABLE THEY ARE AND HOW COMPLETELY DEPENDENT
THEY ARE ON YOU. MOST ANIMALS, MOST MAMMALS,
WITHIN A DAY OR TWO THEY CAN KIND OF STAGGER AROUND AND, YOU
KNOW, YOU HAVE AN INFANT IN YOUR HANDS, AND THEY JUST LITERALLY
CAN'T DO ANYTHING WITHOUT-- WITHOUT YOU.
BUT THEN WHAT'S AMAZING IS IN VERY SHORT ORDER, AS YOU TAKE
CARE OF THEM, YOU REALIZE HOW DEPENDENT YOU ARE, BECAUSE YOU
AS A PARENT CAN'T DO ANYTHING WITHOUT FRIENDS AND FAMILY AND
LOVED ONES, AND I WOULD ADD, YOU KNOW, LIVING IN A SOCIETY THAT
IS ORGANIZED IN ORDER TO AT LEAST ATTEMPT TO MAKE IT EASY TO
RAISE CHILDREN. SO YOU BEGIN BY REALIZING HOW
DEPENDENT THEY ARE ON YOU, AND THEN YOU COME TO REALIZE HOW
DEPENDENT YOU ARE ON EVERYBODY ELSE.
AND IT'S CHANGED OUR RELATIONSHIPS IN A BEAUTIFUL
WAY, BUT TO-- TO OUR OWN PARENTS AND TO OUR NEIGHBORS AND TO OUR
FRIENDS AND EVERYBODY WHO IS INVOLVED IN THIS INCREDIBLE
PROJECT OF RAISING HUMAN BEINGS.
THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. GOOD LUCK WITH THE HUMAN BEING
THING, IT'S RELENTLESS. SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION,
PETE BUTTIGIEG, EVERYBODY. WE'LL BE BACK