At the 1996 DNC in Chicago, Bill Clinton tried to build a “bridge to the 21st century”

The last time Bill Clinton spoke at the Democratic Party Convention in Chicago, he advocated for a bridge.

Actually, build a bridge: a “bridge to the 21st century”.

Think of it as an earlier Democratic version of “Infrastructure Week.”

“In four years we will begin a new century full of tremendous opportunities and new challenges,” the incumbent Democratic president told nearly 5,000 delegates and representatives at the United Center.

“Let us resolve to build this bridge to the 21st century, to overcome our challenges, to protect our fundamental values ​​and to prepare our peoples for the future.”

Of course, when Clinton gave this speech on August 29, 1996, he still had a few hurdles to overcome. Monica Lewinsky was already working as an intern in the White House, but the scandal surrounding the presidential affair – and all the shame and late-night punchlines – was still more than a year in the future.

But some clouds were already gathering on the horizon. Like Kamala Harris this year, Clinton made a “surprise appearance” on the opening day of the 1996 convention, greeting delegates via live video feed from Toledo, Ohio. But some of the excitement surrounding Clinton’s nomination was overshadowed by another sex scandal that came to light at the convention’s opening and led to the resignation of Clinton adviser Dick Morris.

Overall, however, the 1996 convention was a success for Clinton – and Chicago.

This helped Clinton win another term against dour 73-year-old Republican challenger Bob Dole – and, of course, secured her a place in history as the second president to be impeached.

And it helped Mayor Richard M. Daley exorcise the ghosts that still haunt the city’s congressional history since his father’s 1968 debacle.

And what about the bridge? The Chicago Sun-Times ran Clinton’s pledge on its front page – and the newspaper’s cover ended up on T-shirts that were quickly sold to departing delegates.

“America is on the right path into the 21st century,” Clinton told delegates.