Week Ending Friday, April 14, 2000

Statement on the Republican ily. We appreciate the fact that New York Budget Proposal Life has underwritten this. I also want to thank the coproducers, April 7, 2000 Philip Kunhardt, Jr., and Philip Kunhardt III This new Republican budget combines and Peter Kunhardt. And there are some bad fiscal policy and a flawed economic strat- other voices here from the series: Ben egy. It undermines our efforts to strengthen Bradlee, Walter Cronkite, James Roosevelt, Social Security and Medicare, makes it hard- Charlie Rose—I don’t know if he’s here or er to pay off the debt, and rests on dramatic not—and Tim Russert. cuts in education, law enforcement, the envi- Tonight this is a fitting way for us to open ronment, and efforts to promote peace in na- the first in a series of events celebrating the tional security. 200th anniversary of the White House. It is I remain committed to working with any clearly the right thing to do to begin by hon- Member of Congress from either party on oring the lives of individuals who have a budget that will strengthen Social Security roamed the halls and carried the burden of and Medicare, add a prescription drug ben- the Presidency within the walls of the White efit, eliminate the debt by 2013, expand ac- House. cess to health coverage through Medicaid This room has not only witnessed historical and the Children’s Health Insurance Pro- events, it has played a role in shaping them. gram, and strengthen education and other It has hosted 42 administrations and 41 dif- key investments. Let’s put this empty polit- ferent personalities, every President except ical document aside and work together to George Washington. The East Room began keep America on a responsible fiscal course as a laundry room for Abigail Adams—an that meets our Nation’s long-term chal- auspicious beginning—[laughter]—remind- lenges. ing us that there are certain basic elements to this job. NOTE: This item was not received in time for pub- Thomas Jefferson and Meriwether Lewis lication in the appropriate issue. laid maps and animal skins on this floor where you’re sitting and charted the Lewis and Clark expedition. Later, in 1814, a ban- Remarks at a Screening of PBS’ ‘‘The quet was being held here in this White American President’’ Documentary House and in this room when James Madison Series sent Dolley word that the Army had miscal- April 7, 2000 culated where the British were going to as- sault Washington, and he told her to cut The President. Thank you very much, and Gilbert Stuart’s painting of George welcome. I want to say a special word of wel- Washington down and get out of the house come to all the voices of the Presidents who as quickly as possible. She did, and they had are here—and they were supposed to give to leave the banquet here. The British came me a list of them—I don’t know what hap- in, ate the food, and then burned the White pened, I just saw it. [Laughter] But I know House. [Laughter] we have Senator Bumpers, Senator Glenn, Later, this house and this room was the Senator Simon, Representative Rosten- headquarters for battle-worn Union troops kowski, Governors Weicker and Weld. Bill during the Civil War. President Roosevelt’s Ferris, we welcome you here. And a special children roller-skated here. Over the years, word of thanks to Sy Sternberg and his fam- this room and this house have survived a 771

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major fire, two wars, a plane crash, and five a feel of the mixture of the personality and weddings. And of course, it has been a gallery character and skills of a President and his for some priceless art which embodies the time, and also a sense of what personal joys history of this country. and tragedies surrounded Presidents. Each President in his own time has sur- Just for example, Franklin Pierce, one of vived unique challenges, striving to fulfill the the only other Presidents who came from a purpose of our Founders to form a more per- small State and was a Governor, is generally fect Union. Tonight we will have the oppor- accounted not to have been a very good tunity to see two of these selections from the President. But when you consider the times ‘‘American President’’ series, the first docu- in which he served, I wonder whether mentary series ever to profile all of our Chief Lincoln could have succeeded in 1853, in- Executives. stead of 1861. And almost never do I hear The first viewing is on the life of Thomas anyone talk about the fact that when Franklin Jefferson. Every American President has Pierce was on his way to be inaugurated, with been inspired by Jefferson, affected by his his wife and his only child, he took the train decisions, fascinated by his life story. He from New Hampshire to Washington, and spent a lifetime shaping our new and ever- there was a minor accident in which 10 or evolving democracy. It would become, as he 11 people received minor bruises. But his son said, more developed, more enlightened as fell on his head, cracked his spine, and died. new discoveries are made, new truths dis- He never recovered. His wife never recov- closed, manners and opinions change. ered. One hundred and fifty years later, our 35th I’ve often wondered why it was that President, John Kennedy—whose sister, Abraham Lincoln, who would have a hard Eunice, is with us tonight, and we thank you time getting elected today because he had for coming—brought that same spirit of in- terrible periodic, persistent bouts of depres- novation and progress to the White House. sion before he became President, was mar- His fleeting time in this house remains a sin- ried to a wife who was bubbly and strong gular story in our history. Our President for and happy and, as far as I know, has the dis- only a thousand days, he changed the way tinction of being the only woman in Amer- we think about our country, our world, and ican history to have been courted by three our own obligations to the future. The New of the four candidates for President in 1860. Frontier inspired millions of Americans to [Laughter] For John Breckenridge and Ste- take a personal responsibility for making our phen Douglas also pursued her, and clearly country stronger and more united. As he she made the right decision. [Laughter] said, ‘‘The New Frontier is not a set of prom- But they had lost a child before they came ises. It is a set of challenges. It sums up not to the White House. They lost another child what I intend to offer the American people here. She lost three half-brothers fighting for but what I intend to ask of them.’’ the Confederacy. And then all the carnage Many great people have called this house of the Civil War, the burden of the tragedies home. All of them, so far, have been white they faced broke Mary Todd Lincoln, and males of European descent. I am absolutely in history she is seen as a very different per- convinced that in the not-too-distant future, son from the person she really was for most there will be a woman President, and a per- of her life. And yet, in some magical way, son of color will occupy the White House all the personal and national trauma of that and the Oval Office. But the Presidency was time was absorbed by Abraham Lincoln in not built by one person. And in a funda- a way that enabled him to become stronger, mental way, it has been carried forward by to overcome his own demons, to leave aside the American people since the beginning. his own depression, and to become, in my I have spent a lot of time reading the his- view, the greatest President we ever had. tories of various periods in the White House So I hope when this whole series is done, and the biographies of some of my lesser there will be a greater appreciation for peo- known predecessors. One of the things that ple like Rutherford B. Hayes, who Senator I hope this series will do is to give people Glenn is the voice of in this series.

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Rutherford B. Hayes was one of four or five thing about the State. But it’s most important Union generals from Ohio who became today because it contained the first known President. After the Civil War, if you were recording of Thomas Jefferson’s condemna- a Union general from Ohio, you had about tion of slavery. And it always struck me that a 50 percent chance of becoming President. every person in this job lives with a certain [Laughter] It’s the only category in our his- ambiguity, and I wondered how he dealt with tory that has ever been like that. And a lot it. But I’m grateful for what he left us. of the rest of us wish that it had been so Shortly after I became President, Pamela easy. [Laughter] Harriman gave me a copy of the ink blotter I hope we’ll understand those people that that President Kennedy used in his office in we don’t know very much about. I hope we’ll the White House, that Mrs. Kennedy had have a better understanding of the personal given to her husband, Averill, about 12 days circumstances that Presidents face. I hope after President Kennedy was killed—with the we’ll have a better understanding of how they letter that Jackie Kennedy had written. And fit with their times and how they overcame because it was my great good fortune to know their difficulties, as President Lincoln did. Jackie and her children, it is one of my most Theodore Roosevelt once complained that precious possessions. About once a month I he would never be viewed as a great Presi- open the ink blotter and read the letter again, dent because he had the misfortune to serve just to remember how fleeting life is and when there was no great war. He couldn’t what a great gift every day is. have been more wrong. And I’m convinced I think one of the most treasured pictures his temperament was absolutely perfectly I have from my time in the White House suited to the times in which he served. Iron- is the picture I have of young John Kennedy ically, since he complained about having no looking at his father’s portrait on a visit he war, he’s the only President ever to win the made here, when we had a wonderful pre- Nobel Prize for peace. [Laughter] Which all view here of the great series on space that goes to show you, you’ve just got to show HBO did. up every day and do your best. [Laughter] So the history of the country goes on, and Now, I’d like to ask Sy Sternberg, the the families come and go. But you have given chairman of New York Life, to come up. And us a great gift tonight, and this whole series again, I think we should all thank him for will be a great gift. And one of the things making this evening possible. [Applause] that I had hoped would occur, you have done, even with people who lived long ago: [At this point, Seymour Sternberg, chairman You have reminded us that for all their and chief executive officer, New York Life In- achievements and all their failures, they were surance Corp., made brief remarks and intro- also people. duced coproducer Philip Kunhardt III, who The great premise of democracy is that or- made brief remarks and presented two clips dinary people will make the right decision from the series.] most of the time; that no one is irreplaceable, The President. Well, I would like to, first but that freedom is. of all, congratulate Hugh Sidey and Richard I hope you’ll all join us now in the Dining Neustadt on the marvelous job they have Room for a reception. And thank you again, done with this program, and all of you who to the Kunhardts; thank you again, Sy; thank are involved in it. you again to PBS; and thank you all for com- When I was watching those two very im- ing. portant pieces of our history, I couldn’t help feeling grateful for some of the things which NOTE: The President spoke at 8:25 p.m. in the have been passed down to the present day, East Room at the White House. In his remarks, he referred to former Senators Dale Bumpers, to me. The day before I became President, John Glenn, and Paul Simon; former Representa- I received a copy of the only book that tive Dan Rostenkowski; former Governors Lowell Thomas Jefferson ever wrote, ‘‘Notes From P. Weicker, Jr., of Connecticut and William F. the State of Virginia,’’ which is remarkable Weld of Massachusetts; Ben Bradlee, former ex- for its incredibly detailed analysis of every- ecutive editor, Washington Post; Walter Cronkite,

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former CBS News anchorman; James Roosevelt, but in the 7 months that have gone by since grandson of Franklin D. Roosevelt; Charlie Rose, our legislation would have gone into effect, host of PBS’ ‘‘The Charlie Rose Show’’; Tim families have lost more than $600 in income. Russert, host of NBC News’ ‘‘Meet the Press’’; That’s enough to pay for 2 months of gro- and Hugh Sidey, narrator, and Richard Neustadt, on-camera scholar, ‘‘The American President.’’ ceries or almost a semester of community This item was not received in time for publication college. For these hard-pressed families, the in the appropriate issue. cost of congressional delay can be measured not just by the day but literally by the hour. Third, we’ve waited too long for Congress The President’s Radio Address to fund our supplemental budget—budget April 8, 2000 priorities like helping the victims of Hurri- cane Floyd, aiding families struggling with Good morning. In less than a week, Mem- high energy prices, supporting our troops and bers of Congress will adjourn for spring re- our peacekeeping efforts to build stability in cess, leaving behind a great deal of unfin- Kosovo, providing debt relief to the poorest ished business. Today I’d like to speak with nations, and combating drug traffickers in you about some of the pressing priorities that Colombia. Now, delays in this funding could are languishing in Congress and the real con- jeopardize military readiness, undermine sequence of this delay on people’s lives. international support for Colombia’s democ- First, we’ve waited far too long for a strong racy and its antidrug efforts that directly pro- and enforceable Patients’ Bill of Rights. Last tect our people here, and leave many hurri- October the House passed the bipartisan cane victims in temporary shelter for the sec- Norwood-Dingell Patients’ Bill of Rights by ond straight winter. an overwhelming margin. I would sign that Finally, we’ve waited too long for com- bill tomorrow. Unfortunately, the Senate monsense gun safety legislation. Last year, passed a much weaker bill. Now both bills have been gathering dust on a shelf for more with a tie-breaking vote by Vice President than 5 months. Gore, the Senate passed a bill that would re- Delay may be easy for the congressional quire child safety locks for every handgun majority, but it’s proving very hard on our sold, ban the importation of large ammuni- families. According to a new analysis of physi- tion clips, and close the loophole that allows cian reports, every single day the Congress criminals to buy firearms at gun shows. Un- sits on this legislation, thousands of patients fortunately, the House failed to pass similar experience serious declines in health as a di- measures. And even more disturbing, 9 rect result of bottom-line-driven managed months now have gone by, and the Congress care decisions. has taken almost no action to complete a bill At this time of great change in our health for me to sign. care system, patients need a guarantee that Every day we wait, 89 Americans—12 of they can see a specialist and go to the nearest them young people—are killed by gunfire. emergency room, a guarantee that their doc- Of course, no legislation can prevent every tor can discuss the best treatment options, act of gun violence or every gun accident. not just the cheapest, a guarantee to an inter- But when there are simple safety measures nal and external appeals process, and a guar- we can take, measures that will save lives. antee that they can hold a health plan ac- There is absolutely no excuse for sitting on countable if it causes them great harm. They our hands. Two days ago Senators from both need a strong Patients’ Bill of Rights. And parties voted to push congressional nego- they need it now. tiators to produce a final gun bill by April Second, we’ve waited too long for an in- the 20th, the anniversary of Columbine. crease in the minimum wage. Last year we That’s the very least we can do. introduced legislation to give a well-deserved With only a week to go before recess, I raise to 10 million working families by lifting ask the congressional leaders to think about the minimum wage by a dollar an hour. A these daily tallies: 12 children dying from dollar an hour—it may not sound like much, gunfire; thousands of managed care patients

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