    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book I)]
    [May 29, 1993]
    [Pages 776-778]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Announcing White House Staff Changes and an Exchange With
    Reporters
    May 29, 1993

        The President. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. The objective of
    this White House and everyone who works in it is to improve the lives of
    the American people and to change their lives for the better. We have
    been working on that from the beginning. It takes the right people and
    the right organization to achieve those objectives. For the last several
    weeks the Chief of Staff Mack McLarty has been working to make
    appropriate changes in the White House to strengthen our ability to do
    our job for the American people.
        I am pleased today to welcome to the White House staff one of the
    Nation's most respected journalists and commentators, David Gergen. I
    have known David for many years. He is a trusted friend and a dedicated
    public servant. By agreeing to accept Mack McLarty's invitation to join
    the White House team he is demonstrating one of the qualities for which
    he is well known, a sense of patriotism that transcends partisanship.
        David Gergen is a Republican, as well as a longtime friend of mine.
    He is a moderate, prochange, patriotic American. We have shared many
    ideas over the years and found much agreement in the work I have done as
    Governor and with the Democratic Leadership Council and in many of the
    ideas I espoused in the campaign of 1992. I want him to help me make
    those ideas a reality in the lives of the American people.
        The message here is that we are rising above politics. We are going
    beyond the partisanship that damaged this country so badly in the last
    several years to search for new ideas, a new common ground, a new
    national unity.
        I am also announcing that my longtime and trusted aide George
    Stephanopoulos will be working with me more closely, as he did in the
    campaign, on important matters of policy and strategy and day-to-day
    decisionmaking, helping me to integrate all the complicated debates that
    confront my Office. One of the reasons for this move is that I have
    missed very badly and I have needed the kind of contact and support that
    I received from George in the campaign, that I think was absolutely
    essential to the victory that was secured.
        I'd now like to introduce the Chief of Staff and thank Mack McLarty
    for all the hard work that he has been doing, especially in the last few
    weeks, to try to strengthen the White House and make it able to do the
    things that we pledged to do for the American people. Mr. McLarty.

    [At this point, Thomas McLarty, David Gergen, and George Stephanopoulos
    made statements in support of the changes in the White House staff.]

    White House Staff

        Q.  Mr. President, the decision to bring in a Republican for this
    key position, does this mean you're going back to your centrist or New
    Democrat roots that you articulated during the campaign? And what does
    it mean about some of the more controversial decisions recently that
    suggested you were moving towards the more liberal wing of the
    Democratic Party, specifically your civil rights Assistant Attorney
    General nominee Lani Guinier? Do you still want her to become the
    Assistant Attorney General for civil rights?
        The President.  Today I want to talk about David Gergen, George
    Stephanopoulos, and the White House staff. The announcement that I have
    made today with Mr. McLarty--it was really his idea; I want to give him
    the credit for it; I wish it had been mine, but it wasn't--signals to
    the American people where I am,

    [[Page 777]]

    what I believe, and what I'm going to do.
        I did not get into this race for President to divide the American
    people. I got into the race to unite the American people and to move
    this country forward. I have always, throughout my public life, had
    supporters who were independents, who were Republicans, who were
    interested in ideas and movement and not in partisan gridlock and moving
    the American people apart. That's what I'm trying to do. That's what
    I've always wanted to do. And that's what this announcement today means.

    President's Priorities

        Q. Mr. President, Mr. Gergen talked about scorching partisanship on
    Capitol Hill and elsewhere in this town. He said that four of the five
    last Presidents have been broken by the weight of the office that you
    now hold. Do you feel that you're at that point? Do you feel the weight?
    And do you feel there's a chance that you, too, could be broken by it?
        The President.  I don't know about the weight. I feel the
    responsibility. I have made a deliberate decision to move rapidly to do
    things which I think need to be done which have been neglected, and to
    push the agenda forward, especially on the budget. And as you know,
    we're moving forward in a record pace now with a very tough and
    difficult set of choices for the American people that I think will allow
    us to reclaim our destiny.
        I believe that, when the history of this administration is written,
    we will look back and see that taking on the tough decisions early was
    the right decision for the people of this country. But I have been very
    concerned that the cumulative effect of some of the things which are now
    very much in the news has given to the administration a tinge that is
    too partisan and not connected to the mainstream, prochange, future-
    oriented politics and policies that I ran for President to implement.
    And that's what I want to do.
        I think that this will help me to be a successful President. But the
    issue is not whether I'll be a successful President, it's whether we'll
    have a successful country. And I believe we will. And I think this is
    one big step toward that today.

    Improving Communication

        Q.  Mr. President, with your public opinion polls fairly low right
    now, does this change suggest an inability to get your message out so
    far, or change it?
        The President.  I don't think that anybody would be surprised to
    admit that the major work of this administration and the passionate
    concerns of this administration are not always the things which come to
    mind in what's being communicated to the American people. So do we want
    to improve our ability to communicate what we believe and what we're
    doing? Yes, we do.
        When I had the nationally televised town hall meeting here last week
    and all those people came up to me and said afterward how much better
    they felt about their country having been here and having had a personal
    conversation, knowing exactly where I and where my administration is
    coming from, what our values and objectives are, it made it utterly
    clear to me that if the American people knew exactly what we were doing,
    just like they did on the night of February 17th, they would support
    these tough decisions and these difficult changes.
        On the other hand, I think it unrealistic ever to assume you can
    take on the kind of challenges that we are trying to take on without
    having some momentary bumps and runs in the public opinion polls. We
    can't be governed by that. But what I want to know is that the American
    people at least know me, know who I am, where I'm coming from, and more
    importantly, know what our administration is about. Then whatever their
    opinions in the polls will be will actively reflect the reality of who
    we are and their judgment about it. That's all I want. And I think
    that's what the communications can do.

    President's Priorities

        Q.  Mr. President, you've made much of cutting the White House staff
    in an effort to reduce Government spending. With the addition of Mr.
    Gergen and the rumored addition of others, doesn't that seem out of
    keeping with a leaner White House staff?
        The President. The White House staff is going to be much leaner than
    it was before, but the number one task that I have is to serve the
    American people. Let me just give you an example. One of the things we
    never could have anticipated is that we'd get more mail here in 3\1/2\
    months than the White House did in all of 1992.
        I am cutting the Federal Government. I am cutting the White House
    staff. We are doing that. But I think our number one objective is

    [[Page 778]]

    to serve the American people well. And that's what we're trying to do.
        I have got to go to West Point. I am going to be late, and that
    would be a terrible mistake. I owe it to the graduating seniors at West
    Point to get them off on their military careers on time. I'm sorry.
        Thank you.

    Note: The President spoke at 7:30 a.m. in the Rose Garden at the White
    House.