    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1994, Book II)]
    [September 20, 1994]
    [Pages 1585-1586]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Honoring Representative Bob Michel
    September 20, 1994

        Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. Please be seated; relax.
    Dr. Brazil, Speaker Foley, Congressman Gingrich, distinguished Members
    of the House, Senator Dole and Senator Mitchell are here or will be, and
    other Members of the Congress who are here, to Bob and Corinne and
    ladies and gentlemen.
        It occurs to me that after 19 terms in the House, 13 years as
    minority leader, it's a real shame for a man with Bob Michel's
    distinguished reputation to have it destroyed at the end by having a
    Democratic President brag on him. [Laughter] I asked him if he didn't
    have some really crazy and sort of kooky-sounding criticism I could lob
    so you would all stand up and cheer for him, but he said I could just
    say what was on my mind and heart.
        You know, you never know what's on a person's mind and heart. I
    understand we now have the sayings of Mr. Michel in a little red book,
    which will doubtless get ideologically vetted. I expect Mr. Gingrich to
    have it reprinted in blue within a day or two. [Laughter]
        I want to say that it's a real honor for me to be here tonight. And
    I say in all sincerity, I'm going to miss Bob Michel. I know in theory
    he's reached an age where he's earned retirement, but I have found him
    remarkably young and vigorous. He's as addicted to golf as I am. He's
    survived at least one car wreck since I've been here and a lot of other
    wrecks in the Congress that could do more damage to you inside. He still
    sings like he did 30 years ago. I leave it to your own interpretation
    what that means--[laughter]--beautifully, as you know. He's spent his
    whole life serving this country, from being a genuine hero when he wore
    our uniform in the Second World War to being a genuine patriot in the
    United States Congress.
        It was a great honor for me just a few days ago to exercise one of
    the few things I can do without the approval of Congress when I awarded
    him the Presidential Medal of Freedom. I shouldn't have said that. I saw
    Congressman Gingrich raise his eyebrow. He's going to make a note,
    ``Surely we can restrain his discretion there.'' [Laughter]
        You know, when I was a kid growing up in Arkansas, even there, even
    there in the fifties, the saying about how will it play in Peoria was
    alive and well. And after I got to--and, of course, I married a woman
    from Illinois, so I used to hear it about every 3 days when I was about
    to do something my wife thought was

    [[Page 1586]]

    nonsensical. But after I got to know Bob Michel, I understood the
    genesis of the saying, because in a very real sense he represents in my
    view the heart of America, the values of America, and the sense of
    fairness of America.
        I enjoyed working with him when we fought against enormous odds with
    most of you here to pass the NAFTA agreement. I enjoyed it when we were
    on opposite sides and he thought I was absolutely wrong but was still
    fair and decent. I even enjoyed it when we were on opposite sides when
    he was sympathetic with what I was trying to do but couldn't quite get
    there. Those are three things that often happen in the course of
    people's relationships in this town. And I can tell all of you who come
    from his hometown and his home district that he is just as highly
    thought of here as he is there. And we will miss him.
        We had a joint leadership meeting this morning, and we talked about,
    obviously, the issue of Haiti and then what we would do between now and
    the end of the Congress. By the time the meeting was over, I can tell
    you this: I wasn't sure where everybody in the room was on every
    outstanding issue, but I knew where he was on the issues that really
    counted. And I think we'll always know where he is, trying to do what's
    right for this country in a way that is right for this country.
        And let me just close with that. This is a time in which the
    negative often outweighs the positive, in which people are so
    overwhelmed with things that are discouraging, from the news to the
    political campaigns, that very often all half-full glasses are seen as
    half-empty. I think in the end, the thing that enabled Bob Michel to
    succeed as the leader of his party in Congress, to keep his good humor,
    to keep his character, to keep his integrity, and to earn the respect of
    those who are in different camps on different issues and even in
    different parties was the fact that he believed that America was a place
    where the glass should always be half-full and where we could do the
    right thing, move forward to a brighter tomorrow, and fulfill our
    obligations in an atmosphere of mutual respect even when we differ.
        It is the genius which has taken the theory of the Constitution and
    made it real in the life of this country. And it's why we're still
    around here after more than 200 years, because of people like Bob
    Michel.
        Thank you very much.

    Note: The President spoke at 8:13 p.m. at the Grand Hyatt Hotel. In his
    remarks, he referred to John Brazil, president, Bradley University, and
    sponsor of the dinner; and Corinne Michel, wife of Representative
    Michel.