    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1994, Book II)]
    [October 24, 1994]
    [Pages 1848-1852]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Interview With Chuck Meyer of WWWE Radio in Cleveland, Ohio
    October 24, 1994

        Mr. Meyer. President Clinton, good morning, and welcome to
    Cleveland. President Clinton, can you hear me?
        The President. I can. Can you hear me?
        Mr. Meyer. Yes. This is Chuck Meyer, and welcome to Cleveland. Good
    morning to you, sir.
        The President. Thank you, Chuck, it's nice to hear your voice.

    OMB Memorandum

        Mr. Meyer. Now, let's clear up a matter here of this budget memo.
    This story broke yesterday in the Washington Post, and your reaction to
    it came on the West Coast yesterday. And some people in Cleveland may
    not be caught up on it, but apparently there was a budget memo that was
    leaked to the Washington Post indicating that one of your
    administration's options in the future might be a reduction in Social
    Security benefit COLA's and a raising of some taxes. What's the straight
    story on that?
        The President. The straight story is that that was not an options
    memo for us, it was a memo which simply cataloged all the things that we
    might be confronted with over the next couple of years by this
    commission on entitlements that's meeting, this bipartisan commission,
    as well as if the Republicans make substantial gains in the Congress and
    try to implement their Contract With America. You know, they've made a
    trillion dollars' worth of commitments to the American people: big tax
    cuts for the wealthy, and they've promised to balance the budget while
    cutting taxes to the wealthy and increasing

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    defense and increasing Star Wars again. They won't say how it's going be
    paid for. Our calculations indicate that it would require a 30 percent
    cost cut in everything else. So you're going to have exploding deficits,
    Medicare cuts, and other things if this contract goes in. This memo was
    simply designed to show us the kind of problems we were going to
    confront over the next few years if those sort of things came up.
        The truth is, we're doing a good job right now in bringing the
    deficit down. Today I'm going to speak at the Cleveland City Club and
    talk about the deficit reduction. We brought it down from $290 billion-
    plus to $203 billion this year in 2 years. That's $100 billion less than
    it was projected to be when I took office. And we've done it by cutting
    the size of Government, by eliminating Government programs, by cutting
    others, while still being able to increase our investment in education
    and training and new technology. And that's what I want to keep doing,
    managing this thing in a very disciplined way to give us a smaller
    Government that does more. And if we do that, we can maintain our
    commitments to our senior citizens and do what we have to do to grow
    this economy. The main thing we can't do is to throw our economy in a
    tailspin by going back to trickle-down economics.

    Administration Accomplishments

        Mr. Meyer. Mr. President, I'm looking at a political cartoon that
    appeared in the Cincinnati Enquirer the other day, and it's a couple
    sitting on their front porch and she says, ``I know I'm mad at Clinton.
    I just can't remember why.'' And the whole question comes up here, while
    Ronald Reagan was the ``Teflon President'' and nothing stuck to him,
    everything is sticking to you. And you're getting blamed for just about
    everything going on in the country today, including the heartbreak of
    psoriasis. Why is that?
        The President. Well, I don't know. I think part of it is the skill
    of the Republican congressional leadership and the far right in this
    country in just continuing to keep the American people in a turmoil and
    obscuring the facts. I mean, what I've got to do is to spend more time
    communicating with the American people about what we've done and where
    we're going.
        Take Ohio, for example. The unemployment rate has dropped 1\1/2\
    percentage points since I've been President. Business failures have
    dropped by 24 percent; jobs are up. The economic plan that the Congress
    passed has given us 2 years of deficit reduction already for the first
    time in more than 20 years, and next year it'll go down again; it'll be
    the first time since Truman was President. Eleven times as many Ohio
    families got a tax cut as a tax rate increase under our economic plan,
    509,000 families. The Family and Medical Leave Act that we passed gives
    2 million families in this State opportunities for the working people to
    take a little time off when their babies are born or their parents are
    sick. That bill was something we supported that the Republican
    leadership opposed. The same is true of college loans for middle class
    kids, immunizing all the kids in this country under 2, things that will
    strengthen work and families.
        So I believe if the people of Ohio and the people of this country
    knew what we've done to empower working people, to increase our
    investments in education, to shrink the size of the Federal Government,
    shrink the deficit, and grow the economy, they'd be pretty well pleased
    with this administration.
        But if you look at the environment in which we've operated, which
    has been highly contentious, highly negative, and almost no opportunity
    to get through the positive achievements, it's not surprising. People
    can only act on what they know.

    Crime

        Mr. Meyer. But, Mr. President, don't you play into those hands
    sometimes yourself? For instance, the crime rate's been going down now
    for several years, and yet crime seems to be the number one issue in
    this campaign, if there is such a thing as a top issue. We have a lot of
    politicians running around the country ready to throw everybody in jail,
    and yet the crime rate's going down. Doesn't that--isn't that a non-
    issue?
        The President. No, it's not a non-issue for a couple of reasons. The
    crime rate is going down in some categories in some places because we
    know that local police and community groups have figured out how to
    lower the crime rate with community policing and having neighbors work
    with law enforcement. We know that. But we also know that the crime rate
    is going up in two ways that are very troubling. First of all, it's
    going up among teenagers and people under 18. And secondly, the amount
    of random

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    violence is going up among children under 18. And that's very disturbing
    to people, and it makes for a more insecure society.
        Now, what happens about whether people know the crime rate is going
    up or down is a function of what they see on their local and national
    news. But there is still way too much crime and violence in this
    country. How can you say we made our own problem? I gave the Congress a
    comprehensive crime bill, which the first time around both Republicans
    and Democrats voted for it, and the second time around all the
    Republicans bailed out and tried to make it a political issue--or most
    of the Republicans bailed out. Some of them stayed on and showed good
    citizenship.
        But that crime bill will increase police presence by 20 percent in
    the communities of this country. It offers strategies to help prevent
    crime, and it has much tougher punishment for seriously violent
    offenders. So I think it's a very good crime bill. It makes a real start
    in the right direction.
        So if you look at what we've done here in the last 2 years, we've
    strengthened the economy, we've made a serious assault on crime, and
    we've done a lot of things for ordinary working people like the family
    leave bill, the middle class college loans, and things of that kind. But
    I think most people in Ohio support the Brady bill, support the crime
    bill, support the things we've done and regret the fact that it became a
    political football in Washington.

    Health Care Reform

        Mr. Meyer. Mr. President, we've had some calls this morning asking
    about health care. I know it was a big disappointment that it did not
    pass, and I read where the White House is gearing up for a more
    aggressive health care plan to pass next year. And yet, the other day I
    read where that 30-some-odd million people in this country who don't
    have health care has grown to nearly 40 million people now.
        The President. That's right.
        Mr. Meyer. I think these people want to know why health care didn't
    pass and why the debate got so bogged down when this was clearly a top
    issue that Americans wanted and were willing to pay for 2 years ago.
        The President. Well, it got bogged down because the people who are
    making a huge amount of money out of the system that we have spent a lot
    of money to terrify the people who do have health care today into
    thinking that if our bill passed it would make it worse and it would
    lead to more Government intervention in the health care system.
        That was not the truth. And what we've got to do is to come back and
    find a way to demonstrate to the American people what we want to do is
    to protect the plans that they have now that they like, but to make sure
    we cover the people who don't have health insurance and we control the
    costs better.
        But here's the fundamental problem. Every other country in the world
    with an advanced economy, every other wealthy country, spends between 9
    and 10 percent of its income on health care to cover everybody. We spend
    14 percent of our income, or another $240 billion, and we have almost 40
    million people without insurance. Another million Americans in working
    families lost their health insurance last year.
        Well, the people that are making that extra $240 billion by and
    large don't want us to change. And they spent somewhere between $200
    million and $300 million lobbying against our health care plan. Then
    again, the Republican congressional leadership operated on the theory
    that they could not permit any kind of health care to pass because it
    would be politically beneficial to the Democrats and to the
    administration. I wanted them to have half the credit. I wanted this to
    be bipartisan. And we've just got to keep dealing with this.
        The health care problem is the main cause of the big Government
    deficit. It is a main source of insecurity for working people who have
    jobs. And we're going in reverse. We're the only major country where
    we're actually losing ground in providing coverage to people. So I'm
    going to come back and try to find a way that the American people will
    support and will not be frightened by, to cover the people who don't
    have coverage, to protect the coverage of the people who do have
    coverage, and to slow the rate of cost increases.

    Midterm Elections

        Mr. Meyer. Mr. President, I'd like to ask you another political
    question. My 17-year-old daughter, Andrea, told me to pass along the
    message to you that she intends to vote for you in 1996 when she is
    allowed to vote in a Presidential election for the first time. And
    that's the good news.

    [[Page 1851]]

        The bad news is, why isn't Tom Foley as excited about you as my
    daughter?
        The President. Well, what are--Tom Foley has done a pretty good job.
        Mr. Meyer. Well, he wasn't by your side in Seattle yesterday.
        The President. Well, he shouldn't have been. You know why he wasn't?
    He had a debate last night, and he was preparing for it, and he was
    doing exactly what he should've done. He was over in the part of the
    State where his district was, doing exactly what he should have done.
    The Seattle Congressmen were all there. And I think he--I would have
    been disappointed if he had come all the way over there and then turned
    around and gone back and taken away 3 or 4 hours from his debate
    preparation time. He's in a tough fight. He's been in tough fights
    consistently in his district for the last 15 or 20 years, and he's over
    there paying attention to the people of his district, which is what he
    ought to be doing.
        Mr. Meyer. Okay. Well, there is some logic to that explanation. But
    there are Democrats around the country this year who don't want you to
    come and campaign for them. And you're reduced to helping get votes for
    Mario Cuomo and Ted Kennedy, and these guys should be winning easy
    reelection, shouldn't they?
        The President. I don't know why you would say that. It's very hard
    for any Governor to get elected to four terms, very, very difficult. And
    Governor Cuomo had a pretty close race 4 years ago. I think he is going
    to win, but it's a very combative environment in New York. And I was
    asked to come in there because it was a difficult case and because I
    think he's an important leader for our country and I hope he can be
    reelected.
        Senator Kennedy has been in office 30 years, and there's a big anti-
    incumbent feeling out in the country this year. I think he will be
    reelected because he's been willing to change, embrace new ideas, and
    take a different approach in the last few years. I think he's really
    become an instrument of a lot of the new ideas the American people would
    like to see adopted by the Congress, and I think that's why they'll
    reelect him.
        But I don't think you should assume that because somebody is well
    known they'll have an easy reelection. Sometimes that makes for a tough
    reelection, particularly given the harsh feelings people have about the
    Congress.

    Middle East Peace Process

        Mr. Meyer. I know that you have to go in a moment, but I wanted to
    ask you a quick question about Syria. You're making the trip to the
    Middle East this week, and you're visiting Syria, a country that we
    still consider a renegade nation, a country that has not done enough,
    say some, to control radical elements in the region. What do you hope to
    accomplish there this week?
        The President. I don't expect a dramatic breakthrough, and I want to
    caution the American people about that going in. I mean, the primary
    purpose of going to the Middle East is to stand shoulder-to-shoulder
    with Israel and Jordan, particularly given the difficult events of the
    last couple of weeks and the violence that they've undergone. I was
    asked to come there and witness the signing because the United States
    played a major role in this peace agreement.
        But I'm going to Syria because achieving a full peace in the Middle
    East requires a peace between Israel and Syria, which will make possible
    a peace between Israel and Lebanon. And that would be a huge plus for
    the United States and all the world to have a comprehensive peace there.
    I'm going because progress has been made. Terrorism is still an issue
    with Syria, and it will continue to be. But it seems clear to me that
    the best way to end terrorism in the Middle East is to have a
    comprehensive peace settlement there. And I do believe we're making
    progress. And I think if I go to Syria we will make further progress.
    Since I am in the region, I think that I ought to keep working and not
    just celebrate what we've done already, but to keep making progress
    toward the future.
        Mr. Meyer. Mr. President, thank you very much for your time, and
    enjoy your trip to northern Ohio today.
        The President. I'm looking forward to it. Thank you.
        Mr. Meyer. I'm sure that was the chilliest jog you've had in a
    while, but I hope it was okay this morning.
        The President. To tell you the truth, I got in late so I slept in. I
    was a derelict this morning, I didn't go jog. [Laughter]
        Mr. Meyer. Well, shame on you, but we'll give you this one.
        The President. Thanks.
        Mr. Meyer. Thanks again for your time.

    [[Page 1852]]

        The President. Goodbye.

    Note: The interview began at 8:35 a.m. The President spoke by telephone
    from the Sheraton City Centre.