[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1994, Book II)]
[December 22, 1994]
[Page 2199]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Exchange With Reporters at Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers'
Final Press Briefing
December 22, 1994

    The President. I thought I should come in and get you out of hot 
water, since that's what you've been doing for me for years. [Laughter]
    What I want to know is, why didn't our Hearts games make this list?
    Press Secretary Myers. That's the things I will not miss.
    The President. Oh. [Laughter]
    Press Secretary Myers. Because that would be on my top 10 list of 
things I will miss.
    Q. Do you have a list, Mr. President?
    The President. Well----
    Q. Favorite questions?
    The President. Favorite questions? No, I--Dee Dee is my best Hearts 
partner. That's a trauma I'm trying to deal with here at Christmas time.
    No, I have nothing to say about this business work. I just wanted to 
come in here and say in front of all of you how very grateful I am for 
everything Dee Dee has done for me since long before I became President, 
starting in our campaign. I reminded her of the first trip we took 
together was on a little bitty airplane, and I fell asleep, which was 
some sort of omen about how helpful I would be in answering difficult 
questions. And we've had a wonderful professional relationship. We've 
had a good personal friendship. I think she is one of the best people I 
have ever had the privilege of working with. And I'm really going to 
miss her. And I'm especially going to miss the card games. And Air Force 
One food is not all that bad. [Laughter]
    Q. Who is going to replace her?
    The President. No one is going to replace her.
    And I want you all to--I'm going to cut you some slack. We don't 
have to talk anything serious today. This is Christmas season. And I 
wish you all a very merry Christmas. I hope you have a wonderful 
holiday. I hope you get some rest. And consistent with this entirely 
fiscally and otherwise responsible moment in our history, within those 
limits, I hope you have a little fun at Christmastime. [Laughter] And I 
hope you come back full of energy and bright-eyed and everything, 
because it's going to be a very interesting year next year. [Laughter] 
And I am really looking forward to it, more every day. [Laughter]
    Q. Are you going to spend some more time with us in these kinds of 
informal Q&A sessions?
    The President. Yes. [Laughter] Sure.
    Q. Do you have an attitude about the Gingrich book?
    Q. When you came in, we were just asking Dee Dee about that.
    The President. You know, I made $36,000 a year for 12 years and was 
glad of it. I don't even know how to think in these terms. [Laughter]
    Thank you very much. Merry Christmas.

Note: The President spoke at approximately 12:30 p.m. in the Briefing 
Room at the White House.