    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book II)]
    [July 11, 1997]
    [Page 946]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 946]]

    Exchange With Reporters in Bucharest
    July 11, 1997

    President's Visit

        Q. What did you buy at the Peasant's Museum?
        The President. I bought just a representative sample of the things
    that were there.
        Q. What did you think of the reception?
        The President. It was amazing. It was truly amazing. I can't imagine
    how many people were there, because there were people, when I drove up,
    in blocks that had been blocked off by the police, who were way back,
    weren't even visible from the stage. There were a lot of people there.
        Q. Were you surprised by the warmth?
        The President. Well, I was surprised by the size and intensity of
    the crowd. I knew that the Romanian people--my friend Mr. Moses here
    keeps me updated, and I knew that they were very friendly toward
    America. And keep in mind, they really did suffer more in the recent
    past than any other people under any of the other Communist
    governments--I mean, what they went through here to gain their liberty.
    You saw behind the stage today--the President and I were before the
    cross there, and that cross marks the place where people were actually
    killed when they threw off the previous government. So I think that the
    price they paid is very fresh in their minds.

    Romania and NATO

        Q. Mr. President--[inaudible].
        The President. They're a very impressive people. And I do believe if
    they keep going, they'll make it, just like I said. They've just begun
    in the last year or so, and they have an enormous undertaking with their
    economy. But if you look at the rich resources and the fact that the
    people here are very well educated, I'd say they have an excellent
    chance, a really good chance.
        Q. Did they express disappointment? Were they frustrated?
        The President. Oh, I think of course they were disappointed. But I
    think they also--the leaders have managed this very well, and they
    talked very frankly to the people and said--well, you heard what the
    President said today. NATO is a part of their larger strategy. And as
    long as they see that we're all still on the same page with the larger
    strategy, that we want them integrated into the West, we want their
    democracy to flourish, we want their economy to do well, and that if
    they keep going the way they're going, they will certainly be qualified
    for NATO membership. And everybody--100 percent of us in Madrid agreed
    that one of the things that we wanted was to have some more membership
    from the southern flank, because of the problems that are likely to
    develop in this region in the years ahead.
        Q. By NATO's test, where is their area needing greatest improvement,
    the economy?
        The President. Well, I think for one thing, when a country assumes
    the responsibilities of membership, you want to be--[inaudible]--
    hopefully, would even be helpful because of the extra psychological
    boost it gives.
        So Poland and the Czech Republic and Hungary, they've all been
    through that roller coaster that the economists call the J-curve, where
    you undertake the reforms, there's a drop in economic output, people
    suffer, they go through it, they bottom out, and then they start coming
    back. And they've been through that. So you don't want to impose on a
    country big, new external burdens while they're going through that. But
    on the other hand, you don't want to take away the hope that these
    people have waited decades for.

    Martin Luther King, Jr., Assassination Investigation

        Q. Mr. President, what do you think about the King bullets not
    matching the James Earl Ray rifle?
        The President. I'm sorry, I don't know--you're the first person
    who's asked me that. I haven't been briefed about it.
        Q. The test results show that the markings do not match.
        The President. I'll review it.

    Note: The exchange began at 7:06 p.m. at the Village Museum. In his
    remarks, the President referred to Alfred H. Moses, U.S. Ambassador to
    Romania. A reporter referred to convicted assassin James Earl Ray. A
    tape was not available for verification of the content of this exchange.