[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1999, Book I)]
[March 18, 1999]
[Pages 407-409]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
[[Page 407]]
Remarks at the Radio and Television Correspondents Association Dinner
March 18, 1999
The President. Thank you very much. Thank you very much, Jim. I want to thank all the officers for making me feel so
welcome. Evelyn, thank you for the great
dinner conversation--Mr. Speaker, Members
of Congress, my fellow Americans. I want to thank you for your
invitation to come have dinner with 2,000 members of the Washington
press corps. [Laughter] I accepted. If this isn't contrition, I don't
know what is. [Laughter]
I know you can't really laugh about this. I mean, the events of the
last year have been quite serious. If the Senate vote had gone the other
way, I wouldn't be here tonight. I demand a recount. [Laughter]
Look, this is just the beginning of my week with the press. Tomorrow
I've got a press conference and then the Gridiron dinner the day after
that. You'd think I was selling a book. [Laughter] Now, I know it's been
a long time since I had a press conference, but I remember it well.
[Laughter] All those questions that day about the nomination of Zoe
Baird. [Laughter]
Look, you can probably tell I'm a little nervous being around all
these reporters tonight. So if you will forgive me, I'd like to employ a
method that has worked pretty well for me over the last year.
[At this point, a fanfare was played and the ``Prime Minister'' of a
fictitious nation, played by actor Nick Olcott,
was announced.]
The President. Your Excellency, welcome to the United States.
[Laughter] The podium is yours. [Laughter]
[The ``Prime Minister'' spoke briefly in a ``foreign language.'']
The President. Well, your Excellency, without my headphones, I have
no idea what you just said. [Laughter] But it sounded very much like
words of praise. I want you to know that they mean more to me than I
could possibly express. [Laughter]
[The ``Prime Minister'' replied briefly in a ``foreign language.'']
The President. I agree with that, as well. [Laughter]
Now, your Excellency, this is just a dinner with the press. Tomorrow
is the real press conference. I look forward to seeing you there.
[Laughter]
Now, I know that the press corps has been busy preparing questions
for me. So I've been working on the answers. Never mind the questions;
here are the answers. [Laughter]
``Yes, Helen.'' ``She was first, Sam. I'll get to you, Sam. Not yet,
though.'' ``The longest peacetime expansion in history.'' ``No, I didn't
watch it.'' [Laughter] ``No, I haven't read it.'' [Laughter] ``Yes,
Wolf, I am doing this press conference because Joe made me do it.''
Your Excellency, why don't you just have a seat right here, just
listen to the translation, and I'll ask you to join me again if I need
some cover. [Laughter]
Now, I know there's been a lot of interest in the future political
career of the First Lady. I honestly don't know what she'll decide, but
I can tell you this. Yesterday at breakfast, she was complaining that it
is impossible to get a decent bagel in Washington. [Laughter] By the
way, I'm from Arkansas. You know, what is a schmear? [Laughter]
The ``Prime Minister.'' [Unintelligible]--Philadelphia Cream Cheese.
The President. Cream cheese. Thank you very much. I got it.
And you know, the Vice President's been busy, too. When I was in
Central America, I turned on my trusty C-SPAN, and I saw the Vice
President talking about how rough it is to travel on airplanes these
days, the delays, the lost baggage, the disgusting meals. [Laughter] Al,
I didn't know it was that bad on Air Force II. [Laughter] I think he's
due for an upgrade.
Aren't you glad Garrison Keillor is
here? I welcome you, sir, to Washington, where all the lobbyists are
strong, all the politicians think they're good-looking, and all of the
lawyers are above average. [Laughter] I'm glad Governor Ventura let you
out of the headlock, and I hope he lets you go home to Minnesota.
Folks, I was going to make jokes about the House Republicans
tonight, about the managers. It wouldn't be fair; they're not here to
defend
[[Page 408]]
themselves. They're all at the ``Taliban Correspondents Association
Dinner.'' [Laughter] You know, the House managers were really unhappy
with the Senate verdict. In fact, they're appealing it to the judges in
the Holyfield-Lewis fight. [Laughter]
This is a pretty tough time for the right wing. The president of the
Council of Conservative Citizens had to resign because of his alleged
ties to Bob Barr. [Laughter]
Now, look, as I have often said, politics aside, this is truly a
great moment for America. Since I took office, more than 18 million new
jobs--opportunity abundant. But there are pockets of our economy that
have been hurt by change----
The ``Prime Minister.'' Oh, Bob Barr! [Laughter]
The President. He and I liked it better than you did. [Laughter]
Anyway, as I was saying, in spite of all this prosperity, there are
some pockets of our economy that have really been hurt by change. For
example, now that the trial is over, we have a responsibility to do
something about the growing ranks of dislocated pundits. [Laughter] You
know, in this era of technological change, the average worker will
change jobs 7 times. And now we know that for a full 50 percent of them,
one of those jobs will be a short stint as a panelist on MSNBC.
[Laughter]
My friends, when their time in Washington is up, we simply must help
displaced pundits make the most of the opportunities of the 21st
century. This is a challenge best met at the State level. [Laughter] So
I propose a new relocation grant to move Washington's pundits out to our
50 States, the laboratories of democracy--[laughter]--to give them new,
fresh, vibrant opportunities to torment our Nation's Governors--
[laughter]--from Trenton to Tallahassee and Albany to Austin.
I also want you to know that I am absolutely firmly committed to
passing the long overdue Pundits' Bill of Rights: You have the right to
a fresh danish in the green room, the right to interrupt others, the
right to shout down Chris Matthews--I think that's an obligation,
myself--[laughter]--and never, never should you have to make the painful
choice between the beat you cover and the talk show you love. [Laughter]
Now, the cable networks have to fill 24 hours of news programming
with 24 minutes worth of actual news. [Laughter] That's pretty tough.
Anyway, here are a few of the better ideas for new shows: ``MSNBC in
Crisis''--[laughter]--``Inside the Politics of `Burden of Proof ' ''--
[laughter]--``Totally Subpoenaed Videos.'' [Laughter] But just for you
tonight, we got our hands on a preview of cable news' next really big
show. Here it is; look on the video screen.
[At this point, a video called ``Punditubbies'' was shown, with
journalist Robert Novak hosting characters from
the children's television program ``Teletubbies.'']
The President. I'll explain it to you later, your Excellency.
[Laughter]
Well, there has been some real news this week. The DNC announced it
will hold the 2000 Democratic Convention in Los Angeles. But what you
may not know is that the Los Angeles planning committee insisted on some
minor changes in the convention format. For example, the Democratic
candidate must start his acceptance speech by thanking the Academy and
saying what an honor it is just to be nominated. [Laughter] In addition
to the red-meat rhetoric of usual, there will be a fabulous vegetarian
plate prepared by Wolfgang Puck. Tough questions will now be handled by
stunt doubles. There'll be a fundraiser at Grauman's Chinese Theater.
And basically--even after it's over--in Hollywood, Oscars will still be
bigger than the convention.
Speaking of the Oscars, everybody's got his or her own pick for Best
Picture. Now, I like some in particular, but none of these were
nominated. But there were a lot of pictures about Washington this year,
and I think they deserve a little consideration.
There was ``Leaving Los Alamos,'' ``You've Got Subpoenas''--
[laughter]--``Throw Momma in the Grand Jury.'' One of my favorites, the
prequel to ``Starr Wars,'' ``The Robert Fiske Story''--[laughter]--and
``Saving Private Life.'' [Laughter]
Now that this speech has gone on long enough, I know we should work
together to bring it to closure. So I want you to let me say something,
just for a moment, serious.
There are three
journalists here tonight from Radio Free Asia
who sought to cover my trip to China last year but had their visas
canceled by the Chinese Government. I was pleased to sit for an
interview with them before I left and took the opportunity to say that
China had made a serious mistake.
[[Page 409]]
This, of course, is part of a larger problem, because around the
world, still, journalists are barred, harassed, imprisoned, sometimes
even murdered, for the crime of seeking and speaking the truth. When
leaders in China or anywhere else do this, it is a cause for dismay. And
what leaders everywhere must realize is that a robust and independent
press actually strengthens a nation. It promotes debate. And in a free
society, given enough time, the people pretty much always get it right.
Together we must continue to state forcefully our belief that free
expression and independent journalism are absolutely essential to
building better societies and protecting the rights of all people. In
the daily push and pull of our jobs and lives, we should never lose
sight of that one goal, which I know every person in this room shares,
not only tonight but every night.
All in all, this hasn't been too bad. I'd do it again. In fact, I'm
dumb enough to do it again tomorrow. So I'll see you tomorrow in the
East Room. Look for me. I'll be the guy without the red sash. [Laughter]
Thank you, and good night.
Note: The President spoke at 10:30 p.m. in the International Ballroom at
the Washington Hilton. In his remarks, he referred to Jim Mills,
president, Radio and Television Correspondents Association; Evelyn
Thomas, CBS News; former Attorney General nominee Zoe Baird; Helen
Thomas, United Press International; Sam Donaldson, ABC News; Wolf
Blitzer, CNN; radio entertainer Garrison Keillor; Gov. Jesse Ventura of
Minnesota; boxers Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis; Chris Matthews,
CNBC; chef Wolfgang Puck; and Radio Free Asia journalists Arin Basu,
Patricia Hindman, and Xiao Ming Feng.