[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1999, Book I)]
[February 15, 1999]
[Pages 191-192]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Exchange With Reporters Prior to Discussions With President
Ernesto Zedillo of Mexico in Merida
February 15, 1999

Senate Impeachment Trial Vote

    Q. Mr. President, do you feel vindicated by the Senate vote? And how 
do you think you will be able to overcome any damage that was caused in 
your relations with Republican leaders in Congress?
    The President. Well, I have, really, nothing to add to what I said 
on Friday about that. I think this is a time for reconciliation and 
renewal. I think what we have to do is to serve the American people. And 
if we keep that in mind, I think everything will be fine.
    We can't resolve the challenges of Social Security and Medicare, 
education, these other things, we can't keep the international economy 
going unless we have a level of cooperation. I'm encouraged that we have 
a number of Republican Members of Congress on this trip, and I intend to 
do exactly what I said I'd do last Friday. And I think if everybody just 
keeps our eye on the ball--which is that we are here to serve the 
public, and not the other way around--I think we'll be fine.

Mexico-U.S. Antidrug Efforts

    Q. Mr. President, do you have any problems with the system the 
United States has for certifying drug cooperation?
    The President. Well, first of all, it is the law of the land, and 
the Secretary of State sometime in the 
next few weeks will have to make a recommendation. I think the question 
is, how can we do better to deal with the drug problem? President 
Zedillo said it's his number one national security problem. Neither 
country has won the drug war. And the fundamental question is, are we 
better off fighting it together or separately, and perhaps sometimes at 
odds with one another?
    Under General McCaffrey, who's here, 
we put in place a very aggressive antidrug strategy. Finally, we've got 
a lot of the indicators going in the right direction in the United 
States. And cooperation with Mexico has clearly improved under President 
Zedillo's leadership. The issue is what is most likely to free our 
children of this scourge in the new century, and that's what will guide 
my decisions.
    Thank you all.

[[Page 192]]

Hillary Clinton's Possible Senate 
Candidacy

    Q. Have you encouraged Mrs. Clinton to run for the Senate, sir? What 
have you said to her?
    The President.  People in New York started calling her. I don't 
think it had ever occurred to her before a lot of people started calling 
and asking her to do it. I think she would be terrific in the Senate. 
But that's a decision that she'll have to make. And for reasons I'm sure 
you'll understand, she hasn't had anything like adequate time to talk to 
the people who think she should do this, much less people who think 
perhaps she shouldn't. I mean, she just hasn't had time to deal with 
this.
    But it's her decision to make. I will support whatever decision she 
makes enthusiastically. She has a lot of other opportunities for public 
service that will be out there, and she and I both would like to 
continue to be useful in public affairs when we leave office. But it's a 
decision she'll have to make. She'd be great if she did it, but she 
hasn't had anything like the requisite amount of time to talk to people 
and to assess it, and I'm sure that everyone will understand and 
appreciate that.
    Thank you.

Note: The exchange began at approximately 11:30 a.m. in Hacienda 
Temozon. A tape was not available for verification of the content of 
this exchange.