[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (1999, Book II)]
[December 16, 1999]
[Pages 2321-2322]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Excerpts of an Interview With Peter Jennings
of ABC News
December 16, 1999
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Mr. Jennings. This room, sir, this fireplace and others in the White
House obviously remind me of President Roosevelt. His relationship with
the public was of such a magnitude that people, in many cases, thought
he was a god, placed absolute faith in him. Do you think there will ever
be a time when another American President gets that kind of commitment?
The President. If the country is under that kind of threat. It was
in this room that President Roosevelt gave his fireside chats. And keep
in mind, he took our Nation through two huge threats: first, the
Depression, where 25 percent of our people were out of work, for the
only time in our history; and second, in the Second World War, with
Hitler and the Axis powers.
I think the people in this country are--they nearly always get it
right if they have enough information and enough time. They're very hard
to stampede. And I think they would follow a good leader in a tough time
like that.
Cynicism
The President. When I leave the White House, I will be more
idealistic about the American people and the American system of
government than I was when I showed up here. And I think cynicism is a
cop-out and a refuge now. I think skepticism is good. I think
demythologizing is good. I think cynicism, because it's fundamentally a
negative and self-defeating emotion and it gives you an excuse not to
think, is stupid.
Mr. Jennings. I don't mean to belabor the point, nor will I, but I
think many Americans believe that you contributed to cynicism about
politics. And I assume if there's anything you could take back over the
last several years it would be the Lewinski affair.
The President. Why should you be cynical? If someone makes a
mistake, and they say they make a mistake, and they do their best to
atone for it, then you can say, ``Well, people aren't perfect, and I'm
disappointed.'' But that shouldn't make you cynical about the American
political system, the American system of government.
Berlin Wall
Mr. Jennings. I'd just like to pick a couple things that the century
will always be remembered for and get your take on them. What did the
Berlin Wall mean to you?
The President. It was the symbol of what was wrong with communism.
It was about control and keeping people back and keeping people in. You
know, John Kennedy had that wonderful line in his speech, ``Freedom has
many difficulties, and our democracy is far from perfect. But we never
had to put up a wall to keep our people in.''
Atomic Bomb
Mr. Jennings. What difference did the atomic bomb make?
The President. It reminded us that we had the capacity to destroy
ourselves completely, and it humbled people. And I think that's very
important, because people with power--and I include myself--you give
anybody a lot of power,
[[Page 2322]]
and if they're not careful, they will make arrogant decisions, unheedful
of the most fundamental desire of people: to have life and liberty and
to enjoy the blessings of normal life.
The President. We will look back at the development of the atomic
bomb in some ways as one of the most humbling events in all of human
history, because we finally had to come face-to-face with the fact that
we could take it all away. You know? Beyond the gas chambers, beyond the
pogroms, beyond the killing fields of the Somme and the Marne in World
War I, we could actually make it all go away. And I think it sobered the
world up in a way that was oddly reassuring.
Note: The interview began at approximately 10 a.m. in the Diplomatic
Reception Room at the White House. The transcript was released by the
Office of the Press Secretary on December 18. A tape was not available
for verification of the content of these excerpts.