[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (2000, Book I)]
[June 1, 2000]
[Pages 1059-1061]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks to the American Embassy Community in Lisbon
June 1, 2000

    Thank you very much. First, I'm delighted to see you. I'm sorry we 
had to delay this a little bit, but we had the meeting with Prime 
Minister Barak. I want to thank, first, 
Gerry and Susan, 
my longtime friends. We went to college together. You can tell by 
looking at us, it was a very long time ago. [Laughter] Susan worked for 
me many years in the White House, and I miss her terribly, but I'm glad 
that they're here together. And I'm glad--we've got this whole McGowan 
bunch of kids here, proving that this is a pro-family administration. 
[Laughter]
    I've been told that the people in our Embassy have produced 20 
children in the last couple of years, so I want to thank you for that. 
I'll use that as an exhibit as I go around the world.
    Obviously, I'm grateful to Secretary Albright and to Secretary Daley and to 
National Security Adviser Berger and our 
whole group. We had a wonderful time here, and I want to say more about 
it in a minute. But I would like to say just a few words about the 
meeting I had with Prime Minister Barak this 
morning, because it is very important, and it's still early in America. 
So if I say it to you, they'll all hear it today. [Laughter]
    First of all, he reaffirmed his intense 
commitment to reach an historic and complete agreement with the 
Palestinians, which I think is very important to settling all the issues 
and ending the conflict. I know from my own discussions with Chairman 
Arafat that he also shares this commitment and 
that he recognizes the real urgency of this moment to actually get back 
on the timetable and complete the work that has to be done.
    I'm sending Secretary Albright to 
the Middle East next week to work with both leaders on narrowing the 
gaps that still remain between them. And I will soon meet with Chairman 
Arafat in Washington--I'll do it as quickly as

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I can--finish my trip here and meet my other obligations.
    Both leaders know 
from me, and they know from their own experience, that they now have to 
be prepared to make an intense effort and to do things that they have 
not done in the past, with real courage and vision, if we're going to 
actually get a framework agreement that deals with the outstanding 
issues.
    And I can only tell you that I'm still convinced that they have the courage, the 
vision, and the ability to do this, and the United States will do 
everything we can to help them pass this milestone. And I know that your 
thoughts and prayers will be with them. This is tough work. If it were 
easy, somebody would have done it a long time ago. But actually, it is 
within view now. They could do and, I believe, they will do it. And I'm 
going to do my best to help them do it.
    Let me also now just thank all of you. I have had a wonderful time 
here. I had a good meeting with Prime Minister Guterres, in both his capacity as Prime Minister of this 
country and in Portugal's presidency of the European Union. I had a good 
meeting and a good dinner with the Portuguese President, Mr. 
Sampaio.
    Hillary was here 3 years ago, and 
she came home raving about everything about Portugal--literally raving 
about it. It was a couple of days before she sort of hit the ground. 
[Laughter] And the one thing she said is, ``You've got to go to this 
restaurant where they make sea bass in salt''--[laughter]--``but there's 
no salt taste on the sea bass.'' I heard about this over and over again. 
I thought it was a joke, you know.
    So last night, Gerry took us all. We 
had a huge contingent. We went to the Porta Santa Maria--is that 
right?--restaurant. It was too dark to see the ocean but not too dark to 
see the sea bass in the salt. [Laughter] So I can now go home and give a 
report that my wife did not exaggerate at all. It was the most 
interesting thing I ever did, I think.
    And then something is happening--as I move toward the end of my 
term, my staff has relaxed its requirement that I actually suffer a 
physical breakdown on every trip from work, and I actually got to go 
play golf yesterday. And I will never forget that. It was wonderful. So 
we got a lot of work done; we had a good time; and I'm very grateful to 
you for all you have done.
    I also heard at the state dinner that wonderful Portuguese music 
called fado. And I may never get over that. I've been asking everybody I 
can find to send me CD's. I'm going to promote fado music all over the 
world. [Laughter] I have been sort of the single-handed ambassador for 
music coming out of northeast Brazil, but I think fado now has become my 
major passion in life. [Laughter] So I'll do what I can to help.
    I want to say just a few serious words to you. The people who 
represent the United States around the world, both the people of our 
Foreign Service, our Commerce Department, our military, the others who 
are associated with our missions, and the foreign nationals who work 
with us, almost never get any publicity. And usually--once in a rare 
blue moon when they do get any publicity, it's because something bad 
happened. And all the rest of the time you never get the credit you 
deserve, day-in and day-out, for making the United States a good 
partner, a good friend, a good neighbor, for doing all the work that has 
to be done.
    The relationship we have with this nation is strong, thanks in no 
small measure to the work you do, day-in and day-out, that too often 
goes unrecognized. And in the 7\1/2\ years I have been privileged to 
serve as President, every time I have gone to a foreign nation--and I've 
been to more, apparently, than any other President, and 
Hillary, I think, has been to more 
nations than any other First Lady. I've been told that it's unfair for 
me to say that because, given the breakup of the Soviet Union, we have 
more options than any previous First Couple has ever had--[laughter]--
so, doubtless, my record will be broken some time by someone who likes 
to travel even more than I do and becomes President.
    But I thought it was important for me to travel the world and for us 
to try to make a better future out of the post-Communist, post-cold-war 
world. So I've had the opportunity to see many things. And I just want 
you to know that I am profoundly grateful to you for what you do and 
that I have done what I could, both in ceremonies like this and in 
speeches back home, to make sure that the American people know that they 
are getting more than their money's worth--far more than their money's 
worth--out of our diplomatic mission.
    I have done what I could at every budget debate of the United States 
Congress to argue that a lot of our national security and our national 
interests are advanced by the diplomatic investments we make, by the 
investments we

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make in our AID programs, by the investments we make in the Peace Corps, 
by the investments we make in our commerce missions. It's not just a 
matter of military investments. If we want to advance the national 
security interests of America, we have to be good neighbors, good 
friends, and good partners. And you represent all of that, and I am 
very, very, very grateful to you.
    I also want to say that I'm grateful for the things you do here in 
this country that kind of are above and beyond the call of duty. The 
work you do with Portuguese families and Portuguese citizens, the things 
that you share with them, are very, very important to me.
    So let me say, I also have been told that there are three people who 
have been working here for over 40 years, and I think I should recognize 
them. Even if my Portuguese is not very good, I'll do my best. Graca, 
Santos. All I can say is, if you've been working here 43 years, you were 
obviously too young to go to work when you started. [Laughter] And 
Joao and Teresa Venancio, who have been tending your garden all these years. 
Where are they? I'm glad you're here.
    So I say to you, to you three and to all of you, and to your family 
and your children, obrigado.  Thank you for what you have done for the 
United States. And I know you'll be very glad when we're all gone. 
[Laughter] Have a good wheels-up party.
    Thank you very much.

Note: The President spoke at 12:10 p.m. in the Ballroom at the Dom Pedro 
Hotel. In his remarks, he referred to Prime Minister Ehud Barak of 
Israel; U.S. Ambassador Gerald S. McGowan and his wife, Susan; Chairman 
Yasser Arafat of the Palestinian Authority; and Prime Minister Antonio 
Guterres and President Jorge Sampaio of Portugal.