[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 32, Number 50 (Monday, December 16, 1996)]
[Pages 2479-2481]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks on the Appointment of Evelyn Lieberman as Director of the Voice 
of America and an Exchange With Reporters

December 10, 1996

    The President. Fifty-four years ago, just a few months after the 
United States entered World War II, the Voice of America went on the air 
with these words: ``The news may be good. The news may be bad. We shall 
tell you the truth.'' VOA lit Europe's darkest night with a bright 
spotlight of truth and then became a key weapon in the war of ideas we 
waged and won against communism.
    Today, VOA beams America's voices to nearly 100 million listeners in 
every corner of our planet every week. The news it delivers--reliable, 
authoritative, objective--is more important than ever. There are 
millions and millions and millions of people around the world who are 
hungry, indeed starved, for accurate information still and for the 
insights it gives them on how they can organize themselves to change 
their own lives for the better.
    Under Geoff Cowan's extraordinary leadership, the VOA has developed 
innovative new shows that examine how institutions of democracy and free 
markets work. It has moved from what Director Cowan calls monolog to 
dialog, with call-in programs in a dozen languages. We were just talking 
before we came in about a call-in program that the First Lady did where 
she got calls from all over the world, including some surprising places. 
The VOA has increased coverage of human rights issues. It has used the 
best available technology, like satellites, to deliver better 
programming to more people.
    I thank Geoff, who has been my friend for many years now, for so 
ably carrying on a family tradition. His father, Louis Cowan, was the 
VOA's second director. And most of all, I thank him for his service to 
our Nation and to the community of nations.
    All around the world new democracies we have worked so hard to 
support are taking root. But they remain fragile, and we must nurture 
and defend them. The free flow of information is the lifeblood of 
democracy. And it is very important that the mission of the VOA 
continue.

[[Page 2480]]

    I can think of no greater life force for the free flow of ideas and 
for VOA's future than its new director, whom I have the honor of naming 
today, Evelyn Lieberman. Her strong, unique voice has reverberated 
throughout the White House from my first day in office--[laughter]--I 
see from your laughter that you know I have not overstated that; 
``reverberated'' is the operative word--first as Assistant to the First 
Lady's Chief of Staff, then as Deputy Press Secretary, most recently as 
Deputy Chief of Staff, the first woman ever to hold that job.
    Evelyn has a special talent for cutting to the chase and getting to 
the truth, as just about every member of the press corps and the White 
House staff, including the President, know from first-hand experience. 
As Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, she did make the trains run on 
time. But more than that, she made them run straight and true because of 
her steely determination, her extraordinary integrity, and her great, 
good heart. We will miss her skill, her passionate personality, which 
could warm even the coldest room here at the White House.
    Now Evelyn will bring her talent and her energy to the VOA and 
return, as she told me she wanted to do, to her career-long love, 
communications. Before her White House years, Evelyn was press secretary 
to Senator Joe Biden, director of public affairs for the Children's 
Defense Fund, communications director for the National Urban Coalition. 
Her extraordinary breadth of experience will help VOA continue the 
remarkable work Geoff Cowan has done to meet the challenge of change.
    As Secretary of State-designate Albright said of Secretary 
Christopher, Evelyn Lieberman will be hard pressed to fill Geoff Cowan's 
shoes with her heels. But she does have the experience, the leadership 
skills, and the drive to do the job, to do it very well, and to carry on 
VOA's unique mission of spreading truth and hope around the world. I am 
very pleased that she has accepted this appointment and ask her now to 
say a few words.

[At this point, Evelyn Lieberman made brief remarks.]

California's Proposition 209

    Q. Mr. President, are you going to do anything about Prop 209? 
[Laughter]
    The President. I thought you were going to----
    Ms. Lieberman. My role model. [Laughter]
    The President. I thought you were going into the radio talk show 
business.
    Q. Not quite.
    The President. Well, let me say I have not yet received the final 
recommendations from the Justice Department and the Counsel's Office. 
They're working back and forth on that. As all of you know, I opposed 
publicly and strongly 209. I thought it was bad policy for the people of 
California and a bad example for America. Whether it is unconstitutional 
is a different question, and our people are working very hard there to 
work through the legal and constitutional issues to give me a 
recommendation about what we should do and how we should do it.
    And I am eager to get their recommendation. They're just working 
very hard on it and looking at all the aspects of the argument. I expect 
to have a recommendation soon and then to make a very speedy decision 
after that.

Second Term Transition

    Q. Mr. President, now that you've filled the VOA job so happily, can 
you tell us anything about your decision on the Attorney General's job?
    The President. No. I'm making these appointments, you know, in an 
orderly fashion and making these announcements. I haven't even been able 
to meet with all the members of my administration yet, and we're doing 
it in a regular fashion. We will do it and announce them as we're ready.
    Q. Have you met and talked with Janet Reno about this yet?
    The President. Not about this appointment, but we'll meet soon. I 
expect by--oh, in the next several days I expect to have met with all 
the rest of the members of the Cabinet and the senior administration 
officials with whom I have not yet met. There are still a few, and we're 
working through that as we work through more announcements as well.

[[Page 2481]]

Serbia

    Q. Mr. President, metaphorically speaking, you are the voice of 
America. [Laughter] I can't help but make the link now----
    The President. Except for a few days ago. [Laughter]
    Q. I can't help but make the link to Eastern Europe and the Serbia 
situation. What would you say to Mr. Milosevic?
    The President. That elections should be respected and that the voice 
of the people should be heard, and that the human, political, and civil 
rights of the people should be respected. The United States has made its 
statement and its position clear. Neither we nor anyone else would seek 
to interfere in the internal events in Serbia, but our sympathies are 
always with free people who are struggling to express their freedom and 
want to have the integrity of their elections respected.
    Thank you very much.

Note: The President spoke at 4:54 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to President Slobodan Milosevic of 
Serbia.