[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 33, Number 29 (Monday, July 21, 1997)]
[Pages 1062-1063]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Exchange With Reporters in Bucharest

July 11, 1997

Museum Visit

    Q. What did you buy at the Peasant's Museum?
    The President. I bought just a representative sample of the things 
that were there.

President's Reception

    Q. What did you think of the reception?
    The President. It was amazing. It was truly amazing. I can't imagine 
how many people were there; because there were people, when I drove up, 
in blocks that had been blocked off by the police, who were way back--
weren't even visible from the stage. There were a lot of people there.
    Q. Were you surprised by the warmth?

[[Page 1063]]

    The President. Well, I was surprised by the size and intensity of 
the crowd. I knew that the Romanian people--my friend Mr. Moses here 
keeps me updated, and I knew that they were very friendly toward 
America. And keep in mind, they really did suffer more in the recent 
past than any other people under any of the other Communist 
governments--I mean, what they went through here to gain their liberty. 
You saw behind the stage today--the President and I were before the 
cross there, and that cross marks the place where people were actually 
killed when they threw off the previous government. So I think that the 
price they paid is very fresh in their minds.

Romania and NATO

    Q. Mr. President--[inaudible].
    The President. They're a very impressive people. And I do believe if 
they keep going, they'll make it, just like I said. They've just begun 
in the last year or so, and they have an enormous undertaking with their 
economy. But if you look at the rich resources and the fact that the 
people here are very well educated, I'd say they have an excellent 
chance, a really good chance.
    Q. Did they express disappointment? Were they frustrated?
    The President. Oh, I think, of course, they were disappointed. But I 
think they also--the leaders have managed this very well, and they 
talked very frankly to the people and said--well, you heard what the 
President said today. NATO is a part of their larger strategy. And as 
long as they see that we're all still on the same page with the larger 
strategy, that we want them integrated into the West, we want their 
democracy to flourish, we want their economy to do well, and that if 
they keep going the way they're going, they will certainly be qualified 
for NATO membership. And everybody--a hundred percent of us in Madrid 
agreed that one of the things that we wanted was to have some more 
membership from the southern flank, because of the problems that are 
likely to develop in this region in the years ahead.
    Q. By NATO's test, where is their area needing greatest improvement, 
the economy?
    The President. Well, I think for one thing, when a country assumes 
the responsibilities of membership, you want to be--[inaudible]--
hopefully, would even be helpful because of the extra psychological 
boost it gives.
    So Poland and the Czech Republic and Hungary, they've all been 
through that roller coaster that the economists call the J-curve, where 
you undertake the reforms, there's a drop in economic output, people 
suffer, they go through it, they bottom out, and then they start coming 
back. And they've been through that. So you don't want to impose on a 
country big, new external burdens while they're going through that. But 
on the other hand, you don't want to take away the hope that these 
people have waited decades for.

Martin Luther King Assassination Investigation

    Q. Mr. President, what do you think about the King bullets not 
matching the James Earl Ray rifle?
    The President. I'm sorry, I don't know--you're the first person 
who's asked me that. I haven't been briefed about it.
    Q. The test results show that the markings do not match.
    The President. I'll review it.

Note: The exchange began at 7:06 p.m. at the Village Museum. In his 
remarks, the President referred to Alfred H. Moses, U.S. Ambassador to 
Romania; and convicted assassin James Earl Ray. A tape was not available 
for verification of the content of this exchange. This item was not 
received in time for publication in the appropriate issue.