    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 11 (Monday, March 22, 1999)]
    [Pages 433-436]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Interview With Michael Jackson on KRLA Radio

    March 15, 1999

        Mr. Jackson. Forgive me. There we had the Deputy Director of the
    Office of Management and the Budget with us, Sylvia Mathews. We are
    supposed to be at the end of the show, but I'm changing the rules. I'm
    going to carry my microphone and stand up for a moment. I'm truly
    honored to have the opportunity of saying good morning to the President
    of the United States.
        The President. Good morning, Michael. Or good afternoon, here.
        Mr. Jackson. It's good to see you again, sir.
        I have had most of your Cabinet here this morning. The enthusiasm
    that they show for the jobs that they have--and they all come from
    different worlds. It's something uniquely and distinctly American. And I
    also said to, I think it was Donna Shalala--I said, when I see pictures
    of you with the leadership of Japan or the Central American countries
    most recently, you look America. And when I see you standing next to Al
    Gore, you look America. And when I see you standing with the First Lady
    and Al Gore's wife, Tipper, you look America.
        What are you most proud of, sir?

    President's Accomplishments

        The President. You mean about what we've done here?
        Mr. Jackson. Yes.
        The President. I think I'm most proud that we've been able to pull
    the country together and give people a sense that we're going in the
    right direction again. I'm proud of the opportunities that millions of
    Americans have had to live out their dreams and shape their destinies
    and take care of their children. I'm proud of the fact that we have
    faced the tough challenges that our country has, instead of dodging
    them. I'm proud of the fact that--I think Americans have a lot of
    confidence now that we can deal with all the things that are before us
    and move into the future in a very good way.
        I'm proud of all that. I'm just grateful that I have the chance to
    serve and that we've got almost a quarter of our time left to get some
    of the things done that I very much want to do before it's over.
        Mr. Jackson. Isn't that expression ``lame duck'' a painful one? A
    quarter of your time still remains.
        The President. Yes.
        Mr. Jackson. Do you know a full agenda of what you would like to be
    able to accomplish in that time, sir?

    [[Page 434]]

        The President. Well, sure. I mean, I talked about it at great length
    in the State of the Union Address, but I very much want to secure the
    long-term economic well-being of the country as much as I can, and to do
    that, we have to deal with the challenges of Social Security and
    Medicare and paying the debt down.
        I very much want to make a lot more headway on bringing economic
    opportunity and a better quality of life to the urban and rural areas
    where there is still trouble. There are places within the sound of our
    voice now, in Los Angeles, where we still haven't seen the level of
    recovery I would like to see. And I've got a major initiative designed
    to leave no one behind as we go into this new century, and I'm hoping
    that we can pass that this year. And of course, around the world there
    are a lot of places that I'm still trying to build bridges to and bring
    peace to. That's what my trip to Central America was all about.

    China

        Mr. Jackson. Nothing is black and white, or simple, is it, in your
    position? I mean, China makes the news, but not all for the constructive
    things that are going on in our relationship with them.
        The President. That's right. Well, one of my predecessors once said
    that he never got any easy decisions because all the easy ones were made
    before they got to the President's desk. So there are a lot of complex
    issues. You know, with China we have our differences. We differ with
    them on their human rights policy. We differ with them on their Tibet
    policy. We are struggling to establish an economic partnership that is
    fair and good and--good for them, good for us.
        But because we have worked with them, instead of trying to isolate
    them, we've also made the world a safer place. They've helped us with
    the nuclear problem in Korea. They've helped us in refraining from
    giving dangerous technologies to other countries that we believe might
    misuse them or would aggravate tensions where they are. They've helped
    us to try to limit the Asian financial crisis.
        So I believe that the best policy with China is an honest one: where
    it's in our interest and theirs, we should work together for world peace
    and for economic prosperity, and where we have honest differences, we
    ought to state them.

    The American Century

        Mr. Jackson. Mr. President, earlier this morning in a conversation
    with Bill Daley, your Secretary of Commerce, I said, only a short while
    ago people would say, ``This is the American Century; the next one won't
    be.'' Now, everybody's convinced it will be. The 2000's will be ours as
    well. What is it we've got?
        The President. I think an infinite capacity for renewal, for change,
    anchored in a magnificent set of common values in our Constitution.
        Every year, in one way or the other, we see the wisdom of our
    framers ratified. We've got a Government that's a democracy but also has
    protections against abuse of power. We've got a Government that has some
    absolutely unbending rights for its citizens but is infinitely flexible.
    And I think that--what I hoped to do when I came to the Presidency, over
    6 years ago, was to give people a sense of possibility again and to give
    our country a sense of community again.
        You know, I was deeply moved by all the troubles in Los Angeles in
    the early nineties. And it became almost a metaphor for what was going
    on through the country. We had more and more diversity, more and more
    people whose family's first language was not English. I saw that as an
    enormous opportunity in the global society of our children's future. But
    I knew we had to find a way to come together as well as to move forward.
    I think we're doing that now, and I feel very good about it.

    Central America

        Mr. Jackson. How was the trip to Central America?
        The President. Well, it was sobering but heartening. It was
    heartening in the sense that all those countries are democracies now.
    They've overcome bitter, bitter civil wars. People that were shooting
    each other a few years ago are now dressed in suits and ties and nice
    dresses, sitting in parliaments, you know, working with each other. And
    that's good.

    [[Page 435]]

        It was sobering because the hurricane was the worst natural
    disaster, perhaps ever, in Central America, devastating to a lot of
    those countries. And I'm hoping the United States will do more to help.
        I want the American people to know that Central America is one of
    the few regions of the world where we actually have a trade surplus. And
    if we want to reduce illegal immigration from Central America, the best
    way to do it is to strengthen their democracies and their economies,
    make them good business partners for us. They help us fight drugs; they
    help us promote democracy; and they'll help us grow our economies.

    Immigration

        Mr. Jackson. Interesting, sir, in a conversation earlier this
    morning with your Secretary of Health and Human Services, Donna Shalala,
    she made a comment, just in passing, that most of the people that come
    here would rather--in the main--stay home in their own countries. It's
    opportunity here that brings them.
        The President. I think that's right. Most of the people who wish to
    emigrate to America and stay sign up, get on the list, wait their turn,
    and do it in a legal way. Most of the illegal immigrants who come here
    come because they literally can't make a living at home, and many of
    them have children.
        For example, the largest source of foreign exchange that El Salvador
    has is $1 billion a year that Salvadoran citizens working in the United
    States send home to their families. So if we could stabilize their
    economies, make it possible for them to make a living at home by doing
    business with us, instead of having to come here and try to sneak
    through the borders, the illegal immigration problem would go way, way
    down.
        Mr. Jackson. Mr. President, I have been given the word. You have a
    very busy schedule. I am thrilled. This was very unexpected.
        The President. Well, I just wanted to thank you, Michael, for what
    you do on your program, the people whose voices you give the opportunity
    to be heard, and for giving all of our people a chance to come by and
    talk.
        I think it is true, we are still enthusiastic. We act like we got
    here last week, most days. But I think that's because we try to stay
    busy. We try to focus on not what we did yesterday or last year or 5
    years ago but what we're going to do tomorrow.

    Kosovo/2000 Democratic Convention

        Mr. Jackson. Sir, last night I went to a restaurant, and there's
    your Secretary of State working over dinner. You're overworking her,
    sir.
        The President. I am overworking her. She--we got some good news
    today there, you know. We had two announcements today of note. One is
    that the Kosovar Albanians said that they would sign the peace
    agreement----
        Mr. Jackson. Congratulations.
        The President. ----which means that now we just have to convince Mr.
    Milosevic and the Serbs to go along. If they do, we can avoid a major
    war there.
        Of course, the other big announcement today is the Democrats are
    going to have their convention in Los Angeles.
        Mr. Jackson. In our town.
        The President. That's right.
        Mr. Jackson. I'm going to be there every day doing my show.
        The President. Well, we're all very excited about it. You know,
    bringing back California became an obsession around here in my first
    term. And we know now that in the State, and even, indeed, within the
    confines of Los Angeles County, there is an example of virtually every
    good thing that this administration has tried to do over the last 6
    years. So we're excited about going there, and we think America will
    like it, seeing it on television. They'll see, I think, a very good
    picture of America's future, and that's what we'll hope to provide.

    Gov. Gray Davis of California

        Mr. Jackson. If I can just throw one more quick one. Rodney Slater,
    your Secretary of Transportation, was on this morning, sir. And we were
    talking about the impact that you've had on our new Governor, the fact
    that he did what Pete Wilson never did in 8 years. He went to Central
    America--he went to Mexico, I beg your pardon----
        The President. Yes.

    [[Page 436]]

        Mr. Jackson.----and built a bridge there. And our State's almost a
    nation.
        The President. Well, I think, first of all, I think Governor Davis
    is doing a terrific job. And I suppose I've learned as much from him as
    he's learned from me. But I think the thing that Californians can be
    proud of is that he will, in my view, he will keep the State focused on
    the future. He'll keep working on the big issues, and he'll get results.
    He will stay at something until he gets results.
        And I personally thought his decision to go to Mexico and establish
    a relationship with the President there, who is a progressive, able
    person and an honest person, was a very smart decision for the people of
    California. But it's one of many smart decisions he's made. And I think
    that when we come there for the convention, it will give America a
    chance to see a lot of the good things that are going on in California.
        Mr. Jackson. Mr. President, thank you very much indeed for your
    time, sir.
        The President. Thank you. Thank you.

    Note: The interview began at 3 p.m. in Room 415 of the Old Executive
    Office Building. In his remarks, the President referred to President
    Slobodan Milosevic of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and
    Montenegro). A tape was not available for verification of the content of
    these remarks.