    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 22 (Monday, June 5, 2000)]
    [Pages 1258-1260]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    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 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

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    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 break-up 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 make in our AID programs, by the investments we make in
    the Peace Corps, by the investments we make in our

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    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; Chairman Yasser Arafat of the Palestinian Authority; Prime
    Minister Antonio Guterres and President Jorge Sampaio of Portugal; and
    U.S. Ambassador Gerald S. McGowan and his wife, Susan. A tape was not
    available for verification of the content of these remarks.