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Originally Processed With FOIA(s):
FOIA Number:
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FOIA
MARKER
This is not a textual record. This is used as an
administrative marker by the George Bush Presidential
Library Staff.
Record Group/Collection:
George H.W. Bush Presidential Records
Collection/Office of Origin:
Speechwriting, White House Office of
Series:
Speech File Draft Files
Subseries:
Chron File, 1989-1993
OA/ID Number:
13493
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13493-010
Folder Title:
Iwo Jima Memorial 6/30/89
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25
6
3
6
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
June 27, 1989
PRESS CONFERENCE
BY THE PRESIDENT
The Briefing Room
9:04 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: I have a brief opening statement, and
then I'd be glad to take questions.
On Wednesday morning the Supreme Court issued a decision
which held that a person could not be convicted for desecration of
our flag -- the American flag -- because to do so would infringe upon
the right to political protest. Now, we've got to be very careful in
our society to preserve the right to protest government action.
However, I believe that the flag of the United States should never be
the object of desecration. Flag-burning is wrong. Protection of the
flag -- a unique national symbol -- will in no way limit the
opportunity nor the breadth of protest available in the exercise of
free speech rights.
And I have the greatest respect for the Supreme Court,
and indeed, for the Justices who interpreted the Constitution as they
saw fit. But I believe the importance of this issue compels me to
call for a constitutional amendment. Support for the First Amendment
need not extend to desecration of the American flag.
And we are reviewing proposed language for a
constitutional amendment. We are beginning consultation with members
of the United States Congress who hold similar views, and as
President, I will uphold our precious right to dissent; but burning
the flag goes too far, and I want to see that matter remedied.
Q Mr. President, when you were last with us, you said
that you had tried to contact the leaders of China and the line was
busy -- you were unable to get through. In light of the fact that
there is now a new party secretary, have you renewed that try, and
also, in light of what you just said, do you plan to ask Prime
Minister Li Peng to return the Texas cowboy boots with the American
flag on them that you gave him in China?
THE PRESIDENT: I have no such plans, but -- and I hope
he doesn't ask for his bicycles back, either. But in terms of
contacts, we are trying, through our embassy, to have contacts. We
have contact -- their ambassador has access to, and contact with, our
officials here, and so there has been some exchange of views. But I
have not, you know, renewed a phone call request, if that was your
question.
Q
As a follow-up, Mr. President, do you intend to go
ahead and send a Peace Corps team to China in the fall to teach
English, or will you go along with the Chinese request that that be
delayed?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, you have no choice, Tom. If the
Chinese say they're not welcome, they can't come in, and it's too
bad, because one of the things that moved forward the reforms was
contact with Americans, and I don't want to see those contacts cut
off, and I'm sorry that the Chinese have made that decision.
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I would like to have seen those young volunteers go to
China and help teach English to the Chinese, and I like these student
exchanges, and I don't want to hurt the Chinese people. Now, I have
expressed my concern about what went on in China. I reiterate my
concern here today, but I reiterate also my desire not to do damage
to the people themselves, because I believe that it was contact with
the United States and others in the West that have moved the process
of economic reform forward, and hopefully someday will move the
process of political reform forward.
Q
Mr. President, while you were Vice President,
millions were siphoned off from HUD through self-confessed
influence-peddlers, many of who were your friends. The homeless grew
by the thousands. I have not heard one word of outrage about this
from you. You seem to absolve Pierce, who sat on this gold mine,
permitted this kind of abuse for so many years, and -- not absolved
him, but you don't criticize him at all. Who was to blame? Where
did the buck stop?
THE PRESIDENT: That matter is being looked into by our
very able, dedicated Secretary of HUD. And we are going to do
everything we can to clean up any cronyism or see that matters of
that nature not recur. But you're always looking for winners and
losers, and I am not about to prejudge the Secretary himself. I
assume that he would accept responsibility for what happened -- past
tense -- in his department, just as I would have to assume
responsibility for something that goes on in my administration,
whether I know about it or not.
But let's not be trying to find winners and losers.
Let's guarantee the American people that we are not going to have
cronyism and special favors and giving contracts because of who you
know, but keep it on the merits.
Q
But the people were the losers in this.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes.
Q
And the Republican leaders, apparently, their
influence-peddlers and so forth, were the winners. Where were you in
eight years?
THE PRESIDENT: I wasn't handling HUD, Helen, in eight
years, and --
Q
I know you weren't handling HUD, but --
THE PRESIDENT: -- but if you want to assign -- look, if
this will give you a little relief, if you want to assign blame to
the Vice President for what happened over the past eight years, okay,
that's fine. I accept it. But what I want to do as President is see
that we don't have any recurrence. And I have total confidence that
Jäck Kemp is working to see that this not happen again, and I hope
that the message has gone out loud and clear to every Cabinet officer
that we want the highest possible ethical standards.
&
Well, were you aware of any atmosphere? That's all
I'm asking.
THE PRESIDENT: No.
Q
Mr. President, in light of your renewed concern
about the display of proper reverence for the flag, I wonder if you
think it helps the situation, sir, for you and other political
figures of both parties to make the flag the kind of instrument of
partisan politics that it was in your campaign last fall with a visit
to Flag City and the tour of flag factories and flags at all the
conventions and so on?
THE PRESIDENT: I don't view that as partisanship. I
think respect for the flag transcends political party and I think
what I've said here is American -- it isn't Republican or Democrat,
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it isn't liberal or conservative. And I just feel very, very
strongly about it, and perhaps I haven't been quite as emotional as I
feel about it. But I want to take this opportunity to say protest
should not extend to desecration of the unique symbol of America, and
that is our flag.
A follow-up?
Q
You wouldn't dispute, would you, sir, that your
visit to, Flag city, USA, and your visit to the flag factory last year
were for the purpose of advancing your political campaign?
THE PRESIDENT: Everything I did last year was the
purpose of advancing my -- everything I did politically -- advancing
my election. And of course I'm not going to say that. But I'm not
-- I didn't put it on the basis that Republicans are for the flag and
Democrats are not.
Q
Mr. President, leaving aside the winners and losers
question in the HUD scandal, isn't it fair criticism, nevertheless,
that the laissez-faire sort of management exhibited by Sam Pierce
was, as a matter of fact, encouraged by the President himself, and
that they really didn't pay attention to what was going on over
there?
THE PRESIDENT: John, something might be happening in
some department today that I know nothing about. We've got an
enormous bureaucracy. We've got a tremendous bureaucracy that
extends all around the world. And there might well be some
corruption out there that's going on that I would be responsible for,
but that I don't know about. But I am not going to try to assign
blame; I want to look to the future. And that's the way I'm going to
handle that one.
Q
Mr. President, you've spoken out emotionally,
obviously, about the Supreme Court's decision on the flag. I wonder
if you'd like to take this chance to speak out emotionally on their
affirmative action decisions which make it harder for women and
minorities to sue for discrimination.
THE PRESIDENT: I'm not sure that I agree with your --
with the hypothesis of your question. As I said at a last press
conference -- formal press conference -- I was going to ask our
Attorney General and our General Counsel to look into this matter.
And I am strongly committed to equal opportunity for all Americans,
and I am advised that nothing in these decisions jeopardizes that
principle or calls into question affirmative action or minority
outreach efforts. This is the opinion of the Attorney General who I
understand will be speaking on this at 12:00 noon today.
The Justice Department has told me that the decision
reflects interpretation of the civil rights laws by the Court on
technical subjects, and we're talking about burdens of proof and
statutes of limitations. But that is the advice I am getting, and I
will certainly support the Attorney General.
Q All right. Constitutional scholars say, for
instance, that if a minority student faces racial harassment at
school -- a private school -- they are no longer covered. There are
some situations where people cannot sue for racial harassment, for
instance, and there are other sort of niggling things. But it's
really the question of your emotional response, because you jump out
of the box on the flag.
THE PRESIDENT: I've just given it to you. Affirmative
action, I've -- you know my position on that. Commitment to equal
opportunity -- I hope people know my commitment on that. But we're
getting into a technicality that neither you or I are competent to
discuss, and I am going -- you're going on the advice of who you call
legal scholars, and I'm going on the advice of the Attorney General
and a very fine General Counsel. So I think we have a difference on
the interpretation of what this means, and I've seen that some of the
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civil rights leaders disagree.
But I am committed. And if the
decisions actually turn out to hamper civil rights enforcement along
the lines you're talking about,
obviously I would want to take steps
to remedy the situation.
Q
But are you saying you won't support legislation --
THE PRESIDENT: This is your third question. Come on,
Leslye.
Q
I'm sorry.
THE PRESIDENT: Go ahead.
Q
Are you saying you won't support legislation that --
THE PRESIDENT: I'm saying that my advice from the
Attorney General is that legislation isn't necessary.
Q
Mr. President, you've expressed your strong feelings
again on the Supreme Court decision on the flag-burning. But the
Supreme Court is expected to make a decision this week on the
abortion issue, which is among the most emotional in the country.
And I wonder, going into that decision, if you view your role as a
healer after this decision, as simply to enforce the law. What is
your view, going into that decision as the President, and this very
important emotional issue?
THE PRESIDENT: It is an emotional issue, and I am firmly
positioned in favor of overturn of Roe V. Wade. And that's my
position, and I'm not going to change that position. But I don't
want to see the divisiveness that that whole issue causes split this
country. And yet, the decision is going to be -- I don't know what
they're going to decide. But my position on it is very clear.
Q During the campaign, you came out many times for a
constitutional amendment to balance the budget; yet, I'm curious why
now you've moved so quickly to call for a constitutional amendment
concerning flag-burning, which is solely a symbolic issue, and yet
you haven't moved at all on balancing the budget in terms of a
constitutional amendment which is substantive and which a lot of
people in this country think would accomplish a lot more for the
economy. Can you explain that?
THE PRESIDENT: Yes -- oh, easily. Let me take this
opportunity to make a clarion call for a balanced budget amendment.
(Laughter.) Absolutely. It has to be phased in, but I'd like to see
it.
Q Well, why do you have to be prompted to do that?
Why do you give such a high priority --
THE PRESIDENT: Because my position is so well known on
it, Owen.
Q Why do you give such a high priority to the issue of
flag-burning and you haven't said anything until now about a balanced
budget amendment?
THE PRESIDENT: I've said a lot about it all last year.
I thought you got tired of hearing it. (Laughter.) But I will
repeat it. But if you want to know -- I've got to confess, I do feel
viscerally about burning the American flag. And I don't -- and
therefore, I express it. And I feel viscerally about fiscal sanity,
also. But this decision just came down, and it is one that causes, I
think, the American people, and certainly this President, great
concern. And I think it can be remedied without doing violence to a
person's right to protest.
Q
Mr. President, you're going to Poland in a few
weeks, and I wonder -- a lot's happened since your Hamtramck speech.
We've had the free elections -- solidarity now may have a much bigger
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role in what happens in Poland. When you go, are you interested in
bringing some expanded debt relief, financial aid? Walesa has been
saying to the world that he really needs help now. Do you think you
are in a position to bring it?
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, I'm in a position to discuss it,
inasmuch as some of what I want to do will require legislation. That
will not have been completed. But I called Lloyd Bentsen, the
Chairman of the Finance Committee, to thank him over the weekend for
his stance in the Finance Committee in terms of support for Poland,
and so we will have a package that I'm not prepared to discuss now in
detail that I hope will help.
I know this will be a subject of great concern after the
visit to Poland in our economic summit meeting. But the problem is,
we would like very much to help Poland. I am very encouraged with
what's happened in Poland. But I want to be sure that when we do
offer the specifics and the specific plan to help Poland, that Poland
itself will have taken the steps necessary to have the money
well-spent. I don't want to just push money down the drain. So I
think along with what we can offer will have to come from their side
some reforms. And that, I want to talk to General Jarulzelski about,
and obviously Lech Walesa, and we'll see where we go.
Q
Let me follow on the Poland question. Both there
and in Hungary, you're entering countries that are in a transition
and in a very delicate situation politically, and vis-a-vis their own
allies. What cautions do you take and do you exercise going in there
so as not to be a negative catalyst?
THE PRESIDENT: I think being there is the significant
thing. It is important that the United States show its interest in
these countries that are undergoing change. You don't want to
overexhort, you don't want to overpromise. You don't want to rally
people to levels of political activity that might cause repression.
And so what I want to do is make clear where the United States stands
in terms of our respect for freedom, encourage reform as much as
possible, and then, back to David's question, offer some specifics
where we can help on the economy.
My views on differentiation have not changed over the
last few years. We will differentiate. We will support those that
move towards us -- economically, politically, and in terms of human
rights. And it's more on those general themes that I will be talking
to the Hungarian leaders and the Polish leaders.
Q
If I could follow, do you send any signal at the
same time to the Soviet Union, or have you had any communication to
them about the purposes of your visit?
THE PRESIDENT: No, but I would not expect them to be
uptight about it. Mr. Gorbachev goes to Western Europe and is
well-received; and I will go to Eastern Europe and I will be
well-received. And I think it was a good thing, his trip to Germany.
I've talked to Chancellor Kohl about it personally, and I don't get
all -- into some state of competition when I see Mr. Gorbachev get a
good, warm response in Germany.
The NATO Alliance is together. One of the things that
came out of the Brussels-NATO summit meeting was the fact that there
is strong unity there. And so it's a good thing for him to go to
Western Europe, and it's a good thing for the President of the United
States to go to Eastern Europe. And I want to see us move beyond
containment. I want to see a much more open Europe. And I think --
so that the importance of the visit is along that line, and it's not
going to be we're going to solve the problem of the Hungarian economy
or the Polish economy.
Q Let me ask another question about abortion and Roe
V. Wade. We may get that decision this week. As I understand your
position, you're for a constitutional amendment regardless of which
way the Supreme Court rules. Is that right?
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THE PRESIDENT: Yes of course.
Q
Is that right?
Now, if the Supreme Court strikes
down Roe V. Wade and sends this
back to the states, would it not be
less divisive to let the states decide this rather than go through
the whole long, tortuous process of constitutional amendment?
THE PRESIDENT: John, I'd hate to not respond to your
question. But the court is probably going to make a decision very
soon, and I would prefer to address myself to the question after the
court has decided.
Q
It is still your position, though, sir, that you
favor a constitutional amendment regardless?
THE PRESIDENT: My position on that abortion question has
not finished.
Q
Mr. President, you will soon be proposing some
campaign finance reforms. What is it about the current system of
campaign financing that makes you think some kind of broad reform is
required? And if broad reform is important, why not go ahead and go
all the way to public financing of campaigns or some kind of a limit
on overall spending on congressional campaigns.
THE PRESIDENT: I oppose public financing of these
campaigns. I think people should be able to attract private support,
and I think participation by individuals in the political process
through financially support is very, very important. I don't want to
see the eroding out of participation by Americans in the political
process. So I'm opposing -- I will oppose and have opposed -- the
public financing of all these campaigns. Now, there are proposals
that I am not prepared to discuss in detail, though I see others have
already started discussing what I might do on Thursday.
I will have specific proposals, but -- and I think
they'll be fairly far-reaching because I want to see reform -- real
reform -- and they'll be good proposals. But I'm not prepared to go
into what I am going to do now except to say I will not support
kicking the citizen out of the political process by saying that
citizen cannot financially support the candidate of his or her
choice.
Q
Well, if I could follow up, if the broad outlines of
what you are going to do as reported are correct, there are going to
be some accusations that they help Republicans more than Democrats.
How are you going to respond?
THE PRESIDENT: Why would anyone make a charge like that
against me when I'm looking at it as objectively as I can? Let's
wait until you see what it -- what the proposals are. I mean, I
would be outraged by a suggestion of that nature.
Q. You and Mr. Gorbachev are touring each other's
backyards in Europe. Now that you've finished your foreign policy
reviews with regard to the Soviet Union, have you moved any closer to
perhaps meeting with the General Secretary?
THE
PRESIDENT:
That
-- I wouldn't say closer. That
matter will be discussed again -- its having been discussed once by
the Secretary and Foreign Minister Shevardnadze. But I -- so I guess
I'd leave it right there. There will obviously at some point be a
meeting, but I would -- I still feel I'd like the meeting to be seen
as productive rather than just the meeting itself.
But let me say this -- I feel comfortable about the
wavelength we're on with the Soviet Union now, and I think they feel
comfortable in the sense that I think they know we want to move
forward with START. They know that we're prepared to move swiftly
forward with the conventional force -- rectifying the conventional
force imbalance. And, indeed, I got the feeling from talking to
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Chancellor Kohl that Mr. Gorbachev was not hung up on the timetable
that we set.
So we're coming closer on some of these broad-scale
objectives. And then there are some very nice, smaller things --
their help -- that Soviet ship helping with the cleanup, and our kids
from Brooke going over to help with the burn -- our specialized burn
unit -- really qualified people, the best in helping with burns going
to the Soviet Union. And then the outreach at the town of Yerevan.
So there are some atmospherics that I think are very,
very important and harmonious that will help when we sit down to
hammer out the details on the strategic arms talks or on these other
matters.
Q
Could I ask you -- to follow up -- to perhaps define
a little bit more what useful or progress would be in terms of a
meeting? Are you setting a precondition, as President Reagan did,
that you need something to sign, or is there --
THE PRESIDENT: No, I don't think it should be something
to sign, but I would like to think that the criterion -- the
governing criterion -- would be so that the world would see the
meeting as having been successful -- something good happening out of
it. And it doesn't have to be signing, necessarily, although I've
been around this track long enough to know that you can always whip
out something to sign -- a fishing agreement or something of this
nature. (Laughter.)
But -- so we could have that, but I'm not saying that we
-- that it should be hung up on a major treaty of some sort before I
would sit down with Mr. Gorbachev. Maybe we'll do it like this --
say hey, let's get together. And I'm interested in what he thinks
about it. And we've had some communication back and forth, but all I
want to say is, I think the relationship is going in the right
general direction, albeit we have tremendous differences with the
Soviet Union, still. And I still have -- guided by a certain sense
of caution.
Q
Mr. President, you made much during the campaign and
after your election of your relationship with China's leaders, and
yet, for the past several weeks you've been unable to contact them.
And China appears to have ignored our calls for clemency and for
dialogue. sir, do you not think the relationship was oversold?
THE PRESIDENT: No, I don't think it was oversold.
Q⁻
Then tell us what benefit we've gained from it.
THE PRESIDENT: What we've gained is, China has a much
more open economic system than when the Shanghai communique was
signed quite a few years ago. What we've gained is 30,000 students
right this minute, I think the figure is, studying in the United
States -- Chinese kids that are going back there with a sense of what
freedom and democracy is all about. What we have gained is, helping
China move out of a period of cultural revolution isolation. And
this relationship is important, and I can continue to express my
outrage about what happened in Tiananmen Square, and I will. But I
am determined to do my level best to keep from injuring the very
people that we're trying to help. And I'm talking about the Chinese
people generally.
So we've gained a lot from this relationship, and so have
they, and I still think that it is in the strategic interests of the
United States -- I'm not talking about the old adage of playing the
China card or something of that nature -- playing the Soviet card.
But if you look at the world and you understand the dynamics of the
Pacific area, good relationships with China are in the national
interest of the United States. Now it's hard to have them. It's
impossible at this moment to have what I would say "normalized
relations" for very obvious reasons. But I am going to do my level
best to find a way to see improvement there that will help the
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Chinese people.
Q
If I could follow, sir, it's the personal
relationship with China's leaders that I'm speaking of. I'm looking
for the benefit when you cannot even complete a phone call to Deng
Xiaoping. I'm wondering if the personal --
THE PRESIDENT: The benefit is, I understand the
situation. That's the benefit. And leaders are changing all the
time over there. So -- I mean, recently. So we've got to deal with
who is there. We don't dictate to China about their leaders. We
express our concerns as other leaders have.
But let me be very clear: In my view, the United States
has been out front. We've been out front on the steps we've taken,
and I am very pleased that there has been broad support for the
position I've taken.
And I heard it just today from the Prime Minister of
Australia, one of the most knowledgeable men about China. The
Australians, you see, have always had a -- they've been a little
out-front. They've had relations before we did, and they have a
rather almost a unique standing in China. They've done a lot of
business with China. They've worked -- they've had a lot of
exchanges with China. Bob Hawke feels that he knows most of the
Chinese leaders -- the ones that we had been dealing with. And to
hear him say -- be as supportive as he was today was very reassuring
to me.
Q Mr. President, how concerned are you that the
retreat -- the political retreat that we've seen in China in recent
weeks could be duplicated in the Soviet Union?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I did not predict what would happen
in Tiananmen Square, and I don't know of any China expert -- scholar
or otherwise -- who predicted that. And I guess the lesson is, go
forward as best you can, keep your eyes open, hold high the banner of
values that we believe in -- the United States. We have a special
responsibility around the world in terms of human rights and
democracy, freedom. But keep your eyes open. That's what I've
learned from this.
Q
Have you had any communcations with Secretary
Gorbachev on the situation in China?
THE PRESIDENT: Not on China. Maybe others in the
administration -- not Gorbachev personally, but I followed carefully
the statements out of there, and obviously the Soviet Union has tried
to, with Gorbachev's visit to China, tried to improve relations. But
I think that's on a little bit of a hold, although maybe they're more
accommodating than we are right now.
Q
Mr. President, women's groups have been very
pleasantly surprised and saluting you for your statements yesterday
about violent crimes against women and spousal abuse. And a couple
have asked the question whether you will be willing to take that
message to men's groups -- ones that -- those macho groups, such as
the NRA, the American Legion, the Police Chiefs of America, and ask
them to get the word out to stop beating their wives and stop beating
-- the generic "they," not specific.
THE PRESIDENT: Hey, listen, I'm a member of the NRA.
You're hurting my feelings, as they say in China.
Q
And the question is whether you will take the
message to men's groups instead of to the American Association of
University Women.
THE PRESIDENT: Jessica, I hope that the message that --
because of the line of work you all are engaged in, I hope that
message got to every group. But I don't want to single out or
acquiesce in the hypothesis here and say that NRA is against women or
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-- or, who were the other groups you singled out? Come on, Jessie.
Q
No, no, no, but you spoke --
THE PRESIDENT: Come on, Jessie.
Q
But you talked about it to women who are very well
aware of the problem. Your staffers here say they move their cars
closer to the White House after dark and have someone walk out with
them. So women know about the problem. My question is whether you
will go and take the message to the men's group and ask their help in
eradicating the problem.
THE PRESIDENT: I'm trying to take the message to the
whole country. That's what our whole crime package is about --
absolutely -- anybody that wants to listen.
Q
Now, you said also that you wanted --
THE PRESIDENT: This is the follow-up. Yes.
Q
Please -- that you want to be sure that your seven
granddaughters have the same opportunities that your pride and joy
George P. has. George P. is the one whom you take on fishing trips,
and to the back rooms with the boys, and to the research camps at the
University of Nebraska and things like that. I wonder if you're
planning to take some of the granddaughters on some of these kinds of
excursions where you're doing the business of the nation to prepare
them to be president.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes. When they get older than about
three -- (laughter) -- I will do that. Because, now -- I know, now,
don't you say it, I'll say it. Jenna and Barbara are about seven,
but that's a Iittle young to go fishing at Jackson Hole with their
grandfather and put up with Marlin Fitzwater and all these people.
(Laughter.) I mean, I want them prepared for the real world. I'm
serious -- I want them prepared, and I look forward to the day that
those -- they're the -- Noelle, who is just a couple years behind
George P., she came up here. We had her with us and she brought her
cousin and we had a wonderful time, and I want her to come back;
indeed, they'll be with us this summer.
So -- but, no, you raise a good point. And it isn't --
my affection for our oldest grandson is just that he's there and he's
ready and he plays ball and he does stuff and we're going to the
Orioles game tomorrow, I think it is. (Laughter.) And so -- but it
is not discriminatory. It is not discriminatory.
Q
The secret's out.
Q
Yes.
Q
Mr. President, if I could ask one last question.
THE PRESIDENT: Oh, wasn't I not supposed to say that?
(Laughter.) What, about the ballgame? (Laughter.) Come on.
Q
If I could ask one last question on the HUD scandal.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes.
Q
I think that many people would think it's unfair to
hold you responsible when you were Vice President for the things that
were going on at HUD. But some of the people who have been
implicated in this scandal are very close to you. I'm thinking of
Frederick Bush, who was your chief fundraiser in the campaign and
Paul Manafort, who was an adviser to your campaign and a partner of
Lee Atwater, your campaign manager. Have you made any effort to find
out exactly what these people who are close to you were doing with
HUD, or to express your views of it to them? Have you made any
efforts in those regards?
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10 -
THE PRESIDENT: I'm not singling out any -- you know,
going -- say, look for people that I know that may have done business
with HUD in the past. What I'm trying to do is, do it generically.
Say, to the degree there was any breaking of the law, obviously the
people should pay whatever the price is. To the degree, we can guard
against any abuse for the future, I want to go the extra mile to do
that.
And one of the first things I did as President -- unnoted
though it was -- was to meet with the Inspectors General in here and
encourage them towards independence and thorough investigation. And
so that's the way I'm trying to handle that matter.
Q
And to follow up, does this affect your relationship
with these people -- to know that they were involved, apparently, in
influenced-peddling?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, it doesn't improve things. But on
the other hand, I want to be fair. I want to be sure that I don't
jump at conclusions as to what guilt is and what it isn't -- whether
the law is broken or were people just out there doing what was
permitted. I want to have the standard higher, though. Even if it's
permitted, I want to have the highest possible standard. But I
haven't put it on that kind of a personal basis yet.
Q Mr. President, the Senate has just a passed a child
care bill that would spend almost $9 billion in federal funds for
child care.
THE PRESIDENT: I know it.
Q
Your spokesman says that bill is a candidate for a
veto. Do you intend to veto that bill, and what are your objections?
THE PRESIDENT: I want to see what comes down here. But
if there was one thing that was clear -- you've got to be careful of
these gestures, the way these -- Rich Little and these guys
(laughter.) But if there was one thing that was clear, it was my
position on child care -- maximum choice through credits. And the
ABC bill does not fit what I think is the proper description for
child care. And to then -- for me to take the back seat and say I'm
less concerned about child care because I'm unenthusiastic about the
ABC bill, I don't accept that at all.
So I remain convinced that what I have proposed is the
right way to go about it. I would like to see what comes down here
before I make further statements about what action I will take or
won't take. I want to know the final piece of legislation that hits
this desk.
Q
But you would veto the bill as it stands now.
THE PRESIDENT: I've made my position clear on the ABC
bill.
Q
You say you don't want to prejudge Secretary Pierce,
but doesn't the evidence of mismanagement and influence-peddling make
it evident to you that there were major problèms there at the very
top?
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, yes.
Q
And what can be done about that?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, that's what the process that --
what the Secretary is trying to do right now -- is to make guarantees
and put out regulations to see that these kinds of abuses -- a woman
sitting in Maryland ripping off $5 million from the American
taxpayers, that's wrong. And I expect that's in the courts, I don't
know. That's where it should be in my view.
Yes, Frank. Then I've got to go. We've got Bob Hawke
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- 11 -
appearing, about whom I spoke highly because of his support for our
policies.
Q
On the rescinding of the pay raise, you said that
action was necessary for judges and top federal officials. It's been
some time now. I'd like to ask what you're doing about that and when
you plan to propose some action? People are still quitting.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I know it, and I want to see that
remedied. I still would like to see the separation of consideration
for judges and other key Executive Branch posts -- I'm thinking of
some of the researchers in the NIH and people of this nature. And I
want to see it separated out so it doesn't get caught on the question
of congressional pay.
Now, whether the Congress is willing to do what I've
suggested, I don't know. But I will have suggestions when we make
our announcements, I think, Thursday -- further announcements along
this line -- as to what I think needs to be done. And I am not
trying to dictate to the Legislative Branch, but I am going to have
to make some recommendations -- and maybe I can do that as a former
Member of Congress who is concerned -- about what the Legislative
Branch ought to do. This is a matter of considerable concern.
This is the last, and then one behind you. And then I've
got to go, because Bob Hawke is appearing.
Q
Mr. President, are you --
THE PRESIDENT: Next time, Sarah. I'm sorry. I've got
half -- I've got two-thirds back there. Yes?
Q
Your suggestions will be specific pay -- proposals,
and will they take the form of a proposed legislative bill?
THE PRESIDENT: Excuse me?
Q Will your suggestions, when you mentioned them on
Thursday, be specific as to salary increases, and will they take the
form of a bill?
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, I think we will have specifics on
the -- I haven't gone over this with the final recommendations
internally, although I'm reading now what I've decided. (Laughter.)
And -- very clear. But there will be some specific recommendations
with amounts.
Q
Mr. President, a lot of Americans this summer are
talking about Pete Rose. And I wondered, without prejudging his
case, what you think about betting on baseball and whether you think
that that should be reviewed by the courts or the commissioner of
baseball?
THE PRESIDENT: I am not going to get into how that
matter should be resolved. Baseball -- a national pastime -- has
sound rules regarding betting on baseball games, and I simply am
going to -- I'm not going to get into that one.
Q
Mr. President, are you concerned that a
deterioration in the U.S. relations with China would disrupt the
strategic balance between the U.S. and the Soviet Union? And is that
of overriding importance in your reaction to events there?
THE PRESIDENT: It is a matter that, as you look at the
whole Pacific area, you have to consider that. I have never been one
who thinks that the relationship with China ought to be based on
playing the Soviet card, or, "playing the China card." But -- and it
is not -- I will not overlook fundamental abuse of the human rights
because of a strategic concern. But of course when you look at all
your relationships, a President must be concerned about the strategic
importance of the relationships. And not only is our relationship
with China of strategic importance, it has this whole cultural and
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-
12 -
educational and art, and hopefully someday human rights side of it.
So you look at it in what is right between China and the
United States, but of course, I'm concerned about the strategic
implications. And it's not just the strategic implications vis-a-vis
the Soviet Union. Take a look at what Deng Xiaoping used to call
encirclement, and look at what he means. Just take a look at China
on the map and you'll understand why the Chinese leaders still, as
recently as three months ago, talked about encirclement. And that
gets you into the questions of the ASEAN countries, it gets you into
the question of what's happening in Cambodia today. It gets you into
the question, of obviously, then, Vietnam, the Korean peninsula. And
there's a lot.of strategic interests involved here.
Q Sir -- why don't you do something about it? Why
don't you let me have a question, then? (Laughter.)
THE PRESIDENT: A real short one, and I'll go.
Q All right. When you went out to see Claude Pepper
and he was dying, he rose up and said, Mr. President, when are we
going to get home health care? And you looked at him and you wanted
to cooperate with him, and I'm sure you are anxious to do something
about that. Will you tell us if you're going to do something about
it?
THE PRESIDENT: Regrettably, we can't go the route that
the late Claude Pepper wanted, but I hope we can have more emphasis
on care at home, and I think that would be a very good way to
approach the health care needs of this country.
Q
Thank you, sir.
THE PRESIDENT: But we can't go totally with what Claude
was suggesting.
Q
You didn't explain why you went the constitutional
route instead of legislative on flag-burning.
THE PRESIDENT: Because I am told that legislation cannot
correct the, in my view, egregious offense -- burning the American
flag.
Q
How about the death penalty for teenagers and the
retarded?
THE PRESIDENT: I really do have to go.
THE PRESS: Thank you.
END
9:45 A.M. EDT
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
June 30, 1989
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
FOR A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
TO PROTECT THE FLAG
The Iwo Jima Memorial
Washington, D.C.
9:23 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Senator Bob Dole, thank you, sir.
(Applause.) Thank you all very, very much. Once again, my thanks to
the magnificent Marine Band. Senator Dole, thank you, sir, and
Senator Dixon -- appreciate your coming all this way to join us on
such short notice. To Congressmen Michel, and Montgomery, my sincere
thanks, and all the Members of the Senate and House that are here.
Secretary of Defense and other distinguished civilians, the Defense
Department, and of course, I salute the members of the Joint Chiefs
who have joined us here. I might say I'm delighted to see Admiral
Crowe back from his very successful visit to the Soviet Union.
Welcome back to the U.S. of A., Bill. (Applause.)
And also our fellow citizens -- citizens of this, the
freest, most generous nation on God's Earth. Thank you for joining
us.
And we stand today before a symbol of hope -- and of
triumph. All across America -- above farmhouses and statehouses,
schools and courts and capitals -- our flag is borne on the breeze of
freedom.
And it reminds Americans how much they've been given --
and how much they have to give. Our flag represents freedom, and the
unity of our nation. And our flag flies in peace, thanks to the
sacrifices of so many Americans.
A woman in Florida recently shared with me a letter
written by her cousin, a young soldier named Wayne Thomas. On
December 16, 1966, he wrote, "Every time we go out on patrol, it gets
a little scarier. The only thing that gives us a sense of security
is when we walk back into camp and our flag is still flying high."
She told me that Wayne stepped on a land mine eleven days
later, and was killed. He was 18 years old. He understood this
banner of freedom -- and ultimately gave his life for the flag -- to
give others the freedom that it represents.
You know, she also pointed out to me, parenthetically,
that she was a registered Democrat. And to me, that simply states
that patriotism is not a partisan issue -- it's not a political issue
-- (applause) -- our purpose today transcends politics and
partisanship.
And we feel in our hearts -- and know from experience --
that the surest way to preserve liberty is to protect the spirit that
sustains it. And this flag sustains that spirit. And it's one of
our most powerful ideas. And like all powerful ideas, if it is not
defended, it is defamed.
To the touch, this flag is merely fabric. But to the
heart, the flag represents and reflects the fabric of our nation --
our dreams, our destiny -- our very fiber as a people.
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- 2 -
And when we consider the importance of the Colors to this
nation, we do not question the right of men to speak freely. For it
is this very symbol, with its stripes and stars, that has guaranteed
and nurtured those precious rights -- for those who've championed the
cause of civil rights here at home, to those who fought for democracy
abroad.
Free speech is a right that is dear and close to all. It
is in defense of that right -- and the others enshrined in our
Constitution -- that so many have sacrificed.
But before we accept dishonor to our flag, we must ask
ourselves how many have died following the order to "Save the
Colors!" We must ask how many have fought for the ideals it
represents. And we must honor those who have been handed the folded
flag from the casket at Arlington.
If the debate here is about liberty, then we cannot turn
our backs on those who fought to win it for us. We can't forget the
importance of the flag to the ideals of liberty and honor and
freedom. To burn the flag, to dishonor it, is simply wrong.
(Applause.)
And today, we remember one of the most vivid images of
our flag the one you see behind me -- Joe Rosenthal's stunning
photograph immortalized in bronze.
As you view this memorial, think of its flag, and of
these men and of how they honor the living, and the dead. Remember
their heroism, and their sacrifice -- giving of themselves, and
others of their lives. Fighting bravely -- daring greatly -- so that
freedom could survive.
The Battle of Iwo Jima wrote one of the greatest chapters
in the story of America. And even now, it humbles us. Inspires us.
Reminds us of how Henry Ward Beecher said: "A thoughtful mind, when
it sees a nation's flag, sees not the flag only, but the nation
itself."
The nation itself was ennobled by the Battle of Iwo Jima.
It was fought in early 1945 -- fought on eight square miles of sand,
caves, and volcanic rubble. And it cost our Armed Forces almost
7,000 killed, and more than 19,000 wounded -- almost a third of the
landing force. But -- like Tarawa and Guadalcanal, and the
Philippines before -- it had to be won. For victory at Iwo would be
yet another step towards bringing that ghastly war to a close.
These Marines wrote a profile in courage. Enduring a
torrent of shells -- pushing their way up that extinct volcano -- and
they stormed Mount Suribachi. And when they reached the top, the
five men behind me raised a piece of pipe upright, and from one end
flew a flag. And in the most famous image of World War II, a
photograph was taken of these men. And that flag. And what that
flag embodies is too sacred to be abused. (Applause.)
As Justice Stevens stated so eloquently in his dissenting
opinion in the recent Supreme Court case, "The ideas of liberty and
equality have been an irresistible force in motivating leaders like
Patrick Henry, Susan B. Anthony, and Abraham Lincoln, schoolteachers
like Nathan Hale and Booker T. Washington, the Philippine Scouts who
fought at Bataan, and the soldiers who scaled the bluff ot Omaha
Beach. If those ideas are worth fighting for -- and our history
demonstrates that they are -- it cannot be true, he says, that the
flag that uniquely symbolizes their power is not itself worthy of
protection from unnecessary desecration." The Justice is right.
(Applause.)
And today, I am grateful to the leaders here and the
leaders of the Congress with us in this audience who have proposed a
Constitutional Amendment to protect the flag. Its language is stark,
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- 3 -
and it's simple, and to the point: "The Congress and the States
shall have power to prohibit the physical desecration of the Flag of
the United States." Simple, and to the point. This Amendment
preserves the widest conceivable range of options for free
expression. It applies only to the flag -- the unique symbol of our
nation.
Senator Dole, Senator Dixon, Congressmen Michel, and
Montgomery -- I know that you have already taken the lead, but please
take the lead, working with others here today in moving this bill
forward. With the help of you Members of the Senate and House here
today -- and with the help of the many more of your colleagues who
couldn't be with us today -- I am confident that we will succeed.
I've seen predictions that this will take a long time. It need not.
It is simple, to the point, direct, and it addresses itself to only
one thing -- our flag will not be desecrated. (Applause.)
Let me close with a letter from a man named Augusto
Moreno. Born in Argentina -- now a naturalized citizen -- he likes
to say that he's more proud to be an American than most of those born
in this country. I'm not sure he's right about that, but that's what
he likes to say, anyway. He's very serious when he states, "I am
proud to say that my blood is represented on our flag. I was wounded
while fighting for democracy with the United States Marine Corps in
Vietnam. I am now a disabled veteran. I am sure that there is not
one day that goes by without you seeing the faces of those who were
not so fortunate to return as you and I."
And he says, "We must continue our struggle to protect
the flag now, as when we were in uniform -- if not for us, then for
those fallen veterans. We've been entrusted by those who have fought
for freedom before us to protect our flag. I cannot allow anyone to
desecrate the only symbol of freedom in the world."
And he ends saying, "Sir, I realize that you're a Navy
veteran -- but Semper Fi anyway." (Laughter.) Those darn Marines,
I'll tell you.
Well, Mr. Moreno, you have our word on it -- for the sake
of the fallen -- for the men behind the guns -- for every American --
we will defend the flag of the United States of America.
Than you. God bless this flag. And God bless the United
States of America.
END
9:35 A.M. EDT
REMARKS:
A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
TO PROTECT THE FLAG
IWO JIMA MEMORIAL
FRIDAY, JUNE 30, 1989
9:30 A.M.
THANK YOU, SENATOR DOLE. FELLOW AMERICANS:
CITIZENS IN THE FREEST, MOST GENEROUS, MOST PROSPEROUS
NATION ON GOD'S EARTH.
WE STAND TODAY BEFORE A SYMBOL OF HOPE -- AND OF
TRIUMPH.
- 2 -
ALL ACROSS AMERICA -- ABOVE FARMHOUSES AND STATEHOUSES,
SCHOOLS AND COURTS AND CAPITOLS -- OUR FLAG IS BORNE ON
THE BREEZE OF FREEDOM.
IT REMINDS AMERICANS HOW MUCH THEY'VE BEEN GIVEN --
AND HOW MUCH THEY HAVE TO GIVE. OUR FLAG REPRESENTS
FREEDOM, AND THE UNITY OF OUR NATION. AND OUR FLAG
FLIES IN PEACE, THANKS TO THE SACRIFICE OF so MANY
AMERICANS.
- 3 -
A WOMAN IN FLORIDA RECENTLY SHARED WITH ME A LETTER
WRITTEN BY HER COUSIN, A YOUNG SOLDIER NAMED WAYNE
THOMAS. ON DECEMBER 16, 1966, HE WROTE, "EVERY TIME WE
GO OUT ON PATROL, IT GETS A LITTLE SCARIER. THE ONLY
THING THAT GIVES US A SENSE OF SECURITY IS WHEN WE WALK
BACK INTO CAMP AND OUR FLAG IS STILL FLYING HIGH."
SHE TOLD ME THAT WAYNE STEPPED ON A LAND MINE
ELEVEN DAYS LATER, AND WAS KILLED. HE WAS EIGHTEEN
YEARS OLD.
- 4 -
HE UNDERSTOOD THIS BANNER OF FREEDOM -- AND ULTIMATELY
GAVE HIS LIFE FOR THIS FLAG -- TO GIVE OTHERS THE
FREEDOMS IT REPRESENTS.
You KNOW, SHE ALSO POINTED OUT TO ME THAT SHE WAS A
REGISTERED DEMOCRAT. AND TO ME, THAT SIMPLY
ILLUSTRATES THAT PATRIOTISM... IS NOT A POLITICAL
ISSUE. AND IT IS NOT A PARTISAN ISSUE -- JUST AS OUR
PURPOSE TODAY TRANSCENDS POLITICS AND PARTISANSHIP.
- 5 -
WE FEEL IN OUR HEARTS -- AND KNOW FROM
EXPERIENCE -- THAT THE SUREST WAY TO PRESERVE LIBERTY
IS TO PROTECT THE SPIRIT THAT SUSTAINS IT. THIS FLAG
SUSTAINS THAT SPIRIT. IT IS ONE OF OUR MOST POWERFUL
IDEAS. AND LIKE ALL POWERFUL IDEAS, IF IT IS NOT
DEFENDED, IT IS DEFAMED.
- 6 -
To THE TOUCH, THIS FLAG IS MERELY FABRIC. BUT TO
THE HEART, THIS FLAG REFLECTS THE FABRIC OF OUR
NATION -- OUR DREAMS, AND OUR DESTINY -- OUR VERY FIBER
AS A PEOPLE.
WHEN WE CONSIDER THE IMPORTANCE OF THE COLORS TO
THIS NATION, WE DO NOT QUESTION THE RIGHT OF MEN TO
SPEAK FREELY.
- 7 -
FOR IT IS THIS VERY SYMBOL, WITH ITS STRIPES AND STARS,
THAT HAS GUARANTEED AND NURTURED THOSE PRECIOUS
RIGHTS -- FOR THOSE WHO'VE CHAMPIONED THE CAUSE OF
CIVIL RIGHTS HERE AT HOME, TO THOSE WHO FOUGHT FOR
DEMOCRACY ABROAD.
FREE SPEECH IS A RIGHT THAT IS DEAR AND CLOSE TO US
ALL. IT IS IN DEFENSE OF THAT RIGHT -- AND THE OTHERS
ENSHRINED IN THIS NATION'S CONSTITUTION -- THAT so MANY
HAVE SACRIFICED.
- 8 -
BUT BEFORE WE ACCEPT DISHONOR TO OUR FLAG, WE MUST
ASK OURSELVES HOW MANY HAVE DIED FOLLOWING THE ORDER TO
"SAVE THE COLORS!" WE MUST ASK HOW MANY HAVE FOUGHT
FOR THE IDEALS IT REPRESENTS. AND WE MUST HONOR THOSE
WHO HAVE BEEN HANDED THE FOLDED FLAG FROM THE CASKET AT
ARLINGTON.
IF THE DEBATE HERE IS ABOUT LIBERTY, THEN WE CANNOT
TURN OUR BACKS ON THOSE WHO FOUGHT TO WIN IT FOR US.
- 9 -
WE CANNOT FORGET THE IMPORTANCE OF THE FLAG, TO THE
IDEALS OF LIBERTY, AND HONOR, AND FREEDOM. To BURN THE
FLAG, OR TO DISHONOR IT, IS WRONG.
TODAY, WE REMEMBER ONE OF THE MOST VIVID IMAGES OF
OUR FLAG -- THE ONE YOU SEE BEHIND ME -- JOE
ROSENTHAL'S STUNNING PHOTOGRAPH IMMORTALIZED IN BRONZE.
As YOU VIEW THIS MEMORIAL, THINK OF ITS FLAG, AND
OF THESE MEN. AND OF HOW THEY HONOR THE LIVING, AND
THE DEAD.
- 10 -
REMEMBER THEIR HEROISM, AND THEIR SACRIFICE -- GIVING
OF THEMSELVES, AND OTHERS OF THEIR LIVES. FIGHTING
BRAVELY -- DARING GREATLY -- so THAT FREEDOM COULD
SURVIVE.
THE BATTLE OF Iwo JIMA WROTE ONE OF THE GREATEST
CHAPTERS IN THE STORY OF AMERICA. EVEN NOW, IT HUMBLES
US. INSPIRES US. REMINDS US OF HOW HENRY WARD BEECHER
SAID: "A THOUGHTFUL MIND, WHEN IT SEES A NATION'S
FLAG, SEES NOT THE FLAG ONLY, BUT THE NATION ITSELF."
- 11 -
MY FELLOW AMERICANS, THE NATION ITSELF WAS ENNOBLED
BY THE BATTLE OF Iwo JIMA. IT WAS FOUGHT IN EARLY 1945
-- FOUGHT ON EIGHT SQUARE MILES OF SAND, CAVES, AND
VOLCANIC RUBBLE. AND IT COST OUR ARMED FORCES ALMOST
7,000 KILLED AND MORE THAN 19,000 WOUNDED -- ALMOST A
THIRD OF THE LANDING FORCE. BUT -- LIKE TARAWA,
GUADALCANAL, AND THE PHILIPPINES BEFORE -- IT HAD TO BE
WON. FOR VICTORY AT Iwo WOULD BE YET ANOTHER STEP
TOWARD BRINGING THE WAR TO A CLOSE.
- 12 -
THESE MARINES WROTE A PROFILE IN COURAGE.
ENDURING A TORRENT OF SHELLS -- PUSHING THEIR WAY UP
THE EXTINCT VOLCANO -- THEY STORMED MOUNT SURIBACHI.
WHEN THEY REACHED THE TOP, THE FIVE MEN BEHIND ME
RAISED A PEACE OF PIPE UPRIGHT, AND FROM ONE END FLEW A
FLAG. AND IN THE MOST FAMOUS IMAGE OF WORLD WAR II, A
PHOTOGRAPH WAS TAKEN OF THESE MEN. AND THAT FLAG. WHAT
THIS FLAG EMBODIES IS TOO SACRED TO BE ABUSED.
- 13 -
As JUSTICE STEVENS STATED SO ELOQUENTLY IN HIS
DISSENTING OPINION IN THE RECENT SUPREME COURT CASE,
"THE IDEAS OF LIBERTY AND EQUALITY HAVE BEEN AN
IRRESISTIBLE FORCE IN MOTIVATING LEADERS LIKE PATRICK
HENRY, SUSAN B. ANTHONY, AND ABRAHAM LINCOLN,
SCHOOLTEACHERS LIKE NATHAN HALE, BOOKER T. WASHINGTON,
THE PHILIPPINE SCOUTS WHO FOUGHT AT BATAAN, AND THE
SOLDIERS WHO SCALED THE BLUFF AT OMAHA BEACH.
- 14 -
IF THOSE IDEAS ARE WORTH FIGHTING FOR -- AND OUR
HISTORY DEMONSTRATES THAT THEY ARE -- IT CANNOT BE TRUE
THAT THE FLAG THAT UNIQUELY SYMBOLIZES THEIR POWER IS
NOT ITSELF WORTHY OF PROTECTION FROM UNNECESSARY
DESECRATION."
TODAY WE PROPOSE A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT, TO
PROTECT THE FLAG. ITS LANGUAGE IS SIMPLE, AND TO THE
POINT:
- 15 -
"THE CONGRESS AND THE STATES SHALL HAVE POWER TO
PROHIBIT THE PHYSICAL DESECRATION OF THE FLAG OF THE
UNITED STATES." SIMPLE, AND TO THE POINT. THIS
AMENDMENT PRESERVES THE WIDEST CONCEIVABLE RANGE OF
OPTIONS FOR FREE EXPRESSION. IT APPLIES ONLY TO THE
FLAG -- THE UNIQUE SYMBOL OF OUR NATION.
SENATOR DOLE, SENATOR DIXON, CONGRESSMEN MICHEL,
AND MONTGOMERY -- I KNOW THAT YOU WILL TAKE THE LEAD IN
MOVING THIS BILL FORWARD.
- 16 -
AND WITH THE HELP OF YOU MEMBERS OF THE SENATE AND
HOUSE HERE TODAY -- AND WITH THE HELP OF MANY MORE OF
YOUR COLLEAGUES -- I'M CONFIDENT WE WILL SUCCEED.
LET ME CLOSE WITH A LETTER FROM A MAN NAMED AUGUSTO
MORENO. BORN IN ARGENTINA -- NOW A NATURALIZED CITIZEN
-- HE LIKES TO SAY THAT HE'S MORE PROUD TO BE AN
AMERICAN THAN MOST OF THOSE BORN IN THIS COUNTRY.
- 17 -
BUT HE'S VERY SERIOUS, WHEN HE STATES, "I AM PROUD TO
SAY THAT MY BLOOD IS REPRESENTED ON OUR FLAG. I WAS
WOUNDED WHILE FIGHTING FOR DEMOCRACY WITH THE UNITED
STATES MARINE CORPS IN VIETNAM. I AM NOW A DISABLED
VETERAN. I AM SURE THAT THERE IS NOT ONE DAY THAT GOES
BY WITHOUT YOU SEEING THE FACES OF THOSE WHO WERE NOT
SO FORTUNATE TO RETURN AS YOU AND I."
- 18 -
HE SAYS, "WE MUST CONTINUE OUR STRUGGLE TO PROTECT
THE FLAG NOW, AS WHEN WE WERE IN UNIFORM -- IF NOT FOR
US, THEN FOR THOSE FALLEN VETERANS. WE HAVE BEEN
ENTRUSTED BY THOSE WHO HAVE FOUGHT FOR OUR FREEDOM
BEFORE US, To PROTECT OUR FLAG. I CANNOT ALLOW ANYONE
TO DESECRATE THE ONLY SYMBOL OF FREEDOM IN THE WORLD."
HE ENDS SAYING, "SIR, I REALIZE THAT YOU ARE A NAVY
VETERAN -- BUT SEMPER FI ANYWAY."
- 19 -
MR. MORENO, YOU HAVE OUR WORD ON IT: FOR THE SAKE
OF THE FALLEN -- FOR THE MEN BEHIND THE GUNS -- FOR
EVERY AMERICAN --
WE WILL DEFEND THE FLAG.
THANK YOU. GOD BLESS THIS FLAG. AND GOD BLESS THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
###
THE WHITE HOUSE
washington
This amendment preserves the widest
conceivable range of options for
free expression. It applies only to
the flag-- the unique symbol of our
Nation.
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"Immortal patriots, rise once more!
Defend your rights, defend your shore.
Let no rude foe with impious hand,
Invade the shore where sacred lies
of toil and blood, the well-earned prize
Let its altar reach the skies. "