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National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) Dinner 12/5/89 [OA 6342]
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National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) Dinner 12/5/89 [OA 6342]
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George H.W. Bush Presidential Records
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Speech File Backup Files
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National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) Dinner 12/5/89 [OA 6342]
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26
19
5
3
NATIONAL REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE DINNER
THE MARRIOTT HOTEL / DECEMBER 5, 1989 / 6:35 PM
THANK YOU. THIS IS QUITE A GATHERING OF GOP ALL-
STARS. NRCC CHAIRMAN, CONGRESSMAN Guy VAN DER JAGT,
AND HIS CO-CHAIRMAN, ED ROLLINS. MEMBERS OF MY CABINET
AND OUR HOUSE LEADERSHIP. LET ME ALSO THANK THE NRCC
FAITHFUL. AND FINALLY, LET ME RECOGNIZE TONIGHT'S MAN
OF HONOR, FORMER CHAIRMAN OF THE NRCC -- REPUBLICAN
LEADER BoB MICHEL.
- 2 -
I'M PROUD TO SAY I SERVED WITH BoB UP ON THE
HILL -- SEEN HIM IN ACTION. FEW CAN MATCH THIS MAN'S
WISDOM WHEN IT COMES TO THE WAYS OF CONGRESS. As THE
REPUBLICAN LEADER IN THE HOUSE, BOB'S A KEY PLAYER IN
MOVING THIS ADMINISTRATION'S LEGISLATIVE AGENDA FORWARD
-- AND HE'S GOING TO BE A KEY ALLY WHEN CONGRESS COMES
BACK NEXT MONTH.
- 3 -
HE'S SIMPLY ONE OF THE MOST RESPECTED MEN ON
CAPITOL HILL. /// AND -- AS ANYONE KNOWS WHO
WITNESSED THE FASHION STATEMENT BoB MADE AT THIS YEAR'S
PRESIDENT'S DINNER -- HE'S A SHOO-IN FOR THE HILL'S
BEST DRESSED LIST. ///
It's MY PLEASURE TO BE HERE TONIGHT. As YOU ALL
KNOW, I GOT BACK HOME LESS THAN 24 HOURS AGO FROM
BRUSSELS -- AND FROM MY MEETINGS WITH MIKHAIL
GORBACHEV.
- 4 -
I'D LIKE TO REPORT TO YOU WHAT WE ACCOMPLISHED IN MALTA
-- AND WE ACCOMPLISHED A GREAT DEAL.
FIRST, LET ME SAY THIS ABOUT THE ATMOSPHERE IN OUR
MEETINGS. WHATEVER THE WEATHER, THERE WERE NO STORMY
SESSIONS INSIDE. WE WERE BOTH STRAIGHTFORWARD -- AND I
THINK WE ESTABLISHED GOOD LINES OF COMMUNICATION. I
MADE IT VERY CLEAR TO PRESIDENT GORBACHEV THAT AMERICA
DOES NOT SEEK TO EXPLOIT EVENTS IN EASTERN EUROPE --
BUT ONLY TO ASSIST THE FORCES OF FREEDOM AND REFORM
EMERGING THERE.
- 5 -
AND I WAS UP-FRONT WITH PRESIDENT GORBACHEV ON CENTRAL
AMERICA, AND THE DESTABILIZING FLOW OF ARMS INTO THAT
REGION FROM NATIONS RECEIVING SOVIET SUPPORT. BOTH OF
US AGREED THAT WE DON'T HAVE To SACRIFICE CANDOR IN
ORDER TO BUILD A BETTER RELATIONSHIP.
BUT THERE IS NO QUESTION THAT WE MADE REAL PROGRESS
AT MALTA -- PROGRESS THAT STRENGTHENS THE PEACE, AND
PROVIDES A SOLID BASE FOR FUTURE ADVANCES.
- 6 -
WE AGREED TO ACCELERATE THE TIMETABLES FOR REDUCING
ARMS, AND CONVENTIONAL FORCES IN EUROPE. WE AGREED TO
A SUMMIT HERE IN THE U.S. NEXT JUNE. AND WE AGREED To
MOVE FORWARD IN FORGING A CLOSER ECONOMIC RELATIONSHIP
IN LIGHT OF THE POSITIVE CHANGES TAKING PLACE IN THE
SOVIET UNION.
- 7 -
I LOOK AT MALTA AS THE FIRST HOPEFUL STEP INTO A
NEW AMERICAN-SOVIET RELATIONSHIP -- THE FIRST STEP INTO
THE NEXT DECADE, AND THE NEW WORLD THAT IS TAKING SHAPE
EACH PASSING DAY: A NEW WORLD OF FREEDOM. AND MAKE NO
MISTAKE: THE PROGRESS SET IN MOTION AT MALTA WOULD NOT
HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE WITHOUT THE STEADFAST SUPPORT OF THE
AMERICAN PEOPLE.
- 8 -
[[ I'M PLEASED To SHARE THAT REPORT WITH ALL OF
YOU -- ESPECIALLY GIVEN THE MAN YOU'RE HONORING
TONIGHT. THIS IS ONE TIME I DON'T HAVE To ASK MYSELF:
"BUT WILL IT PLAY IN PEORIA?" -- I CAN JUST ASK BoB.
/// AFTER ALL, HIS POLITICS HAVE BEEN PLAYING IN
PEORIA FOR 33 YEARS. ]]
You KNOW, LESS THAN A MONTH FROM NOW, WE'LL BEGIN A
NEW DECADE -- THE LAST IN THIS CENTURY.
- 9 -
I THINK ALL OF US FEEL THE VERY NATURAL INCLINATION TO
LOOK AHEAD, TO THINK ABOUT THE CHANGES A NEW CENTURY
WILL BRING. BUT TODAY THERE'S MORE THAN THAT NATURAL
IMPULSE AT WORK. EACH DAY BRINGS NEW CHANGE -- FROM
WARSAW TO BUDAPEST To PRAGUE AND, YES, BERLIN, EACH DAY
BRINGS NEW EVIDENCE THAT THE LOVE OF FREEDOM IS
GATHERING FORCE.
- 10 -
THESE ARE EXCITING TIMES: FOR EVERY AMERICAN --
FOR PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD WHO CHERISH THE FREEDOMS
WE ENJOY -- AND THEY ARE EXCITING TIMES FOR THE
REPUBLICAN PARTY.
BECAUSE THE VALUES WE SEE TRIUMPHING TODAY ARE THE
VALUES THIS PARTY HAS ALWAYS STOOD FOR -- VALUES THAT
HAVE KEPT AMERICA FREE, PROSPEROUS AND AT PEACE --
VALUES THAT HELPED CREATE THE CONDITIONS FOR THAT NEW
WORLD OF FREEDOM THAT IS NOW INFOLDING BEFORE US.
- 11 -
AND I'M CONVINCED THAT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WILL
CONTINUE TO LOOK TO US -- LOOK TO LEADERS LIKE BoB
MICHEL AND HIS FELLOW REPUBLICANS IN THE HOUSE -- TO
KEEP THIS COUNTRY ON COURSE IN THESE TIMES OF CHANGE.
[[ AND LET ME SAY RIGHT NOW TO ALL THE LOYAL
MEMBERS OF THE NRCC: THE 1990s WILL BRING A NEW WORLD.
WE'VE ALL SEEN THE GRIM SPECTACLE: VOICES STRUGGLING
TO BE HEARD, A MINORITY TRAMPLED BY UNBRIDLED POWER --
THE DECADES-OLD FIGHT AGAINST OPPRESSION. ///
- 12 -
YES, I'M TALKING ABOUT REPUBLICANS IN THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES. // WELL, THE TIDE IS TURNING. //
CHANGE WILL COME TO CAPITOL HILL. THE DAYS OF
ONE-PARTY RULE ARE OVER. ]]
OUR MESSAGE IS GETTING THROUGH To MAINSTREAM
AMERICA: THE REPUBLICAN PARTY IS THE PARTY WITH IDEAS.
WITH EXPERIENCE. WITH THE ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS WE
WILL FACE IN THE DECADE AHEAD.
- 13 -
AND THERE'S NO GREATER GOAL THAN THE ONE THAT INSPIRES
EVERYONE HERE TONIGHT: TO BUILD OUR SUPPORT IN
MAINSTREAM AMERICA INTO MAJORITY STATUS IN THE HOUSE.
AND WHEN THAT PROUD DAY COMES -- A PROUD DAY FOR
EVERY REPUBLICAN FROM THE HOUSE LEADERSHIP RIGHT DOWN
TO THE RANK AND FILE -- WE'LL HAVE THE NRCC TO THANK
FOR ITS TIRELESS EFFORTS.
- 14 -
It's BEEN MY PLEASURE To JOIN YOU TONIGHT. GOD
BLESS YOU --AND GOD BLESS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
# # #
Cleuss et of
FYI
ARRIVAL STATEMENT: ANDREWS AFB 12/4/89 DD
Thank you. Thank you for that warm greeting on such a brisk
evening. It's great to be home. Back in the U.S.A.
Our mission to Malta, and then Brussels, was about peace.
Not the kind of peace we've known for the last forty years - hard
and cold - but about a new kind of peace. One that is rich with
the promise of permanence. One that is a growing foundation for
freedom.
That was the message I brought to President Gorbachev - a
message that reflects the hopes and aspirations of all Americans.
Many Americans watched on television as the winds of the
Mediterranean tossed our ships about. And I think it's just now
that some of the staff are getting back their appetite.
But as I said in Brussels, it was not an ill wind that
brought Mikhail Gorbachev and me together at Malta. It was the
winds of change. Dramatic change. Witnessed by a world
captivated, awed, by the tumultuous events of 1989.
At Malta, President Gorbachev and I took our first hopeful
step into a new American - Soviet relationship. We took our
first step into the next decade and the new world that is taking
shape - a new world of freedom.
The promise of this new world would not have been possible
without the steadfast support of the American people. It would
not have been possible without the heroes of the East: people
like Lech Walesa, Alexander Dubcek, Sakharov and Solzhenitsyn,
and so many, many more. And, it would not have been possible
without the strength and stability of one of this century's
greatest successes: the NATO Alliance.
[ At Malta, we made much progress. We accelerated the
timetables for reducing arms. We agreed to meet again in June in
the United States. We agreed to press forward on building a
closer economic relationship. We agreed to be pals. ]
You know, during World War II, Winston Churchill called the
island of Malta "democracy's fortress." It withstood one attack
after another, never succumbing to the terrible tyranny of the
Axis assault. En route home from the Teheran Conference in 1943,
Franklin Roosevelt stopped there to deliver the thanks of the
American people, praising Malta as "one tiny, bright flame in the
darkness, a beacon of hope for clearer days."
I thought of that quote as the skies cleared on our second
day of talks. The flame of freedom is casting its glow in many a
dark corner around the world. And ladies and gentlemen, tonight
new beacons of hope are shining brightly: in Warsaw, in Prague,
in Budapest and Berlin, and, I believe, in Moscow.
And America, as always, will be at the forefront of these
extraordinary times.
Thank you for your warm greeting on this winter's night.
God bless you this Christmas season. And God bless the United
States of America.
Churges
PRESIDENT'S AFTERNOON INTERVENTION
FYI
ON THE FUTURE OF EUROPE
INTRODUCTION
THIS MORNING I REVIEWED MY DISCUSSIONS WITH PRESIDENT
GORBACHEV AT MALTA AND WE HEARD FROM PRIME MINISTER
ANDREOTTI AND PRIME MINISTER MULRONEY ABOUT THEIR RECENT
MEETINGS WITH HIM.
I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY THIS AFTERNOON TO TALK
ABOUT A SUBJECT OF EVEN BROADER SCOPE: THE FUTURE SHAPE OF
THE NEW EUROPE AND THE NEW ATLANTICISM.
A TIME OF CHOICE
WHEN WE LAST MET IN MAY, OUR SUMMIT DECLARATION DESCRIBED
THE SETTING AS A "JUNCTURE OF UNPRECEDENTED CHANGE AND
OPPORTUNITIES." IN THE LAST SIX MONTHS, WE HAVE WITNESSED
EVENTS THAT HAVE FINALLY BEGUN TO MATCH OUR HOPES THESE
FORTY YEARS. OUR DREAMS FOR AN HISTORIC TRANSFORMATION OF
EUROPE FROM A DIVIDED CONTINENT INTO A CONTINENT WHOLE AND
FREE ARE COMING TRUE.
THE ALLIANCE WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1949 TO PROVIDE THE BASIS
FOR PRECISELY THE EXTRAORDINARY EVOLUTION WHICH IS OCCURRING
IN EASTERN EUROPE TODAY.
THIS YEAR THE PEOPLE OF THE EAST MADE FUNDAMENTAL CHOICES
ABOUT THEIR DESTINY, AND GOVERNMENTS THERE BEGAN TO HONOR
THE CITIZEN'S RIGHT TO CHOOSE. WHAT THESE CHANGES AMOUNT TO
IS NOTHING LESS THAN A PEACEFUL REVOLUTION.
THE TASK BEFORE US IS TO CONSOLIDATE THE FRUITS OF THIS
PEACEFUL REVOLUTION AND PROVIDE THE ARCHITECTURE FOR
CONTINUED PEACEFUL CHANGE. GREAT CHOICES ARE BEING MADE,
AND GREATER OPPORTUNITIES BECKON.
THE FIRST PRINCIPLE FOR EUROPE'S FUTURE: OVERCOMING THE DIVISION
OF EUROPE THROUGH FREEDOM
IN ANY TIME OF GREAT CHANGE, IT IS GOOD TO HAVE FIRM
PRINCIPLES TO GUIDE OUR WAY. OUR GOVERNMENTS COMMITTED
THEMSELVES AGAIN IN MAY TO SEEK AN END TO THE PAINFUL
DIVISION OF EUROPE. WE HAVE NEVER ACCEPTED THIS DIVISION.
THE PEOPLE OF EVERY NATION HAVE THE RIGHT TO DETERMINE THEIR
OWN WAY OF LIFE IN FREEDOM.
OF COURSE, WE HAVE ALL SUPPORTED GERMAN REUNIFICATION FOR
FOUR DECADES. AND IN OUR VIEW, THIS GOAL OF GERMAN
UNIFICATION SHOULD BE BASED ON THE FOLLOWING PRINCIPLES.
FIRST, SELF-DETERMINATION MUST BE PURSUED WITHOUT PREJUDICE
TO ITS OUTCOME. WE SHOULD NOT AT THIS TIME ENDORSE NOR
EXCLUDE ANY PARTICULAR VISION OF UNITY.
2
SECOND, UNIFICATION SHOULD OCCUR IN THE CONTEXT OF GERMANY'S
CONTINUED COMMITMENT TO NATO AND AN INCREASINGLY INTEGRATED
EUROPEAN COMMUNITY, AND WITH DUE REGARD FOR THE LEGAL ROLE
AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE ALLIED POWERS.
THIRD, IN THE INTERESTS OF GENERAL EUROPEAN STABILITY, MOVES
TOWARD UNIFICATION MUST BE PEACEFUL, GRADUAL, AND PART OF A
STEP-BY-STEP PROCESS.
LASTLY, ON THE QUESTION OF BORDERS WE SHOULD REITERATE OUR
SUPPORT FOR THE PRINCIPLES OF THE HELSINKI FINAL ACT.
AN END TO THE UNNATURAL DIVISION OF EUROPE, AND OF GERMANY,
MUST PROCEED IN ACCORDANCE WITH AND BE BASED UPON THE VALUES
THAT ARE BECOMING UNIVERSAL IDEALS, AS ALL THE COUNTRIES OF
EUROPE BECOME PART OF A COMMONWEALTH OF FREE NATIONS. I
KNOW MY FRIEND HELMUT KOHL COMPLETELY SHARES THIS
CONVICTION.
THE ROLE OF NATO
THE POLITICAL STRATEGY FOR NATO THAT WE AGREED UPON LAST MAY
MAKES THE PROMOTION OF GREATER FREEDOM IN THE EAST A BASIC
ELEMENT OF ALLIANCE POLICY. ACCORDINGLY, NATO SHOULD
PROMOTE HUMAN RIGHTS, DEMOCRACY, AND REFORM WITHIN EASTERN
COUNTRIES AS THE BEST MEANS OF ENCOURAGING RECONCILIATION
AMONG THE COUNTRIES OF EASTERN AND WESTERN EUROPE.
THIS EFFORT RECALLS THE ORIGIN OF NATO AS A POLITICAL
ALLIANCE OF NATIONS SHARING THE SAME FUNDAMENTAL VALUES, A
FOUNDATION ON WHICH I EXPECT NATO WILL INCREASINGLY BUILD IN
THIS NEW AGE OF EUROPE.
ALLIANCE SUPPORT FOR REFORM AND POSITIVE CHANGE IN THE EAST
NEEDS TO BE BROAD, MULTIFACETED, AND FLEXIBLE. IT SHOULD
NOT ONLY BE A QUESTION OF ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE -- AS
IMPORTANT AS THAT MIGHT BE -- BUT OF STEPS TO SUPPORT
GREATER POLITICAL PLURALISM, OPEN UP FLOWS OF INFORMATION,
DEVELOP NEEDED TECHNICAL EXPERTISE, AND PROVIDE THROUGH OUR
DEFENSE AND ARMS CONTROL EFFORTS A STABLE SECURITY
ENVIRONMENT FOR INDIVIDUAL EUROPEAN STATES, BOTH EAST AND
WEST.
THIS FITS THE CONCEPT OF "NEW MISSIONS FOR NATO" WHICH I
PROPOSED WHEN I WAS HERE LAST MAY FOR OUR SUMMIT.
BUT WE ALSO MUST REMAIN CONSTANT WITH NATO'S TRADITIONAL
SECURITY MISSION. THE POTENTIAL FOR STRIFE IS INHERENT IN
ANY PERIOD OF FUNDAMENTAL POLITICAL TRANSITION. IN SEEKING
AND PREPARING PEACEFUL CHANGE, THIS ALLIANCE ALSO MUST
REMAIN A RELIABLE GUARANTOR OF PEACE IN EUROPE, AS IT HAS
BEEN FOR FORTY YEARS. IT UNITES THE FREE STATES OF THE
ATLANTIC COMMUNITY IN SHARING RISKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES AS
WE WORK TOGETHER TO NURTURE AND GUIDE THE DEVELOPMENT OF A
NEW EUROPE.
3
AS A DEFENSIVE ALLIANCE AND PARTNERSHIP OF DEMOCRACIES, NATO
SHOULD NOT BE SEEN AS THREATENING BY THE EAST. RATHER, IT
CAN HELP MANAGE PEACEFUL CHANGE IN EUROPE IN A WAY THAT
PRESERVES SECURITY AND STABILITY FOR ALL STATES. A HEALTHY
NATO WILL SUPPORT BOTH MOVES TOWARD GREATER UNITY WITHIN
WESTERN EUROPE AS WELL AS THE DISSOLUTION OF BARRIERS WITH
THE EAST.
ALTHOUGH THIS IS A TIME OF GREAT HOPE, WE MUST NOT BLUR THE
DISTINCTION BETWEEN PROMISING EXPECTATIONS AND PRESENT
REALITIES.
MY GOVERNMENT THEREFORE REMAINS COMMITTED TO THE ALLIANCE
STRATEGY FOR THE PREVENTION OF WAR, BASED ON A MIX OF
NUCLEAR AND CONVENTIONAL FORCES.
I PLEDGE TODAY THAT THE UNITED STATES WILL MAINTAIN
SIGNIFICANT MILITARY FORCES IN EUROPE AS LONG AS OUR ALLIES
DESIRE OUR PRESENCE AS PART OF A COMMON SECURITY EFFORT.
AS I SAID AT NATO EARLIER THIS YEAR, THE U.S. WILL REMAIN A
EUROPEAN POWER. THAT MEANS THE U.S. WILL STAY ENGAGED IN
THE FUTURE OF EUROPE, AND IN OUR COMMON DEFENSE.
THIS IS NOT OLD THINKING. IT IS GOOD THINKING. OF COURSE I
WOULD LIKE TO SEE A LESS MILITARIZED EUROPE. EVERYONE HERE
KNOWS HOW STRONGLY I SUPPORT THE PROGRESS BEING MADE IN THE
NEGOTIATIONS ON CONVENTIONAL FORCES IN EUROPE TOWARD AN
AGREEMENT THAT WOULD REDUCE THE SIZE OF THE CONVENTIONAL
FORCES ON BOTH SIDES OF THE EAST-WEST DIVIDE.
THIS CFE AGREEMENT WOULD DRAMATICALLY CUT BACK WARSAW PACT,
PARTICULARLY SOVIET, FORCE STRENGTH. THIS HAS GREAT
IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PROCESS OF REFORM IN EASTERN EUROPE AS
WELL AS FOR THE SECURITY OF WESTERN EUROPE. AND IT WOULD
PROVIDE FOR A CAREFULLY MANAGED AND RESPONSIBLE SET OF
ALLIED REDUCTIONS AS WELL.
AS WE SEEK TO ADJUST OUR MILITARY POSTURE TO THE CHANGING
POLITICAL CLIMATE, I CAN THINK OF NO BETTER MODEL THAN THE
CFE PROCESS AS A WAY TO COORDINATE OUR RESPONSES TO THE NEW
REQUIREMENTS OF EUROPEAN SECURITY. WE MUST STAND TOGETHER
FOR NEGOTIATED, COORDINATED, STABILIZING REDUCTIONS AGAINST
A RUSH TO THROW OFF DEFENSE BURDENS, AGAINST A RETURN TO THE
NARROW PROTECTION OF SELF-INTEREST THAT COULD BE so
DANGEROUS AT A TIME WHEN EUROPEAN POLITICS ARE IN A STATE OF
FLUX RIVALED IN MY ADULT LIFE ONLY BY THE IMMEDIATE
AFTERMATH OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR.
YET, THE CFE PROCESS HAS NOT REALIZED ITS FULL POTENTIAL.
LAST MAY WE AGREED TO SEEK AN AGREEMENT WITHIN ONE YEAR. WE
HAVE MADE GOOD PROGRESS SINCE THEN, BUT TOO LITTLE AND TOO
SLOWLY TO TAKE FULL ADVANTAGE OF THE OPPORTUNITY BEFORE US:
THE CHANCE TO EASE THE SOVIET ARMY OUT OF EASTERN EUROPE AND
SUBSTANTIALLY REDUCE THE RISK OF SURPRISE ATTACK AND
AGGRESSION.
4
WE AS POLITICAL LEADERS NEED TO REMAIN FIXED ON THIS GOAL
AND TO RE-ENERGIZE OUR BUREAUCRACIES AND NEGOTIATORS TO
SEIZE THIS URGENT OPPORTUNITY. I HOPE YOU AGREE WITH ME ON
THE NEED FOR ACTION NOW. IF WE IN THIS ALLIANCE ARE NOT
EQUAL TO THE CHANGES THAT ARE GOING ON IN EUROPE AROUND US,
THE CFE PROCESS COULD BE OVERRUN BY EVENTS. THAT COULD BE
DANGEROUS AND WE MUST AVOID IT.
SIMILARLY, WE NEED TO GIVE THOUGHT TO HOW THE ALLIANCE CAN
BEST MAINTAIN, IN THE MIDST OF CHANGE, DETERRENCE AT THE
LOWEST POSSIBLE LEVEL OF FORCES.
FOR THAT REASON, I AM PREPARED TO LOOK WITH AN OPEN MIND AT
WAYS IN WHICH WE CAN TOGETHER ACHIEVE EVEN LOWER LEVELS OF
CONVENTIONAL AND NUCLEAR FORCES IN EUROPE AS PART OF A
NEGOTIATED AGREEMENT.
THE ROLE OF CSCE
MANY OF THE VALUES THAT SHOULD GUIDE EUROPE'S FUTURE ARE
DESCRIBED IN THE FINAL ACT OF THE CONFERENCE OF SECURITY AND
COOPERATION IN EUROPE. THESE VALUES ENCOMPASS THE FREEDOM
OF PEOPLE TO CHOOSE THEIR DESTINY UNDER A RULE OF LAW WITH
RULERS WHO ARE DEMOCRATICALLY ACCOUNTABLE.
I THINK WE CAN LOOK TO THE CSCE TO PLAY A GREATER ROLE IN
THE FUTURE OF EUROPE.
EARLIER THIS YEAR, I SUGGESTED WE EXPAND THE CSCE HUMAN
RIGHTS BASKET TO INCLUDE FREE ELECTIONS. GIVEN THE CALLS
AND COMMITMENTS TO ELECTIONS IN MANY NATIONS TO THE EAST,
THIS COULD BE AN EXCELLENT TIME FOR THE CSCE TO ASSUME THIS
ADDITIONAL MANDATE.
IN ADDITION, THE "ECONOMIC BASKET" OF THE CSCE HAS BEEN
UNDERDEVELOPED. I SUGGESTED TO CHAIRMAN GORBACHEV THIS
WEEKEND THAT WE COULD BREATHE NEW LIFE INTO THIS ASPECT OF
CSCE BY FOCUSING ON THE PRACTICAL QUESTIONS INVOLVED IN THE
TRANSITION FROM STAGNANT PLANNED ECONOMIES TO FREE AND
COMPETITIVE MARKETS.
IN SUM, THE THIRTY-FIVE NATIONS OF THE CSCE BRIDGE BOTH THE
DIVISION OF EUROPE AND THE ATLANTIC OCEAN. IT IS A
STRUCTURE THAT SHOULD BE ABLE TO CONTRIBUTE MUCH TO THE
FUTURE ARCHITECTURE OF EUROPE.
THE ROLE OF THE EC
I ALSO APPRECIATE THE VITAL ROLE THE EC MUST PLAY IN THE NEW
EUROPE.
BEFORE MY TRIP TO MALTA, PRESIDENT MITTERRAND CALLED TO
SHARE WITH ME THE VIEWS ABOUT RECENT EVENTS EXPRESSED AT THE
EC MEETING HE HAD CALLED. AND I KNOW THE COMMUNITY WILL BE
RETURNING TO THESE TOPICS IN STRASBOURG LATER THIS WEEK.
5
IT'S MY BELIEF THAT THE EVENTS OF OUR TIMES CALL BOTH FOR A
CONTINUED, PERHAPS EVEN INTENSIFIED, EFFORT OF THE TWELVE TO
INTEGRATE, AND A ROLE FOR THE EC AS A MAGNET THAT DRAWS THE
FORCES OF REFORM FORWARD IN EASTERN EUROPE.
THAT'S WHY I WAS EXCEPTIONALLY PLEASED THAT WE AGREED AT THE
PARIS ECONOMIC SUMMIT ON A SPECIFIC ROLE FOR THE EC IN THE
GROUP OF 24 EFFORT TO ASSIST POLAND AND HUNGARY. NOW THE G-
24, CATALYZED BY EC EFFORTS, MUST DELIVER. ONE KEY STEP IS
TO HELP POLAND ASSEMBLE THE $1 BILLION STABILIZATION FUND IT
HAS REQUESTED TO SUPPORT THE MAJOR MACROECONOMIC OVERHAUL
PLAN IT INTENDS TO PUT IN PLACE WITHIN WEEKS.
I RECOGNIZE, OF COURSE, THAT THE EC CANNOT BEAR THIS BURDEN
ALONE. THE UNITED STATES WILL BE AT THE COMMUNITY'S SIDE IN
THIS NOBLE ENDEAVOR.
I ALSO AM COMMITTED TO A CLOSE U.S. PARTNERSHIP WITH THE EC.
WE ARE BOUND TOGETHER BY COMMON VALUES AND DEMOCRATIC
INSTITUTIONS AS WELL AS BY SHARED INTERESTS. so WE SHOULD
LOOK FOR WAYS TO IMPROVE OUR TIES so A NEW ATLANTICISM WILL
PULL IN HARNESS WITH A NEW EUROPE.
CONCLUSION
WE STAND ON THE THRESHOLD OF A NEW ERA. WE KNOW THAT WE ARE
CONTRIBUTING TO A PROCESS OF HISTORY DRIVEN BY PEOPLES
DETERMINED TO BE FREE. THE PEOPLE OF EUROPE, ESPECIALLY THE
BRAVE CITIZENS OF THE EAST, ARE ILLUMINATING THE FUTURE.
YET THE OUTCOME IS NOT PREDESTINED. IT DEPENDS ON OUR
CONTINUED STRENGTH AND SOLIDARITY AS AN ALLIANCE. IT
DEPENDS VITALLY ON THE ACTIONS WE TAKE, AS GOVERNMENTS AND
INDIVIDUALS, TO OFFER LEADERSHIP, PROTECTION, AND
ENCOURAGEMENT FOR THIS PROCESS OF PEACEFUL TRANSFORMATION.
EUROPE IS CHANGING, AND WE WILL BE EQUAL TO THE CHANGE. OUR
TRANSATLANTIC PARTNERSHIP CAN CREATE THE ARCHITECTURE OF A
NEW EUROPE, AND A NEW ATLANTICISM, WHERE SELF-DETERMINATION,
AND INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM EVERYWHERE REPLACE COERCION AND
TYRANNY, WHERE ECONOMIC LIBERTY EVERYWHERE REPLACES ECONOMIC
CONTROLS AND STAGNATION, AND WHERE LASTING PEACE IS
REINFORCED EVERYWHERE BY COMMON RESPECT FOR THE RIGHTS OF
MAN.
Class etal
FYI
TALKING POINTS: TRI-MISSION GREETING, BRUSSELS 12/4/89
* Members of the Brussels family, Ambassador Glitman, Ambassador
Taft, Ambassador Niles (Taft and Niles are new since your
previous visit)
* It's nice to see some familiar faces. When I was in Brussels
six months ago, you would have thought I'd at least wait a year
before I put you through a Presidential visit again.
* But, you know, that is one of the nice things about our crew
here in Brussels: you're ready for anything. You know the drill,
and you're pros.
* Because in these exciting times we need people like you:
unflappable, quick to respond, dedicated veterans of the foreign
policy process.
* The other thing I like about the operation here in Brussels is
your ability to work together. The Joint Administrative Service
support group typifies that kind of effort. And believe me, I
know what a visit like this demands of your admin offices.
Where's Nick Basky? Nick, it's professionals like you that make
these trips bearable. (Nick was also brought in to help out on
the Costa Rica trip)
* It's an exciting time for America. And particularly for you
here in Brussels. You've all seen the reports out of Malta, and
our meeting here with our partners in the Alliance. We are
standing on the threshold of a new era in our relationships with
the East, and you here are on the cutting edge.
* (Here, you may want to give them a personal anecdote or
reflection about President Gorbachev or your meeting)
* Thank you for your commitment and your dedication. God bless
you and God bless the United States of America.
*
MEMBERS OF THE BRUSSELS FAMILY, AMBASSADOR GLITMAN, AMBASSADOR
TAFT, AMBASSADOR NILES (TAFT AND NILES ARE NEW SINCE YOUR
PREVIOUS VISIT)
*
IT'S NICE TO SEE SOME FAMILIAR FACES. WHEN I WAS IN BRUSSELS
SIX MONTHS AGO, YOU WOULD HAVE THOUGHT I'D AT LEAST WAIT A YEAR
BEFORE I PUT YOU THROUGH A PRESIDENTIAL VISIT AGAIN.
*
BUT, YOU KNOW, THAT IS ONE OF THE NICE THINGS ABOUT OUR CREW
HERE IN BRUSSELS: YOU'RE READY FOR ANYTHING. YOU KNOW THE
DRILL, AND YOU'RE PROS.
*
BECAUSE IN THESE EXCITING TIMES WE NEED PEOPLE LIKE YOU:
UNFLAPPABLE, QUICK TO RESPOND, DEDICATED VETERANS OF THE
FOREIGN POLICY PROCESS.
-1-
*
THE OTHER THING I LIKE ABOUT THE OPERATION HERE IN BRUSSELS
IS YOUR ABILITY TO WORK TOGETHER. THE JOINT ADMINISTRATIVE
SERVICE SUPPORT GROUP TYPIFIES THAT KIND OF EFFORT. AND
BELIEVE ME, I KNOW WHAT A VISIT LIKE THIS DEMANDS OF YOUR
ADMIN OFFICES. WHERE'S NICK BASKY? NICK, IT'S PROFESSIONALS
LIKE YOU THAT MAKE THESE TRIPS BEARABLE. (NICK WAS ALSO
BROUGHT IN TO HELP OUT ON THE COSTA RICA TRIP)
* IT'S AN EXCITING TIME FOR AMERICA. AND PARTICULARLY FOR YOU
HERE IN BRUSSELS. YOU'VE ALL SEEN THE REPORTS OUT OF MALTA,
AND OUR MEETING HERE WITH OUR PARTNERS IN THE ALLIANCE. WE
ARE STANDING ON THE THRESHOLD OF A NEW ERA IN OUR
RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE EAST, AND YOU HERE ARE ON THE CUTTING
EDGE.
*
(HERE, YOU MAY WANT TO GIVE THEM A PERSONAL ANECDOTE OR
REFLECTION ABOUT PRESIDENT GORBACHEV OR YOUR MEETING)
-2-
* THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMITMENT AND YOUR DEDICATION. GOD
BLESS YOU AND GOD BLESS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
-3-
Class is
malta info
al.
FYI
for your
files
ARRIVAL STATEMENT IN BRUSSELS, 12/3/89
D1
Today, we met in Malta, Winston Churchill's "tiny rock of
history and romance." Ancient stepping stone to Europe. Today,
the crossroads of East and West.
And tonight we meet in Brussels. Tonight we stand at the
crossroads of history, on our way to a Europe whole and free.
It is a always a pleasure to return to Brussels. This city
represents the finest that Europe has to offer in friendship and
hospitality. It also represents the strength and vitality of
European institutions, nourished and protected for more than 40
years by the security shield of NATO -- one of the great success
stories of our century.
Brussels symbolizes a vibrant and growing trans-Atlantic
partnership -- one that has helped foster the astounding changes
we are seeing today.
The modern Atlantic Alliance was born at sea. It was on a
battleship off the coast of Canada that Franklin Roosevelt met
Winston Churchill during Europe's darkest hour, great leaders in
a rendezvous at sea, a rendezvous with destiny.
The legacy of that meeting became known as the Atlantic
Charter, significant not for its details, but for its vision.
It spoke of a day when all peoples, in all nations, would
freely choose their form of government, and live lives rich with
opportunity and hope. It spoke of a day when nations would
resolve their differences at the negotiating table, not on the
field of battle.
Tonight, I have come to Brussels to share with our friends
and allies the results of that vision -- results born of strength
and solidarity, continuity and commitment.
It seems like the world is changing overnight. But the
yearning for freedom lives within all of us, and always has.
That simple truth is manifested in the thunderous events taking
place a few hundred kilometers to the East. And that simple
truth brought Mikhail Gorbachev and I together in a windswept
harbor off Malta.
The seas were as turbulent as our times. But it was not an
ill wind carrying us on our mission. No, it was the winds of
change. Strong and constant. Profound.
And today, as the sun broke through the clouds, we could
both see a new world taking shape -- a new world of freedom.
Here in Brussels, only six months ago, we pledged as Allies
to work together to end the division of Europe. We now stand at
the threshold of making that dream a reality.
My presence here, and that of my NATO colleagues,
underscores the importance we attach to consultations within the
Alliance. I look forward to my discussions with Prime Minister
Martens, Secretary-General Woerner, and E.C. Commission President
DeLors.
It is an exciting time for the Alliance, for Europe, and for
America. I have come with good news. Thank you, God bless you,
and good night.
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
(Brussels, Belgium)..
For Immediate Release
December 4, 1989
NEWS CONFERENCE BY THE PRESIDENT
Luns Press Theater
NATO Headquarters
Brussels, Belgium
4:20 P.M. (L)
THE PRESIDENT: I have a statement, and then I'll be glad
to respond to your questions.
This year the people of the East made fundamental choices
about their destiny, and governments there began to honor the
citizen's right to choose. What these changes amount to is nothing
less than a peaceful revolution. And the task before us, therefore,
is to consolodate the fruits of this peaceful revolution and provide
the architecture for continued peaceful change, to end the division
of Europe and of Germany, to make Europe whole and free.
Great choices are being made. Greater opportunities
beckon.
The political strategy for NATO that we agreed upon last
May makes the promotion of greater freedom in the East a basic
element of Alliance policy. Accordingly, NATO should promote human
rights, democracy, and reform within Eastern countries as the best
means of encouraging reconciliation among the countries of Eastern
and Western Europe.
Although this is a time of great hope -- and it is -- we
must not blur the distinction between promising expectations and
present realities. We must remain constant with NATO's traditional
security mission. I pledge today that the United States will
maintain significant military forces in Europe as long as our allies
desire our presence as part of a common defense effort. The U.S.
will remain a European power. And that means that the United States
will stay engaged in the future of Europe and in our common defense.
Many of the values that should guide Europe's future are
described in the Final Act of the Conference on Security and
Cooperation in Europe. These values encompass the freedom of people
to choose their destiny under a rule of law with rulers who are
democratically accountable.
I think we can look to the CSCE to play a greater role in
the future of Europe. The 35 nations of the CSCE bridge both the
division of Europe and the Atlantic Ocean. It's a structure that
should be able to contribute much to the future architecture of
Europe.
I also appreciate the vital role that the EC must play in
the new Europe. And it's my belief that the events of our times call
both for a continued, perhaps even intensified, effort of the 12 to
integrate, and a role for the EC as a magnet that draws the forces of
reform toward Eastern Europe. And that's why I was exceptionally
pleased that we agreed at the Paris economic summit on a specific
role for the EC in that Group of 24 effort to assist Poland and
Hungary.
We stand on the threshold of a new era. And we know that
we are contributing to a process of history driven by the peoples
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determined to be free. The people of Europe -- especially the brave
citizens of the East -- are illuminating the future. And yet, the
outcome is not predestined. It depends on our continued strength and
our solidarity as an alliance.
Our transatlantic partnership can create the architecture
of a new Europe and a new Atlanticism where self-determination and
individual freedom everywhere replace coercion and tyranny. Where
economic liberty everywhere replaces economic controls and
stagnation. And where lasting peace is reinforced everywhere by
common respect for the rights of man.
I now would be glad to respond to some questions. And
we've got to be out of here about a little after quarter of.
Q
Mr. President, I have a two-part question. You've
made it clear that you are going to stay in Europe. But in view of
the dramatic reduction in tensions and the obvious weakening of the
Warsaw Pact, what will be the real American role? And two, will
there now be more money for the poor, the homeless, public housing --
the nation's really badly-in-need repair of infrastructure?
THE PRESIDENT: We have a lot of demands at home, and
there's no question about that. But I think it is premature to
speak, as some are at home, about a peace dividend. Take a lot of
money out of defense and put it into other worthy causes., And so, as
I started over the budget figures for the next budget cycle, we are
under a tremendous burden to get our total spending down in order to
meet the Gramm-Rudman targets.
In terms of the U.S. role, I think I said it out here
pretty well. We will continue to play a very active role in NATO. I
see nothing that diminishes the importance of the United States. And
I might say that I gathered from our interlocutors there -- the other
heads of state and governments -- that they want us fully involved.
And thinking back on my talks with Mr. Gorbachew, I don't
see any conflict there either.
Q
Mr. President, Vernon Walters, your trusted advisor
and the Ambassador to Bonn, said that he envisions a -- he says that
Germany East and West will be reunited within five years. Do you
think that's possible? And what would be the implications for NATO
and the Warsaw Pact?
THE PRESIDENT: I am not into the predicting of time on
the question of Germany. Let me just -- I don't know whether the
Secretary General read you these points. Let me just read the four
points that represent the U.S. position on reunificatoin.
Self-determination must be pursued without prejudice to
vision. its outcome and we should not at this time endorse any particular
Secondly, unification should occur in the context of
Germany's continued commitment to NATO and an increasingly integrated
European Community, and with due regard for the legal role and
responsibilities of the allied powers.
Third, in the interest of general European stability,
moves toward unification must be peaceful, gradual, and part of a
step-by-step basis. And these were -- and lastly, on the question of
borders, we should reiterate our support for the principles of the
Helsinki Final Act.
So I am not trying to accelerate that process. I don't
think our allies are. I think Chancellor Kohl feels comfortable with
the four points I have just read. And so I think it's better to let
things move on their own and without the United States certainly
setting some kind of deadline.
Q
Mr. President, you said in announcing your meeting
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with Chairman Gorbachev that one of the main reasons was that you
wanted to make sure that in this time of change you didn't miss
anything. In your two days of meetings, did you learn anything that
you feel that you might have missed had you not had them?
THE PRESIDENT: Yes. What I would have missed is I
wouldn't see quite as clearly his priorities. I see them more
clearly because he and I sat down and talked. We had about eight
hours of talk, some private. And I feel. I can sense much more
clearly the things he feels more strongly about. And we had a good
chance to point. out to him some of the difficulties with our
relationship.
It wasn't all sweetness and light. I had a very good
opportunity to tell him how we view the problems in our own
hemisphere -- the sending of arms in there to help the FMLN and the
unhelpful role that Cuba is playing. I recited in detail the Oscar
Arias phone call to me: "Please raise with Mr. Gorbachev the
unhelpful role -- the destructive role of Cuba."
So I think it's more emphasis, although we did put
forward some general themes on the economy, and I think he was
pleased. Because I think from his standpoint -- and this is
important for mine -- he now sees that we want to have a cooperative,
forward-leaning relationship with the Soviet Union.
2
Mr. President, you have, perhaps more than any
contemporary American president, exercised personal diplomacy --
establishing personal friedships with a wide variety of leaders. Are
you prepared now to say that Mr. Gorbachev is your friend?
THE PRESIDENT: I'll say this -- We had a very friendly
conversation. And then, once in a while, there was a little tension
there. But it was extraordinarily friendly in the conversation
aspect. I don't know how you go further than that in definition.
But I'm convinced that he is determined to do that what he told me
he's doing -- reform, perestroika, openness we totally agree on is a
democratic value.
So, Brit, what happened was, I think he took my measure
and I took his and I think we just feel more comfortable about our
common objectives.
Q
To go back to what Helen asked you about, you said
we would remain an Atlantic power.
THE PRESIDENT: Keep talking. I'm just going to get some
water.
X
After World War II, the Europeans needed our money
with the Marshall Plan. They they needed our military backing
because of the Soviet threat. But now, if the Soviet military threat
does recede -- and I know it's early days yet -- maybe this is a
question that one of your successors will have to deal with --
eventually, what are they going to need from us? What role will we
really have to play here?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, we have a tremendous interaction if
you want to hypothetically project to that guaranteed peaceful time.
I would say interaction with the United States on student exchanges,
cultural exchanges, economic matters. I mean, there's a tremendous
potential for a Soviet Union that is in accord with us on these
democratic values. It's a tremendous market, for example, but it
needs the economic reform. So what we've got to do is be sure that
we conduct ourselves in such a way that the changes -- the political
reforms can keep going. forward there in Eastern Europe; that the
Soviet Union can do what Mr. Gorbachev is trying to do internally.
And then there's just enormous potential for living at peace with
that tremendous power.
2
Sir, maybe I misstated my question. What I really
mean is, why do West Europeans need us once the military threat
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recedes? The West Europeans? Why would there have to be a NATO?
This is a political and military alliance, and truly a political
alliance because of the military need.
THE PRESIDENT: You mean, why will there always have to
be a U.S. presence?
2
Why will there always have to be a NATO?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, if you want to project out 100
years or take some years off of that, you can look to a utopian day
when there might not be. But as I pointed out to them, that day
hasn't arrived; and they agree with me. And so the United States
must stay involved.
What we don't want to do is send the signal of decoupling
-- the decoupling of the United States and Canada from NATO --
particularly at this highly sensitive time. And Mr. Gorbachev
understood that. He made that point to me.
X
Did President Gorbachev ask your forbearance in case
he decided to crack down on dissidents? And if so, what did you say?
Or what role did the question of ethnic and Baltic dissent have in
your meeting?
THE PRESIDENT: The answer to the first part is, no. And
the answer to the second part is, I asked him to describe for me the
nationality problems inside the Soviet Union. And he did it in
considerable detail.
Q
Mr. President, you had mentioned that you got some
insight into President Gorbachev at this point. I'wonder if the
insights included any sense of internal -- did he behave as if a man
operating from a strong position, or a man who seemed to be in
jeopardy, or how did you assess that?
THE PRESIDENT: I thought he seemed very much in control.
You could tell the way he interacted with his own top people there.
And he felt very confident in discussing without notes a wide array
of subjects with me. He did have a little notebook that he referred
to. It was written in his own handwriting, the best I could see.
(Laughter.) And once having seen it, I couldn't read it.
(Laughter.) And SO he seemed in control. He seemed -- subdued is
the wrong word, but I would say determined and unemotional about it.
The most emotion we saw was at that press conference yesterday. But
it was a wonderful presentation. And the climate for -- leave out
the weather -- the climate for the discussions was really good.
2
Mr. President, again as part of the insights you
gave, what is your understanding about Secretary General Gorbachev's
view of unification of Germany? Do you think he's as opposed as he's
said in public, or do you think that he accepts the fact that --
THE PRESIDENT: I think his view was one of -- if I could
use a word that's unfamiliar: to many -- caution. And I really
believe that. I think he recognizes the rapidity of change. He has
very constructively talked about peaceful change. And I think his
hope is that people don't try to set up some artificial calendar by
which -- date -- by which that reunification should happen. And I
think he feels that if there were outside forces setting dates on
something like that, that would complicate the way in which he is
managing the change -- helping manage the change in the Pact.
0
Mr. President, there was a lot of speculation going
in that you and Mr. Gorbachev might get involved in talking about
deeper cuts, particularly in European forces. Did you, in fact, do
that, and is there skepticism within this organization here about
moving too rapidly beyond what has now been dubbed CFE One?
THE PRESIDENT: No, we didn't get into that. We talked
very broadly about our aspirations for further arms control, but
there was no emphasis on that. And I'd -- there may be some strains
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in one country or another, viewing the rapidity of change differently
than we do. But what I suggested to our NATO allies is let's go
forward with the agreements we've got out there -- the CFE. Let's
get it done. I, the President of the United States, will kick our
bureaucracy and push it as fast as I possibly can. I've talked to
General Galvin. I had a meeting with him over here last night. And
I'm convinced that we -- I must ão more to keep it on schedule. And
I've encouraged the other allies to do the same. I don't think there
was any resistance to that. Similarly, START and chemical weapons.
So before we go into a wide array of other questions, I
think the best thing to do is take advantage of the moment and move
forward in those three areas. And I went over that in little talks
with individuals from NATO, as well as in the meeting itself.
Q
Do you accept the principle of a CFE Two?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I'd like to get a CFE One in the
bank first -- get it locked up, get those troops out, move down to
equal levels -- U.S. and Soviet forces. And so we ought to manage
that before we start the architecture of something else. I want to
see that done on time.
Q Mr. President, on East Germany, as you know, the
party structure -- the communist party structure has collapsed there.
It's unclear who's running the government. I wonder if you talked
about that; if you personally think that it's a dangerous situation,
that that moves unification up in the timetable at all? And
secondly, what Gorbachev said to you when you said to him unification
of Germany would have to be in the NATO context?
THE PRESIDENT: No, I don't think it's a dangerous
situation. I don't think anybody here in this room, including
myself, has been able to predict the rapidity of the change, the
totality of the change. But I don't see it as dangerous as long as
the Soviet leader and the Germans and the West conduct themselves the
way I've been urging.
What was the second part?
Q
Well, what Mr. Gorbachev said to you when you said
unification, but only in the NATO context. He keeps saying it has to
be in the Warsaw Pact context.
THE PRESIDENT: No, we were -- I don't think we went into
that in real depth, Lesley.
Q
Well, what do you think he'd think of that? I mean,
obviously --
THE PRESIDENT: That's too hypothetical. I've got
trouble figuring it out on our side with all our experts, rather than
knowing what he might think about something he hadn't thought about,
maybe. (Laughter.)
Q
Mr. President, you seem to have traveled some
distance between what you were saying about Mr. Gorbachev a year or
so ago and some of the things you said yesterday. Could you please
talk in a little bit more detail about the evolution in your thinking
that you mentioned yesterday -- how that happened, and what persuaded
you along the --
THE PRESIDENT: As I watched the way in which Mr.
Gorbachev has handled the changes in Eastern Europe, it deserves new
thinking. It absolutely mandates new thinking. And when I see his
willingness to give support to a CFE agreement that calls for him to
disproportionately reduce his forces, and that is there on the table.
I think that mandates new thinking. When I hear him talk about
peaceful change and the right of countries to choose -- countries in
the Warsaw Pact to choose -- that deserves new thinking.
And so I approach this, and I think in step with our
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allies, with a certain respect for what he's doing, and thus we want
to try to meet him on some of the areas where he needs help. I'm
thinking of a few suggestions I had in the economic area. But I also
believe that the West must remain strong and together and try to be
helpful where we can in a united way, but not be imprudent.
Q
Mr. President, you mentioned earlier that there was
some tension during the meeting, and earlier reported you had said
that there was no personal rancor. Could you outline the moments of
tension, and tell us a little bit about the moments where you felt
there was tension between you and the Soviet leader?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think where you don't have
agreement you can have some -- some slight tension might result. I
don't want to imply there was great, dramatic moments of tension.
Please let me clarify it if that's the impression I left.
But we have a big difference on how we look at Central
America. And I would like to see him use his influence with Mr.
Castro, and if he's got any left, with Mr. Ortega, to facilitate
democratic change in the Western hemisphere. And I made clear this
isn't just the view of the United States, but it's the view of many
Americans. And it's the view of Oscar Arias. So when you get into a
subject like that where he may have a different formula, it's a
little more concentrated than when you're clicking off agreements in
some areas.
Is there anybody here that's not accredited to the White
House? Only because I don't want to be rude to the foreign -- you're
not a foreign journalist. Who -- you are. I wasn't talking to you.
Go ahead, please.
(Part 11)
2
Can I ask you to elaborate on who you are and what
you mean by European Community integration -- integration -- European
Community integration?
THE PRESIDENT: What?
X
You made a statement before. You know, a statement.
You referred to the European Community -- EC -- greatly needs
integration.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, what I'm talking about is primarily
on the economic side. You're going to have enormous interchange
between the East and West. And what we're trying to do in the West,
and I think the EC is trying to do it also, is to assist those
countries that are moving down the democratic path. The EC was
charged out of our G-7 meeting in Paris to move forward on a
coordinated economic approach to help Hungary and Poland. And so
integration. it's in that area where I see the earliest and the most productive
0
Mr. President, the last two weeks of June Mr.
Gorbachev will be in the U.S.A. for the summit. At the very
beginning of July, G-7 will be meeting in Houston. Now you said in
Malta that you wanted to help steer the Soviet Union into the global
economy. Is there a prospect that Mr. Gorbachev might stay on for
the G-7 summit? Or when you called on that summit, why didn't you
include some of the Eastern powers?
THE PRESIDENT: The answer is, I don't think SO. Put it
this way. Two chances, slim and none, for that particular meeting.
Nor did he request to be included in that particular meeting. But
we're in times of rapid change. And we'll see how things move
forward in terms of having a common subject to discuss. You see,
we've got to understand his dilemma.
(Part 12)
They have not had a market economy. They have not had the
privatization that joins the G-7 together. It's different. And SO
what I have proposed as opposed to the suggestion -- the question you
asked -- is that we work with them in observer status in the GATT
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understand the dynamism of the economic systems that join those seven
countries.
So I don't think it's likely that he would hang around
Houston waiting for the next meeting.
2
Mr. President, you stepped aside on a question about
a peace dividend and said that you've got a terrible Gramm-Rudman
problem next year. As you look at the changes in Europe and the
possibilities of further defense cuts, do you expect any time in your
first term to have a dividend -- a peace dividend to apply to some of
the economic and social problems at home? And when would you expect
that?
THE PRESIDENT: That's an awful tough question to answer
about "any time." I would think it would be extraordinarily
difficult because of not only the enormity of the Gramm-Rudman -- the
difficulty of reaching the Gramm-Rudman target this year, but what
follows on.
And so what we are trying to do is emphasize the areas
where we can be of most help to the people through various programs.
And I -- in some areas -- I don't know whether Helen mentioned in her
question education -- but in some areas it isn't necessarily a -- the
problem isn't going to be solved by putting more money into it.
But on your question, as we go on down on meeting these
Gramm-Rudman targets, there just isn't a lot of "excess money"
floating around there.
Q
Not for the foreseeable future? Not for the rest of
your first term?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, look at the Gramm-Rudman targets
that face us. I don't want to hold out to those that want to rush
out and spend a lot more money the hope that that is going to happen.
We've got some tremendous economic problems that have to be solved.
Because the best answer to helping people -- if you have to divide it
-- have to quantify it, the best is to have a job. And the best way
to have the climate for a job is to have a sound economy.
And to our foreign friends here I'd say one of the things
that would be the best guarantee of that would be to get our federal
deficits down. It would also help us with investment. And that is
the best poverty program -- a job in the private sector. And so I
can't -- I had a letter from a distinguished senator before I left,
because he'd read about possible defense cuts -- a reduction in the
defense budget -- saying take that money and spend it for a cause
that he felt was very worthy. And I had to write him back and say,
"Look, that isn't the way it's going to work. That isn't the way
it's going to work.
Q
Mr. President, you spoke in your opening statement
about the need for a greater role for the 35 nation group known as
CSCE. You know that in Rome, Chairman Gorbachev raised the
possibility of a new conference -- a congress of Europe. I
understand that didn't come up in Malta.
THE PRESIDENT: No, it didn't.
Q It did?
THE PRESIDENT: No, it did not. You're right.
Q
But even though it didn't, it's an important
suggestion, and I wonder how you feel about it.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I feel about it that I have -- with
respect to him -- an even more important suggestion. And that is
that we sign a CFE agreement. There's something that's very
practical, that's very much within our grasp, and I think that should
be our prime objective for that kind of a meeting.
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0
Chairman Gorbachev said yesterday that you and he
agreed in your talks that the world -- that the Malta meeting marked
the end of the epoch of the Cold War and entering a new period. Do
you agree with him that the Cold War is over?
THE PRESIDENT: Carl, let me tell you something.
(Laughter.) We're fooling around with semantics here. I don't want
to give you a headline. I've told you the areas where I think we
have progress. Why do we resort to these code words that send
different signals to different people? I'm not going to answer it.
And I can tell --
Q He did.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, good. He can speak for himself in
a very eloquent way. But in terms of if you want me to define it, is
the Cold War the same -- I mean, is it raging like it was before in
the times of the Berlin Blockade? Absolutely not. Things have moved
dramatically. But if I signal to you there's no Cold War, then it's
-- "What are you doing with troops in Europe?" I mean, come on.
Yes, Maureen?
Q
A question for --
THE PRESIDENT: Is your name Maureen, sir?
Q
-- Soviet journalist. I am from a visiting
newspaper.
THE PRESIDENT: Name Maureen? Go ahead. (Laughter.)
Q
Mr. President, what is your reaction to Chairman
Gorbachev's proposal that NATO and the Warsaw Pact should not remain
just military alliances, but rather become military-political
alliances and later on just political alliances? Can you envisage in
the future a new form of cooperation between the two alliances?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I can see an economic interaction,
and I hope that NATO will, along with the EC and along with OECD and
these other areas, will take more of an active East-West role in the
economy, in helping each other in terms of systems. But he did not
press that point with me at all. I think he envisions an active U.S.
presence in Europe, one way or another.
0
Mr. President, after five hours of talks on
Saturday, despite extremely treacherous seas -- you even had trouble
getting to the talks -- you got back on your launch and got back on
your ship. Mr. President, why did you do that?
THE PRESIDENT: Because I wanted to go back in time to
receive him for dinner.
Q
But didn't you understand you were risking the
summit, number one? And number two, what do you think Gorbachev
thinks of your judgment?
THE PRESIDENT: Maureen, you've been to Maine. Don't
tell me that that little chop was -- (laughter) -- risking anything.
Frankly, I haven't had that much fun in a long time, either. But the
fact that we got out there and the seas kicked up even more -- the
winds were up to 60 knots -- 60 miles an hour, 50 knots -- which is a
big wind. And along with it came a swell, and along with it came a
chop. But we didn't miss a beat. In fact, we had a very relaxed
evening out there, and then showed up and we got eight hours of talks
in. So that was a non-issue. And I didn't feel there was any risk
in getting in a little safe launch like that and going back out to
the ship; it was sheer pleasure. Really.
2
It wasn't hot-dogging?
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THE PRESIDENT: Hot-dogging? No. (Laughter.) Well,
you know, these charismatic, macho, visionary guys. They'll do
anything. (Laughter.) This is the last question. I've got to go.
I've got to go home.
Q
Mr. President, a few moments ago you questioned
whether Gorbachev had any influence at all over Danny Ortega. Yet,
in his news conference yesterday, Chairman Gorbachev indicated that
there may be an opportunity now for peace in the region. Did he
indicate to you in any way whether, one, he had any control over
Ortega, or two, whether there was something in the works that may
lead to some kind of peaceful political --
THE PRESIDENT: No, he didn't. But I think -- he didn't
indicate whether he had any control over him. What he did indicate
was that there were going to be free elections. And I told him,
that's fine -- have those free elections. But they've got to be
fair. You have to have access for the minority parties and the
opposition party, the UNO, to get in there and participate -- full
access.
And so we had a little discussion of that, but that was
about it.
Q
To follow up. If he indicated there would be free
elections, that would in turn indicate that he does in fact maintain
some sort of influence of Ortega. And then wouldn't you hold him
further responsible to stop that flow of arms to El Salvador?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I'm not sure -- I don't see quite
the logic. If he says there's going to be a free election, that
means he controls them. I'm unclear on your --
Q
How could he assure you that there would be free
elections?
THE PRESIDENT: Oh, excuse me. I don't think he assured
me there was. He just says free elections are scheduled. And I told
him how important we felt it was that they go forward. I am told
that our congressional delegation, made up of some who had been
rather generous in their comments about what the Sandinistas were
about, or at least were less than supportive historically for the
Contras, were on this delegation, and that the delegation was denied
the right to come in and take a look.
And I told him this is counterproductive. This doesn't
help. But I don't want to imply from that, that he can just snap his
fingers and have Mr. Ortega -- I think he was -- do what he said.
I think he was impressed -- I may be wrong, but I think
he was impressed by the message from Oscar Arias. And I asked Arias
if it was okay to tell him of the call, and he said, yes, I hope you
will.
So when I said this man -- this Nobel Prize winner down
there -- with whom we've had some differences, though normally we're
in pretty good sync -- appeals to you to use your influence to stop
the export of revolution, it may have made an impact.
I really do have to run. We're supposed to be out of
here, for those who are flying with us, at quarter of. And it's now
14 of. No, wait a minute. Twelve of. (Laughter.) What's the big
hand. Here, I'm getting a little tired. (Laughter.)
Thank you.
END
4:54 P.M. (L)
McGroarty/Dooley
December 5, 1989
1:00 pm
[NRCC]
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: NATIONAL REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL
COMMITTEE DINNER
THE MARRIOTT HOTEL, WASHINGTON, D.C.
DECEMBER 5, 1989
6:35 PM
Thank you. [Introductory acknowledgements.] This is quite
a gathering of GOP all-stars. NRCC chairman, Congressman Guy Van
der Jagt, and his co-chairman, Ed Rollins. Members of my Cabinet
and our House leadership. Let me also thank the NRCC faithful.
And finally, let me recognize tonight's man of honor, former
chairman of the NRCC -- Republican leader Bob Michel.
I'm proud to say I served with Bob up on the Hill -- seen
him in action. Few can match this man's wisdom when it comes to
the ways of Congress. As the Republican leader in the House,
Bob's a key player in moving this Administration's legislative
agenda forward -- and he's going to be a key ally when Congress
comes back next month.
He's simply one of the most respected men on Capitol Hill.
/// And -- as anyone knows who witnessed the fashion statement
Bob made at this year's Senate-House Dinner -- he's a shoo-in for
the Hill's Best Dressed List. ///
It's my pleasure to be here tonight. As you all know, I got
back home less than 24 hours ago from Brussels -- and from my
2
meetings with Mikhail Gorbachev. I'd like to report to you what
we accomplished in Malta -- and we accomplished a great deal.
First, let me say this about the atmosphere in our meetings.
Whatever the weather, there were no stormy sessions inside. We
were both straightforward -- and I think we established good
lines of communication. I made it very clear to President
Gorbachev that America does not seek to exploit events in Eastern
Europe -- but only to assist the forces of freedom and reform
emerging there. And I was up-front with President Gorbachev on
Central America, and the destabilizing flow of arms into that
region from nations receiving Soviet support. Both of us agreed
that we don't have to sacrifice candor in order to build a better
relationship.
But there is no question that we made real progress at Malta
-- progress that strengthens the peace, and provides a solid base
for future advances. We agreed to accelerate the timetables for
reducing arms, and conventional forces in Europe. We agreed to a
summit here in the U.S. next June. And we agreed to move forward
in forging a closer economic relationship in light of the
positive changes taking place in the Soviet Union.
I look at Malta as the first hopeful step into a new
American-Soviet relationship -- the first step into the next
decade, and the new world that is taking shape each passing day:
a new world of freedom. And make no mistake: the progress set
in motion at Malta would not have been possible without the
steadfast support of the American people.
3
[[ I'm pleased to share that report with all of you --
especially given the man you're honoring tonight. This is one
time I don't have to ask myself: "But will it play in Peoria?" -
- I can just ask Bob. /// After all, his politics have been
playing in Peoria for 33 years. ]]
You know, less than a month from now, we'll begin a new
decade -- the last in this century. I think all of us feel the
very natural inclination to look ahead, to think about the
changes a new century will bring. But today there's more than
that natural impulse at work. Each day brings new change -- from
Warsaw to Budapest to Prague and, yes, Berlin, each day brings
new evidence that the love of freedom is gathering force -- that
the promise of the 90s and the new century beyond is nothing less
than a new world of freedom.
These are exciting times: for every American -- for people
all over the world who cherish the freedoms we enjoy -- and they
are exciting times for the Republican Party.
Because the values we see triumphing today are the values
this Party has always stood for -- values that have kept America
free, prosperous and at peace -- values that helped create the
conditions for that new world of freedom that is now infolding
before us.
And I'm convinced that the American people will continue to
look to us -- look to leaders like Bob Michel and his fellow
Republicans in the House -- to keep this country on course in
these times of change.
4
[[ And let me say right now to all the loyal members of the
NRCC: the 1990s will bring a new world. We've all seen the grim
spectacle: voices struggling to be heard, a minority trampled by
unbridled power -- the decades-old fight against oppression. ///
Yes, I'm talking about Republicans in the House of
Representatives. // Well, the tide is turning. // Change will
come to Capitol Hill. The days of one-party rule are over. ]]
Our message is getting through to mainstream America: the
Republican Party is the party with ideas. With experience. with
the answers to the questions we will face in the decade ahead.
And there's no greater goal than the one that inspires everyone
here tonight: to build our support in mainstream America into
majority status in the House.
And when that proud day comes -- a proud day for every
Republican from the House leadership right down to the rank and
file -- we'll have the NRCC to thank for its tireless efforts.
It's been my pleasure to join you tonight. God bless you --
and God bless the United States of America.
# # #
St for Nat'l Repub. Cona.
Comm. Winner
12/5
We would like the President to acknowledge the following the
following people in both the Private Reception and the Dinner:
Congressman Guy Vander Jagt
Chairman, NRCC
Congressman Robert H. Michel
Republican Leader of the House
Congressman Newt Gingrich
Republican Whip of the House
Congressman Jerry Lewis
Chairman, Houe Republcian Conference
Congressman Bill McCollum
Vice-President, House Republican Conference
Congressman Vin Weber (Not Attending)
Secretary, House Republican Conference
Congressman Mickey Edwards
Chairman, Committee on Policy
Chency
Congressman Duncan Hunter
Chairman, Committee on Research
Kenys
Joe M. Rodgers
Chairman, The President's Forun
Lujan
Former Ambassador to France
Drew Lewis Crat attending)
Sullwan
Co-Chairman, The President's Forum
Wathins
Chairman & CEO Union Pacific Corporation
Reilly
NRCC PAC
Direct
Engeleiter
14
Plus 5 or 6 members of
the Calinet will be in
attendance, attend
Hause -
Quote books-
Occidental Trice - 783-1475
Cab
sick *hym Chiney
Jack Kemp & Joanne
hours Sullivian " Hinge
many Lujan a year
Jim Watkins shulah
Engeletter guest
But Reilley hibby
347-4800
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
December 4, 1989
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
CHRISS WINSTON
30
THROUGH:
FROM:
DAN MCGROARTY mor
SUBJECT:
NRCC DINNER REMARKS
I. SUMMARY
At the J.W. Marriott on Tuesday, December 5, at 7:00
p.m., you will be the featured speaker at the "Presidential
Tribute to Bob Michel and The Republican Leadership" dinner.
There will be about 500 people present. Several members of
the Cabinet will be there, including Secretaries Cheney,
Kemp, Lujan, Sullivan, and Watkins. Susan Engeleiter and
Willian Reilly will also attend.
II. DISCUSSION
The remarks discuss the many changes taking place in
the world today, and how these changes reflect the long-held
beliefs of the Republican party. Brackets have been left
open for any language concerning the Malta meeting.
###
McGroarty/Dooley
December 4, 1989
3:00 pm
[NRCC]
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: NATIONAL REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL
COMMITTEE DINNER
THE MARRIOTT HOTEL, WASHINGTON, D.C.
DECEMBER 5, 1989
7:00 PM
Thank you. [Introductory acknowledgements.] This is quite
a gathering of GOP all-stars. NRCC chairman, Congressman Guy Van
der Jagt, and his co-chairman, Ed Rollins. Members of my Cabinet
and our House leadership. Let me also thank the NRCC faithful.
And finally, let me recognize tonight's man of honor, former
chairman of the NRCC -- Republican leader Bob Michel.
I'm proud to say I served with Bob up on the Hill -- seen
him in action. Few can match this man's wisdom when it comes to
the ways of Congress. As the Republican leader in the House,
Bob's a key player in moving this Administration's legislative
agenda forward -- and he's going to be a key ally when Congress
comes back next month.
He's simply one of the most respected men on Capitol Hill.
/// And -- as anyone knows who witnessed the fashion statement
Bob made at this year's Senate-House Dinner -- he's a shoo-in for
the Hill's Best Dressed List. ///
It's my pleasure to be here tonight. As you all know, I got
back home just 24 hours ago from Brussels -- and from my meetings
with Mikhail Gorbachev. [POSSIBLE INSERT ON MALTA MEETINGS.]
2
[[ I'm pleased to share that report with all of you --
especially given the man you're honoring tonight. This is one
time I don't have to ask myself: "But will it play in Peoria?" -
- I can just ask Bob. /// After all, his politics have been
playing in Peoria for 33 years. ]]
You know, less than a month from now, we'll begin a new
decade -- the last in this century. I think all of us feel the
very natural inclination to look ahead, to think about the
changes a new century will bring. But today there's more than
that natural impulse at work. Each day brings new change -- from
Warsaw to Budapest to Prague and, yes, Berlin, each day brings
new evidence that the love of freedom is gathering force -- that
the promise of the 90s and the new century beyond is nothing less
than a new world of freedom.
These are exciting times: for every American -- for people
all over the world who cherish the freedoms we enjoy -- and they
are exciting times for the Republican Party.
Because the values we see triumphing today are the values
this Party has always stood for -- values that have kept America
free, prosperous and at peace -- values that helped create the
conditions for that new world of freedom that is now infolding
before us.
And I'm convinced that the American people will continue to
look to us -- look to leaders like Bob Michel and his fellow
Republicans in the House -- to keep this country on course in
these times of change.
3
[[ And let me say right now to all the loyal members of the
NRCC: the 1990s will bring a new world. We've all seen the grim
spectacle: voices struggling to be heard, a minority trampled by
unbridled power -- the decades-old fight against oppression. ///
Yes, I'm talking about Republicans in the House of
Representatives. // Well, the tide is turning. // Change will
come to Capitol Hill. The days of one-party rule are over. ]]
Our message is getting through to mainstream America: the
Republican Party is the party with ideas. With experience. With
the answers to the questions we will face in the decade ahead.
And there's no greater goal than the one that inspires everyone
here tonight: to build our support in mainstream America into
majority status in the House.
And when that proud day comes -- a proud day for every
Republican from the House leadership right down to the rank and
file -- we'll have the NRCC to thank for its tireless efforts.
It's been my pleasure to join you tonight. God bless you --
and God bless the United States of America.
# # #
SENT BY: XEROX Telecopier Republican 7017:12- 4-891
National
Committee
Communications Division
320 First Street, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
(202) 479-7070-Voice
456-6218
(202) 863-0693-Fax
To:
Peggy Dodey
From:
Dan Leavard
Phone: 479-7070 Date: 12/4
Time:
Number of pages to follow: 3
Comments:
includes names so be acknowledge
Enclosed are Some talking Points. Page3
Thereis no "Victory Fund," it's Called
Presidents forum"
SENT BY: XEROX Telecopier 7017:12- 4-89 ; 11:33 ;
2024566218:# 2/ 4
PRESIDENT'S TALKING POINTS
THE PRESIDENT'S FORUM
Private Reception with President's Forum Members
Tuesday, December 5, 1989
*
The President's Forum is the newest major donor
program at the National Republican Congressional
Committee. This program is expected to raise
$3 Million for the NRCC by November 1990. The money
raised this year will be used to fund targeted 1990
Republican candidates for the U.S. House of
Representatives and the important redistricting
efforts that are critical.
The President's Forum has extremely strong leadership
with Former Ambassador to France, Joe M. Rodgers
(wife's name is Honey), as Chairman, and Drew Lewis
(not attending), Chairman and CEO of Union Pacific,
serving as vice-Chairman.
"The Presidential Tribute to Republican House Leader
Bob Michel and the House Republican Leadership, is
the kick-off event for the President's Forum. It will
be followed by three other events, to be held before
the 1990 elections, with former Presidents Reagan,
Ford and Nixon.
I encourage you to include and involve your friends
and co-workers in the exciting experience of the
President's Forum. Never before in history has there
been an opportunity for a group of loyal Republican
supporters to meet with each of the four Republican
Presidents of the United States in one year.
The President's Forum is an exclusive group, rare in
it's commitment to allow personal exchange with VIP's
by limiting membership to 200 members.
SENT BY: XEROX Telecopier 7017:12- 4-89 ; 11:33
2024566218:# 3/ 4
PRESIDENT'S TALKING POINTS
THE PRESIDENTIAL TRIBUTE TO BOB MICHEL
Tuesday, December 5, 1989
We see the 1990 & 1992 elections as a rare chance to
make gains in the House due to the unique opportunity
provided by redistricting. I need your help to
protect GOP House incumbents, andpick up new seats,
both in 1990 & 1992.
The NRCC has adopted a new strategy to aggressively
target those entrenched Democrats who breeze through
re-election each cycle - even if it means going after
the most prominent, established Democrats in the House.
*
The President's Forum has extremely strong leadership
with Former Ambassador to France, Joe M. Rodgers
(wife's name is Honey), as Chairman, and Drew Lewis
(not attending), Chairman and CEO of Union Pacific,
serving as Vice-Chairman.
*
"The Presidential Tribute to Republican House Leader
Bob Michel and the House Republican Leadership," is
the kick-off event for the President's Forum. It will
be followed by three other events, to be held before
the 1990 elections, with former Presidents Reagan,
Ford and Nixon.
*
"The Presidential Tribute to Republican House Leader
Bob Michel and the House Republican Leadership, is
the kick-off event for the President's Forum. It will
be followed by three other events, to be held before
the 1990 elections, with former Presidents Reagan,
Ford and Nixon.
I encourage you to include and involve your friends
and co-workers in the exciting experience of the
President's Forum. Never before in history has there
been an opportunity for a group of loyal Republican
supporters to meet with each of the four Republican
Presidents of the United States in one year.
Besides Cabinet members, Republican members of the
House and other VIP's joining you tonight, there is
also a group of (8 or 10) strong Republican House
candidates who, if they win, will help take control of
the House in the 1990's. It is support like yours
that will help accomplish this goal.
*
The President's Forum is an exclusive group, rare in
it's commitment to allow personal exchange with VIP's
by limiting membership to 200 members.
SENT BY: XEROX Telecopier 7017:12- 4-89 11:34
2024566218:# 4/ 4
The President needs to acknowledge the following the following
people in both the Private Reception and the Dinner:
Congressman Guy Vander Jagt
Chairman, NRCC
Congressman Robert H. Michel
Republican Leader of the House
Congressman Newt Gingrich
Republican Whip of the House
Congressman Jerry Lewis
Chairman, Hous Republcian Conference
Congresman Bill McCollum
Vice-President, House Republican Conference
Congressman vin Weber (Not Attending)
Secretary, House Republican Conference
Congressman Mickey Edwards
Chairman, Committee on Policy
Congressman Duncan Hunter
Chairman, Committee on Research
Joe M. Rodgers
Chairman, The President's Forun
Former Ambassador to France
Drew Lewis
Co-Chairman, The President's Forum
Chairman & CEO Union Pacific Corporation
225-6201
McGroarty/Dooley
0600
December 1, 1989
300 pm
[NRCC]
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: NATIONAL REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL
COMMITTEE DINNER
THE MARRIOTT HOTEL, WASHINGTON, D.C.
the
DECEMBER 5, 1989
8:00 PM
7
PM
Dan Leonard
Thank you. [Introductory acknowledgements.] This is quite
a gathering of GOP all-stars. NRCC chairman, Congressman Guy Van
Koops
der Jagt, and his co-chairman, Ed Rollins. Let me thank the NRCC
koopo
faithful -- the many members of the Victory Fund who are here
tonight. And finally, let me recognize tonight's man of honor,
Michel
former chairman of the NRCC -- Bob Michel.
bio
muher's
I'm proud to say I served with Bob up on the Hill. I've
seen him in action. Few can match this man's wisdom when it
comes to the ways of Congress. As minority leader, Bob's a key
25-06-00
player in moving this Administration's legislative agenda forward
-- and he's going to be a key ally when the battle begins again
Hoops
next month.
He's simply one of the most respected men on Capitol Hill.
wash
/// And -- as anyone knows who witnessed the fashion statement
Bob made at this year's Senate President's House Dinner -- he's a shoo-in for
Post,
the Hill's Best Dressed List. ///
6/15/80
It's my pleasure to be here tonight. As you all know, I got
sched
back home just 24 hours ago from Brussels -- and from my meetings
with Mikhail Gorbachev. [INSERT ON MALTA MEETINGS.]
2
[[ I'm pleased to share that report with all of you --
especially given the man you're honoring tonight. This is one
time I don't have to ask myself: "But will it play in Peoria?" -
- I can just ask Bob. /// After all, his politics have been
playing in Peoria for 33 years.
]]
elected 1956
michel
You know, less than a month from now, we'll begin a new
decade -- the last in this century. I think all of us feel the
very natural inclination to look ahead, to think about the
changes a new century will bring. But today there's more than
that natural impulse at work. Each day brings new change -- from
Warsaw to Budapest to Prague and, yes, Berlin, each day brings
new evidence that the love of freedom is gathering force -- that
the promise of the 90s and the new century beyond is nothing less
than a new world of freedom.
These are exciting times: for every American -- for people
all over the world who cherish the freedoms we enjoy -- and they
are exciting times for the Republican Party.
Because the values we see triumphing today are the values
this Party has always stood for -- values that have kept America
free, prosperous and at peace -- values that helped create the
conditions for that new world of freedom that lies ahead of us.
And I'm convinced that the American people will continue to
look to us -- look to leaders like Bob Michel and his fellow
Republicans in the House -- to keep this country on course in
these times of change.
3
[[ And let me say right now to all the loyal members of the
NRCC: the 1990s will bring a new world. We've all seen the grim
spectacle: voices struggling to be heard, a minority trampled by
unbridled power -- the decades-old fight against oppression. ///
Yes, I'm talking about Republicans in the House of
Representatives. // Well, the tide is turning. // Change will
come to Capitol Hill. The days of one-party rule are over. ]]
Our message is getting through to mainstream America: the
Republican Party is the party with ideas. With experience. With
the answers to the questions we will face in the decade ahead.
And there's no greater goal than the one that inspires everyone
here tonight: to build our support in mainstream America into
majority status in the House.
And when that proud day comes -- a proud day for every
Republican from the House leadership right down to the rank and
file -- we'll have the NRCC to thank for its tireless efforts.
It's been my pleasure to join you tonight. God bless you ---
and God bless the United States of America.
# # #
Services of Mead Data Central
PAGE
2
1ST STORY of Level 2 printed in FULL format.
Copyright (c) 1989 The Washington Post
June 15, 1989, Thursday, Final Edition
for
SECTION: STYLE; PAGE C1
LENGTH: 838 words
HEADLINE: The GOP, Dulling for Dollars
NRCC
BYLINE: Martha Sherrill, Washington Post Staff Writer
BODY:
Imagine a football field at night ----- no, in a cave -- with 420 white dinner
tables set up on it. Imagine more than 4,000 people in black tie and an odd
assortment of cocktail dresses standing up while "Today" show weatherman Willard
Scott leads them in the Pledge of Allegiance. Imagine hearing Mary Hart, of
"Entertainment Tonight" fame, sing "The Star-Bangled Banner" to the crowd, and
then "Happy Birthday" to the president. Imagine a Republican convention without
the balloons, but with all the dull speeches about a better America, George
Bush's second term, gaining control of Congress
And imagine, if you can, paying $ 1,500 a plate for all this. Plus five
minutes of the Rockettes at the bitter end.
It all happened last night at the Convention Center, at "The President's
Dinner, = one of the biggest political fund-raisers in history, grossing an
estimated $ 7 million for the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC)
and the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC).
"Marilyn Quayle, it's a delight to be with you tonight," George Bush said,
but he was sitting 50 far away -- at one of four head tables set up in each
corner of the cavernous room -- that it was hard to imagine they were actually
with each other.
Three huge television screens hovered above the crowd so everybody could
watch what was going on. During the invocation, heads were half-bowed in prayer,
still trying to see Barbara Bush on the big screen.
Four festively painted sets loomed over the room, one behind each head table.
They must have been designed to make the out-of-town crowd feel at home. It was
all there: the Golden Gate Bridge, the Manhattan skyline, a massive cutout of
the state of Texas, an Arizona cactus, a Mississippi steamship, the Los Angeles
Olympic Stadium, the Seattle needle, Mount Rushmore.
As Willard Scott told the crowd before the pledge: "You look like a PTA
meeting in Texas." Indeed, there were some interesting get-ups, which led one
Mississippi Republican to remark, "A tornado must have blown over a trailer park
and some of the inhabitants wandered in here."
Hart wore a bright purple dress with a white portrait collar and her hair
swept up, under restraint. There was a nice Julie Andrews quality to her voice,
even when it kept getting ahead of the piano accompaniment, which seemed to be
coming from another universe.
LEXIS® NEXIS® LEXIS® ® NEXIS
Services of Mead Data Central
PAGE
3
(c) 1989 The Washington Post, June 15, 1989
House Minority Leader Robert Michel of Illinois turned up wearing a shiny
watermelon pink dinner jacket with black elephants on it. "I know some of you
might be surprised by my attire this evening," he said. "But when you see what's
going on in the House these days, some might think I'd be better off wearing a
helmet, a black jacket and carrying a can of mace. Actually, I only dress like
that when I'm on duty."
Members of the press not traveling in the White House press pool were roped
off in a corner of the room, and escorted to a holding room below once dinner
began. They'd been promised a dinner of their own, "catered by Domino's," but
the pizzas never arrived, which got them grumbling in the worst way. They became
nearly unmanageable and began complaining about what people were wearing. "Mary
Hart looked like a pilgrim," said one guy wearing a Hawaiian shirt. = Bob
Michel looks like Jerry Lee Lewis," said another.
After dinner (it was the kind of event where the the first course - gravlax
timbales stuffed with trout mousse - had been waiting at the tables for an hour
before the guests arrived), the speeches started. They lasted an hour. They were
serious. It seemed as if someone were running for office. George Bush was a long
time coming.
Dinner chairman David Murdock spoke first, then Michel, then Senate Minority
Leader Robert Dole of Kansas, then Rep. Guy Vander Jagt from Minnesota, then
Vice President Quayle - just off the plane from Central America. Sen. Don
Nickles of Oklahoma introduced the president.
His "address," as it was described in the program, touched on many issues -
crime, education, savings and loans, the deficit, volunteerism, troubles on the
Hill. His mention of Lee Atwater - the Republican National Committee chairman,
who took some heat last week after one of his aides circulated that Tom Foley
memo Bush called "disgusting" - received by far the loudest response.
"Our party chairman, Lee Atwater, who's doing a great job," said the
president before being interrupted by thunderous applause. "He's been a strong
voice --- and a correct voice arguing that we Republicans need to reach out to
minorities and the disadvantaged. And these groups can benefit the most from our
philosophy, which simply maximizes opportunity and rewards initiative. And
that's a message I believe in, and that we as a party must be prepared to act
on."
It was at this event just last year that President Reagan stood up at a head
table and, briefly and without much fanfare, endorsed then-Vice President Bush
for president of the United States. But last night, that seemed like another
lifetime ago.
GRAPHIC: PHOTO, THE ROCKETTES PERFORM AT LAST NIGHT'S GOP FUND-RAISER. HARRY
NALTCHAYAN
TYPE: NATIONAL NEWS, DC NEWS
SUBJECT: POLITICAL PARTIES; FUND RAISING; DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
NAMED-PERSONS: GEORGE BUSH
LEXIS® NEXIS® LEXIS ® NEXIS
11/27/89
13:42
001
ROBERT H. MICHEL
18TH DISTRICT, ILLINOIS
H-232. THE CAPITOL
WASHINGTON. DC 20515
225-0500
Office of the Republican Leader
United States House of Representatives
lashington, BC 20515
TELECOPY/FACSIMILE WORKSHEET
DATE 11/27
TIME 12:00
TO
Peggy Dooley
FROM Nelson Litterst
THROUGH
NUMBER OF PAGES TO FOLLOW
I
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
If this transmission is incomplete, call (202) 225-0600
Our facsimile telephone number is (202) 225-7733
11/27/89
13:43
002
ROBERT H. MICHEL
Congressman, 18th District of Illinois
House Republican Leader
Bob Michel has served as the Republican Leader in the House of Representatives since 1980 and
was re elected by his colleagues to serve in this top spot for the 101st Congress. Bob has served in
leadership positions in his party since 1972 when he was elected Chairman of the National Republican
Congressional Committee. In 1974 he was chosen Republican Whip, a position he held until his
designation as Leader in 1980
Bob, the son of a French immigrant, was born in Peoria, Illinóis on March 2, 1923. He was reared
and educated in Peoria and Was graduated from Bradley University with a B.S. degree in Business
Administration in 1948. Michel received the Bradley Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1961-and currently
sits on the Bradley Board of Trustees. Michel holds honorary doctorate degrees from Bradley University,
Illinois Wesleyan, Lincoln College, Illinois College and Bellarmine College.
During World War II, Michel served in the enlisted ranks as a combat infantryman in England, rance,
Belgium and Germany. He Was wounded by machine gun fire in the Battle of the Bulge and discharged
as a disabled veteran after being awarded two Bronze Stars, the Purple Heart and four battle stars
Michel was first elected in 1956 to the 85th Congress from the
18th Congressional District of Illinois. He brought to the job the
experience of eight years as Administrative Assistant to his
predecessor, Representative Harold Velde: Michel has won the
confidence of his constituents and has been elected to 17 con-
secutive terms in the House.
The Illinois Congressman served for over 20 years on the
House Appropriations Committee and currently is an ex-officio
member of the House Intelligence Committee.
Long active in Republican politics, Michel has been a delegate to
every Republican National Convention since 1964. He served as
Permanent Chairman of the Republican National Conventions in 1984
and 1988. He also served as Deputy Floor eader for President Gerald
R. Ford in 1976, and Floor Leader for President Reagan in 1980.
Michel is married to the former Corinne Woodruff of Peoria. The couple has four children: three
sons, Scott, Bruce, and Robin; and a daughter, Laurie. The Michels also have three grandchildren.
Congressman Michel has numerous memberships which include: President Ford's Commission on Olympic
Sports, Past President of the Illinois State Society, Life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Amvers
and the Military Order of the Purple Heart, member of the American Legion, Disabled American Veterans,
Rotary International (Honorary), Cosmopolitan International, Orpheus Club, Boy Scouts Council, YMCA,
Peoria Association of Commerce, Peoria Ad Club, Order of AHFPA, Alfalfa Club, Mt. Hawley Country Club
of Peoria, Board of Governors of Creve Coeur Club, Sigma Nu and Pi Kappa Delta fraternities.