Interview with CBS News, Cox newspapers, and McClatchy newspapers

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, June 29, 1998

So I'm still hoping that progress will triumph over partisanship at the end and that we'll see at the close, as the Congress - either now, before the August recess, or when they come back in September, and they don't want to stay very long, because they want to go home and campaign, and they've got all the appropriations bills and all this stuff still to do. I'm hoping that a different atmosphere will take over, and we'll see just what happened before.

You're quite right; we had a lot of success in '95. We had a lot of success in '96. We had a lot success - not '95, we had success in '96 and '97 - and whether we will in '98 or not, I don't know. We could repeat '95. I mean we really could get to the point where we were almost as bad off as we were in '95, or we could wind up with a replay of '96 and '97. And it's really going to be up to the Republican majority to decide. But, you know, my door is open, and they know what I want. I have been very clear, I think, about it. And I'll remain hopeful and upbeat about it.

Q. Will you be able to meet with Senator McCain before you leave for China? Do you have plans, are you trying to put -

The President. I certainly intend to talk to him. He did a good job. He did the best he could. And he deserves the thanks of the American people for this. I'm grateful to him for what he did. And it's not over. It's not over. And it won't be over for me until I get on the helicopter and ride off into the distance in 2 1/2 years. So I'm going to keep working on this until the end.

NOTE: The interview began at 4:47 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White House and was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on June 19 but was embargoed for release until 6 a.m., June 20. In his remarks, the President referred to President Jiang Zemin and Premier Li Peng of China; Jim Mann, journalist, Los Angeles Times; former President George Bush; and President Fidel Ramos of the Philippines. The journalists who conducted the interview were Tom Mattesky for CBS News, Bob Deans for Cox Newspapers, and David Westphal for McClatchy Newspapers. This item was not received in time for publication in the appropriate issue. A tape was not available for verification of the content of this interview.