Interview with Marjorie Clapprood of WRKO Radio, Boston, Massachusetts

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Oct 24, 1994

Talk Radio

Ms. Clapprood. Do you have any further comments, other than those that you made on KMOX about talk radio? Do you think that the right-wing conservative bashing of talk radio has done a disservice? It seems to me that's the national pastime of a lot of my colleagues on the air; that's just the "get good ratings if you kick Bill around."

The President. Well, what I think is important, let me say--one thing I like about radio is--

Ms. Clapprood. Me.

The President. Oh, I like you.

Ms. Clapprood. Good.

The President. But generally, I like radio because it's an immediate, it's almost an intimate thing. People feel like they're right there.

Ms. Clapprood. Right.

The President. And people feel that they have a chance to have their say. But a lot of these folks who are on the far right, they never have anybody on that disagrees with them, they never have an honest discussion, and they're not as careful as they ought to be with their facts. I think it's good to have your critics on there and to have honest debates. We shouldn't all agree on everything, and no one in America, including the President, is right about everything. There are always things we can learn. But what I think the American people ought to insist on from talk radio is a conversation, not a screaming match, and strict adherence to the facts. There's plenty to argue about when we get the facts straight.

That's the only thing that bothers me. I think generally this talk radio phenomenon can be a great instrument in promoting democracy. People feel so isolated from Washington, so isolated from the bureaucracies. A lot of folks even feel isolated from their State capital. So if talk radio makes people feel like they've got a voice, they can be heard, then that's good. But it ought to be a conversation, not a screaming match, and we ought to get our facts straight.

Ms. Clapprood. Yes. And I've got this big problem--my mother always said to me, a position that is not articulated ceases to exist. And sometimes, if that other side isn't heard, people actually believe it's their reality.

The President. I agree with that.

Foreign Policy Accomplishments

Ms. Clapprood. Yes.

I wanted to ask you a little bit about international affairs, if we can. Coming on the heels now of what looks like a fairly peaceful transition and return of Jean-Bertrand Aristide to power in Haiti, you've got an awful lot on your international plate, with the Middle East, with what's happening in Kuwait, and I understand you're on your way next week to the signing of the peace accord between Israel and Jordan. Do you feel as though you've turned a major corner in your administration in terms of not only the maturity of the Clinton administration but in public perception finally cutting you a break and saying, "You know what, he's doing all right"?

The President. Well, I hope so. I think, first of all, a lot of these problems are very difficult, and they don't yield overnight. And a lot of them are things we have been working on here for 2 years. But I'm very proud of what our people, particularly our young men and women in uniform, have done in Haiti and in the Persian Gulf. I'm proud of the role the United States is playing toward peace in the Middle East and in Northern Ireland. And I'm very proud of the work that Ambassador Gallucci did in hammering out this agreement with the North Koreans, which will enable us to avoid a confrontation with them, and enable them to move toward a more normal relationship with South Korea and with the rest of the world, and take a major nuclear threat away.