 It's cool, isn't it? Such a cool thing, right? I think it is. We come here every time, and here for the presentation. Yes. Inside. Yes. We're very pleased today. He's presenting these medals to Nathan Sharansky and his wife, Avatar, who couldn't be here with us today, and we're going forward with the ceremony, and then we pleased also to have his mother, his brother, and his cousin here with us, and also to have the wife of Congress, and Bill, and Bill, and who was the one who sponsored the legislation that Congress created for the medals. So now, we'll have a presentation, and I want to come out and present this medal to you what it really means and what it's about. Serve it to you, Gillian. This is on behalf of all mankind, not just all Americans, because of what you've done for people who have persecuted and oppressed throughout the free world. You're carried over the years, nine years of imprisonment on false charges, and still retain your poise and your strength to do good. Thank you very much, dear President. I know you're finishing your eight years, and when you retire, you'll probably be writing members, as all of us do, and you'll be thinking about the past. And if you'll have some sad moments, think about my happy family, and think about thousands and thousands of people who are praying in Soviet camps who are praying and asking for the God to give you strength and stubbornness and assistance to you, to you, to you, to American people in the struggle for their rights, and who are free today, not because of some good will over Soviet leaders, but because of their struggle and your struggle. And you, President, today, dear George, please think about those thousands and thousands who are still there and who are praying now for you. You know that you will be as stubborn, and we are sure you will be stubborn, as firm in struggling for defending human rights and the Soviet Union. And of course, all your record in Soviet Jewry and the European Jewry and other things that means to us that you will continue that fantastically good record of human rights which President Reagan and Secretary of State should send American congressman had and will make possible our freedom and freedom of our brothers and sisters. Thank you very much. And now, you will present to your wife. It's also a dismemberment, and we know about the work that she was doing all during those years when we were there. Mr. Shoransky and Mr. Shoransky are Israeli citizens now, and through their immigration to Israel. Thank you very much. She, all her struggle was successful only because of the strong support of Israel, America, of all the world, and because White House, together with Congress, turned into headquarters of her struggle. That's why it was so successful in bringing freedom to me and to many other people. Thank you. Mr. President, what about the American House? We just have one minute here. We would like to have the family come in and join us. His mother, his brother, his cousin who is here from Moscow, and Mrs. Gilman. I thought the customs and information. You're wearing a look on the back. You're wearing a look on the back. You're going to deal with it. Do the customs and information to take you to Israel? With it. By order of Congress, those are solid goals. Mr. President, if we have a second, the American hostages in Lebanon, do you think there's any chance that they may be released into a leaving office? Can only pray and continue what we've been exploring every channel possible for their release and that they've never been out of my mind since they were so unfairly seized. Any sign that they may be prepared to do what they did eight years ago? I don't have any speculation on that. It's a great tragedy. We hope that it can be resolved. What's your speech like tonight? Is it all personal or well-read? It's an attack, everybody. I don't think so. Just behind the scenes. So then they can finish. Have a conversation. What's your best advice to George Bush? Keep on doing what he just did. Get out of the room first. You think he should go to Hirohito's funeral and do a Pearl Harbor and all of the horror of World War II? I think that the friendship that has been created since took people on both sides who now have some of our staunchest allies and friends, worthwhile enemies, and yes, I think he should. No. It's too cold. It's too cold. We have a full circle. Please let's all sit down. Papers from my pocket and be labored with anything here. I know you've put a good report on everything else in the so-called revolution and all of that, but I also know what you're here to do. So, Walter? Well, Mr. President, we had a... our last meeting with Joe, we had a review of the budget. As you know better than anyone, race rests on economic assumptions. And going around the table, Farrell Sprinkle got off rather than lightly. That was me. There was a general agreement which would be a little frightening among the cons. I think that generally there was agreement about the assumptions. We had a discussion about the trade deficit, which was led by Arthur Laffer. The net of that, I would say, was a general assessment that the trade deficit is not an economic problem. But I would say it is that just the note of history was backed on November 16th, 1980. You convened this group in Los Angeles for the first time. And generally, you don't like to go back and read what you said ten years ago because you get in a lot of trouble. In this case, the group that was convened was under the leadership of George Schultz. Most, or many of the people in that original group that had gone on. We had Cap Weinberger, Arthur Burns, George Schultz and myself. It's just interesting to know that we started out by saying there was a need for a very sharp change in economic principles. We went into the necessity of convincing the public that your policy of inflation was real. Matt Redrick, you talked about tax policy. Let's go. Hey, Sue. Boys. I've always wanted to stand on the table with you, Mr. President. Mr. President, we're going to try to claim your advantage as much as we can. Oh, that seems to be a good thing. You're fair. We thought we'd have you pre-other share of the voting and elect Vice President. That's what happens when you suck cannot be in the vote. Okay, and this is Secretary. If you could move right again, Secretary. Everybody's looking right here. This is my turn, but you could move just a little bit. Looking right here. Everybody's looking here. Secretary. Yes. No. That's good. And Mr. President, just half of the step this way. Mr. the left and I'm to the right. I didn't want to say scram, but okay. Take a smile. Mr. Vice President, you're on the phone. You can see me standing on the table. Smile again. This time I'm going to have a scram. Take a smile. I like the scram. Cutting shots. Even Doberstein's smiling. Exactly, yes. The fire is starting to. You got two more here and that's it. Take a smile. Mr. President, there's another little item of business that you may not even be aware of, but we'd like to conduct. So if you would step this way with me, stand here. The wayward dress is coming in for some reason. Mr. President, you have heard from all of us. We are to have served in your cabinet and to be associated in some way with all of the things that have happened that have done so much for our country and for stability throughout the world. And we thought you probably were tired of hearing us say that. And you're wondering, it could be something a little more tangible connected with. So we all got together and chipped in and purchased this chair that has on the back of it the President. And so I now want to ask the person with the most continuous seniority in office to do the honors. Sam? Yes, indeed. Well, Mr. President, as the last of the Mohicans, the last of your original cabinet members, I have the privilege and pleasure of presenting you with this chair on behalf of each and every member of your cabinet. And when you're out in California, you should be very happy because as American history is driven, it will certainly say that this administration was one of the greatest history of this country. And you indeed, one of its greatest precious. Sam, thank you. Good chairs. Thank you. Thank you and thank you all very much. But look, let me state for the record, all of the things that you spoke about couldn't have happened if all of you hadn't been here making them happen. And I'm grateful to all of you. And with regard to relaxing in California in this chair, isn't that what they said I did in the cabinet? Well, my advice, Mr. President, when you get out to California, don't take a chair and sit on a couch. No, a saddle. Well, I thank you very much. I have a feeling this might end its way into a certain one. Did you ever dose off of that chair, sir? No. Maybe we should ask the other people. No comment. There's a matter of fact. Governor, you were going to eliminate when you came into office. At what? You were going to eliminate half this government when you came into office. Well, there are some things that are no longer there. And there have been some tightening up in the line of adopting modern business practices that I think have made quite considerable changes that are not usually seen because they're in the form of kind of administrative changes. Do you still think government is the problem? Yes, always has been. That's the solution. This country was meant to be, well, we the people. The people told the government what it could do in the Constitution. It was one of the Constitution which is something like that in the world I found out. It was the only one that really says that. All those other constitutions are documents in which the governments tell the people what they can do. Governor, you had the chance to have four more years. What would you have done? I might have been willing if it took four more years to get line item veto. I'll continue to work for that. The law is very explicit about this. It's a bitter sweet party because saying goodbye to all these people that have worked together side by side is, that's the bitter part. The sweet part is hearing California hear I come. What are you going to miss the least about this question? What? What do you miss the least about this one? The least? This is a big fan. Being able to do certain things because of the security necessities. Like what? Like what? Well, maybe I'm the first president that's never been able to go to an Army Navy game. Nobody wants to run 75,000 people through a magnetometer. What are you going to do when you go back to California? What? When you go back to California, what are you going to do? Right off the bat. I'm not retired. I think there are things to do and things in which as a citizen it would be helpful in arousing the attention of the people to impress some needs on Congress to get done. But now to show you, I don't know, could have been another answer to your question there about the chief of staff has just told me I've got another appointment. Thank you. Thank you. He was going to... When did you cross the equation? I don't know. I don't know. No, I think there's other things. I don't know. Welcome, Secretary Verrahi. Van Smith from the Export Now Advisory Committee to the White House. On February 24th of last year, we launched the Export Now initiative to focus attention on the new international market for U.S. products and to increase awareness among small and medium-sized businesses of the profit potential in exports. Your efforts have helped us attack a critical concern in our nation, our trade deficits. All of your hard work and energy remind me of a story that happened to A. Blinken. Once when Blinken was in the War Department, a military officer who was in a big hurry bumped into the president. And when the officer realized who it was, he offered 10,000 pardons. One's enough, smiled Blinken. I wish the whole army would charge like that. Well, all of you have led the charge and our trade numbers attest to the effectiveness of your efforts. During the past 10 months, we have witnessed the highest monthly export value ever recorded. $28 billion in September. And our trade deficit was reduced almost 20% in 1988, or almost $35 billion less than 1937. The fine work of this advisory committee demonstrates the gains that can be achieved when we roll up our sleeves and get to work. Your grassroots approach is working. At every level, the American people have caught the Export Now spirit. They, too, recognize the vital importance that exports hold, not only for our country on the whole and its economic future, but for the local cities and states. For every $1 billion in U.S. exports, we create approximately 25,000 new jobs for American workers. And exporting is not just for the large multinational companies. Our Export Now program is motivated small and medium-sized firms to consider the world marketplace. Our nation's position is changing in the world marketplace, and with it, our private sector is meeting new challenges. Your Export Now team has helped these American businesses meet the challenges. I applaud you and the rest of our team for helping create for our nation an export climate of confidence. We have now established a sound foundation of which America's future may grow and prosper. As Will Rogers once said, actual knowledge of the future was never lower, but hope was never higher. Confidence, he said, will beat predictions any time. So before I segue into telling you about my operation, I'd like to say thank you and God bless you. I give you this report. I know that reports aren't as important to you as action, and this group has really performed. I don't think you or I would have ever conceived that they could have gotten over 8,000 new businesses, small and medium, exporting. That's what's happened as a result of this group, and it's not just any section of the country, it's throughout the country. The point I'd like to make, Mr. President, is you and I have been working a long time on private sector initiatives and public-private partnerships. This is the essence of it. When you have government working with the private sector to make things happen that you want the country needs. This little report will tell you that that's what's happened, and we thank you for the leadership that you've given us and the inspiration. All that's been happened is the result of what you have established in the way of the mood of this country, the vision for this country, and this partnership is the expression of what can be done when you put the government and the private sector together. So we give you this great pride and accomplishment, and thank you for the leadership you've given us. Well, thank you, thank you, and I look forward to having this, and I thank all of you again for all that you've done, and it's really sizable. I'm just sorry that some of those things don't get as much attention in the press as my supposed naps in the cabinet. And that's the proof that the media, one of these days, will catch on to what's going on. I'm sure it will. Can I just be leaving to tell you one little story? Please! This has to do with the former president. Very often you don't hear any of the agents or anything that have been around him, pleased to see this squealing on anything in the past, but this was one that I think deserved mention, was Lyndon Johnson. Lyndon Johnson, one day after another adventure with the press, said, if I walked down to the White House, walked down to the Potomac River, walked across the river on the surface of the water, the next day the press would print, and the president can't swim.