 I didn't expect that we were going to have a list for one more before you leave, but I thought of it. All right. Thank you for everything. Thank you so much. Mr. President, Morton has been absolutely invaluable in our office and he's got a strong, clear voice of reason and most forceful in presenting your views to all the groups with which we deal. They love him and they will miss him. Thank you. Thank you very much. I'm glad you looked back there. That's great. Yeah, the next thing is this over the most hour. He has brought all the consumers there. Happy to see you. I want to present you with your own copy of the Consumer Resource Handbook. And this is a how to do it for consumers. And I want to, one million and a half, go out to every... and we are able to do it for free. Each of your Cabinet officers have donated some to pay for the printing. And you notice up here we tell people how to complain properly. And also we have here a listing of over 600 major companies who have their own consumer offices so that we're not trying to solve these little problems. They are. And of course we do list this state and the federal offices. Well, thank you. I think this is probably the most cost-effective service for the people who will render it. I hope so. I hope so. That was the purpose of it. Could I impose upon you to... Would we have this one for me? Yes. This one gets framed in our office, Mr. President. Do you personally or does it matter? Well, your name would be wonderful. To me it would be great. This becomes an heirloom. That's pretty genuine and wonderful. I'm going to get my glasses out so I can do this right. I just wondered why I wasn't able to see what I was doing here. Could we have a picture right over here? Would it be great? Certainly appreciate it. Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, how are you? Well, let me just start right now. As you know, this is the President's Council. Yes. And one of the highest ratings of the administration and of your leadership gets is your fighting fraud, Western abuse. And I think Dick worked on a show within the polls that is appreciated across the country. Well, this is a group that's leading your charge. This is $31 billion that they've given you since we started this exercise. And they just increased their contribution, if you want to call up to your fight on this thing, by 50% in the last six months period of time. That's great. They're doing a tremendous job. Scott Dempsey, as you remember, went on to make the presentation, so I won't repeat that. This is a good group in there. Here, sit down there. This is a formal presentation, Mr. President. Well, thank you very much. And thank all of you. It's a fine way to start the new year. I couldn't be more pleased with the job that the inspector generals are doing in the continuing battle against waste, fraud, and abuse in federal operations. I was so impressed with the report that the Cabinet Council, what has been done, that I asked for this meeting to meet with you personally and be able to say to you how grateful I am. And the progress report that you've just given me, I know, tells me several things. First, that you have successfully identified the best methods to detect waste, as evidenced by your impressive numbers. And second, by concentrating on the preventing problem before they occur, you've charted a course for us. And by using modern technological tools and creatively applying older ones, you're bringing the best of all solutions to bear on the problem. Finally, your progress is a strong indication that the IG community cares about the quality of government which serves the American people. Dedicated, capable men and women like yourselves can make a difference in upgrading the integrity and efficiency of government and in the perception the American people have of that government. Just as important as dollar savings is the contribution that you've made toward restoring public confidence in the institution of government and in its public service. And again, you all have my congratulations and appreciation for achieving remarkable results, magnificent results over these past two and a half years. Not only do you have the satisfaction of knowing that your accomplishments will last through this generation, but that future generations as well will benefit from a government that's more responsive to the need of its citizens. I could go on and on, but it would always be saying the same thing. Thank you for what you've done. And I understand we're going to have a chance to visually take some pictures taken here. I'm looking forward to that. Of course. I get as much of that as I can. That's really nice. Thank you very much. Thank you. Paul Trotstrater. Good to be here. Thank you. Thanks for joining me. I'm John Martin. Yeah, Mr. President. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. President. Mr. President. My house down here is here in my youth. I'm Sam. I'm Jack. Mr. President, Jim Richards-Minerty, Time Hotel sends his best. I'll see him and give him back to me. Yeah. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, check this. We'll do better in six months. Chairman Funk is coming. Chairman, last time you said, I don't believe it's time to go. I'll fight so much worse than I thought. Mr. President, Mr. President, Mr. President, Mr. President, Mr. President, Mr. President, Mr. President, Mr. President, Mr. President, Mr. President, Mr. President, Mr. President, I can't smile at everybody else. I'm not smiling at you. I'm not smiling at everybody else. I can't use that stuff. Just keep not making them unhappy. Thank you, thank you. Thank you Mr. President. You're the best one. Sorry that I'm late. But Dave wanted to make true changes in my remarks. Dave, this is a better sweet moment for me. I'm happy that you're going out opportunities, and we're going to miss you. These three years, this man has served with creativity, skill, and dedication. I know that your work has helped convey our philosophy and the policies of this administration, not only of the people of this country, but abroad, and I'm most grateful for that. Your understanding of the modern media, your skills as a writer, your advocacy of open government and good relations with the press, I think have played a vital role in our administration. Your letter of resignation mentioned the love of the institution of the presidency, and that's exactly the way it should be considered. It is an institution that some of us only get to custody of it temporarily, but you've served under three administrations, and you've not only served that institution of the presidency, but you've served your country and served it very well. Nancy and I know how much sacrifice that these three years have meant to you and your son, daughter, and so we just want you to know that you go with our heartfelt thanks and to you and your family, and we wish you the best in the years to come. Now at Harvard, I won't ask you to do anything so abnormal as to converting them to republicans. Just ask me one thing, could you persuade them to be tolerant of us? Thank you, God bless you and thank you. Thank you, Mr. President, as always, you are extremely kind and generous in your remarks and your thoughts. If I might say so, sir, three years ago I came here as did many others in this room because we were convinced there was nothing more important than that you succeed. It seemed to all of us that you faced an awesome task, and I was to rescue both this country and the presidency from perilous decline. I think all of us vividly remember the late 1970s when our economy was in a shambles, I think you called it the worst mess and the great depression of one of your maiden speeches. We were adrift internationally, we were uncertain of our values, and the worst of all, there seemed to be a real doubt in this country whether we could govern ourselves any longer. It was at the end of the last administration that the general counsel of that White House was lamenting that what we needed in this country in order to govern well was a total overhaul of our governmental system along the parliamentary lines. Well, in my view, the past and the needs of the next few years are very large still, and there's no flood of work to be done here in our next five years in the White House. But I have to say that in these last three years, I think what you've really demonstrated is that what we needed in this country was not a change of the constitution, but a change of leadership. In just a little over three years, you really have helped to restore that, to help both the country and the presidency. I just have to say as a, I'm very proud of the chance to serve here and to learn from you during these past three years. As an individual, as a staff member, I want to thank you for what you've done for me. And as a citizen, I want to thank you for what you're doing for all of us. If I could just follow in the footsteps of someone who served you extremely well, Ken Duberstein, when he was here for his farewell, it took that opportunity to thank some others who had been terribly important and many filled him during that time. I wanted to thank a few people here if I might. Because they've been so helpful to me. And first of all, my special thanks to our Chief of Staff, Jim Baker, who recruited me here and has been a steadfast source of support and inspiration these last three years. I think history will record that Jim Baker is the finest Chief of Staff in the modern times. I think that's a real tribute to him. I would also like to thank the many people in this room. I have friends in the White House, outside the White House and the department and far beyond, who have been so helpful in both on a professional basis and on a basis of friendship during this time. If I might, I would like to say a word too about some of the people I think are the real pillars of this place. Nell Yates who keeps helps to keep things running out here. Ruth Henry, who is head of our telephone operators unit. Ali is here, I think, representing a messenger somewhere. There are so many, George Saunders is here. There are so many people that I think really do help to keep the White House running year in, year out. You really don't know how much you appreciate them until it comes time to say farewell. Finally, let me mention two other groups. First of all, those who have worked with me on staff as part of my staff. Mike, Pam, Karna, Kathy and Alden, Debbie came up here from Texas. So many others have been. So many others, I'm sure Barbara was here with her husband who's been serving me here at night. And many others that you really have, Mr. President, a group of people that I leave behind very proudly because they are extraordinarily devoted to you, sir, and they will, I think, perform very, very well in the coming months, which is so important. And to be sure, I would also like to say a word of personal thanks to members of my family, my mother and sister-in-law come here from North Carolina today, and my mother-in-law come from Pennsylvania, and my wife Ann, and our children Catherine and Christopher trundled in from McLean through the snows. You know, working here in the White House, one of the things that happens is that the families seem to pay most of the price and share very little glory. And I just wanted to take this opportunity to say how much their love and support has meant to me these last three years. Well, a thousand thanks to you all. I tend to show up here on the penny, so I won't say goodbye. But our of ours always see each other again. Thank you.