 Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States. I've come here to make an announcement and also to say a few words with regard to that announcement. I am delighted and happier than I've been in a long time that Margaret Heckler has agreed to my request that she become the Ambassador to Ireland. And in saying this, I would like to say and I'm sorry that I didn't start saying it sooner that the malicious gossip without any basis in fact that has been going on for the last several days about this is without any basis in fact. She has done a fine job at HHS. As a matter of fact, if she hadn't done such a good job I wouldn't have been so eager to seek her out to be the Ambassador to Ireland. And whoever finally replaces her there as she goes on to her new duties will find that that agency is in great shape as a result of her direction and her leadership. And it has been absolutely unjustified whoever has been leaking these falsehoods and intimating, well for one thing I certainly have never thought of the embassies as dumping grounds and therefore if she hadn't been doing as well as she has been doing I certainly would not have picked Ireland or any embassy for that matter but Ireland especially for her to take that post. And as I say, I'm delighted that she had to give it some thought of course leaving the country and a whole new post but I have been putting on quite a sales pitch because this was my idea and I wanted her very much to do that. It's a malicious gossip sir that you refer to. You mean the fact that leaks coming mainly from your administration said that she'd be appointed Ambassador to Ireland? No, the leaks that we were doing this in some way because we were unhappy with what she was doing, where she was. Were you not unhappy? No. Have you recommended any members of your staff or talked to them about any of these reports? This sort of thing has been going on and they tell me that it's kind of typical of the territory. This has been going on for some time. Margaret isn't the first. This has been happening with others, not only cabinet members but to the staff members and so forth. And to this day, I've never been able to find the individuals responsible for this. You're not unhappy with staying. Well, because we have a need for an ambassador and Ireland is getting very impatient and I thought that she might like a change of pace and I, it was my desire for her, I thought and I think that she would be just great. Mr. President? Mr. President? We understood that as of the other day, Mrs. Heckler didn't want the job. I think Mrs. Heckler was justifiably upset by the kind of gossip that was going around. And... Did you speak to someone as her replacement? No. Speak to someone about gossip, Mr. President. The word is that she wasn't conservative enough, that she wasn't true enough for the true believers in your administration, particularly Mr. Weigand. No, Don is... Don was my messenger in carrying the word to her that I wanted it to be the ambassador. This was some time ago. Mr. President, since you're here, do you agree with... Well, the... No, that's... I don't know, as I say, where this was coming from. But as I say, it was malicious, it was false. Is she conservative enough to just speak at that point? Yes, and she... You bet she is. And she's executed the policies that I have wanted for that particular agency. And as I say, it is in great shape. She's done a fine job. And if she hadn't, well, then I don't think I would have asked her to be an ambassador. This is a promotion, Mr. President. What? Is this a promotion, sir? I don't know whether one job is better or greater than another, but I think that there is a distinction to an ambassadorship. The title is Retained for Life. And after all, when you come down to the embassies, they are, the ambassadors, are the personal representatives of the President. Mr. President, since you're here, could you tell us... Do you agree with the administration officials who've said that they feel the Soviet author is unbalanced because it locks in their superiority, particularly in terms of strategic missiles, and because it would prevent us from deploying the D-5, the midget men, the M-X, some of the things that are coming online? Andrea, I'm not going to comment on this, and I don't think anyone should. This is in the hands now of the negotiators. And I just don't think that you, from outside, get into public discussions about things of that kind, but I'm not going to take any more questions on any other subject. The Israeli raid into Tunisia, do you condone the Israeli raid into Tunisia? Sam, I'll take other questions later on, but not today. We're due at a cabinet meeting. Would you like to say something? Yes. Were US planes involved, Mr. President, because you've cleared up that one issue. Were US planes involved in the Israeli raid? I'm not going to comment on that at all, Chris, and I don't know. I don't know the facts. Because there has been a prohibition, as you know, in the past, against using US planes for offensive purposes. May I just say, Mr. President? Madam Ambassador. Not quite. Mr. President, I'd like to say that I have had a really rewarding and challenging career in public service and serving as a member of Congress for 16 years and having the honor of being appointed by you, sir, to represent you, carry you up portfolio of health and human services. These have been very important opportunities for public service, which has really been my life. Now that you have offered me the post of Ambassador to the Republic of Ireland, I see a new opportunity for public service. I think every American of Irish ancestry can appreciate the special place that Ireland is to each of us. It is especially special at this time as we hope there will be some movement toward the reconciliation of the most serious and difficult issue in that country. I look upon your trust in me as a new facet of a public service career. I thank you, Mr. President, for the faith that you have reposed in me. It has been an honor to represent you in the role that I have played. And as I look to the new day and the future, it will be an honor and a very exciting challenge to represent you as Ambassador to Ireland. And I thank you for the opportunity. Mr. Specklers, what changed your mind? Because this was a job that you didn't want. What changed your mind? When the great communicator, our leader, the President of the United States, asked one to take on an assignment that is significant and important, not only in his eyes, but truly in terms of its external impact as well as internal impact. Important to many Americans of Irish background. It is, in my view, irresponsible than it would have been for the one who has served in public office for all these years of public service to have said no to the President at his request. Did Don Regan force you out of the White House? The President and I are the only two who have discussed the issue of my service in both the Cabinet and my service as Ambassador to Ireland. I feel very strongly that the President in offering me an opportunity for a new dimension in service, he proposed in me a special degree of trust. I looked upon this assignment with new eyes, having heard the presentation that he made and having also his assurance that it was my choice to stay on as Secretary of HHS or to become Ambassador to Ireland. What do you think of the political whispering against you? You've heard the whispering campaign against you. What do you think of that whispering campaign which said either that you were not conservative enough or not a good administrator? Speak to it. I'm very proud of my record as Secretary of Health and Human Services. I'm proud of the fact that we inaugurated the prospective payment plan. We've inaugurated a new direction in health policy. I have carried the President's portfolio and been faithful to his philosophy and to his directives. I'm very proud of what I leave behind and would expect that the approval of the new drug approval process at FDA and the other changes that I have inaugurated will actually be implemented by my successor. I would expect these things to happen but I am also very proud of the fact that this President whom I consider to be a great leader has now asked me to take on a new challenge, a new direction in my life. I am proud of my service in all regards and frankly I am proud of the team who has helped me and the individuals at HHS who have made my service, I believe, as distinguished as it is. Any other changes? That you could have stayed on as Secretary of HHS? That was clearly my understanding. Have you spoken to Mr. Regan about the cure that was caused and do you hold him in any way responsible? No, he and I have talked about this and how to resolve this and he's... You don't think he has anything to do with stirring this up? No, he's on our side. Mr. Regan? Yes. If she had turned this down, she could have stayed on as HHS. What? We have not made a selection yet. Any other cabinet changes, Mr. President? Any other cabinet changes? No, I don't think of any right now, but I do... How do you figure that a $16,000 of pay shots are for motion? I've never chosen my occupation based on the compensation it afforded because, as you know, considering the hours one spends in Congress serving people or in a cabinet post, there is no correlation between the hours that you invest in your job and the salary that it actually accrues. In this case, however, there is, if one wants to be totally financial, the fact that the Ambassador's salary is not taxable. Mr. President, we've got to... We've got to... we've got to go to the Cabinet. Sir, and two Soviet diplomats have been kidnapped in Lebanon and two of them may have been murdered. Do you have a statement to make on that terrorism? The terrorism, that kind of violence, is, I think, the most cowardly, the most vicious thing we're in the space for today regardless of who the victims are. Will the Soviets have a right to retaliate? Clearly, just as much as the Israelis have a right to retaliate? If they can pick out the people who are responsible? Do you think the Israelis did pick out the right people? No, I've always had a great faith in their intelligence and what that looks like.