

			   THE WHITE HOUSE

		    Office of the Press Secretary
_____________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                  April 12, 1994

	     
			    PRESS BRIEFING
				  BY
			    DEE DEE MYERS

			  The Briefing Room
	     
2:42 P.M. EDT

	     MS. MYERS:  We added, as you know, we've added a photo 
op at the 4:30 reception for -- with nonprofit organizations.  It is 
in the East Room.  We'll take you guys up there at the appropriate 
time and you'll have a -- I don't know -- maybe you have something 
you want to talk to the President about today.
	     
	     Q    Will that be just tight pool, or will that be open 
to the --
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  Tight pool.
	     
	     Q    The President -- what's the format?  Is he going to 
open up with the regular event and then take questions, or will he 
make a statement about Mitchell first and then open it up to 
questions and then go into the event?  How are you going to do that?
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  I don't know if there's --
	     
	     Q    Or do you think he might start up by talking about 
something else, then talking about, then opening it up?  (Laughter.)
	     
	     Q    Would you outline each option twice please?
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  You know, I think he has a few things that 
he wants to say about community investment development banks first.  
It's about a half hour statement, and then --
	     
	     Q    Dee Dee, just what --
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  No, what he'll do -- I don't know if they're 
sitting or standing -- what we'll do is move the pool in at the 
beginning; he will either make a statement about Senator Mitchell or 
take a question about Senator Mitchell, since I think those are only 
two real options. 
	     
	     Let me just review with you --
	     
	     Q       get to go or not?
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  Okay.  We'll take questions submitted in 
writing in Swahili and we'll go from there.
	     
	     Okay, let me just review what happened from the --
	     
	     Q       get to East Room for this or not?
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  Who?
	     
	     Q    Do we have to go or not?
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  No, it's tight pool, Sarah.  So just the 
pool.
	     
	     Okay, as Senator Mitchell said today -- earlier today, 
the President and Senator Mitchell met last night around 6:00 p.m.  
They met in the Residence of the White House.  And as Senator 
Mitchell has said, he wanted to ask the President that his name be 
withdrawn from consideration for the Supreme Court.  He had drafted a 
statement to that effect which he showed the President.
	     
	     The President said that he and Senator Mitchell had an 
honest conversation about the impact that Senator Mitchell's 
appointment would have on their common agenda.  He thought it was a 
great conversation, a very honest, straightforward.  And the 
President said he was strongly inclined to nominate Senator Mitchell 
and thought he would have made an excellent justice.  But they talked 
about it, and I think it was Senator Mitchell's judgment that he 
could best serve their common agenda by staying in his current post 
as Senate Majority Leader.  
	     
	     I think the President, as Senator Mitchell said, asked 
the Senator to sleep on it.  The President called him this morning 
about 8:15 a.m..  They talked about it again.  Senator Mitchell 
indicated he had not changed his assessment of the situation; that he 
thought he could best serve the country and their shared agenda by 
staying in his current post.  And I think the President regretfully 
accepted Senator Mitchell's judgment on that.
	     
	     Let me just make one more point, which is that I think 
the President was deeply impressed by the conversation and by Senator 
Mitchell's commitment to their shared agenda.  He put the national 
interest ahead of his personal interest.  And President Clinton came 
away from their conversations with even more respect -- 
	     
	     Q    Did either the President or Senator Mitchell 
express the possibility that this might come up again at some time in 
the future?
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  I don't believe it came up, but the 
President certainly wouldn't rule it out if there's another vacancy 
on the Supreme Court.  I think you can count on Senator Mitchell 
being considered.
	     
	     Q    Wait a minute.  Why is he putting the national 
interest ahead of his personal interest when the possibility of a 
career on the Supreme Court spanning decades is being sacrificed here 
in order to protect a couple of months of legislative work, however 
important?  Why is one more important in the national interest than 
the other?
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  I think Senator Mitchell, as he said during 
his press conference, believes that this is a rare opportunity to 
make some very important achievements, including health care reform, 
welfare reform, campaign finance reform.  He ticked off, I think, 
five or six items that he felt were particularly important and that 
this was, in his words, a rare opportunity to make progress.
	     
	     Q?     And it absolutely cannot be done without him.  Is 
that his view?
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  I think his view was that he could best 
serve that agenda by staying in his current post at this time.
	     
	     Q    With Senator Mitchell out of the mix, can you 
review what the President's thinking is as to what kind of person he 
would want?  He had focused initially on someone from the political 
world.  What --

	     MS. MYERS:  Well, I think his criteria hasn't changed.  
As we said yesterday, they had their first meeting yesterday.  A 
number of names were presented to the President, which are being 
considered.  And I don't think that this President's criteria has 
changed from the first vacancy, which is that he's looking for 
somebody with unquestionable integrity, keen intellect and a big 
heart.  Certainly there are a number of candidates out there that fit 
this bill.  He's looking at a number of names now.
	     
	     Q    Just one more question about this.  Andrea, just 
one more question on this process.  Can you tell us that neither the 
President nor anyone speaking on his behalf had previously spoken 
with Senator Mitchell about this vacancy?
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  Absolutely not.
	     
	     Q    What was the question?
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  The question was, had anybody previously 
spoken to Senator Mitchell.  I assume you mean in advance of his 
decision to retire?
	     
	     Q    In advance?  No.  In advance of last night.  Had he 
and the President discussed this or had anyone on the President's 
behalf discussed this with --
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  He and the President had not  discussed 
this.
	     
	     Q    Did anyone on the President's behalf discuss this 
with him?
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  I don't know.  I'll have to take that.  They 
had just inquired about his availability.  I don't know the answer to 
that.  I'll check.
	     
	     Q?     You will take that question?
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  Yes, I will take that question.
	     
	     Q    Would the President now considered anyone else from 
the Senate?  Would he want to add to the list that was --
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  I would certainly never -- I would certainly 
not rule out the possibility that the list could be expanded or 
reduced in the course of this process.  Again, the President was 
presented with a list of names yesterday.  Those are the names that 
are currently being considered.  I think as we saw last time, that is 
a rather flexible list, and I think names could be added or could be 
subtracted.
	     
	     Q?     Is Lawrence Tribe of Harvard one of those being 
considered?
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  I'm not going to comment on specific 
individuals who may or may not be considered.
	     
	     Q    The White House last week -- very clearly that 
Senator Mitchell was being considered.  That was one name they 
weren't shy about talking about, apparently given the President's 
interest in probably nominating him.  Does this move then embarrass 
the White House or is that -- as short as this is after the vacancy, 
present an image of a zig-zagging White House?
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  Of course not.  Absolutely not.  I would 
just point out that this process has been underway for less than a 
week.  Clearly Senator Mitchell was a strong candidate, well 
qualified, but there are a number of strong, well-qualified 
candidates out there.  It's a big country, and we are going to have a 
thoughtful process.  And ultimately, the President will choose 
someone who is ultimately very qualified.
	     
	     Q    Why was his name surfaced if it wasn't clear that 
at least he'd be interested?
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  Well, I don't want to point any fingers, but 
you all might have had something to do that.
	     
	     Q    Hey, hey -- we get the zig and zag --
	     
	     Q    Dee Dee, if the President was strongly inclined to 
nominate Senator Mitchell, why didn't he try and talk him out of 
taking himself out of the running?  Mitchell said had he done so, he 
would have reconsidered.
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  Well, but he didn't say he would ultimately 
change his judgment.  I think that the President believes Senator 
Mitchell is in the best position to judge what impact his appointment 
would have had on the legislative process.  I think Senator Mitchell 
knows the Senate better than anybody and understands the legislative 
process better than anybody.  And I think the President respectfully 
deferred to his judgment.
	     
	     Q    Did the President expect Mitchell to go and tell 
everybody that he was the President's first choice?
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  I think the President expected that both he 
and Senator Mitchell would honestly describe the exchange.  And 
that's what they've done.
	     
	     Q    Do you think the timetable now slips a little on 
when you could name someone?
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  Well, we said it would be weeks as opposed 
to months.  I think we've always maintained some flexibility on when 
the decision will be made.  I think the President wants to move 
expeditiously, but the process will be thoughtful.  And as quickly as 
he reaches, I think, a final decision, we'll let you know.
	     
	     Q    You understand the confusion that some of us have 
is because since Blackmun announced his retirement, all of the 
initial signals that Mitchell gave up in Maine since he came back on 
television, everything that was being said by him was that he was 
really interested; he wanted it.  And then, all of a sudden, for him 
to come up here and tell the President he doesn't want it comes as a 
big surprise.
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  I think what --
	     
	     Q    So that raises the possibility that somebody 
signaled to Mitchell, hey, maybe you're not get it.
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  That's not correct.  That's just absolutely 
incorrect.
	     
	     Q    Wait a minute, Dee Dee.  The guy said, if I'm asked 
I will consider it.  What he's done now is ask that he not even be 
considered.  That's certainly -- on his part.
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  I think Senator Mitchell certainly had an 
opportunity to speak for himself today; and what I think he said was 
he thought about it; he considered the impact it would have on health 
care and the agenda for change that he shares with the President; and 
decided he could best serve the country by staying in his current 
role.  I think that is a decision that the President deeply respects.
	     
	     Q    Senator Mitchell basically said it was a done deal, 
and but for his withdrawal he would have been on the Supreme Court.  
Is that an accurate portrayal of where things were?
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  I think the President, as I said, was very 
inclined to choose him, would have like to have chosen him.
	     
	     Q    Well, then, how genuine was the search process you 
had underway while Mitchell was already essentially the nominee?
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  I would just point out that we've been in 
this process for sometime, at least in a prospective way.  I think 
for the last year we've been looking at a number of candidates, 
evaluating them.  When Justice Blackmun resigned, obviously, that 
began a more formal process.  And there are a number of candidates 
that are being considered.
	     
	     Q    I know, but did everybody really have a straight 
face then sitting around that meeting yesterday afternoon with the 
President, his mind made up, his inclination already known, and 
they're all sitting around acting like all these other people were, 
at that time at least, seriously being considered?  Or did the 
President know the Mitchell deal was done?
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  No, the President didn't speak to him until 
later in the day.  Again, that meeting happened -- with Senator 
Mitchell happened around 6:00 p.m.  I think it is reasonable, given 
that the President had not spoken to Senator Mitchell directly, that 
a number of candidates be selected.  Certainly, the President was 
inclined to nominate Senator Mitchell, but there was always the 
possibility that that, for one reason or another, wouldn't work out.  
So it's prudent of us to consider a number of candidates, which is 
exactly what we've doing.  There are many qualified people in this 
country, and we'll find somebody who suits the bill very well.

	     Q    Did the vetting process begin at all with Senator 
Mitchell, and had he turned over any financial records, personal 
records?
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  I don't know the answer to that, whether 
they had asked him for any of those kinds of documents yet.  I'll 
have to take that.
	     
	     It's a moot point now.  I mean, he's not -- he has asked 
that he not be considered.
	     
	     Q    Was there any discussion yesterday about the 
hassles with the Constitution, the through-the-hoops they'd have to 
do with Congress?
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  Sure.  But I think that becomes a moot point 
as well, since he's withdrawn his name.
	     
	     Q       discussions at all between President Clinton --
	     MS. MYERS:  It was something that had to be considered 
as part of the overall judgment.
	     
	     Q       Mitchell talk about it?  I mean, did Mitchell 
say it was a concern to him?
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  I don't think that that was -- 
	     
	     Q    He said it wasn't.
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  Yes, he said thought that it was possible 
and that he could have done it.
	     
	     Q    Can you answer directly whether anything turned up 
in the vetting process that influenced his decision?
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  Not to my knowledge.  I don't believe so.
	     
	     Q    As of yesterday afternoon --
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  Again, I think Senator Mitchell's words here 
speak for themselves.  I think he made it very clear that he made a 
judgment based on, I think, a lifetime of work.  This was a rare 
opportunity to make progress and he chose to do what he thought was 
in the best interest of that agenda.
	     
	     Q    As of yesterday afternoon when the President had 
his first meeting, you had no indication -- he had no indication that 
Mitchell would not be interested in the job.  Every indication that 
you had and the that the President was operating under was that 
Mitchell wanted the job.  Is that correct?
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  Well, we had no indication that he didn't 
want the job, but he hadn't spoken to the President yet.  And I don't 
--
	     
	     Q    You had no indication from any source that Mitchell 
was --
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  I'm going to take the question as to whether 
anybody else spoke to him.  Again, I think this is something that 
happened within the last week.  I think it's reasonable to assume 
that Senator Mitchell took some time to think about it and reached 
his own conclusion.  I don't think there's anything unreasonable 
about the timeline here.
	     
	     Q    Could you also specifically take the question 
whether Cutler spoke to Mitchell?
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  Well, it's part of the same question, but 
I'm happy to be specific about that.
	     
	     Q    Is it true that as of 24 hours ago, the list that 
came up at the meeting was all people of judicial background except 
for Mitchell?  Is that --
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  I'm not going to comment on the kinds of 
people that were on the list.  I think there are a number of 
different kinds of people would make qualified Supreme Court 
justices.
	     
	     Q    The President has suggested that too many sitting 
judges have become -- have come under the Court in the Reagan and 
Bush years and was looking for a politician or public figure.  Would 
he be disappointed if he ended up naming another sitting judge?
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  No, of course not.  I don't think he's ever 
said too many -- I think he said that it certainly, that had been the 
trend in recent years, but I don't think he ever said it was too 
many.  Clearly, that's been the trend.
	     
	     Q    The President has had a remarkable number of people 
tell him they're not interested in serving on the Court.  To what do 
you attribute his poor batting average here?
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  I know you'll find this shocking, but I 
don't think it's in any way a reflection on the President.  
(Laughter.)  The Supreme Court -- I mean, each of them had their own 
reasons for making that judgment.  I think it's a difficult job.  If 
you look at the hours that those justices work, and the type of work 
that they do -- it's rigorous, it's challenging, but it's very time 
consuming.  And I think each of them had reasons for declining the 
post.
	     
	     Q    Boring wardrobe.
	     
	     Q    Bad wardrobe.  
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  You know, it saves you a lot of money on 
suits.  That would be the benefit.  
	     
	     So, okay, anything else?
	     
	     Q    In Little Rock today, Jim McDougal said that the 
Clinton's used Whitewater as a tax shelter to shield her commodities 
profits, and that that was their intention at the time.  Is that 
correct?
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  Well, yes.  I mean, if you look at their tax 
returns, they offset interest in one investment with profits on 
another investment the way the tax code is set up.  That is the -- I 
don't know whether they got into Whitewater as a tax shelter.  They 
got into it as an investment.  
	     
	     Has everyone gotten their 50 cents a page McDougal 
documents today?
	     
	     Q    Two dollars.
	     
	     Q    Well, Dee Dee, that was going to be my next 
question.  Why --
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  No.  There's a run on them.  The market has 
taken over.  It's 50 cents a page.
	     
	     Q    Why is it that the White House chose not to release 
those documents to reporters -- and instead required reporters 
basically -- 
		  
	     MS. MYERS:  We didn't require reporters to do anything.  
If reporters chose to purchase the document, that was their own 
decisions.  We gave Mr. McDougal back his documents.  We haven't 
released a lot of the Whitewater records at the request of the 
special counsel, and I think we'll continue to follow that policy.
	     
	     Q    Have you any reaction now yet to the Randall 
Robinson fast --
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  Well, I think the President respects Randall 
Robinson's commitment on this issue.  Clearly, this is a difficult 
problem and one that the President has been working on for sometime.  
We maintain the policy of direct return, particularly for 
humanitarian reasons, to protect the lives of literally thousands of 
Haitians who might take to the seas in rickety boats and lose their 
lives in transit. 
	     
	     At the same time, I think we'll continue to review our 
policy toward Haiti and to work with President Aristide to find a way 
to restore the president and restore democracy in Haiti and to 
address the underlying problems that have led to the desire on the 
part of many Haitians to flee.
	     
	     Q    Has anyone talked to Robinson about this?
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  I don't know if anybody has talked directly 
to him or not.
	     
	     Q    Communicated any effort to mediate his efforts, or 
to convince him that you're trying to find some other way to do it?
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  You know, I just don't know if somebody 
either at the NSC or at the State Department has talked directly to 
him.  I can take that question.  We're certainly aware of his 
efforts.
	     
	     Q    What is the President's involvement with Bosnia 
today, if any?  Is he making any phone calls to any foreign leaders 
--
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  He hasn't made any calls to foreign leaders.  
He's been kept abreast of the situation by Tony Lake.  Secretary 
Christopher called Foreign Minister Kozyrev today.  Ambassador Redman 
is in Sarajevo -- he met today with Churkin, Deputy Foreign Minister 
from Russia.  He has spoken to a number of other people, including 
Akashi, who are on the ground in Sarajevo, and he's continuing to 
work the situation there.  And we're keeping on top of -- the 
President is keeping on top of developments.
	     
	     Q       report any progress?
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  No, Churkin has spoken with the Bosnian 
Serbs.  Redman has spoken with the Bosnian government leaders and 
we're trying to resolve something, but they have not agreed yet to go 
back to the talk -- to the negotiating table.
	     
	     Q    To what extent is the President troubled by the 
obvious perception on the parts of Randall Robinson and members of 
the Congressional Black Caucus that this administration has abandoned 
Aristide?
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  Well, certainly that perception is 
troubling; it's just not true.  Our policy remains to restore 
President Aristide and to restore democracy to Haiti.  We're 
reevaluating now the best way to achieve that.  I think we've tried 
repeatedly over the last 15 months to work out a solution that would 
see democracy restored and President Aristide returned.  It's a 
difficult process and one that we're committed to pursuing.  
	     
	     And I would just point out that the only way to deal 
with the refugee problem is to deal with the underlying problems that 
have caused the refugees in the first place, which has certainly been 
the commitment of this administration from the beginning.
	     
	     Q    Forgive me if I've missed this -- the State 
Department said the White House released a list of distinguished 
Americans going to South Africa for the --
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  Once we've completed the delegation list, 
we'll release it.  The only thing we have said so far is Secretary 
Christopher will not be going as he has another commitment in Mexico, 
I believe.
	     
	     Q    Is there any chance that the President or Vice 
President will go?
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  I don't believe the President will be able 
to attend, but I think, and the rest of the delegation is subject to 
question.  And as soon as we have the complete list, we'll release 
it.
	     
	     Q    Could you determine the source of the President's 
claim that 1 in 20 American school children carries a weapon to 
school?
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  Did we --  okay, we'll post it.  We got it 
yesterday.
	     
	     Q    Dee Dee, can I get back to the Mitchell thing for a 
second?  Who initiated the meeting at 6:00 p.m. last night at the 
Residence?  Did the President invite Mitchell to come over, or did 
Mitchell call up and say he wants to come over and talk to the 
President?
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  They spoke.  Mitchell said that he wanted to 
meet with the President, and the President invited him to come to the 
Residence.
	     
	     Q    But it was Mitchell's initiative for the meeting 
last night?
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  That's what Senator Mitchell said today, 
yes.
	     
	     Q    Well, when you say they spoke, who called who?
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  I believe -- Senator Mitchell said he called 
the President, and I believe that to be the truth.
	     
	     Q?     And you don't believe that the President had any 
inkling beforehand that Senator Mitchell was going to say that he 
didn't wish to be considered?
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  Not to my knowledge, but you'll have a 
chance to ask the President that directly.  I don't believe -- when I 
spoke to him about it today, he didn't say that he did.
	     
	     Q    Do you know about what time Senator Mitchell called 
to say he wanted to see the President?
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  It was sometime in the afternoon.
	     
	     Q    Dee Dee, did the President tell Senator Mitchell 
first that he wanted to name him to the job and was strongly inclined 
to do so, or did Senator Mitchell first say that he wasn't 
interested?
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  I don't know the exact -- the way the 
President described the conversation was that Senator Mitchell came 
over and said that he wanted his name withdrawn, and that he had with 
him a statement that he had drafted to that effect.
	     
	     Q    And was the President dumbfounded, surprised by 
that?
	     
	     Q    Thunderstruck.  
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  I will leave that to your creative minds to 
come up with the proper adjective.  But I think you can ask the 
President what his --
	     
	     Q    Did it come as a surprise?
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  Yes, I think the President was somewhat 
surprised, and I think that he was sorry.
	     
	     Q    Is there a substantive difference between saying he 
was favorably inclined to nominate him and offering him the job?
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  I just think that he hadn't gotten to the 
point of offering him the job yet.
	     
	     Q    What was Mitchell backing away from then?
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  He wasn't backing away from anything.  I 
take his words on their face.  I mean, the man has said why -- what 
motivated his judgment.
	     
	     Q    We're trying to get to a situation -- you know, 
clearly he knew --
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  Senator Mitchell has addressed that.  I 
cannot tell you more about what he was thinking than he told you in a 
half-hour press conference a few hours ago.  
	     
	     Q    Dee Dee, are the congressional people at the White 
House concerned that if Mitchell had left, that health care would be 
in trouble?  Had they expressed this concern to anybody else in the 
White House?
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  I think, of course, people were concerned 
about what the impact would be.  I don't think anybody had reached a 
conclusion about what the impact would be, but certainly that is an 
obvious question that anybody would ask.  
	     
	     I think Senator Mitchell made the ultimate judgment on 
that.  And the President deferred to that judgment, being that the 
President believes Senator Mitchell is in the best position to make 
that judgment.
	     
	     Q    And did the congressional liaison express concern 
to whoever it may be -- the Chief of Staff or the President --
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  I think, as we've said, that there were a 
number of political and legal considerations involved, and that was 
certainly one of them.
	     
	     But Senator Mitchell made the judgment based on his best 
evaluation.  If he had said something else, if he'd said, yes, I 
think we can pass health care and get this agenda through and I can 
-- the outcome of this whole situation may have been different.  But 
that wasn't his judgment.
	     
	     Q    Dee Dee, that is exactly what he did say last week 
in Maine, as I and others interviewed him; he said that again and 
again.  He said he felt that Congress would be out in October, that 
the term didn't begin until October.  He thought --
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  You'll have to ask him, Mike.  All's I can 
tell you is he spoke today; he made a determination; he said exactly 
why he asked that his name be withdrawn from consideration.  
	     
	     The President, for his part, has said clearly, he 
intended to nominate him, would have liked to have nominated him, has 
tremendous respect for him, but respects Mitchell's judgment that 
that would have had an adverse impact on their shared agenda, which 
includes health care and a number of other initiatives.
	     
	     Q    My impression is that Mitchell felt that he could 
do both, but that there were nervous people here at the White House 
--
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  All's I can do is refer you to Senator 
Mitchell's transcript.  He answered that question, and I don't have 
anything more to add about what was in his thought process.
	     
	     Q       what was in Senator Mitchell's mind.  The 
question is, are there -- was there anyone here at the White House 
who was afraid of what --
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  The President is the person who makes that 
judgment.  He has said -- the President was the one who was going to 
make the decision; he has said that he intended -- would have liked 
to have nominated Senator Mitchell.  I don't have anything more to 
add on this.  There's nothing more to say about it.
	     
	     Q       he intended to nominate him, and he offered him 
the job.
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  He hadn't gotten to that point yet.
	     
	     Q    What stood between those two --
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  Time.  I mean, we were in the middle of a 
process.  The President intended to do it.  You can intend to do 
something and not have had the opportunity to do it; that's the way 
life works out.
	     
	     Q    Had the first, initial, official contact at any 
level on this matter been made between the White House and Mitchell 
prior to the --
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  That's a question that I've taken 15 
questions ago.
	     
	     Q    Dee Dee, would it be wrong for us to report that if 
Senator Mitchell had wanted to be on the Supreme Court, he would have 
been?
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  Pardon me?
	     
	     Q    Is it wrong for us to report that if Senator 
Mitchell had wanted the job, he would have been put on the Supreme 
Court, assuming confirmation?
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  I think that the President has said he 
intended to nominate Senator Mitchell.  I think the rest flows from 
there.
	     
	     Q    Given that the President has known about Blackmun's 
resignation since -- 
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  Are we getting a little redundant here, or 
is it my imagination?
	     
	     Q    Given that the President has known about Blackmun's 
resignation since January, when did he reach the --
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  I think what we've said previously about 
that was that Justice Blackmun indicated that this might be his last 
year, and the President answered that he said he hoped he'd change 
his mind.  So he did not know about Justice Blackmun's resignation 
specifically until last week when the rest of us found out.
	     
	     Q    Is there another formal meeting scheduled with the 
President --
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  No.  No other formal meetings have been 
scheduled.  I expect there will be one sometime in the future, but 
nothing has been scheduled.
	     
	     Q    As a philosophical matter, does the President not 
believe in twisting people's arms to take jobs?  I mean, some 
presidents, when they've gotten a no or an initial no have gone 
further and twisted a little harder. 
	     
	     MS. MYERS:  It depends.  It depends on what the 
circumstances are.  I think the President has, in the past, urged 
people to take jobs in other circumstances like this where a very 
important agenda the President feels deeply about is at stake.  I 
think he respects the judgment of the person he feels is in the best 
position to judge the impact of something like his departure on that 
agenda.
	     
	     THE PRESS:  Thank you. 

				 END                    3:01 P.M. EDT
	     
#161-04/12

