Remarks During a White House Staff Farewell Ceremony
Mr.
Duberstein. Mr. President and Mrs. Reagan, during the past few weeks, over and
over again, so many members of the White House staff have asked for a chance as
a group to say so long and job well done. So, today the staff has gathered for
the last time to thank you both for the opportunity and the privilege of
helping as you have sought to both change a nation and change the world. You
both have succeeded in both endeavors.
For
most Americans, the President and the First Lady are two people they see on
television or read about in the newspapers and magazines, and the White House
is a place that is the symbol of American leadership at home and abroad. You
have given all of us the honor of being here with you, up close, to help in the
challenges you faced. You've allowed us to play a role in the history of our
great country. We have had a chance to help you frame the options,
just as we have helped you promote your policies, schedule your trips, and
bring your unique message to the American people.
Mr.
President and Mrs. Reagan, you both have made
On
a serious note, you've allowed us to be part of your lives, and you are very
much a part of ours. We will cherish the trust you have given us and the warmth
you have shown us. You have our respect and our thanks, but you also have our
affection as well as our love. For all of us who have served on your staff,
being part of your administration is the highest honor of our lives. It was a
labor of love that came from the heart.
Some
have had that honor longer than others. Mr. President and Mrs. Reagan, I would
like to call on Joan DeCain, Director of the
Presidential Comments and Greetings Office, an original plank-owner of your
administration, having been on board since
Ms.
DeCain. Mr. President, I know I speak for all my
fellow staff members when I asked you to please accept this gift as a token of
our affection. We hope, one and all of us, that it
will help you remember us when you're out there in God's country with one of
those horses we know you'll be riding. Thanks on behalf of all the staff for
all you've done for us. We'll miss you terribly. We wish you good health, good
life, lots of fun, and God's blessing. Thank you, sir.
The President. I have a little
problem. They just took the stitches out -- [laughter].
Ms.
DeCain. Want me to put it down? Here, I'll hold it,
and you can put it on.
The First Lady. Oh, my.
The President. Thank you very much.
And when I get home, I understand that the Canadian Mounted Police are
delivering a horse. [Laughter] And this will take care of that horse. Oh, thank
you very much.
Mr.
Duberstein. Now I'd like to ask another original plank-owner, Elaine Crispen, to come forward and present Mrs. Reagan with a
gift from the staff. Elaine?
Ms.
Crispen. If anyone noticed Mrs. Reagan's look, she
knows I'm not going to get through it. We've tried these things before.
[Laughter] And originally, I had prepared a long list of accomplishments --
everything from restoring this grand old house and making us proud of the
residents of it and the place itself to a million children that just say no to
drugs because of you, and everything that goes between it. But there isn't
time, and I wouldn't get through it.
So,
instead, as the person that hasn't allowed you to keep any secrets in the last
4 years -- [laughter] -- I'm presenting you your gift from the staff and
letting you know as you open it what's inside. It's a wonderful little box for
your collection of boxes. But it's very special because it's crammed full of
love and hugs, and you can share it. [Laughter] And it has a bit of magic to
it, because no matter how many times you open the box and take out a little hug
from us, it'll always replenish itself because we aren't going to forget you.
We'll always be thinking of you, and that love will come across the miles and
always be in there. So, you can just open it, see us, give us a hug, and
they're there for you.
But
see, actually, I didn't finish, because we've been proud to call you our First
Lady or Nancy or, as that taxi driver in New York said, ``a real classy
broad.'' [Laughter] But it's been awfully nice to call you our friend.
Mr.
Duberstein. And finally, Mr. President and Mrs. Reagan, we knew you would not
want us to leave out Rex -- [laughter] -- so we have a gift for Rex. It was
hand-built by the Navy Seabees at
Mr.
President, Mrs. Reagan, thank you for what you have
done for our country, our world, and for each of us. Good luck, and may God
bless both of you.
The President. Thank you all, and not
alone for the gifts, although they're wonderful, and particularly this last one
-- [laughter] -- because he's already taken over this White House at that.
[Laughter] I'm glad he's got one of his own now. [Laughter] And you know something, he doesn't get kicked out of it in two terms.
[Laughter]
But
there aren't any words that can properly tell you how bittersweet these days
are and the things that we would like to say to all of you. You know, I keep
remembering back -- and not too far -- when someplace along the line there
would always be a picture of a President standing in the Oval Office looking
out the window -- usually the picture from behind. And he's standing there, and
then his words are quoted as a tag for that picture about this is the loneliest
place -- the lonely, and so forth. I don't know about them. I haven't been
lonely one minute.
I
think both of us have been aware every minute we're here that we're surrounded
by you, by others who may not be here in this room today but here in this house
or over there in the West Wing or just here in Washington -- all a part of
everything we came here to do, and it couldn't have been done without you. And
we've all shared, and I like to think maybe it's kind of close to what happened
200 years ago. We were all revolutionaries, and the revolution has been a success.
But there just aren't enough words to thank you for all that you've meant to
all of us and how hard it is to say goodbye to all of you. But as I say, the
only thing that can make it bearable at all is to remember all that you did and
how much of a team we did become. And God bless you all.
And
as I say, there just aren't words enough to express our appreciation to all of
you. Thank you, and God bless you all.
Mrs.
Reagan. Elaine said I should say something. But I'll never get through it. See?
[Laughter] Thank you.
The President. I think the band was
going to play something. And it -- --
[At
this point, the U.S. Marine Corps Band played ``Auld Lang Syne.'']
The President. Thank you all.
Note: Kenneth M.
Duberstein, Chief of Staff to the President, spoke at