President Clinton Response to Question concerning Political Motivation for Giant Sequoia National Monument

April 15, 2000

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT AT ROPELINE FOLLOWING EARTH DAY
EVENT 



                              THE WHITE HOUSE

                           Office of the Press Secretary
                               (Bakersfield, California)
___________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                        April 15, 2000


                            REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
                     AT ROPELINE FOLLOWING EARTH DAY EVENT

                              Trail of 100 Giants
                                 Sequoia National Forest


     Q    -- who say the visit here is politically motivated and say you're
trying to build an environmental legacy for yourself and the Vice
President?

     THE PRESIDENT:  Well, first of all, I think that when you can't win an
argument, sometimes you just attack the person on the other side.
(Laughter.)  The only issue here is whether we're doing the right thing.  I
have been doing this kind of thing for seven and a half years now.  I've
been working on these issues.  What I'm trying to do is to build a legacy
for these children.  And I think we did the right thing.

     And Secretary Glickman worked very hard to preserve all the functions
in this area that are going on, except the logging.  And I believe there
will be a net gain economically here, because we are protecting these trees
for life, forever.  That's what I believe and I just think it's the right
thing to do.  I've always believed this.  I did this sort of thing when I
was governor.  It's not something that I woke up last year and decided it
would be a nice thing to do.  I believe that.

     And I think -- we don't have to criticize each other's motives, they
can disagree with my decision, but I think I did the right thing and I
think the future will prove us out right.

     END