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THE WHITE
Office of'the
,For ,Internal Use only
'
HOU~~
P~es~
Secretary'
December 2, 1993
; t::
AN INTERVIEW .OF THE'FIRST LADY
CONDUCTED BY .RICHARD SPRATLING
OF THE CO~CORD MONITOR'
MR. SPRATLING: I wanted to ask, you and the
President both talked about a willingness, to compromise and
that this is a thing that starts out (inaudible). Your plan
starts the debate. you mentioned it today that there are
,some features that could be improved and changed. I, wanted
'toask.'how strongly you feel .that your plan is the best plan,
and how does that .square with your statements about change?,
,
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MS. CLINTON:Well~ Ithirik it is the best plan of
the ones that are currently being cpnsidered. Many, many
people, even those, who disagree with parts of it, say
repeatedly that there are things' they ~ould want ,to: improve
about it, 'but it is, the, best,: most comprehensive approach to
trying to resolve all of the health.care, issues we, face.
,What the President .has meant and what I have
repeated is that if there are better ways th'at are developed
during the legislativeproceg's to workout some of. ,the ways
that we reacn our goals like universal coverage and
simp+icity, gettihgrid of the paperwork and other points
that. I made earlier, we're open to that. I mean, we want
this to be the result of, the best'thinking in America be.caus,E?
it is something that is !;o important.
'MR. SPRATLING: You mentioned legislative process.
There are, what, seven or eight plans now in 'Congress? What
is tl)e chance that there will be so much compromise and
bi~kering that we will end U:p with nothing out of this or
something that' sl\ext to nothing? .
MS. 'CLINTON: I don't think that will happen
because what has occurred in the last:months is a real'ization
on the part of millions of American~, about why we need to
reform our health care system. 'For,the first time, people'
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are making connections between their, rising costs and the
fact that we don't have any system for trying to contain
costs. I mean, that's beginning to sink in.
So I don't think ,we're going to have nothing at the
end of the process. I think that people who strongly support
health care reform will have to remain actively involved in
making sure that the legislation moves in the right
direction', but I think that will occur. '
MR. SPRATLING:
the plan, even supporters
over' cost and financing.
do you say to people when
Whenever.I talk to somebody about
of the plan, their reservations are
Do you have a quick answer? What
that comes up?
MS. CLINTON: First of all, this plan is financed
the way we now finance health care, 'by the employer/employee,
system, but we require everybody to participate, which will
be ~ signi~icant number of people who, for the first time,
will be paying for their health care, which they should be
making that contribution.
We have a tax on tobacco which is designed both to
raise money and to deal with a serious health problem, the
result of tobacco use. We have worked out how to use the
savings we will get in the system by getting rid of waste,
, and fraud,and abuse and other ,changes so that there is more
, than ~nough money to fund' this.
'
This is not very far from what I think most
Americans would understand if they sat down qnd said if I'm
making a contribution and yet we've got to'support academic
health centers like the one here at Dartmouth, and we've got
to support public health, we're going to need a little bit
more than I put in. This is how it all wo;rks.
I don't think there's ever been any piece of
legislation that has been more thoroughly analyzed and gone
over with a fine tooth comb by economists and actuaries and
other people. But we welcome the analysis because we want
everybody in all of the plans to be looked at as closely.
MR. SPRATLING,: 'My next question is one ,that was
asked a couple of times inside about this small position
practice, one and two person practices.
MS. CLINTON:
Let me just hold off for a second.
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MR. SPRATLING:
fun.
Sure .<
MS. CLINTON: This is terrific. This is so much
The lights are up. It's like a real Christmasy scene.
MR .. SPRATLING: You were here in February of 1992.
Did it change from your days as a student?
MS. CLINTON: You know, the basic shopping area,
I'm sure the shops are different, the basic campus.
MR. SPRATLING:
It feels the same?
MS. CLINTON: Yes, it feels pretty much the same
except for women being here. That's the diffe~ence.
MR. SPRATLING.: With managed care and managed
competition coming or already here and spreading, is the one
and two position practice that many people in New Hampshire
go to now, is that a dying breed?
MS. CLINTON: Not necessarily. I thfnk that what I
see happening around the country is that physician~ in their
practices are deciding that they want to be part of fee-for~
service networks so' that they maintain their independence,
but they're part of a network so that·together they aren't
just all up o~ their own. They can become a health,plan.
So . that, say, all of the <smail' group practices,th'e
one, two and three person practices', in northern New
,
Hampshire, if they form themselves into a health plan, then
they could share some expenses,because, for example, they
might not all need to have.ab.illil,1g clerk or they m.j.ght not
all need to have an accountant. So they, could actually
realize some benefits without giving up their independence.
Other solo and small practice physiciaris around the
country are doing something a little different. They are
affiliating with other institutions like I know in some parts
of the country there might be a (inaudibl'e) clinic, for
example, that will go out into' the countryside around
Rochester, Minnesota, and say we'd like to have a contract
with you so that people in your area who join our health plan
can be taken care of there and only need to come to us if
they need to be hospitalized.
So that's another alternative.
So I think there
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are several ways that physicians who value 'their independence
and their solo practice will be able to maintain that if they
decide to do so.
MR. SPRATLING: Do you think under the current
movement to managed care without reform that that -
MS. CLINTON: I think it will be increasingly
difficult. It's not just a question of whether they will be
forced into ~etworks that will be buying up practices and
things that you heard about today. It's also that if we
don't reform the system, you will have more and more·people
losing their insurance. You will have more and more people
falling onto the Medicaid (inaudible). You'll have more and
more pressure to cut the costs of Medicare which will put
further cost pressures on the rural physician because they
have a higher than average poor population, Medicare/Medicaid
combined population.
If we don't do something to reform the system to
get costs under control,now, I think the financial pressures
that many rural hospitals and doctors face will just get much
worse.
MR. SPRATLING: Non-health ,care question:
ever get to see the Hillary Quarterly?
MS. CLINTON:
Do you
No, I don't.
MR. SPRATLING:
.Are you aware of the Hillary
Quarterly?
. MS~ CLINTON:
don't read it.
I heard something about it, but I
MR. SPRATLING: It's published in our town,
although I don't -- I haven't actually seen it myself,
either.
MS. CLINTON:
Do you work full time for the
Concord?
MR~ SPRATLING: . Yes.
environment reporter.
MS. CLINTON:
I'm actually the health and
How long have you done that?
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MR. SPRATLING:
MS .. CLIN.TON:
Four years.
Is, that right?
MR. SPRATLING:
.it was much of an'issue.
MS. CLINTON:
Yes.
I was covering health before
How did you get interested in that?
MR. SPRATLING: Well, I was a biology and
environmental studies major in college.
I studied or I
covered the environment for a weekly' paper on Martha's
Vineyard.
Which one?,
MS. CLINTON:
MR. SPRATLING:
MS. CLINTON:
The Gazette.
Oh, I love that paper.
MR. SPRATLING:
MS. CLINTON:
It's an odd paper, .iSn' t
it?
It's really idiosyncratic.
I love
it.
MR. SPRATLING: It was a.good,place to get started,
and then I came up here after that.
MS. ,CLINTON:
Where did you go to college?
MR. SPRATLING:
MS. CLINTON:
Oh, yes.
MR. SPRATLING:
MS. CLINTON:
When did .you graduate?
1987.
What's the president's name?
MR. SPRATLING:
MS. CLINTON:
were there?
Starr, ·Fred starr.
Starr.
MR. SPRATLING:
year, 1983.
MS. CLINTON:
Oberlin College.
·Yes.
Was Fred Starr there when you
He and I got there the same
I only met him once, but I thought he
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was a very interesting ,man., Apparently he's embroiled in
quite a ,discussion now about whether to cut to three years
the undergraduate education.
MR. SPRATLING:
MS. CLINTON:
Yes.
What does all that mean?
MR. SPRATLING: Well, he's trying to fi:nd'ways, I
think, to make a private liberal arts education a.ffordable
for people. I think he's saying that a lot of what people do
is elected stuff anyway. You can do it in three years and
maybe we should let some students do it in three years if it
will mean they'll be able to go at all. I don't know other
than what I read in the papers.
MS. CLINTON:
Were you pleased with Oberlin?
MR. SPRATLING:
Oh,. very much.
I loved it.
MS. CLINTON: I really wanted to visit there during
,the campaign. I've never been to Oberl in. I've had lots of
friends who attended there.. I really wanted to go. The
student body got ,a petition.asking me', . to come, and I never
could work it out to: get there. I hope I will someday.
MR. SPRATLING:
MS. CLINTON:
You should go sometime.
What's the best time of the year to
go?
MR. SPRATLING:
MS. CLINTON:
Well, not this time.
Does it get cold?
MR. SPRATLING:
the year it rains.
MS. CLINTON:
The weather is awful.
This time·of
Where exactly is it?
MR. SPRATLING:
MS. CLINTON:
the primary -
It's 35 miles -- spring and fall.
How do you like New Hampshire?
MR. SPRATLING:
It's
It's the primary paper in Concord,
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but (inaudible).
MS. CLINTON: But I thought it was given the Union
Leader a real run for its money in circulation?
MR. SPRATLING: Some places, not in circulation.
The Union Leader is a statewide 'paper and we don't reach
: statewide. We're one' of several the smaller dailies that
compete within our area but not statewide. We just started a
Sunday paper about a year ago and that -- if we're going to
compete with.the Union Leader, it will be on Sundays. We're
expanding that area, our circulation area, on Sundays.
·MS. CLINTON: The Concord paper ran one of the best
photographs of,my husband I've ever seen.
MR .. SPRATLING:
You told me that.
MS. CLINTON: When he spoke before the New
Hampshire legislature, they took a picture ,...- I wish I could
remember the photographer's name, but the picture was taken
in the chamber. There was no special lighting, anything like
that. It was a great picture. I think the paper thought it
was a good picture because they ran a really big size of the
picture. It was one of my all-time favorite pictures of him.
I obviously paid attention to the paper after that
because I thought what good judgment they've got doing that.
great picture, but then I read it. Of course, I ,was very
grateful when the paper endorsed the President. I thought
that was one of the best editorials that came out during the
whole campaign.
. ,
"
MR. SPRATLING: We published a couple of
photographs of you. 'that were taken by Annie L~ibowi tz for
MS. CLINTON:
Oh, the (inaudible) photographs.
MR. SPRATLING: The Union Leader did the same,
I
think. The next day or ~wo days later, Mackey Globe
(phonetic), the publisher, printed a . not-so-nice -
.
,
MS. CLINTON:
photograph.
'\'
I heard they editorialized against my
MR. SPRATLING: Exactly. I guess I wanted to ask
you about that, though. She was saying that it was
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undignified and that ,it was a comedown for the Office of the
First Lady.
MS. CLINTON:
I don't agree with her.
A PARTICIPANT:
I'll respond.
MR. SPRATLING:
Okay.
A PARTICIPANT: I believe, and she should
doublecheck with vogue" but every First Lady has sat for
Vogue.
MS. CLINTON: Oh, that would be a good thing to put
in your paper. I didn't know that.
A PARTICIPANT: Not every in history.
don't know when Vogue came into existence.
MR. SPRATLING:
I mean, I
Right.
A PARTICIPANT:
Kennedy on.
But I know definitely from Jackie
MR. SPRATLING:
Is this the first for Annie
A PARTICIPANT:
In terms of?
MR. SPRATLING:'
First Lady?
A PARTICIPANT:
Backing Ms. Clinton or for Vogue?
Leibowitz?
MR. SPRATLING:
First Lady?
No, the ffrst time she's done'a
A PARTicIPANT: I don't know.
with Vogue. I don't know.
MR. SPRATLING:
ran the picture.
MS. CLINTON:
You'd have to check
How did that come about?
We just
I had forgotten but yes, they all did
it.
A PARTICIPANT: Yes. We had done an interview w,ith
them for a rather in-depth story and they wanted photos. 'So
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they sent Annie Leibowitz to shoot the pictures.
MR. SPRATLING: If this health care thing is ever
resolved, do you see yourself falling into a different role
aS,First ~ady? Is there another ,issue that you'd like to .,..
MS. CLINTON: I hope it is resolved for the sake of
the country, but I also have been, in the past months speaking
out on other things that I care a lot about. I am very
,concerned about violence, particularly t~e bre'akdown of the
family and the way that'feedsinto,a cycle of violence.
That's something I worked on for 20 years. It's something
that I really am committed to. I think there's a direct
connection between health care reform and some of these
social problems that we confront, which I would like to make
very clear.
, But in addition, I'mpoping that we're turning the
country around in its attitudes about what is responsible and
irresponsible behavior and what the obligations of parenting
are and what the government in partnership with the private
sector and communities can do, to create better atmospheres
for children to be raised and schooled. It's one of the
things that I've been interested in for a long'time and I'll
keep talking about those and working on them.
MR. SPRATLING: Do you see something as prominent
as your role in the health care?
MS. CLINTON: I don't. I mean, I'll do whatever
the President asks me to, do. I want to be as helpful as I
can in trying to make our contribution to this
administration, but I don't have any particular, ideas in
mind.
MR. SPRATLING: What 'kind of response did you get
when 60 Minutes aired the out-take of the light falling on
the couch behind you?
MS. CLINTON:
Nothing.
Nobody said anything to me.
..
,
\
MR. SPRATLING: We ran an (inaudible) piece frpm
somebody in Connecticut, so it must have gone over the wires.
He was trying to describe it as a turning point, as something
that showed your true colors, you and the President?
either.
MS. CLINTON: That's interesting~ I didn't see it
I guess I should se~ that sometime., It was one of
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the scariest. things that ever happened to me. I was
terrified and my husband was so quick. He's so good in
,
emergencies and crises. I felt so relieved that he was there
because it was one of the scariest things that ever 'happened
to me physically.
MR. SPRATLING:
the interview?
Apparently.'You went· right back to
MS. CLINTON: Yes. Nobody was. hurt and we took a
'fewmiimtes to try to recover from the ~hock of it, but then
we finished the interview.
MR. SPRATLING: Well, listen, thank you very much.
I really appreciate it.
MS. CLINTON:' I really appreciate it.
talking with you.
(The interview was concluded.)
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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Lissa Muscatine - Press Office
Creator
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First Lady's Office
Press Office
Lissa Muscatine
Date
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1993 - 1997
Is Part Of
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<a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/show/36239" target="_blank">Collection Finding Aid</a>
<a href="http://catalog.archives.gov/id/7431941" target="_blank">National Archives Catalog Description</a>
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2011-0415-S
Description
An account of the resource
<p>Lissa Muscatine first served in the Clinton Administration as a speechwriter. Within the First Lady’s Office, she served as Communications Director to the First Lady.</p>
<p>Lissa Muscatine’s records consist of materials from First Lady Hillary Clinton’s Press Office, highlighting topics such as health care, women’s rights, the Millennium Council, Hillary Clinton’s 2000 Senate campaign, and deal extensively with press interviews given by the First Lady; her domestic and foreign travel; and speeches and remarks, on a wide variety of topics, given by her before and during her time as First Lady. The records include interview transcripts, press releases, speeches and speech transcripts.</p>
Provenance
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Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
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Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
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Adobe Acrobat Document
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1,324 folders in 27 boxes
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Paper
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FLOTUS Press Office Interview Transcripts Volume II 10/93 - 01/28/94 [Binder]: [12/02/93 Spratling, Richard Concord Monitor]
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Box 3
<a href="http://clintonlibrary.gov/assets/Documents/Finding-Aids/Systematic/2011-0415-S-Muscatine.pdf" target="_blank">Collection Finding Aid</a>
<a href="http://catalog.archives.gov/id/7431941" target="_blank">National Archives Catalog Description</a>
Creator
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First Lady's Office
Press Office
Lissa Muscatine
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2011-0415-S
Provenance
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Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
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Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
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11/26/2012
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2011-0415-S-flotus-press-office-interview-transcripts-volume-ii-10-93-01-28-94-binder-12-02-93-spratling-richard-concord-monitor
7431941