WRITING FOR THE CLINTON WHITE HOUSE
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In the late 1990's, Mark Jonathan Davis was hired by Democratic Party political consultants to work as a freelance jokewriter, contributing comedy material and topical humor to several of PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON's public speeches.
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Below is an excerpt from President Clinton's April 10, 1997 address to the Radio And Television Correspondents Association Dinner in Washington, D.C.
At the time of this speech in 1997, President Clinton was suffering from a recent knee injury, and meanwhile, former President George H.W. Bush had just made headlines by skydiving at the age of 72. Davis's contributions to the speech are indicated in blue. |
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The President:
Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen, members of Congress, members of the press, fellow sufferers. (Laughter.) I would like to thank the Radio and Television Correspondents Association for inviting me this evening. I want to give Terry Murphy a special thanks for the kind introduction and, also, given my condition, I'd like to give a special thank-you to the Ridgewell Catering Company for bringing me here tonight. (Laughter.) Enough laughs. I have come here tonight to speak about a topic of perennial concern in Washington, something we never get around to doing anything about. And that is the close, some would even say cozy relationship, between the rarified elite who make public policy and those who report on it. And on that topic, just let me say this: Congratulations, Andrea. (Laughter and applause.) You know, that fella standing next to you in the newspaper photos a few days ago -- (laughter) -- he looked exactly like Alan Greenspan, only exuberant. (Laughter and applause.) I want all of you to know that, until recently, I had planned out a really dramatic entrance to this dinner. (Laughter.) And then, George Bush stole my thunder. (Laughter.) I mean, look at this -- this guy is 72 years old, he jumps out of a plane at 12,000 feet, he lands without a scratch. (Laughter.) I fall six inches, and I'm crippled up for six months. It's ridiculous. (Applause.) Now, as you might imagine, my injured knee adds complications to my schedule. In fact, you know, just when I was on the way over here tonight ---- <Mike McCurry enters, hands President note> As you have seen, my press secretary, Mike McCurry, just handed me a note. <reads note> According to wire reports, former President Bush has just bungee jumped off the Seattle Space Needle. (Laughter.) That reminds me -- I was supposed to make another announcement tonight. Mr. Murphy has asked me to tell you that the Radio and Television Correspondents Association has decided to adopt the practices of the Democratic National Committee. (Laughter.) That means you can all pick up your $1,000 refund checks on the way out tonight. (Laughter and applause.) You know, I'm getting a little sick of these fundraising stories. (Laughter.) But here I am, I'm doing the best to do the job the American people sent me here to do. But with all this ruckus in Washington these days, we have to work harder and harder to sort of be heard through the din. So my staff worked up a few new ideas that we thought might break through. I want you to be the judge. After all, it's your din. (Laughter.) Here are the suggestions: Take a cue from the TV show, "Ellen." Start a rumor that in the last presidential press conference of the season, my character will become a libertarian. (Laughter.) Announce that we've discovered signs of life on Mars. We already tried that, and some of you bought it; I couldn't believe it. (Laughter and applause.) Announce that I will fight Evander Holyfield. (Laughter.) Anytime, anyplace. (Laughter.) Here's the Vice President's suggestion. Sign an executive order hiring people on welfare to install computers in our nation's classrooms, to e-mail messages to neighborhood watch volunteers, to use their cell phones to call 100,000 community police officers, to remind the 1 million literacy tutors to show up for work. (Laughter and applause.) If all else fails, push myself down a flight of stairs. (Laughter.) As you know, that's the one we decided to go with. (Laughter.) It worked for a while and I would do it again. I may have to. (Laughter.) <Mike McCurry enters, hands President another note> Thank you very much, Mike. <reads note> (Laughter.) Ladies and gentlemen, you will be pleased to learn that former President Bush -- (laughter) -- has just successfully jumped the Snake River Canyon on a rocket-powered motorcycle. (Laughter and applause.) Now, he's just taunting me. (Laughter.) You know, one of the results of being bummed up for while is that I've gotten to watch a lot more television than normal, and I spent a day in the hospital just sort of channel-flipping, "surfing," that's what you call it now. And I was amazed at the way all these different channels struggled to accurately but uniquely cover my surgery. (Laughter.) C-Span, of course, provided live, uninterrupted coverage of my injured knee -- (laughter) -- while C-Span 2 devoted full coverage to my other knee. (Laughter and applause.) Within an hour of the accident, CNN had composed ominous theme music -- (laughter) -- and put up a graphic, "Breaking News, Breaking Knees." (Laughter and applause.) I knew it was going to be a major story when their "Headline News" devoted a full five seconds to it. (Laughter.) MSNBC immediately proclaimed itself the state-of-the-art global interactive command center for all leg-related news. (Laughter.) ESPN broke into the North Carolina-Colorado basketball game with a breathless bulletin that Greg Norman was just fine. (Laughter and applause.) PBS kept interrupting coverage of my knee for pledge drives. (Laughter.) For every $100 donation, you got a commemorative X-ray of my leg. (Laughter.) Bob Novak went on "Crossfire" to argue the positive aspects of debilitating knee injuries for Democrats. (Laughter.) And then, there was MTV. All they wanted to know was, did I wear a hospital gown or pajamas. (Laughter.) <Mike McCurry enters, hands President a third note> Mr. Mccurry: Another one. The President: Thank you, Mike. (Laughter.) <reads note> Ladies and gentlemen, President Bush has just had himself manacled, placed inside a padlocked trunk -- (laughter) -- and submerged off the coast of Kennebunkport. (Laughter.) The clock is ticking. (Laughter.) Our prayers are with him. (Laughter.) ... excerpted from Radio And Television Correspondents Association Dinner Washington, D.C. April 10, 1997 
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