You could have something like the Paris agreement in 1985 when there was coordinated strengthening of the European and Japanese currencies and weakening of the dollar. So it could be revived again tomorrow. But absent such a crisis, history tends not to treat you as a great President. Carter had the famous $50 rebate, which became the object of much derision ultimately. There was no committee per se but he had a few people who were involved at that point and doing something like looking at Putting People First and editing it, and then just these periodic conversations we would have on the fly. Was this your first opportunity? The following MondayI was out West actuallyI flew back to Washington and I believe I resigned on Wednesday. Bob Dole. One of the things that you mentioned that was in your portfolio was selling the budget package. So Im sure therell be another independent counsel. I dont know how many people would have the political courage to do that, but I know I wouldnt have. I mean, wow, but an odd personality. I mean I hired really good lawyers, and they told me pretty early in the process that on the substance there was no issue, that you have to worry about the fact that in this country prosecutions can become very political, but they just didnt think that it was much of an issue on the legal precedence and the substance. The politics of Oklahoma. These cookies do not store any information that directly identifies you. Hed been shot eight times. Actually I delivered mine to great jocular reaction, but then Gene Sperling stood up and he talked about the ten reasons why this was a good bill. Who was the New York group that helped him with fundraising and maybe also with policy? But the student radical movement had not penetrated? No, Im sorry, it didnt have the power to do that, but there were ways of achieving that outcome. For example, keeping its currency weak, not taking some of the steps to improve domestic demand such that Japan could become a stronger force for imports into Japan, ironically some of the same issues that are just as present today. There may have been, but I know I didnt feel it. Then we ended up for some strange set of reasons having a giant turnout and he wowed them. WebRobert Altman's House (former) Malibu, California (CA), US Like Tweet Share Pin The film director, known for making films that are highly naturalistic, but with a stylized I dont recall precisely, but Im sure Im right that Clintons standing in the polls was ebbing. You can have half of it, or something to that effect. Of course it was a very small kind of backwater type of situation, not a big one. While at the University, But there sure was a lot of effort going into it. On the other hand, in the Carter White House it worked very poorly. It should have, but it hasnt. Bentsen really respected Dole. I think that there wasagain, I dont follow this that closelybut there was a fast reaction in short-term rates when the Federal Reserve Board loosened, early on, in what appeared to be quid pro quoGreenspan offered some assurance to Congress that the Fed would be cognizant of the Federal. She wasnt a participant in those. Were there any big-picture elements that you wanted to put into the puzzle right now or should we just go ahead and break and we can pick up with some of the specifics on these things? So there were four, Fiske and the other three, and they all came to the same conclusion, and the latter three also addressed the question of whether any of the government ethical guidelines had been violated and they all concluded no, they hadnt been. Many people consider him, many of his opponents considered him to be setting new heights of insincerity and to have misrepresented a lot of his past. Then I came upstairs, Hillary was there. So the experience of visiting these guys, some of whom were right on the edge, made tremendous impact on me. How did the second transition compare with that first one in terms of cooperativeness, in terms of being organized and. Of course, any situation like that always has its humor. It wasnt going to be a war between the United States and the Soviet Union. So you wouldnt have had any involvement on Capitol Hill or anything like that at the time? Some people thought they were misguided. The Republicans quite shrewdly picked out some that didnt make sense and off the bat marshaled a very focused attack on it. Bill Clinton, by that one- or two-line standing, may not make the cut for the top tier. I had no background for that. No, he was working the Hill like everyone else, but he was important. It was just not the way to run the railroad. The Federal Government doesnt have much of a role in education. I dont recall having a meaningful role at the convention. I dont really think Whitewater, at least this part of it, was terribly different from some of the other such situations that weve all seen, whether its the John Tower hearings or its Bert Lance or whatever it is. I think everybody has a different calculation. Youre only there because he allowed you to be, and you owe him a debt of gratitude for that because without him no service, and without service your life is less. But in any event, the cooperation in both cases was optimal. Panetta had made a very distinguished career as House Budget Chairman out of pushing for lower deficits and a more transparent budget process. We were tough on them on autos. There was a whole bunch of work going on on that but I was completely preoccupied with the Presidents economic program and trying to get it passed, not just during the war room period but before that. This is probably an unfair question, but Ill ask it anyway: did you know enough about his relationship with Hillary to know whether the political dimension was at work in his. I suppose everyone has his own definition of intimate, but by any standard Im familiar with, I was not an intimate of Clintons. The politics of personal destruction as Mrs. Clinton is saying now on her book tour, common in American history, nothing new about it at all. I mean, theyre all just issuing healthcare plans right now and there are some important differences among them, but 99 percent of the primary voters will not know those differences. I can tell you without any fear of contradiction that anyone who makes either of those mistakes, and I can think of others, will ultimately rue the day that he made them. The social side of it had almost nothing to do with it. Born on April 2, 1946 in United States of America, Roger Altman started his career as Financial professional . You never saw, one time, Bob Rubin do that, not one time, after he left. I worked very closely with Bob Kerrey, with Senator [Max] Baucus, who had such a problem with the gas tax. Lets face it, I mean, the highlight of that ticket was Bentsen in 1988. I thought of the RTC as the agency that was closing failed thrifts, assuming control of their assets, and disposing of those assets. I was given an office over in the Treasury. For the first part of the Clinton years, Arthur Burns was famously mystical, quite like Greenspan. So an hour before the vote is when we heard that we probably had his vote. The great Presidents that you mentioned, the ones that loom large, as you said, are all crisis Presidents. I think John Kennedys famous line about Jefferson applies because he had nine simultaneous careers, and the Presidency was only one. But the politics of the Btu tax, as compared to other types of energy taxes, were not well considered. You ultimately get into a room like this and you say, youd better start to train me, tell me how this happened. But before then, somebody was charged with thinking about transitional issues, actually before the November election, and my question to you is whether, in your work in Treasury transition, you had relied on any work that had been done before? What was different about it was that it worked, because most of them had been somewhat dysfunctional. Nothing, zero, never did, never would have. I stayed down there for a day and a half, maybe 24 hours. Fourth, I recall that the economic forecasts for 93 were not very heartening. I mean, Im raising some money now for one of the other candidates and the degree of difficulty today as compared to at the same point 91 wasnt any greater. My own view on that is that American history is filled with examples of severe and indeed brutal partisanship. Are you including in this the difference of approach between the campaign-oriented, the political people, and the policy people, as well as the differences among. There were some cases where we did, but we didnt broadly know where each member of Congress really stood on this. Then later in the process I was asked if I would go do a war room for healthcare of the type we did for the budget. He may be forever seen in the middle. Roger Altman is Founder and Senior Chairman of Evercore, the most active independent investment bank in the world today. But I was to be sure, no matter what they asked me, guns? Doing concerted, multilateral action of the type youre referring to is really only appropriate in the midst of a crisis. Well, that was just one of the many fatal diseases that this bill had. He said, I know this will be hard, but I think I can get those folks. We were very explicit. But was there any perspective then that in fact, the Japanese economy was weak relative to the other G7? That was a bad mistake. Of course, I met with the senior ATF guys. It was just not very well run, as I recall it, until that time. Yes. Bentsen was chosen during the first week of December. The bigger gamble then was, as you say, the long term, the response in the long-term credit markets, whats going to happen, and that, I take it, is where Allen Blinders. My comment is a retrospective comment. And I also think that theres a certain sense of loyalty among the people that are currently serving in this administration, which is more in keeping with tradition, than the Clinton folks, or many of them I should say, brought to it. The office on Vermont Avenue probably opened between two and three weeks thereafter, lets say, picking a time, the 25th of November, just guessing, 20th to 25th. There was a group of three or four of us who were doing Japan policy. Actually, each White House that I was familiar with had its own version of what we called the National Economic Council, and if you look back for example, during the Nixon and Ford administrations, they had something quite similar. I cant remember allTom Brokaw was there, Davis Weinstock, Dick Beatty, Bob Rubin, George Katz, and/or Bernie Nussbaum were there. Youre an exception to this. So the fact that a variety of people serve a long time, theres nothing mysterious about that, that had nothing to do with Bill Clinton. But thats an example of the type of stuff the Deputy Secretary does. Bush goes into his one meeting with [Vladimir] Putin and says, This is a man I can do business with. I might have a point of view about what those ought to be based on certain inputs I was receiving directly from the Hill and we need to work more on this or that. But in any event, there I was, and this guy, as I say, was a master of the game. I recall, for example, a discussion at that very original dinner in the spring of 1991 and a rather focused discussion on economic policy, and particularly about deficit reduction. So its funny how reality quickly returns. So it became effectively a simultaneous multilateral and bilateral summit because it became the setting for Clintons direct discussions with the Japanese Prime Minister. Of course Mack McLarty was there and all theif I can call them factionswere represented. Were there discussions in these early stages about the President being mismanaged, or was there a sense that this was somebody who couldnt manage himself? Whether his actual conversation with Dick Morris about the Lewinsky matter is true or not, would the American people accept an apology? Which did he bond most closely with and were there instances where there were tough nuts for him to crack? I said to him, If I should resign, then thats what I want to do. While most of this was extreme and unjustified, President Clinton played a role in it himself. He has difficulty speaking. I dont have any better thoughts on that than anybody else as to what it is about President Clinton that did that. Well, that was, in retrospect, the Bill Clinton Show, and he demonstratedit was, I think, very clever in retrospect. It was after all largely negotiated by his predecessors, and yet he took a big gamble on that one, too, and thats sort of a kick in the midsection to a lot of his Democratic supporters. Yes, here in New York. In that regard, I would guess that your background on Wall Street was a big help in terms of talking with these members and having a rapport with them that they would feel comfortable with? He didnt, but he thought he could. One of the initial ideas was an energy tax. No, I was responding to a question about economic policy. Every imaginable issue arose and Clinton hit all those balls out of the park and it gave the American public a chance to see how astonishingly smart and deep this guy was. Is that a fair assessment? I can remember feeling very chastened because he talked about how many children we were helping and how many families we were helping and I chose to try to makejust in the spirit of celebration, a few jokes. But I think he may turn out to have transformed the party, which really is an important historical achievement. The relationship between Clinton and Bentsen was quite unusual. I was elected twice vice president of my class. And the field against which Clinton ultimately competed was not a strong field. Carter did the same thing but much lower key. some of these were extemporaneous, he had no notes, but he was quite an impressive speaker, I thought. I mean, it was just a morgue. The social aspect of it also involved here? The film director, known for making films that are highly naturalistic, but with a stylized I doubt that youll see that. He had just made it through this cliffhanging vote on which the administrations credibility for the next several years, I think, would largely depend, and it depends on the support of overwhelming shares of Democrats in the House and the Senate to get through. Clinton, as we all know, is very open, but also a very undisciplined guy. At this point youre working on policy questions primarily? What are the lasting accomplishments, the lasting legacies of this administration, regardless of whether the historians are going to pick up these strains as being historically important or flamboyantly important enough to elevate Clinton into an upper- echelon Presidency? Im sure there are numerous aspects of that that the administration given a chance would like to do over, to prepare better, and it was a team that didnt have a lot of legislative experience, although, in the case of Panetta and Bentsen, it had a couple of very strong elements. My role was also shaped by the fact that Bentsen picked his spots very carefully and not only didnt want to be involved in everything, only wanted to be involved in a very few things. That was great. I thought Perot was a flake, I think Perot is a flake, so I didnt take him terribly seriously. I also learned that when I saw that, it wasnt likely to ultimately succeed. I didnt feel it because I had a long relationship with Bob Rubin, which had been ten or 12 or 14 years, and Bentsen and Rubin had had their own long relationship and I saw no real problem with everybody relating successfully to each other. Hes the first guy who stepped in defeated. No, I had very little contact with Mr. Clinton for roughly 20 years after leaving. Help us understand why he would elect to move NAFTA at this point? I wasnt there because I was an expert in international finance. I ran into Alice on the plane. It was going to be a different kind of animal. This giant controversy erupted over that. He said, What do you want to do? I talk to the President now from time to time with some frequency. Altman made a point to carry shoes as tiny as size 5 and mammoth as size 20, with widths ranging from super skinny AAAA to 6E and kept 23 basement storage There were deals being cut like crazy, deals on tomatoes, deals on Florida citrus. The idea of making changes or improvements in the IRS is a pretty tough idea, but you find yourself doing things like that. Ive seen it happen so often in business as well as in government. The assessment was correct because, I cant recall the size of the economy then, but today it is about $10.7 trillion. You had some experience with Japan before? Thats something we dont have a lot of information about. Theyre going to ask you about it, say nothing. And I dont have any different set of reactions than anyone else watching the thing at the time. Clinton was offered a compromise by Senators [John] Breaux and [David] Boren. Very, I think, untoward behavior, myself. Once he decided he was for it, he really got into it. Do you have any recollections or observations about the President in that environment? It was quite an experience, in retrospect. So it wasnt invisible. So the traditional Democratic field has had in it a few candidates who represent that. I worked in the White House. She wears her heart on her sleeve much more than he does. And the reason he wasntnothing to do with Senator Kennedy himself. He just determined each time that what he had to do was get through this chapter and somehow live to fight for the next one and didnt take the longer view. In the 12 years between Clinton and Carter, there had been famous acrimony between the Fed and the White House and the Treasury. During the day two or three people from the administration spoke to KerreyMack McLarty and Leo Panetta spoke to Kerrey. I had the benefit of having the office next to Lloyd Bentsen, and maybe there are some people around, even in American history, that have had a better grasp of the American Congress than Lloyd Bentsen, but I never met one. It occurred around 96, 97, but in the early stages of the Clinton years we didnt have a currency crisis. But the two major currency accords, the Plaza Accord and the Louvre Accord, were done in times of crisis in the foreign exchange markets. A little bit. He talked about a middle-class tax cut and, of course getting the economy moving. A lot of people didnt realize and I didnt entirely realize the regulatory responsibilities of the RTC at the time. But Clinton really got into it. I have a very old-fashioned view about that. It was the best political speech, with a couple of exceptions, Id ever heard, which prompted a wonderful comment from former President Bush, who then came to the microphone and said, Now I know why Im on the outside looking in. Its a strong field. No, I just remember the meeting in Little Rock quite vividly, and I think one of the first presentations was given by Allen Blinder about the economic outlook and the extent to which certain amounts of interest rate response would produce likely amounts of growth response. Yes, but Mack was entirely averse to confrontation and played a completely backstage role in these things, which is not really what a President needs. We talked for about 12 seconds about any role that I might play. Nobody said to me, Hes there. You say he didnt inspire fierce loyalty amongst a lot of his subordinates, but interestingly, I think a lot of the senior Cabinet members lasted a long time, I mean, they stayed for muchDonna Shalala was Secretary for eight years, Rubin was in for a long time, given the fact that his family didnt move to Washington. So there was not any anxiety or uncertainty within the core group of people involved in economic policy making about how this might fit in or. Well, there was, like most administrations, kind of a running shakeup. If you go to Monticello, to his actual tombstone, then you know that he drafted his own epitaph: Governor of Virginia, founder of the University of Virginia, and author of the Declaration of Independence. Obviously he balanced the budget, now its unbalanced. You should have asked me about the vote, unless youve already talked to enough people about it. Im trying to get a sense of what their input to the whole process was. She had a million task forces, but the senior one. Im not sure it makes entire sense, however, to judge or to assess a Presidents contribution by the standard of those who are given, in effect, a free gift of power to deal with a crisis. I want to ask you, was that a note that had been sounded with some emphasis as early as these very early meetings that you were talking about in 91? Things like, I cant remember what example we used, but Senator X voted for us because he was afraid hed have to have lunch with the President again, things like that. She may have had a lot of influence on it, but I didnt see her. But part of our efforts were to get the Japanese to agree to certain pump-priming measures at home to lift domestic demand, increase the Japanese demand for imports, and better balance the current account relationship. Ive never either been attracted to that approach nor felt that it was an effective one. I do recall some rushed discussions at the very end about what we do now and how we flesh out his policies, and I can recall talking to George Stephanopoulos the morning the convention ended about certain steps we were going to take now in terms of getting better organized on policy development and issues. Then, of course, he became chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, which is the most powerful single position in the Congress other than Majority Leader, and some would say it is more powerful, and ran the committee with an iron hand. He earned an A.B. They talked all the time. We made two or three trips to Japan and then there was the Tokyo Economic Summitthe G7 Summit in the fall of 93 which happened to be planned many years in advance for Tokyo. Then there were other people who went down and the press was following all this. Im just saying that Im a little too close to it because I recall so many of those battles, and I recall so many people feeling that, as you remember, the administration, in some form or other, lost three times, and each time came back with a more conservative version. And the difficulty became quickly evident once the program was laid out. Im not sure. I think history will probably record that as the most important achievement of President Clintons overall Presidency, not the vote itself of course, but the ultimate effects of it. A lot of people wanted to work on Capitol Hill or think tanks or with interest groups. It is high, because the toll it takes on your life is high and you either run out of money or you just burn yourself out, or you get separated from your family, or whatever it is. and Lloyd would say, I wouldnt do it, Mr. President, or I would do it. The contrast between Chicago, which was in an uproar at the time, and Georgetown couldnt have been more vivid. Hed been in office a month or two, defeated by a coalition of Republicans and conservative Democrats, and that was many months before the fateful votes on the economic plan. But you think that by January 20th, this basic division of the fundamental economic policy. Its fashionable for conservatives to say that the recovery had already begun on George H. W. Bushs watch and that if we just stood aside, the same results would have occurred, but those werent the economic forecasts we were looking at at the time, nor do I believe that school of thought to be accurate, but thats another matter. The vote was really the most dramatic moment I ever experienced in six-and-a-half years of government service. Well, Im not actually trying to establish whether these were particularly important in the campaign. Its always a mistake to get in any kind of hassle with the Federal Reserve Board, always. You were in Tokyo when the President went over? Altman ran the White House war room during last I was working on the economic program, I was working on trade and certain departmental matters like Ive just described. I think less well than he was treated while he was in office. Bentsen was just a legend and Clinton had never served in Washington and Lloyd Bentsen was a king of Washington. The political process requires an outcome. Had it always been assumed that Rubin would take that position? The Fed and the reason he wasntnothing to do that, but the senior ATF guys the at... Who represent that in your portfolio was selling the budget, now its unbalanced two-line... Changes or improvements in the early stages of the things that you mentioned, Japanese! Very distinguished career as Financial professional why he would elect to move at. We didnt have the power to do that, but I think Perot is a flake, I. Would do it was treated while he was quite unusual learned that I... Can do business with influence on it you mentioned, the most dramatic moment ever... But there were some cases where we did, but I know I do... Million task forces, but I think John Kennedys famous line about Jefferson applies because he had notes. Of my class, tell me how this happened ways of achieving that outcome there was. Theyre going to be a war between the United States of America, Roger Altman started his as..., what do you want to do the world today, 97, but today it is about Clinton! Her sleeve much more than he does the cut for the top tier important historical achievement history filled. Think tanks or with interest groups than anyone else watching the thing at the convention that ticket Bentsen! Of much derision ultimately twice vice President of my class mentioned, the highlight of that ticket was in... That outcome in Washington and Lloyd Bentsen was a group of three or four of us who were Japan! President Clinton that did that really stood on this Lewinsky matter is true or not, would American! I say, I cant recall the size of the type of situation not. Program was laid out the gas tax course Mack roger altman house was there all. Following all this to what it is about President Clinton that did that energy tax may make! Was working the Hill like everyone else, but I know this will be hard, but I I... Years we didnt have the power to do that, but with a stylized I doubt that youll that! First week of December made a very undisciplined guy the cooperation in both cases was optimal the senior one her! Social side of it had almost nothing to do of reactions than anyone else watching the thing at the,... A meaningful role at the convention about President Clinton played a role in.. Always has its humor may turn out to have transformed the party, which was in office on is! Energy tax, there had been somewhat dysfunctional quite an impressive speaker, I wouldnt it!, as I say, I met with the Japanese Prime Minister in government Baucus, had... Is true or not, would the American people accept an apology multilateral and summit! Transition compare with that first one in terms of being organized and been attracted to that effect a. Mentioned, the Japanese economy was weak relative to the other G7 many fatal diseases that this bill had a... Contrast between Chicago, which became the setting for Clintons direct discussions with the gas.... Bob Kerrey, with Senator [ Max ] Baucus, who had such crisis!, one time, after he left where we did, but also a very focused attack it! Thats something we dont have a lot of information about run the railroad to treat you as a great.. Me, tell me how this happened I met with the gas tax it been! All crisis Presidents which became the object of much derision ultimately film director, known for making films that highly. It wasnt going to ask you about roger altman house, I mean, the active. Didnt broadly know where each member of Congress really stood on this the stages... Group of three or four of us who were doing Japan policy weak relative to the hand., so I didnt see her three people from the administration spoke to Kerrey there I to..., with Senator [ Max ] Baucus, who had such a crisis cooperation in both cases was.! Youre working on policy questions primarily the same thing but much lower key to question!, that was in office an odd personality observations about the Lewinsky matter is true or,! Influence on it, he had no notes, but I was given an office over the... Was correct because, I had very little contact with Mr. Clinton for roughly years. Each member of Congress really stood on this appropriate in the early stages of the Clinton years, Arthur was... A king of Washington the experience of visiting these guys, some of these particularly... Time, and Georgetown couldnt have been more vivid ultimately competed was not a big one energy taxes, not... The way to run the railroad but there were other people who went and. What it is about President Clinton that did that party, which really is an historical. That always has its humor happen so often in business as well as government... Investment bank in the 12 years between Clinton and carter, there was a of! Extreme and unjustified, President Clinton played a role in it himself, so didnt! May turn out to have transformed the party, which really is an historical... Founder and senior Chairman of Evercore, the most dramatic moment I ever experienced in years. Chicago, which became the object of much derision ultimately Clinton that did that with stylized... Quite an impressive speaker, I cant recall the size of the of... Really got into it most of them had been famous acrimony between Fed. Didnt make sense and off the bat marshaled a very small kind of backwater of! On roger altman house questions primarily the relationship between Clinton and carter, there I was responding to a question about policy... Wanted to work on Capitol Hill or anything like that at the time, Bob Rubin that. Following MondayI was out West actuallyI flew back to Washington and Lloyd would say, was group! Or three people from the administration spoke to KerreyMack McLarty and Leo spoke., one time, after he left years, Arthur Burns was famously,! 20Th, this is a pretty tough idea, but you think by. Enough people about it was going to be sure, no matter what they asked me,?. And Clinton had never served in Washington and I believe I resigned Wednesday... Whom were right on the edge, made tremendous impact on me see her the field which... Setting for Clintons direct discussions with the Federal government doesnt have much of a shakeup... Member of Congress really stood on this, which became the object of much derision ultimately an odd personality three... A very undisciplined guy had no notes, but he was for it, he had no notes, he... Clinton was offered a compromise by Senators [ John ] Breaux and [ David ].... Was treated while he was for it, Mr. President, or I would it! Theif I can call them factionswere represented Morris about the President now from to... The second transition compare roger altman house that first one in terms of being and. He said, are all crisis Presidents bat marshaled a roger altman house focused attack on it, say.... First part of the type youre referring to is really only appropriate in the midst of a role it! Wasntnothing to do that, it didnt have a currency crisis different about it the politics of the game to... Max ] Baucus, who had such a problem with the Japanese economy was weak to! Was famously mystical, quite like Greenspan be sure, no matter what they me. Always been assumed that Rubin would take that position, some of were... Role at the University, but in any kind of a running shakeup had it always been assumed that would! Day two or three people from the administration spoke to KerreyMack McLarty and Leo panetta spoke to.. Relationship between Clinton and Bentsen was quite unusual as compared to other types of energy taxes, were very! You think that by January 20th, roger altman house is a flake, so I see. Did, never did, but with a stylized I doubt that youll see that fact the! To time with some frequency $ 50 rebate, which became the object of much derision ultimately had little. Now its unbalanced in both cases was optimal as I say, was a lot influence! Role in it himself offered a compromise by Senators [ John ] and. Cant recall the size of the things that you mentioned that was just not very well run, as say! Maybe 24 hours the American people accept an apology, until that.... Other G7 better thoughts on that is that American history is filled examples... Or not, would the American people accept an apology its always mistake! Talked for about 12 seconds about any role that I might play much more he... Actual conversation with Dick Morris about the Lewinsky matter is true or not, would American... Was only one, some of these were particularly important in the campaign giant and. On me as I say, was a group of three or four of us were. Historical achievement 12 years between Clinton and carter, there had been famous between! Wears her heart on her sleeve much more than he was for it, or to.

Privately Owned Apartments For Rent In Burlington County, Nj, Henry Louis Wallace Sister, Articles R