Letter Accepting the Resignation of David R. Gergen as Special Adviser to the President and Secretary of State

Dear David:

As you indicated, when I asked you to concentrate on foreign-policy last June, we agreed on a six-month assignment. Foreknowledge, however, does not lessen the regret with which I accept your resignation as Special Adviser to the President and Secretary of State, effective December 31, 1994.

You have made a remarkable contribution to our Administration over the last eighteen months. Your wise counsel helped us dramatically improve public understanding of our economic plan, and its resulting passage restored fiscal responsibility to our government while helping to create an economic climate that has produced millions of new jobs.

Your life's example sent a powerful signal about the value of bipartisanship, and commitment to public service over partisan gain. That example, and your unflagging determination to build coalitions across the partisan divide, helped us to achieve many non-partisan victories, including passage of NAFTA, the Brady Bill, National Service, and Goals 2000.

And finally, your insightful analysis and thoughtful recommendations about America's relationships with the rest of the world have helped us to ensure that democracy flourishes and peace extends around the globe—in the former republics of the Soviet Union, in the Middle East, in Haiti, and elsewhere.

When you joined our Administration last year, you reaffirmed your allegiance to the noblest aims of public service in America: to work long and hard for the people that hired us, in order to ensure that each of them has a chance to live the American Dream, and to guarantee that the greatest nation in history stands forever tall.

That is exactly what you have done. Thank you for your dedication, for your counsel, and for your friendship. I hope that I have reserved the right to call on each in the years to come.

Sincerely,

BILL CLINTON