THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release November 23, 2000

                       REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
                       AT MAPLE RUN GOLF COURSE

                          Thurmont, Maryland

2:25 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Hi, guys. Happy Thanksgiving.

Q: What are you thankful for, Mr. President?

THE PRESIDENT: I have a lot to be thankful for this year. I've got my family here. They're all in good health, they're all doing well. I've got my two nephews here. I'm very grateful for how good the people of New York were to Hillary... and I'm very grateful the country's in good shape. I've got a lot to be grateful for.

Q: Sir, do you think the Supreme Court will get involved in the Flordia situation?

THE PRESIDENT: I think the law on that is pretty clear, and there's no point on my commenting on that. I don't think I should comment about it.

Q: Thankful you're not in this election this year? Wish you were?

THE PRESIDENT: I think that the less I say about this right now, the better. I just want everybody who tried to vote -- legally voted -- to have their votes count, including the service people. Everybody. I think that's what they're trying to do and I hope there will be time to do it. I think that the position that I've taken on this all along is we ought to just do the right thing and enfranchise everybody that could possibly do it, but let the thing play out. There's a process under way, and the courts will do what they're going to do. That's the way it ought to be. And I don't think I should comment.

I'll tell you I am thankful that I live in a country with enough faith in its democracy that we're all letting this thing play out. Comedy shows are having fun with it, we're all laughing about it, the two candidates seem to be in a fairly good humor about it. When I was in Asia, I had a couple of people tell me that in some countries people would be in the streets over this. Instead we trust our system. We just have to trust it, whether we agree with it or disagree with it. Let it play out. I just hope that we don't run out of time.

Thank you.

END 2:27 PM EST