By The Associated Press
Friday, September 4, 1998

Text of President Clinton's exchange with reporters during a photo opportunity in Dublin, Ireland, with Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern. The president was asked about comments the previous day by Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., who called the president's actions in the Monica Lewinsky affair immoral and pressed for a "public rebuke" of Clinton:

Question: Mr. President, do you have any comment on Senator Lieberman's remarks?

Clinton: I been briefed on them, and basically, I agree with what he said. I've already said that I made a bad mistake, it was indefensible and I'm sorry about it. So I have nothing else to say, except that I can't disagree with anyone else who wants to be critical of what I had already acknowledged was indefensible.

Question: Do you think the senator (off-mike)?

Clinton: That's not for me to say.

Question: Would it have...

Clinton: That's not for me to say. I -- I don't, you know, I've known Senator Lieberman a long time, we've worked together on a lot of things and I'm not going to get into commenting on that one way or the other. That's not -- it wouldn't be appropriate.

Question: Do you think it's helpful for him to make that kind of public statement?

Clinton: It's not for me to say. But there's nothing that he or anyone else could say in a personally critical way that I -- that I don't imagine that I disagree with, since I have already said it myself to myself.

Question: But, Mr. President...

Clinton: And I'm very sorry about it, but there's nothing else I could say.

Question: Mr. President, do you think an official censure by Senate would be inappropriate?

Clinton: I just don't want to comment on that. I shouldn't be commenting on that while I'm on this trip, and I don't think that -- my understanding is that was not a decision that was made or advocated clearly yesterday. So I don't want to get into that. If that's not an issue, I don't want to make it one. I don't think that's appropriate right now.

Question: Thank you.