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[MUSIC PLAYING] ANNOUNCER: A Public Affairs' presentation of Minnesota Public Radio.

[THEME MUSIC]

BOB POTTER: Live from the State Capitol in Saint Paul, Minnesota Public Radio presents an address by Vice President Walter Mondale to a joint convention of the Minnesota legislature. This broadcast is made possible in part with the financial assistance of the Minneapolis Tribune. I'm Bob Potter, reporting from the gallery of the Minnesota House chamber.

This will be the vice president's last public appearance in Minnesota before he leaves office in one week. It is perhaps not surprising that he chose to bid farewell in this setting, the seat of government of his home state, with which he has maintained close ties throughout his four-year term as vice president.

This is a joint convention of the Minnesota legislature, which means simply that the House and Senate are meeting together in the same room, the Minnesota House chamber. The meeting was called to order about 10 minutes ago or so. And by legislative rule, the session is presided over by the Speaker of the House, [INAUDIBLE] Harry Sieben from Hastings.

Joining him at the speaker's desk is the president of the Minnesota Senate, Jack Davis, from Minneapolis. The sergeant at arms is announcing the arrival of the various dignitaries and special guests. He has already escorted in the constitutional officers, the members of the Supreme Court, Minnesota Governor Al Quie. And now here he is, Vice President Walter Mondale, striding quickly down the steps of the House chamber here, shaking hands with a number of the dignitaries.

[APPLAUSE]

As a matter of fact, all that applause is not for the vice president, but is for Attorney General Warren Spannaus.

[APPLAUSE]

Apologize for that. Our eyesight is not quite what it used to be. The vice president is wearing a dark suit, as is Attorney General Spannaus. And we are a little distance away. Now I hear the sergeant announcing the arrival of the vice president. And he is being escorted by members of the Minnesota National Guard and by the Sergeant at Arms Laura [INAUDIBLE].

The vice president shaking hands with some members of the legislature. And in just a moment, we'll be hearing his address before this joint convention. The vice president held a news conference about one hour ago. And immediately, after his address here, we will be broadcasting by tape delay that news conference.

At the news conference, he announced that he will be doing some teaching at the University of Minnesota and at the College of Saint Thomas. He'll be delivering some lectures a bit later this spring at the University of Minnesota and at Macalester College. He will talk about his other teaching responsibilities for the coming fall and next spring, as those details are arranged.

At the news conference, the vice president refused to say anything about his future political plans, although he said he does intend to remain in public life. He did not say whether he's going to take a job in a law firm, as has been reported in some of the area. Press said that he will wait until after he leaves office to make any announcements about his commercial activities.

The people in the galleries and on the floor here in the Minnesota House chamber are giving a very warm welcome to the vice president. Now we'll have an invocation.

SPEAKER: Eternal God, Creator of the universe, and all that entities, we give to You our thanks for life and for all the blessings that make life rich. As we face the responsibilities and opportunities to which You have called us, we confess that our goodness is not good enough. Our wisdom is not wise. Therefore, we ask for the blessing of Your goodness and the guidance of Your wisdom in our every thought, word, and act.

We ask that You will lead us all, enemies and friends alike, in those ways of justice and brotherhood that make for prosperity and peace. May Your Kingdom come. Your will be done on Earth. Amen.

HARRY SIEBEN: Chaplain for the day is Dr. John Maxwell Adams, the father-in-law of the vice president and Chaplain Emeritus at Macalester College. Members of the joint convention, governor, constitutional officers, members of the Supreme Court, I present to you the Vice President of the United States, the Honorable Walter F. Mondale.

WALTER F. MONDALE: Thank you.

[APPLAUSE]

BOB POTTER: The vice president introduced there by House Speaker Harry Sieben, who, as we said, is presided over this joint convention of the Minnesota legislature. Joint conventions are not held very often, and they are held for primarily ceremonial reasons.

We had one very recently, the governor's State of the State Message. There will be another one on Tuesday, January 27, when Governor [INAUDIBLE] delivers his budget message. And joint conventions are held on occasion when there's a special guest, as there is today. Here is the vice president.

WALTER F. MONDALE: Thank you, Speaker, for that kind introduction. Mr. President. May I especially thank Dr. Adams for that invocation. He is not only a fine clergyman, but he and Mrs. Adams produce great daughters who attract half-decent husbands.

I want to thank Governor Quie for being here today; Attorney General Spannaus, Secretary of State Grau, Treasurer Jim Lord; my old colleague in the United States Senate, Wendy Anderson; the person who started me on the path to national office, Governor Karl Rolvaag; the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Minnesota, Bob Sheran; associate justices of the Supreme Court, Federal Judge Harry McLaughlin, distinguished mayors.

I'm sure I'm going to miss some of them-- Don Fraser, George Latimer, Mayor Fedo, and others; the University of Minnesota President, Peter McGraw; John Davis, President of Macalester College; Dave Roe and Jack Jorgensen, old friends of mine from the labor movement; my son Teddy.

And I want to also impose upon you to introduce the three top members of my staff, who have been with me all of these years. And I often say, unlike most national officers, I insist upon a balanced staff geographically-- some from the North, some from the South. And I think we enjoy a reputation as having one of the best staffs, if not the best, in Washington. And I did what I said, two from Duluth and one from Benson, Minnesota.

[LAUGHTER]

[APPLAUSE]

Dick Moe, Mike Berman, and the son of a former Speaker of the House, Jim Johnson, from Benson.

[APPLAUSE]

And above all, let me pay my respects to our beloved Muriel. What a source of pride and joy Muriel has and is to this state and to our nation and to the world. God bless you, Muriel, for being here.

[APPLAUSE]

With all the senators and all the representatives and all the justices and judges and presidents and governors, practically everyone I wanted to be here is here, except I was looking for the commissioner of unemployment insurance.

[LAUGHTER]

You ought to be invited to more of these events. Let me congratulate the members of the Senate, the members of the House on your election. I have recently been reminded how difficult getting elected can really be, and I congratulate you.

I just came from a news conference, where the press wanted me to speculate about my plans for the future. And I wanted to give the answer here. I am interested in a job that's exciting, a job that pays well, a job that involves travel, and a job that includes a house and a car.

[LAUGHTER]

My staff tells me it may take some time, possibly up to four years, to find a job of that kind.

[APPLAUSE]

Thank you. In a few days, I'll be leaving public life, public office, for the first time in 20 years. I don't do it with regret because no one can regret the judgment of the American people made freely in our great democracy.

They have chosen a new president and a new vice president. They deserve our support. If they succeed, this nation succeeds. And on Tuesday, when they are inaugurated, I will be praying with you and with all Americans for their success as they lead this blessed and marvelous nation of ours.

But I wanted to come back here today on my last trip to Minnesota as vice president to be where I started in politics and elected office nearly 20 years ago. My first job was in this building as attorney general of this state.

I spent hours in this chamber trying to teach legislators about the law. I failed. And I went to the Senate and to the vice presidency. I love this Capitol. I love our state. And I wanted to be here at this special moment in my life to thank you and to thank all Minnesotans for your kindness.

I don't have an address. I just want to say thanks. Today, as I was flying home and thinking about all these years in public and political life, I remembered why it was that I went into politics in the first place over 30 years ago.

There was a young mayor of Minneapolis, Hubert Humphrey, who tried to instill young people of this state with the belief that there is no higher calling than politics, when it's honestly and vigilantly practiced on behalf of the people. I believe he was right then, and I believe he's right today.

And then I realized, as we came in for our landing and looked at this beautiful state, that Hubert was not talking to me just as a friend and a mentor. He was really speaking as a Minnesotan. For here in Minnesota and what a special state it is, we have enriched our lives with a strong tradition of citizenship and public service.

I was proud of our state. I think I'm right on this, that while the nation as an average voted only 51% of those eligible went to vote, Minnesota led the nation by several lengths, with 72% of the state voting and participating in the serious business of electing a president and vice president and the other offices that were up.

You cannot imagine, unless you've traveled as I have over this country, in this nation, the absolutely spectacular reputation that Minnesota and Minnesota politics enjoys. Ours is a state where politics is competitive, where it's honest, where it's open, and every one of us have a duty to keep it just that way.

[APPLAUSE]

But it's not just in politics and government where Minnesota is special. It's not just service for the government, but service for one another. As neighbors and citizens, here we honor our duties to each other as if they were written in contracts.

And the secret is that there is no contract or law or formal obligation to tell us to help each other and to join in common projects. We simply do it here on school boards and churches and synagogues, County boards, city councils, charities, everywhere. The good that we have done in Minnesota is not handed down from the power of government. It bubbles up through the churning involvement of every Minnesotan.

My good friend and our own leading religious leader, Archbishop Roach, who, incidentally, is national chairman of the Catholic Conference of Bishops perhaps put it best when he said this, "Social justice is not simply economic fairness, the right to a decent living. The true meaning of social justice is that each person has a stake in his own affairs and the well-being of society. The proof of justice is not argument and law, but simply love and unity with one another."

On this, the 52nd birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. I'm proud to say that we in Minnesota strive for that love and live in that unity every day. I said a moment ago that one constantly learns to increase his admiration for the state as he travels around this nation and around this Earth.

The chief justice of the United States is a Minnesotan. One of the associate justices is a Minnesotan. You cannot go anywhere, among religious leaders, business leaders, labor leaders, farm leaders, co-op leaders, every aspect of American life, you will find quality Minnesotans in charge.

In the last four years, I think I've taken some 14 diplomatic missions all over this Earth-- to China, to Asia, to Japan, to the Middle East, to Latin America, to Europe. Somehow I worked a trip into Scandinavia as well. And wherever I went, there were superb Minnesotans serving this country. You could always tell who they were. They were the ones with the bright eyes and the big smiles serving this country well.

And especially, we're reminded this morning of one of the most tragic events in recent political history, the holding of our hostages in Iran. We hope and pray that we're close to their release. God knows they've suffered too much already, as have their families and all Americans.

But we're reminded even there of the influence of Minnesotans. For the chargé in charge of our embassy in Tehran at the time it was brutally seized is a Bruce Laingen, a splendid foreign service officer from the state of Minnesota. And let us pray, soon, that Bruce Laingen will be back with his family and us again.

[APPLAUSE]

So as I prepare to leave public office for the first time in 20 years, I wish you to know that I cannot turn myself off from public life as if it were a water spigot. The ideals that I've tried to serve still run through me. And I intend to spend the next years taking a fresh look at our problems, renewing my thinking, traveling widely at home and abroad, and doing the best I can to contribute to the national dialogue about the needs of our nation. And I think I've figured out where to begin.

This morning I announced I'm going to be teaching at the University of Minnesota, Macalester College, and the College of St. Thomas so that I can begin again with the young people of this great state.

The challenges we face as a nation in the '80s are extraordinarily complex. They take tremendous understanding from all Americans. If there's one thing I learned after four years in the White House, working more closely with the president than any vice president in American history, it is this-- it is really a tough, challenging, controversial, demanding job, almost beyond the comprehension of anyone who hasn't been around it.

But having said that, I have also learned something else. More than ever before, I'm convinced of the enormous strengths of our nation. Our military power is the strongest and the most sophisticated on Earth. Our intelligence capacity is superior by far to any others. Our economy is the largest and the most productive. Our farmers, fabulously, are the most productive by far of any system or farmers on Earth.

And above all, it's our values and our system of democracy that makes us such an attractive society around the Earth. It is democracy and the people's exercise of that democracy that has contributed above all to the growing strength and wealth and joy and diversity of American life.

And it is not just the skill of our workers, the gifts of our scientists, or the diversity of our population. Above all, it is that fundamental and profound and basic shared commitment toward democracy and justice that holds America so high throughout all mankind.

A poet once said, "There are those I know who will reply that the liberation of humanity, the freedom of man and mind, is nothing but a dream. And they are right, it is the American dream." We are the people who have stood up to dictators, liberated the world from Axis powers, put our friends in Europe back on their feet. No matter what the challenge or where it comes from, we have met it.

If it was discrimination, we passed laws and overcame that discrimination with civil rights. If it was outer space, we put a man on the moon. If it was our sacred land and water and air, we moved to preserve them.

And today I am convinced, with all of the challenges that we face as Americans, whether it's inflation or unemployment or energy or the Soviet power menace, whatever the problem there is under the sun, we in America have the will and the might and the fight to solve those problems. And they will be solved.

[APPLAUSE]

And wherever I had any doubts about it, I would always come back to Minnesota during these past four years. I'd be with my friends and go back to those woods and lakes I love so much, to the people who have given me their support uninterruptedly for 20 years, from 1960 right up to November 4, 1980.

You can always count on Minnesotans. You can count on them having good schools, quality health care, the compassion of a Hubert Humphrey, the fabulous productivity of our farms, the progressive spirit of our business community, the community spirit of our co-ops, or the decency of a Nick Coleman. That's what you find in Minnesota.

And I have counted on Minnesota for 20 years of public life. You've never let me down. And above all, as I now leave public office, I hope and pray that I have fulfilled the trust and the faith that the people of Minnesota have shown in me.

This is not the day to recite the record, and I won't. But I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that we did some things that Minnesotans demand. We told the truth. We obeyed the law. And we kept the peace. And I'm proud of it.

[APPLAUSE]

During the Civil War, a delegation of citizens paid a visit on President Lincoln. And they expressed their concern, their anxiety, about the future of the country. And Lincoln said this. He said, "When I was a young man, I went out one evening with a younger friend to look at the sky. When he grew frightened by the meteors, I told him not to worry about the falling stars, but to look to the firmament beyond, to the fixed and the shining stars."

Through all my life, Minnesota has been for me that fixed and shining star. Everything I've achieved is derived from the values I learned here and the support you have given me. I have always been proud to call myself a Minnesotan, and I always will be. To all the people of Minnesota, thank you for your support. Thank you for your kindness. Thank you for your friendship. God bless Minnesota. God bless America. Thank you very much.

[APPLAUSE]

BOB POTTER: Vice President Walter Mondale, speaking to a joint convention of the Minnesota legislature. His last address as vice president of the United States. His last appearance in Minnesota as vice president of the United States.

He announced earlier that he will be returning to this state to do some teaching, some lecturing, and participate in some conferences at the University of Minnesota, Saint Thomas College, and Macalester College.

Shaking hands now with the President of the State Senate, Jack Davies, the Speaker of the Minnesota House, Harry Sieben, and getting a warm reception from the several hundred people gathered here in the chamber of the Minnesota House of Representatives.

The vice president smiling broadly and waving at the people here, many of whom were invited, perhaps, at his request. Shaking hands now with some of the people in the front row. Several former governors are here. Karl Rolvaag, Wendell Anderson, the present governor, Al Quie.

And the vice president will be rather slowly making his way out of the chamber, apparently in no great hurry to leave. He'll be returning to Washington a bit later in the day. He has met already with Attorney General Warren Spannaus and may conduct some other conversations around the Capitol building here before he leaves.

[APPLAUSE]

Again, more applause for the vice president, as he makes his way out of the chamber. Walter Mondale, the 42nd vice president of the United States. He was born in Ceylon, Minnesota, in 1928. He took his undergraduate training in political science at Macalester College in Saint Paul and at the University of Minnesota, earning his BA degree from the University.

He also received his law degree at the University of Minnesota in 1956. And after four years of private practice in Minneapolis, he was appointed by Governor Orville Freeman as attorney general in 1960. He was re-elected to that post two years later.

And in 1964, Governor Karl Rolvaag appointed him to the US Senate seat, left vacant by the election of Hubert Humphrey as vice president. Mondale won re-election to the Senate in 1966 and 1972. And then, of course, Jimmy Carter chose him as his vice presidential running mate in 1976.

Mondale is the author of a book called The Accountability of Power, Toward a More Responsible Presidency. He enjoys outdoor activities, has returned frequently to Northern Minnesota for fishing. His wife, Joan, has won a reputation as a strong and effective advocate of the arts. The couple has three children-- Theodore, Eleanor, Jane, and William.

About an hour ago, the vice president held a brief news conference here at the Capitol complex, in which he talked a little bit about his plans. He talked about the fact that he will be doing some teaching. He refused to say specifically what his political plans are, although he did say he will remain in public life.

We're going to rebroadcast now in its entirety that news conference. And while you might not be able to hear the questions that the reporters ask with great clarity, I think if you pay attention, you'll be able to pick them up. And the vice president's answers should make quite clear what the context of the questions is.

The vice president of the United States held the news conference at the Capitol complex here about an hour and 15 minutes ago. And here is that event as it occurred.

WALTER F. MONDALE: I'm delighted to be back in Minnesota again today to announce some of my plans for work that I will be doing here following my return to private life. I'm very pleased that with me here this morning are President of the University, Peter McGraw; the Director of the Humphrey Institute, Harlan Cleveland; the Dean of the University Law School, Bob Stein; the President of Macalester College, John Davis; and Provost Charles Keffer of the College of Saint Thomas, who is representing Monsignor Murphy, who is unavoidably absent at a vacation; and Russ Fridley, my old friend from the Minnesota Historical Society.

I'm pleased to announce today that I have accepted an invitation by the University of Minnesota to be a University fellow in law and public policy, subject to the approval of the Board of Regents. And I understand I have a 50/50 chance of slipping by.

In this capacity, I will be teaching, lecturing, and taking part in conferences at the Humphrey Institute on Public Affairs, as well as the law school and, I hope, elsewhere on the campus. I'm also pleased to announce today that I am donating all my public papers from my years as attorney general, my 12 years in the United States Senate, and my four years as vice president to the Minnesota Historical Society.

And incidentally, I think our Minnesota Historical Society is the best in the country. It is. It will be now. Among other things, Fridley lived through most of it. I hope that these papers, spanning some 20 years of public life, will be a useful source of history for interested students and scholars. And I'm pleased that we've been able to make these arrangements with the society.

I'm also pleased to announce a series of three lectures that I will be giving in February and March. The first one to be delivered at the University will be on the evolution of the Office of the Vice Presidency. I believe that I'm not exaggerating when I say, these past four years, we have made a profound institutional change in the office which I now hold, which I think is of significant importance to our country. And I would like to give a major address on that subject as my first lecture.

The second two lectures will be given first at Macalester and secondly at the College of Saint Thomas. The first will be on foreign policy, and the second will be on urgent domestic challenges that we face in the future. Later in the spring and again in next fall, I'll be teaching at these schools. And we will be announcing the schedule of those events as they're agreed upon.

In the course of the next few months, I will be announcing other activities that I will be undertaking here in Minnesota. But at this time, I'm not prepared to discuss any private or commercial relationships that I may be establishing in the future. And I underline in the future, because I have not made any decision whatsoever and will not do so, until after I'm out of public office. Also, I will not be commenting on any future political plans that I might have.

In a few moments, I will be speaking briefly to a joint session of the Minnesota legislature. It's a homecoming for me. This is where I started. I spent so many of my early years in public life within the legislature, dealing with the problems of our state. And I will be giving a few remarks to this joint session.

I will not try to preview what I'm going to say. But just let me say this, as I leave public office after 20 years in elected life, let me express again my profound appreciation to the people of Minnesota. All my life, I've been proud to call myself a Minnesotan, and I always will be. All my values stem from what I've learned here and the support that you've given me in every election, from 1960 to November 4, 1980.

I intend to stay in public life. When I was a young man, Hubert Humphrey taught me to believe that there is no higher calling than politics when it's honestly and passionately served according to the highest standards of public service. I chose politics because I thought Hubert was right then. And I think he's right now. And for that reason, I intend to remain in public life and work for the progressive values I learned here.

We have many, many problems ahead of us in the years ahead, but I'm confident that they will be solved. This is a great nation with great strengths, and it's a great democracy that can draw on the strengths of the American people.

And permit me to say this, my last trip to Minnesota as vice president, that while it's been thrilling to be vice president, it's made me even prouder to be the vice president for Minnesota. Thank you for your kindness, your support, and your friendship.

AUDIENCE: Mr. Vice President, there have been reports that you have definitely decided not to run for the Senate from Minnesota in '82, and that you have told friends that you will run for the presidency in '84. Could you comment, confirm, or deny those reports?

WALTER F. MONDALE: I anticipated that question. I put this sentence in here. You get the cameras running here? I will not be commenting today on any future political plans. I'm not prepared to make a statement on that yet.

AUDIENCE: Mr. Vice President, the recent editorial that DJ Leary in Minneapolis [INAUDIBLE] was reported saying that you, sir, have a tremendous amount of obligations due to state DFL Party. And you can best fulfill those obligations by running for the Senate in '82. Do you agree with that assessment?

WALTER F. MONDALE: I don't want to comment on that. Let me say this. I owe a lot to the state of Minnesota. In fact, I owe everything to the state of Minnesota and the people of this state. When we first started talking with these institutions about lecturing, some of them offered me fees. And I said, no, I don't want any, because I owe something now. And I've got a chance now to return something that I've wanted in kind, something that I've appreciated all my life.

I recall, when I went to Macalester, that was before we had any federal financial assistance, they had a finance officer over there who didn't collect the bills. And it worked out very well. But that came to an end, and I finally went to the University of Minnesota. And I don't know if I'm exaggerating. I think the fees over there were $33 a quarter. I assume it's somewhere in that range today. And that plus free meals I used to steal from my friends at Saint Thomas got me through several years of school.

And to be serious for a moment, I am very fortunate. And most Minnesotans who have been privileged to go to one or another of our public or private institutions in this state can call themselves fortunate. And I want to return some of that to this state.

I'm also a good Democrat and a progressive Democrat, and I want to remain active in this state and in this nation. I intend to do an extensive amount of traveling at home and abroad. I want to use this next two or three years to spend some time learning again, to study some problems with more depth than the burdens of office permitted.

I want to talk to the students. I don't want to just lecture. If we're worried about the future of this nation, as we all are, a good place to begin is with those who are going to live so much of it, and most of them right into the next century. And I'm going to do a lot of that, and I'll deliver on my responsibilities. Thank you. You wrote my first calling card, and I thank you for that.

AUDIENCE: Are you able to say anything about your wife's plans as far as possibly teaching at Macalester? And secondly, where are you going to live?

WALTER F. MONDALE: Joan has not yet decided what she's going to do. She's been, as you know, very active in the arts all of her life. And, if I may say so, I think has performed magnificently as the second lady of this land. And I'm very, very proud of her.

She wants to continue that work. For the time being, we'll be returning to the house I bought when I was in the Senate in Washington. As my plans develop, as some of these other matters that have to be decided are finally decided, we can make some more permanent judgments. I intend to continue to be a legal resident of Minnesota, be heavily involved in this state. And I intend to do that the rest of my life.

AUDIENCE: What's the current state of the hostage negotiations, and is there any renewed hope that they will be out by the time you leave office?

WALTER F. MONDALE: If I have one prayer, it is that they will be. As you know, the chargé in charge of that 52-person hostage group is a Minnesotan Bruce Laingen. And I talked to Penny Laingen the other day and with some of the other members of the family. And what they've suffered all this time, this senseless way, is one of the heaviest burdens that those of us in public office bear, because we've tried every way we can, consistent with saving their lives and serving the security interests of our nation.

There are, obviously, some things going on. The other day, the Majlis passed legislation, which apparently will permit arbitration of some of the outstanding disputes, which is a good step. Our deputy secretary of state is in Algiers and has been for several days to expedite any of the technical problems that need to be expedited.

And we've made progress at the technical level. But the political decision by the government of Iran and those that make it up still has to be made. And so many times in the past, we've had our hopes raised and then had them dashed at that point.

I hope this time, it'll be different. We're prepared to do anything we can, within reason, to bring these hostages home. But I think it would be foolish to predict that they're going to come home at this time. I hope they will, but I don't think we should get our hopes up.

SPEAKER: Mr. Vice President, when do you expect to be able to announce your future plans?

WALTER F. MONDALE: It'll be soon after I'm out of public office. I personally did not want to make a decision or enter into my personal and private arrangements until after I was out of office.

AUDIENCE: Sir, what regrets do you have, if any, over the last four years?

WALTER F. MONDALE: Well, one that springs to mind is the results of the November 4 election. But there are some others. We just talked about the hostages. That will be a scar on my heart as long as I live. What they've suffered has just been dreadful. It's been so senseless, so unneeded, in my opinion, so contrary to the interests of Iran and her people. Not to mention the hostages who have suffered so much. That's one thing.

There's a lot of work that we started in the energy field and so on that we would have liked to carry forward. But that's not the point. The American people have decided. As I said, election night, and I mean it. I believe in democracy. I accept fully the judgment of the people of this country.

I wish President Reagan and Vice President Bush every success. They're our president and our vice president now. We want them to succeed. They must succeed for the good of our country. And we're all going to do what we can to contribute to their success.

SPEAKER: Mr. Vice President, I understand that today in Washington, President Carter is proposing a federal budget bill to projects not only a continued deficit for this fiscal year, but for the next one as well. I'd like to have you comment, generally, if you would, on the importance of the value you place on balancing the federal budget in the next four years.

WALTER F. MONDALE: One of the difficulties we had that hounded us through about three years of this administration and I fear will be with us for some time, I hope not, is the absolutely appalling, soaring cost of international oil, which has not only shocked our economy, but every economy on Earth.

It has resulted in record interest rates, record inflation rates. And that has thrown off our plans to balance the budget, to reduce the share of federal spending as a percentage of gross national product, to reduce interest rates in order to encourage private investment, consumer purchases, and the rest. And it has also resulted in a much larger deficit than we wanted.

Because when the economy slows down, when businesses lose profits, when consumers can't buy, and when too many people are out of work, both tax revenues drop below expectations, and recession-related expenditures rise. And with just a little change in the economy in the wrong direction, one's most honest budgetary estimates can be off $20, $30, $40 billion almost overnight.

SPEAKER: Mr. Vice President, how would you characterize your relationship with the president over the last four years? And what are your feelings toward him as you are about to leave office?

WALTER F. MONDALE: I believe that President Carter has treated me more generously, perhaps, than any president in American history. Never once in four years have I been embarrassed by him. Never once have I been surprised by anything. Never once has a secret been kept from me. Never once has he not advised and consulted with me on major problems.

And it is knowing what previous vice presidents went through, I must say that-- and it's all personal. There's no law that requires a president to say hello to his vice president, and some of them didn't.

As I said earlier, I think we broke new institutional grounds. But it was all possible because we had a president with the personal confidence in himself to permit a vice president to play a role that is historic in nature. And I have nothing for the rest of my life but appreciation to the president and to the first lady. And Joan feels the same way about it.

AUDIENCE: Should it be institutionalized, some of these things that develop during your career?

WALTER F. MONDALE: I'm going to talk about that a little bit in my first lecture. But by way of general conclusion, I'm going to say no. I think precedent sometimes is the best institution, rather than to tie it down below. I believe that the President of the United States' presidency has weakened too much already. And to divide some of his powers into a co-presidency or in some way delegate in an institutionalized way, some of the president's powers to a vice president or someone else, I think, would weaken the presidency.

And I'm going to talk in some detail about my experiences and why I think that's true and what I believe should be done to make it possible for a vice president to best serve a president. I have spent a substantial amount of time with Vice President-elect Bush, as has my staff, telling them our experiences, making our suggestions. And I hope that they will be incorporated in the current upcoming administration.

I noticed that he will be in the White House. I was the first vice president to be housed there. He's going to be there. I noticed they've decided on weekly private luncheons with the president, which was a very important part. And if they continue in that line, I think we will have started something that's been good for our country, and I hope will continue. Thank you very much.

AUDIENCE: Thank you.

WALTER F. MONDALE: Thank you.

BOB POTTER: Vice President Walter Mondale, speaking with news reporters at the Minnesota Capitol complex about an hour and a half or so ago. This was the vice president's last appearance in Minnesota while he holds office. He'll be back here, obviously, after a week from Thursday, from time to time. And we'll be hearing a good deal more from him and about him in the months and years to come.

That concludes this broadcast of the vice president's appearance at the State Capitol today. This is Bob Potter speaking to you from the gallery of the Minnesota House of Representatives chamber. The technical director for this broadcast was Linda Murray. And this is Minnesota Public Radio, a listener-supported service.