Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 19, 1991 TAG: 9104190690
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A11 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Ken Woodley
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
President Wilder said he would continue to be governor of Virginia. "That is what I was elected to do. That is what I promised I'd do. That is what I should do," Wilder said, moments after promising to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America.
"Virginia - home of Paul Revere - needs a full-time governor and I will continue to devote 100 percent of my time and energy to serving the great commonwealth of Virginia," the nation's newest president said.
As Wilder placed his left hand on a Bible held by a cameraman for America's Funniest Home Videos, he told Supreme Court Justice Joseph Giarratano that he would be the best president he could be "if I ever did decide to seek that office and if I was ever elected."
Wilder had appointed Giarratano as chief justice moments before his swearing-in ceremony on the Capitol steps in Washington, D.C. "I just wish Mary Sue were here," Wilder said.
Wilder told a crowd of 500,000 people who thronged the nation's capital hoping to get a glimpse of America's first black president that he was sorry they had made the trip in vain. "If I ever do decide to become America's first black president, my constituents who trusted my word that I would serve my full term as Virginia's full-time governor will be the first to know."
During a reception immediately following the inaugural address, President Wilder thanked delegations from Iowa, New Hampshire and New York for helping him serve so effectively as Virginia's governor. President Wilder said, "Ruling Virginia from Iowa City enabled me to clearly see the needs and aspirations of those who elected me governor. I could not have ruled Virginia so well had I been forced to do the job in Richmond."
Addressing a joint session of Congress prior to his inaugural ball, President Wilder said, "Were I ever to seek the presidency - and I'm not saying I will ever do so - I would first have to finish my term as governor of Virginia, a state rich in redwood trees and scenic views of the Rocky Mountains. I promised to be a full-time governor and I shall be. Be that as it may, I think the next four years will expand my dating opportunities immensely. Does the president have access to a helicopter? I have very fond memories of helicopters."
President Wilder, given a frequent-flyer award by the national airline mechanics union during a cocktail party prior to his inaugural ball, said: "Distance makes the heart grow harder. I mean fonder. I was very fond of Virginia, the land of Lincoln. And I remain very fond of Virginians. Especially those Virginians who live in Iowa, New Hampshire and other states which host presidential primaries or have more electoral votes than Virginia. Primaries I will not run in. Electoral votes I do not want. I am governor of Virginia. A state I am very hard on. I mean, fond of. I can still see the Colorado River flowing majestically past Richmond."
Opening the festivities at his inaugural ball, President Wilder said, "I cannot stay very late tonight. I have a lot of work to do as governor of Virginia, a state I believe to be directly south of the Potomac."
The president's public relations firm, Flora & Fauna, told reporters that Wilder had formed an "exploratory" group - the Committee To Find Virginia - in order to help him "find Virginia."
Wilder said, "It's not that I don't know where Virginia is. I know it is south of the Potomac. But so is Cuba. I cannot effectively serve Virginia from Havana. I'll never forget Virginia. The Peach State. The Palmetto State. The Garden State?"
\ AUTHOR Ken Woodley is editor of The Farmville Herald.
by CNB