Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 17, 1993 TAG: 9301170104
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
DATELINE: LITTLE ROCK, ARK. LENGTH: Medium
LITTLE ROCK BIDS CLINTONS FAREWELL
With a few final tears and sentimental farewells, President-elect Bill Clinton finished packing 14 years of memories Saturday, then climbed aboard a private jet to begin the final leg of a long, often arduous journey from the Arkansas governor's mansion to the White House."You know as I do, the road ahead is difficult and there will be uncertainties and setbacks along the way, but I am confident that together we will do this work," a clearly ebullient Clinton told a crowd of several thousand well-wishers who bid him, his wife Hillary and their daughter Chelsea an enthusiastic farewell in an airport hangar at Little Rock Regional Airport.
The Clintons and their entourage departed for Charlottesville, Va., where the president-elect, joined by Vice President-elect Al Gore, will visit Thomas Jefferson's home at Monticello early today, then embark on their historic 120-mile bus trip to Washington, to begin the first of four days of inaugural celebrations that will include his swearing-in Wednesday as the 42nd president of the United States.
The Clintons arrived at the hangar to the strains of Elvis Presley's "Ain't Nothin' But a Hound Dog" and "Love Me Tender." The cavernous building was festooned with signs bearing such parting messages as: "Good Luck Bill, Hillary and Chelsea. Come Back Soon."
Responding to one sign that read: "It's not a job; it's an adventure," Clinton said: "Just like all adventures there will be some harrowing moments. But we can do it."
In a speech of only three minutes - unprecedented brevity for the garrulous president-elect - Clinton expressed deep regret about leaving his beloved home, Little Rock, saying to his friends and supporters, "You'll always be with me."
Little Rock Mayor Jim Dailey presented Clinton with several gifts, among them a framed photograph of the governor's mansion, a city of Little Rock flag and a wooden plaque for his desk in the Oval Office. It bore an inscription from a Fleetwood Mac song that became a sort of campaign theme: "Don't Stop Thinkin' About Tomorrow."
His wife, equally brief but clearly touched by the outpouring of affection, expressed thanks to the gathered well-wishers, promising, "We will try as hard as we can to make a better country."
Chelsea, who has lived all her life in Arkansas, cried as she hugged a friend before boarding the plane.
Although many of his final hours in Little Rock were consumed by the crises in Iraq and Haiti, Clinton has devoted much of the remaining time to preparing his inaugural speech - perhaps the single most important words a president will speak. Aides say that, in keeping with what has become a pattern, he will not use a single speechwriter, choosing instead to lace together ideas from a variety of advisers.