Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, January 19, 1993 TAG: 9301190313
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Long
CLINTON SAYS HE'LL LEARN FROM KING
Thousands of ordinary citizens surged through this capital Monday for music, parties and celebrations as Bill Clinton paid a nostalgic visit to his former campus. He vowed to learn from Martin Luther King in ascending "the mountaintop of American democracy."The president-elect made his pre-inaugural rounds with high spirits, despite new U.S. bombings in Iraq.
"We have much work to do against stiff odds without a day to waste," he said in a speech on the slain civil rights leader's birthday.
Just two days from being sworn in, Clinton touched a variety of bases, both old and new - students, diplomats, ordinary Americans he'd met on the campaign trail - as he moved about his new neighborhoods.
But the events took on a life beyond Clinton's own furious pace of visits around the city:
Some 5,000 onlookers chanted "Hillary, Hillary," as Clinton's wife stopped by a string of tents along the Mall from the Capitol to the Washington Monument. The salsa-rock group Los Lobos played as she examined crafts produced by special education students from Chicago. She and a holiday crowd strolled through music performances, craft exhibits and food stalls.
Dinner parties were set in every hotel and in private homes from prosperous Georgetown to Capitol Hill. Clinton himself was stopping in at four large inaugural dinners.
Some 17,000 people traded canned goods for seats at a suburban sports arena and a preview of the entertainment Clinton will view at a black-tie gala tonight. Sponsors hoped to collect 50,000 pounds of food at the event, which featured music from Fleetwood Mac, Chuck Berry and Aretha Franklin and snappy patter from comedians Chevy Chase and Bill Cosby.
Along the Pennsylvania Avenue route of Wednesday's inaugural parade, the manhole covers have been welded shut and bulletproof glass panels put in place on reviewing stands to assure the safety of the 42nd president of the United States on his first day in office. Nearly 5,000 police officers and several thousand more military personnel rehearsed their security roles again and again.
But early in the day, Clinton took note of the troubling shadow cast by another day of U.S.-led air attacks in Iraq.
He used a get-acquainted morning session with the capital's diplomatic corps to emphasize his continued support for President Bush's use of force to persuade Iraq to comply with U.N. resolutions.
"The American people have called for a new administration, yet there is an essential continuity in our foreign policy," Clinton told some 200 ambassadors and other diplomats from foreign countries.
Clinton enters office amid high expectations. According to an ABC-Washington Poll released Monday, 68 percent of Americans view Clinton favorably, up 12 points since October. And despite criticism over perceived policy flip-flops, an overwhelming 81 percent approve of his handling of the transition. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
He began the day in a sweat suit, jogging up Pennsylvania Avenue to the Capitol at dawn and back along the route of the inaugural parade on Wednesday.
"It's beautiful," he said of the viewing stand in front of the White House.
And closed out the day in a tuxedo, breezing through four separate $1,500-a-plate black-tie inaugural dinners. "I hope you're having your just enjoyment at this inauguration - you earned it," Clinton said to the crowd of several thousand at one dinner.
\ INAUGURATION SCHEDULE\ Some times for Wednesday events are unavailable.\ Today
\ 11:30 a.m.: Governor's luncheon at the Library of Congress.
\ 1:30 p.m.: "Salute to Children" at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. (Free but ticketed due to limited space.)
\ 3:30 p.m.: "Salute to Youth" at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. (Free but ticketed due to limited space.)
\ 7:00 p.m.: Presidential Gala at the Capital Centre. 7 p.m.\ \ Wednesday
\ 8:00 a.m. Prayer service, Metropolitan AME Church.
\ Reception with congressional leadership.
\ President and Barbara Bush receive President-elect and Hillary Clinton at the White House.
\ Vice president's oath at the Capitol.
\ Noon: President's oath at the Capitol.
\ Inaugural Address at the Capitol.
\ Congressional luncheon in Statuary Hall.
\ 2:00 p.m.: Parade: Capitol to the White House.
\ 7:00 p.m.: Inaugural balls.\ \ Thursday
\ 9:00 a.m.: "A Presidential Open House" - the general public is invited to visit the president and his family at the White House.