Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, January 19, 1993 TAG: 9301190318
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
SURREAL IMAGES
THE CROWD gathered at Monticello Sunday to catch a glimpse of Bill Clinton might have missed it.So, too, might have thousands who watched from Virginia roadsides as the president-elect - traveling populist-style, by bus - followed Thomas Jefferson's route to the nation's capital. Celebrants who thronged around the Lincoln Memorial might also have missed it.
Those at home in front of television sets could not miss it - the stark contrast in mood and images:
Crowds cheering, music trumpeting, fireworks lighting up the sky over Washington to welcome the president-elect.
Tense war-room-like briefings, rumors and reports of targets hit or missed and casualties; Tomahawk missiles lighting up the sky over Baghdad.
Clinton, and Vice President-elect Al Gore and their families, beaming as they are serenaded by entertainers, saluted by fellow Americans from around the nation - and from space by five U.S. astronauts.
Home-video footage, rolling on one network, of an Israeli family hurriedly donning gas masks - from other nights, two years ago, when missiles and bombs were exploding on the other side of the planet.
Throughout the day, television viewers saw the upbeat Clinton - smiling, joking, talking unity, talking hope. "Let us build a 21st century where everyone is at the table together and no child is hungry."
But they also knew he was being briefed on America's latest missile attack and showdown with Saddam Hussein; they saw the set of his jaw and the solemn, sometimes wistful, look in his eyes.
For those who watched Sunday's unfolding of events in Virginia, Washington and Baghdad, the surreal blending of the images was an awesome reminder.
Clinton's inauguration is not just joyful pomp and ceremony; not just balls, bands and glitz; not just lovely symbolism - the president-elect strolling hand in hand with children across the Memorial Bridge to ring a replica of the Liberty Bell.
It is also the changing of the guard in a time of international disorder and violent eruptions. And for all that Clinton has promised to "focus like a laser" on America's economy and domestic problems, he will face more immediate concerns when he becomes the nation's 42nd president on Wednesday.
The globe's trouble spots - from Iraq to Bosnia, from Somalia to Haiti, from Russia to Cambodia - await him. Sadly, for Clinton and America, the week's celebrations cannot hold the world at bay.