ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times

DATE: Sunday, January 19, 1997               TAG: 9701200140
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL   PAGE: A-1  EDITION: METRO 
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Associated Press

CLINTON SEEKS THEME FOR RETURNPRESIDENT SWEATS OVER HIS SPEECH AS SHIVERING CAPITAL READIES FOR HIS OUTDOOR INAUGURATION

President Clinton worked with pen, pad and tape recorder Saturday, searching for an inaugural address theme that will catch in the nation's memory. Supporters swarmed into the frigid city to celebrate the advent of term two with fireworks and even leftover macarena.

The three-day observation of the 53rd inauguration in U.S. history began with Washington and its visitors in a festive but tempered mood.

Democrats had reason to celebrate the first re-election of a Democratic president since Franklin D. Roosevelt and polls putting Clinton's popularity at its highest level since his first inauguration.

But the newness and unchecked promise of four years ago were absent, and between Clinton and his goals stood a Republican Congress with ideas of its own.

Still, for the moment, partisanship was set aside. The capital looked glorious. Banners and bunting flicked in the breezes. Monday's swearing-in of Clinton and Vice President Al Gore promised to occur in weather that's crisp and free of snow - better than usual.

``It's freezing cold,'' shivered an inaugural visitor from San Francisco, Jeanne Bierhart, a schoolteacher. That didn't keep her from trooping to Pennsylvania Avenue to take photos of the White House. ``I'm just happy to be here,'' she exulted.

As workers hoisted the presidential seal over the inaugural parade reviewing stand in front of the White House, two dozen abortion-rights opponents marched past carrying giant color posters of aborted fetuses, which a banner called ``the children of Hillary's village.'' Wednesday marks the 24th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that ruled U.S. women have a right to abortion.

Clinton worked on his speech late Friday, then was up again early Saturday to write a new beginning. At times he worked with speechwriters, sometimes alone. Spokesman Mike McCurry said Clinton wants it to be memorable. For ideas, Clinton dipped into an anthology of great oratory and, for cadence, read poetry.

A handful of inaugural speeches are recalled for lines that resonate - Lincoln's ``with malice towards none''; Roosevelt's ``The only thing we have to fear is fear itself''; Kennedy's ``Ask not what your country can do for you'' - and that's what Clinton was said to be striving for.

McCurry said Clinton was considering an Old Testament passage from Nehemiah: ``And they said, `Let us rise up and build,' so they strengthened their hands for his good work.''

Inaugural festivities Saturday included a fireworks display said to rival that of the 1976 Bicentennial.

Clinton planned a brief break from his writing to catch the display from a White House balcony. So preoccupied was he on polishing his speech that he called off plans to drop by some of the Saturday-night parties.

A record 14 inaugural balls were scheduled, and the macarena, the dance that enlivened last summer's Democratic convention in Chicago, was heard once again.

Tonight, big-name celebrities will entertain at an extravaganza from the USAir Arena in Landover, a Maryland suburb. The Clintons planned to visit all of the night's inaugural balls and as many other events as they could.

On the National Mall were the free events - music, oratory and entertainment. Big tents housing the shows were supposed to be heated, but no one could tell.

Inevitably on the Mall was ``The Bridge to the 21st Century,'' a structure composed of painted panels depicting different visions of ``an American Journey.''

A computer site promised the next best thing: the first Internet inaugural

LENGTH: Medium:   82 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:  broadcast: http://www.inaugural97.org
          1. AP. Fireworks appear to explode over the Capitol on Saturday from
          one of the nine sites from which they were launched as part of 
          pre-inaugural events in Washington, D.C. The Clinton family watched 
          from the White House. While workers prepared for Monday's 
          swearing-in, Americans visited exhibits on the Mall. 2. BILL TIERNAN
          Landmark News Service. Sen. John Warner, R-Va., surveys the stand 
          where President Clinton will be inaugurated at noon Monday for his 
          second term. Warner is chairman of the inaugural committee. color.