Clinton Says America Has Done Well Gives Final Farewell as President
By DEB RIECHMANN .c The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (Jan. 19) - With less than two days remaining in his term, President Clinton told Americans goodbye, patted himself on the back and wished his successor well in meeting the nation's challenges at home and ``leading freedom's march'' in foreign lands.
Clinton said he was profoundly grateful for the chance to serve two terms - the first Democrat since Franklin D. Roosevelt to be elected twice. He boasted having led the nation through its longest economic expansion in history. Then he left Americans with his thoughts about the world, racial and ethnic unity and fiscal policy.
``In all the work I have done as president - every decision I have made, every executive action I have taken, every bill I have proposed and signed - I have tried to give all Americans the tools and conditions to build the future of our dreams,'' Clinton said in his seven-minute, televised speech Thursday night.
It was Clinton's 15th Oval Office address during his presidency, a turbulent eight years that brought prosperity along with a humiliating sex scandal and bitter impeachment battle. He made no mention of the Monica Lewinsky sex-and-lies scandal that will forever taint his legacy.
As Clinton's farewell speech was fine-tuned in the Oval Office, staff workers in the West Wing were stepping over white boxes of records that are headed to his presidential library. Photographs were taken down, exposing nails, hooks and scratches on the pale yellow walls.
Throughout the day, staffers hugged and autographed photographs and other mementos. Others preferred to spend their last hours working. ``I can't get anyone to focus,'' one press office worker lamented.
Across town, a group of conservatives gathered to celebrate Clinton's leaving. They sipped wine at a $125-a-plate dinner organized by the Media Research Center, a conservative media-watchdog group.
``I've never seen a back I've found more attractive,'' Robert Bork said of Clinton. Bork, whose nomination to the Supreme Court was scuttled by Democrats in 1987, said he felt ``a general sense of jubilation'' that the Clinton presidency was ending.
Clinton said the America he leaves behind is stronger than the one he came to Washington to lead in 1993. He boasted that his administration had achieved progress fighting crime, cleaning up the environment, preserving land, reducing welfare rolls and expanding college opportunities.
As in many of his recent speeches, Clinton rattled off statistics to highlight economic prosperity: More than 22 million new jobs, the lowest jobless rate in 30 years, the highest homeownership rate ever.
The incoming Bush administration says it is worried about signs of an economic slowdown, but in an apparent reference to President-elect Bush's proposal for sweeping tax cuts, Clinton urged the next administration to continue his fiscal policy.
``Through our last four budgets, we have been able to pay down $600 billion of our national debt - on track to be debt-free by the end of the decade for the first time since 1835,'' Clinton said. ``If we choose wisely, we can pay down the debt, deal with the retirement of the baby boomers, invest more in our future and provide tax relief.''
Clinton said nothing about his plans after Bush is sworn in at noon Saturday. But perhaps foreshadowing a future role in foreign issues, much of Clinton's message focused on globalization.
He said the world is more interconnected, more people live in freedom than ever before and the global economy is giving more people a chance for a better life. Still, the expansion of trade hasn't completely closed the gap between those who have reaped the benefits of the global economy and billions around the world who live in poverty.
He said he wished Bush all the best ``in meeting these challenges and in leading freedom's march into this new century.''
It was the latest, but not the final, goodbye from the 54-year-old president - the youngest to leave office since Theodore Roosevelt did at age 50.
A farewell ceremony is planned at Andrews Air Force Base on Saturday as he leaves Washington after Bush's swearing-in, and a welcoming rally awaits Clinton soon after at Kennedy International Airport in New York. He also will have a final radio address Saturday.
To the workers inside the White House Thursday night, however, the Clinton years were all but over. Even the late-night tourists on Pennsylvania Avenue had their backs turned to the White House, preferring instead to stare at the Blair House across the street where Bush was pulling up in a limousine, following a night of pre-inaugural events.
AP-NY-01-19-01 0327EST
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