Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.news From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: Clinton celebrates victory where it all began Date: Wed, 4 Nov 92 16:16:30 EST Message-ID: \SE A;ELECTIONS '92;CLINTON'S DAY \HD Clinton celebrates victory where it all began \BY Ronald A. Taylor \CR THE WASHINGTON TIMES \DT LITTLE ROCK, Ark. LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Thirteen months after Bill Clinton launched his quest for the presidency here, he stood again in front of the Old Statehouse to claim victory. "My fellow Americans, on this day, with high hopes and brave hearts, in massive numbers the American people have voted to make a new beginning," he said in a voice still hoarse because of campaigning and allergies. "You all spoke with equal voices for change, and tomorrow we will try to give you that," he said. "I accept the responsibility you have given me to be the leader of the greatest country in human history. . . . This election is a clarion call for our country to face the challenges of the end of the Cold War," Mr. Clinton said. He also paid tribute to his daughter, Chelsea, for putting up with her parents' absences and "for reminding us what this election is all about." "I want to thank the people of this wonderful small state," he added. The reference to 'small' appeared to be a playful jab at the Bush-Quayle campaign characterization of him as the failed governor of a small state. And he thanked his "brilliant, aggressive, unconventional but always winning campaign staff." The statement climaxed a day of sad farewells between the staff and reporters who had followed the campaign since Oct. 3, 1991, when it was launched. After being greeted by the staff at Little Rock Airport yesterday, Mr. Clinton went to the Dunbar Community Center here. He was whisked to the head of the line, ahead of people who waited up to 90 minutes to vote. He then went home and slept, according to his staff. Yesterday evening, about 5 p.m., he jogged after thunderstorms turned the warm, sunny day into a prelude of winter with brisk winds and heavy skies. Rumors are flying about who will get what job in the Clinton White House as they begin to break down temporary fiefdoms that were labeled "Goreville," and "Hillaryland" at campaign headquarters here. While the rest of the city revved up for the biggest celebration Arkansas has ever seen, the corps of campaign staffers greeted the Arkansas governor in a joyous, but subdued homecoming welcome. For many of them, the end of the campaign was an anti-climax and the start of an awkward withdrawal period from a frenetic campaign pace. The pace has become such an ingrained part of their existence that a sleepy-eyed joke by Sandy Berman, a key Clinton strategist on foreign policy issues, was taken seriously. On the final flight of the Clinton campaign plane, Mr. Berman roused fellow campaign topsider Bruce Lindsey on the Clinton plane to say Little Rock headquarters officials had added three more stops to the 29-hour election-eve marathon of campaigning. "Bruce just looked at me with this kind of blank stare and said 'OK' before he realized I was putting him on," Mr. Berman said in Albuqueque, N.M. Even Mr. Clinton joked about the pace he has kept. As his campaign plane made a final approach to Little Rock, Mr. Clinton got on the intercom and said the campaign was making stops in the three states that begin with the letter "A" - Alabama, Arizona and Alaska - "in keeping with this campaign's intention to leave no stone unturned." Mr. Clinton ended his campaign with a 29-hour tour through three time zones, jetting around the country in a last appeal for votes. The nine events also underscored the generational contrast between the Democratic and GOP campaigns in 1992. Mr. Clinton targeted Reagan Democrats, a key element of the Bush voter coalition, but never lost sight of the cultural icons that are useful in framing any message that calls for rejecting the status quo. Even Bush-Quayle officials conceded that the Clinton campaign was a well-orchestrated juggernaut. Campaign manager David Wilhelm, one of the unsung architects of the campaign, talked about how the bus tours helped define the tactics of the campaign. "Bill Clinton and Al Gore getting on buses and going all those places that campaigns usually fly over" worked well, he said. This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM