It's great to see one of the candidates practicing bi-partisanship:
Bush Hosts Clinton's Portrait Unveiling
Monday, 14-Jun-2004 Story from AP / SCOTT LINDLAW
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush offered a glowing tribute to former President Clinton on Monday as the White House unveiled the official portraits of the 42nd president and his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Clinton plans to campaign for the man trying to oust Bush from office, Democrat John Kerry.
But on Monday, Bush delivered a lengthy, forceful defense of his predecessor, and welcomed dozens of Clinton administration officials back into the White House. It was Clinton's first return to the White House since leaving office, said a spokeswoman, Tammy Sun.
"As a candidate for any office, whether it be the state attorney general or the president, Bill Clinton showed incredible energy and great personal appeal," Bush said. "As chief executive, he showed a deep and far-ranging knowledge of public policy, a great compassion for people in need and the forward-looking spirit that Americans like in a president."
Bush left Clinton laughing so hard that his face turned red with a jibe about Clinton's optimism in campaigning in Texas for George McGovern in 1972.
Mostly, though, Bush gave an almost nostalgic tribute to the Democratic former president.
"Bill Clinton could always see a better day ahead and Americans knew he was working hard to bring that day closer," Bush said. "Over eight years it was clear that Bill Clinton loved the job of the presidency. He filled this house with energy and joy. He's a man of enthusiasm and warmth, who could make a compelling case and effectively advance the causes that drew him to public service."
Clinton and his wife -- now in the Senate -- returned to the White House for the official presentation of the portraits that will hang in the White House. The former president's portrait will hang near the Grand Staircase just inside the north entrance. It will bump a portrait of the first President Bush to another position in the hall. The portrait of Mrs. Clinton will be displayed one flight below with other former first ladies.
"She inspires respect and loyalty from those who know her, and it was a good day in both their lives when they met at the library at Yale Law School," Bush said of Mrs. Clinton and her husband.
Clinton said: "The president, by his generous words to Hillary and me today, has proved once again that in the end, we are held together by this grand system of ours that permits us to debate and struggle and fight for what we believe is right."
"And because it's free, because it is a system of majority rule and minority rights, we're still around here after over 200 years. And most of the time, we get it right. And I'm honored to be a small part of it."
As for Clinton's plans to campaign on Kerry's behalf, campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill said, "He has offered to help and we are pleased to take him up on that offer."
Kerry advisers have concluded Vice President Al Gore made a mistake by distancing himself from Clinton in the 2000 campaign. While Democratic polling still suggests that many independent and moderate Republican voters dislike Clinton, the former president is popular among Democrats, particularly among minorities.
Clinton's portrait was painted by Simmie Knox, a self-taught artist born in 1935 in Aliceville, Ala., to a family of sharecroppers. |
