    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1998, Book I)]
    [February 8, 1998]
    [Page 196]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at the Festival at Ford's Theatre
    February 8, 1998

        Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. First let me say that
    Hillary and I, as always, have had a wonderful evening. We look forward
    to this every year.
        I want to thank my special friend Whoopi Goldberg. God's Property was wonderful. I thank all the other
    magnificent performers who were here tonight. I thank Tricia Lott and Peatsy Hollings, for the work that they do, and all the other
    sponsors of this extraordinary evening. And a special thanks to you,
    Frankie, for giving 30 years of your life to
    a worthy and great American cause.
        I also want to thank you for honoring the First Lady tonight. She has worked very hard for the last
    5 years and continues to work for the arts and for the preservation of
    our national treasures, like Ford's Theatre. That's a special focus of
    our millennium project. And she convinced me that it's something all
    Americans should do for the 21st century.
        President Kennedy once wrote that art is the great unifying and
    humanizing experience. We are here in Ford's Theatre in the shadow of
    President Lincoln's memory, a President who gave his life for the unity
    and the fundamental humanity of our Nation. And these wonderful young
    people have just sung a song that, for everyone my age, will live
    forever. John Kennedy was killed when I was a senior in high school;
    Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy when I was a senior here at
    Georgetown. Those of us who grew up as children in a time when our
    national life meant unity and humanity will be forever grateful for the
    spirit of Abraham Lincoln and what is embodied in this magnificent
    theater.
        Thank you, and God bless you.

    Note: The President spoke at approximately 8:45 p.m. In his remarks, he
    referred to comedienne Whoopi Goldberg; gospel music group God's
    Property; event cochairs Tricia Lott, wife of Senator Trent Lott, and
    Rita L. (Peatsy) Hollings, wife of Senator Ernest F. Hollings; and
    Frankie Hewitt, producing artistic director, Ford's Theatre Society. The
    festival was videotaped for later broadcast on the ABC Television
    Network as ``A Gala for the President.''