    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (2000, Book I)]
    [April 8, 2000]
    [Page 670]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 670]]

    Remarks Following a Performance of ``Messiah 2000'' in Alexandria,
    Louisiana
    April 8, 2000

        Well, I am rarely at a loss for words. I use words for a living. I
    have done reasonably well at it. And I am virtually speechless.
        First, I want to say to my friend Anthony--we were talking, oh,
    maybe 6 months ago, about how much I wanted to come down here one more
    time before I left office and see this ``Messiah'' service as President.
    And it worked out for me to be here. I wish Hillary could be here. I wish Chelsea could be here. We came, the three of us, 11 years
    ago. Chelsea and Miquell were just
    little girls; Gentry was so small he was
    almost invisible. [Laughter] And our friendship goes back long before
    that, to 1977.
        So I just want to say how much this has meant to me. I thank you for
    acknowledging all the people who came down with me, and I'd like to
    thank the people from your church from Arkansas who came: my good
    friends Keith and Janice
    Sjostrand, and brother Bill Harden, Mrs. Harden, and the others
    who came. Thank you for coming to be with us tonight. I love you, and
    I'm glad to see you.
        We've had an unusual relationship, Anthony and Mickey and Hillary and
    I and our kids. We're sort of an odd couple. I say that so that you will
    not hold him responsible for anything I have ever done you disagreed
    with. But we love each other a lot. I bet I cried through more of this
    tonight than anybody else here.
        I want you to know something about this guy. There for a period of time, a day or two at least,
    there was some question about whether I would finish my term. He called
    me on the phone, and he said, ``Mickey and I
    want to come spend 20 minutes with you. And we won't spend more than 20
    minutes, because we know you've got a lot to do.'' I said, ``You're
    going to come all the way to Washington, DC, from Alexandria, for 20
    minutes?'' And he said, ``Yep. And we won't stay long.'' So I said,
    ``Okay, come on.''
        So he shows up. She shows up. First thing they did was give me a tape of a
    song she sang, wrote and sang for me, that I was supposed to listen to
    every day to keep my head in the right place--[laughter]--which I
    dutifully did. Then he gives me about seven pages of points he wants me
    to study up on every day to make sure I know where I want to be.
    [Laughter]
        Then he says, ``I don't know how this is going to come out.'' But he
    said, ``I know you. You are my friend. We have raised our children
    together. I love you. I was here when you were going up. If the ship
    starts to sink and other people start to bail out, you call me; I want
    to go down with you.'' He said, ``I will be there. If not another living
    soul were standing there, I would be there.''
        And I say that not for some personal reason but because that was the
    embodiment of his Christian faith and
    the witness of the Pentecostal Church that I have been blessed by for 23
    years now. And I just want you to know I'm grateful to you and your
    wife and kids and both sets of parents
    that are here and your extended family, for what you meant to me and
    Hillary and to our daughter.
        And I'm grateful that you gave me
    the chance to help your church advance the cause of liberty in--last
    time I counted, three or four different countries, now. I would have
    done it for anybody, but you gave me the chance to do it for you.
        And I'm grateful that one more time in my life I got to sit here and
    be bathed in the glorious love of all these singers and actors and all
    the people that put together this ``Messiah'' service. It was a blessing
    that I will have with me for the rest of my life.
        Thank you.

     Note:  The President spoke at 10:06 p.m. in the sanctuary at The
    Pentecostals of Alexandria. In his remarks, he referred to Rev. Garold
    Anthony Mangun, pastor, The Pentecostals of Alexandria; his daughter,
    Miquell Mangun Hennigan, his son, Gentry, and his wife, Mickey; Rev.
    Keith Sjostrand, pastor, First United Pentecostal Church, Lonoke, AR,
    and his wife, Janice; and Rev. Bill Harden, pastor, First Baptist
    Church, Picayune, MS, and his wife, Margaret. A tape was not available
    for verification of the content of these remarks.