[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.