[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (2000-2001, Book III)]
[November 9, 2000]
[Page 2516]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at the Dinner Commemorating the 200th Anniversary of the White 
House
November 9, 2000

    Good evening, Mrs. Johnson, 
President and Mrs. Ford, President and Mrs. 
Carter, President 
and Mrs. Bush, distinguished guests. It has 
been said that an invitation to the White House to dinner is one of the 
highest compliments a President can bestow on anyone. Tonight Hillary 
and I would amend that to say that an even higher compliment has been 
bestowed on us by your distinguished presence this evening. In the 
entire 200 years of the White House's history, never before have this 
many former Presidents and First Ladies gathered in this great room.
    Hillary and I are grateful beyond words to have served as temporary 
stewards of the people's house these last 8 years, an honor exceeded 
only by the privilege of service that comes with the key to the front 
door.
    In the short span of 200 years, those whom the wings of history have 
brought to this place have shaped not only their own times but have also 
left behind a living legacy for our own. In ways both large and small, 
each and every one of you has cast your light upon this house and left 
it and our country brighter for it. For that, Hillary and I and all 
Americans owe you a great debt of gratitude.
    I salute you and all those yet to grace these halls with the words 
of the very first occupant of the White House, John Adams, who said, ``I 
pray to heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this house and all 
that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but the honest and wise rule 
under this roof.''
    Ladies and gentlemen, I ask you to join me in a toast to Mrs. 
Johnson, President and Mrs. Ford, President and Mrs. Carter, 
President and Mrs. Bush 
for their honest and wise service to the people while they inhabited 
this house.

Note: The President spoke at 8:20 p.m. in the East Room at the White 
House. The dinner was hosted by the White House Historical Association.