[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (2000-2001, Book III)]
[November 28, 2000]
[Pages 2589-2590]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at an ``Invitation to the White House'' Reception
November 28, 2000

    Thank you very much, and good evening. Hillary and I are delighted 
to welcome all of you here, and I want to especially thank Carter 
Brown and Carl Anthony, who I will recognize shortly. I also want to thank Neil 
Horstman, the White House Historical 
Association, and the

[[Page 2590]]

White House Curator, Betty Monkman, for their 
work to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the White House; and to 
recognize the members of the Committee for the Preservation of the White 
House for the renovation and the refurbishment which they have made 
possible.
    I hope that you've all had the opportunity to go on the short tour 
just before we started--I understand you have--and to see again what an 
extraordinary place the American people's house really is.
    For two centuries now, the American people have looked at the White 
House as a symbol of our Nation's leadership, strength, and continuity; 
also a symbol of progress and change. The White House wears its history 
proudly but is forever growing and changing, along with America. If you 
think about the history of this room, it's illustrative.
    The East Room began life as Abigail Adams' laundry room when she 
moved into the half-finished house in 1801. A few years later, Thomas 
Jefferson laid out maps and books with Meriwether Lewis to plot the 
expedition that forever changed the map of America. In this room, 
Abraham Lincoln lay in state. In this room, a century later, President 
Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act.
    Hillary and I have had our own opportunities to add to the history 
of this room, for here we hosted the state dinner for Nelson Mandela, 
the first President of a free, multiracial South Africa. Appropriately, 
as we enter the new century, the East Room also hosted the first-ever 
White House cybercast. And just today we held here another in a series 
of White House conferences, this one on culture and diplomacy. The 
others have ranged in topics from the new economy to early childhood 
development in the brain.
    Hillary has led the way in 
meeting our responsibility during these years to preserve and enhance 
the White House and its collections. As over 1 \1/2\ million people come 
here every year, Hillary has taken extraordinary steps to ensure that 
they experience the best of our past and the promise of our shared 
future.
    She personally oversaw the 
restoration of several of the public rooms and helped to build and 
diversify the collection of American art. She established the beautiful 
sculpture garden in the Jackie Kennedy Garden downstairs and worked with 
the White House Historical Association to raise a lasting endowment to 
preserve the White House and its collections. And as we now know, she 
somehow found the time to chronicle our lives here and how the White 
House works and makes our lives possible in ``An Invitation to the White 
House.''
    I hope her book will give 
millions of our fellow Americans who may never come here a better sense 
of what is so special about the house, what history tells us about the 
strength of our Nation, and about the remarkable people who actually 
make this place work, day-in and day-out, year-in and year-out.
    The history of this house is the history of brave men and women, 
from John and Abigail Adams and the men and women who served them, down 
to the present day. As the White House enters its third century, I hope 
that all of those who come after us will find, as Hillary and I have, 
enormous sustenance and strength in the power of this great place.
    I must say, it has been an honor to live here, and I can honestly 
say that there is never a time when the helicopter lands on the South 
Lawn that I still don't feel the thrill of just being here, of being 
able to walk in this place, visit the rooms, and relive, as I have so 
often, the history of our country and what happened in various places in 
this grand old house. So I thank you all for that.
    Now let me welcome J. Carter Brown, who 
has been a valued artistic adviser to us and, indeed, to every First 
Family since the Kennedy administration.
    Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 6 p.m. in the East Room at the White House. 
In his remarks, he referred to J. Carter Brown, chairman, U.S. 
Commission of Fine Arts; historian Carl Anthony; and Neil Horstman, 
executive vice president, White House Historical Association. The First 
Lady's book, entitled ``An Invitation to the White House: At Home With 
History,'' was published by Simon and Schuster. The transcript released 
by the Office of the Press Secretary also included the remarks of the 
First Lady.