[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (2000-2001, Book III)]
[January 20, 2001]
[Pages 2964-2965]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



The President's Radio Address
January 20, 2001

    Good morning. Every Saturday for the past 8 years, I've had the 
privilege of speaking with you by way of this radio address. Most often, 
I've talked about meeting our common challenges with commonsense 
solutions, practical, progressive steps to build an America with 
opportunity for every responsible citizen, a community of all Americans, 
and a more peaceful, prosperous world.
    We've had more than 400 of these Saturday conversations now, so it's 
fitting that this last one comes on my final day in office. This is, of 
course, Inaugural Day, an extraordinary day for freedom when the magic, 
the mystery, the miracle of American democracy is on full display.
    The peaceful transfer of power from one administration to the next, 
from one party to another, may confound others around the globe. But it 
reflects the underlying strength of our Constitution and rule of law.
    As my time in office comes to an end, the most important thing I can 
say is a simple, heartfelt thank you. Thank you for the opportunity to 
serve as your President and as Commander in Chief to our fine men and 
women in uniform. Thank you for the honor of working with you to build 
our bridge to the 21st century. Thank you for the prayers, love, and 
support you've extended to Hillary, Chelsea, and me every single day.

[[Page 2965]]

    I also want to thank all the men and women at the White House who 
have worked so hard to help me do my job, from the Secret Service to the 
Residence staff, to those who keep the people's house open for all to 
enjoy. And I am forever grateful to Vice President Gore for his extraordinary leadership and service, to my 
Cabinet, and to all others who have served with me.
    For 8 years, we've done everything in our power to reach beyond 
party and beyond Washington to put the American people first, overcoming 
obstacles, seizing opportunities. That's what these radio addresses have 
been all about. These Saturday talks have often marked action taken to 
make our schools stronger, our environment cleaner, our food safer, our 
health care more secure. Some have been big steps and some smaller. But 
every step has moved us forward, and taken all together, they have made 
an enormous difference in the lives of our people. And we're not done 
yet.
    I pledged that I would work until the last hour of the last day. 
Well, here we are. So, this morning we're building on our commitment to 
make our streets safer by awarding more than $100 million to fund 1,400 
more police officers in communities throughout our land. Back in 1992 I 
promised that we would fund 100,000 police officers across America. With 
this announcement, we will have funded 110,000. That's 110 percent of 
our goal. And I thank our police officers for giving 110 percent to the 
job. That's a big reason crime is down to a 25-year low.
    Now my job as your President draws to a close, and the work of our 
new President begins. I want to wish President-elect Bush, Vice President-elect Cheney, their 
families and entire administration the very best. I know you do, too. 
Thanks to your work, he takes the reins of a nation renewed, ready to 
move into a new century and a whole new era in human affairs. I join 
every American in wishing him Godspeed.
    In my first radio address, almost exactly 8 years ago now, I spoke 
about the challenges we faced at that time but also about my abiding 
faith in the American people. Back then I said, ``We're going up or down 
together, and I'm convinced we're going up.'' The progress of the last 8 
years, the strong values, can-do spirit, and basic goodness of the 
American people leave me more convinced than ever we're still going up.
    If we keep working together to widen the circle of opportunity, 
deepen the reach of freedom, strengthen the bonds of community, America 
will always be going up.
    Thank you for listening each and every week. Thank you again for the 
honor of serving as your President these past 8 years.
    God bless you, and God bless America.

Note: The address was recorded at 5:50 p.m. on January 19 in the Oval 
Office at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on January 20. The 
transcript was embargoed for release until the broadcast.