Click here for President Clinton\'s speech in MP3 format.
In his fifth and possibly last visit to MSU while in office, President Clinton recalled Tuesday the highlights of his administration and honored a national championship basketball team in front of a crowd of 11,500 which flocked to the Breslin Student Events Center for a chance to witness history.
During his third visit as sitting president, Clinton discussed the current state of the country - comparing today’s success to days prior to taking office. He also praised Michigan for supporting him during both his presidential bids, and picking Vice President Al Gore in his November bid for president.
“The most important thing I want to do today is say a simple thing,” Clinton told a crowd which often interrupted his words with applause. “To the people of Michigan State, Lansing, and the state of Michigan for supporting me and Hillary and Al and Tipper Gore these past eight years, thanks for making it real.”
He also said that although his administration didn’t accomplish all of its goals, he believes that the country is better off today than it was eight years ago and that his administration has left the country with the necessary tools to finish his objectives.
Clinton was joined on stage by members of the university’s student government, as well as Michigan Sens. Carl Levin of Detroit and Debbie Stabenow of Lansing, both Democrats who made the trip back from Washington to attend the event.
Other area Democrats were also in attendance. House Minority Leader Kwame Kilpatrick, of Detroit, attended, as did Michigan Attorney General Jennifer Granholm, state Sen. Dianne Byrum, of Onondaga, and state Rep. Gretchen Whitmer, of East Lansing, who was elected to the 70th District seat in November.
Much of the excitement surrounding the visit revolved around the MSU men’s basketball team, which was joined by now-Detroit Piston Mateen Cleaves, who played a crucial role in the team’s NCAA Championship run early last year.
The energetic crowd erupted in applause as head coach Tom Izzo and the men’s basketball team followed Clinton onto Breslin’s stage.
Some members of last year’s squad, such as Morris Peterson, were unable to attend. But the group was welcomed with enough applause to drown out an introduction by MSU President M. Peter McPherson.
Cleaves presented Clinton with an MSU basketball jersey donning the 42nd president’s name on the back. Clinton, a well-known sports fan, proudly posed for photos with the jersey and promised to wear it at the dinner table to rile his daughter Chelsea, who is a senior at Stanford University - a school which now boasts the No. 1-ranked men’s basketball team.
The MSU squad was slated to visit Washington in July for a special ceremony, but the event was postponed because of a Middle East peace summit.
“I’m very excited,” Cleaves said before the speech. “I’m glad I could make it back and enjoy the whole day with my team, and especially Bill Clinton. I’m just glad we had a chance to do it.”
Stabenow, who told the crowd she presented the president with a Final Four t-shirt during the team’s championship drive last year, took time to speak highly of the nation’s outgoing leader.
“There’s not a person sitting here today that has not been positively impacted by this president and his administration,” she said.
“Our president has been there day after day.”
Clinton’s stop was part of a short tour full of speeches highlighting his two terms.
McPherson, who took the time during his introduction to thank Levin and former Michigan Gov. James Blanchard for their contributions to MSU, said he thought the president’s visit went well.
“Clinton is the first sitting president to visit MSU three times during his tenure,” he said.
“Obviously he has a great affection for MSU.”
McPherson said earlier this week he was pleased Clinton was visiting - but he wasn’t surprised.
Clinton has been the first sitting president to speak at MSU since Theodore Roosevelt in 1907, and he’s participated in campaign rallies, a debate and a commencement ceremony at MSU.
With 10 days left before President-elect Bush moves into the White House, Clinton focused much of his speech on the economic growth of the past eight years as well as making a few jokes.
But he also relished in the fact that he wasn’t making a campaign stop, allowing himself the chance to speak more freely about issues. He spoke passionately about passed legislation that required background checks and a waiting period before anyone could purchase handguns.
The initiatives, which were controversial, saved many lives, Clinton said. Those comments spurred a lengthy ovation.
The president also stressed national unity.
“If someone said to me that I’ve got to leave America with just one wish, believe it or not, more than wanting us to continue to be successful economically, I’d say we have to be one America,” he said. “We have to reach across all these lines that divide us. We have to celebrate our differences.”
Calling the president a “pragmatic politician,” MSU graduate student David Wetzell was one of the first supporters to make it into the Breslin Center when its doors opened at 10:30 a.m., almost three hours before Clinton emerged onto the stage.
“I think he really does care about the American people,” Wetzell said, while catching up on some studying before the speech. “I think he really does a great job as president overall.”
Drew Harmon can be reached at harmondr@msu.edu
