Clinton revisits where it all began

LITTLE ROCK — Twenty years after announcing his candidacy for president on the steps of the Old State House in downtown Little Rock, former President Bill Clinton returned to recognize those who helped him win the election and accomplish the many achievements of his administration.

Hundreds of people surrounded a stage set up at Markham and Center streets, where the president reminisced on his accomplishments in office and offered hope for the future.

“I want this anniversary weekend, more than anything else, for those of you who were a part of it from the beginning, to be a day of thanks from me to you, of gratitude on all our parts for the chance we had to serve and to do something for our country that has done so much for us and for the young people of America, of reassurance and rededication to the idea that we absolutely can get out of the fix we’re in and be better than ever,” Clinton said.

The event was one of several planned this weekend to commemorate Clinton’s announcement to run for president, a race that resulted in his two terms as the leader of the nation.

Twenty years ago, Clinton was a 45-year-old five-term governor who was entering a field of not-widely-known Democratic presidential hopefuls. The group included former U.S. Sens. Paul Tsongas of Massachusetts, Tom Harkin of Iowa and Bob Kerrey of Nebraska, and Gov. Douglas Wilder of Virginia.

California Gov. Jerry Brown later joined the race but lost to Clinton in the primaries.

When Clinton announced that he was joining the race, which was considered the state’s worst-kept secret at the time, he became Arkansas’ first presidential candidate since U.S. Rep. Wilbur Mills in 1972.

Clinton, born in Hope and raised in Hot Springs, was well-liked in Arkansas and known nationally for his work with the Democratic Governors Association and the Democratic Leadership Council.

He joined the race as a moderate looking to rejuvenate the Democratic Party, which had lost five of the previous six presidential elections.

Today, at 65, Clinton is well-known on the world stage and has established himself as a private citizen helping communities around the globe.

Saturday’s event began with a few songs from the band Chicago, followed by an introduction from Jimmie Lou Fisher, the former state treasurer who introduced Clinton at his announcement event in 1991. Saturday also featured comments from Clinton’s former Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater and his campaign strategist James Carville.

Clinton’s daughter, Chelsea, prepared a video message that was played before the president spoke, and former Vice President Al Gore gave a speech via telephone.

Carville said the event was less about reminiscing than recognizing the accomplishments of the president’s administration and the work of the Clinton Foundation.

“It is not about nostalgia,” he said. “Nobody’s head is filled with visions of nostalgia. This is a day about pride. All of our hearts are filled with pride.”

But when Clinton took the stage after walking from the doors of the Old State House with his wife, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, the former president wiped his eyes, joking that he had held his emotions in check until he watched the biographical videos just before his speech.

Clinton addressed a range of topics but focused on some of the points that he had emphasized in his campaign for president, including responsibility and community.

The former president also addressed the country’s current financial crisis, saying it was “different, deeper and more difficult” than the one he faced. He said that despite tough economic times, everyone should still have access to “the American dream.”

“This is about more than economics, this is about human dignity,” he said.

After telling the story of the Brooks-Baxter War, an armed conflict between two men running for governor of Arkansas in 1874 that marked the end of Reconstruction, Clinton said there was something the country could learn from the events. He said it was time to settle differences and take action to move the country forward.

“We have to stop fighting and get the show on the road,” he said.