THE WHITE HOUSE

                     Office of the Press Secretary
                           (Hope, Arkansas)
________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                     March 12, 1999

                        REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
                              UPON ARRIVAL

                         Hope Municipal Airport
                             Hope, Arkansas

12:15 P.M. CST

THE PRESIDENT: I must say, I did not expect to see you here when I heard it was cold and rainy, and I am very grateful to you for coming. I want to thank all the federal and state and local officials who came out to say hello to me there at the airport.

I'm delighted to be here. I want to just get out and shake hands with all of you and say again how very much I appreciate you coming out. I hope none of the kids get sick standing in this rain, and I hope it's something that when you dry off will always be a good memory for you.

I'd like to say just briefly to all the children that are here, you know, I'm coming home because we're going to dedicate the house that I lived in for the first four years of my life. And a lot of what I learned that was good that I took with me for the rest of my life I learned back then. And I want every one of you to believe that people from Rosten and Chitester and all the other small places around here -- (applause) -- doesn't matter where you came from in life, it matters what you do with your life.

So make the most of your schools and have a wonderful time. And again, you'll never know how much I appreciate you being here. I was stunned when I saw the crowd out here and I knew what the weather was. I always say that the people here stuck with me through rain or shine, and now it is literally true.

Thank you and God bless you. (Applause.)

END 12:18 P.M. CST