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Clinton visits the other America
July 6, 1999 HAZARD, Kentucky (AllPolitics, July 6) -- President Clinton traveled to Kentucky's Appalachia on Monday to begin a four-day cross-country tour aimed at bringing business to poverty-stricken regions long ignored or avoided during the boom times of the 1990s. "I came here to say that I believe the government's part is to create the conditions of a strong economy, to give individuals the tools they need to succeed, including education and training, and to give incentives to businesses to take a second look at the places that they have overlooked," Clinton told a cheering crowd in Hazard, a town of about 5,000 in eastern Kentucky.
About 2,000 spectators -- many waving American flags -- turned out for the speech on Main Street despite temperatures soaring in the upper 90s. Many doused themselves with water as the president spoke. One teen-age girl standing in the front-row had to be carried off by ambulance crews after collapsing from the heat. "When I'm gone, I hope you will remember more than that the president came and you were hot. I hope you will remember that it was the beginning of a new sense of renewal for this region and for all the people of our country," the president said to applause. Clinton began his Kentucky trip in the small town of Tyner, where he spent most of his time talking with one extended family.
Jean Corlett, 48, greeted the president and introduced him to her 69-year-old father, Ray Pennington, who uses a portable oxygen tank to help him breathe because of emphysema. Surrounded by Pennington's children and grandchildren, Clinton and Pennington met in front of the family's clapboard, rented home. "I've lived 69 years and you're the first president I've ever seen," said Pennington, a retired farmer who receives Social Security benefits. "Everybody's entitled to meet one president, don't you think?" Clinton responded. The president then went to Mid-South Electronics Co., an assembly plant in nearby Annville with 850 employees that just completed a $6 million expansion aided by a $1 million federal empowerment zone loan and various tax breaks. The motorcade stopped twice along the way and Clinton got out of his car to shake hands with a couple dozen people -- even holding a baby or two at one stop.
Joined by Rev. Jesse Jackson, Kentucky Gov. Paul Patton and a number of CEOs of major U.S. companies, Clinton wore protective goggles as he toured the assembly plant. The company's employees normally would have been off today as part of the Fourth of July holiday, but because of the president's visit, they took last Friday off instead. "This is a time to bring more jobs and investment and hope to the Americans of our country that have not fully participated in this economic recovery. We have an obligation to do it," Clinton said in his speech in Hazard. Clinton's tour is to promote his "new markets" initiative, a program intended to encourage investment in rural communities and inner cities left behind during the economic boom of the 1990s. Although more than 18 million new jobs have been created during Clinton's presidency, 36 million Americans live below the poverty line. "I came here in the hope that with the help of the business leaders here, we could say to every corporate leader in America, take a look at investing in rural and inner-city America. It's good for business, good for America's growth, and it's the right thing to do," Clinton said. The president's next stop will be the Mississippi Delta. He then heads to East St. Louis, Illinois; the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota; South Phoenix, Arizona; and Los Angeles, where he is to tour the Watts area. He ends his tour in Anaheim at a CEO conference focusing on bringing at-risk youths into the workforce. MORE STORIES:Tuesday, July 6, 1999
• Clinton pushes for job, investment help in untapped markets • Has the vice presidential campaign begun yet? • Weicker mulls independent presidential bid in 2000 • GOP tax bill to include breaks for providers of long-term care • New focus on uninsured springs from patients' rights fight • Senate a haven for senior citizens • Bush success at fund raising makes money a top issue • Is the Medicare drug coverage Clinton proposes a good deal? |