Bill Clinton: “in Milwaukee May 23, 1996 President Clinton. Good afternoon. It's indeed a pleasure for me to welcome Chancellor Kohl…”

“in Milwaukee May 23, 1996 President Clinton. Good afternoon. It's indeed a pleasure for me to welcome Chancellor Kohl back to the United States. He's now in his 14th year in office, the longest serving leader in the West. And not only Germany and the European Union but all of the West has been well served by his leadership, his devotion to freedom and to free markets. He's a friend to whom three American Presidents have turned for support and wise counsel. And I am especially grateful for the relationship that we have enjoyed and the counsel he has shared with me. During his tenure, the relationship between our two nations has grown stronger and deeper than ever, and it has become a powerful force for positive change. As Chancellor, Helmut Kohl has visited Washington 23 times. He knows the shortcuts through the traffic better than most of us who have come here more recently. We thought it was high time that the Chancellor saw another part of our great country. What better place than Milwaukee, a city that German immigrants helped to build, a city so rich in German heritage and culture that in the 19th century it was called the Deutsche Athens, the German Athens. It is also fitting that as Chancellor, as he approaches the mark for the longest tenure of all those who have held his office, he is visiting a city that his great predecessor, Chancellor Konrad Adenauer, came to 40 years ago. Today the partnership between our two nations has taken another important step forward.…”