Bill Clinton

Today the world mourns the loss of one of its great leaders, King Hussein of Jordan.

When peace finally comes to the Middle East, his name will be inscribed upon it.

He once said, 'The beauty of flying high in the skies will always, to me, symbolize freedom.'

I mourn the loss of a partner and friend.

Steadfast in his support for Middle East peace, he was admired by Americans and beloved by his country.

No words can convey what King Hussein meant to the people he led for nearly half a century.

The United States stands with you—today, tomorrow, and in the future.

The question is not whether they will live side by side, but how.

King Hussein once wrote, 'I believe we must live with courage and will.'

He did far better than that.

He understood what must be clear now to anyone who has flown above the Middle East and seen in one panorama at sunset the lights of Amman and Tel Aviv and Damascus shining in the sky.

It takes a rare kind of courage to be a peacemaker—the courage to learn from the past and imagine a better future.

A man of principle, a powerful force for good.

I had prayed this day would not come soon.

The smallest man in the room that day was the largest; the frailest was the strongest.

He was a magnificent man.

His manner was as strong and calming as his message.

We have an obligation now to spread the spirit and the opportunity for enterprise to all the American people.

I believe that we will continue to see the steady march of progress here.

This is about more than economics.

I have never forgotten it, and I never will.

The White House announced that the President will meet with Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder of Germany on February 11.

I look forward to working with the Congress throughout the FY 2000 appropriation process.

Thomas J. Erickson, of the District of Columbia, to be a Commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for the term expiring April 13, 2003, vice John E. Tull, Jr., term expired.

I hope you will feel that you are sending a message to people who will see this all over America or read about it in their newspapers.