CLINTON BUS TOUR INCLUDES THREE STATES

In a bid to recapture the spirit of his 1992 bus tour, President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore will travel from Cape Girardeau southward through Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee during their two-day bus tour that starts here Aug. 30.

The president's wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Gore's wife, Tipper, will accompany the campaign caravan.

The tour will include a stop in Southern Illinois, probably Cairo. The tour includes an overnight stop Friday in Paducah, Ky. The journey will end Saturday in Memphis, Tenn.

"So far they have only announced four stops," said Rachel Fayman, Missouri press secretary for Clinton-Gore '96.

Clinton plans to spend Sunday in his hometown of Little Rock, Ark., before making a Labor Day campaign trip.

Clinton's political team hopes the tour carries momentum from the Democratic National Convention into Labor Day, the traditional start of the fall campaign.

As of Thursday, details of the trip were still being worked out.

The Clintons and Gores are expected to fly from Chicago to Cape Girardeau Aug. 30 on Air Force One, a day after the close of the Democratic National Convention.

Some members of Missouri's congressional delegation and some state officials, including Gov. Mel Carnahan, may accompany the president on Air Force One, Fayman said.

Fayman said those on the campaign trip will board buses at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport.

A stop is planned in Cape Girardeau, but the exact site hasn't been determined, Fayman said. "It will be an open event," she said.

Capaha Park has been mentioned as a possible site and 10:30 as a possible time the tour might stop in Cape Girardeau.

Mary Miller, director of the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau, said her office received an anonymous call recently inquiring if the city had an outdoor setting that would accommodate 20,000 people.

No sites were mentioned, but Miller said she doubts Capaha Park or even the Cape Girardeau County Park could handle that large a crowd.

Secret Service agents will meet in Cape Girardeau Monday with local police to prepare for the president's visit.

Fayman said Southeast Missouri State University could be considered as a possible campaign stop.

But Art Wallhausen, assistant to the president at Southeast, said Thursday that the university hadn't been contacted by the Clinton campaign.

Emily Firebaugh, the Democratic candidate for Congress in the 8th District, is expected to attend the campaign rally.

Fayman said Clinton wanted to start the bus trip in Missouri. Logistically, it worked out that Cape Girardeau was a good place to start, she said.

The multistate region is served by several television stations. But TV wasn't the only consideration, she said.

Missouri and the Midwest in general is a battleground this election year, Fayman said.

Tony Wyche, communications director for the Carnahan campaign, said the planned stop in Cape Girardeau shows the importance of Missouri to the Clinton re-election effort.

President Clinton won in Southeast Missouri four years ago and his campaign staff believes he can win again in this region, Wyche said.

Anyone is welcome at the rally, she said. "We will even take a few Rush Limbaugh fans."

Cape Girardeau is the hometown of nationally known conservative radio commentator Rush Limbaugh.

Ann Lewis, national campaign spokesman, said: "This is about real people's lives; this is not about political leaders talking about themselves. This is about political leaders going out and talking to people, making a case for why their issues will make a difference in real lives."