CLINTON LATEST OF SIX PRESIDENTIAL VISITORS

Preparations for a presidential visit to Cape Girardeau haven't changed much in the eight years since President Ronald Reagan came to town.

Security and traffic are still the major concerns for local law enforcement officials. Specific security measures can't be discussed, however.

"It has not really changed from Reagan's visit," Police Lt. Tracey Lemonds said. "It's very similar. We're just real security conscious."

President Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore and their wives, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Tipper Gore, will visit Cape Girardeau today. The Clinton-Gore '96 campaign stop will be the third presidential visit for the City of Roses.

Clinton is the first sitting Democrat to visit the city. Two other sitting presidents have visited in the past -- William Howard Taft in 1909 and Ronald Reagan in 1988, both Republicans.

Over the years, six men who were president or later elected president have visited the city.

Because security is a primary concern, all local law enforcement is involved in planning the event. More than 120 officers from seven agencies have worked out the details.

However, few of them will be able to actually see the president.

"Our philosophy is that we're not there to hear or see the president," Lemonds said. "We are there for security purposes. If the law enforcement watches, we're not doing our job."

Secret Service advance teams have been in Cape Girardeau since last weekend.

Both presidential visits were announced about a week before the event so that the public could get tickets.

However, Clinton's visit was not part of a local invitation.

The Southeast University Foundation supported Reagan's visit to the Show Me Center. He spoke to about 7,000 people on a campaign stop for GOP presidential candidate George Bush.

No exact count for the Clinton crowd has been given. Organizers distributed all tickets by Thursday afternoon, but couldn't give any specific numbers.

All guests at the rally will have to pass through metal detectors at the park entrances. No coolers or lawn chairs are allowed, but cameras are permitted.

Although both presidential visits differ because of the administration's personality, there have been some similarities.

"They are both similar because of the Secret Service and that both were president at the time," said Mary Miller, executive director of the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitor's Bureau. "But because of the campaign, this will be a little bigger."

Both the Clintons and Gores will travel from Cape Girardeau to Southern Illinois and Kentucky by bus. "It's highly unusual since it's a large bus tour and they are all together," Miller said.

The six-bus caravan will block traffic along every intersecting street of the motorcade route. Pepsi trucks blocked the streets when Reagan visited.

Mayor Al Spradling III, who was on the City Council when Reagan visited, said preparation for the two presidential visits was very different. The set up at the Show Me Center was easier.

"Some of it is similar," Spradling said. "We closed the airport and all that, but being inside didn't require as much elaborate security."