THRONG JAMS PARK TO SEE PRESIDENT: CLINTON KICKS OFF CAMPAIGN IN CAPE

A shirt-sleeved President Clinton told a cheering, sign-waving crowd estimated at up to 30,000 people Friday at Cape Girardeau's Capaha Park that he wants to be re-elected to "build a bridge to the 21st century."

Clinton said he had done his best to change the politics of Washington to make it more like life in Cape Girardeau.

"I am sick and tired of Washington taking up the headlines over who's to blame," said the president. "I think the question is not who's to blame; it's what are we going to do to make America a better country and to give our children a better future?"

Vice President Al Gore and his wife, Tipper, First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, 8th District congressional candidate Emily Firebaugh, and Gov. Mel Carnahan also addressed the excited crowd.

The Clintons' daughter, Chelsea, was on the campaign trip too. But she wasn't on stage.

The campaign rally marked the first time in the city's history that a sitting president and vice president had visited Cape Girardeau at the same time. It also was the first visit to Cape Girardeau by a sitting Democratic president.

Many in the crowd waited for hours in the hot sun to see the president and vice president, who arrived along with other dignitaries aboard a caravan of buses.

"What a crowd," Gore said.

They flew into Cape Girardeau on Air Force One from Chicago, buoyed by a rousing send-off from Thursday's final session of the Democratic National Convention.

Cape Girardeau was the jumping off point for a two-day, four-state bus tour that was scheduled to end today in Memphis, Tenn.

The caravan of buses, including some carrying the national news media, arrived around 2:30 p.m. Among the dignitaries was Sen. Paul Simon of Illinois.

The president, vice president and the other speakers were on the stage for about 40 minutes. Clinton was the last to address the crowd. He spoke for about 10 minutes.

But after the rally ended at 3:10 p.m., he and Gore greeted supporters for at least 25 minutes, shaking hands and kissing babies.

After that he boarded the presidential bus, where he taped his weekly radio address.

The buses didn't leave Capaha Park until about 5 p.m.

The campaign stop was more than a rally for the re-election of the president: It was a boost for Firebaugh of Farmington, who grew up in Cape Girardeau.

Democrats think they have a real shot to win the 8th District seat that was held by Republican Bill Emerson. Emerson died in June of lung cancer.

Many in the crowd sported red and white Firebaugh signs. Clinton, among others, urged the crowd to send her to Congress.

"Let us say, Mr. President, you remind us a lot of Harry Truman," Firebaugh said. "You stood up to the heat and stayed in the kitchen," she told the president.

The Firebaugh campaign held a separate rally at Southeast Missouri State University following the president's visit.

Clinton said the nation needs a balanced budget, but not at the expense of its future.

Clinton said his plan has a tax cut for education and child-rearing. "It is targeted to middle-class families. It invests in education. It invests in the environment." he said.

"We're going to give America's families a tax deduction for the cost of college tuition up to $10,000 a year," he told the cheering crowd.

The president said his plan would protect Medicare and Medicaid. He said his administration wants to protect the environment.

"There are 10 million kids living within four miles of a toxic waste dump. If you vote for us, we're going to clean up two-thirds of them in the next four years and make our kids grow up next to parks, not poison," the president said.

He said the Republican plan cuts Medicare and Medicaid too much.

"It cuts education. It cuts the environment. It lets companies raid $15 billion of their workers' pension funds," said Clinton.

"And it raises taxes on the hardest-working, lowest-paid working people with children in this country," he said.

"And when they get through with that, they still won't have balanced the budget, so they'll blow a hole in the deficit," Clinton said.

"Would you go to the bank in Cape Girardeau and borrow money to give yourself a tax cut?" he asked the crowd.

"No," the crowd loudly responded.

Gore, who introduced the president, said 10 million new jobs had been created since Clinton took office four years ago. He said crime rates have declined.

"Under Bill Clinton, we have an America that's not just better off, but better," the vice president said.

Gore said Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole is a "bridge to the past" while Clinton offers a bridge to the nation's future.