Clinton-Gore celebrate their good fortune

LITTLE ROCK, Ark., Nov. 4, 1992 (UPI) -- In his first encounter with Bill Clinton in the aftermath of victory, Al Gore hugged his boss long and hard, looked straight into the president-elect's eyes, and said: ''Hi, pal. You look good.''

And a wildly enthusiastic Little Rock crowd estimated at 40,000 agreed. Tens of thousands of Arkansas residents poured into the streets Tuesday night, anxious to share the moment of a lifetime with the man who has governed them for more than a decade as he rose to the presidency.

As early-November weather in Little Rock goes, it could not have been a very worse evening for a giant outdoor gathering. But undeterred by an early-evening drizzle and a chilling cold front that sent temperatures plunging by more than 20 degrees in a matter of hours, the people of Arkansas partied like they had never partied before.

''I can't talk much, so I want to say just this,'' a hoarse but exuberant Clinton told a frenzied crowd of believers at a late-night party hours after his acceptance address.

''Beginning tomorrow, Hillary and I, and Al and Tipper, and all the people who have worked so hard will do everything we can to make you always and forever proud of this night, as proud tomorrow and in the years ahead as you are tonight.''

The state's fierce regional pride and longstanding inferiority complex were a major part of the motivation behind the tremendous turnout for the large Clinton victory celebration, dubbed the Americas Watch Party.

The crowd roared its approval at several points throughout Clinton's three separate talks, but perhaps never so loud as when he addressed them directly in his acceptance speech and said: ''And I want to thank the people of this wonderful small state.''

Many Arkansas residents have felt stung at times throughout the election, such as when President Bush referred to Clinton as ''the failed governor of a small state,'' and Arkansas itself as ''the lowest of the low.''

Tonight, the ''lowest of the low'' were bound and determined to show America that it was not so. And even though most of them had no idea how to gain admission to one of the many official gatherings which studded the downtown hotels and restaurants, they knew they'd find a party somewhere.

From diehard supporters to mere curiosity seekers, they flooded the downtown streets in unprecedented numbers, rendering Markham Street, near the banks of the Arkansas River, completely impassible, even to pedestrian traffic. They milled about aimlessly, drinking beer, screaming war whoops and buying T-shirts with such slogans as ''The Fat Lady Sang.''

When a television the size of a living room came to life outside the Statehouse Convention Center with election returns at 7 p.m. and swiftly proclaimed Clinton the victor in more than a dozen Eastern states, the crowd erupted in a prolonged roar.

Clinton left the Governor's Mansion at 10:50 p.m., and was whisked by motorcade to the antebellum Old State House, where he delivered his acceptance speech in the unseasonable chill, his voice noticeably strained from laryngitis.

Even in victory, Clinton worked the crowd as tirelessly as he had when campaigning. He shook hundreds of hands and exchanged hugs and warm greetings with out-of-state campaign aides and longtime supporters alike.

Nervous Secret Service agents tried to reign in the movements of members of the Clinton and Gore families on several occasions, most notably when Vice President-elect Gore all but dived headfirst into the crowd, shaking hands and exchanging high-fives with members of the audience. An agent behind Gore repeatedly grabbed the hem of his jacket and pulled him back on stage.

After Clinton and Gore exchanged that first post-victory hug and the vice-president-elect said, ''Hi, pal. You look good,'' Clinton looked down at Gore's son, Albert III, 6, who was standing beside his father.

''Albert, are you proud of your father?'' the next president of the United States asked.

The young boy's eyes said that he was.

As Clinton then walked to the rear of what was once the Arkansas Capitol with his family, a look of panic flashed in the eyes of wife Hillary and she asked an aide to search her limousine for two pieces of paper.

''It had Bill's speech on it,'' she said in horror. Shortly thereafter, the aide returned with the paper she was seeking.

After Clinton delivered the acceptance speech, he and Gore traveled two blocks to a nearby hotel, where they met in private with a group of supporters and then proceeded to the Americas Watch Party and a still separate assembly of Arkansas Democrats.

''I knew Bill when he used to run in the streets,'' said Little Rock credit manager Philip Kramer, referring to the governor's well-publicized early-morning jogs through the city. ''The only loss is that Bill can no longer be Bill for a long time.''

The campaign has revealed almost no details about Clinton's transition from Little Rock to Washington. Campaign Director Bruce Lindsey hinted, however, that Little Rock figures prominently in the president-elect's plans by asking a producer for Cable News Network whether the broadcaster would be establishing a full-fledged bureau in the city.

Clinton is expected to flesh out his plans for the transition in a statement to be released Wednesday afternoon.

Arkansas Lt. Gov. Jim Guy Tucker, who ascends to the post of governor with Clinton's victory, held a private fund-raiser at which he sought to retire a longstanding campaign debt, which ironically stemmed from an unsuccessful gubernatorial bid against Clinton exactly one decade ago.