Clinton raises $400,000 in whirlwind LV visit

Monday, May 17, 1999 | 11:35 a.m.

President Clinton left Las Vegas this morning after a 15-hour, overnight fund-raising visit that collected about $400,000 for the Democratic National Committee.

Air Force One headed back to Washington shortly after 8:30 a.m. Clinton departed several hours ahead of schedule without getting in a planned round of golf.

The visit ended a weekend fund-raising blitz in the West that netted more than $3 million for the Democratic Party and saw the president stress the need for tougher safety measures and a greater "community awareness" in America in the wake of the mass killings in Littleton, Colo.

Clinton hit on that theme at two fund-raisers in Las Vegas -- a $1,000-a-person champagne reception at the Canyon Gate home of Dr. Elias Ghanem -- and a $25,000-a-couple dinner at the Henderson home of Las Vegas Sun Editor Brian Greenspun. Both are good friends of the president.

At Ghanem's 6 p.m. reception, attended by about 100 local VIPs, the president said he found it interesting that the country is in the middle of a high-tech revolution that is changing the lives of everyone, but it still can't overcome "one of the oldest demons" of human society.

"What bedevils us is the darkness of the heart, the fear of the other," he said. "When you strip it all away, it starts with 'You're different than me, and I'm afraid of you and therefore I don't like you.'

"It is easy for us to demonize others. But the truth is every one of us gets up every day with a little light and a little darkness inside, and it's almost like we're on scales and we fight this lifelong battle to make sure the light always outweighs the darkness on the scales.

"If I were given one wish," Clinton added, "I would say I would like to build a stronger sense of community in America, and I would like to do something to advance a sense of common humanity around the world. Because if we can do that, you and people like you all over the other country would take care of the other problems."

The president also defended his actions concerning the war in Kosovo. As his motorcade entered Canyon Gate, it was greeted by two dozen demonstrators, carrying signs that said "Stop the Bombing" and "Bring the Troops Home."

"We can't stop every war," Clinton told the donors. "But on the eve of the 21st century, we should say, you know we don't have to like each other around the world, but we won't tolerate mass killing based on religious, racial and ethnic differences," he said.

"I know that in a world where we're used to seeing the news be different every day, it is frustrating to some people that this difficulty in Kosovo is not yet done.

"But I can tell you this. I would far rather be here today, where we are standing up against ethnic cleansing ... than if I were asking you to give money to me into our party and we were sitting on our hands enjoying the sunshine and I had not lifted a finger to stop it."

Top Democratic officeholders -- among them Sens. Harry Reid and Richard Bryan, Rep. Shelley Berkley, Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa and Las Vegas Mayor Jan Laverty Jones -- were on hand for the president's remarks at Ghanem's home. So were a couple of Republicans: City Councilman Larry Brown and political consultant Sig Rogich, who worked in President Bush's White House.

As the president's limousine was leaving Canyon Gate, it made an unscheduled stop to let off Jones, who saw her children walking to Ghanem's home. Clinton got out with the mayor and posed for photos with a few residents, then kissed Jones goodbye on the cheek before speeding off in the motorcade.

From Canyon Gate, the president traveled across town to Greenspun's Henderson home.

There, Clinton and about 30 guests had an intimate dinner, designed by Hollywood chef Wolfgang Puck. The guests dined on roasted salmon and pan-roasted tenderloin.

Clinton spent two hours chatting with people such as Harrah's executive Claudine Williams, Polo Towers President Stephen Cloobeck and Harvey Whittemore, a Democratic Party activist and casino-industry lobbyist.

Greenspun, who went to college with the president, described him as a good friend of Nevada, who has been instrumental in helping the state fight the high-level nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain.

America, Greenspun said, wants leaders with "instinct, intellect and intuition."

"In all three ways you excel," he told Clinton. "And that's the kind of leadership this country needs. That's the kind of leadership that's going to take us through all of these challenges that we face at the end of the Cold War and coming into the next millennium."

Greenspun, a Republican who is considering running for the Senate as a Democrat in 2000, added: "You are a man who is unafraid to face danger, whether it's political social, military, whatever, and face it head on and deal with it. And that is very refreshing in this country."

Clinton addressed the guests at about 10:30 p.m., telling them that "ideas" and "vision" matter in politics and that the Democratic Party is in touch with the American people.

He again talked about the wave of hate and violence sweeping through the country and need to defend the Kosovars in Yugoslavia.

The president stayed overnight at Greenspun's home.