Clinton’s LV stop was a brief one

Monday, Oct. 4, 1999 | 10:56 a.m.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Marine Corps Reserve Cpl. Cornell Madison Jr. figured he'd never get a chance to use the salute he learned for his commander-in-chief.

But there he was at McCarran International airport Friday afternoon, standing a stone's throw from Air Force One, saluting President Clinton.

For real.

"I popped to attention and said, 'Good afternoon sir. My name is Cpl. Cornell Madison reporting to the commander-in-chief as requested, sir.' " Madison recalled later that day.

"It was a rush. It was the best day of my life," the 24-year-old Las Vegas resident said.

Madison shook hands and spoke briefly with the president, who was in Las Vegas Friday as part of a whirlwind fund-raising trip through Nevada and California.

Madison was afforded the honor because of his heroic rescue of 13 people during the July floods. Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, who also greeted Clinton at the airport, arranged the meeting.

Goodman, who was being trailed by a crew from the "60 Minutes" television program for an upcoming segment, spent the minutes before Air Force One landed shaking hands and joking with the knot of press people and Secret Service agents who also waited.

He looked like Mr. Vegas himself, in a slick black suit streaked with teal pinstripes.

"It's a mob suit," the mayor said. "It's from the old days. I got it from a client."

He wasn't kidding. He opened the coat to show the "Hand-tailored for Oscar Goodman" embroidered inside.

Clinton traveled to Las Vegas to speak at a $10,000-a-plate luncheon for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign committee. The event was hosted in the Eiffel Tower restaurant at the new Paris Las Vegas. It raised $300,000 from its 30 paying guests.

Secret Service agents arrived several days before the president to check out the restaurant and figure out the logistics. They settled on using a single elevator, which let people off into the kitchen and carried about a dozen passengers.

At least, it carried that many regular people. If those passengers also happened to be laden with television cameras, tripods and assorted other bags, it held fewer. It took three to four loads to move the entire press corps, many of whom traveled from Washington.

This proved a challenge for the kitchen staff who also needed to use the elevator for last-minute luncheon preparations. Many had been working since 4 a.m.

"Could I get into this first wave please?" one kitchen worker asked, trying to remain calm and polite. "I've got onion soup burning downstairs. And if the onion soup burns, my boss will have my ass in a sling."

While enroute to Las Vegas, Clinton promised Nevada Democratic Sens. Harry Reid and Richard Bryan that he would veto a plan to store nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain.

In his speech Clinton touched on a host of foreign and domestic issues and urged Democrats to stay on track.

"This is a different and better country than it was in 1992, and I'm grateful that I had a role to play in it," Clinton said. "It wasn't because of me; it was because what we did was the right thing to do."

By 4 p.m., Clinton's motorcade headed back to McCarran -- on a freeway closed to all traffic -- where the president boarded Air Force One bound for California.

He spent the rest of weekend golfing and attended two more fund-raising events, pulling in an estimated $2.5 million for the Democratic Party and its candidates.