Talking It Over

As I write this, my husband is working hard on the State of the Union message that he will deliver tonight. Yesterday, we both attended a child-care event here at the White House, after which I flew to New York to visit a wonderful after-school program and speak at a dinner honoring the U.S. Committee for UNICEF.

People ask me how we've managed to stay focused on our work this week while the White House grounds have been overrun by members of the press chasing one rumor after another. Let me try to explain.

First, we've been here before. Political opponents of my husband have tried, since the day he announced his candidacy for President, to defeat him with false accusations, rumor and innuendo. Experience has taught us both that with patience and faith, the truth will prevail.

Second, the White House has been overwhelmed by expressions of encouragement and support, each of which makes it easier to persevere.

And, finally, my husband was elected to be President of the United States. That's more than a full-time job, one which takes every ounce of concentration and energy he has to give. He cannot afford to be distracted by constant firestorms of allegations if he is to do the job he was sent to do.

The State of the Union address is one of the most important of the year, laying out, as it does, the President's vision for the direction of the nation. Contained in his speech are ideas and programs that will serve this country well into the next century. I was so pleased that the President chose this important address to highlight a project that's very important to me — Saving America's Treasures. That is what I had planned to write about this week and what I want to turn my attention to now.

Have you ever thought about what you'd grab first if your house were on fire? After making sure your family and pets were safe, most of you would probably want to save those items that are irreplaceable symbols of your family's history: photographs and old movies, yearbooks, precious nursery-school era artwork, baseball cards, your grandmother's love letters.

As I walk through the East Room of the White House, I often remember First Lady Dolly Madison, who, when the British burned the White House in 1814, rolled up the original Declaration of Independence and Gilbert Stuart's portrait of George Washington, saving them both for posterity.

Unlike Dolly Madison, this country isn't faced with a fire that could destroy the precious symbols of our past — instead, our past is literally crumbling, chipping and disintegrating away in our libraries, museums, archives, historic sites and private holdings.

We are confronted by a truly urgent need to save the documents, artifacts, buildings and sites that tell our history and preserve our identity as Americans.

The Star Spangled Banner, the flag that flew over Fort McHenry and inspired Francis Scott Key to write the poem that would become our National Anthem, is in serious need of restoration. The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights must be re-encased soon or will face deterioration.

The Monroe School in Topeka, Kan., which was desegregated by the landmark Supreme Court decision Brown vs. Board of Education, stands as one of the true monuments of the Civil Rights movement. But it is in such disrepair that it's unsuitable to tell the remarkable story that changed our nation.

Many of our prehistoric sites — like Mesa Verde, Colo., and Chaco Canyon, N.M. — need preservation to stabilize their ancient structures. And, according to the National Park Service, not only are Thomas Edison's house and laboratory in "dire" condition, but papers belonging to the father of modern science — including his letters and lab notes — are in need of cataloguing and proper storage.

Some 80 million brittle books in libraries and other collections need to be preserved through repair and microfilming, including 12 million that the National Endowment for the Humanities calls "unique and endangered."

As with the treasures in our own homes, these precious places and things — along with millions more tucked away in communities all across the nation — comprise the collective memory of America. We cannot save everything, but at the same time, we cannot allow this heritage — these symbols that bind us together — to be lost.

In celebration of the millennium, the White House is leading a national effort to showcase the achievements and events that define us as a nation. The White House Millennium Council, which I lead, will provide every American with opportunities to learn our history, preserve our cultural heritage and give permanent gifts to the future.

As part of the celebration, the President included in his State of the Union address a national initiative called "Save America's Treasures," which will direct public and private funding to our nation's most urgent preservation needs as identified by federal and state agencies.

I hope each of you will participate in this unique opportunity to save our historical and cultural legacy so that we can take it with us into the next millennium. Perhaps there's a monument in your town square covered in graffiti, a cemetery overgrown with weeds, a historic building threatened by development, a library lacking in resources, a piece of art tucked away, historic photographs yellowing in a county clerk's file cabinet.

This initiative gives every American, from the kindergarten class to the corporate board, the opportunity to be part of our Millennium celebration.

The President has asked each of us to make a gift to the future. I can't think of a better gift than Saving America's Treasures.

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