121 -- Global View - Presidential Speech

Good evening, my fellow Americans. Three days from now, after a half-century of service of our country, I shall lay down the responsibilities of of- fice as, in a traditional and solemn ceremony, the authority of the Presidency is vested in my suc- cessor. This evening I come to you with a mes- sage of leave-taking and farewell, and to share a few final thoughts with you, my countrymen.

Like every other citizen, I wish the new President, and all who will labor with him, Godspeed. I pray that the coming years will be blessed with peace and prosperity for all.

Our people expect their President and the Congress to find essential agreement on ques- tions of great importance, the wise resolution of which will better shape the future of our great nation. My own relations with Congress began on a remote and tenuous basis when, long ago, a member of the Senate appointed me to West Point. I then had the pleasure of building more in- timate relationship with Congress during the war and immediate post-war period. Finally, we have progressed to the mutually interdependent rela- tionship we’ve had during these past eight years.