President Bill Clinton is to give his farewell address to the nation tonight, thanking the country for his eight years in office and wishing president-elect George W. Bush well.
In speech to be broadcast nationally, Mr Clinton is expected to recall his initial promise to renew America and highlight progress the country has made during his term, said White House spokesman Mr Jake Siewert.
Mr Clinton leaves office on Saturday, turning over the White House to Mr Bush. The speech was expected to last about seven minutes - a very brief address, especially by Mr Clinton's loquacious standards.
He is not expected to refer to the Monica Lewinsky scandal that led to his trial and acquittal as only the second president to be impeached.
"I think he will thank the American people for standing by him, their support over the last eight years, through thick and thin, but I think this is meant to reflect on the good work that's been accomplished here and what the future holds", Mr Siewert said.
While Mr Clinton was putting the final touches on his speech, his White House staff was busy packing up boxes and hauling them out of their offices. Staffers said goodbyes, joked about future plans and cleaned off computer hard-drives for the archives ahead of the Bush team's arrival.
The president and first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton also gave a heartfelt tribute to their secret service bodyguards.
The speech will probably be the most widely covered of Mr Clinton's many farewell events, but it will not be the last. Tomorrow the president plans to tape his regular weekly address for broadcast on Saturday, less than two hours before his term expires at noon.
After the inauguration, the president will give a farewell to his staff at Andrews Air Force Base then fly to Kennedy airport in New York, where he will address another crowd of well-wishers.
Reuters