'Farewell' Address Set by President : Transition: Bush will deliver a foreign policy speech Dec. 15 at a Texas university, with perhaps two more later. Effort may help bolster his image.

By JAMES GERSTENZANG

Dec. 5, 1992 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

WASHINGTON —

With President-elect Bill Clinton’s inauguration in sight, George Bush is preparing for the final weeks of his presidency and will deliver at least one major address presenting his view of the world as he leaves office.

Using Dwight D. Eisenhower’s famous “military-industrial complex” address as a model, Bush is expected to give one such “farewell” speech--and possibly as many as three--in the coming weeks. The themes would draw on his three decades in national office and turn a national spotlight on “the challenges we’ll be looking at” in coming years and the “post-Cold War world missions for the United States,” an aide said.

Supporters believe the speeches could begin the process of repairing Bush’s image, battered by the recession in his final year in office and the results at the polls a month ago.

“I would look at it as the first foray into the kinds of things he should do as someone who has served the country all these years and as someone who has served in the White House,” said a White House aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Bush’s focus on the future--as well as the renewed flurry of activity in the Oval Office as he assembled a military operation to Somalia--reflect the renewed energy he is devoting to his job in the final weeks.

“There was a natural ebb after the election,” the official said.

But now, despite the weariness apparent in his face, the 68-year-old President is said to have regained the bounce in his step as he devotes his newfound energy to the opportunities remaining to him in December and January.

The demands of deploying as many as 28,000 U.S. troops to Somalia, and gaining international support and contributions for the United Nations mission, were said by one presidential adviser to have reminded Bush that despite his lame-duck status, he has a job to do.

“It brought home to him that his moment in history is not yet over, and he has a lot of wisdom and experience to apply to the challenges we are still facing,” he said.

A White House official said Bush will deliver a foreign policy speech on Dec. 15 at Texas A&M; University. He also tentatively plans a second foreign policy address in January at one of the military service academies and a domestic policy speech on the state of the nation as he bids it farewell.

Texas A&M; was chosen because the institution in College Station, Tex., will be home to his presidential library and was the site of one of the first major foreign policy addresses of his presidency. Besides, said a senior White House official, the White House felt Bush could count on a friendly reception from the largely conservative student body.

The idea of presenting his view of the world and the state of the nation percolated among Bush’s advisers in the weeks after the election, and one former presidential assistant, James Cicconi, argued strongly in favor of a speech at the Texas school.

In his speech there in 1989, Bush recognized that “a new breeze is blowing across the steppes and the cities of the Soviet Union.” He challenged then-Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev to take concrete moves toward new openings with the West. And he summed up the four months of Administration review of the U.S.-Soviet relationship that marked the beginning of his presidency.

The overall goal of the upcoming Texas speech, said one person familiar with its preparation, is to offer a new generation of leaders the insights of a President whose generation was born before the Great Depression, fought World War II and saw the end of the Cold War.

“It’s not a bad idea, as a baby boomer comes into the Oval Office, to remind the next generation whose shoulders he’s standing on,” this source said.

Thirty-two years ago, at much the same generational watershed, Eisenhower delivered a radio address to the nation three days before he turned over the White House to John F. Kennedy. He called on the nation to “guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex.” It became his best-remembered address.

The details of Bush’s speech remain to be worked out.

“There is a lot of hallway talk,” one aide said, “that we make our case” for the record of the Bush Administration.

Inauguration Events

Events scheduled in connection with the presidential inauguration: SUNDAY, JAN. 17

Morning service in Charlottesville, Va.

Tour of Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello.

President-elect Bill Clinton travels by bus from Monticello to Washington, following the path Jefferson took in beginning his presidency 200 years ago.

“America’s Reunion on the Mall,” an outdoor festival featuring regional foods, music and crafts and highlighting America’s cultural diversity.

“A Call for Reunion,” concert and fireworks at Lincoln Memorial.

MONDAY, JAN. 18

Diplomatic reception at Georgetown University.

“American Citizen’s Lunch,” people whose lives touched Clinton and his wife, Hillary, during the campaign meet with the Clintons.

Inaugural dinners.

“The American Gala,” entertainment at the Capital Centre. Free, but tickets required due to limited space.

TUESDAY, JAN. 19

Governors’ luncheon at the Library of Congress.

“Salute to Children,” John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Free, tickets required.

“Salute to Youth,” Kennedy Center. Free, tickets required.

Presidential gala at the Capital Centre.