Mr. Clinton Goes to Canoga Park: Notes on a Presidential Visit : Thanks to the luck of the draw, an aerospace engineer wins the right to wait hours for the chief executive’s address to Rocketdyne workers on the future of their industry.

“Didja hear that President Clinton is gonna be at Rocketdyne on Saturday?”

Yes, Bill Clinton would participate in a business round-table, then address Rocketdyne employees. An employee ticket lottery would be held first thing Friday.

I entered it. It isn’t every day I can see the leader of the newly free world--and, incidentally, the man who controls Rocketdyne’s budget. I wanted to hear firsthand what he thought of defense conversion and the space station. A lot of futures, including mine, depend on this guy.

Around 9 a.m. Friday, the boss called to say that I was in. I can’t exactly say today that I’m a Friend of Bill, but I did join the thousands of Americans who’ve had brushes with our hard-traveling President.

*

Friday afternoon I picked up my badge and instructions on what to wear (dress casually), where to park (the company lot), what not to bring (signs) and how to act (cooperative).

Some notes on The Event:

Saturday, 10:30 a.m.--Arrival. Parking lot full. Line of employees snakes around lot into the cavernous building where many of them build space shuttle engines. I find parking place across the street at Topanga Plaza, walk past bunch of protesters, join line.

Forty-five minutes later--Inside! Floor is packed in front of temporary dais. Company veeps elbow-to-elbow with bean counters. Manager in suit clings to massive milling machine, hanging onto control knob. Secretary balances precariously on toolbox, leaving machinist to deduce Monday why top is concave. I scramble atop hooded workbench to sit on a motor-housing cover. View mediocre but unobstructable, as real estate ads say.

Noon--Rocketdyne VIP says Clinton is 20 minutes behind schedule. VIP’s candor draws scattered polite applause.

12:20--VIP tries to quell restlessness by saying round-table is breaking up “even as I speak to you.” Significant applause as he guarantees this is his last appearance.

12:47--Crowd fidgety, begins rhythmic clapping. I wonder if we’ll do The Wave.

1:05--Machinist with “We Need Our Space” button speculates Clinton has detoured to Topanga Plaza food court. Lucky few in temporary bleachers wear sunglasses, shielding eyes from overhead lights.

1:20--Mike check by guy in dark suit. Applause.

1:25--Suit brings out glass of water. Sporadic, unenthusiastic applause.

1:31--Suit conveys presidential seal to front of podium, installs, steps back for seal check, readjusts, departs. All eyes follow. Enthusiasm builds. Momentum is shifting.

1:34--Mike check by suit. Rejuvenated crowd joins in count up to 3 and backward to 1.

1:36--Press photogs swarm platform near podium. Boos from workers with blocked views.

1:40--VIPs agglomerate. Dais resembles suit department.

1:47--No. 1 black suit tries to explain delay. I remember Clinton is always late, wonder if suit is official White House personal apologist.

1:50--Suit sets notes on podium. Perfunctory applause.

1:55--Authoritative voice intones, “Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States!”

1:55:15--”Looks just like him,” someone says. Yep.

The President strode onto the dais accompanied by Rockwell International President Don Beall. Clinton’s hair looked better than anyone else’s in the place. The lesser president introduced the greater one while a translator for the hearing-impaired signed. Those of us off to the right could have benefited from sign language too, since despite all the mike checks, the vast shop swallowed up the President’s words.

Clinton launched into his speech and I cupped my hand to my ear.

In 18 minutes, his hands chopping the air and his eyes darting occasionally to notes, he touched on defense conversion, taxes, employment, housing, jobs, the information superhighway, new technology, the North American Free Trade Agreement, worker productivity, overseas marketing, technology reinvestment, fuel-efficient autos, health care, interest rates, the Brady bill, crime control, family disintegration, tariff reduction. Then he swung by defense conversion again.

Whew.

Post-speech, he waded into the crowd to press the flesh, with mike booms hanging over him like fishing poles angling for quotes.

*

The show didn’t last long and the seating could have been better, but I left satisfied. He had endorsed both defense conversion and the space station and, more important, he had taken the time to address the people who designed and built the engines whose exhaust thawed the Cold War. These are folks who put footprints on the moon but are afraid of tomorrow’s economic uncertainties.

Clinton didn’t give us the Gettysburg Address, but he voiced concern for this country, its people and today’s problems. We could do worse.

As I walked back to my car at Topanga Plaza, my fellow employees looked typically Southern California, stuck in the parking lot. These were probably the same people who got a good view and heard everything.

Justice was served.