August 15: President Bill Clinton got the ultimate Hollywood honour - an Oscar - after his farewell performance to the Democratic National Convention on Monday."I want to give the Clinton family . the highest award Hollywood can give for an extraordinary performance - an Oscar for being the best president!" California Gov. Gray Davis said as he handed the golden statuette to the obviously delighted president.The Oscar appeared to be genuine, even though only the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has the right to give them out, and Clinton gave every indication that he planned to keep it."Let me say on behalf of my family we're honoured to have this Oscar," he said at a party on the Paramount Studios lot after his valedictory to the convention, which will tap Vice President Al Gore as the Democratic presidential nominee on Thursday.Clinton also joked about his recent foray into acting with a gag video he made in May that showed him moping around the White House, washing his limousine, cutting grass and watching his clothes spin dry as his White House days wind down.In one scene, Clinton stood in front of a mirror with an Oscar in hand pretending to rehearse his acceptance speech until a disdainful Kevin Spacey snatched the statuette away."He was ungracious enough to come and take it away from me just because he won it and I didn'T," the president said. "So now that I have one of my very own, I'll be able to lord it over him."The president hit the Hollywood circuit after giving a feisty and triumphal farewell speech to the Democratic National Convention, going to the heart of Tinseltown for a pair of parties on the Paramount lot.At the tail end of a four-day whirlwind of parties and political events leading up to his opening night address to the convention, Clinton joined big money donors, Hollywood stars and his White House staff for some late night fun.First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton joined Clinton on stage, as did their daughter Chelsea, smiling and waving to the about three thousand guests gathered on a set that incongruously blended facades of New York City with a line of palm trees.The president has reluctantly given up the spotlight to his Vice President Gore, who is fighting Republican Texas Gov. George W. Bush for the White House, and to his wife, who is running for the U.S. Senate from New York.In one sign that attention has already shifted from thepresident, guests began chanting "Hillary! Hillary! Hillary!" after Clinton received his Oscar."We have had a wonderful time," Clinton said. "From the places where we started to the places where we ended, it's been a great ride."
