LIMBAUGH TELLS GRADS OF WHITE HOUSE VISIT

President Bush has a sense of humor when it comes to as-yet-undeclared presidential candidate Ross Perot.

Nationally syndicated radio talk-show personality Rush Limbaugh III told Cape Girardeau Central High School graduates Friday night that he recently spent the night at the White House where he did his impersonation of Perot.

Limbaugh, a 1969 alumnus of Central High School, delivered the commencement address to the 284 graduating seniors at the Show Me Center. About 3,700 people attended the graduation ceremony.

Valedictorian Deborah Soun Chung and Salutatorian Mala Ahuja also spoke to the graduating class.

This marked the second time that Limbaugh has delivered the Central High School commencement address. He was the commencement speaker in 1989.

In his address Friday, Limbaugh gave his impersonation of Perot answering questions from the press about global warming.

"Everybody knows that if it gets hot, all you do is cool it off," Limbaugh said, impersonating Perot.

Limbaugh said Bush laughed at his antics. The conservative radio personality said he and the president also spent time watching video tapes of "Saturday Night Live" skits about Perot's presidential campaign.

Limbaugh said he spent the night at the White House, sleeping in a bedroom that had once been used by Abraham Lincoln.

He recalled sitting at the desk where Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg address and reflecting on his visit with Bush.

"I have just spent the night discussing politics and the future of this country with the president of the United States," he said.

"Please don't listen to those who say that America is full of misery," Limbaugh told the graduating seniors.

He urged the graduates to pursue their goals, noting that the path to success is not always easy.

"Folks, for 17 years in radio I was a miserable failure," he said. But he added, "I remained dedicated to my desires and I pursued that which I was best at.

"Life is not fair, folks, and if you spend your time trying to make the playing field even, you're never going to excel.

"You have to accept life as it is," he said.

"A relentless pursuit of excellence is what you should have, not a relentless pursuit for equality."