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Clinton cuts short
his Hawaii visit

A one-day delay in his
schedule will allow for only
a brief stop here

---

Staff and wire reports

Bill Clinton apparently is passing up a chance to golf here Monday on his way to Asia as planned.

The president will stop in Hawaii only briefly because of a one-day delay in leaving on his trip, according to a Reuters report from Washington.

He was due to leave Washington tomorrow and stop for a day in Hawaii before going to Brunei for an economic summit. Now he plans to leave Washington Monday morning.

Clinton had planned to golf at Mauna Lani's north course -- one of his favorite courses -- with Gov. Ben Cayetano, former Gov. John Waihee and Big Island Mayor Stephen Yamashiro.

With the rescheduling, the White House says he will make only a brief stop in Hawaii before going on to Brunei, arriving there Tuesday night about the same time as originally planned.

It wasn't known immediately if Clinton's stop will be on the Big Island or on Oahu. Yamashiro said today that he has had no direct word about the change in the president's plans.

"I had a tentative call from his liaison in Kona that we're trying to follow up on," Yamashiro said.

He said he was told Clinton's arrival has been delayed until Monday. "As far as I know, he is still coming here, but that's not confirmed."

Clinton's daughter, Chelsea, is expected to travel with him to Asia, and Mrs. Clinton had planned to join them in Vietnam.

National Security Council spokesman P.J. Crowley said the delay was due to personal reasons. The recount in Florida to determine who won Tuesday's presidential election had nothing to do with it, he said.

"It's a personal decision, given Senator-elect (Hillary Rodham) Clinton's victory," he said. "They have decided to spend extra time here, and (Clinton) will depart Monday."

The first lady was elected Tuesday as a U.S. senator representing New York. She is the first president's wife to win an elected office.

Crowley provided no further details on Clinton's plans.

The president will meet about midday tomorrow with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak to try to stop the violence in the Middle East.

He will participate in a Nov. 15-16 Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Brunei and hold separate meetings with leaders of Russia, South Korea, Japan and China.

He will become the first American president to visit the reunified Vietnam when he visits that nation Nov. 17-19.

The president's Hawaii stop will be his seventh and probably last trip to the islands as president.