Clinton to say farewell to nation Thursday

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Clinton will make a prime-time farewell address on Thursday night, a White House spokesman says. The 5- to 7-minute speech will be a "thank you, goodbye" to the American public.

The White House on Monday asked TV networks to provide the on-air time so Clinton could make the prime-time address before Saturday's inauguration of George W. Bush.

A White House spokesman said the president will speak from the Oval Office at 8 p.m. on Thursday.

"He wants to thank the American people for their support over the years and talk a bit about all the good work we have done to change America for the better," White House spokesman Jake Siewert said. "He wants to say goodbye to the American people."

On Monday Clinton marked the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday by encouraging Americans to perform community service as a way to improve race relations, and sending Congress 26 pages of recommendations for how to deal with the "unfinished work of building one America."

CNN and CNN.com will provide live coverage of Thursday's speech.