Addressing himself "to the militias and to others who believe this, to those nearby and those far away," Mr. Clinton told more than 30,000 people in Spartan Stadium here that most such groups had not broken the law, and acknowledged that "you have every right -- indeed, you have the responsibility -- to question our Government when you disagree with its policies."

But he told those among the cheering crowd that they, not paramilitary groups, were the "real Michigan," which he described as "Kellogg's Corn Flakes and the best cherries in the world."

Resplendent in the royal blue robes of Yale Law School, his alma mater, with a freshly minted honorary doctorate of laws in hand, the President was unsparing in his scorn for any who would take the law into their own hands.

"I say this to the militias and all others who believe that the greatest threat to freedom comes from the Government instead of those who would take away our freedom: If you say violence is an acceptable way to make change, you are wrong," Mr. Clinton said. "If you say that Government is in a conspiracy to take your freedom away, you are just plain wrong.

"If you treat law-enforcement officers who put their lives on the line for your safety every day like some kind of enemy army to be suspected, derided and, if they should enforce the law against you, to be shot, you are wrong."