
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, August 11, 1993                   TAG: 9309110287
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

CLINTON MUST REACH OUT TO GOP

SIX MONTHS into his presidency, as even his own pollster concedes, Bill Clinton has yet to ``pass the threshold of public approval.'' There are many reasons for this, many of them of Clinton's own making. But surely one source of his poor poll results is the fact that he has asked Americans for a little sacrifice.

A very little, to be sure. Less than a nickel on the gasoline tax, for example: an absurdly low increase. A 50-cent hike in the gas tax, as Sen. Charles Robb has proposed, would have really put a dent in the federal deficit while accomplishing other good things, such as reducing reliance on foreign oil and promoting alternative energy sources.

But even the small burdens imposed by the new budget, a mix of tax increases and spending cuts, have been characterized by shrill Republicans, in obstructionist lock-step, as yet more ``tax-and-spend.'' Indeed, public perceptions of the legislation - as well as, to some extent, the legislation itself - have been significantly shaped by lobbyists' and politicians' brattiness.

Perfection is not possible among humans, yet Clinton got trashed from all sides for trying to work out responsible compromises when his ideal - and others' ideal - solutions remained out of reach in a government purposefully encumbered with checks and balances.

Republicans stayed unanimous in partisan opposition, without offering a realistic alternative or conceding any culpability in having helped to create the deficit albatross that now burdens the country and stifles government initiative. (It's not Clinton's fault that the national debt went from $1 trillion to $4 trillion in the past 12 years.)

Militant liberal lobbies in the Democratic Party, including some feminists, gays, blacks, environmentalists and unionists, bitterly decried any deviations from their politically correct agendas, as though Clinton had become their enemy and betrayed their hopes. (Were they thinking there'd be a revolution?)

Democracy works in increments. If the new budget has serious flaws, it at least moves the country in the right direction - not as far as we and many others would like, but at least away from the alternative direction, which is continued gridlock. If the budget package calls for (mostly small) sacrifices, it does so in the interest of future generations.

And it does so in relatively fair fashion. As a preliminary analysis by the tax preparers, H&R Block, indicates, the income tax liabilities of those who gained inordinately during the 1980s will increase, but middle incomes won't be much affected, and an expanded earned-income-tax credit will help lift low-wage households out of poverty and provide an incentive to work. This is appropriate.

Low poll ratings notwithstanding, Clinton has gotten liberalized voter registration through Congress, along with family leave, and is making progress on campaign-finance reform. After some bad missteps, he has made several excellent appointments, including to the Justice Department and Supreme Court.

Now, even tougher challenges loom, testament to Clinton's willingness to tackle problems others have chosen to evade. He says he wants to reform welfare, to increase incentives to work - and make the federal government ``leaner, smarter and more efficient'' with the help of a ``reinventing-government'' task force headed by Vice President Al Gore. Meanwhile, health-care reform awaits.

So far, Clinton has been doing a good job. But he passed his budget just barely. For continued progress in the next six months, he'll need Republicans' help. That will take a determination by both parties to think more about the country's long-term interests, and a determination by the public to demand bipartisan cooperation.

by CNB