Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 27, 1994 TAG: 9402010250
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Most of his speech was, moreover, an undisguised sales job for his administration's record and proposals. Despite the length of his address - as usual, too long - Clinton left his policy-wonk hat at home. He didn't argue intricacies. His was a political, at times partisan, appeal for his presidency, its successes and prospects.
So what? This State of the Union speech was still a humdinger.
It was so in part because Clinton has cause to celebrate chunks of his record. It was so, too, because the address was delivered by an activist president showing what he stands for, what he believes in, what he wants to do.
And it was a humdinger because Clinton was not just talking to, and asking something from, Congress, Washington and politicians. He was talking to the American people, and he was asking something of them, too.
The weakest part of the speech, tellingly, was Clinton's desultory, unconvincing discussion of foreign policy. From Haiti to Bosnia, the world needs strong, assertive leadership from an American president. This president talked only vaguely about helping new democracies and about his uncreative military budget.
He preferred to dwell on the economy: lower interest rates; rising investment, sales, employment. Which are not entirely Clinton's doing, of course. But he has had an impact. And other achievements - freer trade, family leave, national service, the Brady Bill, a start toward cutting bureaucracy and reversing the trend of rising federal deficits - were ones a one-year president could point to with pride, and did.
Clinton forcefully defended his non-negotiable position on health-care reform: that some kind of basic coverage be extended universally. He implicitly signaled that everything else, including employer mandates and the nature of consumer purchasing alliances, is open to discussion.
Clinton may have overpromised, a recurring problem with him, when he pledged to reform welfare this year. It's hard to imagine Congress overhauling both health care and welfare in an election year. Still, Clinton seems committed to ending welfare as we know it - in his view, an opportunity, not a threat.
Clinton talked about crime partly, doubtless, because polls show it worries Americans greatly. But as a "New Democrat," Clinton has talked about crime before, just without the visibility of this yearly speech.
Most reassuring about his talk was his return to themes of conscience and personal responsibility. Ronald Reagan, the great communicator, appealed to nostalgia and pride. Clinton communicates best when he appeals to Americans' understanding that they owe something to their country.
Of course, taking credit for a rebounding economy is no great challenge - and passion doesn't always convey prudence. Clinton connected, though, when he talked about "family, work and community," and how their breakdown has left a vacuum filled by crime, violence and drugs. He was right to note, with regard to teen pregnancy and runaway fathers, that "governments don't raise children, families do."
He did not say this to counsel official neglect. He was saying that, whether from the welfare/poverty trap, crime and community decay, or poor access to health care, people must participate in their own rescue. This is a theme Clinton has expressed before, and should again. It is central to improving the state of the union.
by CNB