Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 25, 1995 TAG: 9501250082
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
In a political drama unseen for 40 years, President Clinton went before a distrusting Republican Congress on Tuesday night and appealed for common ground to make ``dramatic change in our economy, in our government and in ourselves.''
The upheaval wrought by the Republican election landslide was visible throughout the president's State of the Union address - from the moment Speaker Newt Gingrich took the gavel to the striking silence that often greeted Clinton from the GOP.
At one point, Republicans even booed. About 20 of them left before Clinton finished talking. Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole said afterward that while Clinton's message was important, ``the more important and most powerful message remains the one the American people delivered in November.''
Drawing his own conclusions about the last two elections, Clinton said: ``We didn't hear America singing. We heard America shouting.
``Now we must say: We hear you. We will work together to earn your trust.''
Clinton was the first Democrat since Harry Truman to face a Republican Congress, and the White House viewed his 80-minute speech as a crucial step in rebuilding his troubled presidency.
``Mr. President, welcome to the House,'' said Gingrich, the Republican leader who has dominated the capital for 11 weeks.
However, Republicans sat on their hands when Clinton boasted that, thanks to his efforts, the country was stronger than it was two years ago. The GOP greeted his call for an increase in the minimum wage with cold silence.
In his most emphatic statement, Clinton said he would not permit Congress to roll back last year's ban on assault weapons. ``I will not let that be repealed,'' he said. It was as close as he came to threatening a veto of GOP legislation.
Acknowledging the failure of his health-reform bill last year, Clinton conceded, ``We bit off more than we could chew.'' But he refused to entirely abandon what was once his top priority.
Instead, he called for a step-by-step approach to insurance reforms to ensure that Americans do not lose coverage when they change jobs or get sick. Specifically, he said he wanted to work with Dole, who, Clinton said, has a longtime commitment to health reform.
New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, who has rocketed to political stardom with a tax-cutting plan, gave the Republican response. She said a revolution is sweeping the country in which ``people want less government, lower taxes and less spending from the federal government.''
She said it was Republicans who were delivering on those demands, and admonished Clinton, ``You must accept it as well.''
Whitman said some of the president's ideas sounded ``pretty Republican,'' but she recalled that Clinton raised taxes, increased spending and opposes a balanced-budget amendment. The November elections, she said, ``sounded a warning for the president.''
Stressing the need for cooperation, Clinton said, ``We must have dramatic change in our economy, in our government and in ourselves.''
Clinton urged a national campaign to combat teen pregnancy. And, to cut down on illegal immigration, he proposed creation of a national data bank to help employers verify the identification of prospective workers.
He pledged to seek a raise in the minimum wage from the current $4.25 an hour, but shied from mentioning a specific pay scale; GOP leaders oppose it. Clinton favors a boost to $5 over two years, aides said.
Clinton said members of Congress have been on the job less than a month but already have earned what someone earning only the minimum wage makes in a year.
``The plain fact is, you can't make a living on $4.25 an hour, especially if you have kids to support,'' Clinton said.
Memo: NOTE: Above