ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, August 18, 1996 TAG: 9608190087
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: JACKSON, WYO.
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
NOTE: Lede
President Clinton launched his first full-bore attack on Bob Dole on Saturday, calling his $550 billion tax cut plan an ``indiscriminate'' and reckless proposal likely to hurt the economy.
Clinton, who is ending his weeklong vacation in the shadow of the Grand Tetons, maintained a resolute silence during the Republican National Convention in San Diego.
But he reclaimed his voice in his weekly radio address, contending the Dole plan would wreck the chances for a balanced budget, impose unacceptable cuts in Medicare, Medicaid and education, raise interest rates, and place the economy and environment at risk.
In contrast, the president said his own more modest plan for a targeted $110 billion tax cut would permit the budget to be balanced by 2002 and keep the economy healthy while protecting Medicare and Medicaid and investing in education and the environment.
Shortly after the president spoke, the Clinton-Gore campaign released a tough new ad saying that without Clinton in the Oval Office, the Republicans could and would slash and eliminate vital government programs.
The escalated radio address and the release of the ad were the clearest signs yet that candidate Clinton had begun his re-election campaign in earnest.
The Dole-Kemp campaign responded quickly.
``It's no surprise that a man who levied the largest tax increase in history would find fault with a plan that puts more money into the hands of Americans,'' said spokeswoman Christina Martin. ``Bill Clinton may think tax cuts are irresponsible, but Bob Dole knows tax cuts are key to giving American families control of their money, their lives and their dreams.''
Dole himself went even further: ``They're trying to scare the American people about my pro-growth economic plan,'' he said at the Illinois State Fair. ``The only people who are really scared ... are the Democrats in the White House. ... They've given you lower wages, economic anxiety and the largest tax increase in the history of the world.''
Actually, adjusted for inflation, the largest U.S. tax increase since World War II came in 1982 under President Reagan. It was written principally by Dole, who then was chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.
In the radio address, Clinton said it is clear Americans do deserve a tax cut.
``But we must choose between a tax cut that responsibly balances the budget and one that puts the economy at risk; between one that is targeted to help working families pay for education, health care and other pressing needs, and one that is indiscriminate,'' he said.
Clinton said the worst possibility is that the Dole plan might not be fully paid for through cuts in government programs, ``bringing back those bad old days of out-of-control interest deficits, high interest rates, slow growth or recession.''
Clinton's attack was his harshest and most comprehensive to date. Last week in California, he had used a gentler approach, comparing the Dole tax plan to ``going to the candy store'' and choosing a little of everything. ``Eat it all at once, and you might get sick,'' he said then.
Comparing the two plans in the radio address, Clinton said his tax cut is limited in size while Dole's is five times as large.
``We can afford ours; we can't afford theirs,'' he said.
Clinton contended that under his plan, millions of middle-class families with children in college, or with adults in educational programs, would get a bigger tax cut than under the Dole plan.
``And my tax cut is paid for with specific, tough budget cuts consistent with the balanced budget plan,'' Clinton said. ``Our opponents haven't said how they'll pay for their tax cut yet.''
``Now if they don't pay for it, their plan would balloon the deficit,'' Clinton said.
And he said that would increase interest rates, slow the economy and cost jobs.
Clinton said the Dole plan ``would mean higher cuts in Medicare, Medicaid, education and the environment than we have already proposed.''
LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Republican vice presidential candidate Jack Kempby CNBtosses another football to a crowd at the Illinois State Fair in
Springfield on Saturday. Clinton called the Dole tax cut plan
"irresponsible" Saturday. color. KEYWORDS: POLITICS PRESIDENT