Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 16, 1994 TAG: 9401160011
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: TERENCE HUNT ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Long
Both stories have the same ingredients: lots of action, suspense, ups and downs, near-death rescues and a happy ending.
The jury's still out on the happy ending, but Clinton has endured 12 rocky months filled with controversies, criticism and compromises - and emerged with a string of victories. He's also wiser to the ways of Washington.
"My biggest surprise coming here was that you can read all the books you want to about the presidency, you can talk to all the people . . . [but] until you've operated in this environment, you cannot possibly mentally prepare for it," he said. "You just can't do it."
At the one-year mark Clinton has an impressive legislative record on bitterly fought issues: a $495 billion deficit-reduction package, the North American Free Trade Agreement, the GATT world trade accord, and the Brady handgun-control law.
A round of year-end polls showed that the legislative successes helped offset personal image problems that continue to plague his presidency.
Clinton signed a family-leave bill allowing workers to take time off for childbirth, adoption or illnesses of loved ones. The "motor-voter" act makes it easier to register to vote. A national service bill will allow some students to repay college loans with volunteer work - though the program was drastically reduced from what Clinton wanted.
Republicans demanded some of the credit. "Republicans made a difference," boasted Senate GOP Leader Bob Dole. Indeed, Republicans provided a solid base of support for NAFTA while Democrats abandoned Clinton in droves.
In a year-end interview, Clinton said one of his greatest fears was "that the old demons that have plagued the American political system the last several years will somehow rise up and keep us from having a year next year that builds on this year's record change."
The improvement in the economy gave his presidency a boost even though he couldn't claim all the credit. So did the popularity of Hillary Rodham Clinton, whose poll ratings consistently outperform her husband's.
Yet, as strong as Clinton was on domestic programs, he had far less success on the foreign policy and national security front.
North Korea remained recalcitrant on its suspected nuclear program. Despite repeated U.S. warnings of air strikes against aggressors in the former Yugoslavia, the death toll there continued to mount.
In Somalia, Clinton was forced to retreat. In Haiti, U.S.-led diplomacy failed.
The setbacks and criticism of Clinton's foreign policy team resulted in the forced resignation of Defense Secretary Les Aspin.
In foreign policy, no country is more important than Russia. Suddenly its future is in question.
Clinton embraced Boris Yeltsin as Russia's best hope for democracy and fortified him with billions in economic aid. Yet average Russians delivered a strong protest vote for the far-right party of Vladimir V. Zhirinovsky, weakening the hand of Russian reformers.
Clinton has a long way to go to fulfill countless promises, but no one can accuse him of treading water.
Universal health insurance, for example. Presidents have flirted with the idea, but Clinton forced it to center stage for political debate. It's no longer a question of whether to do it, but rather, how to do it.
The jury is still out, but health care will be one of the most prominent issues in Congress in 1994. So will welfare reform and proposals to end the bloodshed in the streets.
Looking back on 1993, Clinton's presidency was a roller coaster. He got off to a disastrous start, as his new administration was swamped in controversy over tough issues such as abortion and gays in the military.
There was "Nannygate" (Zoe Baird's withdrawal as attorney general nominee after disclosure that she failed to pay Social Security taxes on illegal aliens); "Travelgate" (the bumbled firing of seven travel office employes; "Hairgate" (Clinton's $200 haircut on Air Force One on a runway of Los Angeles International Airport.)
Republicans were emboldened when they successfully blocked Clinton's multibillion-dollar package of spending in an economic stimulus initiative.
There were early victories, such as the family-leave and motor-voter bills, but the first real success was the razor-thin win on the president's budget package. Another was the warmly received nomination of Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the Supreme Court.
Clinton went on vacation in August bitterly complaining about divisive partisanship in Congress. White House officials were still in shock over the July suicide of deputy counsel Vincent Foster.
The picture began to brighten in September. There was the unveiling of Vice President Al Gore's plan for shrinking government and making it more efficient; the historic White House handshake of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO chairman Yasser Arafat.
Clinton delivered a speech launching his health care initiative, although its formal unveiling was still weeks away.
On Oct. 3, there was another upheaval in Clinton's world. Eighteen Americans were killed in Somalia - "the low for me as president," he says. Clinton went into retreat, then ordered the withdrawal of all U.S. forces by April 1.
The later victories on the Brady bill, NAFTA and GATT lifted the White House mood, and the president's standing climbed in the polls. The year ended on a sour note, when the Clintons bowed to a growing clamor for an independent investigation of their involvement in a failed financial investment called Whitewater.
For 1994, Clinton promises more change.
"We'll always work long hours," he said, "but I think we'll work harder and we'll be better organized. . . . We'll work smarter and be better organized, and I don't think the pace will be as back-breaking for the families."
by CNB