President Clinton, often criticized for small-scale politics, sought to rise above that image in his final State of the Union address Thursday, urging the nation to seize a uniquely prosperous moment and “set great goals for the nation.”
Clinton cited the government’s unprecedented budget bounty to propose a broad sweep of new programs, including a new education crusade. But he sought to tie those ideas to what he considers the grand themes of his centrist presidency: opportunity, responsibility and community.
“We must be, as we were in the beginning, a new nation,” Clinton said. “Tonight let us take our look long ahead and set great goals for the nation. . . . We will not reach them all this year, not even in this decade. But we will reach them.”
In his final and longest State of the Union Message, Clinton more than ever was addressing multiple audiences, not just Congress and the public but also historians. He sought to shape his legacy by citing the vision he brought to the presidency seven years ago and insisting it has been resoundingly fulfilled.
“We are fortunate to be alive at this moment in history,” Clinton told the joint session of Congress in the 89-minute address. “Never before has our nation enjoyed at once so much prosperity and social progress, with so little internal crisis and so few external threats. . . . My fellow Americans, the state of our union is the strongest it has ever been.”
Among the most notable of the proposals was one for spending $4.5 billion on education over the next 10 years, targeting “failing” schools in particular. He also proposed tax breaks aimed at child care, retirement savings and reduction of the tax code’s so-called “marriage penalty.”
As he has done in recent years, Clinton tossed in a surprise, proposing that anyone buying a handgun must first get a license. Along with several other proposals Clinton outlined Thursday, this dovetailed with a similar proposal made by Vice President Al Gore, who is campaigning hard to succeed Clinton and was seated behind him.
It is unclear how much of this agenda can be fulfilled in this political year, when neither Democrats nor Republicans want to let each other take credit for any accomplishments. Yet it is possible that because both parties want to claim some victories, they will work together in a limited way.
Clinton relishes the grandeur of the State of the Union address, aides say, during which he is the focus of attention of the entire government, from members of Congress to Cabinet secretaries to Supreme Court justices. This year, in a fluke, none of the justices attended.
Throughout his presidency, Clinton has almost always delivered virtuoso performances–and long ones. Thursday was no exception, as Clinton spoke nimbly but did slip, speaking of making American communities more “liberal” rather than “livable,” a comment greeted by raucous laughter from the Republicans.
Several of Clinton’s State of the Union addresses have marked dramatic moments in his tenure. In 1995, following the Republican takeover of Congress, he declared famously that “the era of big government is over.” In 1998 he spoke just days after the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke, delivering a steely performance, and last year he addressed the nation in the midst of his Senate impeachment trial.
That lent a certain resonance to this final State of the Union–and perhaps some relief that it was not as overshadowed by scandal or partisanship as previous addresses. As always, lawmakers rose with jarring frequency to cheer the parts of the speech that comported with their own agenda; GOP leaders sat stonily when Clinton was urging actions they opposed.
Some of the suspense was drained because the White House had announced–or leaked–many of the proposals over the past several weeks.
Despite the lofty rhetoric, Clinton’s speech as usual consisted mostly of dozens of proposals, and one Cabinet official privately conceded later that there was no central theme. Many of the plans will be fleshed out in two weeks, when the president formally submits his 2001 budget.
Most ambitiously, Clinton offered an array of education proposals. He advocated spending $1 billion, for example, on after-school and summer school programs.
He also wants increased funding for Head Start, the pre-school education program, from $5.3 billion to $6.3 billion. He repeated his plans to hire 50,000 new teachers–halfway to a goal of 100,000 –and rebuild 5,000 dilapidated schools a year.
Clinton also advocated expanding health care in various ways, including having Medicare cover prescription drugs, prompting a tart comment from Republican leaders in their response to the president’s address.
“Each new program we heard about tonight–and there were 11 of them in health care alone– comes with its own massive bureaucracy,” said Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.).
Clinton also trumpeted old and new proposals designed for working families. One would help put low-income fathers to work so they can pay child support; another would provide tax breaks for child care.
Reprising a consistent theme of his presidency, Clinton appealed for stronger gun control measures, in addition to the new gun registration proposal.
To dramatize that appeal, Clinton used a tactic artfully employed by President Ronald Reagan by inviting Tom Mauser, the father of a student killed in the Columbine High School massacre, to the event. Clinton asked him to stand and be recognized.
Among other guests Clinton asked to stand were baseball legend Hank Aaron, to highlight racial unity, and decorated Air Force Capt. John Cherrey, who rescued a fellow pilot shot down during the bombing of Yugoslavia. Rev. Jesse Jackson was also in the audience, sitting near First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton.
House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), for his part, invited Cardinal Francis George, the Chicago archbishop, and former House Minority Leader Bob Michel (R-Ill.).
Clinton thanked Hastert for joining him and Jackson in Chicago recently as the three promised to help spur investment in poorer communities. Clinton theatrically turned around and shook the hand of Hastert, who was seated behind him.
Perhaps the evening’s most poignant moment came when Clinton honored his first treasury secretary, former Sen. Lloyd Bentsen (D-Texas), who will turn 79 next month. As Bentsen’s former colleagues rose and applauded, Bentsen acknowledged their tribute.
As he did last year, Clinton urged a series of tax cuts, roughly $250 billion over 10 years. Last year, Clinton forcefully contrasted that with Republicans’ plan for a much larger cut. This year, the plan contrasts with a substantial tax cut proposed by Republican presidential front-runner George Bush.
Among his tax breaks, Clinton advocated a “retirement savings account” to encourage lower- and middle-income families to save for retirement. He proposed tax credits for small business that provide pensions for lower-paid employees. He urged reducing the marriage penalty, so a couple filing jointly would pay the same amount as if they filed individually.
Although he focused on domestic issues, as he has throughout his presidency, Clinton also spoke soaringly of the country’s challenges overseas, stressing the need to expand trade, reduce poverty and fight AIDS around the world.
As he drew near the end of his eighth and final State of the Union, Clinton ended on a somewhat personal note.
“Each time I prepare for the State of the Union, I approach it with great hope and expectation for our nation,” Clinton said. “But tonight is special, because we stand on the mountaintop of a new millennium.”
CLINTON OUTLINES HIS FINAL YEAR
Some proposals from President Clinton’s State of the Union address:
TAXES
Retirement savings accounts
– For low-income families, with the government making a 2-for-1 match for the first $100 contributed by each person
Increased standard deductions
– Two-income couples: $2,150 increase
– Single-income couples: $500 increase
– Single persons: $250 increase
Incentives for giving to charity
– Allowing non-itemizers to take a tax deduction for charitable giving and making it easier to donate appreciated assets
Tuition deduction
– Including a deduction of up to $10,000 for college tuition
Small businesses
– A 50 percent tax credit to encourage small businesses to set up and contribute to pension funds
Child care
– Tax relief to help families pay for child care and incentives for businesses to provide it
EDUCATION
Head Start
– $1 billion expansion to add 950,000 children and increase quality
Teacher quality
– $1 billion grant package to increase teacher pay and education
School accountability
– $450 million to reward schools with improvements in student performance
Reduce class size
– $450 million to hire 100,000 new teachers
Fix existing schools
– $24.8 billion in tax credit bonds to modernize 6,000 schools
– $1.3 billion for school renovations
GUN CONTROL
Gun licensing plan
– Federally mandated state-based licensing that includes a photo ID
Law enforcement
– $280 million to hire 500 new Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents and 1,000 new federal and state gun prosecutors
HEALTHCARE
Insurance
– $110 billion program to lower costs and make quality insurance easier to obtain
– Expand insurance to moderately poor families and an additional 400,000 children
– $1 billion to programs that provide health care to uninsured
– Expand Medicare to include a prescription drug benefit and to let people as young as 55 join
CRIME
Youth programs
– $875 million to reduce youth violence
OTHER
Housing vouchers
– $690 million to help working poor move to suburban areas where jobs are more plentiful
Trade
– Help China join the WTO by approving new trade status
Minimum wage
– Increase $1 per hour
Equal pay
– $27 million to help close the pay gap for women workers
Colombia
– $1.6 billion to help fight drug trafficking and develop economy
Science
– $1 billion for the National Institutes of Health and $675 million for the National Science Foundation
— Chicago Tribune
