Clinton Benefits From Forced Silence

For Democratic presidential contender Bill Clinton, a doctor-ordered moratorium on public speaking could not have come at a more propitious time.

After winning primaries in New York, Wisconsin, Kansas and Minnesota last Tuesday, the normally loquacious Arkansas governor was on the verge of losing his voice entirely--and was in danger of incurring permanent damage to his larynx, according to an ear-nose-and-throat specialist Clinton saw in New York.

“The throat man scared the hell out of me,” Clinton said.

So, with the Pennsylvania primary more than two weeks away, Clinton gladly repaired to Little Rock for some rest and relaxation.

In so doing, Clinton has had a ready-made excuse to avoid reporters’ pesky questions on a host of touchy issues the last few days. They include allegations that marijuana and cocaine were used during parties held at the Los Angeles home of former California Gov. Edmund G. (Jerry) Brown Jr.--Clinton’s sole remaining rival for the Democratic nomination--as well as an emerging $20-million Arkansas state budget shortfall.

Potentially the most ticklish topic is the high-profile escape of a prison inmate on furlough from the Arkansas Department of Corrections. It is reminiscent of an incident that haunted the 1988 Democratic presidential nominee, then-Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis. The Arkansas inmate on Thursday allegedly hijacked a plane, committed an armed robbery and was still missing as of Saturday.

Since arriving back in Little Rock in the wee hours of Thursday morning, Clinton has been mostly secluded behind the brick walls of the Colonial Revival-style governor’s mansion.

On Friday, he briefly appeared in public during a one-mile jog from the mansion to a downtown gym for a workout (Clinton is trying to shed the estimated 25 pounds he has gained since beginning his presidential campaign last fall).

When reporters asked him to comment on the ABC News allegations against Brown, which his foe has vehemently denied, Clinton smiled, slid a forefinger across his throat and mouthed the words: “No comment.”

Much of Clinton’s time has been spent dealing with a projected shortfall in state revenues that will require him to slash spending by $20 million over the next three months to comply with Arkansas law. The amount represents about 1% of the state’s $2-billion budget.

The state already has imposed a hiring freeze and suspended most out-of-state travel unless approved by Clinton’s office, a gubernatorial spokesman said. Among the cuts being considered are layoffs and shortened workweeks for some state employees and trims in the program that provides medical care to residents who do not qualify for Medicaid.

The inmate furlough issue surfaced late Thursday when Arkansas law enforcement officials reported the hijacking of a chartered private jet by Charles Lloyd Patterson Sr., 47, until then a model prisoner serving a 40-year term for solicitation to commit murder, perjury, burglary and theft.

Patterson on Monday had been let out of the state prison in Pine Bluff for a five-day “meritorious” furlough, his third since his incarceration began four years ago.

This time, Patterson did not return. Instead, police said he chartered a private jet and ordered the pilot to fly to Carlisle, Ark., where he forced the pilot out and then flew the plane himself to Batesville, Ark. There, according to authorities, he broke into an acquaintance’s home and robbed the man and his wife of about $1,000 before disappearing.

Clinton immediately ordered the Corrections Department to suspend and review the entire furlough program.

Four years ago, Republicans sought to depict Dukakis as soft on crime by focusing on the case of Massachusetts inmate Willie Horton, a convicted murderer who escaped while on a furlough and raped a woman in Maryland.