Bush Calls for Amendment to Balance Budget

Saying that the security of the American people is at stake, President Bush challenged Congress on Thursday to follow a “bold, new course” and approve a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced federal budget.

The President plunged into the debate over how to control the federal budget deficit, as he sought to restore his own political balance. And he tried to contrast his political message and leadership with that of independent Ross Perot, even as he said he would avoid the political fray for the time being.

In a rare, prime-time news conference that was ignored, in terms of live coverage, by three of the four major television networks, Bush characterized the proposed balanced-budget amendment as the only way that the growth in federal spending will be restrained.

“We’ve tried compromise. We’ve tried confrontation. We’ve tried quiet diplomacy with the congressional leaders and none of this has been enough,” he said in a statement delivered at the outset of the press conference.

In contrast with his strong plea for the amendment, however, the President has not submitted a balanced budget during his Administration.

Bush--at times appearing ill-at-ease and stumbling over his own arguments, and once pleading directly for the support of reporters and editorial writers--refused pointedly to respond directly to questions about Perot, the Texan who has all but officially declared his candidacy for the presidency and who many of the President’s advisers see as his most threatening opponent.

“I will be ready to join the fray after the (political) conventions,” Bush said during the 37-minute press conference in the stately East Room of the White House. The Democrats--almost certain to nominate Gov. Bill Clinton of Arkansas--meet in New York in July, and the Republicans, to nominate Bush, in Houston a month later.

“If I get too caught up in the political wars at this time, it will be even more difficult to get things through the Congress that will help,” Bush said. He included among those priority items anti-crime legislation, an education bill and a balanced-budget measure.

But he did suggest that he would be willing to take part in presidential debates in the autumn. He did not specify whether he would include Perot, if the Texas billionaire takes the final step and officially becomes an independent candidate.

And, although he said that he was reluctant to spell out what he thinks of Perot--Clinton’s name barely was mentioned throughout the session--Bush repeatedly displayed a degree of pique at Perot’s persistent sharp criticism of his leadership.

“I have a difference clearly as far as the Persian Gulf War goes, no question,” said Bush, stepping back from his pledge not to discuss Perot, who opposed the U.S. role in the war.

Still, he said he could understand the “outsider” appeal that Perot apparently offers.

The President, who has expressed irritation that his own political fortunes have not improved despite signs that the economy is emerging from recession, said that “things are turning around and yet at this juncture the American people haven’t felt it. When they do, I expect to see some change.”

By White House count, the news conference was Bush’s 230th during nearly 3 1/2 years in office, but only the second during the prime-time evening viewing hours.

He intended to communicate directly with the American people in the kind of informal session of give and take that his aides think presents him in a better light than a formal address. But his goal was undercut when only Cable News Network provided live television coverage.

And although Bush sought to use the news conference to place himself in a position of confrontation with Congress over the balanced-budget amendment and the deficit--and, by extension, the future of the economy--the Perot political tornado that has swept out of Dallas became the focus of the session with reporters.

To those who would challenge his ability as a leader, Bush foretold what is likely to be a central element in his reelection campaign:

“I say take a look at what happened in Desert Storm where I didn’t have to get anybody else’s action. I moved. I saw a threat. I did what was required,” Bush said. “The people saw leadership and action there.

“When this campaign gets really rolling--and it hasn’t started from our standpoint--when that happens I think these things will be in focus,” Bush said.

“So I understand the quest for change and the appeal, ‘I can bring you the new answer here.’ I can understand all that. But I also think the American people are pretty smart. I think they’re going to look at the overall record. I think they’re going to analyze the proposals. I think they’re going to look at a person’s overall values.”

He continued:

“I think then I have the confidence that it won’t be just the Republicans that will be supporting me. It will be the guy in the neighborhood who’s wondering, ‘Who’s going to be the best to take care of the criminal elements here? Who’s going to support the incentives to improve the economy?’ That’s what I think.”

Until then, he said, “I think we’re dealing in a funny time here, time warp.”

Bush’s reference to Desert Storm, the code name for the Persian Gulf War, was one of only a few references to foreign policy.

He said he remains hopeful that the political and economic sanctions imposed last week by the United Nations Security Council will eventually end the bloodshed in Yugoslavia without outside military intervention.

Brushing aside a suggestion that election year politics stopped him from committing American troops to the conflict, Bush said: “Prudence and caution prevents military action.”

“I’m not prepared to give up on the sanctions at all,” he said.

The President’s political problems are formidable.

Not only have his standings in public opinion polls dropped and failed to show any sign of rebounding but he is now at the starting point of a three-way race for which there is no model.

His political advisers have been forced to draw up an entirely new plan for their campaign based on tackling not only Clinton but Perot, whose undeclared campaign has thrown the race into confusion in a matter of months.

At the same time, the White House is said to be in a state of chaos that parallels that of the campaign it is trying to master, with Bush’s chief of staff, Samuel K. Skinner, fending off sharp criticism from within the Bush camp that he is still struggling to learn his job. He has held the difficult position for six months.

Even as Bush has held adamantly to his plan to avoid direct response to criticism from Clinton or Perot, others around him have not been so shy.

Speaking with reporters Thursday, White House Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater said of Perot: “He keeps talking all the time about (how) he’ll sit down with the Congress and change the gridlock. This is a man who has no history of sitting down with anybody.”

“His entire history is to stomp into the group, demand to do things his way, and if he doesn’t get it, he picks up the football and goes home,” Fitzwater said.

Times staff writer Norman Kempster contributed to this story.

DEMOCRATIC OPPOSITION: Key Capitol Hill Democrats vow to do all they can to scuttle balanced-budget measure. A26