PERSPECTIVE ON THE PRESIDENCY : The U.S. is ahead by many measures, thanks to him. Consider what more could be done with a cooperative Congress.

The Presidential election of 1992 gives voters a very clear choice: They can reelect George Bush, whose determined leadership has brought the United States and the world to the threshold of a new era, or they can elect one of his challengers, who seem unable to grasp what has happened in the world, what is happening, or what will happen in the years to come.

For three years President Bush has pushed for domestic reforms that respond to the incredible changes around the globe. In some cases, he has even persuaded a very reluctant Congress to keep pace with the times. The President’s real and substantial legislative accomplishments reflect his grasp of the new realities:

* He broke a decade-long legislative logjam and crafted a Clean Air Act that relies on market incentives, not bureaucratic bullying, to clean out air.

* His child-care legislation provided direct family assistance so parents could make the critical choice of where to get that care.

* He understood the need to rebuild our national infrastructure, and so pushed through a transportation bill that will devote $150 billion over five years to rebuilding roads, airports and railways. * He rejected a civil-rights bill that would have forced businesses to adopt hiring quotas. He took considerable political heat for this act of principle, but he then got a good Civil Rights Act, which bans quotas while punishing vigorously those who discriminate.

* He pushed through the Americans With Disabilities Act, which gives 43 million Americans full access to the American dream.

* His farm bill reformed our agricultural programs by trimming unnecessary subsidies without jeopardizing the family farm.

* He promoted a revolutionary policy through his housing bill. Thanks to the President, our public-housing residents now have a chance to own homes, and escape the indignity of living as permanent renters.

* He shaped an immigration bill that constructively reopened our borders and silenced isolationist sentiments in Congress.

* He cut 25% from the military budget while restructuring the military to meet future threats.

Most important for American jobs today and tomorrow, he led the world to a free trade environment, and has negotiated a North American Free Trade Agreement that will mean more good jobs for American workers.

He would have done even more, if the Democrat-Congress had dared to answer history’s call. A review of initiatives stalled by Congress tells the tale:

The President submitted a comprehensive crime package to Congress more than 1,200 days ago. Congress hasn’t passed it.

He submitted enterprise zone legislation nearly 600 days ago. No congressional action.

The America 2000 education strategy, the most sweeping education innovation package in our nation’s history: No action in more than 500 days.

The economic package unveiled in his state of the Union Address has been stonewalled for more than 250 days. That followed on the heels of Congress’ irresponsible failure to pass his growth initiatives in 1989, 1990, 1991--and, of course, in 1992.

And finally, he proposed legal reforms that would cut down on lawsuits while expanding access to the legal justice system. They initiatives have gone unconsidered for nearly 250 days.

Congress’ stonewalling is important because the President’s initiatives have a very important purpose. They promote four basic principles that will shape our national future--principles that constitute the framework for George Bush’s domestic vision.

First, craft an economic package that makes sense. In the real world, entrepreneurs create jobs the old-fashioned way: They begin with an idea; find investors; hire workers; produce a good or service, and test their product in the marketplace.

The President’s economic plan embraces this kind of common sense. It promotes good ideas by letting people earn a decent reward for their labors. It encourages investment by expanding the investment tax credit and proposing a cut in the capital-gains tax. No other industrial power punishes successful investment by imposing high capital-gains taxes. If we want to compete, the United States must cut the tax, too.

We must encourage investors to put their money into the economy, and create jobs for people who want to work. The President’s plan would eliminate barriers that make it difficult to hire people or open a business. He has insisted that Congress fund mandates. He has ordered his agencies to ensure that regulations provide more public benefits than burdens. George Bush knows what it takes to start a business and make it succeed. His policies can make it possible for others to live the American dream.

Principle No. 2: Give real power back to the American people. Trust them to make the right choices about the important things in their lives--child care, health care, education. Let taxpayers say “no” to government spending by checking a box on their tax forms that would force Congress to cut spending by 10% of the taxpayers’ total tax bill. He has asked Congress to adopt this proposal, which could cut tens of billions from our budget and begin meaningful deficit reduction overnight.

Third, stimulate innovation: his education, energy, transportation, health care, child care and environmental programs all harness marketplace incentives to find the very best solutions to our problems. The age of big bureaucracy is passing: We should make our government as responsive to citizen wants and need as our private sector.

Fourth, strengthen our sense of national community. Make it easier for Americans to live as neighbors. His approach to civil rights encourages responsibility and brotherhood.

Similarly, his legal reforms encourage people to solve disputes amicably, without rushing into expensive lawsuits. And his crime package does not only punish criminals; it shows compassion and support for victims.

We will not be able to compete with the rest of the world unless we make full use of our people’s talents and abilities. From tax policy to welfare reform, George Bush’s policies widen opportunities for all Americans and tear down barriers that prevent people from exploring the limits of their abilities.

Contrast this approach with the spirit and substance of the Clinton campaign. When you listen to Bill Clinton’s attacks (and this goes for Ross Perot as well), it’s obvious that the Arkansas governor is living in the past--and trying to package old-fashioned, tax-and-spend, big-government approaches as something shiny and new.

Start with his negative view of the world. Clinton portrays the United States as an enfeebled superpower, claiming that our workers rank 13th in overall prosperity. This is just one of his many false conclusions: On the measures that count, productivity and what American workers can buy with their take-home pay, the United States clearly ranks first.

Although there’s no disputing that we’ve been through a wrenching period of restructuring, the United States does not trail its competitors. Just the opposite. Clinton and Perot love to compare the United States with Japan. Contrary to their self-serving messages of malaise, the United States continues to lead the world in the important areas.

Last year, for instance, industrial production in the United States grew 1.8%, at the top of the industrialized world. Japan’s production fell 4.6%. Our stock market jumped more than 13%; Japan’s tumbled more than 43%.

Our inflation rate over the past 12 months stands at 3.1%--a full percentage point lower than that of Germany. While our interest rates have been reduced to 20-year lows, Germany’s have leapt to 20-year highs.

And although our unemployment rate stands higher than we would like, at 7.5%, Britain’s has jumped into double digits. Times are tough, but the entire world is struggling with the challenge of shaping post-Cold War economies. Declinists like Clinton don’t understand that the tremors that afflict our friends will affect us as well. They also don’t understand that the United States still boasts the strongest and most resilient economy in the world.

Clinton’s economic plan is an embarrassment because it serves up the same old stuff: more government, more taxes, more spending, more regulation, more mandates. He promises to cut $145 billion in federal spending, but can specify only two cuts--a honeybee subsidy that Al Gore has voted for three times and cuts in Medicaid premiums. These two can provide only about 3% of his promised reductions. The remaining $140 billion of his “cuts” remain vague, improbable or unspecified.

Similarly, he proposes $150 billion in new taxes, but won’t say what rates he intends to charge to get the revenue. On top of this, he acts as if his health-care and job-retraining mandates won’t cost a penny, when in fact they would pull about $200 billion a year out of our economy. There is no way you can get this kind of money just out of the “rich.” If you took every penny owned by every millionaire in the land, you’d get only $54 billion--$100 billion short of the goal. There’s a very good reason why Clinton won’t announce his tax rates: He would have to admit that working men and women would pay the most.

Clinton may talk about reform and change, but on major issues he is just an MTV New Dealer. He proposes unprecedented expansions in the size and expense of government, new taxes, and waves of new burdens on families and businesses. That’s not new. That’s not a covenant. It’s rehashed McGovernism.

Finally, on the matter of national spirit, Clinton’s approach leans heavily on resentment and envy. That’s just pure dishonest politics. Paul Tsongas at least had the courage to warn of Democrats who refuse to embrace growth policies “because it prevents them from using the ‘class warfare’ argument against the Republicans . . . . Class warfare is certainly good politics. But it’s good politics at the expense of the nation’s industrial base.”

In the same manner, candidate Clinton constantly tries to portray the President as “divisive” on racial issues. That’s ludicrous: George Bush was fighting for racial harmony when Bill Clinton was in diapers, and he continues to do it more than 40 years later, as candidate Clinton baits Jesse Jackson.

If you examine positions and records, there is no comparison between the candidates. On character, experience, personal, the issues and performance, George Bush wins.

Bush’s leadership can help American men and women get the incentives, support, freedom and focus, they need to do the important things: spend time with families, help their neighbors, and build a sense of national unity and destiny. George Bush will restore American confidence and pride, and encourage us to lead the world, rather than shrinking into our own borders, tormented by suspicion and insecurity.

The President has been mocked for lacking a “vision thing,” and he has gotten a bad rap. If you examine his President’s policies and principles, you get much more than just a vision for the future. You get a blueprint for American greatness--and powerful reasons to reelect George Bush.