From Candidate to President-Elect : Clear sense of direction at Clinton’s first press conference

Gov. Bill Clinton met Thursday with the large international press corps that has been camped out in Little Rock ever since his election victory Nov. 3. In his first public press conference as President-elect of the United States, Clinton seemed assured, clearheaded and determined. It was a very solid performance.

On the change front, the governor promised to get to work right after Jan. 20, when he is to be inaugurated, to reverse a number of decisions made by President Bush. Most prominent, perhaps, is the so-called abortion gag rule that severely restricts abortion counseling by clinics that receive federal funds. Such a change would come as a considerable relief to the many Americans who feel passionately that all women--not just the well-to-do--ought to have the right of abortion choice.

Clinton was comparably adamant about reversing the Bush Administration’s oft-criticized policy on Haitian refugees. In a Clinton Administration, he said, these refugees would not automatically be routed back to Haiti but rather would be offered a genuine process of appeal providing them a chance to prove they were political rather than economic refugees--the prerequisite for U.S. asylum. That will strike many Americans, as well as Haitians, as welcome news.

The President-elect was equally determined to spell out areas of policy in which the theme was more likely to be continuance than change. He emphasized continuity in foreign policy--especially in the Middle East, where the Bush Administration has done a great deal of good work but where much more work remains to be done. He also spoke admiringly, and rightly, of the Bush foreign-policy team, which “worked pretty well,” as he put it.

The President-elect indicated that he would not rush to fill Cabinet positions--a mistake he suggested that some other Presidents-elect had made--and would “look beyond partisanship . . . for different political backgrounds,” in his Cabinet appointees. That was reassuring.

Helpful, too, was the Arkansas Democrat’s promise to issue over the next few days new ethical guidelines governing not only permanent appointees to his Administration but transition officials as well. That was refreshing to hear--but it will be interesting to see how these guidelines work in practice. Will they be too strict--inadvertently deterring otherwise qualified candidates from taking government positions? Or too loophole-riddled--and therefore offering too many opportunities for corruption in the corridors of Washington power?

But on no topic did the President-elect seemed more determined than on the economy. This is subject No. 1--the issue that more than any other propelled his candidacy, and that could eventually undermine his presidency. Here Clinton laid out his goals--a long-range, realistic deficit-reduction program in tandem with a short-time economic stimulus program--as well as a methodology. He wishes to proceed with definite priorities, and make progress through broad political consensus.

This means careful attention to Congress, which can make, or break, programs--not to mention Presidents. Next week Clinton heads for Washington--to say goodby to the man he beat, President Bush. And to say hello to some of the key people he will need to succeed--the leaders of Congress.

So far, he seems off to a good start.