A Pause for Policy

It seemed that President Clinton was determined to impress on Congress Tuesday night how much of the nation’s work there is to be done. While he made no reference to the sex scandal that swirls about him, the president in effect was saying there is too much to do for anyone to waste time speculating about the Monica S. Lewinsky matter and whether it truly threatens to topple his presidency.

The president jammed a lengthy State of the Union address with more than 35 initiatives ranging from a new clean water program to a 21st century research fund to combat disease. Some of his proposals are left over from past years, some he had revealed recently and some were new.

The agenda for 1998 will not be likely to cause more than a momentary diversion from the sex scandal. Ironically, the furor of the past week, and curiosity over how Clinton would handle himself, drew a massive national television audience. And he was interrupted by applause, some of it enthusiastic and from both sides of the aisle, more than 100 times.

There were some important messages there, particularly for those Americans who do not ordinarily pay attention to their national government. One was directed at Saddam Hussein: “You cannot deny the will of the world.” Another was the fact that the budget deficit for the current fiscal year is expected to be just $10 billion and possibly lower. That compares with a projected figure of $357 billion when Clinton took office in 1993. The president said he will submit a balanced budget for 1999, the first in three decades.

Perhaps Clinton’s boldest initiative was related to the budget--to use much of future federal surpluses to shore up the Social Security system.

Long-term stability for the Social Security system is an indisputably good goal, but Clinton’s proposal will be difficult to push through Congress. The No. 1 item on the Republican agenda is to use budget excesses to finance broad personal income tax cuts. Some Democrats certainly would like to put the money into some pet projects of their own.

The president was correct when he declared that the federal government must not return to the spending ways of past years or indulge in broad tax reductions. As he said, the typical middle-class American family now enjoys the lowest tax rates in 20 years.

Among the proposals that deserve congressional support are those dealing with education, child care, job retraining, clean air and water, health care reform and campaign finance reform. Clinton suggests these reforms would be financed largely by the $65 billion the federal government anticipates getting from the tobacco industry. In a few spots, the Clinton who wants to please everyone came out: He called for legislation that not only would change the way tobacco companies do business but would also “protect tobacco farmers.” Can’t do both.

But Clinton essentially did what he needed to do Tuesday night. He came across as presidential. He seemed to be an engaged chief executive eager to move ahead with the national agenda. And he received a relatively warm reception from Congress, considering the awkwardness of the situation.

The sad fact remains that whether Clinton is able to push through any of his agenda depends on the course of an investigation that is unfolding in a federal courthouse a few blocks away from the Capitol. And that outcome is largely beyond Bill Clinton’s control.