Clinton-to-Gore Handoff

Thursday night’s State of the Union address was vintage Bill Clinton, full of proud achievement, optimism and patriotic appeal and packed with new programs highlighted by a proposed $350-billion tax cut and major spending increases for education and health care. Clinton was ebullient in delivering the annual speech, now out from under the cloud of the Monica Lewinsky scandal and the infamy of impeachment.

There was considerable sentiment attached to Clinton’s final State of the Union address, along with reflections on the tangled legacy he will leave as president. In the speech there was high rhetoric, of course. Clinton declared, “The state of our union is the strongest it has ever been.” And he challenged the Republican-led Congress to join him in building “the more perfect union of our founders’ dreams.”

Not surprisingly, GOP leaders promptly declined, saying they will craft their own agenda. But in this election year, it would benefit both sides to seek common ground on major issues. Republicans know that they will not be served politically if they are branded as obstructionists.

Much of the strength of the union today is due to the rip-roaring economy that is producing monster projected budget surpluses. But no one is sure how long the good days will last. Clinton would do well to put the greatest emphasis on his companion promise to impose fiscal discipline on government, protect Social Security and pay down the federal debt.

There are some issues Clinton should pursue as strongly as he can. His proposal for licensing and registration of handguns is one. Campaign reform legislation is another. Expansion of the Head Start program for disadvantaged preschoolers is critical. There also should be negotiating room with Republicans on some tax issues, such as the income tax marriage penalty.

His speech ran 90 minutes and contained so many legislative initiatives it resembled the address of a just-elected president coming to Congress with his full laundry list of issues. It’s clear that Clinton wants to build as much of a legacy as he can in the year ahead--or at least a platform for Vice President Al Gore.

Above all, this was a political speech that implicitly told American voters that if they approve of what Clinton has done for the country the past seven years--even though they may not like him--they should choose Gore to succeed him. To Clinton’s right on the podium of the House chamber was a beaming Gore, free for a few hours of an increasingly nasty primary election battle being waged with former Sen. Bill Bradley in New Hampshire. The outcome in the Granite State next Tuesday will play a critical role in determining which candidate will emerge as the party’s standard-bearer at the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles this summer.

The political acrimony was relatively subdued Thursday evening as Washington acted out one of the great symbolic ceremonies of American life. As is traditional, the two chairs behind the dias from which Clinton spoke were occupied by the House speaker, J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), and the vice president, in his mostly ceremonial role as president of the Senate.

The president shared credit with Gore for many of the Clinton administration’s successes and his proposals for 2000. But Gore must also wonder if this advantage will be blunted by his close association with Bill Clinton the man.