Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.news From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: New president has promises to keep Date: Sun, 8 Nov 92 15:50:37 EST Message-ID: \SE A \HD New president has promises to keep \SH Promise of new day awaits Clinton \BY J. Jennings Moss \CR THE WASHINGTON TIMES ****BILL CLINTON'S ADVISERS HOPE AN AGGRESSIVE TRANSITION OVERCOMES OBSTACLES TO FULFILLING HIS PLEDGES**** President-elect Bill Clinton has started the task of putting together a government to turn his sweeping promises into reality. The task will not be easy. He will be pushed and cajoled by all facets of Washington's power structure: liberal interest groups that have been shut out for 12 years; congressional Democrats who have considered themselves the party's leaders; and Republicans who vow to keep him honest. How Mr. Clinton will proceed and what priorities he'll push are being debated in Little Rock, Ark., at his transition command post. He is expected during his early days in office to use a mixture of legislation and executive orders to reverse some GOP policies. "I think you'll see a very aggressive transition, a very aggressive first 100 days and a very serious beginning of his administration because he takes these things very seriously. . . . For him the real work began Wednesday morning," Clinton spokeswoman Dee Dee Myers said. Mr. Clinton would like his presidency to mirror the successful reign of Shakespeare's Henry V. Henry, a young king known for youthful indiscretions, put down domestic troubles and vanquished foreign enemies. Unlike Henry, Mr. Clinton comes to power with a precise catalog of what he wants to do. The 46-year-old career politician put unprecedented detail in the promises in his book "Putting People First." An analysis of the book and the speeches and policy briefings given during the campaign reveals a program to redesign the American social fabric by changing the nation's economy and tax structure. Mr. Clinton said on ABC's "Nightline" during his only post-election interview: "I am going to focus like a laser beam on the economy. . . . I am not blaming child abuse, family breakup and crime on the economy, but the economy makes those things worse." Practically everything flows from his core idea to raise taxes on those making more than $200,000, lower taxes on families making less than $65,000, give targeted business tax breaks and spend money on public works. He said this approach will halve the deficit in four years. "I think the first thing will be an economic recovery and jobs program, which would include the central elements of his economic plan and investment tax credit, the Rebuild America fund [of $80 billion over four years for public works], the new business tax credit, accelerated spending on the transportation bill - all of it paid for by spending cuts and tax hikes on the rich," said Bruce Reed, a top policy adviser to Mr. Clinton. Mr. Clinton also has said reforming the nation's health care system is a priority. Likely to be introduced in his first 100 days, the reform will be a broad legislative proposal to provide care for all Americans by requiring employers either to provide health care or to buy into a pool for the uninsured. Also ripe for quick action are the measures President Bush vetoed. Congressional Democrats and Mr. Clinton agree on many of them: requiring workers to get unpaid leave when medical emergencies develop, legislating the right to an abortion and allowing people to register to vote when they get a driver's license. While the new Congress and administration agree on these and other well-debated proposals, a bigger question faces the Clinton presidency: Will Mr. Clinton, who ran as a Washington outsider without bashing the congressional establishment, be able to exert his will over the Democratic majority? A senior GOP congressional official said the Clinton White House's relations with Congress will be "interesting." "Note I did not use the word harmonious. . . . You have to understand there are a lot of people, with a lot of them in leadership and committee chairs, who have been used to living in their own fiefdoms for 12 years," the official said. One tool Mr. Clinton can use is the executive order. In his book and his speeches he promised to use that power to end the military's ban on homosexuals, repeal Mr. Bush's rule prohibiting federally funded clinics from counseling on abortion, cut the White House staff by 25 percent, eliminate executive branch perks, and require political appointees to sign a pledge barring them from related lobbying for five years after they leave the government. "I'm sure that Governor Clinton is going to do everything he can to carry out all of his campaign promises," Warren Christopher, the director of Mr. Clinton's transition, told reporters when asked about the White House cuts. He said the transition team was directed to look into creating a strong economic council and any needed structural changes. Analysts encourage Mr. Clinton to follow the transition model set by Republican Ronald Reagan rather than Democrat Jimmy Carter. Mr. Carter, who had done little to foster cooperation with Congress, loaded his early days with a flurry of detailed legislative proposals only to see them stall. Mr. Reagan translated his campaign vision into a successful honeymoon. Unlike transitions that have focused on choosing people and not policies, the period leading to Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, will combine the two, Mr. Reed said. Miss Myers said: "The other thing to keep in mind about Clinton is he loves the politics but at his heart he's a policy wonk. . . . He can out-wonk most [congressional] committee chairs." This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM