Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.wpost From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: On the Day After, A Hopeful Washington;Political Pragmatists Gird for Date: Thu, 5 Nov 92 05:01:45 EST Message-ID: <44.1992Nov5.050145@AmeriCast.com> On the Day After, A Hopeful Washington;Political Pragmatists Gird for Changes for a Democratic administration? His answer could be a motto for this town's permanent players: "I'm hopeful, because he's the president we've got." On the Day After in Washington, young, restless Democrats felt they had found their Moses. The party's older, seasoned hearts quickened at the prospect of one more turn at the helm. So rarely here does power turn upside down; this was a big, big day for Washington. People compared it to the coming of Ronald Reagan, of John F. Kennedy, even of Franklin D. Roosevelt. They bubbled with plans, gossip, speculation and wonder. But for the town's lasting cogs, the eternal fixtures, the mood was one of acute alertness. It was a time for keen thinking. Things are moving, fast. You have to move along with them or wither. Tough towns don't swoon. In an ordinary town, the conquered might take a day or so to pout, and the victors might indulge in euphoria. After all, this is only the second time in a quarter century that Democrats have elected a president, and plenty of people wouldn't mind forget- ting about the other one. But euphoria is for children and pouting is for losers. In Wash- ington, D.C., capital of the world's last superpower, there is no place for losers and children. Once the votes are counted, there's no point in moping. Get back in there and play. "We are survivors," said Ben J. Wattenberg, a political scientist at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. He was talking about think tanks, but his words could apply to any insider. Which is, perhaps, why Wattenberg, once a prophet of the Reagan Revolution, sounded so upbeat about prospects for a Clinton ad- ministration. "You know, I've been reading through some of this Democratic Leadership Council stuff," he said, speaking of the centrist pol- icy agency that shaped much of Clinton's agenda. "You know, it's very serious, very intelligent material. The question is: Is that the way he'll govern? If he does, this could be the end of . . . old-style Democratic liberalism." Read between the lines. Watten- berg is saying: Maybe there's a role for a conservative think- tanker in encouraging Clinton to ignore the Old Left. Same enemy, new angle. That is the Washington spirit. Not that everyone in town has plans to accommodate Clinton. The hard-right Heritage Foundation, for example, appeared poised to play the role of the medieval monks who preserved the treasures of the faith through the Dark Ages. Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Robert J. Dole (Kan.) did some chest-thumping yesterday about blocking Clinton legislation. Maybe he really does intend to make an Alamo out of his side of the aisle, or maybe he was just reminding the president-elect that Capitol Hill will not be paved with palm fronds. George Bush (remember him?) used to talk a lot about "campaign mode" and "governing mode," as if what happens during a political race has nothing to do with life in Washington before or after. That is partly true, a heightened version of the truth, which is: Washington does not look back. Yesterday, Washington veterans could talk about the campaign dra- ma, but they preferred to set their eyes on the future. "I think people have begun to get the feeling Clinton might, just conceiv- ably, have the wit to put together a program that will make us really move as a country," said Harry McPherson, a wise man of the Democratic establishment. As the old hands gazed ahead, they sought familiar terrain from the past. Again and again, Washingtonians mentioned three elections that turned the ship of state: 1932, 1960 and 1980. Each time, a new president arrived to shake up what seemed a complacent, even lethargic, Washington. The first of these transitions was perhaps the greatest. FDR brought not only a New Deal but also the seeds of permanent Wash- ington. His predecessor, Herbert C. Hoover, used to say things such as: "The centralization of government will undermine respon- sibilities and destroy the system." Roosevelt put an end to that kind of thinking for a long, long time. Clinton is, like Roosevelt, a Democratic governor with a populist approach and the air about him of having a major spending plan stashed up his sleeve. Nevertheless, most people are a bit shy about making too much of the comparison. FDR has passed into the pantheon. Talk of Kennedy in '60 and Reagan in '80 was much more common yesterday. "I'm struck by the parallels to 1960," McPher- son said. "Congress kept passing bills that Eisenhower vetoed. Congress couldn't override. When Kennedy came in, he gave that glorious speech on the icebound Capitol steps, then went to work passing bills from the previous year. The really big stuff took more time. We may see that again." Reagan was mentioned as a man who took his victory over an unpo- pular incumbent and turned it into a mandate for sweeping philo- sophical change, which he deftly bulled through Congress with a blend of backroom charm and voter appeal. Many Democrats would like to see Clinton do as well in his first year. If it seems surprising that Washington veterans would discuss Kennedy and Reagan in the same breath, the lesson of Richard Whalen has not sunk in. Around town, those who survive admire political grace and political strength at least as much as ideo- logical purity. Kennedy and Reagan had it, and people yesterday seemed hopeful that Clinton too would have it. "He genuinely enjoys politics and politicians and has the kind of breadth that acknowledges the importance of Washington," said former Iowa senator John Culver (D). "He enjoys the process." McPherson contrasted Clinton to that president Democrats would prefer to forget, Jimmy Carter. Newly elected in 1976, Carter summoned congressional bigwigs to Plains, Ga., for a meeting. They stayed in, ugh, motels. "Reagan came to Washington and held a series of dinners at the F Street Club," McPherson said. "He used that winsome charm and aw-shucks manliness to win Congress over. I think Clinton has that gregariousness. I think he's willing to work with people, and when the time comes, to push his stack of chips into the game." For the real players in Washington, that was the key to yesterday's mood. A new pro is coming to town. This could be fun! A winner! Washington always loves a winner, at least for a while.<02:35 11-05C9999----- Copyright 1992, The Washington Post. 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