EDITORIAL: The man from Hope (01/24/93)

EDITORIAL

The man from Hope

Last week it seemed the incoming administration of Bill Clinton was backpedaling on promises made by the campaign of Bill Clinton. At the same time there were embarrassments concerning the ethics of administration appointees and missteps on foreign policy, like a turnaround on the matter of Haitian refugees and the extension of an olive branch to Saddam Hussein. These, surely, were not good omens for an incoming administration.

As the pre-inaugural festivities began several days before the big day, there were symbols, symbols everywhere - mostly symbols of the incoming president-elect's intention to practice the politics of inclusion. And that - though sometimes overdone and overplayed for the TV cameras - was good.

The theme of inclusion resounded into Inauguration Day, January 20, as Americans of all stripes were made to feel a part of the change and renewal (two favorite Clinton themes) to come. The inauguration of America's 42nd president, William Jefferson Clinton, signalled much more than just a changing of the guard in Washington. It was the arrival of the new American order to complement the new world order that preceded it.

"Today, a generation raised in the shadows of the cold war assumes new responsibilities in a world warmed by the sunshine of freedom, but threatened still by ancient hatreds and new plagues." These were the words of Bill Clinton, the first of his generation - the baby boomers - as he ascended to the office of president of the United States.

"There is no longer a clear division between what is foreign and what is domestic," said the former governor from Arkansas who as Candidate Clinton had pledged to the American electorate that he would focus, first and foremost, on domestic issues. "America must continue to lead the world we did so much to make." These were reassuring words to those who feared the primary of domestic concerns would necessarily mean a diminished role for America in the international arena.

"Our greatest strength is the power of our ideas, which are still new in many lands. Across the world, we see them embraced and we rejoice. Our hopes, our hearts, our hands are with those on every continent who are building democracy and freedom. Their cause is America's cause," President Clinton underlined.

To be sure, many questions remain regarding the foreign policy to be pursued by the new administration. Indeed, much has been made of the fact that many of President Clinton's appointments to the State Department are "retreads" from the Jimmy Carter White House. And, observers have noted that the appointments reflect no clear-cut approach or consensus on foreign relations.

Also questionable is the naming of one person, as an ambassador at large and "special adviser to the secretary (of state) on the new independent states and Russia." Will this mean that, once again, Russia will be the "greater among equals," the beneficiary of special consideration and special treatment at the expense of other successor states to the USSR? That of course, was the problem with George Bush's policy toward Ukraine and other newly independent countries that rose from the ashes of the Soviet empire.

But President Clinton has pledged to keep the door open to his Oval Office. We hope this is one pledge he does keep and actually listens to the American people, unlike his predecessor (who ignored Ukrainian Americans and then delivered his disastrous "Chicken Kiev" speech, certainly not ingratiating himself to the people of Ukraine).

Now that the inauguration is over, it's time for the Clinton administration to drop the symbolism and get on with the job at hand. We wish the new president wisdom and success as, like other Americans, we Ukrainian Americans have a lot of hope in the man from Hope, Arkansas.

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