FACES AND PLACES: Is the "comeback kid" coming back? (01/07/96)

FACES AND PLACES

by Myron B. Kuropas

Is the "comeback kid" coming back?

It's 1996 and the presidential primaries are just ahead. Will Bill Clinton, the "comeback kid" of American politics, be re-elected? There are many reasons to believe he will.

Colin Powell is out of the picture, and it now appears that neither Ross Perot nor Jessie Jackson will run. Ross Perot has been diminished. President Clinton helped Jessie Jackson Jr. get elected to Congress and the senior Mr. Jackson seems content.

Will African-Americans vote for the GOP candidate even if his running mate is Colin Powell? Forget it. Blacks need big government. As Dinesh D'Souza points out in his book "The End of Racism," "Although blacks make up 10 percent of the civilian work force, about 24 percent of blacks (compared with 14 percent of whites) are employed by the federal, state, and local governments... In addition, 50 percent of blacks (more than 15 million persons) live in households that receive some form of welfare, compared with 18 percent of whites." Speaking at a rally of furloughed black federal employees recently, the elder Mr. Jackson told them to "remember who got you your jobs."

Blacks also distrust Mr. Powell, of Jamaican origin with middle-class values, because he succeeded in America's white world. With the apparent encouragement of the black leadership, many blacks, especially the youth, have adopted "a hostile stance toward including the values of scholarship and study," writes Mr. Dinesh. "Among

some blacks, 'getting ignorant' is considered a virtue and as a source of self-esteem. Indeed several studies have shown, contrary to popular wisdom, that the self-esteem of young black males is higher than that of any other group."

Another positive for Mr. Clinton is his rising image as an international "peacemaker." Once he discovered that Jimmy Carter was pushing for the Nobel Peace Prize, our president decided he was more deserving. Hence his high-profile actions in Haiti, Northern Ireland, the Middle East and Bosnia. The reader is reminded that the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in the fall, just before the election. Poor Jimmy.

The Olympic Games will be held this summer in Atlanta. You can bet President Clinton will capitalize on that spectacle.

Mr. Clinton also seems to be getting his White House in order. Although many of the young, rude and pompous mediocrities mentioned in Bob Woodward's "The Agenda: Inside the Clinton White House" and Ronald Kessler's "Inside the White House" are still milling around, they seem to be fading into the background. The campaign mentality remains, however, and the motto, as Bob Woodward pointed out, is still "whatever it takes to save the Clinton presidency."

And "whatever it takes" means just that. The president governs by polls and contradictions. He is rudderless, and value-neutral. He talked about "values" recently, but it was only because he had a conversation with Ben Waltenberg, author of the best-selling book "Values Matter Most." Today it's chic to talk about values. Tomorrow it may not be.

No one really knows the real Bill Clinton because he doesn't exist. Even George Stephanopoulos a close associate, doesn't know him. He describes Mr. Clinton in Mr. Woodward's book as similar to a " 'kaleidoscope.' What you see is where you stand and where you're looking at him. He will put one facet toward you, but that's only one facet." The facet is real, Mr. Woodward concluded, "but it could change in an instant, as soon as Clinton turned."

When it comes to Clinton's budget views, there is always conflict, "an unbridgeable chasm," according to Mr. Stephanopoulos. There is an inner struggle between "the investment, populist, soak-the-rich side versus the deficit

reduction, slash-the-spending side." Right now Mr. Clinton seems to be in his soak-the-rich mode.

Our president tells us he vetoes Congressional budget bills because they violate "the values of the American people" without bothering to mention which "values." He talks about "cuts" in Medicare when both he and his wife know the GOP budget increases benefits to the elderly, albeit at a slower pace. Bill and Hillary are on record as having supported similar measures just last year.

And how does the press handle all this? Interviewing "suffering" furloughed federal workers and the "poor and needy," the impression is given that it's all the fault of hard-hearted Republicans lacking compassion. And while these same federal workers were supposedly ready to stand in a bread line, Bill and Hillary hosted 12 Christmas parties in seven days. Were any of the laid-off workers or poor and needy invited? I don't think so.

Add to the above the "nuke Newt" media campaign, the lowest unemployment rate in decades, low interest and low inflation rates, the highly effective Clinton campaign style, the money pouring into the Clinton campaign from Hollywood and unions such as the National Education Association, and the fact that the GOP nominee will spend millions just to win the nomination while the president will spend next to nothing, and there is reason for the growing optimism in the White House.

All that could change, of course. The GOP nominee could catch fire and blow the very weak persona called Bill Clinton and his programs out of the water. Someone once said that "in politics, you can fool some of the people all the time and the rest don't matter." I don't believe it. If the GOP nominee plays it right, clearly identifies the issues, sticks to his principles, doesn't waver, and does it all with style and humor, we could still have a Republican landslide. Although Americans have a short attention span when it comes to politics, they don't like being fooled.

Bubbling on the horizon is the Whitewater affair. Bill and Hillary appear vulnerable. They are stalling, but there are some very dangerous shoals ahead for the First Family that could easily sink their joint presidency.

Finally, there is the press. Inordinately liberal, the press is still giving Bill and Hillary a free ride. That could change if the Whitewater affairs gets ugly. There could be a feeding frenzy that will make Watergate look like a day in the country.

Throw in a few still-to-be-discovered bimbo eruptions, one or two more embarrassing Cabinet resignations, a dip in the economy, and voila, the "comeback kid" won't.

Politically, 1996 could be a watershed year in the life of our republic. It's not too early to begin thinking about what our Ukrainian community can do to become part of this year's political agenda.

| Home Page |