STATE OF THE UNION : Dole Calls Clinton ‘Chief Obstacle’

WASHINGTON —  Sen. Bob Dole, seizing a golden opportunity to respond for Republicans and enhance his own political prospects, accused President Clinton on Tuesday night of standing in the way of balancing the budget, cutting taxes and reforming welfare.

“We will challenge President Clinton again and again to walk the talk he talks so well,” Dole said in his prepared Republican answer to Clinton’s State of the Union address.

Dole seized the moment to describe starkly different philosophies--his own versus Clinton’s, the Republicans versus the Democrats.

While speaking as the Senate majority leader, Dole also is the leading Republican presidential contender.

Dole said at times election-year debates will seem like arguments over “a maze of conflicting numbers. . . . But what we are really arguing about is the values that will shape our nation, our government and the future of your child sleeping down the hall.”

Dole said, “President Clinton may well be the rear guard of the welfare state. He is the chief obstacle to a balanced budget and a balanced-budget amendment.”

Earlier, in remarks before the formal GOP response was delivered, Dole said his message was that “the best days are still ahead of us” but that Republicans remained “concerned about America and the direction of America.”

“We have different ways to achieve the goals, different values, different priorities,” he said.

Dole’s campaign portrayed the response as a chance for Americans to contrast the senator from Kansas and Clinton. Dole saw Clinton’s speech as “a signal that the race is on.”

The Republicans had proposed the novel approach of delivering their response today, taking a day to think about Clinton’s remarks. The idea was abandoned when several networks turned them down for coverage.

Nelson Warfield, spokesman for Dole’s presidential campaign, said there was “a burden and an advantage” for Dole’s dual role as a candidate and the majority leader. “We’ve had to spend a lot of time off the campaign trail. Dole has put his job in the Senate as the first priority. He has the burden of leadership, and this is part of that job.”