Clinton Casts Back 4 Years for a Dire Message

SAN ANTONIO —  In a break from the focus on the future that has marked his reelection campaign, President Clinton turned to the past Saturday, drawing a nightmarish picture of an America wracked by hopelessness, bitter social divisions and futile politics before he won the White House in 1992.

“It was a time of deep and widespread frustration in America,” Clinton said in his weekly radio address, taped before he embarked on a full day of campaigning that took him from Texas to Florida, with stops in Arkansas and Louisiana.

“Unemployment was high. The deficit was out of control. New jobs were scarce. Our values seemed under assault from every direction. And to many it seemed our problems were unsolvable,” Clinton said in an effort to get voters to reflect on the progress he asserts has occurred during his watch.

“Rising crime would overwhelm us,” Clinton continued in his bleak portrait of the early 1990s. “Broken families trapped on welfare would never break free from the cycle of dependence. . . . Washington, caught up in blame games and tangled in politics, was unable or unwilling to act.”

Clinton’s comments were hardly the first effort by a candidate to conjure images of a dark past as a way to lure voters to a sunnier vision. Ronald Reagan employed such techniques to devastating effect in 1980, when he offered a withering review of the years of Jimmy Carter’s administration.

Nor were Saturday’s remarks the first time Clinton has harked back to the time before his election, particularly the economic distress felt by many Americans. Still, Clinton’s comments made for an unusually stark break from the approach he adopted during much of this campaign.

Later, at a boisterous rally in front of the Alamo, Clinton continued down much the same path.

Again invoking the dire past, Clinton told the Texas crowd that four years ago the nation had “widespread frustration, rising crime, increasing family breakdown, rising welfare rolls, fears, hatred--and people had given up on being able to do anything about any of our problems.”

*

The president then asked supporters to “look at the evidence” of the past four years, including job growth, rising homeownership, shrinking welfare rolls, higher child-support collections, a decline in income inequality and a range of other economic gains.

At that point, he no longer could resist an explicit reference to Reagan and the conservative Republican’s optimistic message of “morning in America”: “What do you think the Republicans would be saying if they had a president” who could run on the economic gains of the past four years? They’d be saying it is morning in America. They’d be saying that the president can virtually levitate.”

Clinton’s appearance in Texas was a sign of his campaign’s confidence on the last weekend of his fight for a second term. Polls have shown him running slightly behind Republican challenger Bob Dole in Texas. But with the president ahead in most of the nation’s other large states, he decided to make a final bid for an upset here.

*

The president also used his visit to boost the prospects of Democratic congressional candidates, a major part of his agenda in Arkansas and Louisiana as well.

In harking to the past Saturday, Clinton was seeking to turn around an issue once exploited by GOP candidates, who would routinely excoriate the Carter years of the late 1970s as a melancholy era of rock-bottom national morale, plunging U.S. prestige and a feeble economy.

“I do think there was much more dissatisfaction, disillusionment and concern about the future in this country four years ago” than now, said Doug Sosnik, the White House political director, when asked about Clinton’s dark description in the radio address. “That was perhaps similar to this country in 1979.”

Both in the radio address and the San Antonio speech, Clinton established a link between old days and old politics, contrasting the approach he has followed on such issues as crime and welfare with what he called the “old politics of division.”

When it came to law and order, the president said in Texas, the old politics of division dictated either “tough talk” about criminals or “being nice to people” to try to keep them out of trouble in the first place.

“I said, well that’s the dumbest thing I ever heard of,” Clinton said. “Why shouldn’t we try to keep our kids out of trouble in the first place and still do things that will be tough on serious criminals?”

Welfare, he said, was a “whipping boy” in the old politics of division, which created a gulf between one group that accused recipients of being “lazy” and another that focused solely on taking care of their children.

“I said, ‘Why do we have to choose between a system that doesn’t work and protecting children?’ ” Clinton said in a defense of his approach to welfare reform. “Why can’t we do both?”

In the radio address, Clinton sought to make the same point about his approach to budget policy. Once the domain of anti-deficit Republicans--who with much success blasted “free-spending Democrats”--Clinton repeatedly has trumpeted the sharp drop in the deficit over the past four years.

“When it came to the budget, the old politics of division demanded a choice between balancing the budget and living up to the obligations we owe to one another and to our future,” Clinton said on the radio. “We said that’s no choice--we have to do both.”

Explaining his overall approach in office, the president said, “I had a simple strategy: Reject old labels, false debates and divisive politics.”

Vice President Al Gore, meanwhile, intensified his efforts Saturday to help Democrats regain control of the Senate. In Iowa, Gore sought to help Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin stave off a Republican challenge that has gained some momentum in recent weeks. And in Illinois, Gore stumped on behalf of Democrat Dick Durbin, the favorite in a race for a seat being given up by Democratic Sen. Paul Simon.

Gore was to end his day at a late-evening rally in Northern California for Michela Aliota, a former aide. Aliota is trying to unseat Republican Rep. Frank Riggs of Windsor.

Times staff writer Elizabeth Shogren contributed to this story.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

A Look at the Issues

Here is a brief look at how President Clinton and Bob Dole stand on issues of importance to California and the nation:

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

Clinton--Advocates “mend it, don’t end it” approach. While opposing quota systems, supports programs that make “extra effort” to promote qualified minorities. Opposes Proposition 209, the California ballot measure to ban state affirmative action programs.

Dole--A former supporter of such programs, he now opposes them, arguing the approach “did not work” and that the nation “cannot fight the evil of discrimination with more discrimination.” Emerged recently as a vocal supporter of Proposition 209.

DEFENSE

Clinton--Has continued cuts in uniformed personnel, now at 1.5 million, down from a peak of 2.1 million in the late 1980s. Supports a low-cost, limited antimissile defense program. Wants to fund improvements in the quality of life for active-duty military.

Dole--Criticizes Clinton for wanting to cut defense spending too much. Backed slightly larger defense budget than Clinton requested. Calls for immediate commitment to a national missile-defense system. Wants to raise military pay.

IMMIGRATION

Clinton--Backs a “moderate” cut in legal immigration. Has increased Immigration and Naturalization Service’s budget by 73% since 1993, adding hundreds more border agents. Opposes most social services for illegal immigrants but would let their children attend public schools. Wants Congress to restore some welfare benefits for legal immigrants, which were ended this year.

Dole--Backs “modest, temporary” cut in legal immigration. Calls for increased border patrols and more aggressive enforcement of deportation of criminal immigrants. Supports legislation allowing states to deny public education to children of illegal immigrants.

ABORTION

Clinton--Supports abortion rights. Overturned “gag rule” on clinics and ended ban on fetal-tissue research. Vetoed legislation to ban certain late-term abortions that opponents call “partial-birth” procedures.

Dole--Opposes abortion except in cases of rape, incest or when the mother’s life is in danger. Opposes federal funding for the procedure in all cases.

CRIME

Clinton--Vows to complete pledge to fund 100,000 new police officers. Won laws to ban some assault weapons and impose a waiting period for handgun purchases. Proposes to ban armor-piercing bullets and require states to test inmates and parolees for drug use.

Dole--Supports abolition of parole for violent offenders. Opposed laws banning certain assault weapons and imposing a handgun waiting period. Supports creation of “instant check” system to make sure people who buy guns don’t have criminal records.

EDUCATION

Clinton--For families with annual income up to $100,000, proposes a $10,000 deduction in taxable income for costs of tuition and training at any age. Proposes a $1,500 tax credit for first-year college tuition, effective for a second year if the student maintains a B average.

Dole--Proposes a $5-billion federal-state program of “opportunity scholarships” to help low- and middle-income families send their children to public or private schools of their choice. Would eliminate the Department of Education.

ENVIRONMENT

Clinton--Wants to accelerate cleanup of toxic waste sites. Would maintain clean air and water standards but allow more cooperation between industry and government on meeting rules.

Dole--Supports requiring government to compensate property owners if environmental regulation or other government action causes a major loss in property value.

FOREIGN POLICY

Clinton--Pledges to continue efforts that got the Middle East peace negotiations on track. Promises to press China on human rights while expanding trade. Supports extending trade initiatives in Asia and Latin America.

Dole--Criticizes Clinton for conducting “photo op” diplomacy. Opposes U.S. troops serving under U.N. command. Supports expanding NATO to include Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic.

HEALTH CARE

Clinton--Calls for a bipartisan commission to recommend ways to insure long-term solvency of Medicare program. Wants to guarantee coverage for workers between jobs and expand Medicaid coverage for poor children.

Dole--Supports the commission approach to dealing with Medicare financing. Supports allowing people to finance their health care expenses with tax-deferred medical savings accounts.

TAX POLICY

Clinton--Supports $500-per-child tax credit that would apply to children up to age 13 and families with annual incomes up to $60,000; families earning $60,000 to $75,000 would get a smaller credit. Proposes tax credit for employers hiring former welfare recipients.

Dole--Proposes a 15% across-the-board cut in income tax rates, a cut in capital-gains tax rates from 28% to 14%, a $500-per-child tax credit for families and other forms of tax relief totaling $548 billion over six years. Calls for reining in Internal Revenue Service power.