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Show The Salt Lake Tribune OPINION Friday, January 22, 1999 Speech’s Predictable Bounce Is Rough on GOP BY WALTER MEARS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS was no wonder the president's poll approval ratings bumped up overnight. WASHINGTON — They knewit was coming, but that does not spare Republi~eans the frustration of seeing President ~(linton get the boostthat always endows ty,the maestroin the State of the Union. pecially after a scandalous year in @iich he has defiedpolitical gravity with erformanceratings that wentupas his epsonal standing went down. ‘And now with an impeached president {gain taking on issues bearing the GOP imprint. He is putting them in Democratic translations the Republicans will not buy but close enoughthatClinton can say striving for civil bipartisanship. Increased defense spending, the innent of Social Security fundsin the x market, a system of individualre- ent accounts subsidized by the gov- ernment at was Clinton aimingideas toward iter, while he sought minimum» increases, targeted tax breaks, gun itrol and other steps looking toward mocratic base. old, he had close to 60 proposals gistation or budget increases that gress would have te approve. It was just a wish listof lot ofthings people want to hear,” said Sen. OrHatch, a Utah Republican. He said it Actually, that capsule review could cover most State of the Union performances, not only those of this Demvcrat- ic president. The annual ceremonialre- ports usually are lists immersed in Thetoric. They put the agenda of each president out front, although seldom to stay. Clinton’s will notin the Republican Congress. But they deal with legislation piece by piece, away from the national stage in the confines of hearing rooms and drafting sessions. Even whenthey are debated and voted in the House and Senate, the proceedings seldom command much attention outside the beltway. Legislating is dry, often dull work. But on State of the Union night, the Proposingof it is primepolitical theater. playedto a vast television audience, perhaps 60 million. And at this point, it makes no difference that mostof what he seeks will be overhauled or biocked by the Republicans who run Congress. That will happen piecemeal, later. Clinton's job approvalratings went up in the polls after his 1998 State of the Union message — a weekafter the Monica Lewinsky investigation was disclosed. Richard Nixon's poll standing bumped up past the two-thirds level after his State of the Union address in 1974, in which he set his agenda, said there had been enough of Watergate and pledged not to resign, as he finally did. But there was moreto Watergate, and as that scandal woreon, into impeachment proceed- ings, his job approval steadily sank, to 23 percentat the point he finallyquit. There has been no such erosion in Clinton's approval, despite months of disclosures about the Lewinsky affair, his confessionto it and te his own dishonesty, and then impeachment They have stayed high, higher than those of Dwight D. Eisenhower and Ronald Reaganatthis point in their two-term presidencies. His approval ratings went up again in polls released Wednesday by ABC, CBS and NBC, past 70 percent in the latter two. And beforethatState of the Union boost, Americans were telling pollsters that they did not want Clinton convicted by the Senate and thus ousted as presi- dent. Despite Republican insistence that the polls should not be a factor in impeach- ment decisions. the jurors are politi- cians, too. Some Republicans are worried about their footing on the limb of impeachment, after elections in which the case was anissue and the Democrats defied history to gain six Houseseats. To expel a president with those rat- Clinton, meanwhile, was on the road, ings, when the voters want him to serve the final two years of his term. would tisk worse GOP trouble at the polls in advertising his State of the Union wares andjoking abouthis duels with the Republican Congress. Speakingin the arena of hockey’s Buffalo Sabres, Clinton spoke of swatting awayflying puckslike a goaltender in 2000. Byanypolitical logic. the case will end shortof the 67 votesit wouldtake to fire the president. House Speaker Dennis Hastert doubts it will happen. “I'mgoing to turn around Washington. “T just wish one daythey would give and workwith that presidentif hestays in office, and I presume he probably me a mask and a fewpads when I dodge thatstuff,” he said. will,” Hastert said on ABC. Catching the Events of Our Times on ‘National Tom Radio’ Clinton’s Vision of Social Security WASHINGTON — used to watch veen have broadcastlicenses, so the competition for scoopsis fierce. A week or so ago, Tom and Ike were at the library, taking part in a circle game of pat-thehead, rub-the-tummy, scratch-the-back, MICHAEL KELLY ision news, but at some point bethe time CBS married Westing- house, NBC married General Electric -and ABC married Mickey Mouse, I sort of lost interest. More and more, I find he nts of our times on National Tom Ra- ym. Generally speaking, it broad- 7 in the morning to somewherebe1 8 and 10 at night. NTR begins each day with an update on overnight events sleeping conditions snoring reports edream coverage and analysis, followed dyearly-morning weather. But it maybefairly said that NTR nev- #r really sleeps. When events warrant, NTR does not hesitate to fulfill its duty o inform its listeners, no matter what the hour. Just this week, NTR went on THE WASHINGTON POST WRITERS GROUP devoted to the bulletin form, and en- counters between the two often begin with a brief, escalating exchange of the A core mission of NTR is to serve as a clearinghouse of interesting information about and betweenits listeners. report- vs, to be precise). recently experimented with wearing tively only the news that, bydirect obser- ter sandwiches. never reports secondhand stuff, never unlike television news, it sticks with a story over time. One of Tom’s friends at nursery school, Geordie, developed a deep personalinterest in the classroom gerbils, and also in their food. NTR’s re- cated, covering everytwist and turn in an eventful story over a peried of weeks: ‘Geordie climbed onto thegerbil cage and Mrs. Appella said, ‘No, Geordie! Geordie ate the gerbils’ food and admired hallmarkofits work, andits porting on this hasbeen splendidlydedi- Mrs. Appella No, Geordie! Geordie climbed into the gerbil cage Mrs. Appella took the gerbil cage away and put it into the other room! Anotherdifference betweentelevision latter's insistence on reporting objecvation, Tom knows to be factual. NTR speculates. never regurgitates leaks or spin Anillustration of this approach can be found in NTR's reports of events last Sunday, when Tom wentto a stable to thesis will make the plan easier for mem bers of Congress to swallow or whether Wall Street will love the ideaof pour- ing as muchas$1.2 trillion in Social special bulletin. breaking into the gram of manure-hauling: “We are two men who pick uphorsepoop.” All in all broadcast. And for NTR. just another day's work. the Treasury Overall, though, for people who be- whole newclass of untapped investors and put a floor under the market in bearish times. It would belike having one of those suckerclients whokeeps buying no lieve the Social Security system isn’t broken and needs relatively minor adjustments to remain solventindefinitely, the Clinton proposal is attractive. It throws enough bones to Wall Street, to thepri- matter what But of course, Wall Street's understandable enthusiasm will collide with thesystem to keepthem divided andconquered vatizers and to the outright enemies of the usual conservative dogmathat re. their noses (admittedly, not absolutely andkicking! Horses /ove apples. Andthis clude 401(k)-typeaccounts subsidized by market. Why wouldn't it? Regular, pre. dictable purchases of commonstocks by the Treasury would belike discovering a coils at the idea the government would end up owning percentoftheshares of The black horse was kicking impressed by the president's gingerly gestures toward privatization, which in- Se- curity Trust Fund money intothe stock Meanwhile, time is running our for those who would butcher the system. The populationfigures, let alone the merits, simplyaren't ontheirside. The over-55 age group — those retired or about to retire — nowforms 20.9 percentof the population and an even larger share of peoplelikely to vote. They will expandto 21.4 percent in 2000, 25.2 percent in ershipin the private sector? Many Re. publicanswill be torn betweentheir tra- 2010 and 30.3 percent in 5. And be- the sides having more clout, wewill be pig- attractiveness of the higher returns and headed, willful, demanding and utterly wrathful to any politician who dares ditional loyalties to Wall Street, whatever principles they have against federal ownership of corporate assets FACTORYDIRECT i SINCE 1953 WINDOWS- SIDING thesystem, first pullingoffits toes and fingers. preliminaryto a full-scale dismemberment. Theyarelikely to be un- ual ingredients. American corporations. Will the Treasury buy tobacco stocks? What if Congress bans investment in corporations that use foreign child labor? And wh socialism but intrusive governm ci beds, NTR reported the following: All horses have brown eyes. Horseseat with a most entertaining and informative There are a number of 2- and 3-yearold boys in our neighborhood andall deadof other causes before then. Still, this will not satisfy the more ambitious privatizérs who see Social Security reformas a chance to start eliminating state socialism, part free-market capital- observe horses andalso (a truly newsworthyevent) to fill up the trunk of the car with horse manure for the tomato accurate). warming. Besides, most of us will be That's both its charm and its defect. It bleats a language part New Deal, part too manyofthemwill gag onits individ news and NTR that ! appreciate is the At about 3 a.m., I woke in a mo| of searing pain to catch an urgent NTR bulletin: “Mommy, mommy, pulled off daddy's nose Band-Aid!” ‘ould have been more concise, obolive, informative and factual? Timely, slightly sensationalist tone of the port, but NTR's devotion to thebulleyrm and the exclamatory manner is Max: “I have new pants! apartment has no basement andthat she he one of those Breathe Right strips on my nes Fallows, I suppose, would carp Maxie, I'm not wearing anyun- on but daddy doesn’t. And, at the end of tidbit that mommysleeps with through 2055. This is about as far into the future as we need prudently look becausewe'll feel silly if we plan any further and then all get fried by global confused Scottish geneticist ism. What's unclear is whether this syn: Thus, NTR enlivens the day of Debbie, whe cares for Tom on Tu Oneof thebest features of NTRis that. 'y sleeps withits two principallis a Tom: “I'M not wearing any UNDERWEAR!” Max: “I have new PANTS' ing news of eachto all and ofall to each. is and to replenish the trust funds with enough money to keep them solvent have been engineeredby anideologically listeners enjoy this expressive style of doesn't cut the crusts off of peanut but- tvners (between its two principal listen- port referred to back-scratehing, not Tuesdaynight. resembles a farm animal a hitherto unknown species that might Tom's best friend Maxis particularly the day, NTR reports that Debbie's the air at 3 a.m. with a bulletin directed i Tom's friend Phoebe Lewis: “Phoebe. aveto change thelight bulbs now! ticated is NTR toits duties that it The president's vision of the Social Security of the future, outlined to Congress tummy-rubbing delivery And naturally, liberals will be pleased with President Clinton’s proposal to save the existing Sociai Security system asit much quoted and discussed: ‘My mommydoes that to my daddy every night.” The generalbeliefis that this re- National Tom Radiois written, direct- ts daily and continuously from about BY ROBERT RENO. 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