Friday, January 28, 2000
Tristaters: Clinton packed a punch
BY HOWARD WILKINSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Like him or loathe him, a number of Tristate political activists agreed on one thing after watching President Clinton's eighth and final State of the Union address Thursday: The man can make a whale of a speech.
“Sure, he's great at speech-making; that's how he got there,” said Mary Anne Christie, a Republican and former Madeira mayor. “The man can talk.”
Marian Spencer, a former Cincinnati councilwoman, called the speech “the most comprehensive State of the Union speech I have ever heard.”
“I was so pleased and so proud I want to get rid of term limits so we can have this man for another term,” said Mrs. Spencer, the first African-American woman elected to City Council.
“No matter what his critics say about him, the man's ability can not be questioned,” Mrs. Spencer said. “When I listened to him, I thought, "This is a 21st century man who has to deal with a 19th century Congress.'”
Ms. Christie said that what struck her most about the speech was “how very political it was.” She noted that the president made numerous references to Vice President Al Gore, who is running to replace him, and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is a candidate for the U.S. Senate seat in New York.
“To me, it sounded like a futile attempt to win back the American people, with a lot of new initiatives that sound good, but who knows what they will cost,” Ms. Christie said.
“He just never stopped — it was one proposal after another after another,” Ms. Christie said. “I can't imagine how he expects to accomplish all this in his last year.”
Pete Witte, the president of the Price Hill Civic Club, describes himself as a conservative but he said he heard much that was appealing in Mr. Clinton's speech.
The president's call for a reduction in the “marriage penalty” in the tax code was “very encouraging,” Mr. Witte said, as was Mr. Clinton's suggestion that the federal investment in troubled school districts be doubled.
“There was a lot I heard that sounded good for families; and that is what I listen for in a speech like this,” Mr. Witte said.
Mr. Witte said he would have liked to have heard the president offer more help for owners of small businesses “who struggle to provide pensions and health care for employees. He didn't say a thing about that.”
The president's continued call for cooperation among the nation's leaders gave the Rev. Rousseau O'Neal hope that Washington leaders are working for constituents. Bipartisan efforts have been the staple of the president's terms, he said.
“You can see why we have ascertained what we have ascertained,” said the Rev. O'Neal, pastor of the Rockdale Baptist Church in Avondale. “We are standing strong together.”
What he liked hearing was tax breaks geared toward helping families and projects aimed at improving schools and the environment in which children are taught.
And the Rev. Mr. O'Neal liked Mr. Clinton's challenge that the time to make these and other improvements is now, when the economy is good and crime is low. “He hit a home run,” said Dan Radford, executive secretary-treasurer of the Cincinnati AFL-CIO. “And I think you will find that when polling comes out over the next few days, that Vice President (Al) Gore hit a home run just by being there.”
While Mr. Radford does not agree with all the president's policies, such as charter schools, the union boss liked most of what he heard. Working families want an affordable life, with quality medical care and educational opportunities, Mr. Radford said.
Chip Gerhardt, the executive director of the Hamilton County Republican Party, agreed with the president's remarks about the military but took issue with his numerous government proposals.
“He proposed everything from A to Z tonight,” Mr. Gerhardt said. “It was a huge list of proposals he laid out.”
Johnathan Holifield, a lawyer and vice president of the Cincinnati branch of the NAACP, approved of the president's call for increased government funding of the Head Start program. Mr. Holifield said such proposals will ultimately “buffer the president's legacy.”
“I'm glad he sees the value of asset building and using the same principle high-income individuals use and applying it to low to moderate income individuals,” said Mr. Holifield.
“In the near future, the scandals that plagued his administration will carry the day,” Mr. Holifield said. “But historians will be kinder than his contemporaries.
Phillip Pina and Jeff Carlton contributed to this report.
Area Republicans pan president's proposals
Text of State of the Union address
AP coverage
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