State of Union address to air

With official Washington tied up in knots over Clinton's impeachment trial, some in Congress have called for a postponement of his annual prime-time speech to a joint session of the House and Senate. But the congressional leadership has not officially asked Clinton to put it off.

White House aides are emphatic that the show will go on Jan. 19 even though that is the day Clinton's lawyers are scheduled to open his defense in the Senate trial on charges stemming from the Monica Lewinsky affair. Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) said Sunday that Clinton should give the address, even though it may be "uncomfortable."

Many of the president's political advisers view the speech as an immensely important opportunity to convince Americans that he can still lead. A high job approval rating is his best defense against a Senate conviction, they say, and Clinton's poll ratings generally improve after State of the Union addresses.

"Our objective is to show continued vitality and energy," said White House deputy chief of staff Maria Echaveste. "We have a lot of work to do."

Over the weekend, Clinton scribbled a 20-30 page, double-spaced second draft of the speech. Another revised draft or two, and he will begin rehearsing in the White House family theater.

Whether Clinton directly addresses the Lewinsky matter when he faces lawmakers and TV cameras in the House chamber is largely a personal decision and "one that most likely will be put off until the end," press secretary Joe Lockhart said.

The president didn't mention the scandal last year, days after it surfaced, and his poll numbers jumped.

Also on hold for now is how specific Clinton will get on Social Security reform.

One top adviser, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the White House is struggling with how to progress beyond last year's clarion call to "Save Social Security first," without boxing Clinton in on details not yet weighed by congressional Democrats.

"We want to move the ball forward a little without making anyone feel they've been left behind," this adviser said.

The president has been very publicly working out the rhetoric and policy of the speech. o the Democratic Leadership Council, he spoke of a "Third Way" alternative to the old, ideological lines of conservatives and liberals.

Addressing the Detroit Economic Club last Friday, he tested the catch phrase "American economic renaissance," which echoed of the "New Covenant" from his 1995 State of the Union address.

The sound bite from Clinton's Jan. 6 celebration of a $76 billion surplus - "We can say the era of big deficits is over!" - rang like the headlines from his 1996 State of the Union when he proclaimed, "The era of big government is over."

The substance similarly takes shape by connecting the dots between Clinton's recent public remarks:

n Jan. 2. In his weekly radio broadcast, Clinton countered critics of his defense policy by asking for $100 billion over six years to beef up military readiness.

n Jan. 4. In his first White House appearance this year, Clinton called for a $6.2 billion, five-year package of tax cuts and other help for families giving long-term care to the elderly and disabled.

"Previous State of the Union speeches have been about children and education," said White House communications director Ann Lewis. "This year you'll see an attention to Social Security, long-term care and Medicare. As the president talks about what our future is, one thing is we're getting older."

n Jan. 5. Clinton proposed $215 million in his next budget to test and treat inmates for drug use to keep them from returning to crime once freed.

n Jan. 6. Trumpeting the budget surplus, Clinton warned against resting on laurels or hastily squandering the pot on tax cuts. He spoke of "investment needs" in education, job training and health research.

n Jan. 7. Clinton called for tripling funds for after-school programs that keep kids motivated and occupied in the hours before their parents get home from work.

This week, White House events on the environment, health care and crime will round out the policy.

"This president's got an awful lot he wants to accomplish," said White House communications strategist Paul Begala. "He's going to challenge the country and the Congress to address" those issues.

Aides acknowledged that much of this year's speech is likely to ring of the unfinished business from last year's address: national education standards and testing; child care; school construction; the anti-tobacco campaign against youth smoking.

"We hope the new Congress will take the lessons of the election to heart and try to get a lot more done than the last one," said domestic policy chief Bruce Reed.

Could there be any surprises in Clinton's speech? "I don't want to scoop his news," Begala said.

01-12-99