The Lame Duck Soars
Dismissed by the pundits as
a lame duck just three weeks ago, President Bill Clinton commanded their
unanimous respect this week to reign as Issue 1. "The president is back!"
cheered Steve Roberts (CNN's Late Edition ). Clinton spun himself as a
loving husband by getting "caught" on videotape dancing with wife, Hillary, on
a Caribbean beach. (The pundits were split on whether Clinton deliberately
exposed himself, Hillary, and Chelsea to the photographers' lenses. Fox News
Sunday 's Juan Williams insisted that Hillary didn't know about the cameras,
because "no woman wants to be photographed in a bathing suit.") Clinton also
luxuriated in the good news of the budget surplus and introduced his plans to
expand Medicare and support child care. "It doesn't get any better than this
for a president," said Gloria Borger (PBS's Washington Week in
Review ).
Although
the president's two new modest social programs were recognized as "warmed-over
Dick Morris" (Mark Shields, PBS's NewsHour With Jim Lehrer ), all saluted
Clinton for the "terrific" politics. The president's "cradle to grave"
proposals (Pat Buchanan, The McLaughlin Group ) were likely to paralyze
the Republicans, because nobody wants to go on record as being against child
care (Paul Gigot, NewsHour ). Unless the Republicans slip out of the
sleeper hold, Clinton's two initiatives will serve as "wedge issues" to
separate the two parties in the minds of voters for the 1998 election (Tony
Blankley, Late Edition ).
"They're scared stiff of Bill Clinton," said
Shields of the Republicans. One Republican, Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas, appeared
more stupid than brave when he walked into the Democrats' trap on CBS's Face
the Nation . Gramm compared Medicare to a sinking Titanic that
shouldn't accept any new people, to which Clinton loyalists George
Stephanopoulos (ABC's This Week ) and Secretary of Health and Human
Services Donna Shalala ( Face the Nation ) responded with the
administration's line. Medicare isn't the Titanic , they said, it's a
"lifeboat" for millions of Americans.
The budget
surplus, which is providing Clinton with excellent cover for his new social
programs (Gigot; David Gergen, The McLaughlin Group ), was declared
illusory and temporary by This Week 's two conservatives, who failed to
note these seemingly obvious truths last week when the surplus was Issue 1.
George Will stated without dissent that the surplus is an accounting trick: If
the balance sheet were to include the trust funds (Social Security, etc.), the
real deficit would stand at about $140 billion. Meanwhile, Bill Kristol
predicted (fervently hoped?) that the Asian flu would soon strike the United
States, evaporate the surplus, and vanquish the Clinton juggernaut in the
process.
Iranian President Mohammed Khatami's televised
overture to the United States earned Issue 2 honors, though this unfamiliar
topic strained the pundits' omniscience. Tony Blankley described it as the "one
glimmer of light coming out of the Middle East for America." Al Hunt (CNN's
Capital Gang ) asked, "Is Khatami the Gorbachev of the Middle East?"
The
Indonesian economic crisis (Issue 3) was a bit of a stumper too. Only Thomas
Friedman ( Washington Week in Review ) came to the studio prepared,
cribbing from his next day's New York Times column: According to a
popular one-liner in Jakarta, the ruling Suharto family, which owns toll roads,
banks, and other businesses, "[has] everything--but a sense of shame." Friedman
also previewed the idea that Southeast Asia's economic troubles might cause the
indigenous populations of Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia to attack the
ethnic Chinese who dominate commerce in those countries. How might China
respond to such an ethnic war? he asked.
Hey, Kids! The new official name of
ABC's Sunday show is This Week With Sam and Cokie .Reports that the show
will soon change its name to This Week
With Milk and Cookies ,
broadcast Bugs Bunny cartoons between magic tricks, and host a studio audience
of Cub Scouts and Brownies are unconfirmed as "Pundit Central" goes to
press.
Who's
Minding the Show? The closing credits of Friday's Washington Week in
Review listed Elizabeth Arnold, Jeffrey Birnbaum, David Broder, and Ronald
Brownstein as the guests. The night's guests were Robin Wright, Gloria Borger,
Thomas Friedman, and Alan Murray.
One of Washington's Favorite Lies:
Late Edition 's Frank Sesno cited his desire to spend more time with his
wife and children as one of the reasons he had decided to step down as host of
the show.
Punditus Interruptus,
Week 4: Al Hunt stepped on Robert Novak twice this week while Novak held
his fire, making Hunt the interruption leader, 4-2.
--Jack
Shafer
