Bridge over troubled water
Bill Clinton was returned to the White House for a second term as president of the United States yesterday, after winning the November election on a promise to build a bridge to the 21st century. However, one can't help but wonder what kind of bridge he plans to build given the troubles his leadership is facing and his weak position as leader of the world's only superpower.
Recent polls may be unanimous in showing that Clinton is riding a crest of popularity -- the highest he has enjoyed since his first inauguration four years ago. But polls reflect impulses and people's feelings of the moment. In the current partying mood of inauguration week, most Americans are giving Clinton the benefit of the doubt. After all, they did send him back to the White House for four more years.
But the honeymoon between Clinton and the electorate may be short-lived. The president already has a multitude of problems to deal with from his first term, and these are likely to limit his second term ambitions. No doubt he will still put forth grand ideas as he did in his first term, but this time round his vision is likely to be tempered by a restricted policy agenda.
Clinton could not have asked for a worse moment to begin his second term. He is facing three separate investigations: one regarding sexual harassment charges by a former staff member while he was governor of Arkansas, another involving contributions from foreign sources for his reelection campaign, and a third into the affair now known as Whitewater. The potential scandals may not have derailed his reelection campaign, but they will continue to haunt his leadership, and could further damage his reputation.
His leadership will also be handicapped by the Republican- controlled Congress and the power-sharing arrangement he has had to contend with for the last two years. The American electorate sent a powerful message last November that despite their willingness to return Clinton to power, they wanted to preserve many of the conservative ideas and programs drawn up in the Republicans' Contract with America. When it comes to the legislature's upcoming agenda, the Republicans are likely to take more initiative than the president.
Clinton's domestic agenda for the next four years is therefore likely to be more pragmatic than ambitious. His top domestic priority, as well as the Republican-controlled Congress's, will be balancing the federal budget, a common objective which neither side has succeeded in coming to terms with. His other ambitions, such as health and social reforms, are likely to be placed on the back burner. The most one can expect will be modest reforms that reflect Republican dictates and not his.
Foreign policy is the area where we can expect Clinton to be more assertive as his hands are less tied by Congress. In the past two years he has scored a number of successes that any American president would be proud of: the Middle East peace process, NATO's expansion, an international commitment to combat terrorism, an American presence in the Asia-Pacific region, and a push for world trade liberalization. These are feats that have been credited to his personal leadership and his foreign policy team.
Second terms, historically, have provided an opportunity for the American president to aggressively push his vision and agenda without being inhibited by reelection worries. Alas, this is not to be the case with President Clinton. The road to the next millennium is certain to be bumpy. Clinton may promise to build a bridge for Americans to the 21st century, but in his case, he will be building that bridge simply by default as the last American president of the 20th century.