[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 18 (Wednesday, February 12, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E238-E239]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         THE INAUGURAL ADDRESS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. LEE H. HAMILTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 12, 1997

  Mr. HAMILTON. Mr. Speaker, I am inserting my Washington Report for 
Wednesday, January 29, 1997 into the Congressional Record.

                 President Clinton's Inaugural Address

       The inauguration of a President is one of the great rituals 
     of American democracy. It shows our country's peaceful 
     transition of power every four years, and it is a time for 
     our nation to unite after the divisions of the previous term. 
     A President's inaugural address is important because it sets 
     the tone of his administration. Several themes stood out to 
     me as President Clinton took the oath of office in the last 
     presidential inauguration of the 20th century.


                                Optimism

       One theme was optimism about the future. The President said 
     that the nation stands ``on the edge of a bright new prospect 
     in human affairs''. He has hopeful visions of a ``new century 
     in a new millennium'', and said we should ``shape the hope of 
     this day into the noblest chapter in our history''. It is 
     clear that he sees his presidency as an opportunity to guide 
     America through the challenges of the next few years into a 
     ``land of new promise'' in the next century.
       Moving into the ``land of new promise'' was highlighted 
     several times, almost as his central, unifying theme for his 
     second term. I have been impressed by how much the 
     President's attention is in the year 2000 and the new 
     century. President Clinton is very much focussed on the 
     history books. He sees the country as being at a turning 
     point, and he remembers that the great turn-of-the-century 
     Presidents--Thomas Jefferson and Theodore Roosevelt--governed 
     a country undergoing profound changes and created 
     opportunities that altered the course of history.
       He wants to do the same. He wants to lead the country 
     through the transition into the next century, all the time 
     keeping the American dream of opportunity alive. He called 
     for a new spirit for a new century, with Americans working 
     together to build ``a nation ever moving forward, toward 
     realizing the full potential of all its citizens.'' He 
     clearly believes America has a lot of assets for its 
     leadership role for the rest of the world. He referred to 
     America as the ``indispensable nation'', with the strongest 
     economy on earth and building stronger families and thriving 
     communities.
       The President's clear sense of optimism dominated the 
     address, and it was important to hear. But I think the 
     President missed an opportunity to educate the American 
     people about the tough choices that must be made preparing 
     for the future.


                             Reconciliation

       Another major theme in his address was reconciliation. The 
     President urged Americans to bury racial and political 
     divisions and urged a new spirit of community. The 
     inauguration's coming on Martin Luther King Jr. Day added 
     strength to the President's appeal for racial healing. He 
     spoke of the divide of race as being ``America's constant 
     curse''.
       He also appealed for an end to the partisan squabbling in 
     Congress, and that sentiment was very well received by 
     Americans who are weary of the constant bickering. The 
     President quoted the late Cardinal Bernadin saying, ``It is 
     wrong to waste the precious gift of time on acrimony and 
     division.'' In perhaps the most memorable line in the 
     address, he reminded us that ``America demands and deserves 
     big things from us, and nothing big ever came from being 
     small''.
       The President believes that if the country can come 
     together and put the divisions aside, it can work together 
     toward unparalleled prosperity and freedom for ourselves and 
     for the rest of the world. The President's theme of 
     reconciliation is the right one, but I do wish he had done 
     more to challenge Americans to care more and do more for 
     those less fortunate. We have a time of remarkable prosperity 
     in the country, but there are very wide disparities. I think 
     it is appropriate for the President to urge that more of us 
     think about the common good and contribute to it.


                           Role of Government

       Another theme was the role of government. I was struck by 
     the sentence in his address that ``we have resolved for our 
     time a great debate over the role of government''. Since the 
     beginning of our republic, the great question of American 
     democracy has been over the role of government in the 
     country. The President updated former President Ronald 
     Reagan's declaration sixteen years ago that ``government is 
     not the solution to our problem, government is the problem''. 
     President Clinton challenged that by saying, ``Today we can 
     declare government is not the problem, and government is not 
     the solution. We, the American people, we are the solution.'' 
     Here he reflected the view that most politicians have picked 
     up recently from their constituents, that government is 
     something more than the enemy of the people.
       The President's view of government is that it should not 
     attempt to solve people's problems for them nor should it 
     leave them alone to fend for themselves. He wants a 
     government that gives people the tools to solve their own 
     problems and to make the most of their own lives. Like most 
     Americans, he likes the idea of a government that is smaller, 
     lives within its means, and tries to do more with less.
       I wonder whether the President is overly optimistic in 
     believing that his first term largely settled the debate over 
     the role of government. My sense is that this is the central 
     issue of American politics and it is not going to go away. 
     His formulation of the role of government in his address was 
     broad enough and vague enough to get most everyone's 
     approval, but it may be too broad and vague to resolve a 
     variety of questions about the role of government.


                               Conclusion

       I think President Clinton worked very hard to state the 
     essence of his convictions and his purpose as President. His 
     desire to lead the country in its transition into the new 
     century and the ``land of new promise'' was clear to all who 
     heard his address.
       Perhaps some were looking for sweeping policy initiatives 
     or bold new programs, but

[[Page E239]]

     the President really has little choice at this point. There 
     is a shortage of federal funds; the American people do not 
     want new taxes; and the major problems of government in 
     recent years have been to restrain spending on current 
     programs. Some criticize the address for not grappling with 
     the tough problems that face the nation, like campaign 
     finance reform, bringing entitlement spending under control, 
     and improving the educational system. The President offered 
     very few specifics, but I am not at all sure that such 
     detailed proposals belong in an inaugural address. Those 
     items are better left for the State of the Union address and 
     other presidential speeches. The President wanted to use his 
     second inaugural address to spell out his broad vision for 
     our nation's future.

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