Union’s doingg fine: Clinton

And he did it hours after his legal team had opened his defence in the ongoing impeachment trial, dismissing the charges against the President as a “witches’brew” of conjecture that do not add up to high crimes and misdemeanors.

In what appeared to be an extension of that defence, Clinton served up a heady concoction of prosperity and well-being as he highlighted the gains the country had made under his leadership and his vision for the future. In a 77-minute speech punctuated by 100 rounds of mostly partisan applause, Clinton presented an effervescent vision of a resurgent America enjoying unmatched success under his administration.

He had much to boast about.

In an economy that is healthier than ever, the budget is in surplus, the markets are booming, welfare and unemployment are down to record lows, and more jobs are being created than ever. To boot, crime is dropping, health and longevity of Americans is improving even more, and US leadership in the world is unquestioned.

“America is working again. The promise of our future is limitless,” the President declaimed, in what was his seventh and most dramatic state of the union address. But he cautionedthat “we cannot realize that promise if we allow the hum of our prosperity to lull us into complacency.”

And as Republican lawmakers sat grim and stonefaced, he then proceeded to reel off a series of initiatives that somehow seemed to sideline and diminish those who were asking for his political blood.

The centerpiece in a stack of proposals Clinton unfurled was a plan to preserve and extend social security, a safety net aimed mostly at helping the aged and retired. Because longevity in the US is increasing and its population of the elderly is expected to double by 2030 — Clinton called it the “senior boom” — taxes alone will be unable to fund social security. In a dramatic move, the President proposed moving some of the budget surplus into social security and investing part of it in the stock market to allow it to grow.

In a speech thick with initiatives and low on polemics — a lesson to political gasbags back home with their mostly empty political rhetoric — Clinton also threw up proposals forhigher economic growth, bettering the environment and improving healthcare, schools, and education.

The Republican frustration was evident as Clinton unleashed proposal after proposal, statistic after statistic, to paint a picture of a vibrant America and his vision for a greater future. Applause for his initiatives in the clearly polarised house came mostly from the raucous Democratic benches, and once, the President even twitted the Republicans for their muted response. But some of the proposals — especially those relating to defence — found support from Republicans even amid the deeply embittered and divisive political atmosphere.

At the end of the day, political pundits were almost unanimous that Clinton had once again salvaged his Presidency — momentarily at least — from the debris of the sex scandal. The President did not once utter the word impeachment in his speech, although it was an unmistakable subtext throughout the evening. Embattled though he is with the crisis, he appeared to revel inthe adversity with another trademark back-to-the-wall performance.

The President’s state of marital union was also on show on the drama-laden night. First Lady Hillary Clinton sat beside baseball superstar Sammy Sosa as Clinton lavished praise on her for her Millennium Project initiative.

BOX

President Clinton on Tuesday called for increased American effort to “restrain the spread of nuclear weapons and missiles, from Korea to India and Pakistan.”

Clinton also urged the US Senate to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, saying “if we don’t do the right thing, others nations won’t either.” Approval of the treaty will make it harder for other nations to develop nuclear arms, and make sure nuclear testing ends forever, he added.

The US and Russia should also continue to reduce their nuclear arsenals, Clinton said. The START II and START III treaties could cut them by 80 per cent from their Cold War heights.