Acting like a lame duck
by Chris Jungle

It's been a month since we had our one moment of collective expression called Election Day, and it seems everyone has been taking time off since then. There have been a number of articles and editorials written about how Gingrich needs to work with Clinton, or how Gingrich has to mellow out, or how Strom Thurman introduced the new Republican Senate Commanders. The more 'Can't we get along?' Federal government pieces I read, the more I keep remembering the federal government hasn't done much of anything since the election.

Bill and Hillary went to China, but they stopped off in a couple of other little countries for ego boosts (China can be such a downer for politicians). The president has also gone around lighting Christmas trees, and no doubt, he has several party engagements between now and the new year. The problem is that nothing seems to be getting done. People who dislike the Clintons are still whining about Whitewater, and people who praise them rejoice about nothing in particular (usually that the president shook their hand once).

I don't mean to throw a monkey wrench in the President's feel good moments, but shouldn't he be working or something? I voted for judges, and they're still working. The city commissioners still can't agree on anything, but they're at least having meetings. If I had known one of the perks of being elected to a high government position was that I got the two months after Election Day off, I might have run on that basis alone. I understand that he'll still have three years and ten months to keep working, but his breaks should be a little more subtle than this.

If Clinton had lost the election, all of this behavior would be acceptable. For all of the down qualities of being a lame duck president, the upswing is that the last two months can be considered down time. Bush didn't do much in his last months, but no one blamed him. Then he discovered mass quantity supermarkets (but that's another story).

Clinton is going about his re-election in the wrong way. The first few months after the election, the president experiences a little honeymoon period with the country in which they can actually get things passed in Congress regardless of who controls it (e.g. Ronald Reagan, 1980). I, for one, never bought the 'Build a bridge' scheme. It sounded too much like 'Let's let massive companies provide for our future.' Programs like getting kids to read are great, but the government has lost all my confidence in national programs (it has something to do with a certain 'Say no to drugs' idea).

It could be that the President is resting up for a big 1997, or that all presidents do this and I'm just noticing, or maybe they're working on secret plans right now. I just can't escape the gnawing feeling that the federal government is on cruise control running down a straight road. The driver isn't even going to open his eyes until we hit a shoulder, and then he'll try to keep us out of the ditch. It's like using a prevent defense in football, or playing slow down basketball, or continuing to date a girl you don't like very much anymore. In short, it's everything I'm against.

The President should be throwing out ideas like pancakes at a Kiwanis breakfast. He should be trying to boost the moral of this place. After all, he's the biggest cheerleader we have (especially in China). If I find out he's busy writing his memoirs, it's going to really tick me off. If the president wants to truly remember his years in the White House, follow a trick from Nixon and tape them. We're still having fun with his.

What it comes down to is that the President seems to be acting like he should four years from now. This is not the time to be basking in the glow of being president. He still needs to be president for a while, because if people stop liking him again (e.g. 1994), there will be no come back. So, let's take the car out of cruise control and burn up some serious gas because once we get across the bridge, we'll have to use electric cars. Or does he care about what's actually on the other side of the millennium?

Chris Jungle is still steaming over the fact that he could not get time off on Christmas Day or New Year's.

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