The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, December 1, 1992 - Page 3
Critics call Clinton's willingness to compromise too indecisive
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) -
Bill Clinton had just vetoed a school
bill and dispatched it to the Capitol
marked "disapproved" when state
legislators persuaded him to reverse
course.
That evening, a state police offi-
cer used a coat hanger to fish the bill
out of a locked Capitol office. The
Arkansas governor scratched out the
first three letters of "disapproved,"
-and the measure became law.
Critics say the 1985 incident
shows that Clinton cannot make up
his mind, that he is so eager to
please everyone that no one is served
in the end. Supporters say he's just
open to reason, a consensus builder
who pushed his state toward the 21st
century, one compromise at a time.
People who watched Clinton
govern Arkansas for 12 years give
him high marks for preparation and
vision but mixed reviews for admin-
istrative skills and decision-making
ability.
Clinton ran an informal but in-
tense office, showing a sense of hu-
mor and an occasional flash of
temper.
Former chief of staff Betsey
Wright says Clinton occasionally
lost his cool, usually when he was
tired, suffered from painful allergy
flare-ups or had been away from his
daughter, Chelsea, too long.
"I called it Chelsea withdrawal,"
said Wright, now part of Clinton's
transition team.
In one instance, Clinton angrily
cussed at a state employee over the
phone in a disagreement over the
1990 redistricting of the state
Legislature. But Clinton also enjoys
'Debate was expected. He liked to hear all sides
before making up his mind.'
- Walt Patterson
Former Member of Clinton's Cabinet
exchanging jokes and telling funny
stories.
His state Capitol office, soon to
be turned over to a successor, is
formal, yet personal. Portraits of
Winston Churchill, Abraham
Lincoln and Teddy and Franklin D.
Roosevelt hang on the walls and a
bust of John F. Kennedy sits on a
table. In one corner sits a small desk
that Chelsea, now 12, used in earlier
years to do her coloring while her
father worked.
Employees say Clinton is eager
to reason with his staff, and accept
advice from all comers.
"Debate was expected. He liked
to hear all sides before making up
his mind," said Walt Patterson, a
former member of Clinton's cabinet.
Clinton liked to delegate duties in
the governor's office, prompting
critics to complain that many pro-
jects began with lofty goais but
withered under his hands-off style of
management.
But he also has been criticized
for being too involved, annoying
some by personally lobbying law-
makers in public meetings or in
Capitol hallways.
"All of a sudden he'd send him-
self in to replace a staff member who
may have been doing a good job,"
said Republican state Sen. Travis
Miles.
Even his critics called Clinton
extremely bright and almost always
well-studied on the issues. He
worked long hours, sometimes split
between the Governor's Mansion
and the Capitol.
Most agreed, too, that he had no
trouble setting goals and convincing
his constituents to share the vision.
University of Arkansas political
science professor Bob Savage said
the best thing Clinton did for
Arkansas residents was "make them
believe they could improve the qual-
ity of their lives."
The biggest knock against
Clinton's management style is his
penchant for compromise.
The trait dates to 1980, when the
brash first-term governor was
thrown out of office at age 34 after
the state's voters and power structure
found him arrogant.
Returned to office in 1982,
Clinton was much more willing to
bend.
Miles, the Senate's Republican
leader, said Clinton's 1980 defeat
"caused him to almost go overboard
... in that now it is difficult for him
to make a hard decision and stick
with it and not be influenced by
people trying to change his mind."
.
I77
~ ~,-,1
South African group
attacks country club
i
Hanging around
Art school senior Beth Brugeman hangs her art work in the Rackham East Gallery. Brugeman's work, along with the works of other seniors leaving the
U-M this semester will be on display until Dec. 7.
Trade deficit up in September after two-year drop
party, kills
KING WILLIAM'S TOWN,
South Africa (AP) - A radical
Black group claimed responsibility
yesterday for a hit-and-run raid on a
country club Christmas party, the
worst attack on white civilians in
South Africa since the 1980s.
The attack Saturday night, which
left four dead and some 20 wounded,
has shocked the country's 5 million
whites, who have lived in fear of
Blacks for generations.
Some survivors said the as-
sailants smiled as they rolled
grenades into the dining hall and
then mowed down middle-aged and
elderly diners with automatic gun-
fire. Blood, wine, and food covered
the dining hall at the King William's
Town Golf Club, which was being
used for a Christmas dinner and
wine-tasting party.
There were Blacks and whites in
the dining hall, and some of the in-
jured were Black.
An unidentified caller claiming to
be from the Azanian People's
Liberation Army telephoned police
yesterday and said the group carried
out the ambush.
"We're going to hit harder now,"
the caller told police.
Police said they could not con-
firm that APLA carried out the at-
tack in the town, 625 miles south of
Johannesburg, but were treating the
claim seriously.
APLA is the military wing of the
Pan Africanist Congress, a radical,
relatively small, Black nationalist
group.
Asked for official comment, PAC
secretary general Benny Alexander
refused to either confirm or deny his
group's involvement.
He accused authorities of racism
in their response to the shooting.
"There is a lot of international hulla-
baloo around the attack, purely be-
cause white people have died," he
said.
About 9,000 Blacks have died in
political violence since 1989, and
more than 20 Blacks were killed in
weekend fighting across the country.
Political violence has been
mainly confined to Black townships,
4 people
and most attacks are blamed on ri-
valries between Black political
groups.
The King William's Town attack
was the worst politically motivated,
organized assault on white civilians
since President F.W. de Klerk came
to power in 1989 and began disman-
tling apartheid.
The African National Congress,
the main Black opposition group,
waged a bombing campaign that
killed dozens and injured hundreds
during the late 1980s. Both whites
and Blacks were victims.
The ANC stopped attacking
civilian targets in 1988 and formally
suspended its armed campaign in
1990 after de Klerk legalized the
group.
The shooting confirmed conser-
vative whites' fears that the lifting of
'There is a lot of
international
hullabaloo around the
attack, purely because
white people have
died.'
- Benny Alexander
Pan Africanist Congress
Secretary General
restrictive laws against Blacks would
bring a violent backlash.
A white woman speaking on a
radio phone-in show yesterday said
the killings gave her new respect for
Barend Strydom, a right-wing white
who gunned down seven Blacks on a
city street in 1988. The woman, who
did not give her name, said she was
beginning to think South Africa
needs more people like Strydom.
The PAC's army has previously
claimed responsibility for other am-
bushes, mostly on police patrols.
The PAC refuses to -recognize the
white-led government and has boy-
cotted negotiations on political re-
form, calling them a government
plot to cling to power.
The group's youthful supporters
often shout "One settler, one bullet"
at rallies, a reference to whites.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. trade
deficit surged to $26.54 billion from July through
:September; the worst performance in nearly two
years, as record exports of American products
were swamped by imports rising even faster, the
government said yesterday.
The Commerce Department said that the 8.1
'percent widening in the trade gap in the third
'quarter followed a 42.6 percent deterioration in
America's trade performance in the April-June
quarter, when the deficit had zoomed to $24.56
~billion.
From 1989 to 1991, an improving trade
'deficit was about the only bright spot in an oth-
'erwise bleak domestic economy, supplying more
than half of what little growth there was. This
year, however, the trade performance has turned
negative again and is subtracting from overall
growth.
Private economists said that, with America's
biggest overseas markets in Europe and Japan
xstruggling with recessions of their own, it was
unlikely the U.S. trade deficit would improve
anytime soon.
"It is pretty evident that whatever growth we
have next year will be based entirely on domestic
-demand, not on exports," said Bruce Steinberg,
i1! ~ j. {~ 4 sk .* ~ .:
an economist at Merrill-Lynch in New York.
"Economic conditions in Europe and Japan are
both likely to get worse before they get better."
While the country's merchandise trade deficit
on a balance-of-payments basis managed to fall
to $73.44 billion in 1991, the first time since
1983 that it was below $100 billion, the deficit
for this year is running at an annual rate of
$91.09 billion.
David Wyss, an economist at DRI-McGraw
Hill Inc., said he looked for America's trade
deficit to climb back above $100 billion next
year and stay there for some time to come.
"It is hard to see a lot of strength for our ex-
ports when the industrial countries remain so
weak," he said. Wyss also noted the value of the
dollar has risen 10 percent in the last three
months and that will also hurt export sales by
making American goods more expensive in for-
eign markets.
For the July-September quarter, exports rose
by 3.1 percent to an all-time high of $110.81 bil-
lion. However, imports rose at a 4 percent clip to
a record, as well, of $137.35 billion. The trade
deficit is the gap between imports and exports.
The new report of merchandise trade on a
balance-of-payments basis mirrors developments
in the monthly trade reports although the num-
bers are slightly different because the quarterly
report removes such things as government sales
of military hardware and gold.
The overall deficit was the largest since a
$27.8 billion imbalance in the fourth quarter of
1990.
On the export side, sales of manufactured
goods accounted for two-thirds of the $3.35 bil-
lion improvement. The other one-third reflected a
jump in farm exports.
American computers and telephone equip-
ment recorded strong increases that helped to
offset a sharp decline in sales of civilian aircraft.
Farm exports were up 11 percent to $11.6 bil-
lion with a surge in soybeans accounting for
more than half the increase. The gain followed
three straight quarters in which soybean exports
had fallen.
Nearly all of the increase in imports came in
demand for consumer goods, which has been up
for five straight quarters. In the July-September
period, imports were up sharply from China,
Japan and the newly industrialized countries of
Asia.
Petroleum imports rose 10 percent to $14.2
billion in the third quarter as both prices and the
volume of shipments rose.
Russian court rules leader acted legally
in dissolving top Communist Party posts
Student groups
Q Christian Science Organiza-
tion, meeting, Michigan League,
check room at front desk, 6:30-
7:30 p.m.
Q In Focus, meeting, Frieze Build-
ing, Room 2420,6 p.m.
Q Michigan Student Assembly,
meetingMichigan UnionRoom
3909, 7:30 p.m.
Q Newman Catholic Student As-
sociation, Reconciliation Semi-
nar, 7 p.m.; U-M Graduate/
Young Professional Discussion
Group, 7 p.m.; Saint Mary Stu-
dent Chapel, 331 Thompson St.
Q Rotoract, meeting, Dominick's,
8 p.m.
U Social Group for Bisexual
Women, call for location and
information, 763-4186, 8 p.m.
Q TaeKwonDo Club, regular
workout, CCRB, Room 1200,
7:45-9:15 p.m.
Q U-M Asian American Student
Coalition, meeting, East Quad,
check room at front desk, 7 p.m.
U U-M Shotokan Karate, prac-
tice, CCRB, Martial Arts Room,
8:30-10 p.m.
Events
U "A Qumran Community: The
Case of the Serekh hayyahad,"
seminar, Department of Near
Eastern Studies, Frieze Build-
ing, Room 3050, 8:30-10:30
a.m.
U Croatian War Posters, art ex-
hibit, North Campus Commons,
U-M Art Lounge, showing
through December 11.
U EarlyMusic Ensemble, concert,
School of Music, Blanche
Anderson Moore Hall, 8 p.m.
U "Experimental Simulations of
Volcanic Eruptions," lecture,
ScienceResearch Club, Chrysler
Center, Room 165, 7:30 p.m.
U "Imperialism," SPARK: Revo-
lutionary Discussion Series,
MLB, Room B 122, 7-8 p.m.
U "Revolution and Society in
Theater and Drama, Power Cen-
ter, lobby, through December
11; for more information call
936-3958.
Q "The Importance of Defining
Ourselves," presentation, Pre-
Kwanzaa, West Quad, Wedge
Room, 7:30 p.m.
Q World AIDS Posters, art ex-
hibit, North Campus Commons,
Atrium, showing through De-
cember 17.
Student services
Q Kaffeestunde, Department of
Germanic Language and Litera-
ture, MLB, 3rd floor Confer-
ence Room, 4:30-6 p.m.
Q Northwalk Safety Walking Ser-
vice, Bursley Hall, lobby, 763-
WALK, 8 p.m. - 1:30 a.m.
Q Psychology Undergraduate
Peer Advising, Department of
Psychology, West Quad, Room
K210, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Q Safewalk Safety Walking Ser-
MOSCOW (AP) - A court yes-.
terday upheld Boris Yeltsin's decree
dissolving the top leadership of the
Communist Party, but the compro-
mise ruling also gave ammunition to
his opponents on the eve of a crucial
parliament session.
Russia's Constitutional Court
ruled 11-2 that the Russian president
acted constitutionally when he
banned the party's Politburo and
other national bodies after the failed
hard-line coup in August 1991.
The 13 black-robed judges said
millions of rank-and-file
Communists could resume grass-
roots activity and file lawsuits to re-
claim some of the vast party assets
Yeltsin nationalized.
The court left open the possibility
that Communists could gradually re-
build a national organization.
Because the ruling was mixed,
the impact on the 1,046-member
Congress was uncertain.
While the chances of Yeltsin's
removal appeared slim, the partial
reversal of his ban could still spark
an impeachment proceeding and
boost the former Communists who
dominate the parliament.
"The Constitutional Court's ver-
dict heats up political passions, hav-
ing put an extra trump card in the
hands of defenders of the
Communist idea," Monday
evening's Izvestia said.
The Finals Page*
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It's that time of the semester once again,
when students are experiencing the
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