For Clinton, a Time to Fix Role in History

WASHINGTON — The tickets have been mailed, the bleachers have been nailed and the inaugural speech that President Clinton will deliver to a global audience is being carefully pieced together. A home-shopping television show for souvenir buffs was recently announced.

Even a horse manager, sort of an equestrian traffic cop, has been tapped for duty.

“When you run a parade, you have a lot of animals,” said Kiki Moore, a spokeswoman for the president’s inaugural committee.

On one level, the inaugural that is set to begin Saturday stacks up as a $30-million, three-day celebration of Americana: a mix of show biz, political partying and calculated imagery with fireworks, Appalachian fiddling, a “technology playground” and, of course, the parade--to cite just part of the lineup.

But for Clinton, the nation’s 53rd presidential inauguration shapes up as much more: It is an opportunity to set the tone for his second term in the White House, a term that he hopes will establish his place in American history. When he delivers the inaugural address on the third day of festivities, Clinton will attempt to stir the nation with broad rhetorical strokes, setting forth the centrist, nonpartisan themes that he hopes will define his presidency.

“It’s a moment he needs to seize,” said Robert Dallek, a presidential scholar and UCLA professor emeritus.

In almost sermon-like terms, Clinton is expected to touch on transcendent themes of community, shared American values, ethnic and racial diversity as a source of national strength, personal responsibility and the role of government. Moreover, he will describe the approaching new century as a time of opportunity for America to tackle many of its problems, according to White House aides.

Clinton then plans to build on the inaugural remarks with a more concrete agenda for domestic and foreign policy in his State of the Union address Feb. 4. At that point, according to the White House timetable, official attention will shift rapidly to the basic issues involved in balancing the federal budget.

“If you articulate the vision effectively, it makes it easier for people to support the program,” said Mark Mellman, a Democratic consultant, noting the value of an effective inaugural speech.

The imagery will be unleashed Saturday, with a two-day festival on the National Mall dubbed “an American journey.”

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In seven heated pavilions and nearby auditoriums of the Smithsonian museums, the curious will be able to partake of a lengthy menu of free activities, ranging from dance and music to storytelling and multimedia technology.

Children will be entertained in the “millennium schoolhouse.” In the “technology playground,” people may create electronic messages for the president, Vice President Al Gore and their families. (The e-mail will flash up on giant screens nearby, but it’s not clear whether the nation’s leaders will ever read the messages).

Those in search of sustenance may go to two “American kitchen pavilions,” which will offer a variety of ethnic foods, ranging from Southern cuisine to California nouveau. Unlike for the other forms of entertainment, however, there will be a charge for the food.

On Sunday, the Mall will be the scene of a tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; the holiday in his name falls on the next day.

A presidential gala is scheduled for Sunday, featuring a cast of celebrities from music, film and television. Candice Bergen, Michael Douglas and Whoopi Goldberg have signed on as co-hosts for the show, which will include performances by Mikhail Baryshnikov, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, James Taylor and the casts of two Broadway musicals: “Chicago” and “Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk.”

The inaugural crescendo will be reached the next day, when Clinton takes the oath of office, and a parade featuring 24 bands, an Uncle Sam on stilts and 341 horses will march through the capital.

The “American journey” theme, evoking images of a shared national heritage, may provide a subtext to the president’s inaugural comments, in the sense that journeys have destinations--and Clinton wishes to emphasize the nation’s voyage into a new century with new possibilities.

“We’re literally on the doorstep of the 21st century,” noted Rahm Emanuel, an assistant to the president who also said that inaugural speeches seek to define “where we as a nation find ourselves at this time in our history.”

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On the night of the inaugural--an evening that is Washington’s version of the Academy Awards, the Emmys and the Super Bowl rolled into one--ticket-holders may go to one of the 14 official inaugural balls. In addition, a batch of unofficial soirees will keep limousine drivers, caterers and party-goers busy during the three-day celebration, including a “Women’s Inaugural Ball” sponsored by the National Women’s Political Caucus, a cocktail party put on by cable television networks MTV, VH-1 and Nickelodeon and publishing company Conde Nast, and other bashes.

For all the emphasis on fun and entertainment, however, important political calculations always have hovered over the inauguration.

Mindful of recent fund-raising embarrassments involving the Democratic Party, inaugural planners this year chose to limit private contributions to $100 and avoid the interest-free loans that have helped cover hefty bills in the past. Instead, they are counting on ticket revenues, a $9-million surplus from the 1993 event and souvenir sales to cover their $30 million in expected costs.

Just last week, tickets to the balls and seats along the parade route went on sale through a toll-free telephone number (1-888-888-1997), following up on the 57,000 already mailed out to a select group of invitees.

Officials also announced plans to hawk inaugural memorabilia through the QVC home-shopping cable TV network. Among the items: bronze, silver and gold medals bearing the likenesses of Clinton and Gore--for up to $690--a gold American eagle pin for $45 and a collector’s plate bearing the gold inaugural seal for $48.

But if inaugural planners view home shopping as an advancement over the big-bucks donations that some find unseemly, not everyone is impressed with the telemarketing alternative.

“There is something that is garish--well, crass--about this,” complained Charles Lewis, director of the Center for Public Integrity, a campaign-finance watchdog group. “In our efforts to raise hard, cold cash, I guess we will do just about anything.”

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Long before e-mail, presidents have viewed inaugurations as a time to send messages to the nation.

John F. Kennedy appeared vigorous on a freezing Inauguration Day in 1961, underscoring the image of youth and vitality that contrasted with the fatherly Dwight D. Eisenhower, whom he was replacing.

Jimmy Carter got what turned out to be a rocky, one-term presidency off to a cheerful start with a stroll down Pennsylvania Avenue, presenting himself as a populist leader who rejected the trappings of an imperial presidency.

In one, oft-recounted misadventure in democracy, Andrew Jackson rewarded supporters by turning the White House into an open house. But, as legend has it, the motley crowd of revelers became so rowdy that Jackson was forced to mount an ignominious retreat through a window.

Still, Jackson’s adventure pales in contrast to that of William Henry Harrison 12 years later in 1841. The general, 68, chose to ride on horseback and then deliver the longest inaugural speech in history at one hour and 45 minutes, all without an overcoat. He died of pneumonia a month later.

For Clinton, who was reelected with 49% of the popular vote, the coming inaugural looms as a chance to connect with a majority of Americans on a gut level, if he can find the right words.

The president and his aides contend that administration policies have paid off in the form of a stronger economy, reduced crime and other social progress, all of which contrast sharply with the state of the nation when Clinton took office four years ago. As one aide put it, “We were in a hole, if anything” at the end of the Bush administration.

Nonetheless, Clinton’s rhetorical record in making his case has been uneven, scholars say, with some of the speeches rated highly and others judged insufficiently focused or too long.

“People would be startled and impressed if he proves to be simple and eloquent and if there are traces of substance,” said Fred Greenstein, a political scientist at Princeton University.

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Others say Clinton has yet to identify his presidency with an overarching theme, in contrast to predecessors such as Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal, Lyndon B. Johnson and the Great Society, Kennedy and his New Frontier and Ronald Reagan and the Reagan revolution.

Clinton “needs an organizing principle for his presidency,” said Dallek, who describes the inaugural as a time for an “inspirational, educational appeal.”

Yet some Clinton supporters would argue that the president doesn’t “need” to accomplish all that much in the inaugural, given his recent job-approval ratings in the healthy range at around 58%.

“It’s a unique opportunity to frame the debate and frame the discussion and frame his place in history,” Mellman said, adding that it’s more a matter of “what does he want to do as opposed to what does he need to do.”