Clinton Ads Tout Federal Programs; Despite Downsizing Rhetoric, President Talks Up Government
Nine months ago, President Clinton declared before a packed House chamber that "the era of big government is over."</br></br>In his television ads, however, Clinton has touted his support for the Education Department, Medicare, student loans, school anti-drug programs, Social Security, gun control, job training, border patrols, federally subsidized police, government-mandated family leave, health care portability rules, a higher minimum wage, childhood vaccinations, unemployment benefits, tobacco advertising rules and tuition tax credits.</br></br>Equally important, the ads have assailed Robert J. Dole -- or, as the spots often put it, "Dole/Gingrich" -- for opposing these federal programs and initiatives.</br></br>"Americans are against government in the abstract but are quite supportive of it in the particular," said Thomas Mann, a policy analyst at the Brookings Institution. "Clinton is relying on the public insistence that some of the things that government does are worthy activities. Many Americans believe government is incompetent and a mess and too wasteful, but there's also the fear of losing something they hold dear."</br></br>Bill Knapp, a Clinton media adviser, said the defense of government programs in the president's ads is balanced by an emphasis on the new welfare reform law and success in cutting the budget deficit. And Clinton can claim credit for reducing the federal work force.