Clinton 'gratified' by year's accomplishments

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- As a tumultuous year for the White House comes to an end, President Bill Clinton held forth Wednesday a variety of topics in an hour-long press conference, saying he was "profoundly disappointed" that some of his initiatives were not successful but was "gratified by what we've accomplished."

He cited a list of achievements that were reached in 1999, including passing the recent budget deal that included some of his proposals, the passage of the financial services modernization bill, the deal reached to allow China into the World Trade Organization and other foreign policy successes, including the Northern Ireland peace agreement, movement in the Middle East peace process, the start of peace talks on the future of Cyprus and "debt relief for the poorest countries of the world."

"It turned out to be a very productive year," he said.


President Clinton spoke at a news conference Wednesday

But he listed a number of domestic issues on which Congress did not act, including tougher gun control legislation which said was "crying out for action" after the massacre at Columbine High School in Colorado earlier this year.

The president mentioned the administration's's threat to file a lawsuit against gun manufacturers to recover costs of gun violence in public housing in hopes of getting the industry to "stop irresponsible marketing practices."

He noted that one company was marketing a weapon by touting the fact it is difficult to get fingerprints off it. "You don't have to be all broke out with brilliance to figure out what the message is there," Clinton said.

Other domestic issues included the patient's bill of rights, a federal hate crimes law, more work on expanding the country's economic prosperity to poor sections, a school construction bill and extending the life of Social Security and Medicare and adding a prescription drug benefit to Medicare.

"My only disappointments are what we didn't get done but I'm gratified by what was accomplished," he said.

He defended his decision not to put forward a plan to extend Social Security by referring to his failed health care plan that he proposed in his first term. "I've had experience with that," he said. "That didn't work out too well."

But he said he had not given up on extending Social Security despite next year being an election year, saying it takes a "bipartisan process and I will whatever it takes to get that done."

The year began with Clinton's impeachment trial and acquittal in the Senate -- a development he briefly addressed Wednesday.

"The mistake I made was self-inflicted and the misconduct of others was not," he said.

The president also was asked about the recent collapse of the World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle and whether the deal to admit China into the WTO will be approved by Congress.

On trade, he noted that the Uruguay round of trade talks that began in 1986 took four years to open. He reiterated his support of free trade but also said that labor and environmental issues must be addressed.

"I think that as the world grows more interdependent, it is unrealistic to think that there will be an international economic policy with rules that is unrelated to an emerging international consensus on the environment and an international consensus on labor," he said.

Critics have suggested Clinton tried to boost the presidential campaign of Vice President Gore, who needs the support of labor and environmental groups, which are key constituencies in Democratic primaries.

But Clinton said the collapse of the Seattle meeting had "very little to do with my philosophy of trade," Clinton said.

He said the Europeans, Japanese and Americans were not prepared to drop longstanding positions on agriculture, steel prices and other matters while developing nations feel they have not gotten enough benefit from the last round of talks.

He acknowledged that the China-WTO deal is facing opposition on Capitol Hill from both parties.

"We have a good deal of support for it and a good deal of opposition and some have questions," he said. "I think it is plainly America's interest."

He also looked at the political future of his wife and Vice President Al Gore in 2000. Both have recently said they are planning to cut back on their official duties to focus their attention on their respective political campaigns, Mrs. Clinton for the New York Senate and Gore for the Democratic nomination for president.

Clinton said Gore is still performing his critical functions as vice president, noting Gore was in Washington on Wednesday meeting with the president of Ukraine.

"His role is still larger than that of any previous vice president, even though he's out campaigning," Clinton said. "But it's just less than it used to be because he's not here all the time. But I have no criticism of it. I think he's doing what he ought to be doing and I think it's in the best interest of the country for him to do it."

As for his wife, Clinton said he was happy for her and her decision to run, and will visit as often as he can after she moves into the house they recently purchased in Chappaqua, New York, which she recently referred to as "my house."

"It's not the best arrangement in the world but it's something we can live with it for a year," he said. "I love the house ... and I'm looking forward to living there when I leave here. But I've got a job to do and she now has a campaign to run and so we'll have to be apart more than I wish we were. But it's not a big problem. She'll be here quite a lot and I'll go up there when I can. We'll manage it and I think it'll come out just fine."

He declined to comment on the health care plan proposed by Gore's lone rival for the Democratic nomination, former New Jersey Sen. Bill Bradley, saying "I'm not going to get in the middle of the Gore-Bradley campaign. I know you want me to but I'm not going to do that for you."

He said any health care proposal should be measured by how much it will cost, how it covers people and what choices it makes to do so. People ought actually try to figure out what the consequences of these plans are and evaluate them, he said.

"I think it's important that we be as honest as possible about what it costs, everybody be as honest as possible that there is no perfect plan and that you be as honest as possible about what else you give up if you do it. It's a very complicated issue," he said.

But while not saying anything negative about Bradley, he took at shot at the GOP.

"It makes me proud to be a Democrat. I am proud that number one, my party is debating this and as near as I can see, there's no debate in the other party about this," the president said. "If they passed the size tax cut plan they're talking about, they not only won't have any more money for people to get health care, they'll either have to get into the Social Security surplus or they won't have any more money for education, the environment or anything else."

The final question appeared to catch the president off-guard when a reporter asked the president why seven top White House jobs -- national security adviser, chief of staff, white house counsel, domestic policy adviser, economic policy adviser, press secretary, senior adviser/counselor -- had never been held by a person of color during his administration.

Clinton listed the number of minorities that have been appointed to other positions and noted that he had offered a couple of those jobs to minorities who turned them down. He also noted that "a lot of those jobs have been held by women who also had never held those jobs before I came along."

"All I can tell you that I have never not tried to recruit minorities for any job that was open in the White House," he said, adding that "I was unaware that those were the seven most important jobs ... in the White House in the way that you said them."

RELATED SITES

White House Web site

Clinton 'gratified' by year's accomplishments

But president cites disappointments

MORE STORIES:

Wednesday, December 8, 1999