Clinton Criticizes ‘Destructive Political Climate’

SAN FRANCISCO — In a gloomy assessment of the mood in the nation’s capital, President Clinton spoke out Monday about the “divisive, destructive political climate” and people who would “drive a stake in the spirit of the American people.”

Subdued and reflective, Clinton complained about those who dwell on the nation’s shortcomings rather than the booming economy, who use 30-second attack ads and believe that any tactic is acceptable to beat an opponent.

“You know, you listen to some of these people talk in the nation’s capital, you’d think that they spent the whole morning sucking lemons,” the president said. He did not say whom he was talking about.

Clinton spoke at a fund-raiser for Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) in San Francisco after an address to the nation’s mayors in which he announced modest new initiatives to make Americans feel safer in low- and moderate-income urban neighborhoods.

The centerpiece was the “officer next door” program, offering police 50% discounts on 2,000 government-owned homes, particularly in large cities with high crime rates. The aim is to increase the visibility of police in troubled areas, living in homes that have long been vacant.

Later, the president flew to Los Angeles, where he praised the Kaiser Permanente health care organization for agreeing to provide $100 million in free health care over the next five years for up to 50,000 uninsured children annually from low-income families. He spoke outdoors at the Mar Vista Elementary School.

Clinton said America needs to do a better job in providing health care, noting that he tried to get Congress to approve universal coverage. “It’s well known that I failed, but I’m not ashamed that I tried,” he said, promising to work step by step to expand health protection.

Clinton’s speech at the Boxer fund-raiser came amid increasing acrimony between White House and Capitol Hill over the budget and taxes and a recent accusation by Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) that the president was “a spoiled brat” who always wanted his way.

His remarks also came on a day when the Supreme Court handed Whitewater prosecutor Kenneth Starr a major victory, ruling that the White House must surrender notes of conversations between presidential lawyers and Hillary Rodham Clinton. Clinton ignored three attempts by reporters to get his reaction.

But he made no secret of his feelings about Washington. “I had a real life before I moved to Washington, and I expect to have a real life when I leave,” he said.

Clinton said he was optimistic about the country. “I have done everything I can as president to heal the kind of divisive, destructive political climate that has come to dominate too much of the discourse in Washington,” he said.

Apparently concerned about the public’s image of politicians, Clinton said that contrary to popular belief, “the overwhelming majority I have known of both parties and all philosophies have been scrupulously honest people who worked hard and made less money than they could have made doing almost anything else.”

The president said Boxer, a staunch liberal, was an uplifting presence in the Senate. “If we brought that kind of spirit into all of our endeavors instead of thinking about how we could drive a stake in the spirit of the American people for our own short-term advantage, this country would have no problems,” he said.

In his speech to the mayors, Clinton also promised to give first-time home buyers a $200 break on closing costs for living in the most populous cities and to provide working families the chance to buy their first houses with the help of federal vouchers.

Rep. Rick Lazio (R-N.Y.), chairman of the House subcommittee on housing and community opportunity, and Rep. Jim Talent (R-Mo.), chairman of the House Small Business Committee, said many of Clinton’s proposals already were under consideration by Republicans in Congress.

Clinton focused on good news: falling crime rates and unemployment down by a third in the 50 largest cities. “What a long way we have come,” he said. “It wasn’t so very long ago that huge numbers of Americans had just simply given up on the prospect of our cities.”

However, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Andrew Cuomo released a report showing that problems continue. It said middle class migration to the suburbs is continuing, city poverty rates are rising and large cities lost jobs even as 12 million jobs were created nationwide.