U.S. President Bill Clinton delivered his eighth, and perhaps final, State of the Union address this week. The popular perception of the president is that of a lame duck, girding for his last year in office, wounded by the scandals that have tainted his two terms in office and restrained by the distractions of the upcoming elections. If that is the case, no one told Mr. Clinton. He delivered a combative speech, set a vigorous agenda and pledged to launch a "21st-century American revolution." If history is any guide, he might just get his way.
Mr. Clinton has every reason to take the offensive. With one year remaining in office, he is focused on his legacy. Barring the unforeseen, he will have presided over the longest economic expansion in U.S. history. His administration has pledged to retire the U.S. debt and that may prove to be more than empty rhetoric. Mr. Clinton has striven to bring the antagonists in Northern Ireland and the Middle East together; both efforts are proceeding, although neither is guaranteed success. Every accomplishment solidifies his place in history -- and better positions Vice President Al Gore to succeed him in the November ballot, a move that the president would take as a final vindication of his term in office.
The prospect of elections should spur Congress to act. The president has proposed legislation such as tax relief for married couples, prescription-drug benefits for the elderly, legal protections for dealing with health-care providers and modest gun-control measures that respond to the public's own concerns. Republicans cannot ignore them without running the risk of being labeled "a do-nothing Congress" during the campaign.