European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 9, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse Saturday january 9, 1993 Anna Quindlen it s a Fine line to president elect Clinton re the inaugural dear Bill that sounds too informal does no to it after All in a not an . Friend of Bill and for a Long time i Wasny to even an . Supporter of Bill. But i am related by marriage to a . Contributor of Billand so i have come into Possession of this Lovely inaugural mailing. First off thanks for the Beautiful big engraved invitation. When we opened it we thought we were being invited to the wedding of the daughter of the Sultan of Bahrain. Then we read it Over and con eluded that we were being invited to the inauguration of someone named William Jefferson Clinton. Whew no wonder you settled on that simple but elegant All occasion nickname. However since i am related by marriage to a lawyer who knows How to read Fine print i soon Learned that this inaugural invitation Only served to a Welcome our participation in any of the Public we had to sit the kids Down and explain that what that really meant was that we could take our sleeping bags Down to Pennsylvania Avenue and stake out a position on the Parade route and that while we would be willing to do that for stones tickets in july we would not be doing it for Bill in january. The kids were not disappointed however because with the engraved invitation was an invitation to buy souvenirs. Someone on your inaugural team must have known How deep the lust for embossed hats and commemorative key. Chains runs in the american spirit because the flier prominently features a Sterling Silver saxophone pin a shown actual now i bring All this up Bill because this sort of thing a lets Call it the saxophone Lapel pin thing a is going to be a problem for you. It is a Fine line Between being presi denial and surveying Novelty items Between folks Ness and dignity Between commentary the stars and stripes Page 13 to per it Btu Mim mix a most or Theiu it hmm Shoof Eer a Noin and Iten \ Stem service agent Wil Tost it promising and delivering. And it is time to Start drawing that line before you invite a boy scout troop in for Sloppy Joes in a fit of Bonhomie and then discover you re already scheduled for lunch with John major. Our Faux invitation for instance brought to mind that testy a bean counters criticism of women a Gro Fps just before the holidays the problem was that you raised expectations with those folks. When you talked about an administration that looked like America they thought of the America in which half of us Are female. They did not think of the America in which women get a few visible appointments and then everyone congratulates himself on filling some minority quota even though we actually happen to be the majority. This View was represented by the editorial cartoonist who showed a Bunch of animals saying a we believe president elect Clinton a Cabinet appointments do not reflect americans diversity a they re All in other words its Only a Small step from Pushy women to Pushy dogs and Borscs this same syndrome May attach to your economic conference. Some number crunchers complained that Alt those Biz around in a Circle was nothing but Public relations. Of Pooh. Public relations is just what the Economy needs right now after four years of being More closeted than a Gay general. You get a lot of expectations going with All that talk toys a a re us did a booming Christmas business on super Nintendo and Puppy Surprise. Now you have about 90 Days before anyone says a Salt he a done about the Economy is hold that stupid its not an easy Road you la walk two weeks from now. You re going to have to balance Hope and reality insiders and outs dvrs the Long haul and the Quick fix. And you la have to try to be approachable without being ridiculous. On your shoulders lies heavy the Burden of answering a question never before asked in this nation can a Man Wail on Arsinio and Load the free world but one cautionary note to begin with it May be that on that triumphant trip from the Capitol to the White i Louse inc one Jimmy Carter walked hand in hand with Rosalynn to show what a regular Guy to was you la be tempted to Stop Oft for a Quarter Pounder with cheese a gab est with a table of nurse s aides and a magnanimous offer of jobs a for everyone on the House it May feel right. It May feel new generation. But when that spirit moves you Bill keep moving. A c the now Yore Tumosa conservative View thanks for the memories get to it Man say it this is my last column under the Rubric of a a conservative after 28 years in a giving up my seat in the press Box. Time of go a but in a not going far. This was How it began. In the summer of 1964, new Day decided to form its own Syndicate of newspaper writers. The Long Island tabloid had 10 Liberal pundits lined up and needed one conservative for balance. By that time 1 had acquired a modest reputation As a fire eating Southern editor. They signed me on for a one year agreed on a title. My three columns a week would be called a a conservative i pretend to proclaim the conservative View. Each piece would run to 750 words. I would write the columns new Day would sell them we would split 50-50. The first column appeared in August 1964. Perhaps prophetically it was on the supreme court. That was the beginning of a Long Long ride in the world s Carousel. The old Washington Star brought me to Washington gave me a desk and provided a press pass. When the stars Syndicate folded in 1979,1 moved the column to Universal press Syndicate. At every Point along the Way a wonderful Guy held my hand. This was Harry Elmlark god rest him. No Syndicate Ever had a better Salesman and no columnist Ever had a dearer Friend. Washington is where the action is. Before Long i was caught in a swirl of congressional hearings presidential press conferences the whole Gaudy business of politics at the National level. Lyndon Johnson was president. He remains the most unforgettable Man 1 Ever met in Public life so Many Happy moments 1 remember interviewing Portugal a Premier Salazar As he uttered around his Garden the infamous dictator wanted to talk about roses. At 10 Downing Street prime minister Heath wanted to talk about sailing. In Tokyo Nakasone did no to want to talk about anything. One morning in May i sat for an hour in the Oval office As Richard Nixon delivered Ai Soliloquy on the presidency he would abdicate three months later. I liked Nixon a still do a and remember him in Silhouette against the White House windows a stoic and a tragic figure. One Day in March another president asked me to the White House for a More pleasant experience Ronald Reagan wanted to take me to an Irish pub for St. Patrick a Day lunch. I forget the bad apples in Congress let them go. The Good ones made great copy. I developed an abiding affection for Republican sen. Everett Dirksen of Illinois he of the brillo hair and the gravel voice. Hubert Humphrey was a Liberal Democrat i a conservative Republican but i loved the fellow. Humphrey really truly believed in big government. I loved Barry Goldwater too. He really truly believed in a limited government with limited Powers what would i glean from a Harvest of memories 1 believe our Republic is in trouble a trouble of a differ James j. Kilpatrick ent sort than we have faced before. 1 worry most about the erosion of old moral values about the tendency of sen to drive away love. I worry about racial tensions and 1 worry that All the posturing gestures of a a diversity and a a multicultural Lisma and a affirmative action Quot Are making bad matters worse. Our country ideally should be color Blind. We have become color obsessed. I worry about education. Sure there Are Many excellent Public schools but test scores accurately reflect a Bland mediocrity in the classroom. This won t do. Without a Well educated work Force America cannot keep up. I worry about Many things. Without worries no pundit could survive. I worry about recurring deficits health insurance the declining influence of religion. 1 worry about business leaders who lie and cheat. I worry about politicians who Are out for the Quick fix and the fast Buck. But one thing i know for certain this Republic will survive under the surface tarnish Good Silver shines below. Old ideals Are not dead. They re Only neglected. I said this column would Mark a Farewell but not exactly. The supreme court has been the love of my newspaper life since i first visited the court in 1941. I will be writing once a week about the court and about interesting cases generally. 1 will continue to whoop it up for the English language. All in a giving up really is Quot a conservative at 72, 1 want to sit on a Bench in Battery Park and watch the boats go by. C unrvwpr�i3 Syndi Caia
