European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 01, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday february 1, 1994 commentary the stars and stripes Page scrutiny of Federal nominees is too grueling Walter r. Mears just too brutal president Clin ton said of the ordeal that can go with a government Job in a mistrustful capital. That complaint echoes from the grave of one official and in the bitter exits of nominees who quit. Their circumstances have varied in tense pressures against some Only a nudge in the Cas of Bobby Ray Inman who with Drew As nominee for Secretary of defense saying he. Would t. Subject himself to a daily diet of attack. But they share a common theme that Washington the establishment the confirmation process and the news Media especially the news Media have become so negative and intrusive that Good people often shun appoint ments. Or regret them. Here ruining people is considered sport Vincent Foster Clinton s Friend and Deputy White House counsel said in a note found in his briefcase after he killed himself last july 20. Foster wrote that he was t meant for the Job or the spotlight of Public life in Washington. After the Inman episode Clinton said i had a Cabinet member Tell me the other Day that if he had to do it All Over again he was t sure he d go into Public service today because. It s just too Bru  not everyone agrees. While Inman complained on can that some body who s going to take one of those jobs really does need to want it Republican sen. Robert Dole retorted tha tinman gives than skinned people a bad  just wanted to be anointed the gop Leader from Kansas said. Clinton said the sort of pressure Sinman shunned Are inevitable if you sign on for a political career in the latter half of the 20th  the president said he accepts that although it bothers him for the Sake of his family. He s subject to investigation him self in the Whitewater land Deal with a special counsel on the Case although no Bob Polej whjamver3lockv they re All got to get me get the Jug Clinto mental wealth care plan one has accused him or first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton of wrongdoing. Clinton said he has talked with both republicans and democrats who think it is time to review the whole nomination and confirmation process. It takes too Long to get somebody confirmed he said. It s too bureaucratic. You have two or three Levels of investigation. I think it s  in addition confirmation also reaches deeper into the ranks to subordinate officials not Only those at the top. House speaker Thomas s. Foley re called that his first Boss in Washington sen. Henry m. Jackson used to say the presidents ought to get the appointments they want for the Cabinet and then be responsible for them. Washington has become in recent years a much harsher place for  that has been a gradual , Inman said that when he agreed to take the Pentagon Job i had a sort of a Wistful idea we might go Back to the Era remembered before Vietnam when defense was kept out of politics. That conflict the bitter policy dispute Sand deceptions it stirred and the water Gate scandal that followed heightened suspicions and undermined Trust. While the stress is on a democratic administration now there was a roster of. Republican cases when they were in charge. � i dont think this administration has had More than the usual difficulties said sen. George j. Mitchell the demo cratic Leader. Go Back if you will to president Bush s administration. Re member the huge fight Over former sen Ator Tower in 1989 John g. Tower former  from Texas was denied confirmation As Secretary of defense after a bit Ter controversy Over his drinking habits rid relationships with women. Republicans remember. It s a very cruel and Tough town Sai Arizona sen. John Mccain who said that As a vindicated Veteran of the Keating five Case he knows what it s like. C Tho associated press bureaucrats control your health in Glinton plan in his state of the Union address last week pres ident Clinton took a lot of credit for the improving Economy though it could be argued that decisions made in the Reagan administration Are responsible. When Reagan left office the Federal deficit was $150 billion a year and falling. Now the democrats chortle that a projected $180 billion deficit is great news. The Impact of Clinton s economic policies won t be fully Felt for another year but this administration will shoulder All of the responsibility for gutting the Best health care system in the world and replacing it with one whose Model is socialism and whose Quality is considerably less than what most americans now  Clinton health plan is a Triumph of a Quality of life Over a Sanctity of life  Means that Cost will be the new god of Medicine and if your affliction costs too much you will have to suffer or die because the government no longer consid ers your life to be Worth living and has declared you to be a Burden to yourself your family and most important your nation. This is not alarmist rhetoric. It is the Only conclusion that can be reached after Reading the administration s proposal. As Jay Leno has said if the Clinton health plan passes in anything close to its current form the Only doctor who will be making House Calls is Jack Kevorkian. In his state of the Union speech Clinton pushed All the right emotional buttons in an attempt to sell the health plan including the Reagan esque approach of Reading a letter from a person who lost his Job and went broke trying to pay for a medical  we let health care Drift said the president Well have less care fewer choices and higher  no one is suggesting we let health care Cal Thomas  there Are several alternatives to help the uninsured without doing damage to the Quality of care or its availability. Under the Clinton plan regional alliances the equivalent of the old soviet collective farms and a top heavy bureaucracy will decide based on Cost alone who gets care and How much. Elizabeth Mccaughey of the Manhattan Institute under stands the administration s proposal and she is frightened by it. In the feb. 7 Issue of the new Republic Mccaughey succinctly outlines the essence of t. The proposal. The Bill Guaran tees you a package of medical services she writes but you can t have them unless they Are deemed Nec Essary and appropriate " and who will make the decision As to whether the treatment you need is necessary and appropriate it won t be you or your family doctor. The decision will be made by a government bureaucrat whose diagnosis will focus on Cost alone. Seven people appointed by the president will make up a National health to air they will decide How my h the nation will spend on health care. Depending on How much con Gress appropriates these big Brothers will establish budget for each of the regional alliances. Short term gains made through eliminating waste will result in Long term pain As 77 million baby Boomers retire and need More medical care which won t be available to them As it has been to their parents. Low Cost not High Quality will be the goal. Sure everybody will be covered but specialists will virtually disappear and quotas will be imposed on How Many medical students can specialize in such areas As cardio vascular surgery. Even costly aids research might be curtailed. Prof it has been considered a dirty word in Medicine but profit drives research and the development of skills without this incentive Quality will decline because there is less Reward for hard work risk taking and re search. The Quality of health care under the Clinton plan will be controlled by another bureaucratic monster called the National Quality management Council. You and your doctor will have nothing to say about it. Having Back pain your doctor May want to give you an Fri but if the National Quality manage ment Council decides you should take two aspirin and some hot compresses and Call Back in two weeks there s nothing the doctor can do about it. Jordan s King Hussein came to America last week not Only to buy some motorcycles but to get a medical checkup. Notice he did t use his own country s medical care or that of Canada or great Britain because ours is better. If the Clinton health plan is approved the Impact will not be immediate any More than the Impact of his economic policies was immediate. But unlike the econ omy which can be fixed undermining health care will have Long lasting results that will cause Many people to remain sick much longer and others to die before their time. C los Angeles times