WASHINGTON — President Clinton, who came into office vowing to focus on the economy like a laser beam, has now expanded his focus to encompass an agenda of new programs and revolutionary change that is breathtaking in its ambition.
The new President promises to remake the American economy, revolutionize health care, reinvent government, revise the regulations on raising and spending political money, reform the welfare system, launch a national youth service program, rewrite the rules on international trade and even rebuild the shattered Russian economy.
And those are only his front-burner issues. An array of second-tier initiatives--from resuscitating the airline industry to revamping the inspection of meat and fish--is bubbling up from newly named activists in the bureaucracy.
After 12 years of Republican rule, Clinton and his minions appear determined to reverse what they call a decade of domestic neglect--all in his first year in office.
But as the filibuster by Senate Republicans that caused Clinton to retrench on his short-term stimulus package--a relatively minor portion of his overall economic program--has demonstrated, every element on a President's agenda demands time, energy and political capital--resources that almost always turn out to be less plentiful than the need.
And if presidents spread themselves too thin, scattering their energies and failing to maintain focus on the things that matter most to them and to voters, they risk seeing their administrations unravel. Historians and veterans of previous administrations caution that Clinton will face major setbacks if he assumes that just because his many goals seem worthy, Congress and the country will fall in line.
A handful of presidents have managed to pursue enormous agendas and still succeed. Franklin D. Roosevelt virtually remade the face of American society. He not only created the Social Security system and a host of other previously unimaginable programs, but he also fundamentally altered the role of government in national life.
Lyndon B. Johnson, though finally destroyed by his pursuit of the Vietnam War, broke through the historic roadblock on civil rights laws and unleashed an avalanche of programs that still form the basis of the social safety net.
Both Roosevelt and Johnson, however, occupied the White House at moments of national crisis that gave them extraordinary political strength--the Depression in Roosevelt's case and the combination of President John F. Kennedy's assassination and the rising wave of the civil rights movement in Johnson's.
During Clinton's campaign, he sounded the alarm over economic, social and educational problems that he said similarly imperil the nation's future.
But for most voters these problems are abstract, complex and remote. Whether Clinton can turn them into anything like the situations that Roosevelt and Johnson turned to their advantage remains a large question.
If the answer is no, then his ability to avoid being spread too thin may become critical.
"We're already seeing signs of overextension," declared Republican political analyst Kevin Phillips. "The ineptitude of the Administration on a couple of early issues, the proliferation of foreign policy problems and a lack of adequate staffing throughout the government combine to create a need to tighten down to a couple of achievable priorities. Unfortunately, that's easier said than done."
Senior Administration officials conceded that a potential problem exists, but they insisted that Clinton understands the dangers and is moving to avoid them. Besides, they said, as an activist President committed to change, he has no choice but to move on a broad front--even if that entails some defeats.
"I can see the concern about overloading the agenda, and we are mindful it can be a problem," said Thomas (Mack) McLarty, Clinton's chief of staff. "But we have a President who understands the issues and has definite ideas about what he can do for the country."
McLarty said Clinton "knows he can't do everything, but he's engaged and he's willing to tackle the tough issues, and sometimes that sets up a President for being less than successful on every issue he addresses."
Clinton himself recognizes the risk of attempting to do too much too fast.
Asked at a recent photo opportunity whether his program is unraveling because it is too diffuse, he said: "We may not get 100% of everything we're trying to do in every area, but I do think the American people will see that the focus of all of this is to guarantee a healthy economy and a growing jobs market to try to turn this around. There are so many things which need attention in the economic area, I think we have to be active in all of them.
"I don't want to spread myself personally too thin, but we have, after all, a large number of people working in this government and a lot of work to do, and I think I have to keep pushing on the economic front."
