President Clinton made his goals for the coming year very clear --health care change, welfare reform and crime prevention will be issues he plans to tackle, but some students and professors hope he is not biting off more than he can chew.
Dennis Shea, assistant professor of health policy and administration, said he was surprised that Clinton "kept his plate very full," since he was criticized for trying to do too much.
In his first State of the Union address before Congress last night, the president declared that the nation's work 'has just begun.' He urged a ban on assault weapons, and threatened veto of any health care package that does not meet stringent standards for coverage.
Clinton might be setting up some of his Democratic senators for defeat in the November election if he gives them too much to do, and Americans will realize that senators and representatives have not met all the president's goals, Shea said.
"I think (the health care plan) will be an incredibly close vote --like NAFTA," Shea said.
If Republicans gain Congressional seats in November, then the health care plan will follow Republican strategy, which emphasizes insurance reform, Shea said. If Democrats win seats, Clinton's plan will get more support.
College Republicans Secretary Melissa Baluta said she thought Clinton's arguments were ambiguous and did not focus on some important issues.
"I would have liked to hear more about the international space station he mentioned," Baluta said. She agreed with Clinton's focus on maintaining the defense budget, but thought his health care plan was not going in the right direction.
While health care has been Clinton's pet project, Shea said bipartisan support will make welfare changes and crime prevention bills easier to pass in Congress.
Republicans and Democrats are closer to an agreement on welfare change and crime prevention, while some Republicans argue that a health care crisis does not exist, he added.
Clinton made a "pretty bold" statement by guaranteeing universal health care, saying he will not sign any bill with out it, Shea said.
"He might just be blowing smoke," Shea said, but added that if he is not, it will be interesting to see how he irons out Republican differences.
Andrew Kreider, president of the College Democrats, said Clinton's speech highlighted the issues he needs to address in 1994, and added that the president's arguments were very focused.
In Clinton's speech, Kreider said he liked the emphasis on young people -- something that would never have been done under former President George Bush. Clinton's goal is to help teen-age criminals change their behavior rather than send them to jail, he said.
Michael Young, director of the institute of state and regional affairs at Penn State Harrisburg, said Clinton wanted to convey a competent and strong image to the American public -- and succeeded.
"Strategically, he was trying to appeal to two different audiences -- those actually there and more importantly the American public," Young said. Clinton also displayed "good tactical politics" by turning the health care discussion to universal coverage rather than the problems with cost.
Young said he thinks a health care bill will be drawn up this year because it has been Clinton's priority. But he added that too many questions have been raised for Congress to support Clinton's current plan.
Although crime prevention was a main focus of Clinton's address, Young said Clinton exaggerated the public's concern about crime because statistically crimes are decreasing nationwide.
