Jim=20
Nicholson, Chairman Republican National Committee
![3DW](3D"http://partners.nytimes.com/images/w.gif"=20)
ASHINGTON -- Like a contagion, the campaign finance =
controversy=20
is hobbling an array of government agencies and starting to change =
the=20
political calculus of President Clinton's second term.=20
From the White House to the Commerce Department to the State =
Department=20
Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, government offices are =
tied up in=20
document searches that administration officials say are likely to =
become=20
even more time consuming as congressional investigations move into =
high=20
gear.=20
In a host of other areas, the controversy is raising all kinds of =
new=20
political considerations.=20
For example, Vice President Al Gore's upcoming trip to China was =
once=20
viewed as high-profile diplomacy. But now administration officials =
are=20
fretting that Gore's every action will be viewed through the prism =
of=20
accusations that the Chinese government and Asian business interests =
were=20
trying to buy political influence through campaign donations.=20
For Clinton, naming three people to a new commission to study =
gambling's=20
effects on the country should have been a straightforward task. But =
the=20
appointments are months overdue as the White House considers how to =
avoid=20
any appearance that Clinton was influenced by donations from =
supporters of=20
gambling.=20
At the State Department, nominations of ambassadors and assistant =
secretaries are backed up at least in part, officials say, because =
the=20
current climate has made the administration extremely cautious in =
its=20
background checks of candidates.=20
And the fallout from the campaign finance controversy may also be =
starting to affect the negotiations over a balanced budget plan -- =
for a=20
continuing Republican assault on Democratic fund raising has left =
Clinton=20
more dependent on congressional Democrats than he might have been =
otherwise,=20
some administration officials and members of Congress say.=20
"They are driving him into the arms of the Democrats who least =
want to=20
deal," said George Stephanopoulos, Clinton's former senior adviser.=20
Indeed, the mood in Washington has changed sharply since Clinton =
was=20
re-elected and promised to govern from the "vital center."=20
For months, Clinton had tried to set the stage for a season of=20
cooperation with the Republican-led Congress. He particularly had =
appeared=20
poised to separate himself from the liberal wing of his own party as =
he had=20
done on issues like welfare and trade.=20
He named a Republican, William Cohen, as defense secretary in an =
effort=20
to reach out to the Republicans. Later, furthering the impression =
that he=20
was a conciliating force, Clinton stood shoulder to shoulder with =
former=20
President George Bush and Gen. Colin Powell to say he would hold a =
three-day=20
conference on community service this spring.=20
Such gestures were supposed to pave the way for Clinton and =
congressional=20
Republicans to reach an agreement early this year on a plan to =
balance the=20
budget by 2002 -- a historic achievement for both sides to embrace.=20
But with questions about White House and Democratic fund raising=20
dominating Washington, partisanship is on the rise once more. =
Congressional=20
Republicans have demanded that Clinton produce a new budget plan. =
Many are=20
calling for an independent counsel. And one Georgia Republican, Rep. =
Bob=20
Barr, went so far last week as to call for impeachment proceedings =
against=20
Clinton.=20
In such a climate, congressional Democrats say, White House =
officials=20
have been working to push more allies out in public to defend the =
president=20
and to stop members of his own party from undercutting him by adding =
their=20
own voices to the criticism of his fund-raising practices. But such =
tactics=20
make it more difficult for Clinton to oppose liberal Democrats and =
core=20
Democratic constituency groups.=20
"He is much more dependent on Democrats in Congress than might =
have been=20
otherwise," a Democratic strategist said. "He needs people up there =
to fight=20
his fight. He can't afford to turn them all off."=20
Thus some on Capitol Hill considered it a telling moment last =
week when=20
budget talks stalled after Clinton shelved the idea of establishing =
an=20
independent commission to devise a new way to calculate =
cost-of-living=20
increases for Social Security and other federal benefits.=20
Such a change would have saved billions of dollars, making a =
budget deal=20
easier and potentially freeing up money to meet Republican demands =
for=20
further tax cuts. But it was highly unpopular with traditional =
Democratic=20
allies like labor and the elderly and was opposed by Rep. Richard =
Gephardt=20
of Missouri, the Democratic leader, who is expected to challenge =
Gore from=20
the left for the Democratic nomination in 2000.=20
Clinton's negotiators said that the decision had nothing to do =
with=20
campaign finance considerations -- and that they had simply found =
opposition=20
among some Republicans and among all factions of the Democratic =
party.=20
Even conservative Democrats, they said, were unwilling to make =
changes in=20
Social Security payments if the move could be viewed as paving the =
way for=20
tax cuts.=20
But as a result of the president's action, Sen. Trent Lott of=20
Mississippi, the Republican leader, whom Clinton had been courting =
as a=20
negotiating partner, condemned the president as lacking leadership =
and=20
Gephardt praised the president as "politically courageous."=20
Without progress on the budget, there is little on the horizon =
despite=20
forays into foreign policy -- like the president's trip to Helsinki, =
Finland, later this week -- to dilute the focus on fund raising and =
help=20
Clinton change the subject.=20
Clinton himself ran in 1996 on a scaled-back domestic program and =
his=20
most major proposals -- tax relief for higher education and =
additional money=20
for work programs for welfare recipients -- are contingent on the =
budget=20
talks.=20
The Republicans, meanwhile, came out of the election fractured =
over=20
whether to return to their 1995 agenda or to seek more moderate =
areas of=20
cooperation with the president. Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., who =
led them=20
on their charge, has been weakened by his own ethics problems and=20
unpopularity. And Lott has recently suffered several leadership =
setbacks.=20
One result is a vacuum that only means fund-raising questions =
will=20
continue to grip policy-makers.=20
William Kristol, the editor of The Weekly Standard, a =
conservative=20
magazine, gave this assessment of the situation: "If Clinton had =
announced a=20
health care plan like his original one in the State of the Union =
message, or=20
if the Republicans had come out of the box with something like the =
Contract=20
With America, the scandals wouldn't be nearly as prominent. The =
economy is=20
good. The country's at peace and neither party has an agenda."
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