Clinton calls for a new vision of government

The Associated Press WASHINGTON -- William Jefferson Clinton began his second term as president yesterday, promising a turn-of-the-century government that "does more with less." In a day of inaugural fanfare and political reflection, he urged an end to Washington's "petty bickering and extreme partisanship." The nation's 53rd inauguration stretched from a rousing morning prayer service to all-night revelry at 15 black-tie balls. Five minutes after noon, as a warming sun shone down on the chilled Capitol audience, Clinton put his left hand on the family Bible held by his wife and raised his right hand to recite the 35 words spoken by every president since George Washington. "Good luck," Chief Justice William Rehnquist said when the president finished the oath. The crowd broke the silence with a roar of cheers. The president turned and swept up Hillary Rodham Clinton and their daughter, Chelsea, in a two-armed hug. Cannons fired a military salute. Clinton will be the first president of the 21st century and the approach of a new millennium was very much on his mind at the rebirth of his presidency. Clinton's vision of his second term was one of practicality. "As times change, so government must change,'' Clinton said. ''We need a new government for a new century." He said government cannot solve everyone's problems but it should offer the tools for people to help themselves. In a 22-minute inaugural address, he envisioned a government that ''is smaller, lives within its means and does more with less." "Our land of new promise will be a nation that meets its obligations, a nation that balances its budget but never loses the balance of its values; a nation where our grandparents have secure retirement and health care." Clinton's address was short on policy specifics, touching vaguely on several second term legislative priorities, from balancing the budget and improving Social Security's financial footing to reforming campaign finance laws. And, on an Inauguration Day that shared the calendar with the holiday observing the birth of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., Clinton pointed from the Capitol to the other end of Washington's majestic mall, to the Lincoln Memorial where the civil rights leader delivered his most famous call for racial harmony. "Like a prophet of old, he told of his dream, that one day America would rise up and treat all its citizens as equals before the law and in the heart," Clinton said of King. ''For any one of us to succeed, we must succeed as one America," Clinton said. "?The divide of race has been America's constant curse."