Clinton defense, State of the Union mark big day in D.C.

Students were deeply divided in their opinions of Clinton's State of the Union address last night. and Molly Selzer Against the backdrop of a divisive impeachment process, President Bill Clinton outlined his plans for a wide range of issues, including Social Security, health care and education in his annual State of the Union address last night. Like the stately chamber of the House of Representatives -- where Clinton was impeached last month and last night faced an unusually polarized crowd -- Penn's Hamilton College House was also divided across party lines during a joint viewing of the speech by the College Democrats and College Republicans. With issues that appealed to virtually every demographic group, Clinton said he wants to use the budget surplus to protect Social Security and Medicare benefits, improve public education and health care standards and raise the minimum wage by a dollar an hour. And in a surprise announcement, he said the Justice Department is planning a lawsuit against cigarette manufacturers to recoup the costs of smokers' government-funded medical expenses. Students freely voiced their opinions throughout the speech. And for all the president's talk of a need for bipartisanship, student politicos were sharply divided down party lines. College Republicans Chairperson and College junior Patrick Ruffini called the lengthy speech "77 minutes of nothing." Yet College junior and self-professed Democrat Michelle Weinberger showed more support for the president's initiatives, highlighting Clinton's Social Security proposal. "With the number of elderly Americans set to double by 2030, the baby boom will come a senior boom. So first and above all, we must save Social Security," the embattled president said, proposing that the government use 62 percent of the expected 15-year government surplus -- or a forecasted $2.7 billion -- to keep the trust fund solvent until 2055. "I think it's an excellent idea," Weinberger said, calling the president's plan "a fantastic use of the money," though she said he should allocate more of it for education initiatives. Clinton also singled out several people who sat as guests of First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and the wife of Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert. Included in the gallery were the widows of the police officers shot to death last summer inside the Capitol building, civil rights activist Rosa Parks and National League MVP Sammy Sosa, who Clinton called "a hero in two countries" for his 66 home runs in the U.S. and for his charitable efforts in his native Dominican Republic after last summer's devastating Hurricane Georges. As part of his education initiative to "create schools for the 21st century," Clinton called for state and local school districts to implement and raise standards for public school students and teachers and reiterated his call to improve facilities and to place a computer in every classroom. In addition, Clinton vowed to continue to support higher education. With tax credits, student loans, Pell grants and Hope Scholarships, "we have finally opened the doors of college to all Americans," the president said. College sophomore Philip Bartlett -- a Republican -- stated his rebuttal succinctly: "That's bullshit," he said. References to the current trial in the Senate were noticeably absent from the address -- as they were last year, just days after the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke. Chief Justice William Rehnquist, who is presiding over the Senate trial, did not attend the speech. Most of the House managers prosecuting the president did attend, though they mostly remained silent and seated throughout Clinton's speech. In Hamilton's Rathskeller Lounge, several members of both clubs said the Lewinsky scandal made it impossible to fully concentrate on the content of the speech. "When Bill says it, all you can see is the controversy," said College junior Neal Mueller, a Democrat. And Ruffini said that Clinton "has basically wasted this country's time for a year since the last State of the Union address, when he could have ended [the Monica Lewinsky] controversy and he didn't."

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