For the Record

Welcome to a kinder, gentler nation. George Bush comes into office with 68 per cent of the people “optimistic.” There seems to be enthusiasm from the establishment, skepticism from outside it. Kevin Phillips says “the previous Republican Presidents who represent this sort of third-term middle-of-the-road service bent [from William Howard Taft to Herbert Hoover to Jerry Ford] are the people who lost when they had to run again. They didn’t have the ‘pizzazz.’ ” . . . R. W. Apple of New York Times writes that Bush has put together a parliamentary-type Cabinet “of competence, not ideology,” representing many party factions. . . . Newsweek thinks despite his symbolic new breeze, “it’s doubtful that George Bush will risk being remembered by his Kennebunkport neighbors as a traitor to his class.” . . . Conservative stalwart Sen. Jesse Helms (R., N.C.) had words of praise post inauguration, then said, “You can raise taxes—or you can cut federal spending. Let’s see if he’s got the guts to do the right thing.” . . . Fred Barnes, The New Republic’s conservative, says “the Bush Administration is going to be more conservative than practically everyone expects,” but “the rhetoric won’t be.” R. Emmett Tyrrell of The American Spectator agrees: “George Bush has no reason to distance himself from Ronald Reagan.” . . . George Will calls Bush’s symbolic vein during first days a sign of Carter Redux: “frenetic reliance on symbolism indicates uncertainty about what you want to do.” … A little friendly advice for the new President from Human Events’. “The true path to American security does not lie in shaky and largely unverifiable arms-control pacts, but in the dismemberment of the last—and most ruthless— of modern colonial powers.”

What sort of crowd will President Bush be facing on Capitol Hill? According to 1988 ADA ratings, the 101st Congress has “grown” in relation to its predecessors. ADA’s “Liberal Quotient” average was at a new high of 52 in the House (Democrats 75) and 48 in the Senate (Democrats 72). Incoming Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell (D., Me.) has ADA rating of 95, nearly double his predecessor Robert Byrd’s 55. Democratic House leaders averaged an ADA rating of 82. Not surprisingly, Massachusetts led all other states: its House and Senate delegations had combined ADA rating of 91. . . . Meanwhile Rep. Newt Gingrich (R., Ga.) plans to continue his attack against House Speaker: “I think Jim Wright and Marion Barry are perfect symbols for a corrupt Democratic Party.” … A Gallup poll asked how respondents rated various professions ethically; car salesmen received “Very High” or “High” rating from 6 per cent, congressmen from 16 per cent, journalists from 23 per cent. . . . When National Opinion Research Center asked if government is responsible for providing jobs for everyone who wants one, 80 per cent in West Germany said yes, 69 in Britain, and only 33 in U.S. . . . Roper poll reports the country believes, by 63 to 10 per cent, that federal spending, not inadequate tax revenues, is reason for U.S deficit.

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Welcome to a kinder, gentler nation. George Bush comes into office with 68 per cent of the people “optimistic.” There seems to be enthusiasm from the establishment, skepticism from outside it. Kevin Phillips says “the previous Republican Presidents who represent this sort of third-term middle-of-the-road service bent [from William Howard Taft to Herbert Hoover to Jerry Ford] are the people who lost when they had to run again. They didn’t have the ‘pizzazz.’ ” . . . R. W. Apple of New York Times writes that Bush has put together a parliamentary-type Cabinet “of competence, not ideology,” representing many party factions. . . . Newsweek thinks despite his symbolic new breeze, “it’s doubtful that George Bush will risk being remembered by his Kennebunkport neighbors as a traitor to his class.” . . . Conservative stalwart Sen. Jesse Helms (R., N.C.) had words of praise post inauguration, then said, “You can raise taxes—or you can cut federal spending. Let’s see if he’s got the guts to do the right thing.” . . . Fred Barnes, The New Republic’s conservative, says “the Bush Administration is going to be more conservative than practically everyone expects,” but “the rhetoric won’t be.” R. Emmett Tyrrell of The American Spectator agrees: “George Bush has no reason to distance himself from Ronald Reagan.” . . . George Will calls Bush’s symbolic vein during first days a sign of Carter Redux: “frenetic reliance on symbolism indicates uncertainty about what you want to do.” … A little friendly advice for the new President from Human Events’. “The true path to American security does not lie in shaky and largely unverifiable arms-control pacts, but in the dismemberment of the last—and most ruthless— of modern colonial powers.”

What sort of crowd will President Bush be facing on Capitol Hill? According to 1988 ADA ratings, the 101st Congress has “grown” in relation to its predecessors. ADA’s “Liberal Quotient” average was at a new high of 52 in the House (Democrats 75) and 48 in the Senate (Democrats 72). Incoming Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell (D., Me.) has ADA rating of 95, nearly double his predecessor Robert Byrd’s 55. Democratic House leaders averaged an ADA rating of 82. Not surprisingly, Massachusetts led all other states: its House and Senate delegations had combined ADA rating of 91. . . . Meanwhile Rep. Newt Gingrich (R., Ga.) plans to continue his attack against House Speaker: “I think Jim Wright and Marion Barry are perfect symbols for a corrupt Democratic Party.” … A Gallup poll asked how respondents rated various professions ethically; car salesmen received “Very High” or “High” rating from 6 per cent, congressmen from 16 per cent, journalists from 23 per cent. . . . When National Opinion Research Center asked if government is responsible for providing jobs for everyone who wants one, 80 per cent in West Germany said yes, 69 in Britain, and only 33 in U.S. . . . Roper poll reports the country believes, by 63 to 10 per cent, that federal spending, not inadequate tax revenues, is reason for U.S deficit.