Clinton enters final year in office with no plans to slow down

December 25, 1999
Web posted at: 10:00 p.m. EST (0300 GMT)

From White House Correspondent Kelly Wallace

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Although his time in the White House is running out, President Bill Clinton has made clear he has an ambitious agenda for his remaining 13 months in office.

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His domestic goals include tougher gun control, an increase in the minimum wage, a patients' bill of rights, and reforms of Medicare and Social Security. On the international front, the president has high hopes for peace agreements in the Middle East, and lasting harmony in Northern Ireland.

Joe Lockhart, the White House press secretary, said Clinton "looks as this last year as the last chance to make an impact."

Clinton could also view the final months of his second four- year term as an opportunity to make up for time lost during the Monica Lewinsky scandal, according to political analysts.

"He wants to create a legacy. He wanted to create a legacy for the last couple of years. He hasn't had any success," analyst Stuart Rothenberg said.

He'll be 'yelling at people'

Lockhart dismissed any talk of legacy, saying Clinton simply is focusing on doing a job he loves until the final hour.

Clinton has an ambitious agenda for his remaining year in office

"I would expect the last day of office there will be a meeting in the Cabinet room, where he's yelling at people" who have not finished their work, asking them why they are resting when they "still have six more hours," Lockhart said.

In 2000, Clinton will work on his final budget, deliver his last state-of-the-union speech and conduct his final dealings with the Republican-controlled Congress.

Rep. Dick Armey, the House majority leader, believes Clinton will be too preoccupied with his place in history to deal seriously with legislative negotiations:

"I think the president will spend his time this year focusing on international matters, traveling a great deal, seeking his legacy. We will do our work. We will get it to the president. He will sign it," the Republican lawmaker said.

Clinton's final year happens to be a campaign year, when two of his closest advisers will focus on their political futures. First Lady Hillary Clinton is running for U.S. senate in New York and Vice President Al Gore hopes to replace Clinton in the Oval Office.

The campaigns will give the president time to reflect on life after the White House. But his job will come first until he relinquishes it on January 20, 2001, aides said.

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