President Bill Clinton delivered his last annual State of the Union address on Thursday like a campaign stump speech, promising an active final year in office and also trying to boost the chances of Al Gore to succeed him. The speech – 89-minute long, a record for him – also earned praise from lawmakers of both major US parties.Whereas last year's address saw many Republicans staring quietly back at Clinton from across the political battleground of impeachment, this year, the President found legislative foes more cordial and willing to laugh at his jokes rather than his predicament in the Monica Lewinsky affair. ``This was an inspirational speech.perhaps the best State of the Union he's given in terms of rousing the American people,'' said Republican Representative Bill McCollum, who last year was busy prosecuting Clinton's Senate impeachment trial.Brimming over with bold new social initiatives to be derived from the ongoing US economic boom, Clinton strayed far from the image of a lame duck Presidentinto his final year in office. ``Never before has our nation enjoyed, at once, so much prosperity and social progress with so little internal crises or so few external threats,'' he told a joint session of Congress. ``Never before have we had such a blessed opportunity and, therefore, such a profound obligation to build the more perfect Union of our founders.We are fortunate to be alive at this moment in history.''His administration had helped build, he implied, a softer, gentler society. There had been a 20-per cent drop in crime to the lowest level in a quarter century, with reductions in teen pregnancy and in the number of welfare recipients, as well as the creation of millions of new jobs, he noted.In foreign policy, Clinton laid out his key goals: promoting stability and democracy in China and Russia, and preventing terrorists from acquiring high-tech weapons. Russia, he said, was being held back from achieving its full potential by ``the legacy of communism, economic turmoil, a cruel andself-defeating war in Chechnya''. China, he acknowledged, was being held back ``by the illusion that it can buy stability at the expense of freedom'', referring to Beijing's deteriorating human rights record. At the same time, Clinton called on Americans to embrace trade with China as a means of creating a more stable world, a point on which Republicans differ from him.His appeal came as the US and China agreed to resume defence cooperation suspended in the wake of NATO bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade. According to UNI, a top defence official said the decision was taken at a two-day meeting of senior military officials from both the countries. In his speech, Clinton urged passage of the once-rejected Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and enhanced efforts to promote peace in areas like the Middle East and South Asia.Flanked by a Gore, Clinton gave little hint that he faces mandatory retirement from the United States' highest post in 359 days. He announced a proposal for a 350-billion-dollar taxcut to be spread over 10 years, as well as massive increase in spending on education, health and child-care programmes.Many Republicans made no secret of their dismay at the series of new initiatives and new spending Clinton outlined. ``Once again this year, President Clinton promises something for every one with little regard for the cost to taxpayers,'' said Republican Representative Bill Young, Chairman of the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee.Even before the address, Republican lawmakers were warning that Clinton was set to spend $4 billion per minute, $350 billion at the 90-minute mark. ``It was a laundry list of new spending programmes. So many,'' Republican Representative Steve Chabot said, shaking his head. In a nod towards his desire to be succeeded in the White House by a fellow Democrat, Clinton referred to the ``Vice-President'' and Gore's wife Tipper six times, in a clear show of support for his number two. Gore was lauded for his work in connecting schools to theInternet, his advocacy for environmental protection, his proposal to make low-income parents eligible for their children's inexpensive health insurance and support gun control.In addition, Clinton lauded his own wife Hillary, an all-but-certain candidate for the Senate from New York, twice. She was a tireless supporter of children's rights, he said, and he urged the television industry to adopt her proposal for a single-rating system alerting parents to violence programmes.
