DANFORTH: VIETNAM SYNDROME MAY LINGER; U.S. TO FACE CHALLENGES IN MONTHS AHEAD

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- In his congressional address last week, President George Bush declared that with the decisive American victory in the Persian Gulf the nation had finally kicked its Vietnam syndrome.

But Sen. John Danforth says he's not so sure the president was correct.

In a speech Monday to the Rotary Club of Cape Girardeau, Danforth defined the Vietnam syndrome as "a fear that everything is going to be messed up; a fear that we are all thumbs, especially in dealing with foreign affairs."

Whether that syndrome has been kicked once and for all will be decided by the American people, said Danforth, a Republican.

"It won't come because the president has proclaimed that it has been kicked, or (because of) a short period of euphoria following the Persian Gulf," Danforth said. "The Vietnam syndrome is an extreme pessimism about what our country is doing and what we can accomplish as a country and as a people. The question is: How do we really feel about America?"

Some members of Congress believed military action against Iraq should have been delayed to give economic sanctions more time to work. But, Danforth said, members of Congress were briefed that sanctions would not be the tool needed to get Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait.

He said many members of Congress held onto that belief because of concern that the United States would fail in a military encounter.

Danforth said he is unsure whether the nation has actually kicked the Vietnam syndrome, and the question deserves debate. Discussions related to the issue will be among the most important since he became a senator in 1977, said Danforth.

He said the nation's response to the syndrome will be tested in several ways over the next few months. One of the first opportunities will be when Congress debates whether to give the president fast-track authority to negotiate trade agreements with Mexico, Canada, and other countries, he said. Opposition to such authority, said Danforth, could come from the idea that the United States will be unable to compete in international trade.

A second test will be how the nation responds to the current recession, he said. "We have learned that the economic system of our country will work if government lets it work," said Danforth.

Danforth referred to the January vote in Congress on whether to authorize the president to use military force in the gulf. The vote, basically along party lines, narrowly passed.

Danforth said he hopes Congress will recapture its bi-partisan spirit in foreign policy that has prevailed for years.

Danforth said the question of whether the U.S. has kicked the Vietnam syndrome is not a partisan question. "It is an issue for the American soul; it is a matter of whether we believe our best days in this country are ahead of us," he said.

"The ultimate questions are not how John Danforth feels about this, but rather, how do you feel?" he said.

In response to questions, Danforth said he was not disenchanted by the debate last fall over the budget and taxing power of the federal government. He said the political system has a lot of checks and balances built into it that tend to spark discussion on issues. Such debate is good for the nation, he said.

Danforth said it is unlikely Bush will have the same level of success dealing with domestic policy issues that he had recently in dealing with foreign policy. He said Bush can act much more decisively in foreign policy as the commander in chief and Congress has a limited role. In domestic policy, Danforth said, Congress "is always in the act."

"I don't see the kind of success we have seen in the Middle East by the president being carried through on domestic policy," he said.

Asked to discuss where the nation is headed by 2000, in light of the growing budget deficit, Danforth said he could not make a prediction. "Basically, we have a very strong country," and the nation should do well if it does not become "Vietnamized on economic policy," he said.

Danforth said the fastest growing area of the federal budget is Medicare and Medicaid and the issue of health care will ultimately need to be addressed to bring spending under control. "We will have to come to grips with the cost of health care," said Danforth. "It will be a very politically difficult decision that we will have to address."

As for the role citizens can play in addressing the deficit problem, Danforth suggested people understand the health-care issue and health-care choices so they can actively participate in the debate.

Danforth said the solution probably will require the government to set limits on what Medicare and Medicaid will pay, with the rest being made up by the patient.

He also called for reforms in the medical malpractice system.

"The medical malpractice system is a scandal," Danforth said, explaining that just 27 cents of every premium dollar go to the patient. The rest is for courts and attorneys, he said. Increased litigation in society has led doctors to practice too much "defensive medicine," he said, and that has driven up costs.

Danforth said he supports a cut in the capital-gains tax, but it is not likely to come about with the current make-up of Congress.

Danforth toured Southeast Missouri Monday. He visited the new M&W manufacturing plant before addressing the Rotary club.