DOCUMENTARY OFFERS VIEW OF BILL CLINTON AND RECORD

Sunday night CNN (Ted Turner's Network) had a documentary on the political history of GOVERNOR BILL CLINTON of Arkansas.

They have scheduled one for next Sunday night on PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH.

I missed the start but found it to be very informative.

Clips from Clinton's earlier campaigns, promises met and kept. Comments from supporters and non supporters.

If Clinton would have been a Republican governor the media and liberal democrats would be brutalizing him for the business benefits he pushed to bring industry to the state.

Since the passage of an "investment tax credit" in Arkansas new jobs have "increased 300% per year". "One out of 12 workers are employed in the chicken processing business" which creates a major pollution problem. The pulp paper and newsprint industry has created many jobs and an environmental problem.

Arkansas' growth is primarily because it is a "RIGHT TO WORK STATE" but the state's former opposition of Arkansas unions to Clinton is contrary to the national union's support for this populist candidate who started off with social reform in his first term only to be DEFEATED after his first two years. The CNN telecast reported Clinton's pragmatic change upon reelection.

Clinton passed a sales tax (the "regressive tax" that liberals always criticize hurts the middle and lower income people) to assist his education package and had teachers picketing him (now he's the darling of the NEA for President) when he required mandatory teacher testing.

Arkansas is one of only two states in the nation without civil rights legislation (though I don't blame Clinton, but his legislature for this).

On and on the program went with information that neither the Bush campaign or national media has elected to report.

Obviously not a hatchet job or puff job ... it appeared to be an effort to let the viewers know what Clinton has done and what to expect if elected.

My impression of what to expect if Clinton is elected President? I think he'll side with the liberal social positions of his early years and the liberal Democratic congressional leadership. As some of his friends comment, he is a bright likable guy who too often agrees with the last person or group to which he talks ... and what he really believes, and will do is hard to predict. As CNN reported ... Clinton's experience consists of being the governor of one of the nation's smallest (with a total population the size of Pittsburg) and poorest states.

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In early October the president launched harsh criticism of Clinton's record as governor of Arkansas. He cited a wide array of failures in leadership in areas like the economy, environment, crime, civil rights and health care.

The New York Times commented that "much of President Bush's damning description of Clinton's record as governor of Arkansas was accurate. ...It is true, as Mr. Bush declared, that Arkansas' per capita income was among the lowest in the nation ... It is true that taxes in Arkansas have risen, particularly for the poor and middle class. ...Only three other states have fewer people covered by health insurance. And only one other state had not passed a civil rights law." Bush also pointed out that Clinton, as governor, had doubled the state's gas tax, raised the tax on beer, initiated taxes on mobile homes, mostly occupied by poor people, and "even taxed food stamps until the federal government made him stop." The president said early this month that there is "a grand canyon" that separates Clinton's "rhetoric from the reality of his record."

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This is an unusual election year. A candidate (MEL CARNAHAN) running for Governor has proposed a 200 million dollar tax increase. He has proposed we settle (but gives us no plan...) with the school desegregation issue in St. Louis and Kansas City (which has already drained over 1 billion dollars from other public school districts in Missouri). This is at a time recent court rulings support the legal actions of Gov. John Ashcroft and Bill Webster in opposing the rulings (on which they have reported saving of an additional 600 million plus dollars that had also been earmarked for those two big city school districts). Carnahan OPPOSES TERM LIMITS supported by 70% of the people in the state; and supports public employee unions ... all issues which most people in Southeast Missouri disagree.

Still he leads Webster in the polls in Southeast Missouri with an amazing 19% undecided. (The race is much closer statewide).

The prime reason is that the attacks of Carnahan on the handling of the "second injury" fund have given the appearance that Webster is crooked. HE'S NOT!

Over the weekend I spent time becoming better versed on the fund, its growth and alleged abuses.

We will be doing an article on same this week ... like CNN (who I applaud for their in-depth series on Clinton and Bush) to at least give you some facts to deal with the negative TV ads on this subject.

The Carnahan attack ads are a distortion of the facts and I think that the 39 year old Webster's reluctance to respond is a poor choice that hopefully he will correct before the election: