Is Clinton Flying into the New Millennium on a Bully Pulpit?
By Chris Lehmann Date: 01-23-97 Bill Clinton has let it be known that he admires Teddy Roosevelt — a claim that can only cause alarm among those familiar with U.S. history. But the wording of his second inaugural address suggests to PNS commentator Chris Lehmann that Clinton may be more at home in a zeppelin than atop a bully pulpit. Lehmann is editor of Newsday’s Sunday Currents Section. The second installment of the Clinton Age is upon us, and already our shape-shifting chief executive has seized upon on an unlikely new role model — Teddy Roosevelt and his “bully pulpit.” During his re-election campaign, Clinton announced that Roosevelt was “one of my favorite presidents ever.” White House Press Secretary Michael McCurry observed reassuringly that the bully pulpit “defines the modern presidency.” This should have set off red flags somewhere. Teddy Roosevelt, that singularly bellicose, insecure, patrician president, “never suffered from an over-developed sense of responsibility” as
