WASHINGTON, Nov. 5, 1996 (UPI) -- President Clinton's recurring theme in the heated days of his campaign dealt with building a bridge to the 21st century and after most of the votes were tallied, it appeared that a majority of Americans decided to cross that bridge with him.
That symbolic bridge was the running theme throughout the president's latest political odyssey which began early this year, continued through his whistlestop train tour before the Democratic National Convention in August and ended in the early morning hours Tuesday in his beloved hometown of Little Rock, Ark.
In a moving address accepting his re-election at a celebration rally on the grounds of the Old State House in Arkansas, Clinton spoke with sentiment and nostalgia, drawing cheers when he said, ''I thank God I was born in America.''
Telling Republicans ''it is time to put our country ahead of politics,'' he then invoked again his longtime campaign theme. ''We've got a bridge to build and I'm ready if you are,'' he told supporters. ''The American people have spoken...it is time to put politics aside and go and get the job done for America's future.''
He also took a moment to thank his Republican challenger, former Senate Majority leader Bob Dole for his ''lifetime of service'' to the United States. Using the economy as a benchmark for his campaign, Clinton brought home the message time and time again, and apparently voters decided they were indeed much better off than they were four years ago. That tactic worked in his 1992 election bid against President Bush when his campaign team came up with the refrain ''it's the economy, stupid'' in their battle for the White House.
Dole, while acknowledging that it ''hurts to lose,'' harked back to his acceptance address at the Republican National Convention when he reiterated that Clinton was his ''opponent, not my enemy'' in his concession speech. Dole found that his 15 percent across-the-board tax cut failed to resonate with wary voters. At the same time, the plan directly contradicted Dole's years on Capitol Hill as a deficit hawk.
And while the so-called character issue seemed to be gathering steam in the final days of the campaign, it became clear that the best Dole could do was only make a slight dent in Clinton's all-too impenetrable lead. His hopes of a Trumanesque upset victory were dashed although he embraced the mantle of the feisty Democratic president and made one of the final speeches of his campaign in Truman's hometown of Independence, Mo.
Clinton refused to rise to the bait of Dole's scathing attacks and stayed on his message, taking the high road to promote a presidential image. While on the hustings, he reminded the crowds early and often that the Republicans in Congress had twice shut down the government and that he had saved Medicare and Medicaid from devastating cuts.
But real answers were hard to come by from either candidate, as neither one held a news conference for the duration of the campaign and limited answers to reporters' questions or only responded in controlled, one-on-one situations.
Still, Clinton knows he has promises to keep after he gets a night's sleep. As the first Democratic president to win re-election since Franklin D. Roosevelt, he knows his second term will be no free ride. He also made a strong plea to end divisions in the country, to mend fences with political foes and and to make a bid for bipartisanship with the start of his new term, but that does not appear likely.
One of the most pressing issues is expected to be campaign finance reform which got a jump start with revelations during the campaign of dubious Democratic campaign contributions from foreign sources. And GOP lawmakers have already signaled they have just begun to investigate.
Although Clinton and his wife have been scrutinized by an independent prosecutor for the past four years, the GOP has made it clear that there is more to come. So far, investigations have focused on the Clintons' involvement in the Whitewater land venture, the White House access to FBI files of former Reagan and Bush administration officials and the firing of the White House travel office staff.
Throughout the campaign, the opposition appeared to be more intent on targeting Hillary Rodham Clinton with dire rumblings about the first lady, and there was no indication that there would be any letup on this score. But Mrs. Clinton stayed out of the line of fire and lowered her profile this time around, likely in hope of avoiding a repeat of the 1994 Republican landslide in Congress, for which she took a hefty share of the blame.
The election proved that Clinton once more deserves the title of ''the Comeback Kid'', particularly since he was declared a lame duck two years ago and he had to defend his relevance. In keeping with his move to the middle and rejection of ''big government,'' he kept his campaign promises in check. He also co-opted large chunks of the Republican agenda for a balanced budget but said it could be achieved without any big cuts in social programs.
On Election Night, he proudly proclaimed that ''the center is alive and well.'' The president already has plans underway for restructuring his cabinet and White House staff for the next four years. Departing White House chief of staff Leon Panetta has been put in charge of drafting a blueprint for the next term.
