Unit10continuallearning..doc

Unit 8 Continual Learning 1 Upon assuming the presidency, Clinton was the ultimate Washington outsider. As governor of a relatively small state, he had few personal relationships with key members of the U.S. Congress, and fewer still with the citys press corps. At first overwhelmed by the massive Washington bureaucracy and relentless media coverage, Clintons administration blundered badly in a number of areas. 2 One of Clintons first mistakes was to close the hall leading to the White House pressroom, essentially freezing members of the media out of their accustomed space near the Oval Office. This move was a knee- jerk reaction to negative press coverage, and members of the media clearly did not like it. Even Richard Nixon, who openly voiced his hatred for the press, did not shut them out. 3 The Clinton administration also made several strategic political errors in dealing with the entrenched Washington establishment. For ex ample, when faced with the threat of a Republican filibuster in the Senate over the administrations first major piece of legislation (a pro posed $15 million jobs stimulus bill), Clintons team essentially ignored the warning and described the opposition as irrelevant. That sentiment served only to unify and motivate Republican senators into mounting a successful filibuster that resulted in killing the bill. 4 In a statement that seemed to sum up Clintons first 100 days in office, The New York Times reported that his administration suffered from poor communication, lack of focus, inadequate staff work, unfortunate timing, conflicts among the Presidents aides, and lackluster liaison work with Congress. 5 Rather than brooding or sulking, Clinton accepted responsibility and reflected on his mistakes. There is a permanent government here, he said not long after the defeat of his jobs stimulus bill, but theres also a permanent political culture. And I have to learn. It is my job as President to make the most of that instead