WASHINGTON ...... Senior administration officials yesterday called reporters tO the White House to pronounce President Clinton's economic programs a success since Congr0ss enacted the 1993 budget agreement a year ago.
The media event was part of a broader strategy by Clinton and his top aides. to call attention to the administration's achievements at a time when the President's poll ratings have slumped amid adverse publicity over Whitewater and. other issues.
"We believe strongly that the policies that we put in place took what was a slow recovery, an erratic recovery, a jobless recovery, and turned the corner and made it into a sustained expansion with jobs," said Laura D'Andrea Tyson, head of the President's Council of Economic Advisers.
At the same time, officials conceded that the president has had a tough time getting through to the public about how much the economy has improved. "We are battling through a cloud of cynicism that was built up during the 1980s," said Commerce Secretary Ronald Brown.
Robert Rubin, assistant to the president for economic policy, said he believes it will take more time for middle-class voters "to feel better not only about the economy but about themselves." Rubin repeated the administration's view that the deficit reduction package adopted last year helped cut long-term interest rates and fuel the recovery.
A press handout distributed to reporters said that since last August, the economy has created 2.6 million jobs while business investment in equipment grew 17.3%. It cited gains in housing starts, consumer confidence, and a 4% increase in U.S. output over the past year. The release also noted that inflation has declined and stayed low.
Other officials at the briefing included Labor Secretary Robert Reich, U.S. trade representative Mickey Kantor, small business administrator Erskine Bowles, and Alice Rivlin, director-designate of the Office of Management and Budget.
