Reporter Volume 25, No.12 November 18, 1993

By DAVID HIMMELGREEN
Reporter Staff

"This is it; it won't get any better," George F. Will, Pulitzer Prize
winner and syndicated columnist, told an audience of more than 2,000
at Alumni Arena last week. Will's reference was to the performance of
the Clinton administration, in his talk, the second in UB's
Distinguished Speakers Series. He touched on topics ranging from the
marginalization of the executive branch, the North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA), health reform, education, and larger societal
problems. 
	Calling himself a journalist and political analyst who "only
thinks about government in the baseball off-season," Will articulated
his conservative views about government with a healthy dose of history
and a smattering of baseball. 
	"I believe this administration aspires to as left-wing an
administration as we've had," Will asserted, describing the Democratic
Party as one of "expansive government." Moreover, the current
administration is addressing issues that are not all that important,
he said, citing the emphasis that President Clinton is giving to the
deficit. Will said he is thankful for that emphasis, since it has a
"restraining effect" on the activities of government.
	Clinton has missed the great change that has taken place in
political culture during the past 32 years, Will said, including the
collapse in the prestige of government and the resulting
marginalization of the presidency. During the 1940s, TV and the cold
war focused in on the presidency as an ongoing melodrama, Will said,
adding that the President became the "most conspicuous man."
	This occurred in the political office which the framers of the
Constitution intended to be one with limited powers, the speaker
noted. With the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War,
the "presidency is now back to where it was in the 19th century," Will
said, adding that today "the population is skeptical of government."
	Calling the recent NAFTA debate between Ross Perot and Vice
President Al Gore something out of "Monty Python," Will said that
Perot's inconsistencies over the issue clearly came out during the
debate. A supporter of NAFTA, Will said he believes the agreement will
be approved by Congress. It is important for Mexico and for the U.S.,
he said, adding that by building the Mexican economy it will encourage
Mexicans to stay home. In addition, it will enhance the way others
view the U.S., and historically the U.S. has been in favor of free
trade, he said.
	Critical of Clinton's attempt to reform health care, Will said
the effort "is only partly concerned with the health of people." The
larger goal is "restoring the health of the Democratic Party," Will
stated, adding that "Health care will be the Social Security of the
1990s. 
	"Is it really too much to spend 15 percent of the budget on
health care?" Will asked rhetorically. He cited the dramatic increase
in coronary operations from 10,000 in 1970 to 400,000 today, and
stated that those who have these operations don't feel that too much
is spent on health care.
	"There is not really a health care crisis," Will maintained.
Concern about health-related problems such as the state of child
immunization is one of "parental negligence," in his view.
Furthermore, he said, high infant mortality can be tied to the
increasing teenage pregnancy rate. These problems and others such as
AIDS, violence, and health practices contributing to coronary heart
disease and lung cancer are behavioral in nature, Will stated.
	"Violence is a public health epidemic," he said, citing recent
statistics by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) which show that
last year, more people in Louisiana and Texas died of gunshot wounds
than in vehicular accidents.
	"Vast parts of our cities are in a slow motion riot," he
stated. The cities are no longer viewed as important centers of
culture but as "burdens," he added.
	These problems can be tied to the breakdown of family, Will
said. 	Another major problem in the U.S. is education, Will
acknowledged, stating that "This generation will be the first to be
less educated than the previous generation." The reasons for the
crisis are no mystery, he said. Compared to other industrialized
countries, the U.S. has the smallest numbers of school days, Will
said, and U.S. students spend significantly less time doing homework
than their counterparts from other countries.
	The speaker singled out poor work habits and grade inflation
as the root causes of these problems, not the amount of money spent on
education and teacher salaries, teacher/pupil ratios, or the number of
books that libraries have.