Democrat, GOP Chiefs Debate Themes

The leaders of the Democratic and Republican parties squared off in a debate Saturday afternoon at the Kennedy School of Government, providing a preview of the key issues that will shape the 1992 presidential election.

Democratic National Committee chair Ron Brown and his GOP counterpart, Clayton Yeutter, jabbed at the platforms of each other's parties at the final event of a two-day celebration commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Institute of Politics (IOP).

Brown, speaking first, declared the need for a Democratic president while pointing out faults of the Bush Administration to the audience of more than 300 politicos, students and alumni.

"When you ask what should be the party for the 1990s, the answer is simple--not the party responsible for the disaster of the 1980s," Brown said, receiving cheers from the crowd, which appeared more supportive of Brown than Yeutter.

Brown criticized the Republicans for being more interested in "strategy and soundbites" than "solving the problems that the ordinary worker faces every day."

But Yeutter, who spent much of his speech time defending President Bush against such accusations, argued that the Democratic party is not free from blame. He accused the Democrats of having "pro-middle-class rhetoric and anti-middle class policy positions."

Yeutter also compared Bush's recent 60-percent approval rating to the heavily-Democratic Congress's 20-percent approval rating.

"It maybe suggests that George Bush has it right and the Congress has it wrong," he said.

The debate centered on themes that will likely dominate discussions between Bush and his Democratic cratic challengers next year. Topics included the national recession, the question of whether Bush's foreign involvement has come at the expense of domestic problems and the Republicans' alleged manipulation of racial fears for political ends.

Brown blamed the Republican policies of the past decade for the U.S.'s present economic crisis.

"We must reject the decade of the 1980s as one of greed and self-centeredness, where the rich got richer, the poor got poorer and the middle class got squeezed out even more," he said. "We have deepseated economic problems in this country."

The Democratic chair specifically criticized the Bush Administration for producing the lowest growth rate since World War II.

"The administration doesn't seem to have a clue about running the economy. Americans feel insecure, and we need someone to lead us out," Brown said.

But Yeutter said Bush cannot be held accountable for America's economic woes.

Cyclical Society

"We're having economic travails today. We all know that. But we live in a cyclical society. It's the price we must pay," he said. "If we want stability, we would have to go with what just ended in the Soviet Union."

Emphasizing the lack of effort placed on solving domestic problems such as health care and education, Brown likened Bush's actions to that of a "second secretary of state," and not that of a president.

"George Bush seems to have an economic recovery plan for the Soviet Union. He has one for Kuwait. And he's got one for Eastern Europe," Brown said. "The party of the 1990s will be the party that recognizes you need an economic recovery plan for America."

Formula Missing

Yeutter countered by stressing the necessity for good foreign relations, for which "our Democratic friends haven't even formulated a farm team."

"No one in the Democratic party is capable of dealing with issues outside of the United States," he said.

For that reason alone, Yeutter said, "Bush will be reelected by a handy margin next year."

But Brown said he is confident that Americans will look elsewhere when they realize that Bush cannot solve the problems at home.

"President Bush doesn't want to roll up his sleeves and deal with the problems facing Americans today," Brown said. "He can, must and will be defeated in 1992.