The Week December 11 -17

NATION

The Potomac Tax Shuffle

Trying to reposition himself in postelection Washington, President Clinton went on national television to espouse a "Middle Class Bill of Rights" consisting mainly of -- surprise! -- tax and spending cuts. Seeking to differentiate his program from tax and spending cuts advocated by Republicans, the President explained that his were aimed at producing "a leaner, not a meaner, government." The Administration's tax cuts would favor middle-income Americans with children and would include new higher-education deductions. The as-yet-unspecified spending cuts would target, among other agencies, the Departments of Transportation, Energy and Housing.

More White House Potshots

In the third violent breach of presidential security in as many months, somebody fired four to six shots at the back of the White House early Saturday morning. The 9-mm bullets -- one of which was found on the first-floor balcony -- appeared to come from a handgun fired from somewhere south of the mansion. Clinton was asleep upstairs at the time.

Mission: Impossible

Acknowledging the political impossibility of its task, the bipartisan presidential commission charged with figuring out how to reform taxation and reduce the growth of federal entitlements ended its 10 months of study with no agreement and no plan of action. The commission, headed by Senators Bob Kerrey and John Danforth, had been set up as part of the 1993 budget agreement.

A Whitewater Breather

In a rare show of accommodation on Whitewater matters, incoming Senate Banking chairman Alfonse D'Amato said he would indefinitely defer Senate hearings into the tangled financial affair in order to avoid stepping on the toes of independent counsel Kenneth Starr. But the New York Republican predicted that the hearings, when they do resume, will probably stretch into the 1996 election season.

Bye, Bye, Dee Dee

White House Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers, the first woman to hold the post, announced that she would leave at year's end. The move was widely anticipated.

Unabom Strikes Again

After a mail bomb killed Thomas Mosser, a prominent New York City advertising executive, federal investigators began dusting off old files and scouring the country for traces of the so-called Unabom suspect -- a notorious serial bomber with an apparent grudge against technology who in 15 attacks over the past 16 years has killed two and injured 23.

Another American Eagle Falls

An American Eagle commuter plane crashed on its approach to Raleigh-Durham International Airport in rainy and foggy weather, killing 15 of the 20 people aboard. The fatal accident was the second in two months for the shaken airline. Trying to allay mounting passenger fears, Transportation Secretary Federico Pena announced that approval of toughened safety standards for commuter flights would be speeded up, but the Federal Aviation Administration said it could take a year to put the new rules in place.

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