Gripping television (AP) From The Post 'Save Social Security,' Clinton Says Full Text President Clinton's State of the Union address Republican response by Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (Miss.)

By Tom Shales

Wednesday, January 28, 1998; Page D01

It was long, it was platitudinous, it featured guest stars standing up in the audience and it was well delivered, like all of Bill Clinton's State of the Union speeches. But of course, last night's was different, given in the midst of an incredible scandalous mess that has obsessed Washington for nearly a week.

If you didn't know about the scandal, you wouldn't have gotten much of a hint of it from Clinton's speech. He looked hale, chipper, gung-ho and determined. He stumbled over few words, made great eye contact with the camera when he wanted to, spoke forcefully and with his usual degree of near-eloquence.

"I thought he proved once again that he is a tremendous political performer," pundit Paul Gigot said on PBS right after the speech ended. On NBC, Tim Russert said that "considering the week he had, it was a remarkable performance." But a realistic Bob Schieffer said on CBS, "As these things go, this was not an overwhelming reception that the president got."

ABC's Peter Jennings clocked it at a taxing 72 minutes, but much of the time was given over to Democrats applauding while Republicans pouted.

Basically, you wouldn't be able to tell there was a bubbling, gurgling, pulsating sex scandal just from watching the speech, but you might get some inkling of it from the way the speech was received in the House chamber. Some of the Republicans not only refrained from applauding several of the president's big points, but sat there with smug looks of moral superiority plastered all over their faces.

They perhaps wanted the constituents watching at home to know they disapproved of what they think the president might have been doing according to someone who may or may not be lying about it.

Listening to the loftiest moments of the speech, though, when Clinton talked about facing the future and golden opportunities and preserving the treasured artifacts of American democracy, a viewer at home might have stopped to wonder if a man with this kind of talent and dedication -- and guts -- should really be hounded to death because of alleged indiscretions of a highly personal nature.

At a few junctures in the speech, a viewer had to hold his breath because it seemed that some in the audience were making sarcastic-sounding noises -- as when Clinton first used the word "responsibility" or when he began a story about "my own personal experience." That turned out to be another tale from his youth as a boy in the heartland.

One of Clinton's few ad-libs was delivered a bit shakily, too. After urging the Senate to follow the House's example and pass "sweeping IRS reforms," the president joked, "I hope to goodness before I finish I think of something to say 'follow the Senate' on, so I'll be out of trouble."

That phrase "I'll be out of trouble" hung in the air and there was a tense hush in the chamber.

But not for long, because Clinton started talking again.

When Dan Rather signed on for CBS at 9, he indicated the network would take the high road (in light of growing criticism of media overindulgence in the scandal stories) and report on the speech, not on the scandal. Delivering a kind of state of the network speech, Rather told viewers, "We will tonight try to keep our primary focus on the State of the Union. We do this not because we believe this is what the president deserves or what Monica Lewinsky deserves or what Kenneth Starr deserves, but because this is what the American people deserve.

"We, the people, are the union and the state of the union is who and what we are."

Nicely said, Dan.

Then he threw it to correspondent Scott Pelley.

And Scott Pelley immediately launched into a recitation of "the latest" on the sex scandal, even though there really was nothing much beyond what had been reported on "The CBS Evening News." Rather might have had egg on his face but the president quickly entered the hall and Pelley mercifully disappeared from the screen.

There had been speculation that Clinton might make direct reference to the noisily continuing investigations during the speech, either at the beginning or the end. On the PBS "NewsHour" show just before the speech, Jim Lehrer accurately predicted he would not, and Gigot agreed. Mark Shields wasn't so sure. It turned out his doubts were groundless. But there was always that suspense hanging in the air, the first time a State of the Union speech ever had the overtones, or undertones, of a Hitchcock thriller.

One couldn't be sure, either, that opponents of the president might not make their disapproval known in some ghastly demonstrative way that would embarrass everybody. Fortunately, they didn't.

Schieffer on CBS had astutely predicted there would be no phrases like "moral leadership" in the speech that might touch off "giggles" among Republicans.

"These are good times for America," Clinton said as he began a litany of good-news items -- crime and unemployment rates down, the deficit all but disappearing, and so on. Even House Speaker Newt Gingrich rose to applaud Clinton, more than once, when he said the deficit had been lowered at a much faster rate than anticipated.

Clinton also wisely scheduled a few sure-fire crowd pleasers in the speech that virtually forced even the Republicans to applaud, like coming out against child labor (there's a controversial stand for you) or introducing "a brave soldier" who had fought in Bosnia and was strategically seated near Mrs. Clinton in the audience. He also looked into the camera and addressed Saddam Hussein with a stern warning leaked earlier on the network newscasts: "You cannot defy the will of the world."

Of the commercial networks, the best place to see the president -- literally to see him -- was CNN, because it had the least intrusive graphics. CBS and NBC especially had such large logos and so much graphic gingerbread at the bottom of the screen that at times they were superimposed over the president's chin, even his mouth on some of the tighter shots. This is the work of stupid producers, venal executives and overzealous network promotion departments.

It doesn't seem to do any good to complain, but here we go again: You do not put an ad for your network on the face of the president of the United States. It's rude.

Clinton gave those networks a slap late in his speech when the subject turned to campaign reform. He derided "the high cost of media advertising" and got a roar of approval -- and a few of what he called, for us "folks at home," "groans" of pain from some in the audience. Then he dared to reiterate an old but seemingly out-of-fashion concept: "The airwaves are a public trust." And he called on networks and stations to give free time to bona fide candidates during elections.

Lotsa luck on that one, Mr. President, even if you emerge from the scandal without a single hair mussed.