President Clinton addresses General Assembly

House Chamber at 9:00 a.m. (90 minutes prior to the event)

8:30 a.m. -- Live from the House Chamber: I threw in an extra loop by the Clinton Library on my daily jaunt this morning on the minute chance that the man himself was lacing 'em up in the parking lot for a run with his detail. Yeah, no such luck. I'll be a part of the group designated to escort Clinton into the House chamber for his address to the General Assembly here in 90 minutes or so. I'll post a summary here as it happens.

Click here for this morning's agenda (.pdf)
9:20 Update: The gallery is still only about half full for those of you thinking of coming.

Judiciary makes their way over

Here are Supreme Court Justices Jim Gunter and Paul Danielson visiting with fellow Justice Elana Wills (pictured right).

10:40 update: We're underway, and the dignitaries are being recognized.

He's starting out acknowledging everyone in the legislature who believed in him decades ago and throws in a couple of stories that took place in Pine Bluff and Greers Ferry on the campaign trail. As usual, he's not spending much time in reflection but is looking ahead at how America is tackling the issues of our time.

Much of his time is being spent on the housing market, the banking system, and the framework about how we're to operate in the next two years in the wake of the stimulus program. He calls the stimulus package a "bridge over troubled waters." HE says that it helps the American economy in two ways: (1) it puts money in people's pockets through a variety of ways, it (2) gives money to state and local governments, and it creares jobs through public works projects.

Beebe, Clinton wait to enter the House Chamber (left)

He tells us to watch in the next two weeks to determine whether or not these actions will loosen up loans in the banking system. He hopes that they'll propose some sort of program (devil's in the details, he says) to help in the prevention of foreclsoures He also hopes that they'll set up a federal institution to capture some of these assets that won't recover for a while and get them off the banks' books (as Roosevelt did). Third, he hopes that they'll offer some more money to banks who're cleaned up and ready to loan money. He believes these three things are key to the economy to coming back. He thinks it'll take 12-15 months and will be surprised if it takes longer than two years. That's why he calls the stimulus the "bridge over troubled waters."

He's also praising Arkansas for maintaining a budget surplus through conservative budgeting and because of the Revenue Stabilization Act. He says that other states are envious that we're even in a position to cut taxes on groceries, something he couldn't do. He says "trickle up works better than trickle down."

Advice to us:
(1) Keep on going with conservative budgeting;
(2) Finish the work you've started;
(3) When you actually see what you're getting in the stimulus bill and after you talk to your bankers in the wake of banking reform, consider taking some of this money and working with the banking system. One further example: retrofit schools, courthouses, all government facilities with energy efficient buildings to create jobs and conserve energy in the long run. Banks are leery of loaning money on these types of projects in today's climate for a variety of reasons, and he urges us to consider ways (set up an SBA type program) to work with banks on this.
(4) Use the stimulus to maximize jobs; and
(5) You are in the "future" business. Take care of the state by answering the "how" question. It's what he's spent his entire life trying to answer.

I'll come back and clean this up after my next meeting.