Former Clinton Officials Offer Forecast on Social Climate

KEY LARGO, Fla. -- The future may seem spooky for trucking executives who heard tales of uncertain political leadership, a possible recession and stricter demands from shippers at the American Trucking Associations Foundation's three-day annual meeting.

Among the highlights of the conference were speeches by two former Clinton administration officials who forecast the political and economic climate.

"The situation in Washington today is like the headless horseman," David Gergen, a former presidential adviser, said in his speech to open the conference April 29.

Gergen predicted that little would be accomplished in Congress until after the 2000 presidential election.

He predicted that Bill Bradley, the former senator from New Jersey, will give Vice President Al Gore a tough run for the Democratic nomination. Gergen said Texas Gov. George W. Bush will get the Republican nod and will score big with black and Hispanic voters with his "compassionate conservative" stance.

Closing the conference on May 1, a former cabinet official warned that the United States was on the edge of an election-year recession caused by excessive consumer spending, a growing trade deficit and flat manufacturing growth.

"Our consumer spending binge is built on a very fragile foundation," said Robert Reich, former secretary of labor. "That giant sucking sound you are hearing is pocketbooks snapping open for imports."

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