Smoke in Their Eyes: Lessons in Movement Leadership from the Tobacco Wars

24. Unity under Clinton’s Umbrella?

173 24 Unity under Clinton’s Umbrella? President Clinton unveiled a broad policy statement embracing “Five Principles” on September 17, in a press statement followed by a White House ceremony, surrounded by the lead attorneys general and virtually all the prominent public health leaders. The principles: 1. A comprehensive plan to reduce youth smoking, including tough penalties if targets are not met • Tough penalties and price increases to reduce youth smoking • A public education and counter-advertising campaign • Expanded efforts to restrict access and limit appeal 2. Full authority for FDA to regulate tobacco products 3. The tobacco industry must change the way it does business 4. Progress toward other public health goals • Reduction of second-hand tobacco smoke, expansion of smoking cessation programs, strengthening of international efforts to control tobacco, provision of funds for health research 5. Protection for tobacco farmers and their communities In reporting on the day’s events, the Washington Post characterized David Kessler as “exuberant.” He pronounced to the Post: “The President hit it on the head today. He stood up for children. He stood up for public health. The differences, certainly on the public health side, have vanished.” Privately, Matt was deeply disappointed and fearful that the legislative initiative propelled by the settlement would lose momentum: There had been a debate within the White House and in the administration . There were those like us who wanted the president to be quite concrete and to lay out exactly what needed to be done to fix the settlement. And there were those most opposed to any agreement, who feared the White 174 Smoke in Their Eyes House getting concrete and specific because they suspected the White House would have come down closer to what we were advocating. This would have been a disaster for those who wanted to kill the settlement and start over completely. Internally, Donna Shalala and David led that charge. Then, as was so often the case with this White House, they came right down in the middle. They came out with a compromise that contained such generalities that it papered over, but did not resolve, any of the differences . Their principles said nothing whatsoever about liability, one way or the other. This allowed the White House to bring together most of the competing parties. But it was an illusion of unity because it didn’t confront any of the issues that divided. Publicly, Matt had little choice but to join Kessler’s chorus of unity. His September 27 press release embraced the President’s position: “The broad principles that the President has articulated will help the public health community and Congress work together to achieve strong legislation that saves lives and protects children from tobacco addiction. In the coming months, we look forward to joining with the President, the Congress, and public health advocates to enact a tobacco control policy and plan that finally attacks tobacco addiction in this country.” Indeed, all the supporters of the settlement gritted their teeth and hailed the president. “The President’s support for congressional action enables us to take another giant step forward,” said the Cancer’s Society’s John Seffrin. The American Medical Association, also supportive of the settlement, “stands with President Clinton,” said Vice Chair Randolph Smoak. Opponents of the settlement were perceptibly more effervescent. From settlement foe John Garrison of the Lung Association: “The American Lung Association thanks President Clinton for taking a big step forward to protect children by not endorsing the ‘global’ tobacco settlement that proved woefully inadequate in addressing this nation’s tobacco-related problems.” Minnesota attorney general Hubert Humphrey III had no doubts: “The tobacco bailout is dead. Now we have a chance to get it right.” And the public health champions on the Hill, at least among the Democrats, joined in: “The President has moved the goal posts back where they belong,” said Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois . Senator Ted Kennedy, no advocate for the settlement, predicted: “Today will go down in history as the day President Clinton made the Marlboro Man blink.” Congressman Henry Waxman called the president ’s position “pivotal.” And he told me later, “At that moment, I con- The Rise and Fall of the McCain Bill 175 cluded that the industry would have to pay a much bigger price than was in the settlement, and we would get legislation that would make real changes in the way cigarettes are marketed.” Even Stan...