Clinton Greeted by Rousing Crowds on Visit to Midwest

WASHINGTON — President Clinton followed up on the success of his State of the Union address with a lightning-fast foray into the American heartland on Wednesday, drawing huge and enthusiastic crowds that cheered his vow to get on with the nation’s business.

More than 18,000 people gathered at the University of Illinois to hear him make his case for devoting future budget surpluses to shoring up Social Security and declare that “the doors of college have been opened to everybody who will work for it.”

An equally ebullient crowd numbering in the thousands ignored the evening cold of a renovated town square to hear Clinton in LaCrosse, Wis.

And First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton predicted on ABC’s “Good Morning America” that the present allegations of sexual indiscretion and possible perjury against her husband, “like all the other accusations that have been made against us for so many years, will fade into oblivion and the things the president has done will stand the test of time.”

Less than 48 hours after Washington was awash with talk of resignation and impeachment because of allegations that Clinton had had a sexual relationship with White House intern Monica S. Lewinsky and asked her to lie about it, Clinton’s fortunes seemed to swing upward.

Apparent Change in Mood Deceptive

The apparent change was deceptive, however, owing more to the cyclical nature of such controversies than to a substantive change in the situation.

“Everybody take a deep breath. These things take time,” the first lady conceded.

As the investigation ground forward, it was learned that independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr had obtained evidence suggesting that Lewinsky--who has both denied and claimed to have had a sexual relationship with the president--last visited him at the White House on Dec. 28. Her visit came 11 days after she was subpoenaed to testify in Paula Corbin Jones’ sexual-harassment lawsuit against Clinton.

On Jan. 7, Lewinsky signed an affidavit swearing that she had not engaged in sexual relations with the president.

One major element in Starr’s investigation focuses on the question of whether Clinton or others encouraged Lewinsky to lie or participate in a cover-up of their alleged relationship. Clinton has emphatically denied, both publicly and in a sworn statement, that he had a sexual relationship with the former intern.

In a related development, Lewinsky’s lawyer, William H. Ginsburg, said he expected to know within 24 to 48 hours whether Starr will grant Lewinsky immunity from prosecution in exchange for testimony about the nature of her involvement with Clinton.

Still, for the moment at least, the buoying signs for Clinton were unquestionably real:

* At the campus in Champaign-Urbana, Ill., the president was greeted by thundering crowds, rousing warm-up speeches and a rocking pep band.

The reception gave a visible lift to Clinton’s spirits that lasted throughout the day, even though Air Force One later became stuck in mud at the edge of a runway and the president had to wait for a replacement jet to be flown in.

* Congress turned from the high drama of Tuesday night’s State of the Union address to a haystack of pending legislation. Happy to be able to talk about something substantive, many in both parties praised Clinton’s idea to use any budget surplus to strengthen Social Security.

“Saving Social Security first is a bold move,” said Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.), although he tempered his support by adding that “new spendings for his initiatives must be paid for by reductions in other parts of the budget.”

* Even Starr’s office contributed to the calmer mood Wednesdaydevoting itself to prosaic chores. Aides arranged to get the president’s videotaped deposition in the Jones lawsuit. They collected material Lewinsky had left with a former lover, Andy Bleiler, and said it is likely that Bleiler, and his wife, Kathy, will be subpoenaed to testify in the case.

* And although former White House Chief of Staff Leon E. Panetta faced the grand jury that has been investigating the allegations, the questioning focused primarily on the inner workings of the White House.

Panetta, speaking outside the federal courthouse where he spent most of the day with the grand jury, struck a reassuring note: “I am personally not aware of any improper relationship, sexual or otherwise, by this president and any of the White House interns, or anyone else for that matter.

“My fervent prayer is that for the sake of the president and the sake of this nation, that this matter is resolved soon, so that he and all of us can continue to focus on the issues that affect our families, our nation and our future,” he said.

But for all the slowing of the pace Wednesday, the potential threat to Clinton’s hold on the White House had changed little. As it did during the darkest hours of last week, almost everything depended on what the evidence finally turns out to be.

After an initial firestorm, the legal process of a formal investigation--assembling witnesses, collecting testimony, rounding up documents, examining evidence--almost always moves so slowly that, from the outside, it may appear not to move at all.

If the mill grinds slowly, grind it does. And if there were to be an accumulation of evidence pointing toward criminal wrongdoing--or sensational new revelations--it could plunge the Clinton White House into crisis once more.

Clinton Hears Call: ‘We Love Ya, Bill!’

As Clinton prepared to speak on the University of Illinois campus, a deep voice hollered from the crowd, “We love ya, Bill!”

“Thank you,” the president replied with more than courtesy in his voice.

“I’m overwhelmed,” Clinton later told those crowded into one of the two overflow gymnasiums. “And I thank you very much.”

Given the beating he has taken in Washington over the last week, the trip was more a therapy session than a roll-out of his policy agenda.

“He takes his energy from the warmth of the people and the needs of the people he meets with,” said John Podesta, Clinton’s deputy chief of staff, at the evening rally in La Crosse.

Ellen Drach, 50, whose daughters’ college tuition has been more affordable because of the changes Clinton has made to the student-loan program, said she has suspended judgment and is hoping for the best.

“It’s hard for me to say whether he’s a good guy. Frankly, I hope that none of this is true. As the most important leader in the world, he has a responsibility above all other human beings in terms of how he lives his personal life,” said Drach, who voted for Clinton twice.

Even many of the Republicans in the crowd said that the allegations of sex and a cover-up have grown way out of proportion.

“His personal life is not our business. I don’t think anybody needs to know about this,” said Heather Suchobrus, a premed student who dreams of becoming president someday.

There were negative images as well, however. “I voted for him twice, but I’m sorry now that I did,” said Robin Stevens, 37, a speech therapist.

And on the bank of the Mississippi River across from the La Crosse event, someone had carved the word “Impeach” in huge letters in the snow.

For the White House, the rallies represented half of a two-part strategy. One segment is the legal case, being worked on by the president’s lawyers. The other is an effort to show Americans that the president is still engaged in work they want him to do.

“The most important thing is to do what we’re doing today, to keep the president’s agenda in front of the people,” said a senior White House official who was traveling with Clinton.

Meantime, Starr’s inquiry moved ahead methodically. Clinton lawyer Robert S. Bennett agreed to turn over the president’s Jan. 17 sworn testimony in the Jones harassment lawsuit, but not immediately.

It was in this deposition that the president is believed to have been asked about the nature of his relationships with many women, including Lewinsky.

Neither Clinton nor his representatives have denied reports that, at the deposition, he acknowledged that he had had an affair with Gennifer Flowers while he was governor of Arkansas. He had seemed to deny that during the 1992 presidential campaign.

According to people familiar with Clinton’s defense strategy, the president does not intend to amend answers he provided in the deposition, although he can legally do so within 30 days.

Experts say that, even though Clinton could amend his answers until Feb. 17, it is unclear whether he would be shielded from a perjury charge if prosecutors believed his original testimony was untruthful.

Times staff writers Edwin Chen, Robert L. Jackson and Jack Nelson in Washington and Kim Murphy in Portland contributed to this story.