`You Deserve That Job,' Clinton Tells Graduates

PRESIDENT Clinton told Northeastern University graduates Saturday, "You have done your part, you deserve that job." The 2,200 graduates and their families roared in approval.

It was a perfect setting for Mr. Clinton's "rebound strategy." The school has the nation's largest work-study program and draws pupils who pay their way through college. The audience seemed moved to hear from someone whose life was challenging, who has long pushed the theme of what people can do for themselves, provided the government is a willing facilitator.

Clinton also praised Northeastern's stress on public service. He chose the university because it successfully combines education, work, and community service. "You symbolize what America is about and needs to get back to," he said.

He pleased listeners by inviting student speaker Douglas Luffborough III, a black, to the White House. He was in high school with no father, a mother pregnant with her fourth child, and his family homeless. But he enrolled at the university anyway, got a co-op job with an insurance firm, paid almost all his education, and had money left to help his family.

Clinton swiped at Republicans in Congress who seek more budget cuts. "If our growth plan gets caught in a web spun of gridlock and greed, this historic moment for America to get its fiscal house in order could slip away. You find the details hurt the middle class, the working poor, the vulnerable elderly, do less to create jobs and ensure our world economic leadership."