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Seven...Uh, Six...Signs Of Spring

By Charles Bierbauer/CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN, March 28) -- [Note to editor: Do we really have to do one this week? I've got spring fever. It's 70 degrees outside. The cherry blossoms are in the absolute splendor of full bloom. All right, all right. That's one.]

1. See the Cherry Blossoms. The several thousand trees that surround Washington's Tidal Basin and extend their delicate pink blossoms out through the Capital's parkland are the best harbinger of spring we've got.

I drive by on the way in to work every morning before it gets crowded. Tending these Japanese imports may be one of the federal government's best expenditures. Hey, it's good for international relations. One Japanese export hardly anyone gets upset about. It's good for tourism even if full bloom never seems to quite coincide with the city's cherry blossom festival, an annoying contrivance anyhow. A parade is the last thing Washington needs. Most importantly, it's good for Washington's often curmudgeonly mood. People actually show up at the office asking cheerily: "Have you seen the cherry blossoms?"

2. Hit the Road. When the bloom wears off, take a road trip. Congress is on its far-flung, two-week vernal hiatus. Sounds painful, doesn't it? But it's probably good for all of us. We get a breath of fresh air. The members may get a fresh perspective back in their home states and beyond.

There is some question about how far you need to go to get "beyond the Beltway" of Washington's mentality. China seems to be the hot destination this spring. But it's travel at your own political peril. Ask Al Gore.

The vice president has led the way to Beijing. For a guy who does the motionless Macarena, Gore has been dancing diplomatically -- though not all that deftly -- around the question of Chinese contributions to the Democratic Party. Gore was committed to make the trip to set up President Bill Clinton's summit later this year. But he did not need to draw further attention to his own role in raising funds for the 1996 campaign. Bad timing.

House Speaker Newt Gingrich is also Beijing-bound. Good timing. Gingrich could use a Great Wall between himself and his financial finagling. ("And it is a great wall" -- Richard Nixon)

Gingrich has yet to pay that $300,000 fine levied by the House Ethics Committee for funneling contributions into a college course he taught -- some say for political gain. The speaker won't be looking for Chinese donations, though he might not be adverse to poking a chopstick at the Democrats' embarrassment. The speaker's also visiting Taiwan, one way to keep the Beijing Chinese on guard, too.

Travel is always a respite for politicians under siege. Nixon did it. Carter did it. Reagan did it. Who didn't! Gore's on the wing. Gingrich is in flight. First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton is in Africa. Only crutch-bound Bill Clinton is stuck in Washington this spring break.

3. Hit the Silk. When he was still president, George Bush once lamented to me that he'd have to play less tennis (and more golf). The pounding of the tennis court was hurting his hip. Now this. At age 72, Bush parachuted from a plane 12,500 feet over Arizona this week, touching down gently. It was to keep a promise to himself to some day jump out of a plane that wasn't going down in an emergency. During World War II his navy torpedo bomber was shot down in the Pacific. Bush bailed. Now he is assuredly the only U.S. president to parachute from a plane before and after leaving office. There's still spring in the 70s.

4. Balance the Budget. Ha! It's only the end of March. That silly regulation about Congress having a budget resolution by April never means a whole lot. Sure, congressional and administration officials say balancing the budget is their first priority when they get back to town after next week. Sure, they'll talk. (How long can they risk the voters' wrath by not at least talking?) This could take a while.

Democrats on the left are not wild about Clinton's move toward the middle. (Clinton might still acquiesce to correcting CPI and adjusting cost of living downward.) Republicans on the right are not happy with Gingrich's sidle toward the center. (Gingrich might go along with deferring tax cuts until the budget is balanced.) Meanwhile, take a deep breath and smell the daffodils.

5. Raise the Rates. Federal reserve chairman Alan Greenspan let the balloon go up this week. The Fed raised the primary lending rate by a quarter of a percent. Though the nudge makes markets nervous, Greenspan has kept rates remarkably stable for the past years even while being the nation's keenest monitor of inflation.

Can we forgive Greenspan just this once? At 71, he's not jumping out of airplanes. He is jumping into marriage, albeit with the kind of caution indicative of the Fed. After a dozen years of courtship Greenspan and NBC correspondent Andrea Mitchell have an April wedding date. She's worried about rain. (I was married in April. It rained. It'll be all right, Andrea.)

In the spring, a young man's fancy...

6. Play Ball. My six-year-old asked the other day when baseball season starts again. This weekend, son. And not a day too soon.

7. [Note to editor: Could we finish this next week?]