WASHINGTON - Speaking to computer users like "Ohiowilly," President Clinton said his "virtual town hall meeting" Monday was the Internet age's answer to Franklin D. Roosevelt's national radio chats and the first televised presidential press conferences.
     "Like FDR's fireside chats and President Kennedy's live press conferences, this first presidential town hall meeting on the Internet taps the most modern technology for old-fashioned communication between the American people and their president," Clinton said during the online exchange.
     The first questions for Clinton dealt with Medicare and health care reform, which drew responses heavy on both policy and politics. Then came a relative soft ball, about the value of reducing the cost of college.
     "Well, you gotta be for that. Everybody's for less expensive higher education," Clinton said with a laugh. He noted his achievement of a $1,500 tax credit for college and an improved loan program.
     He got other easy questions - all of them screened - such as one from a viewer in England about whether Clinton would prefer to run for a third term, as he could under the British parliamentary system. A somewhat wistful Clinton replied that he respects the American two-term limitation.
     The entire 100-minute session was light duty for the president; not one question dealt with impeachment, scandal or other tough subjects. Apparently enjoying himself, he stayed 20 minutes past the scheduled time.
     Several questions dealt with burgeoning computer technology, and one touched on the potential threats from the so-called Y2K bug. Some questioners used their online user names, such as "Ohiowilly" and "gbh1935."
     Clinton said the government will continue to serve people who aren't computer literate but the goal should be to get everyone familiar with the technology.
     For Clinton, the format was basically an interview with a moderator reading aloud from among questions submitted over a special World Wide Web site. Clinton's image and his spoken responses were "Webcast," so participants could see and hear the president on their computer screens.

© 1999 The Asociated Press.

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