The United States must focus on economic growth, health and crime and saving the inner cities to meet its socio-political challenges, said House Minority Whip Newt Gingrich (RGa.) last night at the ARCO Forum.

The speech, co-sponsored by the Kennedy School of Government, the Institute of Politics and the Harvard-Radcliffe Republican Club, attracted about 400 people.

Gingrich, who has served in the House since his election in 1978 and is expected to succeed Robert Michel (R-Ill.) as minority leader next term, gave his "road map for success" which he will employ to accomplish his three main goals.

He said his goals include reform of the welfare state, the promotion of citizen activism, especially at the local level, and a news media focused more on discussing a vision than merely reporting the litany of problems facing modern America.

Gingrich said the welfare state as we know it is fundamentally flawed and as such has failed America. "[The welfare state] reduces a citizen to a client, makes him subordinate to a bureaucrat, with rules that are antifamily, anti-progress, anti-opportunity," he said. "You cannot maintain a civilization where 12-year-olds are having babies, 15-year-olds are killing, 17-year-olds are dying of AIDS, and 18-year-olds receiving diplomas they cannot read," he said.

During the question and answer period, Gingrich fielded numerous questions about the Clinton administration's first year, which he labeled as "almost irrelevant."

He attacked the Clinton budget for raising taxes, and he said Clinton's health care proposal was a mixture of "German socialism and Italian corporatism."

He said Clinton had succeeded in avoiding a major foreign policy failure. And this was surprising given Clinton's lack of experience in the field.

The overriding problem with the Clintonadministration, Gingrich said, is its ability to"communicate compassion, but not communicate whatto do with it."

Gingrich also said that "the future of thehuman race will be extraordinarily impacted byAmerica in the next 10 years."

If we do not rise to the occasion, Gingrichsaid, "we will see a lot more Bosnias andSomalias. If we do, we will fulfill our moralobligation and leave a better world to ourchildren.