Bush Hesitant to Take Action in Final Weeks : Presidency: He does not want to push issues that might cause problems for new Administration. Meanwhile, he weighs whether to deliver a farewell speech.

WASHINGTON —  President Bush is turning aside recommendations that he act more aggressively on a range of foreign and domestic policy issues in the waning weeks of his Administration, sources close to the President said Tuesday.

However, Bush, who is described as impatient to return to private life, is weighing suggestions that he deliver a farewell speech to the nation, rather than simply send a State of the Union message in writing to Congress.

Although some advisers are urging him to be more involved, Bush is being guided by the political reality that it is too late to initiate new programs, as well as by his belief that it would be improper to push substantive policy measures that would cause problems for the incoming Clinton Administration.

“I wish he would not feel so constrained,” said one former White House staff member who has maintained a role as an informal adviser to the President.

Among the initiatives he is being urged to move on more vigorously are those involving Bosnia-Herzegovina, where the slaughter of civilians continues; the Middle East peace process, where the Bush team has strong credentials, and Vietnam, which is pushing for improved business, and possibly diplomatic, relations.

Bush may take some limited actions in those areas, but is disinclined to do more than the minimum, the sources said. Nor is he inclined to take domestic policy steps that would lead the nation in a direction different from that favored by Clinton.

Bush has made it clear to his Cabinet secretaries that he expects them to avoid policy steps that could be construed as mischievous, and only measures that must be decided before the new President takes office are to be considered. The crisis in Bosnia, the Middle East and improved relations with Vietnam do not necessarily cross this threshold, in the White House view.

For his part, Bush expressed impatience with the calendar, complaining at an award ceremony Monday night that the transition period is too long.

Explaining Bush’s reluctance to act, White House Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater said Tuesday: “By and large, you’ve got to walk the line between keeping government moving forward without stepping on the prerogatives of the President-elect. President Bush doesn’t want to complicate (Clinton’s) life or do anything to subvert his policies.”

So the President is shaping how he will go out--with neither a bang, despite the urging of some aides, nor a whimper, despite the bitterness that characterizes those around him over their failed campaign. He retains the characteristic impatience that expresses his readiness for retirement.

His final months in office will apparently be in sharp contrast to those of other recent chief executives:

--Ronald Reagan held a massively publicized farewell meeting with Mikhail S. Gorbachev, then president of the Soviet Union, on an island in New York Harbor.

--Jimmy Carter spent the period between his defeat and departure working feverishly to gain the freedom of the 52 Americans held hostage in Iran.

--The end of Gerald R. Ford’s Administration was marked by a flurry of controversial executive orders.

On Bush’s daily calendar, the sort of activities that often fill a President’s day--ceremonial events and meetings with constituent groups seeking to influence policy--have disappeared virtually overnight. His time is occupied with planning his own retirement and “governing in a way that is kind of a build-down to the new Administration,” Fitzwater said.

“This is not a very glamorous process,” the spokesman said. “You don’t have the adrenalin or emotional spark that goes with starting something new to take to the country.”

As he considers what to do with his remaining two months in office, Bush is apparently being urged to look back 32 years for inspiration--to Dwight D. Eisenhower, the man after whom he said four years ago he would model his presidency.

Eisenhower’s most famous speech, in which he warned the nation of the dangers of “the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex,” was delivered three days before he left office, and Bush is being urged by some advisers to give a similarly weighty.

“All of us would like to see him do something,” Fitzwater said. White House Chief of Staff James A. Baker III is said to also favor the idea.

But a presidential adviser outside of the White House said there was concern that such a substantive address dealing with the nation’s problems might “run counter to the President’s idea of politeness” toward his successor.

“This is for history,” the adviser argued. “This is giving them the benefit of your knowledge and experience. You have every right to do that. You were elected by the people to hold office until Jan. 20.”

CLINTON, BUSH MEET TODAY: President-elect to seek advice on foreign, U.S. troubles. A10

Today’s Washington Itinerary

Here is today’s schedule for President-elect Bill Clinton’s visit and his first face-to-face encounter with President Bush since the election:

Noon Arrive Washington National Airport

1:10 p.m. Arrive White House, greeted by President Bush

1:20 p.m. Clinton and Bush hold private meeting

2:45 p.m. Visit the neighborhood of Georgia Avenue

6:30 p.m. Attend reception for Children’s Defense Fund

8 p.m. Dinner (hosted by transition chairman Vernon Jordan)

10:30 p.m. Overnight at Hay-Adams Hotel

Source: Times staff and wire reports