Bill Clinton

Presidency

Clinton's first major foray into national politics occurred when he was enlisted to speak at the 1988 Democratic National Convention, introducing candidate Michael Dukakis. Clinton's address, scheduled to last 15 minutes, became a debacle as Clinton gave a notoriously dull speech that lasted over half an hour (he joked about the length of this speech at the 1992 convention) http://archives.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/08/15/potus.speech/. Clinton's subsequent appearance on The Tonight Show to diffuse the criticism was perceived by Associated Press as a "stunning comeback" from his convention television appearance. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6504289/

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Four years later, Clinton prepared for a run in 1992 against incumbent President George H. W. Bush. In the aftermath of the Persian Gulf War, Bush seemed unbeatable, and several potential Democratic candidates — notably New York Governor Mario Cuomo — passed on what seemed to be a lost cause. Positioning himself as a straight-talking everyman, Clinton handily won the Democratic Party's nomination.

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Clinton chose U.S. Senator Albert A. Gore Jr. (D-Tennessee) to be his running mate on July 9, 1992. Initially this decision sparked criticism from strategists due to the fact that Gore was from Clinton's neighboring state of Tennessee which would go against the popular strategy of balancing a Southern candidate with a Northern partner. In retrospect, many now view Gore as a helpful factor in the successful 1992 campaign.

Related Topics:
U.S. Senator - Albert A. Gore Jr. - D - Tennessee - July 9 - 1992

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Clinton's opponents raised various character issues during the campaign, including his avoidance of military service during the Vietnam War, and his response to a question about past marijuana use, in which he claimed he smoked, but "didn't inhale." Allegations of womanizing and shady business deals also were raised. While none of these alleged flaws led to Clinton's defeat, they did fuel unusually vehement opposition to Clinton among many conservatives from the very beginning of his presidency. http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/candidates/campaign.96/index2.html

Related Topics:
Vietnam War - Marijuana

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Clinton's campaign was successful. Clinton won the 1992 presidential election (42.9% of the vote) against Republican George H. W. Bush (37.4% of the vote) and independent candidate H. Ross Perot (18.9% of the vote), largely on a platform focusing on domestic issues, notably the economic recession of the pre-election period — using the James Carville-created line "It's the economy, stupid!" A large portion of his success was due to George H.W. Bush's steep decline in public approval. Previously described as "unbeatable" due to his approval ratings in the 80 percent range, Bush managed to halve his approval rating to just over 40% come election time. In his last question of the final Presidential debate, Clinton's opponent had to explain why his approval rating had been cut in half:

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:REPORTER: Mr. President, why have you dropped so dramatically in the leadership polls, from the high 80s to the 40s? And you have said that you will do anything you have to do to get reelected. What can you do in two weeks to win reelection?

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:PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, I think the answer to why the drop, I think, has been the economy in the doldrums. Why I'll win is: I think I have the best plan of the three of us up here to do something about it.

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Clinton was the first Democrat to serve two full terms as president since Franklin D. Roosevelt, though he is the first president since John Kennedy to have never achieved a majority of the popular vote. His election ended an era in which the Republican party had controlled the presidency for 12 consecutive years, and for 20 of the previous 24 years. That election also brought the Democrats full control of the political branches of the federal government, including both houses of U.S. Congress as well as the presidency, for the first time since the administration of the last Democratic president, Jimmy Carter.

Related Topics:
Franklin D. Roosevelt - John Kennedy - U.S. Congress - Jimmy Carter

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Clinton's first act as president was to sign executive order 12834 (entitled "Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Appointees"), which placed substantial restrictions upon the ability of his senior political appointees to lobby their colleagues after they leave office. Clinton rescinded the order shortly before he left office in executive order 13184 of December 28, 2000.

Related Topics:
Executive order - Lobby - December 28 - 2000

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Shortly after taking office, Clinton fulfilled a campaign promise by signing the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, which required large employers to allow their employees to take unpaid leave because of pregnancy or serious medical condition. While this action was popular, Clinton's initial reluctance to fulfill another campaign promise relating to the acceptance of openly gay members of the military garnered criticism from both the left (for being too tentative in promoting gay rights) and the right (for being too insensitive to military life). After much debate, Clinton implemented the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy, which officially remains in effect.

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The most important item on Clinton's legislative agenda, however, was a complex health care reform plan, the result of a taskforce headed by Hillary Clinton, aimed at achieving universal coverage. Though initially well-received, it was ultimately doomed by well-organized opposition from conservatives and the health insurance industry. It was the first major legislative defeat of Clinton's administration.

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After two years of Democratic party control under Clinton's leadership, the mid-term elections in 1994 proved disastrous for the Democrats. They lost control of both houses of Congress for the first time in 40 years, in large part due to stalled legislation, including a failed attempt to create a comprehensive health care system under a plan developed by the First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Related Topics:
Mid-term elections in 1994 - Hillary Rodham Clinton

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After the 1994 election, the spotlight shifted to the Contract with America spearheaded by Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. The Republican-controlled Congress and Clinton sparred over the budget. The inability of Clinton and the Republican-controlled Congress to come to an agreement resulted in the longest government shutdown todate.

Related Topics:
Contract with America - Speaker of the House - Newt Gingrich

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In the 1996 presidential election, Clinton was re-elected receiving 49.2% of the popular vote over Republican Bob Dole (40.7% of the popular vote) and Reform candidate Ross Perot (8.4% of the popular vote), while the Republicans retained control of the Congress losing but a few seats.

Related Topics:
1996 presidential election - Bob Dole - Reform - Ross Perot

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Clinton developed a close working relationship with Tony Blair, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, when he was elected in 1997.

Related Topics:
Tony Blair - Prime Minister - United Kingdom - 1997

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In 1999, through Clinton's and the Congress's efforts, the United States had a projected federal budget surplus for the first time since 1969. However, in early 1999, a recession started as the dotcom bubble started to burst.

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He took a personal interest in The Troubles in Northern Ireland and paid three visits there while he was president in order to encourage peace. His involvement was an important element in the peace process which set in motion the disarmament of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) on October 23, 2001.

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In 2002, a UPI story stated that documents discovered in Afghanistan showed that al-Qaeda may have plotted to kill Clinton toward the end of his term.http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=04022002-082828-8434r

Related Topics:
2002 - Al-Qaeda

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Legislation and programs

Major legislation signed

February 5, 1993 - The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993
August 10, 1993 - Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 - Adjusted taxes; income tax, top rate: 39.6%; corporate tax: 35%
September 21, 1993 - creation of the AmeriCorps volunteer program
November 30, 1993 - Brady Bill
September 13, 1994 - Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, part of an omnibus crime bill, the federal death penalty was expanded to some 60 different offenses (see Federal assault weapons ban)
1995 - Executive Order 12958, created tough new standards for the process of classifying documents.
February 1, 1996 - Communications Decency Act
February 8, 1996 - Telecom Reform Act: eliminated major ownership restrictions for radio and television groups.
February 26, 1996 - Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, a welfare reform bill
March 14, 1996 - authorized $100 million anti-terrorism agreement with Israel to track down and root out terrorists.
April 9, 1996 - Line Item Veto Act
April 24, 1996 - Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act
August 20, 1996 - Minimum wage Increase Act
September 21, 1996 - Defense of Marriage Act, allowed states the power to refuse to recognize gay marriages granted in other states, among other things
August 5, 1997 - Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997
October 28, 1998 - Digital Millennium Copyright Act
October 31, 1998 - Iraq Liberation Act

Major legislation vetoed

national budget
H.R. 1833, partial birth abortion ban
Twice vetoed welfare reform before signing
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. Congress overrode the veto, however, to enact the bill into law.

Proposals not passed by Congress

Health care reform
Campaign finance reform (1993)

Initiatives

Appointed a committee on Social Security Reform and then dismissed their recommendations without ever proposing legislation.
Tried to get Ehud Barak of Israel and Yasser Arafat of the Palestinian National Authority, to agree to a final settlement agreement.
Initiated the Don't ask, don't tell policy toward gays in the military, 1993.
Reversed a ban on senior Sinn Féin politicians entering the U.S.
Proposed a national challenge to end the racial divide in America, the One America Initiative.
Extraordinary rendition, or "torture by proxy" got approval for the first time in the USA from the Clinton administration.

Cabinet

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Supreme Court appointments

Clinton appointed the following justices to the Supreme Court:

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Ruth Bader Ginsburg - 1993, making Clinton the first Democratic president to appoint a female supreme court justice.
Stephen Breyer - 1994

The economy

During Clinton's tenure, the U.S. enjoyed continuous economic expansion, reductions in unemployment, and growing wealth through a massive rise in the stock market. The economic boom ended shortly after his term ended, possibly indicative of a stock market bubble; Although the reasons for the expansion are continually debated, Clinton proudly pointed to a number of economic accomplishments, including:

Related Topics:
Stock market - Stock market bubble

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More than 22 million new jobs
Homeownership rate increase from 64.0% to 67.5%
Lowest unemployment in 30 years
Higher incomes at all levels
Largest budget deficit in American history converted to the largest surplus of over $200 billion
Lowest government spending as a percentage of GDP since 1974 http://www.gpoaccess.gov/usbudget/fy00/guide04.html
Higher stock ownership by families than ever before

The reasons for this growth are hotly debated, but many cite his 1993 tax increase which is generally acknowledged to have reduced the annual budget deficits. These deficit reductions, it is argued, benefited the economy by lowering interest rates, stimulating comsumption and consumer spending, and strengthening the dollar, which encouraged foreign investment in the United States economy. Alan Greenspan supported the 1993 tax increase, which was approved by Congress without one Republican vote http://www.dickinson.edu/~rudaleva/greenspan.htm. His critics credit solely Alan Greenspan, the Republican Congress' 1995 spending cuts, the Contract with America initiatives, or even Ronald Reagan's 1981 tax cut during the 1980's.http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_25/b3888032_mz011.htm

Related Topics:
1993 tax increase - Alan Greenspan - Contract with America - Ronald Reagan - 1981 tax cut - 1980

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Trade

The Clinton administration used the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights thirteen times

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and prevailed in the WTO thirteen times (http://www.onpointradio.org/shows/2005/07/20050725_b_main.asp audio 12:40-16:30).

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Foreign policy

Clinton deployed the U.S. military several times under hostile circumstances. In 1993, U.S. troops, initially deployed to Somalia by the Bush administration, fought the Battle of Mogadishu attempting to capture local warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid. In 1994, Clinton sent U.S. troops into Haiti to restore Jean-Bertrand Aristide as president, ending a period of intense violence. Aristide, who had been elected, had been ousted in a coup just seven months into his term in 1991. Clinton also committed troops twice in the former-Yugoslavia to stop ethnic violence, most notably in Kosovo. In addition, Clinton launched military strikes on Iraq several times to punish violations of UN sanctions and an attempt to have former President George H. W. Bush assassinated. Clinton did not intervene militarily to end the Rwandan genocide, a decision he later regarded as a "personal failure".http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L23248200.htm

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In 1994, Clinton negotiated and signed the Nuclear Accords with North Korea. The underlying concern was that North Korea was developing nuclear weapons technology under the guise of a nuclear power plant. In exchange for assistance with energy needs, North Korea agreed to abandon all ambitions for acquiring nuclear weapons. However, by the mid 1990s defectors from North Korea, along with reports from the IAEA, indicated that North Korea was violating both the Nuclear Accords and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. In December, 2002, North Korea expelled IAEA inspectors from its Yongbyon nuclear facility, and announced (privately in 2003 and publicly in 2005), that they possessed nuclear weapons.

Related Topics:
North Korea - Nuclear weapon - IAEA

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After his presidency, Clinton identified his proudest foreign policy accomplishments as mediating peace talks between Israel and the PLO, resulting in the Oslo Accords (1993). Subsequent events, including the collapse of the 2000 Camp David Summit and the commencement of the al-Aqsa Intifada, resulted in the Oslo Accords being widely discredited within Israel and in various Palestinian factions by 2004.

Related Topics:
Oslo Accords - 1993 - 2000 Camp David Summit - Al-Aqsa Intifada - 2004

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Clinton identified his major foreign policy failure as lack of response to the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. Along with the United Nations, the Clinton administration initially did not publicly acknowledge that genocide was occurring.

Related Topics:
Genocide - Rwanda

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During Clinton's tenure, Al-Qaeda began to emerge as a major terrorist threat. In 1998, the group bombed the American embassies in Tanzania and Kenya. In retaliation, Clinton ordered cruise missile strikes on terrorist camps in Kandahar, Afghanistan and a suspected chemical weapons facility in Khartoum, Sudan.http://www.cnn.com/US/9808/20/us.strikes.01/ Clinton also gave orders authorizing the arrest or, if need be, assassination of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. At the end of his term, in late 2000, the terrorists struck again with the USS Cole bombing. By this time, Clinton has stated he regarded Al-Qaeda as the foremost threat to national security.http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0320-07.htm In the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks, the independent investigating commission was critical of Clinton for focusing more on diplomatic than military means to eliminate the bin Laden threat.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A18972-2004Mar23.html

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Some critics argue that the American attacks in Kosovo, Somalia, Bosnia, Sudan, and Afghanistan violated international law. http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/International_War_Crimes/ClintonWarCriminal_Herman.html, http://agitprop.org.au/stopnato/19990607clintoncriminal.php, http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=14713

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Impeachment and other scandals

Clinton was impeached as President of the United States on December 19, 1998, by the House of Representatives. The charges were perjury and obstruction of justice arising from the Lewinsky scandal. The Senate acquitted Clinton on both counts in a trial concluding on February 12, 1999. The day before leaving office, Clinton agreed to a five year suspension of his Arkansas law license as part of an agreement with the independent counsel to end the investigation. Based on this suspension, Clinton was also automatically suspended from the United States Supreme Court bar, from which he chose to resign. http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2001/11/9/181815.shtmlhttp://conlaw.usatoday.findlaw.com/supreme_court/orders/2001/111301pzor.html Clinton's resignation will have little practical effect. He has never practiced before the Supreme Court and was not expected to in the future. Clinton also was assessed a $90,000 fine by federal judge Susan Webber Wright for contempt of court.

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In addition to impeachment and the Whitewater scandal, the Clinton White House was the subject of many lesser scandals. Travelgate refers to the firing of White House travel office staffers allegedly to give business to Clinton's cousin and utilize the plane of Harry Thomason. Filegate refers to White House handling of hundreds of personnel files from individuals without asking for their permission. The White house explaination was that it was merely a "bureaucratic snafu." Chinagate involved Democrats accepting improper campaign contributions; allegedly the ultimate source of this money was the Chinese government. Pardongate refers to a grant of clemency to FALN members in 1999 and pardons to his brother and others in 2001 (see Clinton's Pardons List). In March, 1998 Kathleen Willey, a White House aide, alleged that Clinton had sexually assaulted her. Also in 1998, Juanita Broaddrick alleged that Clinton had raped her in 1978. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy was acquitted on each of 30 charges of illegally accepting gifts such as sports tickets, lodging, and transportation from companies regulated by his department in exchange for favors. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/counsels/stories/espy120498.htm Only one Clinton administration official was convicted for any wrong-doing while in office: HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor for misstating to the FBI the amount of money he gave his girlfriend.

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Timeline

February 26, 1993 - World Trade Center terrorist attack. The World Trade Center bombing killed 6 and injured over 1000 people.
April 19, 1993 - A government siege of the Branch Davidian compound at Waco, Texas, results in the deaths of 80 people when a cult leader allegedly sets fire to his own compound. Clinton and Attorney General Janet Reno receive criticism for mishandling the stand-off.
July 20, 1993 - Clinton friend and confidant Vince Foster is found dead of a gunshot wound
October 3, 1993 - Battle of Mogadishu - Ranger Units receive heavy casualties in Somalia, Blackhawk Down incident.
January 14, 1994 - Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin sign the Kremlin accords which stop the preprogrammed aiming of nuclear missiles to targets and also provide for the dismantling of the nuclear arsenal in Ukraine.
April 19, 1995 - Oklahoma City bombing - Bombing of federal building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma results in the deaths of 168 people, 19 of whom were children.
November 14, 1995 - Budget negotiations between Congress and Clinton break down, resulting in a temporary shutdown of the Federal Government. Shutdowns (partial and full) continue through January, 1996.
November, 1995 - Clinton organizes peace talks for Bosnia and Herzegovina at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, eventually resulting in the Dayton Agreement.
December, 1995 - Clinton visits Ireland, leading to the establishment of an International Commission chaired by former U.S. Senator George J. Mitchell.
November, 1996 - Clinton is reelected, defeating Republican challenger Bob Dole.
October, 1997 - Visit by President of the People's Republic of China Jiang Zemin to the White House.
August, 1998 - Clinton orders cruise missile strikes on Afghanistan to hit Osama Bin Laden and a suspected chemical weapons factory in Sudan. Republicans cried "wag the dog" as Monica Lewinsky testified before a grand jury about her relationship with Clinton.
August 17, 1998 - Clinton testifies before a grand jury about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky. In the evening, he delivers a nationally televised address in which he describes the relationship as "not appropriate" but also "nobody's business".
December 19, 1998 - Clinton is impeached by the House of Representatives on grounds of perjury and obstruction of justice.
January 7, 1999 - The trial of Clinton in the Senate begins.
February 12, 1999 - Clinton is acquitted of all charges by the Senate.
March 24 to June 10, 1999 - NATO bombs Kosovo and Serbia. (See Kosovo War.)
May 7, 1999 - U.S. planes accidentally bomb China's embassy in Belgrade. (See Kosovo War.)
June, 1999 - Serbia hands control of Kosovo to the United Nations. (See Kosovo War.)
November 1. 1999 - Visited Norway to participate in a Memorial sermon in Oslo in respect of the late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.
October 5, 2000 - The defeat of Slobodan Milo?evi? in earlier elections leads to mass demonstrations in Belgrade and the ultimate collapse of the regime's authority. Opposition leader Vojislav Ko?tunica takes office as the Yugoslavian president the next day.

◄ Bill Clinton: Arkansas political career and education

Bill Clinton: Public approval ►

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