The Clinton Presidency1993 - 2001

Clinton’s MissionGoals• Balance the federal budget• Reform welfare• Reduce crime• Promote economic growth• Ensure a strong national defense

Significant Priorities• Reduce the size of the federal government• Promote free markets worldwide

Traditional Stereotypes

Democrats/Liberals Republicans/Conservatives

“Tax and Spend” “Favor the rich”

• government action government is the problemcan be the solution

• government spending cut government spending is necessary

• taxes are necessary cut taxes

• government regulation cut government regulation is necessary

Democratic Party Changes

1960s-1980s1. Loss of South2. Reagan shifts the electorate to right3. Crushing loss in 19844. Deficit5. Tax Revolts6. Perceived failure of Great Society and

Reaganomics

Democratic Party Changes

New Democrats• Socially liberal• Fiscally Conservative• Pro-Business • Government has limited, but important

role

Democratic Leadership Council (DLC)

Clinton as the “New Democrat”

1. NAFTA, 19932. GATT WTO• Many supporters and critics….what arguments did each

side provide?• maquiladoras; $20 billion US bailout to Mexico

3. Family and Medical Leave Act, 19934. Expanded the Earned Income Tax Credit5. Brady Bill

Domestic Policy Disaster!Health-care Reform

1. Costs were soaring:- $200 billion in 1980- $800 billion in 1992 (1/7 of the

entire domestic economy!)

2. Hillary Clinton tasked with guiding the reform effort. She was confronted with significant resistance.

3. “Hillarycare”

The Result…

Republicans dominated the 1994 mid-term election – Republican victories leads to control of the House and Senate – the first time in 40 years!

Newt Gingrich and the “Contract with America”

1. Tax cuts2. Increase in military

spending3. Cutbacks of federal

regulatory power in the environment and workplace

4. Anticrime bill5. Decrease in federal

welfare spending

1995 – Budget Showdown

1. Clinton veto v. Republican Congress2. To the victor…Clinton adopts the Republican

positions as his own and mutes some of his critics3. 1996 State of the Union Address – Clinton

announces that “the era of big government is over”4. Passes the Welfare Reform Act – abolishes

legislation that is over 60 years old.- Short-term aid provided recipients find work

5. 1996 Election – Bob Dole mismatched is defeated.

The 1996 Election

Foreign Policy

Clinton – U.S. foreign policy should reflect “the morals and principles most Americans share.”

1. Shift from “containment” to humanitarian goals2. Most Favored Nation status and China3. Korea – U.S. to assist with energy needs if Korea agrees

not to pursue its planned creation of a nuclear arsenal.4. Bosnia – ethnic and religious rivalry between Serbs,

Croats, and Muslims

Bosnia1. Bush did not pursue military aid as Bosnia did not pose a

threat to the U.S. – no intervention.2. “Ethnic cleanings” was revealed – the forced removal and

murder of the Croats and Muslims by the Bosnia Serbs. Refugees increase in numbers.

3. NATO air strikes of Serbian forces in Bosnia4. Clinton brokers deal with Slobodan Milosevic – peace

accord creates a federalized, multiethnic state of Bosnia5. International Protection Force (Peacekeepers) are sent,

but violence persists even after one year.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Ethnic_relations_1991.GIF

Kosovo1. Serbians clash with the ethnic Albanians2. UN and US forces are dispatched to protect the

Albanians from the Serbs3. Clinton attempts to negotiate to no avail4. NATO Air Strikes, Round 2.5. Serbs are driven from Kosovo.6. “International Protection Force (Peacekeepers)

are sent in once again.

Clinton and the Economy1. 20 million new jobs and a 4% or less unemployment rate

– the lowest in over 30 years.2. Government spending decreases3. Tax revenue increases4. ¼ trillion dollar deficit becomes and almost ¼ trillion dollar

surplus by the end of Clinton’s presidency5. “tech stocks” fuel the market with more than 60% of the

American public owning stock6. White collar jobs increase 200x over blue collar jobs

Clinton and the Economy, cont.7. The “.com” BOOM8. The “Silicon Valley” of the 70s and the development and

application of the semiconductor transforms modern life.9. VCR, MTV, Cable, DVD10. The Internet – from ARPANET (Advanced Research

Projects Agency Network) to the World Wide Web

High Crimes and Misdemeanors

1992 Election• Avoiding the draft• Smoking, but “not inhaling”

marijuana• “don’t ask, don’t tell” in the

military• Gennifer Flowers

High Crimes and Misdemeanors

1996 Election….• Whitewater• Paula Jones• Monica Lewinsky• Kenneth Starr

Paula Jones

Final Notes…1. Clinton was impeached by the U.S. House for

perjury and obstruction of justice, but was subsequently acquitted by the United States Senate and completed his term.

2. Polls of the electorate at this time show up to 70% were against pursuing the allegations.

3. Clinton left office with an approval rating at 65%, the highest end of office rating of any President since World War II.

Articles of Impeachment

• Article One: Perjury before Grand Jury– Passed House; rejected by Senate

• Article Two: Perjury in Civil Suit– Rejected by House

• Article Three: Obstruction of Justice– Passed House; rejected by Senate

• Article Four: Perjury in Questions to Judiciary Committee– Rejected by House

1990s Timeline1990 - Iraq invades Kuwait leading to 1991 Gulf War 1991 - Gulf War 1991 - Oakland Hills firestorm kills 25 and destroys 3469 homes and apartments 1992 - U.S. presidential election, 1992 1993 - Bill Clinton becomes President 1993 - The World Trade Center is bombed 1993 - Branch Davidians standoff and fire in Waco, Texas 1993 - Cruise missile attack on Baghdad 1994 - North American Free Trade Agreement goes into effect 1995 - Oklahoma City Bombing 1995 - Following the 1994 elections, Republicans gain control of both the House and

Senate for the first time since 1955. 1996 - TWA flight 800 explodes off Long Island killing all 230 aboard 1996 - Khobar Towers bombing leaves 19 U.S. servicemen dead in Saudi Arabia 1996 - Centennial Olympic Park bombing at Summer Olympics in Atlanta kills 1 and

injures 11 1996 - U.S. presidential election, 1996 (Bill Clinton is re-elected) 1997 - President Clinton bars federal funding for any research on human cloning. 1998 - 224 killed in 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya 1999 - EgyptAir Flight 990 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 216 on board. 1999 - Columbine High School shooting in Littleton, Colorado 1999 - President Clinton is acquitted in impeachment trial by U.S. Senate 2000 - USS Cole bombing in Yemen