President Bill Clinton January 20, 1993 January 20, 2001 Created & edited by Steve Armstrong SHS,

1992 Election

President Bush  Bush’s approval rating slipped dramatically from 92%  Republicans questioned the wisdom of keeping Dan Quayle on the ticket

But Quayle had been a good Vice-President

Gov. Bill Clinton  Gov. Clinton said that Republicans were bankrupting the USA “It’s the economy, stupid.”  Democrats finally seemed unified -- the first time since 1964  Called for reform of government spending

Clinton met JFK in 1963

Clinton’s personal issues  Stated that he had caused “pain” in his marriage  Hillary said that was not the kind of woman who would just “stand by my man”  Clinton’s lack of military service did not become a major campaign issue  “I tried it, but didn’t inhale.”

Ross Perot  Perot said that he would spend his own money to campaign if citizens placed his name on the ballot in all fifty states  Called on government to solve the deficit problem

Clinton and Al Gore  Clinton selected Sen. Al Gore as his running mate This was the first ever “baby-boomer” ticket  Al Gore and wife Tipper had a good marriage, to contrast with the apparent rocky marriage of Bill and Hillary

Bush seemed bored at the debates

Clinton approached the audience

Clinton’s victory  Had the Conservative Revolution failed?  Four women, including Carol Mosely Braun, were elected to the Senate

Clinton Inauguration, 1992

Clinton’s Morning Jog

Clinton worked long hours,

enjoyed white House ceremonies,

and loved the celebrity life  Clinton thoroughly enjoyed his time with Hollywood celebrities

Clinton and Pope John Paul II

Clinton and Nelson Mandela

Clinton in Selma, Alabama

Clinton with the troops

Clinton with Boris Yeltsin

Clinton and Mia Hamm

Immigration changes  500,000 Vietnamese refugees arrived in the USA  More Hispanics crossed the border Hispanics may account for 35% of the USA population  Chinese and Korean immigrants arrived by the tens of thousands

Immigration debate  Illegal immigration continued to rise  Many immigrants, even those from Asia, had low-paying jobs  More religious diversity arrived with the new flow of immigrants

The Clinton agenda  Desired to be an activist executive  Democrats barely held majorities in Congress  Clinton backed down on diversifying his Cabinet when some nominees were too controversial

Early Clinton initiatives  “Don’t ask, don’t tell” -> Clinton tried to make room for homosexuals in the military  Created a plan to reduce the federal deficits  Signed NAFTA => North American Free Trade Agreement, linking the American economy with that of Mexico & Canada  Brady Bill => the first serious gun control legislation since 1968 Banned ownership of assault weapons Banned ownership of assault weapons

Clinton and Ruth Bader Ginsberg

Health care initiative, 1993  Clinton pushed for Congress to create an affordable health care program for all Americans  Hillary Clinton appeared before Congress to push this  Becoming complex, Congress proposed 27 versions of health care legislation

Economic agenda  Clinton wanted to balance the federal budget and reduce deficits  Clinton wanted higher corporate taxes  A compromise budget was agreed to, with V-P Gore giving the tie-breaking vote

Clinton signing Economic Stimulus Package

World Trade Center Bombing

WTC Bombing  February 23, a terrorist group linked to al-Qaeda expoded a car bomb in the World Trade Center  6 killed - 1,000 injured  President Clinton ordered a full FBI investigation into this terrorist act

Republican Revolution, Act II  Republicans, led by Newt Gingrich, proposed a Contract with America  If Republican majorities were elected, Republicans promised to reduce federal spending  Promised tax cuts, balanced budgets

Gingrich v. Clinton  Clinton threatened to veto the Republican budget plan  Gingrich and the Republicans voted to shut down the government  The American public reacted harshly to this intransigence

Waco incident, 1993  FBI agents used force to break into the compound of cultist David Koresh  Koresh’s people killed 4 federal agents  More federal agents attacked Koresh’s compound, resulting in 77 deaths

Oklahoma City bombing, 1995  Extremist Timothy McVeigh destroyed a federal federal building This bombing occurred on the 2nd anniversary of the WACO incident  161 deaths  Right-wing militia groups were brought to the public’s attention

Image of home-grown terrorism

Welfare reform, 1996  Clinton signed the first sweeping reform bill  Republican influence was evident in this new law Democratic Party ideals were altered by the Republicans  Certain programs were cut

The new economy  Stock market surge propelled the economy  New technologies boosted the economy  More corporations outsourced their production  Many blue-collar jobs were out of work

More Mideast Peace  Clinton promoted additional peace agreements between Israel and the Palestinian Authority

Clinton scandals  Republicans had been investigating Clinton since 1994 Republicans spent millions of tax dollars pursuing Clinton  The Lewinsky scandal led to Clinton’s impeachment in 1998 Clinton survived