on a platform of “hope for the future.” Indeed, the
campaign theme song was Fleetwood Mac’s “Don’t
Stop Thinking About Tomorrow.”
The Clinton-Gore ticket entered the fall cam-
paign against President George H. W. Bush with the
promise of a “New Covenant” for the American peo-
ple that would restore hope and confidence in gov-
ernment, bettering the life of the middle class. Bush
criticized Clinton for avoiding the draft during the
Vietnam War. Clinton told the American Legion
that he still thought the war was a mistake, but he
hoped that veterans would vote based on the future,
not the past. However, he had no qualms with any-
one who chose to vote against him because of his
draft record.
The 1992 election was made more colorful by the
entry of Texas businessman H. Ross Perot into the
race as an independent. He was able to join Clinton
and Bush at all three of the debates that fall. After a
campaign urging Americans to think of the future
and attacking Bush for not focusing on the econ-
omy, Clinton won the 1992 election with 43 percent
of the popular vote and 370 electoral votes. Many at-
tributed Clinton’s victory to Perot’s siphoning of
votes from Bush. Clinton took office on January 20,
1993, with a proclamation that America would con-
tinue to lead the world, and he urged all Americans
to sacrifice for the greater good of their nation.
First Term Clinton began his first term by lifting
the Ronald Reagan-era bans on fetal tissue research
and on allowing federal funding of international
family-planning programs. He made good on his
campaign promise to focus on health care by ap-
pointing his wife chair of a task force to develop a
universal health care plan. Clinton also sought the
lifting of the military ban on homosexuals. He fi-
nally settled on the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. He
made good on his pledge to cut the White House
staff by 25 percent while at the same time increasing
the ability of the staff to assist citizens in dealing with
the federal government.
Having promised in his campaign to focus “like a
laser beam” on the economy, Clinton foremost
sought to reduce the deficit in order to provide
more jobs and to increase the income of middle-
class Americans. The plan increased taxes on
wealthy Americans and corporations; Clinton called
on them to contribute to the success of the country.
The plan was passed by Congress in August, 1993,
without a single Republican vote. The act lowered
taxes on 15 million middle-class Americans and pro-
vided tax relief to 90 percent of small businesses.
However, his goal to provide universal health care
was not achieved. Many feared a “government take-
over” of health care, and Clinton had to settle for
health care for children and legislation allowing
workers to keep their health insurance even if they
switched jobs.
In 1993, Clinton signed into the law the Brady
bill, which required background checks on gun pur-
chasers, and the Family and Medical Leave Act. That
law required twelve weeks of unpaid leave for any
employee who had to take time off to care for a new-
born child or seriously ill family member. Also,
Clinton was able to appoint two Supreme Court jus-
tices in his first term, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Ste-
phen G. Breyer.
On the foreign policy front, Clinton was a strong
ally to Russian president Boris Yelstin and supported
Yelstin as he brought democracy to the former So-
viet Union. Clinton also worked tirelessly for peace
in the Middle East. He was successful in getting Is-
raeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian
leader Yasir Arafat to sign a major peace agreement
at the White House on September 13, 1994—the
Oslo Accords.
The Clinton administration suffered a major set-
back in the 1994 midterm elections when the Demo-
crats lost majority control of Congress. Clinton was
asked at a press conference following the election if
he was even relevant, given that the Republicans
controlled Congress. He was quick to remind people
that he had veto power. Indeed, in 1995 Clinton won
a budget showdown with Republican congressional
leaders. Clinton achieved a balanced budget that
did not contain deep cuts in social programs vital to
the poor. In August, 1996, he signed a welfare re-
form bill that would help people move from govern-
ment assistance to the workforce. Clinton’s success
gave him confidence as he planned for his 1996 re-
election campaign.Second Term Clinton faced Kansas Republican
senator Bob Dole in the 1996 presidential cam-
paign. Clinton was able to run on his strong eco-
nomic record and on a promise to “build a bridge to
the future,” since the winner would be the first presi-
dent of the twenty-first century. Clinton won reelec-
tion on November 5, 1996, receiving 49 percent of190 Clinton, Bill The Nineties in America