Emergence of the Republican Majority 851ease. His choice of running mate—Senator Al Gore
of Tennessee, a Vietnam veteran, family man, and
environmentalist—helped the ticket considerably.
The Election of 1992
While Clinton tiptoed through a minefield of per-
sonal scandals, President George (Herbert Walker)
Bush rested secure in the belief that, after crushing
Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi army in the Gulf War,
the 1992 election campaign would be little more than
a victory lap. But he encountered unexpectedly stiff
opposition within the Republican party. Patrick
Buchanan, an outspoken conservative, did well
enough to alarm White House strategists. Then Ross
Perot, a billionaire Texan, announced his indepen-
dent candidacy. Perot charged that both major parties
were out of touch with “the people.” He promised to
spend $100 million of his own money on his cam-
paign. Perot’s platform had both conservative and
liberal planks. He would “take the shackles off of
American business,” avoid raising taxes, and cut gov-
ernment spending by “getting rid of waste.” He also
supported gun control, backed a woman’s right to an
abortion, promised to get rid of political action com-
mittees, and called for an all-out effort to “restruc-
ture” the health care system.
Polls quickly revealed that Perot was popular in
California, Texas, and other key states that Bush
was counting on winning easily. At the Republican
convention in August, Bush was nominated with-
out opposition.
Clinton accused Bush of failing to deal effec-
tively with the lingering economic recession and
promised to undertake public works projects, to
encourage private investment, and to improve the
nation’s education and health insurance systems.
Bush played down the seriousness of the recession,
but his jaunty comments offended those who had
lost their jobs.
On election day, more than 100 million citizens
voted. About 44 million voted for Clinton, 38 million
for Bush, and 20 million for Perot. Clinton was
elected with 370 electoral votes to Bush’s 168. Perot
did not win any electoral votes.
Bill Clinton Sells Himself to America: Presidential
Campaign Ad, 1992atwww.myhistorylab.com
A New Start: Clinton as President
Clinton first used his executive authority to
strengthen the Supreme Court majority in favor of
upholding the landmark case of Roe v. Wade. The
majority included three conservative justices who
WatchtheVideohad been appointed by Reagan and Bush. Clinton
appointed Ruth Bader Ginsberg, a judge known to
believe that abortion was constitutional. Clinton
indicated that he would veto any bill limiting abor-
tion rights. He also reversed important Bush poli-
cies by signing a revived family leave bill into law
and by authorizing the use of fetal tissue for
research purposes.
The first major test of the president’s will came
when he submitted his first budget to Congress. He
hoped to reduce the deficit by roughly $500 billion
in five years, half by spending cuts, half by new
taxes. The proposal for a tax increase raised a storm
of protest. A number of congressional Democrats
refused to go along with Clinton’s budget, and since
the Republicans in Congress voted solidly against
any increase in taxes, the president was forced to
accept major changes. Even so, the final bill passed
by the narrowest of margins. Clinton rightly claimed
a victory.
He then turned to his long-awaited proposal to
reform the nation’s expensive and incomplete health
insurance system. A committee headed by his wife
had been working for months with no indication that
a plan acceptable to the medical profession, the health
insurance industry, and ordinary citizens was likely to
come from its deliberations. The plan that finally
emerged seemed even more complicated and possibly
more costly than the existing system. It never came to
a vote in Congress.
Bill Clinton and Al Gore on the South Lawn
of the White House, 1993atwww.myhistorylab.com
Bill Clinton First Inaugurationat
http://www.myhistorylab.comEmergence of the Republican Majority
The Whitewater scandal, which Clinton had managed
to brush aside during the campaign, gnawed at his
presidency. Public pressure forced Attorney General
Janet Reno to appoint a special prosecutor. She
named Kenneth W. Starr, a Republican lawyer, to
investigate Whitewater and other alleged misdeeds of
the Clintons.
More troubles followed. Paula Corbin Jones, a
State of Arkansas employee, charged that Clinton,
while governor, had invited her to his hotel room and
asked her to engage in oral sex. Clinton’s attorney
denied the accusation and sought to have the case dis-
missed on the grounds that a president could not be
sued while in office. The case commenced a tortuous
route through the courts.WatchtheVideoView theImage