presidential elections, General Colin Powell,
chairman of the joint chiefs of staff during the
Gulf War, had declined to be considered for the
Republican nomination. The Republican contes-
tant Senator Robert Dole fought a campaign
marked by its decency; Ross Perot dropped out
as a third party candidate. Clinton was now
helped by an economic boom: living standards for
the majority of Americans were rising for the first
time in years. Violent crime was falling, but so too
was job security for the professional managerial
class and blue collar workers as industry and ser-
vices restructured, often with scant regard for
employees. Flexibility was now the key. Those at
the top made huge profits; far more lost out.
Great problems remained to be solved: the decay-
ing inner cities, drugs, health care, and the situa-
tion of the underclass in deprived areas –
predominantly black and Hispanic people.
It was clear, however, that the American
democratic process was crying out for reform.
Anyone seeking election in the US requires a
huge campaign chest. The public money allocated
to a presidential candidate is overshadowed by
donations made by people who usually expect
something in return. Clinton’s fund-raising activ-
ities laid him open to criticism. A night in
Lincoln’s bedroom in the White House is inno-
cent of consequences; more questionable are large
donations, especially those made by foreign fund-
raisers. In their quest for funds candidates are
sometimes tempted to cross the uncertain line
between legitimate dealings and corruption.
Throughout his years as president Clinton has
had to answer accusations of misconduct of one
kind or another; his wife’s involvement with the
failed Whitewater venture has been another source
of attack. Allegations of false testimony led to
impeachment proceedings in Congress and per-
sonal humiliation. Clinton was shown to have
been hair-splitting with his interpretation of the
facts.
The drama was played out on countless TV
screens and in the press and diverted attention
from more serious issues. The American people
avidly read the latest revelations of the long-
drawn-out Monika Lewinsky affair: a pretty
young intern, a middle-aged charismatic presi-
dent, a stoical family, then the clues, a black dress,
a semen stain, talk of cigars – denials and admis-
sions, the indefatigable prosecutor’s hunt for
precise sexual detail at a cost of over 40 million
dollars; did the president lie about his personal
life? If anyone but the president had been
involved, the story would not have rated a
mention in the media, it is commonplace. It cer-
tainly does not rate with Watergate. The House
of Representatives sent the case for impeachment
to the Senate. In the Senate ten Republicans
joined the Democrats in February 1999 to acquit
the president of perjury, in any case the
Republicans could not have secured the necessary
two-thirds majority to convict. The real loser was
not Clinton but Al Gore the next Democratic
presidential candidate who shunned the support
of Clinton in the campaign.
Soon it was politics as usual again. Clinton was
riding high astride the longest economic expan-
sion in US history, unemployment rate down to
4 per cent, personal incomes had soared and
fuelled increasing consumption, the housing
index up by a third, despite the warnings of the
chairman of the Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan
of ‘irrational exuberence’, the stock-market rise
made everyone feel rich, able to afford more,
never mind the mounting debt; the federal
treasury was a beneficiary as lower taxes kept the
coffers full. ‘Goldilocks’ was the name given to
this wonderful ‘new economy’; fortunes were
made overnight as gullible investors chased the
offerings of new high-tech startups and dot.coms
to stratospheric heights ignoring their lack of
earnings. Old traditional telecoms too were
caught up in the bubble, and ‘creative account-
ing’ made sure that wonder companies became
ever more wonderful and enriched their promot-
ers including venerable and trusted Wall Street
brokers. The Reagan tax cuts, however, rather
than Clinton’s policies had fuelled a boom that
could not be sustained. It was coming to an end
as Clinton left office. At least he had done
nothing during his two terms to get in its way
and the American people were grateful. His per-
sonal popularity remained high matching the
country’s optimistic mood. But the election of
2000 was bitterly contested.
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