A SUMMARY OF THE PRESIDENT WE DESERVE: BILL CLINTON: HIS RISE, FALLS, AND COMEBACKS BY MARTIN WALKER.

In 1993 Bill Clinton became the forty-second President of the United States. When he took office, America was undergoing a period of weak economy caused by a huge federal budget deficit and strained international relations. Clinton was the first President born after World War II and elected after the end of the Cold War. He was also the first president since Franklin Delano Roosevelt without military credentials. Clintons election reflected two main changes of the 1990s America. As Clinton never served in the armed forces, his election showed that there was a shift to civilian political establishment caused by reluctance of American citizens to war and military service and, in consequence, professional military service. Clintons election also showed greater participation in election of working women and black Americans, which was the effect of the civil rights movement and the transformation of the role of women. Bill Clinton was born William Jefferson Blythe IV in the small town of Hope, Arkansas, on August 19, 1946, three months after his father, William Jefferson Blythe III, a travelling salesmen, died in an accident. His mother, Virginia Blythe, named her son after her dead husband. As a two-year-old boy, Clinton stayed with his maternal grandparents while his mother went to New Orleans, Louisiana, to continue her studies as a nurse. The author emphasizes the influence of grandparents on Bills early education.1 They taught Bill how to count and read by the age of three. When Bill was four, Virginia re-married to Roger Clinton and had another son Roger Clinton Jr. After their wedding, the family settled in Hot Springs, Arkansas, where Bill began school. Bill was called Clinton soon after his mother re-married, but the legal change happened after the adoption, when Bill was fifteen. Roger Clinton Sr. was an alcoholic and a gambler who abused his sons and wife. Bill was the one who protected his mother and brother and tried to maintain peace at home.

Martin Walker, The President We Deserve: Bill Clinton: His Rise, Falls, and Comebacks (New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1996), 51.

Despite troubles at home, Bill was a strong, successful and popular student. He was interested in history and intended to study law. Walker writes that Bills first taste of national politics began to form when he was ten.2 He enjoyed watching Democratic presidential nominations on TV. This fascination with law and politics increased at the Hot Springs High School where Bill enjoyed taking part in public speaking classes, mock elections and political debates. Clinton was elected president of his junior class and was a president of many school clubs and organizations. At the age of sixteen, he was chosen to take part in the Boys Nation Programme which taught youth about the election process. The group went to Washington D.C. to meet President John F. Kennedy. A personal handshake with the President inspired young Clinton to start a political career. After graduation from Hot Springs High School, Bill wanted to gain diplomatic skills and therefore applied to Georgetown University in Washington D.C. and chose a course in International Studies. He was eager to start a job that could give him good money and political experience. Because he realized that the kind of job required proper qualifications, Clinton spent part of his summer holiday working for Judge Jack Holt gubernatorial campaign. He was hired to work in the documents room of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, chaired by Senator James William Fulbright. As a Georgetown University student, Clinton fought for civil rights and took part in public demonstrations against the Vietnam War. After he graduated, Clinton won a Rhodes scholarship, which gave him the opportunity to study at the Oxford University in England for two years. The author states that Clinton was surprisingly inactive at Oxford. He spent most of his time reading books, travelling across Europe and making friends that helped him in his future political campaigns. As an opponent of the Vietnam War Clinton participated in antiwar demonstrations organized in England. During his stay in the UK, Clinton was subjected to the lottery system which selected men to serve in the army but his name was near the end so he was never drafted. That is why he never served in armed forces and had no military experience.

Martin Walker, The President We Deserve, 55.

After his stay in Oxford, Clinton was accepted to Yale Law School where he started to be very active politically. He began working for a senatorial campaign of the antiwar candidate and theology professor Joe Duffey. Together with Hillary Rodham, his future wife, he worked in the 1972 presidential campaign of George McGovern, South Dakota Senator. Clinton was the coordinator of the McGovern whips in the southern states and was later sent to Texas to coordinate the state campaign where he made friends and learnt how to make politics. In 1973, Clinton graduated from Yale and, together with Hillary, passed the Arkansas bar exams, which qualified him to practice law in the state. After completing his law education, Bill returned to Arkansas to teach law at the state University in Fayetteville and launch his first political campaign. Clinton made his first attempt at politics in 1974 when he ran for Congress. As a person politically active for many years, he got a lot of support from his family, friends, students and people whom he met throughout his years of his political activism. During the campaign, Clinton followed the suggestion of Billie Schneider and changed his first name William to Bill. He was an effective candidate because of his personal appeal, speaking skills and talent for making friends. Bills public speaking and small talk with individual voters increased the number of his supporters and hope for victory. Although he lost the election, Clinton won popularity, support and admiration of his party members. Despite the defeat, Clinton wanted to make every effort to run again. To stay close to politics, he became a chairman of the state partys committee. He also made important contacts and friends when teaching a course in criminal justice for police officers at the Little Rock branch of state university and helping local charities and low-income families at the Arkansas Housing Development Corporation. Moreover, Clinton got involved in Carters presidential campaign in Arkansas and gained direct access to the political powers of the state and the Presidents support. Finally, he ran for attorney general of Arkansas and in 1976 won the office. As an attorney general, Clinton planned to run for the governor of Arkansas or the U.S. Senate. He called Patrick Caddell, who was an American public opinion pollster, to talk about his options and chances. Caddell recommended Dick Morris, a

young political consultant from New York, to find out what support Clinton had and what issues the public was interested in. Morris ran two pools for Clinton and showed that both seats were winnable. Clinton decided to run for governorship and when he announced his candidacy, he stated that he could do much more for the state of Arkansas than any other politician because he loved it and cared about its peoples problems. Clinton won an overwhelming victory and became the youngest governor ever elected. During his campaign, Clinton promised to improve the states general situation. When in office, he advanced the educational system, established a new Department of Economic Development and a new Department of Energy, built rural health centres and new roads. Clintons achievement was also the increase of the state taxes and the public education budget by 40 percent. He also made a success when the Arkansas Power and Light Company refunded millions of dollars to its customers because of earlier overcharging. Despite the early successes, Clinton made some major mistakes. The author points out that Clintons way of governing and choice of problems caused disappointments, aroused public opposition and led to scandals.3 Clintons first political mistake was to appoint a young, inexperienced and idealistic staff. His biggest political failure, however, was the reform of the educational system which required mandatory testing of students and teachers and reorganized small rural school districts into larger structures. Clintons first term turned out to be a political failure, he continued making mistakes and suffered heavy public backlash when he raised license fees for trucks and private cars and car registration fees to finance the road improvement plan. When truck owners protested, Clinton was forced to shift the tax on car owners which led to even greater resistance. By challenging the pricing practices and land use, Clinton angered also the states powerful timber, poultry and energy industries. When the election came, Clinton lost to a Republican, Frank White. Firstly, because he fought for too many changes and failed to gain prominent achievements. Secondly, because he lost many friends and gained new enemies.

Martin Walker, The President We Deserve, 93.

The defeat in the race taught Clinton to be a more cautious politician, less ambitious and concentrated only on few reforms. Drawing on the experience, he tried to win the seat of a governor again in 1982. During the campaign, he proved to be a perfect communicator and a man who had a very good contact with the public. His efforts and a well organized campaign repaid when Clinton won the governorship. After re-election, he was the first governor in the states history that had been defeated and came back to the office. The achievement earned him the nickname of the Comeback Kid. Clinton remained in office until 1993 and was the longest-serving governor in the history of Arkansas. During his second term, Clinton significantly changed the states educational system and improved the states general situation. He chose to concentrate on the problem of school because Arkansas children ranked far below the national average in basic skills of writing or reading. Clinton created State Board of Education to introduce new standards for schools. This reform package involved ideas of smaller classes, a longer school year and a basic state curriculum. The programme raised teachers salaries and set up students basic skills exam, passing of which allowed young people to move on to high school. The most controversial part of the package concerned testing teachers, who were required to pass a test of competence to keep their certification. When this educational reform was introduced, the situation of Arkansas schools significantly improved. The effects were visible already in 1992 when Arkansas obtained the best high school graduation rate in the U.S.. In recognition of his reforms, President Bush asked Clinton to join a national summit of governors to study improvements on education. In 1990, the National Governors Association introduced solutions to national education, many of which had been created and used by Clinton in Arkansas. Apart from his main achievement in field of education, Clinton was also successful in improving the states health care system and job-training programme for people that received welfare. Clintons achievement was also the creation of over one hundred thousand of new jobs by attracting business to the state. Due to successful governing of the state, Clintons national reputation was growing. He began to make many public appearances outside Arkansas and was active

in several national organizations, including the National Governors Association. Clinton began to think about the presidency. In 1988, the Arkansas State Democrat Committee admitted Clinton to a presidential bid. Although he was aware of his poor chances, he still wanted to make the attempt to gain experience and national popularity. Eventually, however, he decided not to run. Clinton officially stated that he resigned because family was his main consideration. There were also unofficial reasons for his resignation, namely rumours about his numerous affairs and marriage problems. The relationship of Bill and Hillary started at Yale where they were fellow law students whose relationship built up throughout the academic years. Later Bill and Hillary worked together for the McGovern campaign in Texas. After graduation, Bill returned to Arkansas and Hillary went to work in Boston for the legal staff of Childrens Defence Fund. In the summer of 1974, she resigned from a prestigious work in Washington and decided to teach law at the University of Arkansas to be close to Bill. Hillary believed in Bill and always supported him. When he ran for Congress, she became an enthusiastic campaign worker and member of the campaign staff. In October 1975, Hillary and Bill got married and settled in Fayetteville, where Hillary gave birth to their only child, Chelsea Victoria. When Bill lost the re-election bid for a governor, Hillary helped him survive the hard times. She called campaign experts to help her husband prepare the next campaign for the governor seat. She also resigned from keeping her last name to finish the hearsays about their marital crisis. Their marriage problems returned in 1988, when Bills love affairs put their relationship at risk. Hillary thought about a divorce unless Bill changed. The couple began meeting with Reverend Matthews to make the marriage work. Eventually, Bill and Hillary survived the crisis and reaffirmed their marriage vows. Even when new charges of infidelity against Bill appeared in 1991 she defended their marriage in a television programme 60 minutes, where she stood by her husband to dispel the rumours about their latest marriage problems.4 Hillarys support helped Bill continue the fight for the leadership of the Democratic Party and the country.
4

Martin Walker, The President We Deserve, 127.

When Clintons marriage problems were resolved and cleaned of scandals, the President prepared for another presidential campaigning 1992. His chances for success grew when in 1991, Newsweek magazine published a poll that showed Clinton as the countrys most effective governor. Clinton was also recognized as a successful politician due to his work as a chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council, a coalition of moderate-to-conservative politicians who wanted to shift the Democratic Party towards a political centre. Working with other southern leaders, including Al Gore, a U.S. Senator from Tennessee, Clinton formed a group called the New Democrats. This group promoted a business-oriented approach to issues. On October 3, 1991, Bill Clinton officially entered a presidential bid. Unlike him, many prominent Democrats were reluctant to enter the race, because Republican President George Bush was very popular. Clinton however, trusted his close political advisors who were convinced that Bush could be defeated. The author describes the beginning of Clintons campaign as difficult and financially unstable but also stresses that the Governor prepared himself very well for the race. Throughout the campaign, Clinton was visible in town meetings, television talk shows and debates. He also took the suggestion of Mandy Grunwald, a professional political consultant and media advisor for the Democratic Party, to reach ordinary people on the non-political shows. He gathered professional staff that helped him deal with the controversies and over the fund-raising problem. The financial situation was saved by David Wilhelm, a political leader and businessman known for managing campaigns, who brought a young ballet dancer, Rahm Emmanuel, to run a fund-raising operation. Emmanuel scheduled many events that saved the campaign before Christmas. Overcoming the financial problem, Clinton was able to organize the Florida Democratic convention. The author explains that it was important for the most prominent candidate to win convincingly in the southern states.5 Although Clinton made a lot of effort to win the black vote in the southern states, he had to concentrate on Florida most. It was an unusual southern state because of a great number of people from the Northeast. Eventually, Clinton won the poll and gained an important victory for his party.
5

Martin Walker, The President We Deserve, 121.

Another problem was the New Hampshire primary. Just before the primary the press revealed new information about Clintons draft avoidance, putting his campaign at risk. As the author explains, Clinton survived it thanks to his will to fight and excellent campaign organization.6 He also managed to survive the difficulties that occurred during the New York primary when he admitted having tried marijuana as a student. Although the information aroused criticism about and disappointment with him, Clinton won the states primary. In spite of his difficult beginnings, Clinton still had a great chance to collect enough votes of delegates to get the nomination. Walker stresses that James Carville, a political consultant and strategist played an important role in helping Clinton gain more support. First, he focused the media attention on Clinton. For example, he got Clinton played the saxophone on the Arsenio Hall, late night TV show to energize the campaign. Second, Carville speeded up the reflexes of the campaign to ensure that no unanswered charges appeared in the media. Third, he emphasized the weakest points of Clintons opponents. The plan turned out to be very successful. Clinton gathered more votes than any previous Republican or Democrat in the history of primaries. Clinton gained enough votes of the delegates to win the Democratic nomination. He managed to defeat six well-known candidates and survived numerous scandals. Despite the early victories, the most difficult challenge, which was defeating a republican candidate, President George Bush and a third-party candidate, H. Ross Perot, was still ahead. According to the national survey, Clinton was the least popular candidate. As Clinton prepared for the Democratic Convention in New York in July, the public opinion about the candidates began to change. As Walker claims, Clintons choice of Senator Albert Gore, Jr., of Tennessee as a running mate gave energy to the campaign and gained support of party leaders, the press and the public. 7 The author also stresses that with the choice of Gore, Clintons popularity began to rise. 8 On the day when the Arkansas Governor was officially nominated as a Democratic candidate for a president, Perots withdrew from the race. This resignation increased Clintons chances for the presidency as Perots supporters preferred to join the Democrats rather
6 7

Walker, The President We Deserve, 121. Walker, The President We Deserve, 145. 8 Walker, The President We Deserve, 145.

than the Republicans. Additionally, Clintons second opponent lost popularity as the American economy weakened. After the New York convention, Bill Clinton and Al Gore started the campaign. They went on bus tours to the places which were not very popular destinations among presidential candidates. Coverage of the trips appeared frequently in both local and national television and the press. Clinton and Gore were introducing their programme called a New Covenant. It focused on the recession and the economic problems of the population. Clinton offered a plan of government spending on highways, bridges, sewer systems and other infrastructure projects as a quick way to create new jobs and improve the general condition of the country. Clinton also focused on the need for a national health care policy, improved education system and job training. He declared a major shift from national defence and military to trade as the basis of his foreign policy. Clinton stressed that stable economy at home was a solution to domestic problems. Walker defined Clintons New Covenant as the most ambitious programme of public investments that the United States had experienced for many years. Clinton was on the leading position and maintained it even after the Republican convention, when Bush put more time and energy to improve his campaign. Although the President tried to concentrate voters on his successful international politics and thus weaken Clintons reputation, he did not introduce a good plan for economic revival. Even Perots return into the race a few weeks before the Election Day did not endanger Clintons position. In November 1992, Bill Clinton was elected the fortysecond President of the United States. Clinton and Al Gore created the youngest team ever elected to conduct the nation. In the election, the Democrats had taken control over the presidency, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The new President took the oath of the office on January 20, 1993, and thereby took the responsibility for improving the countrys economic position eliminating its big federal deficit and national debt. The beginnings of Clintons administration were full of mistakes and controversies. First, many of the Presidents appointments to the Cabinet were not approved by Congress. Second, Clintons policy to end discrimination against homosexuals in the military was highly criticized and considered to be a failure.

Walker suggests that Clinton could not understand the disapproval of gays in the troops because he never served in the army.9 Third, the Whitewater affair turned out to be the most damaging and long-standing controversy. It was an unsuccessful real estate development project in Arkansas that involved questionable financial transactions. In the scandal, Clinton was accused of power abuse as a governor of Arkansas. Although a special prosecutor was appointed and the investigations continued throughout Clintons administration, no significant information was uncovered. More controversies came out when Vince Foster, the Clintons friend and personal attorney, committed suicide. His death put the President in an even worse light. The author stresses that the scandal destroyed both Clintons chances for success in domestic reforms and the position of Democrats.10 Despite the difficulties, the President tried to concentrate on his duties. As he gave foreign affairs a lesser priority than domestic ones, Clinton started to realize the ambitious legislative plan outlined in the campaign. Clintons economic strategy was to invest in education and job training in order to encourage ordinary people to support economic change, end the dependency on welfare and lower the deficit. To achieve his aims, the President proposed the economic stimulus package that attacked the budget deficit and promised reduction of spending over the next five years, tax relief for working poor, funds on education, job creation and investments in industry and infrastructure. Clinton contributed to reduction of the deficit by raising taxes on the affluent people, raising energy taxes for all citizens and reducing the federal bureaucracy. The ambitious plan met with public disapproval and was defeated in the Senate. The programme was finally passed but only when Clinton moderated it. The compromised budget proposal balanced the federal budget within five years by introducing new taxes and cutting spending. The President also secured the income tax credit that was to protect working families from falling below the poverty line. The main purpose of the last programme was to ensure that the poor would prosper better thanks to work, not welfare. Clinton also introduced a national health insurance programme. He put his wife in charge of the Presidents Task Force on National Health Care Reform, which
9 10

Walker, The President We Deserve, 199. Walker, The President We Deserve, 253.

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numbered over five hundred members. The plan was to guarantee health insurance to every American throughout their employment even when they were part-time or shortterm employees. For the unemployed and the uninsured, the state paid the fee. At the beginning, Clintons plan enjoyed high support but with time the Americans feared that a new health care tax would increase costs for small businesses and decrease the chances to chose their own doctor, impose dismissals and discourage hiring. The plan was strongly disapproved by powerful health insurance companies. They lobbied Congress and convinced the Americans that the proposal was too radical, complicated and expensive. Eventually, the reform which consumed much Task Force energy and political capital was not approved by Congress. Walker describes the Presidents programme as the biggest political failure and blames Clintons ambition for it.11 The President introduced also a few smaller reforms. One of them was a crime bill. Clinton funded many new job vacancies for policemen, new prisons and boot camps for young criminals.12 He extended the federal death penalty and life imprisonment. Children from the age of thirteen were subjected to prosecution and penalty for violent crimes. There was a ban on buying nineteen types of assault weapons and a five-day waiting period on handgun purchase. The bill defined violence based on sexual abuse as a breach of civil rights and put federal penalties for spouse abuse. Although at the beginning the crime bill met with disapproval, it turned out to be very effective and led to a reduction of offenses. The next important bill the President ratified was the Family and Medical Leave Act. It was essential for workers who had sick relatives and had to take care of them. The act enabled people with health problems and parents of newborn children to take up to twelve weeks of unpaid leave from work. Clintons another very important act was Motor Voter Act, because it increased the number of registered voters through simplification of the registration process and permission to register on the basis of a driving license. Although Clintons priority was domestic sphere, the President could not avoid getting involved in foreign affairs. He took office during a period of weak economy and strained international relations. Although he had little experience in foreign policy, Clinton gradually became effective in handling international matters. As Walker
11 12

Walker, The President We Deserve, 215. Walker, The President We Deserve, 322.

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writes, Clinton became involved in foreign conflicts because he supported and wanted to promote human rights in other countries.13 Clinton first tried to help Somalia. He sent military forces on a humanitarian mission there but when American soldiers got involved in combat and some of them were killed, the forces were withdrawn and replaced by the UN troops. American intervention was unsuccessful and left the African country in a state of anarchy and fight for leadership. Apart from Somalia, America also intervened in Haiti, left in chaos after the escape of its president. Clinton decided to use militarily forces to settle riots and was embarrassed when armed Haitians prevented navy ships from coming into port. Eventually, the operation ended in a success. In the authors opinion, the issue of Bosnia was the most difficult international problem that Clinton had to deal with during his first term.14 The area of former Yugoslavia was under continuous aggression of several armies. That conflict threatened the Yugoslavians and other European countries. In order to settle the unstable situation, Clinton backed a policy known as lift and strike, which involved air strikes against Serb aggressor, and airlifts of arms and supplies to help the Bosnians defend themselves.15 Walker claims that the kind of help made sense at the beginning of the war but at that time the UN troops had already been there, Clinton only exposed peacekeeping forces to danger.16 Later, when the President wanted to take a more forceful stand and agreed to commit American troops on the ground American citizens refused to support the policy seeing no vital interest in it. Clinton finally changed his outline for peace and backed a French-British plan to divide Bosnia in territories for the Serbs and Bosnians. In 1995, Clinton hosted peace talks between the warring parties in Ohio. The meeting ended with a peace keeping agreement, leaving Bosnia as one country made up of two separate parts with a central government. The Presidents international issues concentrated on using international trade instead of military to promote peace and stability around the world. A good example of Clintons view on economic issues was China. Clinton concentrated on the support of human rights there but finally decided to engage in commerce and trade with China.
13 14

Walker, The President We Deserve, 262. Walker, The President We Deserve, 262. 15 Walker, The President We Deserve, 275. 16 Walker, The President We Deserve, 275.

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The President also lifted the trade embargo on Vietnam and started diplomatic relations with the country and as a consequence, the U.S. could freely trade with Vietnam for the first time since the Vietnam War. Clintons biggest success in foreign policy were two major trade agreements. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which lifted trade restrictions among Canada, the United States, and Mexico and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade(GATT), which strengthened global trade. President Clinton also tried to link foreign and domestic policies in order to improve economy and create more jobs for Americans. As the author explains, Clinton believed that improvement of global economy had to go together with the economic reforms at home.17 That is why the President created a new advisory board called the National Economy Council which coordinated policies both at home and abroad. Although Clinton was quite successful at the beginning of his first presidential term, he later came across major problems that damaged the Democrats chances in midterm congressional elections in 1994. Clinton had too few accomplishments in the first two years of his administration to boost the chances of Democratic Congressmen for re-election. Additionally, an effective Republican national campaign and the Republicans promise to work on various legislative programmes led to a rise in number of supporters of this party. After the elections, the Republicans gained control of both houses of Congress. The political change forced Clinton to look for common ground with the opposite party. The President showed his willingness to cooperate with a new Congress and concentrated on decreasing government bureaucracy, cutting taxes, changing welfare, limiting illegal immigration and passing a line item veto. For Clinton, the results of the 1994 elections meant smaller chances for reelection in the next presidential campaign. In order to improve his situation, Clinton changed his stand on many national issues and started to use presidential veto. Clintons cooperation with the House and the Senate deteriorated, especially on balancing budget issues and spending cuts. Although Clinton was in favour of the Republicans idea of equalizing the budget, he could not agree on the way it was done. The writer states that a good budget was very important for Clinton because of the
17

Walker, The President We Deserve, 287.

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upcoming election year.18 To influence public opinion, Clinton organised an advertising campaign that presented the Republicans attempts to reduce funds for the Medicare programme. The campaign showed that Clinton defended important government policies from irresponsible Congress. Finally, the Republicans gave up on budget negotiations, which strengthened public approval for the President. Clinton changed his political views significantly throughout his first term. He acquired some traditional Republican views like standing against violence and pornography in the media and defending programmes for the minorities. In 1996, Clinton signed the bills, which raised the minimum wage and a limited health care. The new law enabled workers to keep their health insurance if they lost or changed jobs. That same year, the President passed a welfare reform bill, which differed from the one originally proposed as it reduced welfare help. It gave funds to encourage welfare beneficiaries to work and cancelled the financial help for poor children. The shift of views from traditionally democratic to centrist earned Clinton the name of a New Democrat.19 During Clintons first term, American economy boomed, trade increased and foreign relations improved. The President achieved success in decreasing crime and unemployment rate and cutting the federal budget deficit in half. In the writers opinion, Clintons administration was troubling but gave the President good chances for re-election.20

18 19

Walker, The President We Deserve, 310. Walker, The President We Deserve, 148. 20 Walker, The President We Deserve, 351.

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