Lecture # 15
Political Pendulum Swing: Bush to Clinton
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:
1. What were the hopes, achievements, and failures of G.H.W. Bush’s administration?
2. What did Clinton’s administration accomplish? How should it be evaluated?
OVERVIEW:
President George H.W. Bush led a successful foreign policy (war), but stumbled through a sagging economy. He led with moderate conservatism, thus irritating members of his party (Republicans) and those of the opposition (Democrats). Given this context and his vision for America, Bill Clinton earned the White House for two successful terms.
BIG IDEA:
The end of the Cold War led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union. President Bush worked hard to lead America through this transition and a recession; however, voters replaced him with Bill Clinton who promoted many ambitious domestic programs and presided over a booming economy during the rest of the 1990s.
KEY PEOPLE:
George H.W. Bush, Barbara Bush, Mikhail Gorbachev, William Jefferson “Bill” Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Saddam Hussein, H. Norman Schwarzkopf, Colin Powell, Dick Cheney
KEY TERMS:
I. The G.H.W. Bush Administration (hippocampus video summary)
-The biggest issues of the Bush years were the budget, events abroad, and the economy. He wanted to balance Reaganism with his pragmatism for a ‘kinder, gentler America.’
A. Domestic Events
1) He inherited several of Reagan’s problems form the late 1980s.
a. Economic Troubles: As the budget deficit mounted, Bush was forced to break this promise in 1990. By 1992, an economic recession caused increased layoffs and rising unemployment. “Read my lips…no new taxes.”
b. Savings and Loans Scandal: In 1990, the misuse of funds by savings and loans institutions surfaced. American taxpayers paid hundreds of billions of dollars to bail out that industry.
c. SCOTUS Appointments: He appointed two new justices to the SCOTUS: David Souter in 1990 and Clarence Thomas in 1991. Thomas was confirmed by the Senate after very controversial hearings in which he was charged with sexual harassment by Professor Anita Hill, a former employee.
d. Urban Violence (Deeper Racial Tensions?): In 1992, parts of Los Angeles after four white LAPD officers were found innocent in the beatings of AA motorist Rodney King.
B. Events Abroad
1. During Bush’s presidency, the Cold War came to an end, but the US entered
military conflicts in Panama and the Persian Gulf.
a. End of the Cold War: In November 1989, the world watched in amazement as Germans tore down the Berlin Wall—a real and symbolic reminder of the division between the communists and democratic worlds. Throughout the winter of 1989, communists governments in Eastern Europe crumbled. In 1990, Gorbachev received the Nobel Peace Prize for relaxing control over former Soviet satellites (could he have done otherwise?).
b. Invasion of Panama: As POTUS, Bush continued Reagan’s war on drugs (PSA clips) He ordered US troops into Panama to capture General Manuel Noriega, the dictator of Panama, and return him to the US to face drug charges. In 1992, Noriega was sentence to serve 40 years in federal prison.
c. Persian Gulf War: In August 1990, Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein invaded the oil-rich nation of Kuwait. Bush responded by sending US troops into Saudi Arabia, with the agreement of Saudi leaders. The UN condemned Iraq’s actions and approved economic sanctions against Iraq. The UN also authorized a joint military buildup in Saudi Arabia, called Operation Desert Shield.
1) It became Operation Desert Storm in January 1991 when the US with a troop force of over 500K (largest troop commitment since Vietnam) and Allied troops from a many other nations began a total air assault on Iraq.
2) By the end of February, Bush ordered a cease-fire, and Iraq accepted all UN demands to end the Persian Gulf War. More than 300 Allied lives were lost, but over 100K Iraqis died.
d. Bosnia and the Balkans: The end of the Bush administration featured the outbreak of violence in the Balkans. In 1991, Slovenia, and Croatia declared their independence from Yugoslavia (Serbia dominated it), and fighting broke out throughout the area. Millions became refugees during the fighting. The Balkan War lasted from 1991 to 1999. Bosnian Serbs, led by Slobodan Milosevic, carried out ethnic cleansing (genocidal warfare), killings and displacing thousands of innocent civilians of various ethnicities.
e. 1992 Election: Bush and Quayle ® vs. Clinton and Gore (D) vs. Ross Perot (I, Texas billionaire). The major issue was the economy. In the election, Clinton made Bosnia an issue and promised to take strong action there. Clinton carried 32 states with 370 EV. Perot was no states, but earned 19M votes. Women, AAs, and Latino Americans were elected to Congress in record high numbers, too. Bush bowed out gracefully, yet focused on the political future of his sons George “W” and John Ellis “Jeb.”1992 Clinton ads.
II. Clinton’s Administration (hippocampus video summary)
-Clinton entered office with an ambitious domestic agenda, however, events in other nations demanded much of his attention.
A. Domestic Issues
1) During his tenure in office, POTUS Clinton pursued health-care reform, nominated two justices to the SCOTUS, and faced a Republican Congress and impeachment proceedings. The economy boomed.
a. NoHealth-care reform: In 1993, Clinton presented to Congress a health-care reform plan that would ensure health insurance for all Americans. Critics of the plan complained it was too expensive, complex, and would limit choice in health care. In 1994, Congress rejected (Hillary?) Clinton’s Plan.
b. NoSocial Security: It became clear that the SS program would run into trouble because of changing demographics (more older people). The number of recipients is increasing rapidly due to to long life spans and the aging baby boomers generation. All plans to fund SS are rejected.
c. YesSCOTUS Appointments: Clinton’s nomination of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer made him the first Democratic POTUS 26 years to do so.
d. 1994 Congressional Elections: Republicans took majority control of Congress for the first time in 40 years.Prior to election, they adopted the Contract With America: Thanks Speaker Newt Gingrich!
e. 1996 and 1998 Elections: At the end of 1995, disagreements between Republicans and Clinton over the budget led to a shutdown of the federal government. During the 1996 presidential campaign, Clinton focused public attention on the Republican’s role in the shutdown. He also adopted several Republican issues by signing welfare reform into law and supporting a balanced budget. He easily won reelection. Republicans maintained their congressional majority after both elections.
f. Scandal and Impeachment: Many of Clinton’s activities were the subject of investigations, including the Whitewater Affair, which accused him and Hillary of involvement with an illegal real estate scheme in Arkansas. They were never charged. In 1998, a special prosecutor accused POTUS Clinton of several offenses, including lying under oath about his relationship with a White House intern. On December 19, 1998, the House impeached him on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice. The Senate acquitted him two months later. Deny, deny, deny…apologize!
g. Economic Prosperity: In the 1990s, the US enjoyed the longest period of economic growth in its history.
h. 1993 WTC bombing (foreign terrorists) and 1995 Federal Building bombing (domestic).
B. Foreign issues
1) As the sole world power, Clinton’s America worked through some challenges.
a. The Middle East(BBC info): The Arab-Israeli conflict has long focused attention on the Middle East. Since 1948, Arabs and Israelis have waged four wars. In 1993, the Palestine Liberation Organization (Arafat) and Israel (Rabin) agreed to a measure of Palestinian self-government. However, incidents of violence slowed the peace process.UN info.
b. Former Yugoslavia (map): Tensions between ethnic groups in the former Yugoslavia led to war in Bosnia in the early 1990s. The US helped win an agreement between the two sides in 1995 and POTUS Clinton sent troops to enforce the plan. In 1998, violence erupted in Kosovo, where Serbian forces massacred ethnic Albanians civilians. A brief bombing campaign by NATO/UN forced the Serbs to withdraw. Many Serbian leaders then were arrested for war crimes and put on trial.
c. NATO Expansion: In March 1990, NATO welcomed the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland as new members.
d. South Africa: In 1994, Nelson Mandela, the long-time leader of the campaign against apartheid, became his nation’s first democratically elected president.
e. Asia: In 1998, India set off a number of nuclear tests, which led Pakistan to carry out its own nuclear tests. Tensions between the two countries rose against in 2001 after a terrorist attack by Muslims on India’s parliament. India blamed the attack on groups sheltered by Pakistan. War threatened, but world leaders urged caution, and tensions ebbed.
g. Horn of Africa: Warlords divide and ravage Somalia. Clinton and the UN failed to control violence, famine/extortion, and civil war. Black Hawk Down.
h. Russia (not USSR): Clinton administration (Congress) spends $2.5B to help Russia transition to capitalism and democracy. Return on investment?
i. Global Economy:
1. In 1992, The US, Canada, and Mexico signed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in an effort to break down trade barriers. American trade in Europe continued to be strong, despite the formation of the European Union, a trade organization designed to break down trade barriers within Europe.
2. General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT) was absorbed into the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995. The goal is to reduce or eliminate trade barriers (tariffs and preferences) so it grows and diversifies.