Important Keywords

• New Right: Conservative movement that began in the 1960s and supported Republican candidates into the twenty-first century; many voters from the South and from the middle class were attracted by the New Right’s emphasis on patriotism and strict moral values.

• Operation Desert Storm (1991): Military action by the United States and a coalition of Allied nations against Iraq and its leader Saddam Hussein after Iraq had invaded Kuwait; this operation was a resounding success, although the decision was made not to force Saddam Hussein from power.

• Whitewater: Series of real estate dealings in Arkansas involving Bill Clinton long before he became president. Republicans accused Clinton of financial improprieties in the Whitewater affair; a number of his former associates went to jail, but no charges against the president were ever proven. The Whitewater affair was one of several accusations that eventually led to Clinton being impeached by the House of Representatives but acquitted by the Senate.

• Contract with America: List of conservative measures proposed by Republicans after winning control of the House of Representatives in 1994; it included term limits and promises to balance the federal budget and to reduce the size of the federal government. Republican supporters of the Contract were led by Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.

Key Timeline

• 1988: George H. W. Bush elected president

  • Solidarity replaces Communist government in Poland

• 1989: Berlin Wall opened, Communist governments fall in Eastern Europe

• 1991: Persian Gulf War Breakup of the Soviet Union Beginnings of economic recession

• 1992: Election of Bill Clinton

• 1993: NAFTA ratified by Senate

  • Terrorist bombings at World Trade Center

  • American troops killed in Somalia

• 1994: Republicans sweep congressional elections

  • U.S. military enters Haiti

  • Kenneth Starr becomes Whitewater independent counsel

• 1996: Clinton reelected

• 1998: Federal budget surplus announced

  • Articles of impeachment passed in House of Representatives

• 1999: Clinton acquitted in impeachment trial in U.S. Senate

• 2000: George W. Bush elected president

The Election of 1988

• George Bush's career was spectacular.

  • He was Congressman, U.S. ambassador to the UN, Republican party chairman, CIA director, and Ambassador in China before becoming Ronald Reagan's vice president.

  • Republican commercials in 1988 called him "the most qualified man of our era" for president.

  • Bush chose Indiana Senator Dan Quayle, a Reaganite, as his running mate to win conservative support.

• Michaek Dukakis won the Democratic nomination.

  • He credited his "Massachusetts miracle" with rebuilding his state's economy.

• Both candidates used negative TV ads.

  • Bush linked his opponent to Willie Horton, a Dukakis-furloughed African-American felon who raped a woman.

• Bush won election night despite media portrayals of him as a "wimp" and an early poll lead by Dukakis.

The Presidency of George H. W. Bush

• In 1988, Bush received the Republican presidential nomination and called for a "kinder, gentler America."

  • With a Republican president and Democratic legislature squabbling, he was unable to pass domestic legislation.

  • Exceptions include the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

  • Bush's administration was plagued by the federal budget imbalance.

  • Bush agreed to raise taxes with House Democrats to decrease the debt.

  • His "no new taxes" campaign commitment was breached, costing him conservative support.

• Foreign policy worked better for Bush.

  • The cold war was ending when Bush became office.

  • The Soviet economy couldn't compete with the US anymore.

  • Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev told Communist party officials in late 1988 that military expenditures and "safeguarding" satellite governments were choking the economy.

• In 1989, the Soviets cut assistance to Eastern European Communist governments.

  • These Communist regimes collapsed without Soviet help.

  • The Communists were overthrown in Poland by Solidarity.

  • By 1989, all Eastern European Communist governments had fallen.

  • Gorbachev's attempts to democratize society and modernize the economy failed, making the Soviet Union unstable.

• Independence movements arose in various Soviet countries.

  • After a Communist coup attempt damaged Gorbachev, Russian President Boris Yeltsin declared the collapse of the Soviet Union in December 1991.

• President Bush masterfully ended the cold war.

  • His diplomacy eased the Soviet collapse.

  • He supported German reunification and kept the new Germany in NATO.

  • Bush helped Gorbachev and Yeltsin decrease nuclear weapons stockpiles.

  • Former Soviet states received financial support from the US to dispose of nuclear weapons.

  • American specialists gave Moscow and Eastern European governments little market economic advice.

• Reagan's military was employed by Bush.

  • Bush invaded Panama and ousted Manuel Noriega in December 1989 after Panamanian soldiers killed an American officer.

• On August 2, 1990, Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait.

  • Iraqi tanks near Saudi Arabia's border raised the possibility that Saddam Hussein may gain control of a large portion of the world's oil supplies.

  • President Bush rapidly formed an international army to protect Saudi Arabia after Kuwait was attacked.

  • He then skillfully led an international military alliance to expel the Iraqis from Kuwait.

• Iraq was bombed on January 17, 1991.

  • For a month, this aircraft bombardment crippled Iraqi fortifications.

  • American and coalition ground troops defeated Iraqi invaders in Kuwait on February 24 in Operation Desert Storm.

  • Iraqi fatalities exceeded 40,000 in this rapid and clear victory.

  • American deaths totaled 150.

  • Bush ordered his troops to halt at the Iraqi border because his coalition was united in expelling Iraq from Kuwait but not removing Saddam Hussein.

  • This restricted mission has UN backing.

  • As a result, the UN would have to deal with a recalcitrant Saddam Hussein for years.

• The Gulf War boosted Bush's popularity.

  • Economic issues, including a recession and nation’s instability, worried 1992.

  • A horrific civil war in which Serbs "ethnic cleansed" Bosnian Muslims appalled the world after Yugoslavia's split.

  • Bush, a maestro of big-power diplomacy, was uninterested in these issues.

The Election of 1992

• Americans wanted "change" in 1992.

  • Ironically, President Bush's foreign policy triumphs hurt his chances for reelection.

  • Americans looked for a "peace dividend" after the Gulf War and a "New World Order" of international collaboration.

  • Bush, a longtime public servant and World War II veteran, looked increasingly out of touch with regular Americans.

• Democratic presidential nominee Bill Clinton was from Arkansas.

  • He was a baby boomer.

  • Clinton better understood American sentiment.

  • His campaign's unofficial motto was "It's the economy, idiot."

  • After three consecutive Democratic presidential losses, Clinton campaigned as a moderate "New Democrat."

  • He distanced himself from big government and claimed to be sympathetic to Republican ideals.

  • Conservative critics like Rush Limbaugh claimed Clinton was phony and would say anything to be elected.

• Independent presidential candidate Ross Perot was a Texas multibillionaire.

  • He advocated for a balanced budget and "common sense" in the White House.

  • Perot's message resonated with Americans disaffected from the mainstream parties, and his willingness to spend tons of money on advertising kept him competitive.

• The three-man contest was won by Clinton.

  • Many Democrats who had defected to Ronald Reagan and Bush in 1988 returned to the party.

  • The most robust third-party performance since Theodore Roosevelt's Bull Moose race in 1912 was Perot's 19 million votes and 19% of the popular vote.

The Presidency of Bill Clinton

• After taking office, President Clinton tried to create a diverse cabinet with more women and minorities.

  • He had legislative victories in his first term.

  • To balance the budget, he approved a law raising taxes on the wealthy.

  • The Brady Bill mandated federal background checks and five-day waiting periods for gun purchases.

• Bush's North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was ratified by Clinton.

  • The US, Mexico, and Canada eliminated tariffs and other trade obstacles with this deal.

  • Many unions opposed NAFTA because of concern of job losses.

  • To promote the globalization of the American economy, the president proceeded.

  • US healthcare reform was championed by First Lady Hillary Clinton.

  • The American Medical Association and healthcare business heavily lobbied Congress to defeat the bill.

• Other issues plagued Clinton. During his presidential campaign, sexual infidelities were reported.

  • While in Arkansas, the Clintons' finances were again questioned.

  • They were most controversial for their role in failing savings and loan and the "Whitewater" property development transaction.

  • In August 1994, Kenneth Starr was appointed independent counsel to examine the Whitewater controversy.

  • Fifteen persons were convicted of Whitewater crimes, but the Clintons were never accused.

• Congress was taken over by Republicans in 1994.

  • Since 1952, Republicans have controlled the House of Representatives.

  • President Clinton's programs were rejected by the election results.

  • The Contract with America, a conservative legislative program, was supported by incoming House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

  • The president clashed with the Republican legislative majority on tax cuts and government reduction.

  • Clinton's opposition to the 1995–1996 Republican government shutdown elevated him.

• Clinton said that “the age of big government is over” in the current political atmosphere.

  • On several topics, he compromised with Republicans and reverted to his moderate "New Democrat" origins.

• Welfare reform occurred in 1996 with the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act.

  • This act limited social aid, tightened food stamp standards, and allowed states to create "welfare-to-work" programs.

  • The end of "welfare as we know it" was celebrated by supporters.

• After the cold war, American foreign policy needed to change.

  • Like President Bush in 1992, President Clinton was accused of lacking "concentration" in his diplomacy.

• Clinton took over Bush's Somalia humanitarian effort.

  • He enabled American forces in Somalia to target local warlords, and 18 American personnel were murdered in an ambush in Mogadishu in 1993.

  • Clinton withdrew American troops from Somalia and grew wary of peacekeeping missions.

  • He did nothing during Rwanda's 1994 massacre.

  • He sent American soldiers to reinstall Haiti's overthrown president.

  • Clinton joined NATO to combat the Serbian "ethnic cleansing" of Muslims in Bosnia.

• In 1995, Bosnia's peace was negotiated by the Americans.

  • This settlement is enforced by NATO forces, including Americans.

• Clinton's tilt to the middle paid off in the 1998 election.

  • His welfare reform and other conservative policies offered his opponents nothing to run on.

  • He beat Republican Kansas Senator Robert Dole and Reform party candidate Ross Perot, who ran again.

  • Clinton's second term started well when he signed a budget-cutting package.

• Then Kenneth Starr's Whitewater probe took an unexpected turn.

  • Starr uncovered Clinton's romance with White House staffer Monica Lewinsky.

  • Clinton and Lewinsky denied a connection in depositions for a lawsuit filed against the president by Arkansas state employee Paula Jones, who accused him of sexually harassing her.

  • Clinton told the cameras he never had sexual intercourse with Monica Lewinsky, but she had physical proof.

• On December 19, 1998, Clinton was impeached for perjury and obstruction of justice by the Republican House of Representatives.

• On February 12, 1999, the Senate voted on the two articles of impeachment after a trial. Neither obtained enough votes to dismiss the president.

  • Clinton's second term was dominated by the Lewinsky controversy and impeachment.

• Due to economic growth, he was personally popular throughout this time.

  • In 1996, Republicans lost five House seats due to their anti-Clinton fervor.

  • In 2000, scandal weariness may have damaged Democrats.

• 1993's World Trade Center bombing was by Islamic radicals.

  • In 1998, Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda network bombed the American embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, killing hundreds.

• In response, Clinton launched cruise missile attacks on Al Qaeda bases in Afghanistan and Sudan, but they failed to kill Bin Laden.

  • Because Saddam Hussein violated UN mandates and pursued WMDs, Clinton started a limited bombing campaign against Iraq that year.

  • The Iraq Liberation Act of 1998 advocated for "regime change" in Iraq.

  • To avoid another "ethnic cleansing" of Kosovo's Albanians, the US and NATO launched an air war against Serbia in 1999.

  • In 2000, Clinton failed to negotiate a peace accord between Israel and the Palestinians.

The Election of 2000

• After eight years of wealth and controversy, nobody knew what to anticipate as the 2000 election neared.

  • The Democrats selected Vice President Al Gore, a policy wonk but not as popular as Bill Clinton, for continuity.

  • Texas Governor George W. Bush, son of former president George H. W. Bush, was the Republican choice.

  • Ralph Nader, a consumer and environmental activist, campaigned for the Green Party.

• The campaign was lackluster, but election night was one of the tightest in history.

  • Gore won 500,000 more popular votes while losing Tennessee.

  • Bush needed to win Florida, where he led by few hundred votes, to win the Electoral College.

  • As numerous Florida counties started recounting the votes using different criteria, the closeness of the Florida result, where many ballots were incomplete or wrongly filled out, led to a lengthy and complicated sequence of legal battles between the Gore and Bush camps.

• On December 9, 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court halted the recounts in a 5-to-4 ruling.

  • Three days later, on December 12, the Supreme Court by the same margin declared that recounts in selected counties violated equal protection rules, ensuring Bush's win.

  • Bush won Florida by 537 votes, giving him a slim Electoral College victory.

• Early in 2001, news organizations undertook their own recount of the Florida votes and found that Bush would have won the election using the Gore campaign's criterion.

Chapter 30: Threat of Terrorism, Increase of Presidential Power, and Economic Crisis (2001–2016)