Clinton-Gore administration

Overview

Bill Clinton was President of the United States for two terms, from 1993 to 2001.

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Numbers

• Won the 1992 presidential election against George H.W. Bush (R) and H. Ross Perot (I), 1992-11-03, winning the electoral college vote by a wide margin despite having only 43% of the popular vote, which was nonetheless the largest portion due to the substantial three-way split.
• Assumed office in 1993 (date?)

Positive Points

• Balanced the budget
• The 1994 Balkan Intervention restored peace to the Balkans
  • ...which has lasted to this day
  • ...and generated much good will towards the U.S. [1]
• The Political Battle over Modernity part V (David Brin) highlights many of Clinton's stronger points, and starkly contrasts his administration with GWB's
• "a government so well run that JD Powers gave Gore a special award for efficiency, increasing productivity while reducing the non defense payroll for the 1st time in 80 years... reducing secrecy for the first time in 50... the first administration (despite GOP bluster) to have ZERO officials indicted for actual malfeasance in the execution of their public duties" [2]
• Made contingency plans which later became the 2001 Invasion of Afghanistan
• The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993
• The wikipedia:Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act

Negative Points

• During election primaries, was accused of having an extramarital affair with Gennifer Flowers during his time as Governor of Arkansas; Clinton later admitted to this.
• During his first term, had an extramarital affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Clinton at first lied repeatedly about this affair; later, when presented with damning evidence, he apologetically admitted to it.
• During his first term, was accused of having an extramarital affair with Paula Jones during his time as Governor. The case was settled out of court; Clinton was later (1999) found in contempt of court for having given misleading testimony in the Jones case.

Debatable Points

• The "don't ask, don't tell" policy on homosexuality in the military
• The North American Free Trade Agreement between the United States, Canada, and Mexico
• The Clintons were involved in a questionable real-estate deal prior to Clinton's presidency; this fact became the subject of an investigation and scandal. The Clintons were cleared of any wrongdoing, despite intensive scrutiny.

Criticism

• commentary at the Asheville Global Report criticizes Clinton's handling of Iraq during the later years of his administration

To be researched

• Is this article related to what the Globalist article is about, or what? Is the 1994 article even substantially accurate? Need a clearer understanding of what happened in the Balkans and what Clinton's role (and the U.S.'s role) actually was.

References

• 2005-10-12 The Latest Data: Percentage Changes in Real Discretionary Spending for LBJ, Nixon, Reagan, Clinton, and Bush