- 1993-2001 - Democrat.- No one seized more effectively on the widespread sense of unease in the US during the 1992 election than him.- Combined social liberalism (abortion rights, gay rights, and affirmative action) with elements of conservatism (government reduction, and and end to welfare).- A charismatic campaigner.- In his first 2 years in office he turned away from some of the social and economic policies of Reagan and Bush.- Appointed many black women to his cabinet - Janet Reno, the first female attorney general.- Named 2 supporters of abortion rights to the Supreme Court - Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer.- Instituted "Don't ask, don't tell" into the military.- His first budget raised taxes on the wealthy- Significantly expanded the EITC (cash payment for low income workers) which became the most effective anti-poverty policy since the Great Society and raised 4 million Americans (many of them children) above the poverty line during his presidency.- Passed NAFTA despite opposition from the public.- A major policy initiative of his first term was a plan devised by a panel headed by his wife, Hilary called the Clinton plan - attempted to address the rising cost of healthcare and the increasing number of Americans who lacked health insurance - failed in 1994 (too complex for many voters to understand and vulnerable to criticism for further expanding the government).- With his first 2 years in office seemingly lacking significant accomplishments voters turned against him in 1994 = the first Republican Congress since the 1950s.- Like Truman he rebuilt his popularity by campaigning against a radical Congress.- He opposed the most extreme parts of his opponents' programs, while adopting others.- In his state of the union address in 1996 he declared the era of big government to be over truing back on the tradition of Democratic Party liberalism and embracing the antigovernment outlook associated with Republicans.- In 1996, ignoring his own party's protests, he signed into law a Republican bill that abolished the AFDC (welfare) and replaced it with grants of money to the states with strict limitations on how recipients could receive payments - poverty numbers stayed the same.- Had succeeded in one of his primary goals by the late 1990s - ending welfare causing it to disappear from political debate.- His strategy enabled him to neutralize Republican claims that Democrats were the party of high taxes and lavish spending on persons who preferred dependency to honest labor.- His passion for free trade alienated many working class Democrats but convinced much of the middle class that his party was not bound to unions.- He easily defeated Bob Deal in the 1996 election becoming the first Democrat to be elected to 2 terms since FDR.- His accomplishment for Reaganism was what Eisenhower had done for the New Deal and Nixon for the Great Society - consolidated a basic shift in American politics by accepting his opponents' views. `- Like Carter his primary political focus was domestic, not international affairs, but with the US now the world's dominant power he took steps to encourage the settlement of long standing International conflict and elevate support for human rights.- Strongly supported the Oslo Accords but they failed.- Brought Israel and Palestine leaders to Camp David towards the end of his presidency to try to work out a final peace treaty but failed and violence soon resumed.- Like Carter, Clinton found it difficult to balance concern for human rights with strategic and economic interests and to formulate clear guidelines for humanitarian intervention overseas.- Ex: US did nothing after the Rwandan genocide.- The most complex foreign policy crisis of his presidency was the Balkan crisis.- During his presidency, human rights played an increasingly important role in International affairs.- Ex: the US dispatched the military to distant parts of the world to assist in international missions to protect civilians.- Spoke of an American mission to create a single global free market as the path to rising living standards, the spread of democracy, and greater worldwide freedom.- Left behind massive budget deficits and worked hard to balance the federal budget though it was a conservative policy.- Since economic growth produced rising tax revenues, during his second term he not only balanced the federal budget but actually produced budget surpluses.- Repealed the Glass-Steagall Act.- The retreat of government economic regulation, embraced by him, left no one to represent the public interest.- The unusual party tensions of the 1990s seemed ironic considering he had moved toward the political center.- Republicans strongly disliked him because he symbolized everything conservatives hated about 1960s culture - prevailed.- Ex: smoked weed and participated in antiwar protests as a student.- Ex: married to a feminist and made it a point of leading a multicultural administration supporting gay rights.- His popularity puzzled and frustrated conservatives - reinforced their idea that something was off in American society.- His political opponents and the scandal-hungry media stood ready to pounce - he provided the ammunition.- In 1998 it became known that he carried on an affair with Monica Lewinsky (a White House intern).- Kenneth Starr threw himself in his investigation issuing a lengthy report containing almost pornographic details of his sexual acts with Lewinsky and accused him a lying under oath when he denied it.- In 1998 the Republican-controlled House of Reps voted to impeach him for perjury and obstruction of justice - 2nd president tried.- In 1999, the vote to remove him from office took place and much less than the 2/3 necessary to convict him.- His impeachment had to do with what most Americans considered a just a childish fling - did not compare to the reasons presidents had been impeached, or almost impeached, in the past.- Polls suggested that the obsession of Starr and member of Congress with his sexual acts appalled Americans far more than the presidents irresponsible behavior.- His continued popularity throughout the impeachment controversy demonstrated how profoundly traditional attitudes towards sexual morality had changed.- Had he been eligible to run for reelection in 2000, he probably would have still won.