Clinton, William Jefferson

▪ 1994

      On Jan. 20, 1993, Bill Clinton was inaugurated as the 42nd president of the United States and became the first Democrat to inhabit the White House in 12 years. Having campaigned as the candidate for change, he faced high expectations from his party and the nation as well. However, in his first year as president, Bill Clinton wound up with a mixed bag of failures and successes.

      Even before he was sworn in, Clinton ran into a snag when it was revealed that Zoë Baird, his nominee for attorney general, had employed an illegal immigrant couple as domestic help and failed to pay the required taxes. Less than one month after announcing the nomination, he withdrew Baird's name. Later, after a severe backlash in reaction to his effort to uphold a campaign pledge to end the ban on homosexuals in the military, Clinton wound up with a compromise policy of "don't ask, don't tell, don't pursue." However, amid these and other early setbacks, Clinton was generally praised for choosing his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton (q.v.), to head the commission on national health-care reform. He was again hailed for the passage of the family-leave bill. His appointment of Ruth Bader Ginsburg (q.v.) to the Supreme Court also met with a favourable response.

      Delivering on another campaign promise—deficit reduction—proved to be tougher. Clinton submitted his budget to Congress calling for a nearly $500 billion reduction of the national debt over five years. Although the bill had been altered somewhat from Clinton's original to ensure passage, it passed the House of Representatives by only two votes and cleared the Senate by a tiebreaking vote cast by Vice Pres. Al Gore. The president later stated that it was "just the first step in our attempts to assert control over our financial affairs, to invest in our future." Toward that end Congress passed legislation in November to implement the North American Free Trade Agreement, which Clinton signed in December. He also lobbied successfully for passage of gun-control legislation, the so-called Brady bill.

      Trouble spots throughout the world threatened Clinton's concentration on domestic affairs. U.S. troops were still in Somalia—where about 30 Americans had already been killed—but Clinton set a March 1994 deadline for their return. A diplomatic settlement proved elusive in Haiti, and a proposal to send troops to Bosnia and Herzegovina was still being discussed.

      Clinton was born William Jefferson Blythe III on Aug. 19, 1946, in Hope, Ark. His father died before he was born, and he was raised by his mother and stepfather, Roger Clinton, whose last name he took at age 15. Having served five terms as governor of Arkansas, he announced his candidacy for president on Oct. 3, 1991, and subsequently defeated Pres. George Bush in the general election in November 1992.

      (ANTHONY L. GREEN)

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