The 1990s

I. 1992 election

     A. George H.W. Bush - popular from Persian Gulf War success, but... 

     B. Bill Clinton - (1) Bush is UNpopular b/c of economic slump and (2) 3rd party candidate Ross Perot runs on cut-the-debt platform (he gets 19% of the vote); Clinton wins

II. Clinton's plans

     A. health care overhaul - this fails due to: extremely complicated system, who will pay for it?

     B. welfare reform - Clinton is a "Moderate Democrat"

         LIBERAL (Democrats)-------------Moderates-------------CONSERVATIVES (Republicans)

          Clinton cuts back on "lifetime welfare"

     C. Great news - the budget is balanced! See graphs.

     D. Not-so-great news - foreign affairs

          1. Yugoslavia quagmire - US sends troops to help UN effort

          2. Somalia quagmire - US sends troops to try to stabilize things

          3. Terrorism - Clinton didn't do much or anything; might've missed the "writing on the wall"