On 19 August 1946, Bill Clinton, the future 42nd president of the United States, was born in Hope, Arkansas. His name would be associated with numerous achievements and just as many scandals. His record included serving as Attorney General and Secretary of State of Arkansas, and then as Governor of Arkansas. He holds the record of becoming the youngest governor in US history: he was 32 years old when he was sworn in.
On 3 October 1991, the 45-year-old Clinton announced that he was going to challenge George W. Bush for the presidency, eventually winning by a landslide (370 electoral votes to 168) in the November 1992 elections. The Clinton campaign slogan would be the phrase: “It's the economy, stupid!”, which was often used to attack the Bush campaign. This slogan would bring him success amid economic uncertainty following twelve years of Republican rule. Clinton would manage to close the US budget deficit, something that seemed impossible under Bush. His second term would be economically successful: inflation and unemployment would be minimal, and growth would be rapid.
In foreign policy, Clinton would initially establish good relations with most of the countries that had emerged from the former Soviet Union. However, in 1995, Clinton and his administration pressured NATO to use military force in Europe for the first time in the post-war years against an independent state, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. On the one hand, it would indeed end the nearly four-year war in Bosnia, but on the other, it would set a dangerous precedent for Europe. As early as March 1999, at the behest of Clinton, NATO would bomb Belgrade in the absence of a UN mandate. Support would be provided to forces arguably more dubious than the Yugoslav leaders. The operation was often described as an attempt to distract the attention of the US population from “Monicagate”, the sex scandal that nearly cost Clinton his presidency. The enlargement of NATO in 1999 would greatly complicate US and Western relations with Russia in general.
Source:
Michael Waldman, “POTUS Speaks: Finding the Words that Defined the Clinton Presidency”, New York: Simon and Schuster, 2000
