William
J. Clinton, at 46 the youngest man elected President since
John F. Kennedy, came to the White House pledging to end the
era of drift and deadlock and begin a new season of American
renewal. In an address before Congress on the 29th day of his
Presidency, he outlined a bold strategy to lift the economy
through increased public and private investment while cutting
$500 billion from the Federal deficit.
The next
day he began promoting his "new direction" to the
people through television appearances and rallies, thus
by-passing entrenched special interests in Washington. The
tactic was a reprise of his successful campaign, using modern
communications to brush aside Democratic challengers and best
a Republican incumbent.
President
Clinton was born William Jefferson Blythe IV on August 19,
1946, in Hope, Arkansas, three months after his father died in
a traffic accident. When he was four years old, his mother wed
Roger Clinton of Hot Springs, Arkansas. In high school young
William took the family name.
He
excelled as a student and as a saxophone player. Frequently
during his political career he has delighted listeners with an
impromptu session on the sax. As a delegate to Boys Nation
while in high school, he met President Kennedy in the White
House Rose Garden. The encounter inspired him to enter a life
of public service.
Clinton
attended Georgetown University and in 1968 received a
bachelor's degree in foreign service. A Rhodes Scholar, he
studied at Oxford University for two years. He received a law
degree from Yale University in 1973, then returned to Arkansas
to teach law at the University of Arkansas and to prepare to
enter politics.
He was
defeated in his campaign for Congress in Arkansas' Third
District in 1974. The next year he married Hillary Rodham, a
Wellesley College graduate. He had met her while they both
were studying law at Yale. Their marriage formed a strong
personal and political partnership of talented equals that
would give added dimension to the Clinton Presidency. It also
expanded the Clintons' household; in 1980, their daughter,
Chelsea, was born.
Clinton
was elected Arkansas attorney general in 1976, then went on to
win the governorship in 1978. He lost in his try for a second
term,. but he regained the office four years later and served
as governor until 1992. That year Clinton defeated George Bush
and third-party candidate Ross Perot for the Presidency.
Clinton
and his running mate, Tennessee's Senator Albert Gore, Jr.,
then 44, represented a new generation in American political
leadership. For the first time in 12 years both the White
House and Congress were held by the same party.
In
domestic affairs, Clinton signed into law measures to
revitalize the economy and renew the American community. To
boost living standards and create jobs, he won Congressional
approval of a massive deficit reduction plan, a
barrier-breaking trade agreement with Mexico, aid to Russia,
and tax cuts for small businesses and the working poor. He
also signed the Brady Bill, which required a waiting period
for gun purchases.
Other
initiatives included the national service law to put Americans
to work restoring their communities; the Family and Medical
Leave Act to protect the jobs of parents who must care for
sick children; reform of public education with the adoption of
his GOALS 2000 bill; a new national health care plan and
welfare reform; and a get-tough program against crime and
violence.
The
recovering U. S. economy and a tour of Europe ending in a
Moscow summit buoyed Clinton's leadership at the end of his
first year. In his 1994 State of the Union Address he declared
that the Nation "is growing stronger, but it must be
stronger still."
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Bill
Clinton