Bush's Presidency: Accomplishments and Challenges

1. 32 To the Twenty-First Century: 1989–2006

2. The First President Bush • Elected because of association with Reagan as Vice-President • Main accomplishments were in foreign affairs

3. Republicans at Home • Americans with Disabilities Act only real expansion of domestic policy • Collapsing Savings and Loan industry restructured and bailed out by government • Budget deficits soared • High expenses like Savings and Loan bailout • Economic recession increased deficit

4. Republicans at Home • Bush’s deficit reduction • Raised taxes, broke “no new taxes” campaign promise • Cut military expenditures • Didn’t work, national debt went to $1 trillion by end of Bush presidency

5. The Election of 1988

6. Ending the Cold War • June, 1989: Tiananmen Square • Bush publicly critical, privately sought to maintain relations • Fall 1989: Communism collapsed in Eastern Europe • Solidarity government replaced Communists in Poland • Berlin Wall torn down

7. Ending the Cold War • 1991–1992: U.S.S.R. dissolved, Communist Party outlawed in Russian Republic • Cautious, but encouraging response by Bush

8. The End of the Cold War

9. The Gulf War • Iraq occupied Kuwait in August 1990 • In Operation Desert Shield, U.S. forces protected Saudi Arabia, prepared for war with Iraq • Bush built international coalition supportive of repealing aggression, but not necessarily of removing Saddam Hussein

10. The Gulf War • January 1991: With Congressional and UN support, Operation Desert Storm launched as a military operation to drive Iraq from Kuwait • Operation successful in short-term, but failure to remove Saddam Hussein led to future problems

11. The Changing Faces of America • Migration South and West • Immigration from developing nations

12. A People on the Move • By the 1990s, the majority of Americans lived in the South and West • Started with defense industry jobs in WWII • Climate keeps it • 1994: Texas replaced New York as second most populous state

13. A People on the Move • Migration of elderly to the Sunbelt increased region’s political clout • Country’s population became more urban and elderly

14. The Revival of Immigration • Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965 stimulated immigration • By 2005, 30 million legal immigrants, 12% of U.S. population • Half from Latin America • One quarter from Asia

15. The Revival of Immigration • Critics charged that immigrants took more in social services than they contributed and they will always be permanent underclass

16. Emerging Hispanics • 2002: Hispanics became the largest ethnic group • Population spread out geographically • Younger, poorer, less educated • Undocumented aliens blamed for social problems, especially in southwest

17. Emerging Hispanics • 1986: Amnesty program offered to deal those problems • Despite security measures after September 11, 2001 attacks, number of undocumented aliens went up

18. Advance and Retreatfor African Americans • 2002: Blacks second largest ethnic minority • Black middle class gains in business, education • Disproportionately high number of blacks in poverty

19. Advance and Retreatfor African Americans • Two events dramatize the effect of black poverty • 1992: Rodney King beating and Los Angeles riots • Chaos of Hurricane Katrina and suffering of black community of New Orleans

20. Americans from Asia and the Middle East • Asian Americans fastest growing minority in the 1990s • Recent origins: China, the Philippines, Japan, India, Korea, and Vietnam • Many Asian Americans well-educated, well-off

21. Americans from Asia and the Middle East • Middle Eastern American population also grew rapidly from 1970 to 2000 • Middle Eastern immigrants felt suspicion of their communities after 9/11 attacks

22. Assimilation or Diversity? • Melting pot ideal waning • Metaphors of mosaic enduring differences, existing in harmony, on the rise • Census Bureau’s ethnic categories incomplete and confusing • Added multiracial categories in 2000

23. The New Democrats • Democrats moved away from liberal reliance on big government • Bill Clinton promised a moderate Democratic agenda

24. The Election of 1992 • Bush’s weaknesses: • Increasing deficit • Economic recession • Democrat Clinton runs on promise to revitalize economy • Independent Perot runs on promise to cut the deficit

26. Clinton and Congress • Tax increases and budget cuts reduced the deficit • 1993: Democrats split over NAFTA • Clinton argued free trade would create jobs • Labor fears cheap labor in Latin America

27. Clinton and Congress • Republican “Contract with America” shifted election from personalities to national ideology • Clinton scandals erode support for Democrats • 1994: Republicans won both houses of Congress

28. Clinton and Congress • Republicans claimed mandate to complete Reagan agenda of tax cuts and reduce role of government • Welfare reform and minimum wage increase occurred, but Congress and Clinton deadlock on other issues

29. Clinton and Congress • Government shutdown and GOP rhetoric allowed Clinton to blame Republicans for deadlock • Showdown helps him win re-election in 1996

31. Scandal in the White House • The occasion—President involved in sexual relationship with intern Monica Lewinsky • Clinton initially maintained innocence before public and grand jury • Undeniable evidence exposed president’s false denials

32. Scandal in the White House • Special prosecutor reported 11 possible impeachable charges to Congress • Public viewed episode as a private matter • House Republicans ignored that and proceed with impeachment in 1999 • Senate refused to convict him

33. Clinton and the World • Clinton gave top priority to domestic issues • Clinton emphasized economics rather than geopolitics in world affairs • Foreign policy drifted for Clinton as for Bush

34. Old Rivals in New Light • Supported and gave aid to Russian leaders despite brutal war in Chechnya • Clinton convinced former Soviet Republics with nuclear weapons to give them up

35. Old Rivals in New Light • “Constructive engagement” with China, especially renewals of Most Favored Nation status with China, increased Chinese share of U.S. market • China defied Clinton on arms sales, threatened Taiwan, and continued political repression

36. To Intervene or Not? • Somalia • Problems inherited from Bush Administration • Clinton shifted from humanitarian to vague nation-building mission • Mission ended in fiasco

37. To Intervene or Not? • Haiti • Clinton forced Haitian military rulers to abdicate • 1994: U.S. troops land unopposed • Civilian leaders unable to restore democracy, economy

38. The Balkan Wars: Bosnia • 1991: Yugoslavia broken up • Conflict erupted in ethnically-divided Bosnia • Bosnian Serbs engaged in “ethnic cleansing”

39. The Balkan Wars: Bosnia • NATO bombing, Bosnian and Croatian offensives led to cease fire • 1995: Dayton Peace Accord divided Bosnia into Muslim-Croatian, Serbian enclaves

40. The Balkan Wars: Kosovo • Serb leader Milosevic ended autonomy of Kosovo, sparked guerilla war and Serb crackdown • NATO and others engaged in bombing campaign to force Serbs to stop

41. The Balkan Wars: Kosovo • Eventually air campaign worked and Serbs withdrew, NATO peacekeepers moved in • Response to Balkan crises showed limitations of American power in post-Cold War world

42. Breakup of Yugoslavia,Civil War in Bosnia

43. Republicans Triumphant • Democrats were optimistic in 2000 because of booming economy and no security threats • 2000 election turned out to be a big disappointment to Democrats

44. The Disputed Election of 2000 • Dominant trends of election year 2000 • Economic boom favors Democrats • Disappointment with Clinton’s failings favored Republicans

45. The Disputed Election of 2000 • The Candidates • Republican George W. Bush called for limiting government and relying on the market • Democrat Al Gore called for expanded federal role in education and health care • Green Party candidate pushed Gore left

46. The Disputed Election of 2000 • Extremely close race ended up hanging on disputed Florida vote • Gore led in popular vote (eventually 200,000) and Electoral College (267) • Florida’s 25 electoral votes would bring Bush’s total to 271

47. The Disputed Election of 2000 • Gore called for recount of Florida vote • December 12, 2000: U.S. Supreme Court ended recount efforts with ruling in Bush’s favor

49. George W. Bush at Home • Bush made tax cuts priority, even over Clinton priority of cutting deficits • Economic slowdown as high-tech bubble burst • No Child Left Behind Act required states to give annual performance tests to schools

50. George W. Bush at Home • Economy rocked by recession and a series of corporate scandals involving Enron, WorldCom, and Tyco