Clinton, Bush, & Obama

1. Clinton, Bush, & Obama

2. Bill Clinton • 1946 – Present • 42nd President (1993 – 2001) • Won election despite numerous reports of extramarital affairs and having no national-level political experience • Promised major health-care reform in his campaign, but was unable to gain approval from a Republican controlled Congress

3. The Internet • During the mid-1990s, localized computer networks began to become interconnected as part of the “World Wide Web,” forever changing how we communicate • Between 1997 and 2000, internet use soared 300% • The internet also sparked a boom in “dot.com” companies, briefly driving economic prosperity in the late 1990s

4. The Deficit and Taxes • Clinton had campaigned on a platform of economic recovery through reduction of the federal deficit • To do this, he was forced to increase taxes on the middle-class and on fuels

5. Health Care Failure • Clinton had also promised health care reform to provide health insurance to the 40 million Americans without it • Clinton lacked enough political support in Congress for his reforms and was not able to fulfill this campaign promise

6. Family Medical Leave Act • Bill passed in 1993 • Provides workers up to 12 weeks per year of unpaid family leave for the birth or adoption of a child, or for dealing with a serious illness of themselves or a close family member

7. AmeriCorps • Created in 1993 to put people to work improving low-income housing, tutoring students in reading, or in cleaning up the environment • While in AmeriCorps, you earn a small salary and scholarship money for continuing your education • Expanded by Pres. Bush • Over 500,000 Americans have participated in the program

8. Crime & Gun Control • Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993: requires federal background check before the purchase of a handgun, disallows handgun ownership for convicted felons, illegal aliens, the mentally ill, drug addicts, and domestic abusers • Clinton also won funding for building new prisons and putting over 100,000 more police officers on the streets

9. Gingrich’s Contract With America • Rep. Newt Gingrich of Georgia, a Republican, put forward a plan in 1994 calling for lower taxes, welfare reform, tougher anti-crime laws, term limits, and a balanced budget amendment, which resulted in Republicans winning control of Congress and Gingrich becoming Speaker of the House • Democratic president + Republican Congress = stalemate for two years until the two sides learned to work together in 1996

10. Balancing the Budget • Clinton allowed the federal government to shut down in 1995 rather than accept a Republican-backed budget which cut into social program spending • Eventually the two sides compromised and produced a balanced budget bill that was acceptable to all parties

11. Welfare Reform Act • Passed in 1996 • Limited recipients to no more than 2 consecutive years on welfare and no more than 5 years total • Required those receiving welfare to work • Gave tax breaks to any company hiring a person on welfare

12. 1996 Election • Democrats nominated Clinton for a 2nd term • Republicans nominated Sen. Bob Dole of Kansas • Billionaire H. Ross Perot ran once again as an independent • Clinton won, but in a fairly close race

14. Budget Surplus • As the economy recovered, so did federal tax collections, leading to a federal budget surplus – the government actually took in more in taxes than it spent from 1997 to 2002

16. Children’s Programs • Banned tobacco advertising aimed at children or teenagers • Children’s Health Insurance Program: provides health insurance for children whose families can not afford it • Expanded federal loans for college tuition • Expanded funding for Head Start

17. Scandals • Travelgate: scandal over the questionable dismissal of White House Travel Office staff • Troopergate: scandal over Clinton’s use of state troopers to cover-up his extramarital affairs while Governor of Arkansas • Whitewater: scandal over Clinton’s alleged arranging of illegal loans to a real estate developer while Governor

18. The Monica Lewinsky Scandal • In 1998, Clinton was accused of having an affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky • When questioned under oath, Clinton lied about his relationship, committing the crime of perjury • Clinton later admitted to the affair and apologized

19. Impeachment • In Dec. 1998, Clinton became only the second president to be impeached • The House of Representatives passed articles of impeachment for perjury and obstruction of justice related to the Lewinsky scandal • In Feb. 1999, Clinton was acquitted by the Senate in a narrow vote

20. Somalia • Battle of Mogadishu: Oct. 3-4, 1993 • US forces on a peace-keeping mission in Somalia were ambushed while attempting to rescue the crews of two helicopters which had been shot down • 19 Americans were killed and 73 wounded • Popularized in the movie Black Hawk Down • US forces left Somalia

21. Haiti • After a military coup overthrew the democratically elected government of Haiti, the UN put a trade embargo in place • To end the violence in Haiti, Clinton ordered US troops to invade and restore order, but Haiti’s new rulers were convinced to step down by former Pres. Carter before the invasion took place • US troops still took up position in Haiti for many weeks to ensure a peaceful transition

22. Bosnia • Civil war between Orthodox Christian Serbs, Catholic Croatians, and Bosnian Muslims broke out between 1991 and 1995 • US-led NATO forces were used to end the fighting and to enforce the 1996 Dayton Accords peace plan

23. Kosovo • Civil war broke out in 1998 between Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo • Again, US-led NATO forces were used to bring an end to the fighting and to enforce a peace plan

24. Middle Eastern Peace? • Clinton orchestrated an agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) in which the two sides agreed to negotiate over Palestinian rights in Israel • Unfortunately, no lasting peace agreement was ever struck

25. NAFTA • North American Free Trade Agreement • Passed in 1994 • Canada, Mexico, and the US joined into a “free trade zone” • Increased US trade with its neighbors, but shifted many manufacturing jobs to Mexico while the US became a service and technology based economy

26. European Union • Formed in 1993 • Created to promote economic and political cooperation amongst European states • Members share a common currency (the Euro) • Weakened US political and economic influence in Europe, as EU members began to cut back on US imports

27. Kyoto Protocol • International environmental conference, held in Japan in 1997 • 38 nations plus the EU agreed to reduce greenhouse emissions, but the US never approved the plan and pulled out of the talks in 2001

28. Oklahoma City Bombing • April 19, 1995 • Terror attack carried out by American Timothy McVeigh, an anti-government militiaman • Truck bomb detonated in front of the federal building, killing 168 • McVeigh was later executed for his role in the attack

29. Terror Attacks • World Trade Center bombing: Feb. 26, 1993, Islamic terrorists detonated a truck bomb under the WTC in an attempt to bring down the North Tower, killing 6 and injuring over 1000 • US Embassy bombings: US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were attacked by terror bombers in Aug. 1998 • USS Cole: US warship which was attacked in Oct. 2000 by al Qaeda suicide bomber, killing 17

31. Election of 2000 • Democrats nominated Vice-President Al Gore • Republicans nominated Texas Governor George W. Bush • Environmentalist and reformer Ralph Nader ran as an independent

32. Controversy • In one of the closest elections in US history, Bush won by only 6 electoral votes, thanks largely to his victory in Florida • The votes in Florida were so close that a recount was called, but due to problems with the ballots, recounting was difficult and required too much interpretation of voter intent

33. Bush v Gore • When Bush was declared the winner in Florida, Gore sued • The US Supreme Court was forced to rule on the validity of the election results and found that a hand recount of ballots, requiring interpretation of voter intent, was unfair, thereby allowing the election results to stand

34. George W. Bush • 1946 – Present • 43rd President (2001 -09) • Former Governor of Texas • Son of President George H.W. Bush • Former part-owner of the MLB’s Texas Rangers • Only US President to have an MBA

35. 9/11 • Sept. 11, 2001 • Terrorists seized control of 4 airliners, crashing 2 into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, 1 into the Pentagon, and 1 into a field in Pennsylvania, killing nearly 3000 Americans, more than died at Pearl Harbor or on D-Day

36. Reasons for Attacks • Al Qaeda cited increased Western influence in the Muslim world, the presence of US military bases in Saudi Arabia, US sanctions against Iraq, and the US’ support for Israel as reasons for the attacks

37. Osama bin Laden • 1957 – 2012 • Billionaire member of a high-ranking Saudi family • Reported leader of al Qaeda terrorist group • Believed to have orchestrated or been involved with multiple attacks, including the USS Cole bombing, US embassy bombings, and attacks in London and Madrid in Europe

38. The War on Terror • After the 9/11 attacks, Bush declared a “War on Terror” aimed at destroying terrorist organizations anywhere in the world and stated that any nation which did not support the US in this effort would be viewed as hostile to our interests • Bush also vowed to engage in “preventive war” against nations which actively support terror groups

39. Dept. of Homeland Security • Created in 2002 to coordinate all federal agencies in the fight against terrorism • Oversees the Border Patrol, Coast Guard, Customs, Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), Transportation Security Agency (TSA), and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

40. The Patriot Act • Passed in Oct. 2001 • Allowed secret searches in terror cases • Allowed wire-tapping, tracking of voicemail and e-mail • Criticized by many as a violation of 4th Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure

41. Afghanistan & the Taliban • Oct. 2001 – Present • US began campaign against Taliban forces in Afghanistan due to their support of al Qaeda operations • By Dec. 2001, Taliban had been ousted from leadership in the Afghan government, but continued to mount a resistance campaign • Over 1400 US soldiers have died in the campaign

42. The Axis of Evil • Bush also focused US attention on North Korea, Iran, and Iraq as major threats to world peace and to US security • He collectively called these states an “axis of evil” in a speech in early 2002

43. Iraq & WMDs • Iraq was identified by the Bush administration as the greatest threat due to suspicions that they possesses chemical, biological, and possibly nuclear “weapons of mass destruction” (WMD)

44. Invading Iraq • March 20, 1993 – Present • After UN sanctions failed to satisfy US suspicions of Iraqi possession of WMDs, Bush authorized invasion • US quickly toppled Saddam Hussein’s government, but no WMDs were ever found • Over 4500 US soldiers have died in Iraq since

45. No Child Left Behind Act • Passed in 2001 • Required states to begin using standardized testing in schools to measure improvements in education • States which do not use testing or which do not meet growth levels set out by the federal government lose federal funding for education • Allows parents to move their children to another school if the school they are in does not meet standards for growth

46. 2004 Election • Republicans nominated Bush for a 2nd term • Democrats nominated Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts • Bush won by a narrow margin, largely due to support for his handling of the 9/11 attacks

47. Hurricane Katrina • August 2005 • Killed over 1800 along the Gulf coast, heavily damaged city of New Orleans • Bush endured harsh criticism, including charges of racism, over the slow federal response to the disaster

48. The Great Recession • As federal deficits climbed in the mid-2000s, the US economy became unstable • Over-extension of credit led to a collapse in the housing market • Sharp declines in consumer spending led to business failures and a sharp rise in unemployment

49. 2008 Election • Republicans nominated Sen. John McCain of Arizona for President and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin for Vice President, only the 2nd woman to ever appear on a presidential ticket • Democrats nominated Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, the first black candidate for president in US history

50. Barack Obama • 1961 – Present • 44th President (2009 – Present) • First president from Hawai’I • Won 2008 election by a wide margin, winning over 10 million more popular votes and nearly 100 more electoral votes than his opponent