Clinton and Bush

1. “You know, everybody makes mistakes when they are president.” “America will never seek a permission slip to defend the security of our people.” Clinton and Bush

2. Clinton in Office • Defeated Bush Sr. by being a New Democrat (moderate) • Al Gore was his Vice President • Passed the Family Medical Leave Act giving full time employees 12 unpaid weeks to recover from illness, childbirth or help a family member heal • Created a budget surplus • Reformed welfare • Failed to get a bill passed for universal healthcare • Oklahoma City bombed by domestic terrorists • Columbine High School shootings

3. The Fall of Clinton • Beat out conservatives to win re-election • Clinton’s opposition came from Republican Newt Gingrich • Balanced the budget and reduced the deficit…economy was back on track • Impeachment: Clinton was accused of having an affair with White House intern, Monica Lewinsky, but was not removed from office

4. Clinton and Foreign Policy • America joined the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to remove trade restrictions between Canada, US and Mexico • Helped provide food for famine and support to war torn Somalia • Helped bring about an end to ethnic cleansing in Kosovo • Clinton tried to get Israel and Palestine under Yasir Arafat to sign peace agreement…unsuccessful

5. Election of 2000 • Bush beats Al Gore and Joe Lieberman (first Jew) in a highly contested election in which Florida recounted their ballots because the race was so close…in the end the Supreme Court decided the race in Bush vs. Gore • Cut taxes • Passed No Child Left Behind that held schools accountable and penalized those that did not reach standards and improved teacher quality • Extended Medicare to cover prescription drugs for senior citizens

6. Al-Qaeda • Al-Qaeda’s goal was to end American involvement in Muslim countries • led by Osama bin Laden exploded a bomb under the World Trade Center in 1993 • Militant group responsible for many terrorist attacks directed toward Americans • America learns that the fight against terrorism will not be easy

7. America Under Attack • First time since Pearl Harbor • September 11, 2001: terrorists hijacked planes, flew them into the World Trade Center and Pentagon • America rallied together just has it had done after Pearl Harbor

8. The War on Terror • Al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden were behind attacks …hiding in Afghanistan under the Taliban which allowed for them to train terrorists…US invades Afghanistan and overthrew Taliban in 3 months…bin Laden escaped

9. Improving Security • Efforts were made to prevent further attacks • Patriot Act allows law enforcement to monitor suspected terrorists • Department of Homeland Security: addition to president’s cabinet that would coordinate domestic security matters • Heightened airport security led to restrictions on liquids and electronic devices • Bush Doctrine: Bush’s foreign policy that promoted aggression to secure America from terrorists attacks, deals with preemptive strikes (perceived and inevitable threats to America)

10. The War in Iraq • Bush suspected that Saddam Hussein was stockpiling weapons of mass destruction in Iraq • Bush believed that Iraq, along with Iran and North Korea were “axis if evil” that threatened America and the world • Congress allowed Bush to use military force in Iraq in Operation Iraqi Freedom…Baghdad fell and Hussein was later captured