President Clinton was the first Democratic president to serve two terms since Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and the first president since Roosevelt to have not served in the military.
The Clinton administration focused mainly on the economy —specifically on raising taxes on the wealthiest 1.2%, reducing welfare, lowering taxes on low income families, offering tax breaks to small businesses, and promoting free trade.
During the Clinton years, the economy experienced its longest economic growth in history. During the last four years of the Clinton administration, the federal budget had surpluses for the first time since 1969.
Clinton took office fewer than two years after the fall of the Soviet Union, and the administration’s foreign policy addressed conflicts in Somalia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Haiti, through militarism and economic exploitation.
The Clinton presidency saw the passage and signing of the Iraq Liberation Act of 1998, which was a bipartisan measure expressing support for regime change in Iraq.
Clinton considered himself a “New Democrat” and was a founding member of the Democratic Leadership Council, a centrist group of Democrats who promoted moderate policies.
Clinton left office with the highest end of office approval rating of any president since World War II, but he was also the first U.S. president to be impeached since Andrew Johnson.
Explanation:
Democratic Leadership Council: A non-profit 501(c)(4) corporation founded in 1985 that, upon its formation, argued the United States Democratic Party should shift away from the leftward turn it took in the late 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. The corporation hails President Bill Clinton as proof of the viability of third way politicians.
NAFTA: An agreement signed by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America. As of 2010, the trade bloc was the largest in the world, in terms of the combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of its members.
Iraq Liberation Act of 1998: A United States Congressional statement of policy calling for regime change in Iraq. It was signed into law by President Bill Clinton and states that it is the policy of the United States to support democratic movements within Iraq. It was cited in October 2002 to argue for the authorization of military force against the Iraqi government.
