GEORGE
BUSH . 1989-1993
George Bush
brought to the White House a dedication to traditional
American values and a determination to make the United
States "a kinder and gentler nation." In his inaugural
address he pledged to use American strength as "a force
for good."
George Herbert
Walker Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, on June
12, 1924. He became a student leader at Phillips Academy
in Andover, and on his 18th birthday he enlisted in
the armed forces. The youngest pilot in the navy when
he received his wings, he flew 58 combat missions during
World War II. While on a mission over the Pacific as
a torpedo bomber pilot his plane was shot down by Japanese
antiaircraft fire. He was awarded the Distinguished
Flying Cross for bravery in action.
Bush returned
from the war and went to Yale University, where he was
captain of the baseball team and a member of Phi Beta
Kappa. After graduation Bush embarked on a career in
the oil industry of West Texas. He became interested
in public service and politics and served two terms
as a representative to Congress from Texas. Twice he
ran unsuccessfully for the Senate. Then he was appointed
to a series of high-level positions, including ambassador
to the United Nations, chairman of the Republican National
Committee and director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
In 1980
Bush became vice president under Ronald Reagan and in
1988 he won the presidency. As president, Bush faced
a dramatically changing world. The Cold War had ended,
the Berlin Wall had fallen and the Communist empire
was broken up. The Soviet Union ceased to exist, and
while Bush hailed the march of democracy, he insisted
on restraint in U. S. policy toward the group of new
nations. In other areas of foreign policy, he sent American
troops into Panama to overthrow the corrupt regime that
was threatening the security of the canal.
But Bush's
greatest test came when Iraqi President Saddam Hussein
invaded Kuwait, then threatened to move into Saudi Arabia.
Bush rallied the forces and sent 425,000 American troops.
They were joined by 118,000 troops from allied nations.
After weeks of air and missile bombardment, the 100-hour
land battle, dubbed Desert Storm, routed Iraq's million-man
army.
Despite
unprecedented popularity from this military and diplomatic
triumph, Bush was unable to withstand discontent at
home from a faltering economy, rising violence in inner
cities, and continued high deficit spending. In 1992
he lost his bid for re-election to Democrat William
Clinton.
WILLIAM
J. CLINTON . 1993-2001
During the
administration of William Jefferson Clinton, the nation
enjoyed more peace and economic well being than ever
before. He could point to the lowest unemployment and
inflation in modern times, reduced welfare roles and
dropping crime rates in many places, and the highest
home ownership in the country's history.
Born William Jefferson Blythe IV on August 19, 1946,
in Hope, Arkansas, three months after his father died
in a traffic accident, he adopted his stepfather’s
name in high school. Clinton graduated from Georgetown
University and in 1968 won a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford
University. He received a law degree from Yale in 1973,
and entered politics in Arkansas. He was elected Arkansas
Attorney General in 1976, and in 1978 won the governorship.
Losing a bid for a second term, he regained the office
four years later, and served until he won the 1992 presidential
race. Clinton and his running mate, Senator Al Gore
Jr., represented a new generation in American political
leadership. For the first time in 12 years the same
party held the White House and Congress. But that edge
was brief. The Republicans won both houses of Congress
in 1994.
President Clinton proposed the first balanced budget
in decades and achieved a budget surplus. He called
for a great national initiative to end racial discrimination
and sought legislation to upgrade education, protect
jobs of parents who must care for sick children, restrict
handgun sales and strengthen environmental rules. In
the world, he dispatched peace keeping forces to war-torn
Bosnia and bombed Iraq when Saddam Hussein stopped United
Nations inspections for evidence of nuclear, chemical,
and biological weapons. He was the first Democratic
president since Franklin D. Roosevelt to win a second
term.
In 1998, as a result of issues surrounding personal
indiscretions with a young woman White House intern,
Clinton was the second U.S. president to be impeached
by the House of Representatives. He was tried in the
Senate and found not guilty of the charges brought against
him. He apologized to the nation for his actions and
continued to have unprecedented popular approval ratings
for his job as president.
In the final months of his presidency, Clinton shared
the spotlight with his wife, Hillary Rodham, who declared
her candidacy for the New York Senate. The Clintons
split their time between the White House and a new residence
in Chappaqua, New York. The first lady campaigned vigorously,
often with the president at her side. When Mrs. Clinton
was sworn in as a senator in the 107th Congress,
her husband and daughter Chelsea watched silently from
the Gallery another unprecedented moment in a tumultuous
presidency.
