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Bill Clinton: Difference between revisions
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Clinton was still the governor of Arkansas while campaigning for U.S. president, and he returned to his home state to see that [[Ricky Ray Rector]] would be executed. After killing a police officer and a civilian, Rector shot himself in the head, leading to what his lawyers said was a state where he could still talk but did not understand the idea of death. According to both Arkansas state law and federal law, a seriously mentally impaired inmate cannot be executed. The courts disagreed with the allegation of grave mental impairment and allowed the execution. Clinton's return to Arkansas for the execution was framed in an article for ''The New York Times'' as a possible political move to counter "soft on crime" accusations.<ref name="mbsrgd">[[George Stephanopoulos]], ''All Too Human: A Political Education'', 1999, {{ISBN|978-0-316-92919-6}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | last=Applebome | first=Peter | title=Arkansas Execution Raises Questions on Governor's Politics | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/25/us/1992-campaign-death-penalty-arkansas-execution-raises-questions-governor-s.html | work=The New York Times | date=January 25, 1992 | access-date=March 28, 2008}}</ref> | Clinton was still the governor of Arkansas while campaigning for U.S. president, and he returned to his home state to see that [[Ricky Ray Rector]] would be executed. After killing a police officer and a civilian, Rector shot himself in the head, leading to what his lawyers said was a state where he could still talk but did not understand the idea of death. According to both Arkansas state law and federal law, a seriously mentally impaired inmate cannot be executed. The courts disagreed with the allegation of grave mental impairment and allowed the execution. Clinton's return to Arkansas for the execution was framed in an article for ''The New York Times'' as a possible political move to counter "soft on crime" accusations.<ref name="mbsrgd">[[George Stephanopoulos]], ''All Too Human: A Political Education'', 1999, {{ISBN|978-0-316-92919-6}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | last=Applebome | first=Peter | title=Arkansas Execution Raises Questions on Governor's Politics | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/25/us/1992-campaign-death-penalty-arkansas-execution-raises-questions-governor-s.html | work=The New York Times | date=January 25, 1992 | access-date=March 28, 2008}}</ref> | ||
Bush's [[United States presidential approval rating|approval ratings]] were around 80 percent during the [[Gulf War]], and he was described as unbeatable. When Bush compromised with Democrats to try to lower federal deficits, he reneged on his [[Read my lips: no new taxes|promise not to raise taxes]], which hurt his approval rating. Clinton repeatedly condemned Bush for making a promise he failed to keep.<ref name="The Choice" /> By election time, the economy was souring and Bush saw his approval rating plummet to just slightly over 40 percent.<ref name="The Choice" /><ref>{{Cite news | title=How the Presidents Stack Up: A look at U.S. presidents' job-approval ratings | work=The Wall Street Journal | year=2006 | url=https://www.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/info-presapp0605-31.html | access-date=October 30, 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081025015927/http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/info-presapp0605-31.html| archive-date= October 25, 2008 | url-status=live}}</ref> Finally, conservatives were previously united by anti-communism, but with the end of the Cold War, the party lacked a uniting issue. When [[Pat Buchanan]] and [[Pat Robertson]] addressed Christian themes at the [[1992 Republican National Convention|Republican National Convention]]—with Bush criticizing Democrats for omitting God from their platform—many moderates were alienated.<ref>{{cite web | last=Le Beau | first=Bryan | title=The Political Mobilization of the New Christian Right | date=December 10, 1998 | publisher=[[Creighton University]] | url=http://are.as.wvu.edu/lebeau1.htm | access-date=December 1, 2006 | archive-date=December 6, 2006 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061206022453/http://are.as.wvu.edu/lebeau1.htm | url-status=dead }}</ref> Clinton then pointed to his moderate, "New Democrat" record as governor of Arkansas, though some on the more liberal side of the party remained suspicious.<ref>{{Cite news | last=Walker | first=Martin | title=Tough love child of Kennedy | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/1992/jan/06/usa.martinwalker | location=London | work= | Bush's [[United States presidential approval rating|approval ratings]] were around 80 percent during the [[Gulf War]], and he was described as unbeatable. When Bush compromised with Democrats to try to lower federal deficits, he reneged on his [[Read my lips: no new taxes|promise not to raise taxes]], which hurt his approval rating. Clinton repeatedly condemned Bush for making a promise he failed to keep.<ref name="The Choice" /> By election time, the economy was souring and Bush saw his approval rating plummet to just slightly over 40 percent.<ref name="The Choice" /><ref>{{Cite news | title=How the Presidents Stack Up: A look at U.S. presidents' job-approval ratings | work=The Wall Street Journal | year=2006 | url=https://www.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/info-presapp0605-31.html | access-date=October 30, 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081025015927/http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/info-presapp0605-31.html| archive-date= October 25, 2008 | url-status=live}}</ref> Finally, conservatives were previously united by anti-communism, but with the end of the Cold War, the party lacked a uniting issue. When [[Pat Buchanan]] and [[Pat Robertson]] addressed Christian themes at the [[1992 Republican National Convention|Republican National Convention]]—with Bush criticizing Democrats for omitting God from their platform—many moderates were alienated.<ref>{{cite web | last=Le Beau | first=Bryan | title=The Political Mobilization of the New Christian Right | date=December 10, 1998 | publisher=[[Creighton University]] | url=http://are.as.wvu.edu/lebeau1.htm | access-date=December 1, 2006 | archive-date=December 6, 2006 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061206022453/http://are.as.wvu.edu/lebeau1.htm | url-status=dead }}</ref> Clinton then pointed to his moderate, "New Democrat" record as governor of Arkansas, though some on the more liberal side of the party remained suspicious.<ref>{{Cite news | last=Walker | first=Martin | title=Tough love child of Kennedy | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/1992/jan/06/usa.martinwalker | location=London | work=The Guardian | date=January 6, 1992 |access-date=October 12, 2007}}</ref> Many Democrats who had supported Ronald Reagan and Bush in previous elections switched their support to Clinton.<ref name=BBConthisday>{{cite news | title=On this day (November 4) in 1992: Clinton beats Bush to the White House | work=BBC News | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/4/newsid_3659000/3659498.stm | date=November 4, 1992 | access-date=October 31, 2008 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081218141055/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/4/newsid_3659000/3659498.stm| archive-date= December 18, 2008 | url-status=live}}</ref> Clinton and his running mate, [[Al Gore]], toured the country during the final weeks of the campaign, shoring up support and pledging a "new beginning".<ref name=BBConthisday /> | ||
On March 26, 1992, during a Democratic [[Fundraising|fund raiser]] of the presidential campaign, [[Robert Rafsky]] confronted then Gov. Bill Clinton of Arkansas and asked what he was going to do about [[AIDS]], to which Clinton replied, "I feel your pain".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.thinkprogress.org/the-future-of-gay-parents-on-television-378cc67a76b5/|title=The Future of Gay Parents On Television|work=ThinkProgress|first=Alyssa|last=Rosenberg|date=November 1, 2012}}</ref> The televised exchange led to AIDS becoming an issue in the 1992 presidential election. On April 4, then candidate Clinton met with members of [[ACT UP]] and other leading AIDS advocates to discuss his AIDS agenda and agreed to make a major AIDS policy speech, to have people with HIV speak to the [[Democratic National Convention|Democratic Convention]], and to sign onto the [[AIDS United]] Action five point plan.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://actupny.org/campaign96/rafsky-clinton.html|title=The ACT UP Historical Archive: Bob Rafsky Confronts Candidate Bill Clinton, 1992|website=actupny.org}}</ref> | On March 26, 1992, during a Democratic [[Fundraising|fund raiser]] of the presidential campaign, [[Robert Rafsky]] confronted then Gov. Bill Clinton of Arkansas and asked what he was going to do about [[AIDS]], to which Clinton replied, "I feel your pain".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.thinkprogress.org/the-future-of-gay-parents-on-television-378cc67a76b5/|title=The Future of Gay Parents On Television|work=ThinkProgress|first=Alyssa|last=Rosenberg|date=November 1, 2012}}</ref> The televised exchange led to AIDS becoming an issue in the 1992 presidential election. On April 4, then candidate Clinton met with members of [[ACT UP]] and other leading AIDS advocates to discuss his AIDS agenda and agreed to make a major AIDS policy speech, to have people with HIV speak to the [[Democratic National Convention|Democratic Convention]], and to sign onto the [[AIDS United]] Action five point plan.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://actupny.org/campaign96/rafsky-clinton.html|title=The ACT UP Historical Archive: Bob Rafsky Confronts Candidate Bill Clinton, 1992|website=actupny.org}}</ref> | ||