Dont stop thinking about tomorrow dont stop, it will soon be here it will be here better than before bill clinton was a president who was turning the corner to a different time in american life. That song, dont stop thinking about tomorrow, became the theme of the clinton presidency. 46yearold bill clinton of arkansas was sworn in today. Right back there at the capitol building. Bill clinton, the first baby boomer president , what he represented was a fresh start. Hopes were high. Very high. The office of president of the United States. Congratulations. [ applause ] bill clinton defeats the man with the best resume in modern american political history, george bush. It seemed impossible. A new season of american renewal has begun. He was like a meteor. He came on the scene smart, well spoken, appealing and kind of fun. Lets listen to president bill clinton tear it up. Clinton comes to office brimming with energy, enthusiasm and selfconfidence. The first few months would be a real trial for him. President clinton and his staff are regrouping after an embarrassing political setback. His choice for attorney general was before the Senate Judiciary committee apologizing for hiring illegal immigrants. We got off to a rocky start for a number of reasons. There were hiccups in the appointment process and policy hiccups. Senate critics bash bill clintons policy on gays in the military, calling it confusing. It hasnt been easy. Thats the way president clinton described the first three months of his administration. You dreamed of being here. Whats the difference between the dream and the reality . The reality is that from the day i got here, we had a world of work to do. I enjoy coming to work here every day. Its an enormous privilege. Even the tough days are good days. You had an enormously charismatic and popular president who didnt seem to understand how to move the levers of government. Bill clinton came into office with some bad news. Turned out the deficit was much worse and they thought. He had to figure out a way to get us out of a recession. The 1993 budget was an attempt to do that. I had hoped to invest in your future by creating jobs, expanding education, reforming health care and reducing the debt without asking more of you. But i cant. When we finally put out a budget, it was something for everyone to hate. The republicans hated it because it had tax hikes. And it had cuts for the democrats to hate. The stakes seemed enormous. There was a sense that if this didnt pass his first year might be a failure. His whole presidency might be a failure. From the Early Morning to the early night, the nations first lobbyist was at it all day. His morning run with senator Joseph Lieberman was a way to pay him back for coming out for the plan yesterday. Bill clinton had total faith in his ability to persuade. He always thought if he got anybody in a room oneonone he could change their minds. Most of the rest of the day was spent like this on the phone to capitol hill to so many members that this afternoon mr. Clinton said hed lost count. Its close. This is the clinton presidency. All the other stuff we want to do will not happen unless we approve this plan. As majority leader, i was very much concerned about what the outcome was going to be. We needed 50 votes and we were at 49. Bob kerrey, senator from nebraska, he had genuine doubts. Will you tell us what youre planning to do, senator . No. Until he went to get up to speak in the senate, i wasnt sure what he was going to say. President clinton, if youre watching now as i. Suspect you are, i tell you this. I could not and should not cast a vote that brings down your presidency. By the slimmest of all possible margins, the president saved his budget bill and the political clout of his administration. [ cheers and applause ] after 12 long years, we can say to the American People tonight we have laid the foundation for the renewal of the american dream. Passing the budget was a victory because we didnt lose. But usually you could get one member from the other side. Every single republican in the congress voted against it. Republicans viewed bill clintons presidency as illegitimate. They thought george h. W. Bush deserved a second term. From the very beginning, they were not going to work with him. President clinton said today hes very pleased with his first year in office, but not a bit happy about how its ending, under a cloud of controversy over his personal life and business dealings. The white house is anticipating questions about whitewater. The whitewater controversy. Whitewater. Whitewater. Whitewater affair. The president , the first lady, a bad real estate deal, a failed s l. Whitewater, nobody knew what whitewater was. The story begins in 1978. Hillary and bill clinton when he was governor of arkansas invested in a Land Development project. It was a fiasco. The clintons say they lost almost 70,000. Their partners are now the focus of widening federal and congressional investigations. The press starts asking more and more questions. Who was involved . Where did the money go . What happened to all the records . The more puzzling questions may concern whether the white house engaged in a cover up. In washington by the 90s, there was a giant scandal machine. I was part of the scandal machine. I remember having this kind of uneasy sensation that what began with watergate, which is a noble crusade by the press, out of that came this kind of scandal culture. This is one of those stories that has been fed as such stories tend to be by the way the administration has handled it. Whitewater development is not going to go away. There are too many questions and theres too many implications of breaking the law. Do you support the idea of naming a special prosecutor to investigate the whitewater affair . I have nothing to say about that. I have said, we have turned the records over and theres nothing else for me to say about that. Pressure was mounting in the media the more they resisted, the more suspicious people became. There were now calls for the appointment of an independent counsel, which was a really serious issue. At this point, he still thought this thing will go away. So he went along with it. I just want to do my job. I dont want to be distracted by this anymore. Let them look into it. I just want to go back to work. At blue apron, were building a better food system. Where instead of paying for middlemen, we work directly with family farms to deliver Higher Quality ingredients for less than you pay at the store. Get 30 off at blueapron. Com cook but with odor free blueemu continuous pain relief spray, pain used to shut me down during pickup games. I can box out any muscle or joint pain immediately. Blueemu continuous pain relief spray. It works fast and you wont stink. The president of the United States. [ applause ] when he comes to office, a few democrats say fix welfare first. But bill clinton and Hillary Clinton really wanted to do health care first. You can say that the search for Health Care Reform was the great democratic holy grail. For 60 years this country has tried to Reform Health care. President roosevelt tried. President truman tried. President nixon tried. President carter tried. Every time the special interests were powerful enough to defeat them. But not this time. [ applause ] it was a masterful performance. And i think the president has reengaged the congress and the American Public on health care and probably will have some success with it. If we do not guarantee Health Insurance to every american, then we have failed all americans. Hillary clinton was given enormous responsibility by her husband to do this very hard thing, to Reform Health care. In a hostile political environment, you dont come up with something this complicated and do it in public. But the process always requires political input. They didnt do it right. And as a result, congress got very defensive. Clearly, the president is asking you to trust the government, more than you trust your doctor and yourselves. Protesters have been trailing the president around the country. And today, he started debating them. You have People Holding up signs, saying no socialized medicine. Most of them have parents on medicare. You want to repeal medicare, maam . Since last september when the president proposed his health plan, the clintons have campaigned endlessly for it. The result . In almost every poll the plans popularity has plummeted. Health care reform very quickly became a kind of smoking ruin. It just crashed and burned. The Administration Officials acknowledge now it was a mistake when Hillary Clintons task force drafted a Health Care Bill in secret. Then sprung it on congress. This had been the major issue they wanted to sell to the public and the clintons understand the defeat is both policy, but its also going to be political. It was a really challenging time. Some of those events were beyond president clintons control and some of them he seemed to be right in the middle of. There was whitewater still ticking along in the background. And then, paula jones filed a Sexual Harassment lawsuit. A former Arkansas State worker accused then governor bill clinton of sexually harassing her in 1991. The white house is denying everything. Its just humiliating what he did to me. True or not, this lawsuit is a major embarrassment to president clinton. If lawyers cant get the suit dismissed, he may be forced to answer these charges under oath. There was scandal, scandal, scandal, scandal. It was a really concerted attempt to eat away at his moral authority. The Midterm Election is two weeks away, and the republicans, to put it bluntly, smell blood. House republicans are representing what they are calling a contract with america. As much as anything else this was a rally for Newt Gingrich, possible speaker of the house. We are for this contract as a First Step Towards renewing american civilization. During the 1980s, Newt Gingrich had gained this reputation as someone who investigates scandal, use the media, every tool available. Thats the gingrich who had his eyes set now both on president clinton but also on retaking control of the house. Good evening. Theres a Seismic Shift to the right in it Political Landscape of america tonight. It doesnt take a genius to see its going republican. Republican, republican. This is truly a wildly historic night. The republican victory in 94 had a shocking effect on bill clinton. Because president of the United States was suddenly marginalized and Newt Gingrich, the speaker of the house, was the big man in town. Last september the House Republicans signed a contract with america. We signed this contract and made some promises. You elected us. And for the last 93 days we have been keeping our word. President clinton, republicans have dominated political debate in this country since they took over congress in january. Do you worry about making sure that your voice is heard in the coming months . No. The constitution gives me relevance. The power of our ideas gives me relevance. The record we have built up over the last two years and the things were trying to do to implement it give it relevance. The president is relevant. The press assumed and i assumed that clinton was toast. That he was never going to be able to come back. Watch the electricity lines we had an explosion downtown. We have had some kind of explosion. Here in Oklahoma City today a a car bomb demolished a Federal Office Building with hundreds of people inside. This occurs the day after a News Conference in which the president found himself insisting that he is indeed relevant to our nation and its agenda. Here we are the next day finding one of the first places we look is indeed the white house. The bombing in Oklahoma City was an attack on innocent children and defenseless citizens. I was on air force one that day going from washington to Oklahoma City. The mood on the plane that morning was very somber and very scared. In Oklahoma City today, president clinton spoke of the great grief and the spirit of healing. Your pain is unimaginable. And we know that. It was a moment that did play to bill clintons natural strengths. To channel emotion and connect with people at the human level. You have lost too much. But you have not lost everything. And you have certainly not lost america. Clintons response, i think, not only helped the country through a terrible, terrible moment, but helped right his administration. I am totally blind. And i live with non24, a circadian rhythm disorder that can throw my days and nights out of sync, keeping me from the people, places, and things i love. The people i love have always been there for me. And now, im there for them, too. Talk to your doctor, and call 8442142424 to learn more. What should i watch . Show me sports. Its so fluffy look at that fluffy unicorn hes so fluffy im gonna die your voice is awesome. The x1 voice remote. Xfinity. The future of awesome. The commanderinchief bill clinton, this photo op had extra meaning on a day when the president was considering the prospect of sending american airmen into the bosnia conflict. The end of the cold war caused the world in many places to unravel. One of those places was the former yugoslavia, a country that is falling apart and people were dying by the thousands. Americans are very generous about putting their treasure and lives on the line around the world. But we have to be very disciplined and very careful where we do it. When president clinton came into office, there was a reluctance to get American Forces involved. We were trying to figure out what is americas moral responsibility . If, in fact, people are being killed and we know about it. Stunning news from somalia. The deadliest battle yet involving u. S. Forces. The battle began after this jeep carrying americans was blown up. Two u. S. Helicopters were shot down. President george bush as his parting gesture sent in a humanitarian mission to rescue the somalis from this terrible famine. It turned from a humanitarian mission into a terrible military catastrophe. 12 american soldiers killed. Why let the somalis drag dead g. I. S by ropes through the streets of mogadishu . We have gone way beyond what our original intention was in somalia and its time to get out. After two days of stinging criticism, the president said today the u. S. Needs to, and i quote now, conclude its role in somalia. If the American People are to say yes to u. N. Peacekeeping, the United Nations must know when to say no. There was enormous pressure on the Clinton Administration not to commit the United States to similar operations in the future. Fast forward. Rwanda. Good evening. Fighting is going on tonight in the small african nation of rwanda. 20,000 are believed dead after five days of massacres. In this orgy of violence, three women can be seen pleading for their lives. Theyre first savagely beaten and then hacked to death by soldiers. Village after entire village wiped out by extremists. Because of the horror of somalia, there was no will whatsoever to intervene in rwanda. Even though there were many Early Warning signals that a modicum of intervention could have stopped that genocide. The savagery is turning out far worse than anyone imagined. 700,000 to 800,000 people would be killed one at a time. They werent killed by bombs. They were killed by machetes and then the thought that we could have done something about it. As clinton began to realize that, it tortured him and it changed him. He said its his biggest regret of his presidency. In eastern bosnia, this has been one of the darkest days in the history of the United Nations. The serbs have captured srebrenica. There had been made these safe zones around eastern bosnia. One of them was srebrenica. Once again bosnian civilians forced to flee their homes in terror while the western european nations and United States do nothing about it. This is the tragedy of srebrenica. Now overrun by bosnian forces. The bosnian serb general walked in as if a conquering hero. The general came swaggering in to srebrenica. And some of the most chilling video that will always remain with me. He said, dont be afraid. Were not going to hurt you. He instructed soldiers to give them sweets and candies and things like that. As soon as the cameras were turned off, the men were put on buses, taken out, lined up, and machine gunned to death and just because they were muslim. Bosnian serbs face new charges of genocide. Madeleine albright displayed photographs of mass graves. There were terrible things going on in bosnia, but it took the visuals to prove it. The sarajevo market was crowded with monday morning shoppers when death fell from the sky. Bill clinton decided to use force. The idea that he would be the american leader who would get nato to participate in its First Military campaign was not something that was predictable. More than 60 nato jets began pounding bosnian serb positions around sarajevo overnight. Allied fighters and bombers, most of them americans, swooped down on bosnian serb military positions around sarajevo. Bosnian Government Troops are racking up stunning gains around north bosnia. The campaign will make clear that they hav