Part VI

Part V

Part IV

Part III

Part II

Part I
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Attack of the Clintons (1992-1999)

At this point I wasn't paying all that much attention to politics. The first time I even heard of Bill Clinton was when he as Arkansas Governor was denying clemency for a guy on death row who was mildly retired. He was establishing his credentials as tough on crime, and - oh by the way - he was also a candidate for President. I liked his bio. Running as a "centrist" he had been propped up by the Democratic Leadership Council who decided they were tired of losing with Northern Liberals.

And here's the thing. I believed him. And not just because I wanted to. This guy was soooooo persuasive. Like a political pied piper, Clinton could draw you in and hook you. You would end up seeing exactly what your heart desired. Which is probably why he was so successful with the ladies. When the Gennifer Flowers thing broke, I figured it must be a set up. I mean, after Gary Hart's "Monkey Business" and the whole Willie Horton thing, I was pretty paranoid when it came to allegations of impropriety or scandal.

I watched the 60 Minutes interview with Bill and Hillary and that was it. If he could survive this, he could go all the way. And he did. Later I would learn a lot about the behind the scenes shenanigans during the campaign and - as a political junkie - it was really fascinating. Now, truth be told Bill Clinton owes a lot of his success to two men - Patrick Buchanan and H. Ross Perot. Beating an incumbent is no small feat. Especially one with an approval rating over 50%, which George H. W. Bush had prior to 1992.

Bush had angered a lot of his base in several ways but basically Bush was not a continuation of Reagan, which arguably was what most Republicans expected when he was elected. Buchanan, the arch-right-wing firebrand, hurt Bush severely during the primaries. Generally speaking, when an incumbent faces opposition from within the ranks this spells major trouble for him. And Buchanan was an outlet for many a GOP voters frustration, even if he really didn't have a chance in hell of getting the party's nomination. Having been bloodied in the primaries with all his weaknesses exposed like re-opened wounds, Bush limped along while he watched his approval ratings sinking. The economy had slipped into recession, and while technically speaking it was in a recovery by election day the perception the Bush was aloof and ineffective stuck.

But Buchanan's eventual defeat didn't reverse Bush's fortunes. Ross Perot came in and really threw off the dynamics of the race by emerging as a credible third candidate. Like Buchanan, he siphoned off a tremendous amount of support from Bush that ultimately sank him. Perot attacked Bush about five times as much as he went after Clinton. Perot knew it was Bush he had to beat first and foremost. Unfortunately, for Perot, his kookiness got the better of him and his star lost it's luster. And the big beneficiary was Clinton.

As with the rape question to Dukakis in 1988, Bush's fate was sealed in the debates. During the "town-hall" style debate, as Clinton was answering a question, one of the cameras caught a shot of Bush seated on his stool rather casually look at his watch. The message that hit the audience in the face was "he really didn't want to be there." Fair or not, the perception of Bush as out of touch left its taint on the President at a time when the country was searching for the leadership to fill the vacuum Reagan had left. It was over.

This was the first time I had backed a candidate and he has actually won. Of course it was only with 43% of the popular vote, due to Perot. But in the Electoral College, it looked more convincing. I was elated beyond belief. We won!! Oh, what a feeling.

Of course the feeling didn't last. Now I'm not going to chronicle the list of disappointments I had over Clinton's Presidency as that would take all week. Suffice to say that by 1996, I wasn't thrilled with him. But while my heart wasn't in it, my head told me to vote to re-elect him. First, he was the Democrat, and at the time that fact alone was still important to me. Second, I felt that not voting for him again was akin to admitting that voting for him the first time was a mistake. And I wasn't prepared to do that.

Then of course came BJ-gate.

It wasn't the fact that he was a sleaze who took advantage of a young girl and disgraced his office. If he apologized, I might have been able to forgive him. But the lies and the deceit and the obstruction - all in an attempt to try and salvage his legacy was too much. At least Hart's and Dukakis's crimes were merely being arrogant and naive. This was pathetic and sad. I'll always be proud of myself that I didn't sink to the rationalization that "it was only sex and none of anyone's business." NOT THE POINT. I was, at the time, against impeachment because I felt "what was the point". He was a lame duck anyway. I just wanted the whole humiliating saga to a merciful end.

In 1998, I moved from the central part of State back to the Southwestern part closer to where I had grown up. I went to the town hall to register to vote and decided to go unaffiliated. I just couldn't bring myself to associate myself with a party that had failed me - not just a President, but a party. I more and more found it hard to reconcile myself to its positions - which were not only drifting farther left but began to become more absolute and intolerant of dissent. Most of the issues were cut and dried as far the the Democrats were concerned, with no room for compromise or discussion. It was their way or the highway and if you had a problem with it, too bad.

I no was no longer a Democrat but I wasn't about to become a Republican. After all they had been the opposing team my whole life that would be like blasphemy. But I was thirty-one years old, married with a child, a mortgage and a boatload of responsibility. The reality of life as it really is had settled in and I began to look at the world with more grown up and less idealistic eyes. I began to feel like the time for pretending was over and time for common sense had begun. (To be continued...)

Part VIII

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