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PRESIDENTIAL INUAGURATIONS
Bill Clinton
42nd President Of The United States (1993-2001)
Inaugural Highlights
Date: Jan. 20, 1993
Weather: Clear, 40 degrees, with a 7 mph wind out of the northeast
President: Bill Clinton
Vice President: Albert A. Gore Jr.
Administered Oath: Chief Justice William Rehnquist
Notable Speakers: Maya Angelou and the Rev. Billy Graham
Presidential Soundbite: Each generation of Americans must define what it means to be an American.
Popular-Vote Percentage: 43%
Electoral Votes: 370
First Address (Jan. 20, 1993) Second Address (Jan. 20, 1997)First 100 Days
• Sweeping economic package
• Overhaul of nation's health care system
• Aid for democracy in former Soviet Union
Although our collective memory of President Clinton's tenure is still fresh, it takes a minute to recall the earliest days of 1993, when a somewhat overoptimistic former governor of Arkansas had to learn some presidential lessons the hard way: Tongues wagged when he was tardy for visiting royalty. His commander-in-chief salute required some tutoring. He talked so much and was seen so often that he threatened to drag the majesty of the presidency down to the level of a Ginsu knife commercial. The kiddie corps that had helped win the election struggled with White House decorum. And, oh yes, Clinton was up against skillful political enemies with big megaphones.
In his first 100 days the 46-year-old president displayed both strengths and weaknesses. His energy, resolve, and intelligence were clear from the outset. So were his cravings to please, his seismic eruptions when things went awry, and his reluctance to make swift decisions.
On the day after the 1993 inauguration, Stan Greenberg, the president's pollster at the time, reminded the Democratic National Committee that Clinton was more popular coming into office than any president since the beginning of polling. The enthusiasm was short-lived, however. A clash with the Pentagon brass over gays in the military, and the withdrawal of his initial nominee for Attorney General -- all within the first nine days of taking office -- undermined confidence in the administration. By mid-May, Clinton's honeymoon was over: Half of those polled by the Gallup Organization said they disapproved of the job he was doing.
As a centrist Democrat who believed in the good that government can do, Clinton wanted to do things with his office. And in his first year, he did. He signed the Family and Medical Leave Act on Feb. 5. In April, he met with Russian President Boris Yeltsin and pledged the first of billions of dollars in U.S. aid to the ailing republic. (More)
Clinton's First Inauguration
Originally published Jan. 13, 2001
The 1993 inauguration marked the passing of the torch to a new generation of Americans. For 40 years, from Dwight Eisenhower to George H.W. Bush, the nation had been governed by men who had worn a uniform during World War II.
When Bill Clinton was sworn in as America's 42nd president, the "Greatest Generation" was replaced by the baby boom generation. America's fourth-oldest president was replaced by the second-youngest man ever elected to the office; and 12 years had elapsed since the previous Democrat to occupy the White House, Jimmy Carter, had left Washington after a single term.
Clinton, who promised change and economic renewal, fielded a team made up mostly of fresh-faced young Democrats who had earned their spurs battling presidents, rather than serving them. The 30- and 40-somethings who would run the new administration had cut their teeth in politics opposing a war -- the conflict in Vietnam -- rather than serving in one. Their world had been shaped by the mid-century postwar prosperity and the civil rights movement, rather than the Great Depression or World War II. And now, one of their own was ascending to the highest office in the land. On a moderate winter day, Robert Frost had given way to Maya Angelou. -- Michael Steel
First-Persons
Keith Boykin, special assistant to the president for news analysis: "There were no rules or regulations set up, on the first day at least, so I walked right into the Oval Office. It was just open."
Leon Panetta, nominee, OMB director: "To have that transition taking place, getting people you had worked with in Democratic politics to suddenly be very involved in governing, was a great transition."
Carol Browner, incoming EPA administrator: "It was a huge change for an agency that had not been treated well in the prior administration. The dark cloud was lifting."
Lawrence Eagleburger, outgoing secretary of State: "I didn't think about (the generational change) on that day so much, but it was clearly something that was of concern to me."
