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Clinton won in the [[United States presidential election of 1992]] with 43% of the popular vote versus President [[George H. W. Bush]]'s 37%, capitalizing on public discontent with a weak economy and public displeasure with Bush's proposed tax increases; third candidate Ross Perot managed 19%.  Clinton had campaigned that he would cut taxes for the middle class -- a promise that never occurred.   

Clinton won in the [[United States presidential election of 1992]] with 43% of the popular vote versus President [[George H. W. Bush]]'s 37%, capitalizing on public discontent with a weak economy and public displeasure with Bush's proposed tax increases; third candidate Ross Perot managed 19%.  Clinton had campaigned that he would cut taxes for the middle class -- a promise that never occurred.   

In his first two years in office, 1993 through 1994, popular outcry against Clinton's [[radical]] health-care "reform" scheme led to failure of the plan.  The collapse of the Soviet Bloc only a few years earlier made [[socialism]] unpopular and was credited for the widespread disillusionment with the proposal. The approach consisted of appointing secret members to an [[economic planning|economic planning committee]] to reshape this important sector of the economy.{{fact}} The [[Association of American Physicians and Surgeons]] successfully sued to force disclosure of the committee financing, expenses and membership. The program ultimately became so unpopular that after two years, the Democratic-controlled Congress shielded its committee members' records by never bringing it to the floor for a vote.  It is worth noting that the recent presedential canidate, Hilleary Clinton, Bill's wife at the time, was involved in creating the failure that was the plan.

In his first two years in office, 1993 through 1994, popular outcry against Clinton's [[radical]] health-care "reform" scheme led to failure of the plan.  The collapse of the Soviet Bloc only a few years earlier made [[socialism]] unpopular and was credited for the widespread disillusionment with the proposal. The approach consisted of appointing secret members to an [[economic planning|economic planning committee]] to reshape this important sector of the economy. The [[Association of American Physicians and Surgeons]] successfully sued to force disclosure of the committee financing, expenses and membership. The program ultimately became so unpopular that after two years, the Democratic-controlled Congress shielded its committee members' records by never bringing it to the floor for a vote.  It is worth noting that Bill's wife Hillary, the future unsuccessful candidate for nomination for president in 2008 by the [[Democratic Party]], led the development of the plan that failed to be passed by Congress.

In 1994, voters expressed their high disapproval of Clinton's policies and several decades of Democratic control by giving an overwhelming victory to Republicans who suddenly found themselves in control of both Houses of Congress.  This event was tagged the "Republican Revolution," and caused some headbutting as the new [[Speaker of the House]], [[Newt Gingrich]] attempted to fulfill the "Contract with America" that the Republicans had run under and Clinton tried to stop the proposals from passing.  Showdowns between the two peaked in 1995 when Gingrich refused to pass Clinton's budget proposal, and the latter threatened to shut down the government as Reagan had done in the 1980s.  Bolstered by polling showing that the Republicans were being blamed more than the Democrats for the impasse, Clinton did not back down, and eventually had his budget passed.<ref>http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commentprint082800d.html</ref> The showdown had backfired for the Republicans, as it reinvigorated Clinton's flagging approval ratings.<ref>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/Clinton_approval_rating.JPG</ref>

In 1994, voters expressed their high disapproval of Clinton's policies and several decades of Democratic control by giving an overwhelming victory to Republicans who suddenly found themselves in control of both Houses of Congress.  This event was tagged the "Republican Revolution," and caused some headbutting as the new [[Speaker of the House]], [[Newt Gingrich]] attempted to fulfill the "Contract with America" that the Republicans had run under and Clinton tried to stop the proposals from passing.  Showdowns between the two peaked in 1995 when Gingrich refused to pass Clinton's budget proposal, and the latter threatened to shut down the government as Reagan had done in the 1980s.  Bolstered by polling showing that the Republicans were being blamed more than the Democrats for the impasse, Clinton did not back down, and eventually had his budget passed.<ref>http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commentprint082800d.html</ref> The showdown had backfired for the Republicans, as it reinvigorated Clinton's flagging approval ratings.<ref>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/Clinton_approval_rating.JPG</ref>