| In Missouri, the same factors cut my victory margin almost in half, from 10 to 6 percentI still got a majority in Arkansas, but my victory margin was slightly smaller than in 1992; in Tennessee, the margin was cut from 4
In Kentucky, tobacco and guns cut our margin from 3 to 1 percentFor the same reasons, though I was ahead in North Carolina all the way to the end, I lost by 3 percentIn Colorado, I went from a 4 percent victory in 1992 to a 1 percent loss because the 92 Perot voters in the West were more likely to vote Republican in 96 and because the Republicans had gained 100,000 registered voters on the Democrats since 1992, partly as a result of the large number of Christian Right organizations that had located their headquarters in the stateIn Montana, I lost this time around largely because, as in Colorado, the lower vote for Perot meant more votes for Senator Dole than for me
In Georgia, the last poll had me ahead by 4 percent; I lost by 1 percentThe Christian Coalition deserved a lot of credit for that; in 1992, they had cut my margin from 6 percent to under 1 percent with heavy distribution of their voting guides in conservative churches the Sunday before the electionDemocrats had worked black churches like that for years, but the Christian Coalition, at least in Georgia, was particularly effective at it, changing the outcome by 5 percent in both 1992 and 1996I was disappointed to lose Georgia, but glad that Max Cleland survived by getting a few more chanel classic bags white votes than I didThe South was tough because of the cultural issues; the only southern state to give me a substantially larger victory margin in 1996 was Louisiana, which went from 4
By contrast, my winning percentage increased a good deal in less culturally conservative or more economically sensitive statesMy margin over the Republicans was up 10 percent or more in 1996 over 1992 in Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode IslandWe held on to our big 92 margins in Illinois, Minnesota, Maryland, and California, and substantially increased the edge in Michigan and OhioDespite the gun issue, I also gained 10 percent over my 92 margin in New HampshireAnd I held on for a 1 percent victory in Nevada, largely because of my opposition to dumping Americas nuclear waste there without scientific evidence that it was safe to do so, and the constant publicity my position received thanks to my friend and Georgetown classmate Brian Greenspun, the president and editor of the Las Vegas Sun, who felt passionately about the issue
On balance, I was happy with the resultsI had won more electoral votes than in 1992, and four of the seven Senate candidates I had campaigned for won: Tom Harkin, Tim Johnson, John Kerry, and, in Louisiana, Mary LandrieuBut the fact that my share of the vote was considerably lower than my job rating, my personal approval rating, the percentage of people who said they felt comfortable with my presidency, was a sober cartier watches women reminder of the power of cultural issues like guns, gays, and abortion, especially among white married couples in the South, the intermountain West, and the rural Midwest, and among white men all across the countryAll I could do was to keep searching for common ground, keep trying to temper the bitter partisanship in Washington, and keep doing my best as President
The atmosphere at the victory rally at the Old State House in Little Rock was quite different this time aroundThe crowd was still large, but the celebration was marked not so much by shouting exuberance as by a genuine happiness that our nation was in better shape and that the American people had approved of the job I was doing
Because the election had not been in doubt for several weeks, it was easy to miss its significanceAfter the 1994 elections, I had been ridiculed as an irrelevant figure, destined for defeat in 1996In the early stages of the budget fight, with the government shutdown looming, it had been far from clear that I would prevail or that the American people would support my stance against the RepublicansNow I was the first Democratic President to be elected to a second term since FDR in 1936
O n the day after the election, I was back at the White House for a celebration on the South Lawn with my staff, cabinet, other appointees, campaign workers, and Democratic Party officialsIn my remarks, I mentioned that the night before, as I waited for the election results, I had held a reunion with chanel bags collection people who had worked for me in Arkansas when I was attorney general and governor, and that I told them something I want to tell youthat is, I have always been a very hardworking, kind of hard-driving personIm always focused on the matter before meSometimes I dont say Thank you enoughAnd Ive always been kind of hard on myself, and sometimes I think, just by omission, Im too hard on the people who work here
Our team had accomplished a lot in the last four years under extreme duressThis was the result of my own early mistakes, the first two years of intensely negative press coverage, the loss of Congress in 94, the financial and emotional toll of Whitewater, too much personal tragedy, and the constant demands inherent in trying to turn the country aroundI had done my best to keep my own and everybody elses spirits up, and to keep us all from being too distracted by the tragedies, the trash, and the mishapsNow that the American people had given us another term, I was hoping that in the next four years we would be freer to do the publics business without the turmoil and strife of the first term
I had been inspired by a statement made in late October by the archbishop of Chicago, Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, a tireless advocate for social justice whom Hillary and I knew and admired very muchBernardin was desperately ill and didnt have long to live when he said, A dying person does not have time for the peripheral or the accidental it is wrong to waste the precious gift coco chanel jewelry of time given to us on acrimony and division
In the week after the election, several people central to the administration announced their intention to leave by the end of the year, including Leon Panetta and Warren ChristopherChris had lived on an airplane for four years, and Leon had seen us through the budget battles, not to mention staying up on election night playing hearts with meBoth of them wanted to go home to California and to a more normal lifeThey had served me and the nation well, and I would miss themOn Novem-ber 8, I announced that Erskine Bowles would become the new chief of staffHis youngest child was off to college now, and Erskine was free to serve again, though it would cost him an arm and a leg to do so, as he once again gave up his lucrative business ventures
Thank goodness, Nancy Hernreich and Betty Currie were stayingBy this time, Betty knew most of my friends around the country, could handle a lot of the phone traffic, and was a wonderful help to me in the officeNancy understood the dynamics of our office and my need for both involvement in and distance from the details of the day-to-day workShe did everything she could to make it easier for me to do my job, and kept the Oval Office operations in great shapeMy then presidential aide, Stephen Goodin, was leaving, but we had lined up a good replacement: Kris Engskov, who had been at the White House from the start and whom I first met in north Arkansas way back in 1974 during my first chanel j12 watches campaign |
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