During the 1992 campaign, Bill Clinton repeatedly sought to distance himself from the liberal orthodoxy that had come to define the Democratic Party’s national image. Labeling himself a "New Democrat, " Clinton supported the death penalty, criticized racially incendiary remarks by black political activist Sister Souljah and promised to "end welfare as we know it." These pronouncements enabled Clinton to position himself as a moderate. In 1992, independent voters who had supported Republicans in previous elections returned to support the Democratic presidential candidate. As President, Clinton pledged to pursue "third way" policies that would synthesize the best of liberal and conservative ideas for the benefit of the nation. This volume, assessing the domestic policies of the Clinton administration, addresses two broad though closely related questions. First, was the New Democrat approach substantively significant or merely rhetorical? Second, did the policies themselves succeed in furthering the national interest? This collection features papers and commentaries initially presented at the 2005 Hofstra University Conference, "William Jefferson Clinton: The ‘New Democrat’ from Hope, " in which dozens of top scholars, journalists and Clinton Administration officials evaluated the Clinton Administration’s legacy. In this volume, political scientist Stephen K. Medvic and former White House senior staffer Elaine C. Kamarck examine the meaning of Clinton’s New Democrat philosophy. Clinton Treasury Secretary Robert E. Rubin and economist Dean Baker offer commentary on economic policy. Clinton Trade Representative Mickey Kantor and Pepperdine University business law professor Larry Bumgardner offer evaluations of the administration’s trade policies. Hofstra University information technology professor Laura Lally discusses the Clinton Administration’s technology policy, and political scientist Robert J. Spitzer examines gun control policy.
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