Clinton tanked in ‘94 largely due to HillaryCare. But when that didn’t pass (didn’t even come up for a vote), the Pubbies came in and overeached and the rest is history. Clinton, although a leftie, was more interested in his legacy and his reelection rather than ideology. So he moved to the center and actually to the right with welfare reform and later a drop in the capital gains rate. As to 1994 itself, the economy wasn’t bad but wasn’t great either. In fact, it was the worst year in almost 70 years for the bond market as the Fed was raising rates. 1995 and beyond featured the full advent of the internet and thus a roaring economy for awhile.
“So he moved to the center and actually to the right with welfare reform and later a drop in the capital gains rate.”
Dragged there kicking and screaming with the real threat of a veto override. However, he was a political animal and his legacy was of paramount importance.
Republican overreach was not the problem. The Clinton victory in 1996 are attributed to the following:
1. The OKC bombing changed the national focus away from conservative political action. Clinton’s image recovered somewhat on his handling of that event.
2. Ross Perot sucked away some of the conservative vote.
3. Bob Dole was a weak candidate and ran a bad campaign.
It is really scary that some of 0bama’s handlers may think that some man made disaster would be good for 0bama’s approval rating.