I Remember A Place Called Hope: The Clinton Assassination and Gore Presidency

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The tragic thing is, he was never supposed to have been in D.C. that wintery afternoon.

Clinton’s planned 1994 European diplomacy tour, which would’ve included Clinton’s signing of the historic Kremlin accords, had been delayed for February rather than January. Ironically this had partly been due to security concerns in Moscow; threats against the Russian government by armed radical groups in Dagestan over the results of the 1993 Russian constitutional referendum led to worries over the possibility of a terrorist attack cooccurring with the American president’s visit. While Slavic security measures were revamped following the Chechen commination, Clinton now planned for January to be mostly spent in Washington D.C., addressing the nation on the plans he had for 1994 policy-wise, and preparing for his first state of the union address. An address he would never give.

Enter the unknown factor into the equation: an American man known as Ronald Gene Barbour. A 45-year-old unemployed veteran from Florida, he would go in the span of a few hours from a nobody to a name as infamous among Americans as John Wilkes Booth or Harvey Lee Oswald. Like these other two presidential killers, Barbour had a political agenda, though one not as romantically twisted as Booth’s psychotic cry for states’ rights or Oswald’s ultra-communism. He was simply a mentally ill and suicidal man who harbored an intense and violent hatred for Democrats, the Clintons especially.

January 11th saw Barbour arrive from Orlando Florida, up north to Washington D.C. Spending his hours in the city’s sights as a “tourist”, he took root in the National Mall. A timeline formed from eyewitnesses and his own testimony placed him at various locations as he strolled through the heart of the city: the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial, the Washington Monument, the Museum of American History, the Botanic Garden. On January 12th President Clinton started out on his routine public jog. He ran into Barbour in President’s Park…

The Wednesday soap operas were interrupted as soon as the networks got the news. President Clinton had been shot and was now in critical condition, fighting the biggest challenge of his life.


Vice President Al Gore, like millions all over the world ignorant of what was going on, sat tranquil reading over his notes one more time before he was set to go on stage and give a speech to the crowd in Las Vegas. He was visiting the Western parts of the nation on tour to discuss issues especially affecting the region. An aide ran up to him in a panicked hurry.

“Al, we’re going to have to cancel the speech. They’re on the phone right now, we have to get back to D.C.”

“What? Why?”

“It’s Bill, Al… he’s been shot…”


“If you’re just tuning in, President Clinton has been shot in Washington D.C. by an unknown assailant. The gunman has been captured by police and is being detained… we… we have word now that President Clinton has died… I repeat multiple sources are now confirming that President Clinton died on 2:56 Eastern Standard Time… we’re going a live conference at the hospital right now…” -ABC News Special Bulletin

William Jefferson Clinton (8/19/1946-1/12/1994)


“God, Tipper… tell me that I’m ready for this because I’m not sure that I am.” -Al Gore in private after taking the oath of office


“To see a young politician cut down in his prime is utterly shocking. We celebrate all of President Clinton’s accomplishments and aspirations today, as a united nation against violence and hatred. We will help a grieving family through this tragedy and respect Al Gore as he transitions to the presidency. We will not tolerate the likes of this gunman in America.” -George H.W. Bush


“Nancy and I wish to give our sympathies with both the Clinton family and the nation as a whole at this devastating time. Having survived being attacked by a madman myself, I recall it being the most frightening moments of my life. It brought tears to my eyes that President Clinton, a good man, and a greater president, was not as fortunate as I was. I ask us all to place hatred of each other aside where it belongs and come together as one under President Gore in these dark times…” -Ronald Reagan


“America has a loyal ally with Japan right now. We mourn the loss of your president with you…” -Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa


“I think I speak the minds of every Briton when I say that we all are all mourning with our brothers and sisters across the Atlantic.” -Prime Minister John Major


“President Clinton was an outspoken critic of the outdated Apartheid model that has proven a failure and a critical international ally in the transition to universal suffrage. South Africa has lost an important friend today…” -President F. W. de Klerk


“Chelsea and I have already received so many countless letters of support. We try to read every last one. With each envelope received, we are reminded of a person Bill helped in some way, reminded that his short life was never in vain. We thank you from the bottoms of our hearts for your touching words. In a few weeks, we will move back to Little Rock from Washington. There I’ll be working hard on keeping my late husband’s legacy alive and helping to make America a better place for everybody.” -Hillary Clinton

Gore wanted a Southerner on the ticket and a certain popular governor who looked to be in a tight race that autumn seemed like they would make not only a good choice but a historic one as well.


“I am pleased to announce that my Vice President will be Governor Ann Richards of Texas (loud claps and cheers from reporters), who will handle the duties of this office more dignified than anybody in this great nation! I will now allow Ms. Richards a few words to introduce herself..."

“Thank you, Al. I only wish my rise to become the first female vice-president didn’t have to occur under such awful circumstances…”

-Televised Address on January 16th, 1994


In the aftermath of the killing, the recent film “In the Line of Fire” starring Clint Eastwood as a CIA agent out to stop a man, played by John Malkovich, obsessed with killing the president drew minor controversy. While the film was never officially banned or censored, television stations refused to air it and many video retail chains like Blockbuster silently removed the VHS tapes from their selves, ruling it would be in poor taste to offer the film to customers. This made it harder, but not impossible to view the acclaimed thriller. However, by the early 2000s, any drama over the contended film had died out and a DVD issue was released.

Al Gore: America's 43rd President


“Just a few weeks ago, I was not expecting to give this somber state of the union address. However, circumstances out of all of our control have forced these duties upon me… but I swear to every American man, woman, and child that I will go above and beyond to provide for these United States. We will rise from tragedy to become a stronger country than we’ve ever been! (Congress stands and claps loudly)” -Excerpt from the 1994 State of the Union Address


“I’m not running in ’96, you hear! They’ll fucking kill me just like they did with Kennedy and Clinton! Fuck this idea of a Reform Party, I’m done!” -From a telephone conversation between Ross Perot and Russell Verney

 

[BigVic]

Interested to see how Gore goes.

 

[Darth_Kiryan]

Snore and Bore huh!

Gore of 94 I am not sure what he would be like. But I am curious as to how you take this.

 

[Unknown]

This is interesting; wonder where it goes...

 

[Whiteshore]

intense and violent hatred for Democrats, the Clintons especially.

Can we get his twisted logic for this?

 

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1994 saw a busy year on the world stage, as Al Gore settled in for his first term. Having had the position thrust upon him, Gore had no running start, no time to prepare for the ever-important first 100 days in office. Nonetheless, his experiences as a senator and vice president would prove to help him greatly in getting things done before the critical midterm elections. The controversial “Clintoncare” program his martyred friend had pushed for now was escaping from death’s door. Gore revised the proposal, amending several controversial red tape issues. The death of Clinton also placed a burden on the shoulders of Democratic senators, rather than squabbling like children and offering half-baked alternatives to the Clinton-Gore proposition, they were forced in line by the White House to now support it, or else look incompetent during a brief window of sympathy for the party.

Despite a large and expensive campaign by conservatives and libertarians against the “socialized medicine” of Clinton-Gorism, including the use of television propaganda, the healthcare plan eventually passed in the senate 51-49. The dissenters in the Democrats were five conservatives: John Breaux of Louisiana, Ben Nighthorse Campbell of Colorado, Howell Heflin of Alabama, Bob Krueger of Texas, and Richard Shelby of Alabama. Harry and Louise could now complain all they wanted, the Clinton Health Security Act was law, becoming the largest domestic policy achievement of the late president.

Understanding he was most powerful now with his party in control of both houses of Congress, Gore also set off to work on a pet issue: environmentalism. Gore campaigned on America becoming “a nation dependent on self-sustaining and smarter energy that everybody can afford”. The president proposed a major expansion in the construction of green energy, relying much more on hydroelectric, solar, and wind power. A plan was drafted and passed; now countless billions were spent in federal construction to get America off of fossil fuels. Not only would it greatly reduce the country’s contributions to climate change by lowering CO2 emissions, but the reformed energy industry created many new jobs for Americans and started a transition away from Arabic petrol.

Gore also signed the Federal Assault Weapons Ban after it passed in congress 52-48. Another major success for the Democrats came when Gore’s nominee for the Supreme Court vacancy left by Harry Blackmun’s death was filled by judge Stephen Breyer.

Of course, a conservative backlash was to be expected from all of this. Fueled by the words of Rush Limbaugh and Newt Gingrich’s “Contract with America”, the Republicans won both the House and Senate that November.

In Mexico, an attempt by Mario Aburto Martínez to take the life of presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio in the city of Tijuana failed. Martínez was quickly captured by police; Colosio meanwhile went forth to win the summer elections by a healthy margin, continuing the rule the Institutional Revolutionary Party had on the country for over 60 years.

Referendums in Europe saw Austria, Finland, Norway, and Sweden all vote to join the European Union, bringing the total number of member states to 16.

The Balkans continued to prove themselves to be one of the most violent places on Earth during the decade. In February, 68 people were killed in Sarajevo by a mortar in a popular city marketplace. Despite Milosevic’s loyalists' claims of a false flag attack by the Bosnian government, it was quickly proved that the perpetrators belonged to the Army of Republika Srpska. President Gore condemned the attacks and the wider ideology of Serbian nationalism in a televised speech.

Tragedy was averted in the heart of Africa when a plan to shoot down an airplane carrying Rwandan dictator Juvénal Habyarimana and Burundian president Cyprien Ntaryamira was exposed before it could be enacted.

Elsewhere, the first free elections were held in South Africa following the end of Apartheid. Nelson Mandela’s African National Congress Party received a landslide victory and joined in a coalition with the second and third place parties: The National Party and the Inkatha Freedom Party. The world congratulated the results of the new democratic process with Mandela becoming the nation’s first non-white head of state; he received further international praise and optimism for the fact that ethnic tensions seemed to be coming to an end.

 

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They said once long ago: “Never Again”. Then of course, under their noses, the world turned a blind dry eye when it occurred in Cambodia. And then in Somalia. And then in Kurdish Iraq. In the early 90s, there was a flash of hope that the issues of genocide prevention once caught in the frozen geopolitics of the Cold War could now disappear. No more Western countries backing murderous third-world regimes and insurgencies for the sake of teaching those reds in Moscow a lesson or two. If the international community was to become a planet that stopped madmen rather than enabled them, its first success was seen in the Gulf War. Never mind the disgusting hypocrisies of the Reagan administration to Saddam before then, of course.

The second challenge came in the issue of the Serbian nationalists. Enraged by the Bosniaks’ cries and motions of independence, a bitter and bloody war between the Bosnian Serbs with their passionate allies in Yugoslavia and the Bosniaks with the aid of the Croats raged on, in the deadliest conflict on European soil since the 1940s. Often the armies committed horrendous war crimes, the worst of which would be iconic of the Balkan Wars and their ethnic tensions.

Srebrenica’s a word that always brings up strong emotions in the region. Regardless of any political tinting, here are the facts: a total of 8,373 Bosniaks were slaughtered by the Army of Republika Srpska and the Scorpions in an act of genocide. The killings targeted civilians to an organized effort to remove the town’s Bosniak population, killing methods were often inhumane and brutal. Victims of the killings included young children, and there were also confirmed mass rapes of women.

In response to these horrors, NATO began Operation Deliberate Force against the Serbian Army. President Gore was a vocal supporter of the campaign. “Like the Kuwaitis, the Bosniaks shall soon find liberation from their oppressors,” he told the press when asked about America’s Balkans policy. NATO’s increased involvement in the months following the genocide helped bring about the Dayton Accords which ended the war and granted Bosnia-Herzegovina its independence.

The Serbs, however, were far from done from being a stain upon world peace, as the world would find out again a few years later…

In the aftermath of the Ruby Ridge incident, many Americans on the fringe right were furious for the government’s handling of the case. One such person was a man who slipped in and out of various militant organizations like a phantom: Timothy McVeigh. McVeigh had especial hatred for Lon Horiuchi, the sniper who had killed Vicki Weaver. Eventually finding out Horiuchi’s address, McVeigh began a targeted harassment campaign, writing hate letters and passing out the Horiuchi family’s address on flyers at gun shows. Eventually, this descended into driving to Horiuchi’s city of residence and psychically following him and his family members around. Fearing for their safety, they reported McVeigh to the cops. McVeigh was arrested and an illegal handgun that he planned to use to kill the family was used as evidence against him. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Lon Horiuchi was later charged with manslaughter in a federal investigation into Rudy Ridge, but those charges were eventually dropped.

In Japan, the strange and terrifyingly prophetlike Shoko Asahara felt as though Aum Shinrikyo was soon going to have its evilly glorious moment under the eastern sun. By all accounts, he was the richest terrorist in the world, worth millions of dollars through the illegal activities of his criminal enterprise. That equated a lot of cash to spend acquiring weapons of mass destruction: anthrax and sarin galore stored in the bunkers of his eerily deathly and sinister facilities. Minor attacks from the organization had gone mostly under the radar, but something big was planned to strike in the heart of Japan.

Aum Shinrikyo members attacked the Tokyo subway system with sarin gas, a total of 25 people died from exposure to the chemical weapons. Japan was shocked at the deadliest terror attack in the country’s modern history, and all resources were spent on an investigation.

Before Asahara himself could be captured, he would be killed. A member of the yakuza, Hiroyuki Jo, tracked him down and murdered him; it is widely believed that this was done to cover up the vast financial ties Aum Shinrikyo had with various Japanese organized crime syndicates.

However multiple other perpetrators were arrested and charged, among them were Seiichi Endo, Kiyohide Hayakawa, Yasuo Hayashi, Kenichi Hirose, Tomomitsu Niimi, and Masato Yokoyama.



Jean-Marie Le Pen and his neo-fascist National Front had little chance of even making to the second round of the French elections. Whatever passionate fandom he had was likely never enough to ever propel him to such a position. That didn’t stop everybody in the country, beyond his loyal cultlike supporters, from hating his putrid soul. That hate spread internationally every time the anti-Semitic firebrand opened his ugly mug. To the extent that one man couldn’t take it anymore.

The young Israeli Yigal Amir clung to his identity as tightly as he could. When he learned about this “French Hitler”, he felt as though he had a sacred honor to his people, as though on a mission from his beloved God in the defense of the Jews. Traveling to France in March 1995, he carefully plotted his next moves. Attending a National Front rally being held in Marseille, he hid his gun in his coat as the candidate and his daughter began to shake hands with those in attendance. Arriving at him, he struck as swiftly as a mantis to its prey. Jean-Marie Le Pen and his daughter Marine were soon dead, and Amir was tackled to the ground in the chaos.

As news got out that the assailant was a Jew, some of the more pathetic and cultish of Le Pen’s followers vandalized synagogues. Yet the overall tone from the French public was one of apathy, quickly distracted by better candidates in the upcoming elections. The already loathed National Front had nowhere to go but further irrelevance over the coming decades.

Jean-Marie Le Pen (6/20/1928-4/7/1995)
Marine Le Pen (8/5/1968-4/7/1995)

 

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Can we get his twisted logic for this?

Eh, he was just a mentally ill guy with a strong passionate hate for Clinton. Out of all the president killers, he probably resembles Charles J. Guiteau the most psychotically.

 

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Robert Joseph Dole had been a figure in Republican national politics since he was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1960. Though his inability to defeat Clintoncare as Senate minority leader in 1994 had slightly hurt his image with conservatives, he remained well-respected among the public. 1996 would be the third time that the old statesman sought the presidency after he lost the primaries in 1980 and 1988.

However, Dole was pestered by a gadfly that had showed up once more. The quixotic Patrick Buchanan was running for president yet again, hoping to rally up support from the GOP’s paleoconservatives. Buchanan was especially loathed by party bosses, who thought his image of extremism had tainted the Republicans’ image in 1992, drawing moderates to Clinton and Perot.

Despite Buchanan winning the early primary states of Iowa, Louisiana, and New Hampshire, Dole soon took the lead as the front runner following Super Tuesday. The “also-ran” candidates, Lamar Alexander, Phil Gramm, Dick Lugar, and Pete Wilson all endorsed Dole, enforcing a unified establishment candidate against Buchanan. Dole played well on Buchanan’s weaknesses, especially his Antisemitism controversies. “Do you want the party of Reagan or the party of David Duke?” asked a famous Dole television ad that ran throughout the South. While Buchanan never dropped out until the convention, it was clear he had no path to the nomination and Dole was declared the presumptive nominee. The Kansan’s running mate would be Dick Cheney, former Secretary of Defense.

Bob Dole
Patrick Buchanan
Steve Forbes

While Gore might’ve been the poster boy for unexciting policy wonk, Dole was a dinosaur. References to the Great Depression and Second World War in his speeches made him seem out of touch and alienated younger voters. Gore’s “Building Bridges to the Future” smelt of true American optimism, a stark juxtaposition to Dole’s woeful longing of a bygone era. The Reagan style of playing on uncanny nostalgia for “The Good Old Days” of the 1950s just didn’t play with voters worried more about better tomorrows than relived pasts.

In the end, Gore walked away with an impressive 53.4% of the popular vote, winning 393 electoral votes and 32 states. He began his second and final term in office with surprisingly high approval ratings.

 

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In the world of television entertainment, the 90s would see the end of some of the most popular television programs. The X-Files would conclude in its sixth season after an impressive run of 140 episodes. The series finale would see Mulder and Scully finally expose and defeat The Syndicate and their plot to assist extraterrestrials in wiping out and repopulating the human race. Though ultimately triumphant, Mulder would be fatally wounded by the Cigarette-Smoking Man, dying in Scully’s arms. The very last scene sees Scully reflecting upon their relationship and the nature of things unknown as she prepares to move onto the next mysterious chapter of her life. Critics and fans mostly praised the dark and somber tone of the finale.

As for television comedy, The Simpsons would cease production in its tenth season, the finale airing the same day as the X-Files’ epilogue. FOX advertised its two flagship shows going out as “a must-see night of blockbuster TV”. Further notoriety came from a quip by the writers in a press statement:

“The final episode is just the family slowly dying from carbon monoxide poisoning for 30 minutes. There will be no jokes here!”

Audiences, of course, were pleased to see an upbeat, funny, and heartwarming episode. After a prank by Bart during a field trip to the power plant leads to Mr. Burns firing Homer, he tries to get numerous other jobs around town to a comedic lack of success. A guilt-ridden Bart eventually convinces Burns to give his father his employment back, to which a speechless Homer can only response by hugging his son.

1998 would see an unlikely star in the world of politics arise, with many Californians amazed that actor-director Warren Beatty would be running for governor. Running as a true-blue liberal on a socially progressive platform, the Hollywood icon would win the party's nomination against Lieutenant Governor Gray Davis, and later in the general against California's attorney general Dan Lungren. Beatty managed a surprisingly professional campaign with a strong debate performance that would result in him sweeping the Golden State's cities. Now to see if the controversial new governor could bring forth his promises...