I. Bill's Campaign
“I really don’t think you should do it,” she said, holding her husband’s hand as the limousine made it’s way to the event in Little Rock, Arkansas. She knew her husband’s mind was made up, but she wanted to give it one last try. She couldn’t blame him. She’d seen the fundraising numbers from the exploratory committee. She heard Mickey Kantor, Carl Wagner, Steve Cohen, John Holum, and Sandy Berger sit in the Governor’s Mansion and explain his path to victory. It seemed so plausible. So likely. She couldn’t blame him for thinking it was his time. It was Hillary’s gut versus polling, a strong fundraising performance, and a mediocre Democratic field. Of course he was going to run.
Bill squeezed her hand. “I know, and I respect that Hill, I really do. But trust me: I’m going to win this thing.”
The venue was filled with supporters. They were holding “Clinton for President” signs. They were cheering loudly. Hillary smiled, waving and thanking everyone for coming out. She had taken the stage first to introduce her husband. She spoke for a brief four minutes, outlining Bill’s accomplishments in the Governor’s Mansion and sharing a bit of their personal life – stories from law school and stories of Bill the father. Then, she introduced, “the man who is going to be George Bush, my husband, William Jefferson Clinton!”
The band played. Bill gave his speech. It felt great, but Hillary couldn’t shake it – that pit in her stomach that said Bill wasn’t going to be able to pull it off. Then, it went away. Shortly after his announcement speech, press attention turned to the young attractive governor of a Southern state. “For the Democratic Party, Bill Clinton represents a path to victory against opponents who only know how to label Democrats as liberal elitists from the Northeast.” His campaign raised lots of money and young people from Iowa to New Hampshire signed up to knock doors, make phone calls, and stuff envelopes. The Clinton campaign was becoming a well-oiled machine.
Then, in November 1987, rumors circulated that Bill Clinton was carrying on an affair with a young woman named Gennifer Flowers. Bill had once cheated on Hillary with Flowers in 1977. He denied any substantial affair. Hillary knew about the incident and had decided not to leave Bill. It had been ten years. The idea that Flowers would allege a continuous relationship enraged the couple. Flowers herself did not comment on the story and while rumors swirled in the press, they did not gain significant traction without an admission from Flowers. In fact, she denied the story to several reporters when asked to comment.
A month later, however, Flowers agreed to take a check from Star in exchange for her story, in which she alleged a ten-year affair between 1977 and 1987. The story caught on. Clinton, who was second in the polls in Iowa, second in New Hampshire, and poised to best Tennessee Senator Al Gore in a slew of Southern primaries, was suddenly losing ground. Donations dried up. Poll numbers plummeted. Opponents like Missouri Congressman Dick Gephardt, Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis, and Gore laid low but watched as their own fortunes began to rise as a result of the allegations. To combat the situation, Bill and Hillary agreed to sit for an interview on the Today Show.
Seated across from Bryant Gumbel in a live television interview, Bill and Hillary opened up about their marriage. When pressed to be specific about the nature of his involvement with Gennifer Flowers, the governor provided a meaningful if vague answer. “Bryant, the voters know, and I’ve said this before, that I have not been a perfect husband. I’ve caused pain in my marriage, like a lot of husbands have, and I have apologized to Hillary for that. Together, we have built a marriage that, while imperfect, is rooted in a deep love for one another.”
Gumbel pressed on. “Your marriage has come under scrutiny, however. There’s a perception that it’s less of a marriage rooted in love as you say, and instead is more of a sort of political arrangement. What do you say to that?”
Bill was clearly irritated. As he opened his mouth to answer, Hillary put her hand on his knee and interrupted. “Wait a minute,” she said. “Bryant, you’re looking at two people who love each other. This is not an arrangement or an understanding. This is a marriage. I am here this morning because I love this man. I love him with all my heart and I respect him and I honor what he’s been through and what we’ve been through together. I am a better person because of this man. If that’s not enough for people, then heck, don’t vote for him, but he has made me a better person, and he will make this country a better place.”
The interview continued with Gumbel asking Hillary to go into more detail about what she meant when she said Bill had bettered her. Suddenly, the interview was about Hillary. She was there on the couch, holding Bill’s hand, smiling and laughing and recounting anecdotes about Bill playing with Chelsea, about how she’d said no to him when he first proposed in law school, about how nervous he had been to ask her out. Bill was laughing and looked a little boyish, a little embarrassed, when Hillary shared some of the stories. Gumbel smiled. Suddenly, it became hard to deny that these people weren’t in love, even if their marriage hadn’t been a fairy tale.
When the interview was over, Bill and Hillary got back in the car and drove to their hotel room. On the way, campaign strategist Carl Wagner praised Hillary. “Ma’me, you just saved this campaign. You totally saved it.” She had. Afternoon papers reported on the interview and Hillary’s undeniable devotion to her husband. The evening news carried bits from the interview, but not the governor’s response to questions about Gennifer Flowers. Instead, they picked up at Hillary’s interruption and put together some of her answers that were wrapped in her love for her husband. The Clinton campaign was salvaged. Within two weeks, their poll numbers had recovered and they were raising more money than ever.
In Iowa, Bill Clinton placed second to Dick Gephardt. Polls in New Hampshire, the first primary state, however, showed him trailing Dukakis and Gephardt by healthy margins in the Granite State. Clinton refused to be deterred. He and Hillary traveled around New Hampshire extensively throughout the year. The night of the New Hampshire primary, Clinton barely finished behind Dukakis, taking second place. On the news that night, Carl Wagner was perfectly clear, “This was a victory for Governor Clinton. We all knew Michael Dukakis would win New Hampshire – he’s basically the governor of this state, but for Governor Clinton to come so close to preventing that from happening – that’s the story tonight.” The next morning, the New Hampshire Union Leader carried an interesting headline: “Victory!” it declared with a picture of Bill and Hillary Clinton waving to a crowd as confetti fell over them.
After New Hampshire, Senator Gore realized that his path to victory was blocked. Clinton had taken up Gore’s voters and donors. He dropped out of the race and endorsed the Arkansas governor. Shortly thereafter, Gephardt reached a similar conclusion. He, too, exited the race and announced his support of Clinton. He even went as far as to call on Michael Dukakis, Clinton’s remaining opponent, to follow suit. Dukakis stayed in a month longer, but there was never any doubt that Clinton would secure the nomination.
In the lead up to the Democratic convention, it looked as though victory was almost certain for Clinton. However, questions remained about his foreign policy credentials and experience against an incumbent vice president. To counter this, Clinton wanted a running mate who would bring considerable weight to the ticket. After a short vetting process, Clinton decided on Texas Senator Lloyd Bentsen. The choice was also of symbolic note. Bentsen had already defeated Bush once, in a race for the U.S. Senate. Now, he was joining forces with Clinton to deliver Bush the final defeat of his career.
After a successful convention that included a rousing keynote address from Texas State Treasurer Ann Richards, a protégé of Bentsen, the Democrats entered the general election soaring in the polls. In mid-September, though, the Clinton/Bentsen campaign was dealt a devastating blow. The Associated Press reported about Clinton’s actions during the Vietnam War in which he reportedly dodged the draft. The Dukakis campaign had discovered this information in the primaries, but was unwilling to use it in the campaign because they had previously leaked a damaging tape of Joe Biden plagiarizing remarks from a British politician that ended Biden’s campaign. Dukakis was afraid that his campaign would come across as too mud-slinging and that the attacks would ultimately backfire on him. Now, the report surfaced in the general election.
The Bush campaign, led by Lee Atwater, exploited the issue. Bush himself was a decorated war hero who had survived being shot down numerous times during World War II. Already, the Bush/Quayle team was running on patriotism and Bush’s service to the country. A new narrative began to take shape. The Clinton campaign struggled to respond to the allegations. Though a strong debate performance helped their numbers recover, the image of Clinton that Bush had created stuck. Though it was close, George H.W. Bush was elected the 41st president on November 8, 1988.
Bill and Hillary were stunned. Though they knew the draft scandal had narrowed the race, they thought Bill’s effective campaigning, in the end, would be enough. How wrong they had been. When the race was called around midnight, Bill told staff he intended to concede in the morning. “No,” Hillary said sternly. “You are going to go out there and you are going to do this now. He is the President-elect of the United States and you have an obligation as the man he just defeated to tell your supporters that.” Bill knew she was right.
“I want you to know that nothing has made me prouder than to be your champion,” Bill told everyone assembled at the election night party in Arkansas. It was the final sentence of his remarks. “Thank you,” he said, and exited the stage. Hillary stayed in the room well after Bill left, thanking supporters and staff. For her, the next campaign had just begun.