What happened? Since the spring. Clinton has emerged as a credible foreign-policy president with successes in Haiti, Northern Ireland and Bosnia. And he’s performed a skillful domestic political two-step. He’s complied with GOP demands for a budget-balancing plan while fighting cuts in social programs, especially growth rates of Medicare, central to his Democratic power base. In doing so, he’s convinced many Americans he’s the voice of reason against the perceived excesses of the GOP. Still, the year ahead is full of potential pitfalls: Bosnia could unravel and a court battle over Whitewater documents could drag on to Election Day.
