From Triumph to Tragedy

From Triumph to Tragedy

Clinton had great interest when it comes to domestic policies and one of his plans was to reform the country’s healthcare system. This system was marred by soaring costs, unclear programs, and enhanced availability of uninsured and unemployed. Majority of the people needed medical care but this only developed more strains on the system, which made it be complicated. The people of America were to be provided by affordable healthcare insurance. Clinton was passionate about health reforms since America was the only industrialized country in the world and there was no universal health care system. By then, about 60 million Americans did not have health insurance and this was a major problem in the healthcare system. In the 1970s, the cost of health was very high and it was consuming seventh of the national services and goods. Effective implementation of health care reforms would have helped the country lower the cost of healthcare, which was a major drag on the economy. ¹

When Clinton was elected as the 42nd president of the United States, his focus was on domestic policy and he did not have intentions for deviating from the existing foreign policy. Clinton was only willing to engage on foreign policy if they would improve the American economy. Additionally, his success as a presidency would be determined by a cohesive foreign policy. Hence, Clinton decided to focus on the creation of a strategic approach to international affairs and this policy was known as the doctrine of enlargement. The idea of this doctrine was to expand market around the world, to intervene in world crisis when practical, embrace free trade and multilateral peacekeeping efforts and international alliances. With this idea in mind, Clinton and the nation were mixed up as they found themselves in military actions around the world. ²

Bibliography

Rubinstein, Alvin Z. Clinton Foreign Policy Reader: Presidential Speeches with Commentary . New York: Routledge, 2015.