1 00:00:09,242 --> 00:00:13,813 ♪ ♪ 2 00:00:20,420 --> 00:00:22,789 (helicopter blades whirring) 3 00:00:33,133 --> 00:00:36,770 (sirens wailing) 4 00:00:46,546 --> 00:00:52,018 BILL CLINTON: Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, my fellow Americans. 5 00:00:52,052 --> 00:00:56,689 Again, we are here in the sanctuary of democracy, 6 00:00:56,723 --> 00:01:00,193 and once again, our democracy has spoken. 7 00:01:00,226 --> 00:01:04,798 NARRATOR: On January 24, 1995, President Bill Clinton 8 00:01:04,831 --> 00:01:07,000 addressed Congress and the American people. 9 00:01:07,033 --> 00:01:11,337 Two years into his presidency, and just months after suffering 10 00:01:11,371 --> 00:01:14,607 the worst midterm election defeat in modern history, 11 00:01:14,641 --> 00:01:18,178 he was chastened and humble. 12 00:01:18,211 --> 00:01:21,948 And now all of us, Republicans and Democrats alike, 13 00:01:21,981 --> 00:01:25,018 must say, "We hear you. 14 00:01:25,051 --> 00:01:30,957 We will work together to earn the jobs you have given us." 15 00:01:30,990 --> 00:01:33,726 (audience applauding) 16 00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:37,063 ♪ ♪ 17 00:01:37,097 --> 00:01:41,301 MARK PENN: After the midterms, the president, I think, felt 18 00:01:41,334 --> 00:01:46,272 that he was almost a hostage in his own White House. 19 00:01:46,306 --> 00:01:49,242 He was unhappy with the White House staff, 20 00:01:49,275 --> 00:01:52,745 he was unhappy with the policy direction, 21 00:01:52,779 --> 00:01:57,016 and so he actually began a very quiet operation 22 00:01:57,050 --> 00:02:00,153 to begin to change his administration. 23 00:02:03,356 --> 00:02:05,558 NARRATOR: Beginning in early 1995, 24 00:02:05,592 --> 00:02:07,260 White House staffers began to notice 25 00:02:07,293 --> 00:02:09,629 a change in the president. 26 00:02:09,662 --> 00:02:11,131 His speeches contained 27 00:02:11,164 --> 00:02:14,300 unfamiliar language and cadences. 28 00:02:14,334 --> 00:02:18,771 In meetings, he'd get up abruptly and leave the room. 29 00:02:18,805 --> 00:02:22,842 Many aides felt he was no longer listening to them. 30 00:02:22,876 --> 00:02:24,811 ROBERT REICH: I recall a meeting 31 00:02:24,844 --> 00:02:27,147 that the president's economic advisers 32 00:02:27,180 --> 00:02:28,748 and political advisers were having 33 00:02:28,781 --> 00:02:31,251 about how he was going to spend the next three weeks, 34 00:02:31,284 --> 00:02:33,086 what themes he was going to emphasize. 35 00:02:33,119 --> 00:02:37,757 And I remember somebody from the back of the room, 36 00:02:37,790 --> 00:02:39,526 I think it was Erskine Bowles, 37 00:02:39,559 --> 00:02:41,761 then the president's chief of staff, 38 00:02:41,794 --> 00:02:44,831 saying, "This is all irrelevant." 39 00:02:44,864 --> 00:02:46,766 Irrelevant? 40 00:02:46,799 --> 00:02:48,101 We're the staff. 41 00:02:48,134 --> 00:02:50,403 We are the people who help the president. 42 00:02:50,436 --> 00:02:51,905 Why are we irrelevant? 43 00:02:51,938 --> 00:02:53,373 And he didn't exactly say. 44 00:02:53,406 --> 00:02:55,642 He said there was some other force in the White House. 45 00:02:55,675 --> 00:02:59,546 And again and again, there seemed to be instances-- 46 00:02:59,579 --> 00:03:02,649 it was almost like in astronomy, 47 00:03:02,682 --> 00:03:05,652 there's a black hole, and you can only tell it's there 48 00:03:05,685 --> 00:03:09,289 because planets begin moving into its gravitational orbit. 49 00:03:09,322 --> 00:03:11,791 But you look and there's nothing there. 50 00:03:11,824 --> 00:03:14,494 That was Dick Morris. 51 00:03:14,527 --> 00:03:16,396 Dick Morris was the black hole. 52 00:03:16,429 --> 00:03:20,266 ♪ ♪ 53 00:03:20,300 --> 00:03:21,701 NARRATOR: Dick Morris, 54 00:03:21,734 --> 00:03:24,504 an abrasive political consultant from New York, 55 00:03:24,537 --> 00:03:26,406 had a history with the Clintons 56 00:03:26,439 --> 00:03:29,576 that went all the way back to Arkansas. 57 00:03:29,609 --> 00:03:32,011 HARRIS: Other than Hillary Clinton, 58 00:03:32,045 --> 00:03:35,248 he was the most important political adviser 59 00:03:35,281 --> 00:03:40,253 that Bill Clinton had had over the course of his career. 60 00:03:40,286 --> 00:03:44,857 He was there for the very first election to governor in 1978 61 00:03:44,891 --> 00:03:47,260 and had been with Bill Clinton 62 00:03:47,293 --> 00:03:51,130 for most of the Arkansas gubernatorial years. 63 00:03:51,164 --> 00:03:54,434 NARRATOR: Morris set up shop in the White House 64 00:03:54,467 --> 00:03:56,836 and began to chair weekly strategy meetings 65 00:03:56,869 --> 00:04:00,673 that were attended by most of the president's senior staff. 66 00:04:00,707 --> 00:04:03,843 HAROLD ICKES: Clinton typically dominates 67 00:04:03,876 --> 00:04:07,313 any group or discussion that he's in. 68 00:04:07,347 --> 00:04:10,516 In the meetings on the second floor of the residence, 69 00:04:10,550 --> 00:04:12,685 which we had every week, 70 00:04:12,719 --> 00:04:16,089 Clinton would literally sit there for an hour sometimes, 71 00:04:16,122 --> 00:04:18,124 hardly saying a word, listening to Morris. 72 00:04:19,592 --> 00:04:21,861 MORRIS: When I first started to work for Clinton in the White House, 73 00:04:21,894 --> 00:04:23,496 he had two big negatives: 74 00:04:23,529 --> 00:04:26,199 a third of the country thought he was immoral 75 00:04:26,232 --> 00:04:28,701 and a third of the country thought he was weak, 76 00:04:28,735 --> 00:04:30,603 and I basically went to him and I said, 77 00:04:30,637 --> 00:04:32,405 "I can't do much about the immoral, 78 00:04:32,438 --> 00:04:33,973 but we sure can solve the weak." 79 00:04:34,007 --> 00:04:37,877 And therefore we embarked on a conscious strategy 80 00:04:37,910 --> 00:04:40,680 of making sure people saw Clinton as strong. 81 00:04:40,713 --> 00:04:43,216 ♪ ♪ 82 00:04:43,249 --> 00:04:45,985 NARRATOR: The heart of Morris's operation was his polling, 83 00:04:46,019 --> 00:04:49,689 which he used to diagnose where Clinton's weaknesses lay 84 00:04:49,722 --> 00:04:52,492 and how he could correct them. 85 00:04:52,525 --> 00:04:55,628 HARRIS: Polling became absolutely central. 86 00:04:55,662 --> 00:05:00,166 How do we present ourselves as an alternative to Newt Gingrich? 87 00:05:00,199 --> 00:05:02,435 How are people seeing the president? 88 00:05:02,468 --> 00:05:06,072 What sort of policies would make them feel better 89 00:05:06,105 --> 00:05:07,240 about Bill Clinton? 90 00:05:09,075 --> 00:05:10,977 JOE KLEIN: They polled everything. 91 00:05:11,010 --> 00:05:14,080 They polled every last word that came out of his mouth. 92 00:05:14,113 --> 00:05:16,516 They polled where he should go on vacation. 93 00:05:16,549 --> 00:05:19,152 Instead of going to Martha's Vineyard, 94 00:05:19,185 --> 00:05:21,888 that elite island off the coast of Massachusetts, 95 00:05:21,921 --> 00:05:24,957 they had him riding a horse in Wyoming. 96 00:05:24,991 --> 00:05:28,728 I think Bill Clinton's allergic to horses. 97 00:05:28,761 --> 00:05:31,531 But that's what the focus groups said would be 98 00:05:31,564 --> 00:05:33,599 more, a more acceptable vacation. 99 00:05:37,470 --> 00:05:38,771 MORRIS: One of the big problems 100 00:05:38,805 --> 00:05:41,507 was the relationship between Bill and Hillary. 101 00:05:41,541 --> 00:05:44,811 Voters thought that it was a zero-sum game, 102 00:05:44,844 --> 00:05:48,214 that for Hillary to be strong, Bill would have to be weak. 103 00:05:48,247 --> 00:05:51,884 And as a result, the perception of Hillary's strength 104 00:05:51,918 --> 00:05:55,288 became a perception of Bill's weakness. 105 00:05:55,321 --> 00:05:57,824 The polling made me understand that, 106 00:05:57,857 --> 00:05:59,859 and when I came back to work for Clinton, 107 00:05:59,892 --> 00:06:02,628 one of the first things I did was to tell Hillary, 108 00:06:02,662 --> 00:06:04,797 "You can be as influential as you want to be, 109 00:06:04,831 --> 00:06:06,232 "but do it in private. 110 00:06:06,265 --> 00:06:08,167 "Don't sit in on the strategy meetings, 111 00:06:08,201 --> 00:06:09,569 "don't make the appointments, 112 00:06:09,602 --> 00:06:12,138 "don't make everybody be cleared with you. 113 00:06:12,171 --> 00:06:14,607 "At the bedroom at night, tell him what to do, 114 00:06:14,640 --> 00:06:17,143 but don't let it be seen in public." 115 00:06:17,176 --> 00:06:19,579 ♪ ♪ 116 00:06:19,612 --> 00:06:21,981 NARRATOR: Morris's advice hit home. 117 00:06:22,014 --> 00:06:25,651 After the stunning defeat in the midterm elections, 118 00:06:25,685 --> 00:06:29,989 Hillary had received a large share of the blame. 119 00:06:30,022 --> 00:06:33,993 ICKES: She was outspoken, she was smart, she was hard-driving, 120 00:06:34,026 --> 00:06:37,230 and some people resented her. 121 00:06:37,263 --> 00:06:38,264 Remember, during the campaign, 122 00:06:38,297 --> 00:06:39,932 there was two for the price of one? 123 00:06:39,966 --> 00:06:41,934 Well, people aren't electing two for the price of one. 124 00:06:41,968 --> 00:06:43,503 They're electing the president. 125 00:06:45,204 --> 00:06:50,777 GAIL SHEEHY: She had been caught out trying to be a co-president. 126 00:06:50,810 --> 00:06:53,413 That just wasn't gonna fly, 127 00:06:53,446 --> 00:06:56,482 and that's when she had to begin to really re-examine, 128 00:06:56,516 --> 00:06:59,419 again, as she did as governor's wife, 129 00:06:59,452 --> 00:07:02,622 "What does the public want from me in this role?" 130 00:07:02,655 --> 00:07:05,625 And to take on gradually 131 00:07:05,658 --> 00:07:08,528 a little bit more of the traditional role of first lady. 132 00:07:08,561 --> 00:07:12,064 Well, welcome to the White House 133 00:07:12,098 --> 00:07:15,835 and to the beginning of the Christmas season here. 134 00:07:15,868 --> 00:07:19,172 NARRATOR: Unsatisfied by her ceremonial role as first lady, 135 00:07:19,205 --> 00:07:22,575 Hillary began working on issues important to her, 136 00:07:22,608 --> 00:07:25,545 but not alarming to the public. 137 00:07:25,578 --> 00:07:28,181 She began writing a book about children 138 00:07:28,214 --> 00:07:31,350 and traveled abroad with Chelsea to advocate for women's rights. 139 00:07:31,384 --> 00:07:34,220 She wrote a weekly syndicated column, 140 00:07:34,253 --> 00:07:37,790 and even consulted a psychic in the White House. 141 00:07:37,824 --> 00:07:39,892 But it wasn't enough. 142 00:07:39,926 --> 00:07:43,262 SHEEHY: She felt, for one of the rare times in her life, 143 00:07:43,296 --> 00:07:45,898 completely depressed. 144 00:07:45,932 --> 00:07:48,935 She said everything that she was doing wasn't working. 145 00:07:48,968 --> 00:07:52,138 She just didn't know what to do anymore, 146 00:07:52,171 --> 00:07:53,940 because she really wanted to be in there 147 00:07:53,973 --> 00:07:55,741 right at Bill Clinton's side, 148 00:07:55,775 --> 00:07:59,011 fighting all the political battles that he was doing. 149 00:07:59,045 --> 00:08:02,515 The president wants to defend Washington bureaucracy, 150 00:08:02,548 --> 00:08:05,518 Washington red tape, and Washington spending, 151 00:08:05,551 --> 00:08:08,054 and higher taxes to pay for less out of Washington. 152 00:08:08,087 --> 00:08:10,356 NARRATOR: While the Clintons struggled to find their way back 153 00:08:10,389 --> 00:08:11,891 from the political wilderness, 154 00:08:11,924 --> 00:08:16,262 their rival, Republican speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, 155 00:08:16,295 --> 00:08:19,198 was dominating politics in Washington. 156 00:08:19,232 --> 00:08:21,501 TRENT LOTT: I think Newt felt like he had 157 00:08:21,534 --> 00:08:25,071 led a great revolution and led the House-- 158 00:08:25,104 --> 00:08:28,040 and, and the Senate, for that matter-- to victory, 159 00:08:28,074 --> 00:08:31,077 and that he could... we could be the, you know, 160 00:08:31,110 --> 00:08:36,315 the driving force in this city, and that he was, in effect, 161 00:08:36,349 --> 00:08:39,285 comparable or equal to the president. 162 00:08:39,318 --> 00:08:41,254 ♪ ♪ 163 00:08:41,287 --> 00:08:43,189 NARRATOR: Gingrich and his newly elected army 164 00:08:43,222 --> 00:08:44,824 of Republican representatives 165 00:08:44,857 --> 00:08:47,193 quickly passed bill after bill 166 00:08:47,226 --> 00:08:50,596 from their "Contract with America." 167 00:08:50,630 --> 00:08:54,367 Sensing his strength, Gingrich was intent on drawing Clinton 168 00:08:54,400 --> 00:08:56,369 into a political showdown 169 00:08:56,402 --> 00:08:59,705 that would determine, once and for all, who was in charge. 170 00:08:59,739 --> 00:09:01,941 ♪ ♪ 171 00:09:01,974 --> 00:09:06,779 In the spring of 1995, Gingrich picked his battleground. 172 00:09:06,812 --> 00:09:08,848 I think the central issue 173 00:09:08,881 --> 00:09:11,517 that we challenged the Clinton administration on 174 00:09:11,551 --> 00:09:12,818 was on the budget. 175 00:09:12,852 --> 00:09:14,186 We wanted to balance the budget. 176 00:09:14,220 --> 00:09:18,958 We thought that was the most important domestic policy issue 177 00:09:18,991 --> 00:09:21,160 that existed in the country, 178 00:09:21,193 --> 00:09:25,665 and it was gonna be ugly, as all deficit fights inevitably are. 179 00:09:25,698 --> 00:09:27,833 What you currently have is 180 00:09:27,867 --> 00:09:31,904 a system designed to be a centralized bureaucracy. 181 00:09:31,938 --> 00:09:34,574 NARRATOR: In May, Gingrich unveiled a plan 182 00:09:34,607 --> 00:09:38,044 to eliminate the federal budget deficit in seven years 183 00:09:38,077 --> 00:09:40,246 through huge cuts in government spending. 184 00:09:40,279 --> 00:09:42,548 Most of the cuts would be concentrated 185 00:09:42,582 --> 00:09:45,151 in two government health insurance programs: 186 00:09:45,184 --> 00:09:47,887 Medicare and Medicaid. 187 00:09:47,920 --> 00:09:50,389 (cameras clicking) 188 00:09:50,423 --> 00:09:51,691 Gingrich had managed 189 00:09:51,724 --> 00:09:54,660 to shift the focus of power and media attention 190 00:09:54,694 --> 00:09:58,130 from Clinton to himself. 191 00:09:58,164 --> 00:10:00,399 CHRIS JENNINGS: Washington and the media is all about 192 00:10:00,433 --> 00:10:02,068 the new flavor of the month. 193 00:10:02,101 --> 00:10:03,436 And the new flavor of the month 194 00:10:03,469 --> 00:10:05,938 was not the Clinton administration. 195 00:10:05,972 --> 00:10:07,907 You had Newt Gingrich. 196 00:10:07,940 --> 00:10:10,142 I mean, he was a powerful, charismatic figure 197 00:10:10,176 --> 00:10:11,611 who had an answer to every question. 198 00:10:11,644 --> 00:10:14,880 There are three themes that define where we are right now. 199 00:10:14,914 --> 00:10:16,349 JENNINGS: And he not only 200 00:10:16,382 --> 00:10:18,417 wasn't afraid to talk, he longed to talk. 201 00:10:18,451 --> 00:10:21,621 His problem was, over time, he talked too much.