politics

Politics

 * Presidents**

George H. W. Bush 1988-1992 (R) - VP = Dan Quayle

William Clinton 1992-2000 (D) - VP = Al Gore

George W. Bush 2000-2008 (R) - VP = Dick Cheney

Barack Obama 2008-present (D) - VP = Joseph Biden

source: []
 * Party in Power**

**Key Moments in American Politics**
Gore won popular vote by tiny margin. Electoral vote hinged on the Florida results which were disputed. Democrats demanded a hand recount of some counties. Supreme Court, in //Bush v. Gore//, halted the recount, giving the election victory to Bush. The case was unusual in that it did not seem to raise a federal constitutional question, but the Supreme Court said its decision applied in ONLY this case. It demonstrated that the country was evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats. Turnout was very low; voter "disengagement" was high.
 * Disputed election of 2000**

"Both candidates sought to occupy the political center and relied on public-opinion polls and media consultants to shape their messages. Major issues like health care, race relations, and economic inequality went virtually unmentioned during the campaign." (Foner, //Give Me Liberty//, 1086).

Implementation of post-9/11 security and legal measures heightened the power of the office of the president. For example, President Bush authorized illegal wiretapping by the NSA in violation of the laws that had been put in place after Watergate, citing national security as his justification, as well as circumventing international law on the capture, detention and treatment of prisoners of war.
 * Post-9/11 Presidency**

The election of the first African-American president, Barack Obama, who won over John McCain and his running mate, Alaska conservative Sarah Palin. However, the nation was still deeply divided politically, and Obama's election marked the rise of an influential political action coalition, the Tea Party.
 * Election of 2008**