Clinton, who had campaigned as a moderate New Democrat in support of welfare reform, was wavering under pressure from the liberals. He turned to fellow New Democrat Gore. It's worth the risk. Clinton signed the bill and, despite incurring the wrath of the Democratic left wing, cruised to re-election over Republican Bob Dole later that year. The Clinton presidency has been an ideological hall of mirrors.
Critics call it unprincipled.
But this political suppleness has allowed Clinton to bend according to where he senses the public majority is. From the campaign to date, I would not have confidence in Gore's political ear. But if he pulls a great victory, you'd have to say all his political calculations were correct. Gore loyalists reject the complaint that he puts political expediency over principle. Floridian Carol Browner, an aide to Gore in the Senate who now serves as director of the Environmental Protection Agency, cited the vice president's attendance at an international meeting on global warming in Kyoto, Japan, in 1997.