SCOTT KEETER

Thus play I in one person many people . . .
-- Richard II (V, 5)

He was saying yes and saying no at the same time.
He was stealing the center, creating the center.

-- George Stephanopoulos

Bill Clinton played many parts in the political drama of his first four years,
including occasional stints on stage in multiple roles simultaneously. He
proved to have the versatility to do this well, and in doing so, excelled in
one important role demanded of elected officials: he reflected public opinion
in all its ambivalence and changeability. Ultimately, though, he was defined
by who he was not, and the public was provided with a relatively clear
choice about the direction of the country and what role the government
should play.

As in most modern American elections, the election of 1996 was
shaped by three important aspects of public opinion, which will be the
main focus of this chapter. The first was the underlying division in opinion
about the appropriate scope and role of government, and the extent to
which voters of differing viewpoints could be mobilized to vote. Although
the election did not provide a clear referendum on the conservative revolu-
tion of House Speaker Newt Gingrich and his colleagues, opinion about
what the government should be doing was the most important criterion
used by voters. The public was deeply divided over the role of government;
paradoxically, both the president and the Republicans running for Congress

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