Today in History-November 4
Bill Clinton conducted a whistle-stop tour of America in the run-up toelection day
1992: Clinton beats Bush to the White House
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Democrat Bill Clinton has won the presidential election to become the 42nd
United States president and the first in US history born after World War II.
He beats 68-year-old Republican President George Bush.
Aged 46, the Governor of Arkansas will be the third youngest president in
US history after John Kennedy and Theodore Roosevelt.
There was an unusually high turnout - always good news for Democrats - with
an estimated 100 million Americans voting. The president-elect got 43% of the
vote to Mr Bush's 38% with Independent Ross Perot trailing behind with 19%.
The Democrats conducted a highly effective campaign pushing aside
allegations of Clinton's extra-marital affair with singer Gennifer Flowers and
accusations of draft dodging during the Vietnam war.
Instead they promised to lift America out of an economic quagmire, a
message that has obviously won favour.
Early results showed the Republicans were on their way out when their usual
strongholds of Vermont and New Hampshire fell to their rivals. Democrats then
began slicing into southern states like Georgia.
Mr Perot has not won a single state despite spending $60bn of his own money
on his campaign.
Clinton and his running mate Al Gore spent the last few weeks of the
campaign on a whistle-stop bus tour of America.
At dawn today they were at a rally in Denver, Mr Clinton's voice hoarse
from speech-making. "I have just about lost my voice," he said. "If you will be
my voice today, I will speak for you for four years."
He began the campaign more than a year ago with little hope of winning
against President Bush whose popularity was high on the back of the Gulf War
victory.
But since then the economy has taken a serious turn for the worse and with
it President Bush's standing in the eyes of US citizens.
In his victory speech at Little Rock, Arkansas, Mr Clinton thanked his
wife, Hillary, who stood by him during the Flowers sex scandal.
He said the American people had voted for a "new beginning" and promised to
tackle issues such as Aids, the environment and "the conversion of our economy
from a defence to a domestic economic giant".
He also paid tribute to President Bush for helping to bring an end to the
Cold War and a victory in the Gulf War.
It was an historic day for Congress too - the first black woman, Democrat
Carol Moseley Braun, was elected to the Senate.
Hungarian 'freedom fighters' forced back Soviet tanks and troops last
week
1956: Soviet troops overrun Hungary
Artificially 1969:
The The Soviet air force has bombed the Hungarian capital, Budapest and
Russian troops have poured into the city in a massive dawn offensive.
At least 1,000 Soviet tanks are reported to have entered Budapest and
troops deployed throughout the country are battling with Hungarian forces for
strategic positions.
The Soviet invasion is a response to the national uprising led by Prime
Minister Imre Nagy, who has promised the Hungarian people independence and
political freedom.
Mr Nagy's anti-Soviet policies, which include withdrawal from the Warsaw
Pact, have been worrying Eastern Bloc countries and Moscow has demanded his
government's capitulation.
News of the attack came at 0515 local time on Radio Budapest in an urgent
appeal by Mr Nagy himself for help from the West.
Despite an apparent withdrawal only last week, Soviet troops deployed
outside Budapest swept back into the capital with Russian and Romanian
reinforcements between 0400 and 0800 local time.
Artillery units pounded Budapest from the surrounding hills as Soviet MIG
fighters bombarded the capital from the air.
Sources say Soviet infantry units stormed the Parliament building, a key
strategic and symbolic target, early this morning.
Reports that Mr Nagy and other members of his cabinet were captured in the
attack have not been confirmed.
But in an unscheduled newscast on Moscow radio shortly after 1200GMT,
Russia claimed to have "crushed the forces of reactionary conspiracy against the
Hungarian people".
Despite Moscow's claims, heavy fighting is reported to be continuing
throughout the country for key installations such as railway stations and major
bridges across the River Danube.
Moscow is now backing a new breakaway Hungarian government led by Janos
Kadar, whose stated purpose is to destroy Mr Nagy's "counter-revolution".
Vocabulary:
quagmire: a soft wet area of low-lying land that sinks underfoot(沼泽;湿地)
capitulation: a summary that enumerates the main parts of a topic;the act
of surrendering (under agreed conditions)(摘要;投降条约)
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