Candidate Bill Clinton: Promised workers he would require their employers to pay for retraining
President Bill Clinton: Put that idea on hold

Candidate Bill Clinton: Promised to increase minimum wage
President Bill Clinton: Wants to keep the wage the same

Candidate Bill Clinton: Attacked Bush’s policy of sending illegal Haitians back to Haiti
President Bill Clinton: Decided to maintain Bush’s policy on Haiti.

Candidate Clinton, campaign ad, January 1992
“I’ve offered a comprehensive plan to get our economy moving again….It starts with a tax cut on the middle class.”

Candidate Clinton, Jan. 12, 1992
“I want to make it very clear that this middle-class tax cut, in my view, is central to any attempt we’re going to make to have a short-term economic strategy.”

President-elect Clinton, Jan 14, 1993
“From New Hampshire forward, for reasons that absolutely mystify me, the press thought the most important issue in the race was the middle class tax cut. I never did meet any voter who thought that.”

President Clinton, first Oval Office address, Feb. 15, 1993
“I had hoped to invest in your [the middle class's] future…without asking more of you. And I’ve worked harder than I’ve ever worked in my life to meet that goal. But I can’t.”

Candidate Clinton, last presidential debate, Lansing Mich., Oct. 19, 1992
“The real mistake he [President Bush] made was the ‘read my lips’ promise in the first place. You just can’t promise something like that just to get elected if you know there’s a good chance that circumstances may overtake you.”

President-elect Clinton, press conference, Jan. 14, 1993
“We have a structural deficit that is too high. The American people would think I was foolish if I said I will not respond to changing circumstances.”