Publish Date: Jan. 4, 1993
Cover Story: Moving In
How TIME Covered the News: Well before Inauguration Day, Bill Clinton was already hard at work. The nation’s deficit was unwieldy and growing quickly, and Clinton’s first big task was to ensure the math made sense. TIME’s “Person of the Year” cover story focused largely on the President-elect’s efforts to balance the national budget while still maintaining low taxes for the middle-class.
“Thus begins the education of Bill Clinton — and Clinton’s first moves toward educating his nation. Along the way Clinton has displayed several facets of his personality: a leader feared by his aides, who attempt to shield him from some uncomfortable truths; an insightful student of economics nevertheless capable of holding to notions most economists view as errant nonsense; a man determined to set the country on a difficult path, who views every setback as an opportunity.”