January 3, 1994 - Harold Ickes, the new deputy White House chief of staff, is chosen to be the political director of the health care reform battle in its critical final phase. For his first two weeks on the job, when he should be focusing on health reform, he is forced to spend nearly all his time coordinating the White House response to a torrent of Whitewater stories and increased calls for the appointment of a special prosecutor. Republicans link Whitewater with health care reform in an allout campaign coordinated with the conservative talk radio network. The result: rising doubts that the public can trust Clinton in either case.
January 25, 1994 - In his State of the Union address, President Clinton tries to refocus public attention on health care reform as Congress prepares to wrestle with the actual legislative proposals. In the most dramatic moment of the speech Clinton unequivocally lays down the gauntlet, promising to fight to the end. He threatens to veto any legislation that does not guarantee every American private health insurance. Moynihan and Foley say privately this is a serious mistake.
The barrage of Whitewater stories continues, creating a siege mentality at the White House. Republicans openly embrace William Kristol's latest advice: Oppose any Clinton health care reform "sight unseen" and adopt a stance that "There is no health care crisis." Bob Dole uses this approach in his State of the Union response. During his talk Dole uses a chart -- depicting a bewildering array of new government agencies and programs -- to hammer home his point that the Clinton plan is government-run health care. The chart becomes a centerpiece in Capitol Hill debates and further frightens a public already Suspicious of government and increasingly distrustful of the President and the First Lady who have designed this new government program.
Late January 1994 - A critically influential -- and intensely controversial -- pair of articles appears on the Wall Street Journal's conservative editorial page and in the liberal New Republic. Written by an obscure staffer of the conservative Manhattan Institute, the fear-mongering articles paint a devastating account of the impact of the Clinton plan. The White House, and other independent experts, say the articles are filled with patent falsehoods and distortions. Notwithstanding the criticism, the articles become highly influential, especially in conservative circles. Newt Gingrich will later characterize them as "the first decisive breakpoint" in support for the Clinton plan.
