ABSTRACT
Even before he took the oath of office as president, Bill Clinton had to backtrack on a campaign promise to refugees. Clinton had locked up the Democratric nomination before President Bush issued the Kennebunkport Order. Distinguishing himself from his rival, he denounced it in strong terms. “I am appalled by the decision of the Bush administration to pick up fleeing Haitians on the high seas and forcibly return them to Haiti before considering their claim to political asylum,” he said. “If I were president, I would-in the absence of clear and compelling evidence that they weren’t political refugeesgive them temporary asylum until we restored the elected government of Haiti.” He called the Kennebunkport Order a “sad example of the administration’s callous response to a terrible human tragedy.”2
