Welfare reform was forced on Clinton by Newt and the 94 congress. There was no support for that from Clinton beforehand. Maybe the DLC gave it lip service, but the DLC was never any kind of force.
If it sounds familiar, it should.
Clinton promised to focus on the economy and get reforms through Congress that had bipartisan support.
Somewhere along the way, that got sidetracked with a push for health care reform.
Obama made the same promises after his elections and instead focused on passing Obamacare.
When life gives you a chance to make lemonade, you make lemons instead.