'William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton' (born 'William Jefferson Blythe III'
[1] on
August 19 1946) was the forty-second
President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. Before his presidency, Clinton served nearly twelve years as the 50th and 52nd
Governor of Arkansas. He was the
third-youngest person to serve as president, behind
Theodore Roosevelt and
John F. Kennedy, and is known as the first
baby boomer president. Clinton is considered to have served during the American transition from the political order of the
Cold War.
[2] Clinton was a
New Democrat politician and was mainly responsible for the
Third Way philosophy of governance that came to epitomize his two terms as president.
[3]
Clinton presided over the longest period of peace-time economic expansion in American history, which included a balanced budget and a federal surplus.
[whitehouse.gov -- April 2, 1999: The Longest Peacetime Expansion in History][4] His first term saw the passage of economic legislation such as the
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993. In
1994, because of several legislative failures, including an unsuccessful attempt at
health care reform,
Republicans won control of the
House of Representatives for the first time in 40 years.
[5] In his second term he was
impeached by the
U.S. House for
perjury,
obstruction of justice, and
abuse of power[6] in relation to a
scandal with a White House intern, but was subsequently
acquitted by the
United States Senate and remained in office to complete his term.
[7] Other events of Clinton's second term include the
Kosovo War.
Clinton left office with polls revealing that most people questioned his morals and ethics; however, he also retained a 65%
approval rating, the highest end-of-presidency rating of any President that came into office after
World War II.
[8] Since leaving office, Clinton has been involved in public speaking and humanitarian work. He created the
William J. Clinton Foundation to promote and address international causes, such as treatment and prevention of
HIV/
AIDS and
global warming. In 2004, he released a personal autobiography, ''
My Life''. His wife,
Hillary Rodham Clinton, is the
Junior United States Senator from the state of
New York, where they both currently reside, and a Democratic candidate for the 2008 presidential election.
Standing over 6 feet 3 inches tall (1.91 m), Clinton is one of the tallest U.S. Presidents in the nation's history.
Biography
Early life and education
William Jefferson Clinton was born William Jefferson Blythe III in
Hope,
Arkansas, and raised in
Hot Springs, Arkansas. His father was
William Jefferson Blythe, Jr., a traveling salesman, who died in a car accident three months prior to the birth of his son.
[1] In 1950, his mother,
Virginia Dell Cassidy (1923-1994), married
Roger Clinton, a partner with his brother in an automobile dealership.
[10]
William Jefferson Blythe III in 1950 at age four. Known at the time as Billy, he did not formally adopt his stepfather's name until aged 14
It was not until Billy (as he was known then) turned 14 that he formally adopted his stepfather's surname of Clinton, although he had assumed use of it prior to that. Clinton has claimed that he remembers his stepfather as a
gambler and an
alcoholic who regularly abused his mother and, at times, his half-brother,
Roger, Jr.[10][12]
In Hot Springs, Clinton attended St. John's Catholic Elementary School, Ramble Elementary School, and
Hot Springs High School - where he was an active student leader, avid
reader, and
musician.
[13] He was in the chorus and played the
saxophone, winning first chair in the state band's saxophone section. He briefly considered dedicating his life to
music, but as he noted in his
autobiography ''
My Life'':
In 1963, two influential moments in Clinton's early life contributed to his decision to become a public figure. One was his visit to the
White House to meet President
John F. Kennedy, as a
Boys Nation senator.
[10][12] The other was listening to
Martin Luther King's 1963 ''
I Have a Dream'' speech (which he memorized).
[16]
Clinton was also a member of Youth Order of
DeMolay, but he never actually became a
Freemason.
[17] He is a member of
Kappa Kappa Psi's National Honorary Band Fraternity, Inc. With the aid of scholarships, Clinton attended the
Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at
Georgetown University in
Washington D.C., receiving a
Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service (B.S.F.S.) degree in 1968. It was at Georgetown that he interned for Arkansas Senator
J. William Fulbright.
[10] While in college he became a brother of
Alpha Phi Omega and was elected to
Phi Beta Kappa.
[19]
Upon graduation he won a
Rhodes Scholarship to
University College, Oxford where he studied government.
[12] He developed an interest in
rugby, playing at Oxford and later for the Little Rock Rugby club in Arkansas. While at Oxford he also participated in
Vietnam War protests, including organizing an October 1969
Moratorium event.
[10] In later life he admitted to smoking
cannabis at the university, but claimed that he "never inhaled".
[12]
After Oxford, Clinton attended
Yale Law School and obtained a
Juris Doctor degree in 1973.
[12] While at Yale, he began dating law student
Hillary Rodham who was a year ahead of him. They married in 1975 and their only child,
Chelsea, was born in 1980.
Early political career
Governor of Arkansas
After graduating from Yale Law School, Clinton returned to Arkansas and became a
University of Arkansas law professor. A year later, in 1974, he ran for the
House of Representatives. The incumbent,
John Paul Hammerschmidt, defeated Clinton with 52% of the vote. In 1976, Clinton was elected
Attorney General of
Arkansas without opposition in the general election.
[12]
In 1978, Bill Clinton was elected
Governor of Arkansas for the first time; at 32, he was the youngest governor in the country. He worked on educational reform and the infrastructure of Arkansas's roads, but his first term also was fraught with difficulties, including an unpopular motor vehicle tax and citizens' anger over the escape of
Cuban refugees (from the
Mariel boatlift) detained in
Fort Chaffee in 1980. A political maverick,
Monroe Schwarzlose of
Kingsland in
Cleveland County, polled a surprising 31% of the vote against Clinton in the 1980 Democratic gubernatorial primary. Some suggested that Schwarzlose's unexpected voter turnout foreshadowed Clinton's defeat in the general election that year by
Republican challenger
Frank D. White. As Clinton once joked, he was the youngest ex-governor in the nation's history.
[12]
But in 1982, Clinton reclaimed his old job as governor and kept it for another 10 years, helping
Arkansas transform its
economy and significantly improving the state's educational system. He became a leading figure among the
New Democrats.
[26] The New Democrats, organized within the
Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) were a branch of the Democratic Party that called for welfare reform and smaller government, a policy supported by both Democrats and Republicans. He served as Chair of the
National Governors Association from 1986 to 1987, bringing him to an audience beyond Arkansas.
[12]
Clinton made economic growth, job creation and educational improvement high priorities of his administration. He removed the
sales tax from
medicine for
senior citizens and increased the home property tax exemption for the elderly. Clinton was also responsible for some state educational improvement programs, notably more spending for schools, rising opportunities for gifted children, an increase in vocational education, and raising of teachers' salaries.
[12][26]
Clinton's approach answered conservative criticism during his terms as governor, but personal and business transactions made by the Clintons during this period became the basis of the
Whitewater investigation, which dogged his later presidential administration.
[30] After very extensive investigation over several years, no indictments were made against the Clintons related to the years in Arkansas.
[12][32]
Campaign for the Democratic nomination
There was some media speculation in 1987 that Clinton would enter the race for the
1988 Democratic presidential nomination after then-
New York Governor Mario Cuomo declined to run and Democratic front-runner
Gary Hart left the nomination owing to revelations about marital infidelity. Then often called the ''"Boy Governor"'' because of his youthful appearance, Clinton decided to remain as Arkansas governor and postpone his presidential ambitions until 1992.
[33] Clinton then endorsed
Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis for the nomination. He did, however, give the opening night address at the
1988 Democratic National Convention, a nationally-televised speech that introduced him to the American public, but was criticized for its length. Presenting himself as a moderate and a member of the
New Democrat wing of the Democratic Party, he headed the moderate
Democratic Leadership Council in 1990 and 1991.
[34][35]
In 1992, Clinton was the early favorite of
Democratic Party for the presidential nomination and was able to garner the support of many
superdelegates even before the first nominating contests were conducted.
However, Clinton's presidential bid ran into difficulty in the starting weeks. First he finished low down the list in the
Iowa caucus, which was largely uncontested due to the presence of their native Senator
Tom Harkin, who subsequently won. Secondly the campaign entered difficulty, when during the
New Hampshire Primary campaign, revelations of a possible extramarital affair with
Gennifer Flowers began to surface. Clinton and his wife Hillary decided to go on ''
60 Minutes'' following the
Super Bowl to refute those charges of infidelity, as Clinton had fallen way behind former
Massachusetts Senator
Paul Tsongas in the New Hampshire polls.
12
Their TV appearance was a calculated risk, but it seemed to pay off as Clinton regained several delegates. He still finished second to Tsongas in the
New Hampshire primary, but the media viewed it as a moral victory for Clinton, since he came within single digits of winning after trailing badly in the polls. Clinton shrewdly labeled himself "''The Comeback Kid''" on election night to help foster this perception and came out of New Hampshire as the leader by a large percentage. Tsongas, on the other hand, picked up little or no momentum from his victory.
12
Clinton used his new-found momentum to win many of the Democratic
Southern primaries, including the big prizes of
Florida and
Texas, and build up a sizable delegate lead over his opponents in the race for the
1992 Democratic presidential nomination. However, there were still some doubts whether he could secure the nomination, as former
California Governor
Jerry Brown was scoring victories elsewhere and Clinton had yet to win a significant contest outside of his native South.
1235
With no major Southern state remaining on the primary calendar, Clinton targeted the
New York primary, which contained a large number of delegates and was to be his proving ground. He scored a resounding victory in
New York City. He finally shed his image as a regional candidate.
35 Having been transformed into the consensus candidate, he secured the Democratic Party nomination, topping it off with a victory in
Jerry Brown's home state of
California.
12
Presidential Election
Main articles: United States presidential election, 1992
Clinton won the
1992 presidential election (43.0% of the vote) against Republican George H. W. Bush (37.4% of the vote) and billionaire
populist H. Ross Perot, who ran as an independent (18.9% of the vote) on a platform focusing on domestic issues; a large part of his success was Bush's steep decline in public approval. Previously described as "unbeatable" because his
approval ratings were in the 80% range during the
Persian Gulf conflict, Bush saw his public approval rating drop to just over 40% by election time because of a souring economy.
[36]
Additionally, Bush reneged on his when he compromised with Democrats in an attempt to lower the Federal deficits; this hurt his approval rating among conservatives. Clinton capitalized on Bush's policy switch, repeatedly condemning the president for making a promise he failed to keep.
[37]
Finally, Bush's party base was in disarray. Conservatives had previously been united by anti-
communism, but with the end of the
Cold War, new issues would have to emerge. The
1992 Republican National Convention was perceived by some moderate voters to have been uninspiring and usurped by religious conservatives.
[38] All of this worked in Clinton's favor. Clinton could point to his moderate, "New Democrat" record as governor of Arkansas. Liberal Democrats were impressed by Clinton's academic credentials, his 1960s-era protest record, and support for social causes such as women's abortion issues. Many Democrats who had supported
Ronald Reagan and Bush in previous elections switched their allegiance to Clinton.
[39]
His election ended an era of Republican rule of the
White House for the previous 12 years, and 20 of the previous 24 years. The election also gave the Democrats full control of both branches of Congress, the
House of Representatives and the
Senate. Clinton would be the first president to enjoy this privilege since
Jimmy Carter in the late 1970s.
Presidency, 1993–2001
Main articles: Clinton Administration,
Foreign policy of the Clinton Administration
First term, 1993–1997
Clinton was inaugurated on
January 20,
1993 as the 42nd
President of the United States. In his inaugural address he declared that:
Shortly after taking office, Clinton signed the
Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, which required large employers to allow their employees to take unpaid leave because of pregnancy or a serious medical condition. While this action was popular, Clinton's attempt to fulfill another campaign promise of allowing openly
homosexual men and women to serve in the armed forces was the subject of criticism. His handling of the issue garnered criticism from the left (for being too tentative in promoting
gay rights) and the right (for being too insensitive to military life). After much debate, Congress implemented the "
Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, stating that homosexual men and women may serve in the military as long as their sexuality is kept secret. Later in his presidency, in 1999, Clinton said he did not "think any serious person could say" that the way the policy was being implemented was not "out of whack".
[40] Some gay rights advocates criticized Clinton for not going far enough and accused him of making his campaign promise simply to get votes and contributions.
[41][42] These advocates felt Clinton should have integrated the military by executive order, noting that President
Harry Truman ended racial segregation of the armed forces in that manner. Clinton's defenders argued that an executive order might have prompted the Senate, which then had a Democratic majority, to write the exclusion of gays into law, potentially making it even harder to integrate the military in the future.
[26]
The Clinton-Gore administration launched the first official
White House website on
21 October,
1994.
[44][45] It was followed by three more versions, resulting in the final edition launched in
2000.
[46][47] The White House website was part of a wider movement of the Clinton administration toward web based communication. According to Robert Longley, "Clinton and Gore were responsible for pressing almost all federal agencies, the U.S. court system and the U.S. military onto the Internet, thus opening up America's government to more of America's citizens than ever before. On
17 July 1996, President Clinton issued Executive Order 13011 - Federal Information Technology, ordering the heads of all federal agencies to fully utilize information technology to make the information of the agency easily accessible to the public."
[48]
Also in 1993, Clinton promoted another controversial issue during this period regarding free trade when he supported the
North American Free Trade Agreement for ratification by the U.S. Senate. Clinton, along with most of his Democratic Leadership Committee allies, strongly supported free trade measures. Opposition came from anti-trade Republicans, protectionist Democrats and supporters of
Ross Perot. However, despite this opposition, the treaty was ratified by the Senate and signed into law by the President on
1 January 1994.
[49]
Clinton signed the
Brady Bill, which imposed a five-day waiting period on handgun purchases. He also expanded the
Earned Income Tax Credit, a subsidy for low income workers.
[32]
One of the most prominent items on Clinton's legislative agenda was
a health care reform plan, the result of a taskforce headed by
Hillary Clinton, aimed at achieving universal coverage via a national healthcare plan. Though initially well-received in political circles, it was ultimately doomed by well-organized opposition from conservatives, the
American Medical Association, and the health insurance industry. However,
John F. Harris, a biographer of Clintons, states that the program failed because of a lack of co-ordination within the
White House.
[32] Despite his party holding a majority in the House and Senate, the effort to create a national healthcare system ultimately died under heavy public pressure. It was the first major legislative defeat of Clinton's administration.
[26][32]
Two months later, after two years of Democratic Party control under Clinton's leadership, the
mid-term elections in 1994 proved disastrous for the Democrats. This was the first time the Democratic Party had lost control of both houses of Congress in 40 years.
In August 1993, Clinton signed the
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, which passed Congress without a single Republican vote. It raised taxes on the wealthiest 1.2% of taxpayers,
[54] while cutting taxes for 15 million low-income families and making tax cuts available to 90% of small businesses.
[55] Additionally, it mandated that the budget be balanced over a number of years, through the implementation of spending restraints.
Second term, 1997–2001
In the
1996 presidential election, Clinton was re-elected, receiving 49.2% of the popular vote over Republican
Bob Dole (40.7% of the popular vote) and
Reform candidate
Ross Perot (8.4% of the popular vote), becoming the first Democrat to win reelection to the presidency since Franklin Roosevelt. The Republicans lost a few seats in the House and gained a few in the Senate, but overall retained control of the Congress. Clinton received 379, or over 70% of the
Electoral College votes, with Dole receiving 159 electoral votes.
On
January 21,
1998, a controversy was raised by the media and prominent Republicans
[56] over Clinton's relationship with a young White House intern,
Monica Lewinsky, resulting in the
Lewinsky scandal.
[32] In a
lame duck session after the 1998 elections, the Republican-controlled House
voted to impeach Clinton for matters related to the scandal. The Republican-controlled Senate then voted to acquit Clinton the following year, and he remained in office to complete his term.
[58]
The
Digital Millennium Copyright Act, enacted by Clinton on
October 21,
1998, served as the first significant amendment to the
Copyright Act since 1976. The DMCA extended the protection of
intellectual property to outlaw
reverse engineering of digital protection. It also provided a framework for
sound recording copyright owners and recording artists to seek public performance royalties under statute, which proved to be a landmark achievement for the recording industry.
[59]
The
Elián González affair took prominent stage during early 2000. The boy survived a boat wreck as his family fled from Cuba, but his mother died, setting off an international legal fight for where the boy should stay. Eventually the administration, via
Janet Reno, had González forcefully obtained and returned to Cuba.
Two notable military events occurred during Clinton's second term. The first was
Operation Desert Fox, a bombing campaign designed to weaken
Saddam Hussein's grip on power over
Iraq. The four-day campaign lasted from
December 16 to
December 19,
1998. It began after Clinton signed H.R. 4655 into law on
October 31,
1998, which instituted a policy of "regime change" against Iraq, though it explicitly stated that it did not speak to the use of American military forces.
[60][61] The law was signed months after his
State of the Union Address to Congress where Clinton warned Congress of Saddam Hussein's pursuit of nuclear weapons:
The second was
Operation Allied Force, a 1999
NATO bombing campaign against the former
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Clinton authorized the use of American troops in the mission to stop the
ethnic cleansing and
genocide[62][63] of
Albanians at the hands of the nationalist
Serbians.
General Wesley Clark was
Supreme Allied Commander of NATO at the time and oversaw the mission. The bombing campaign ended on
June 10,
1999, with
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 adopted that same day, placing Kosovo under
U.N. administration and authorizing a
peacekeeping force.
[64] NATO claimed to have suffered zero deaths in combat,
[65] and two deaths total from an
Apache helicopter crash.
[66] Pre-war genocide claims by Clinton and his administration have been criticized and discredited as greatly exaggerated.
[67][68] A U.N. Court ruled that genocide did not take place, although it did recognize, "a systematic campaign of terror, including murders, rapes, arsons and severe maltreatments".
[69] The term "ethnic cleansing" was used as an alternative to "genocide" to denote not just ethnically motivated murder but also displacement, though critics charge there is no difference.
[70] Slobodan Milošević, the President of
Serbia at the time, was eventually charged with the "murders of about 600 individually identified ethnic Albanians" and "crimes against humanity".
[71]
In the closing year of his Administration, Clinton attempted to address the
Arab-Israeli conflict. After initial successes such as the Oslo accords of the early-1990s, the situation had quietly deteriorated, breaking down completely with the start of the
Second Intifada. Clinton brought Israeli Prime Minister
Ehud Barak and Palestinian Authority Chairman
Yasser Arafat together at
Camp David.
[32] However, Barak and Arafat could not find common ground, and the
negotiations were ultimately unsuccessful.
[32]
In November 2000, Clinton became the first president to visit
Vietnam since the end of the
Vietnam War.
[74] Clinton remained popular with the public throughout his two terms as President, ending his presidential career with a 65% approval rating, the highest end-of-term approval rating of any President since
Eisenhower.
[75] In addition to his political skills, Clinton also oversaw a boom of the US economy. Under Clinton, the United States had a projected federal budget surplus for the first time since 1969.
[76]
Legislation and programs
'Major legislation signed'
★ 1993-02-05 - Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993
★ 1993-08-10 - Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 - Raised income tax rates; income tax, top rate: 39.6%; corporate tax: 35%
★ 1993-09-21 - creation of the AmeriCorps volunteer program
★ 1993-11-30 - Brady Bill
★ 1994-09-13 - Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, part of an omnibus crime bill, the federal death penalty was expanded to some 60 different offenses (see Federal assault weapons ban)
★ 1996-02-01 - Communications Decency Act
★ 1996-02-08 - Telecom Reform Act: eliminated major ownership restrictions for radio and television groups.
★ 1996-02-26 - Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, a welfare reform bill
★ 1996-03-14 - authorized $100 million counter-terrorism agreement with Israel to track down and root out terrorists.
★ 1996-04-09 - Line Item Veto Act
★ 1996-04-24 - Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act
★ 1996-08-20 - Minimum wage Increase Act
★ 1996-09-21 - Defense of Marriage Act, allowed states to refuse recognition of certain same-sex marriages, and defined marriage as between a male and female for purposes of federal law
★ 1997-08-05 - Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997
★ 1998-10-28 - Digital Millennium Copyright Act
★ 1998-10-31 - Iraq Liberation Act
|
'Major legislation vetoed'
★ national budget
★ H.R. 1833, partial birth abortion ban
★ Twice vetoed welfare reform before signing
★ the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. Congress overrode the veto, however, to enact the bill into law.
'Proposals not passed by Congress'
★ Health care reform
★ Campaign finance reform (1993)
Initiatives
★ Tried to get Ehud Barak of Israel and Yasser Arafat of the Palestinian National Authority, to agree to a final settlement agreement.
★ Initiated the Don't ask, don't tell policy toward gays in the military, 1993.
★ Reversed a ban on senior Sinn Féin politicians entering the U.S.
★ Proposed a national challenge to end the racial divide in America, the One America Initiative.
★ Extraordinary rendition got approval for the first time in the USA from the Clinton administration.
|
Supreme Court appointments
Clinton appointed the following justices to the
Supreme Court:
★
Ruth Bader Ginsburg - 1993
★
Stephen Breyer - 1994
[77]
Public approval
While Clinton's job
approval rating varied over the course of his first term, ranging from a low of 36% in mid-1993 to a high of 64% in late-1993 and early-1994,
[78] his job approval rating consistently ranged from the high-50s to the high-60s in his second term.
[79] Clinton's approval rating reached its highest point at 73% approval in the aftermath of the impeachment proceedings in 1998 and 1999.
[80]
A CNN/USA TODAY/Gallup poll conducted as he was leaving office, revealed deeply contradictory attitudes regarding Clinton.
[81] Although his approval rating at 68% was higher than that of any other departing president since polling began more than seventy years earlier, only 45% said they would miss him. While 55% thought he "would have something worthwhile to contribute and should remain active in public life", 68% thought he would be remembered for his "involvement in personal scandal" rather than his accomplishments as president, and 58% answered "No" to the question "Do you generally think Bill Clinton is honest and trustworthy?". 47% of the respondents identified themselves as being Clinton supporters. 47% said he would be remembered as either "outstanding" or "above average" as a president while 22% said he would be remembered as "below average" or "poor".
[81]
In recent public rankings of American presidents, Bill Clinton ranked highly. The
Gallup Organization published a poll in February 2007 that asked respondents to name the greatest president in U.S. history; Clinton came in fourth place, capturing 13% of the vote. In a 2006
Quinnipiac University poll that asked respondents to name the best president since
World War II, Clinton ranked second with 25% of the vote.
[83]
In May 2006, a CNN poll comparing Clinton's job performance with that of his successor, George W. Bush, found that a strong majority of respondents said Clinton outperformed Bush in six different areas questioned.
[84]
Public image
Clinton reading with a child in
Chicago, September, 1998
As the first
Baby Boomer president, Clinton was the first president in a half-century not to have been shaped by
World War II. The public image of Clinton was important throughout his presidency and his innovative use of
soundbite-ready dialogue, personal charisma, and public perception-oriented campaigning is stated by authors Martin Walker and Bob Woodward as one of the major reasons for his high public
approval ratings.
[85][86] With his pioneering use of pop culture in his campaigning, such as playing the saxophone on ''
The Arsenio Hall Show'', Clinton was sometimes described by religious conservatives as "the
MTV president".
[87]
Clinton was also very popular among
African Americans and made improving race relations a major theme of his presidency.
[88]
In 1998,
Nobel Prize-winning author
Toni Morrison called Clinton "the first Black president," saying "Clinton displays almost every trope of
blackness: single-parent household, born poor, working-class, saxophone-playing,
McDonald's-and-junk-food-loving boy from Arkansas," and comparing Clinton's sex life, scrutinized despite his career accomplishments, to the stereotyping and
double standards that blacks typically endure.
[89]
Post-presidential career
Public speaking and campaigning
Hillary Clinton re-enacts being sworn in as a U.S. Senator by Vice President Gore as Bill and
Chelsea Clinton observe.
Clinton has engaged in a career as a
public speaker on a variety of issues. In his speaking engagements around the world, he continues to comment on aspects of contemporary politics.
[90][91] One notable theme is his advocacy of multilateral solutions to problems facing the world. Clinton's close relationship with the
African American community has been highlighted in his post-presidential career with the opening of his personal office in the
Harlem section of
New York City.
[92]
After the Clintons had moved to
Chappaqua, New York, in the northern suburbs of New York City, at the end of his Presidency, he assisted his wife,
Hillary Clinton, in her campaign for office as
Senator from
New York.
[ Hillary Rodham Clinton scores historic win in New York ] Clinton also campaigned for a number of Democratic candidates for the Senate in the 2002 elections, but only one was voted into office.
[93]
On
July 26,
2004, Clinton spoke for the fifth consecutive time to the
Democratic National Convention, using the opportunity to praise candidate
John Kerry. In it, he criticized President George W. Bush's depiction of Kerry, saying that "strength and wisdom are not opposing values." Unfortunately for Kerry, despite Clinton's strong speech, the post-convention bounce to his poll numbers was less than was hoped for.
[94]
Clinton has given dozens of paid speeches each year since leaving office, mostly to corporations and philanthropic groups in
North America and
Europe, earning sums from $100,000 to $300,000 per speech.
[95] He earned more than $30 million in speaking fees from 2001 to 2005, according to his wife’s Senate ethics reports.
[96] In 2007, it is now estimated that he has amassed around $40 million (£20 million) from speaking fees.
[97]
Clinton is currently active supporting his wife
Hillary Clinton as a Democratic candidate for the
Presidential election of 2008. He has helped make public speeches supporting his wife and engaged in efforts to help raise funds for her campaign.
[98][99][100]
William J. Clinton Presidential Center
Main articles: William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park
Clinton dedicated his
presidential library, the
William J. Clinton Presidential Center, which has the largest archives of any presidential library, in
Little Rock, Arkansas on
November 18,
2004.
[101] Under rainy skies, Clinton received words of praise from former presidents
Jimmy Carter and
George H. W. Bush, as well as from the current president,
George W. Bush. He was also treated to a musical rendition from
Bono and
The Edge from
U2, who expressed their gratitude at Clinton's efforts to resolve the Northern Ireland conflict during his presidency.
[102]
''My Life''
In 2004, Clinton released a personal
autobiography, ''
My Life''. The book was published by the
Knopf Publishing Group at
Random House on
June 22,
2004, and set a worldwide record for single day non-fiction book sales according to the publisher.
[103] Later released as an audio book, total sales were in excess of 400,000 copies. He received U.S. $12 million in advance as a writer's fee.
[104]
William Clinton Foundation
Main articles: William J. Clinton Foundation
The William J. Clinton Foundation promotes and provides for a number of humanitarian causes. Within the foundation, the Clinton Foundation
HIV and
AIDS Initiative (CHAI) strives to make treatment for HIV/AIDS more affordable and to implement large-scale integrated care, treatment, and prevention programs. While in
Sydney to attend a Global Business Forum, Clinton signed a memorandum of understanding on behalf of his presidential foundation with the Australian government to promote HIV/AIDS programs in the
Asia-Pacific region.
The Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), funded by the Clinton Foundation, was inaugurated
September 15-
September 17,
2005 in New York City to coincide with the
2005 World Summit. The focus areas of the initiative include attempts to address world problems such as global
public health,
poverty alleviation and religious and
ethnic conflict.
[105]
On
May 3,
2005, Clinton announced through the
William J. Clinton Foundation an agreement by major soft drink manufacturers to stop selling sugared sodas and juice drinks in public primary and secondary schools.
[106]
Other humanitarian work
Clinton has also engaged in humanitarian work in cooperation with fellow former-President George H. W. Bush, specifically in the aftermath of the Asian Tsunami disaster and
Hurricane Katrina. They were later awarded on
October 5,
2006, the 2006
Philadelphia Liberty Medal for their work on the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund and Bush-Clinton Tsunami Fund.
[107] They also spoke together at the funeral of
Boris Yeltsin.
[108]
On
January 3 2005, President George W. Bush named Clinton and
George H. W. Bush to lead a nationwide campaign to help the victims of the
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. On
February 1,
2005, he was selected by U.N. Secretary-General
Kofi Annan to head the
United Nations earthquake and tsunami relief and reconstruction effort.
[109]
Five days later, Clinton appeared with Bush on the
Super Bowl XXXIX pre-game show on
Fox in support of their bipartisan effort to raise money for relief of the disaster through the
USA Freedom Corps, an action which Bush described as "transcending politics".
[110] Thirteen days later, they traveled to the affected areas to see the relief efforts.
[111]
On
August 31,
2005, following the devastation of the
Gulf Coast by
Hurricane Katrina, Clinton again teamed with George H. W. Bush to coordinate private relief donations, in a campaign similar to their earlier one in response to the
Indian Ocean tsunami.
[112]
Clinton, along with Pres. George W. Bush,
Laura Bush, and Pres. George H. W. Bush pay their respects to Pope
John Paul II before the pope's funeral.
In April 2007 Clinton made his first visit to new
United Nations Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon. The 45-minute meeting, called at Clinton's request, touched on a host of topics, including the continuing human tragedy in Africa, especially in the
Darfur region. The
Middle East, the conflict in Iraq, and Iran's nuclear standoff with the U.N. were also on the agenda, as well as the continuing HIV/AIDS crisis.
[113]
Environment
On
August 1,
2006, the
William J. Clinton Foundation entered into a partnership with the
Large Cities Climate Leadership Group to create the Clinton Foundation Climate Change Initiative (CCI), agreeing to provide resources to allow the participating cities to enter into an energy-saving product purchasing consortium and to provide technical and communications support.
[114]
On
December 9,
2005, speaking at the
United Nations Climate Change Conference in
Montreal, Clinton publicly criticized the Bush Administration for its handling of emissions control. Further, Clinton twice visited the
University of California, Los Angeles in 2006 to promote initiatives concerning the environment. First, on
August 1,
2006, he met with
Tony Blair,
Ken Livingstone,
Antonio Villaraigosa, and
Gavin Newsom to advertise the
Large Cities Climate Leadership Group. On
October 13,
2006, he spoke in favor of
California Proposition 87 on
alternative energy, which was voted down.
[115]
Personal health
On
September 2,
2004, Clinton had an episode of
angina and was evaluated at Northern Westchester Hospital. It was determined that he had not suffered a
coronary infarction, and he was sent home, returning the following day for
angiography, which disclosed multiple vessel
coronary artery disease. He was transferred to
Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City, where he underwent a successful quadruple
coronary artery bypass surgery on
September 6,
2004. The medical team stated that, had he not had surgery, he would likely have suffered a massive
heart attack within a few months.
[116] On
March 10,
2005, he underwent a follow-up surgery to remove scar tissue and fluid from his left chest cavity, a result of his open-heart surgery.
[117] He has since recovered.
Honors and accolades
In 1998 Clinton was awarded the First Class with Collar Chain of the
Order of the White Lion from the President of the Czech Republic
[118]
In December
1999, Clinton was among 18 included in
Gallup's List of Widely Admired People of the 20th Century, from a poll conducted of the American people.
In
2000, Clinton received the
International Charlemagne Prize of the city of Aachen (a prestigious European prize),
[119] 2004
Grammy Award for
Best Spoken Word Album for Children for narrating the
Russian National Orchestra's album ''
Wolf Tracks and Peter and the Wolf'' (along with
Mikhail Gorbachev and
Sophia Loren) and 2005
Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for ''
My Life'', 2005
J. William Fulbright Prize for International Understanding,
[120] and 2007
TED Prize.
[121]
On
October 17,
2002, Clinton became the first white person to be inducted into the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame.
[122]
He received an
honorary doctorates of
laws from
Tulane University in New Orleans (along with George H. W. Bush),
[123] and from the
University of Michigan.
[124] He is also the recipient of an
honorary doctorates of humane letters from
Pace University,
[125] the
Rochester Institute of Technology,
[126] and from the
Knox College.
[127]
On
November 22,
2004, New York Republican Governor
George Pataki named Clinton and the other living former presidents (
Gerald Ford,
Jimmy Carter, and
George H. W. Bush) as honorary members of the board rebuilding the
World Trade Center.
In
2005, the
University of Arkansas System opened the
Clinton School of Public Service on the grounds of the Clinton Presidential Center.
[128]
On
December 3,
2006, Clinton was made an
honorary chief and Grand Companion of the
Order of Logohu by
Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea Michael Somare. Clinton was awarded the honor for his "outstanding leadership for the good of mankind during two terms as U.S. president" and his commitment to the global fight against HIV/AIDS and other health challenges in developing countries.
[129]
In
2007, Clinton became the third person to receive the
TED Prize, which is an annual award named for the confluence of technology, entertainment and design.
[130]
On
June 2,
2007 Clinton, along with former president George H. Bush, received the
International Freedom Conductor Award, for their help with the fund raising following the tsunami that devastated South Asia in 2004.
[131]
In Europe, Bill Clinton remains immensely popular, especially in a large part of the Balkans and in Ireland. In
Priština,
Kosovo, a five-story picture of the former president was permanently engraved into the side of the tallest building in the province as a token of gratitude for Clinton's support during the crisis in Kosovo.
[132] A statute of Clinton was also built and a road was named Clinton Boulevard.
Controversies
Main articles: Lewinsky scandal,
Whitewater (controversy),
Troopergate,
Paula Jones
Impeachment and trial in the Senate
Main articles: Impeachment of Bill Clinton
In 1998, as a result of allegations that he had lied during grand jury testimony regarding his testimony during the Paula Jones civil deposition, Clinton was the second U.S. president to be
impeached by the House of Representatives (the other being
Andrew Johnson). The House held no serious impeachment hearings before the 1998
mid-term elections. Though the mid-term elections held in November 1998 were at the 6-year point in an 8-year presidency (a time in the electoral cycle where the party holding the White House usually loses Congressional seats) the Democratic Party actually gained several seats.
[32] The Republican leadership then called a
lame duck session in December 1998 to hold impeachment proceedings.
Although the
House Judiciary Committee hearings were perfunctory and ended in a straight party line vote, the debate on the Floor of the House was lively. The two charges that were passed in the House (largely on the basis of Republican support but with a handful of Democratic votes as well) were for
perjury and
obstruction of justice. The perjury charge arose from Clinton's testimony about his relationship to
Monica Lewinsky during a sexual harassment lawsuit (later dismissed, appealed and settled for $850,000)
[134] brought by former Arkansas-state employee
Paula Jones. The obstruction charge was based on his actions during the subsequent investigation of that testimony. The Senate later voted to acquit Clinton on both charges.
[58] The Senate refused to convene to hold an impeachment trial before the end of the old term, so the trial was held over until the next Congress. Clinton was represented by Washington law firm
Williams & Connolly.
On February 12,
1999, the Senate concluded a 21-day trial with the vote on both counts falling short of the Constitutional requirement of a two-thirds majority to convict and remove an office holder. The final vote was generally along party lines, with no Democrats voting guilty. Although for both charges, some Republicans voted not guilty. On the perjury charge 55 senators voted to acquit, including 10 Republicans, and 45 voted to convict; on the obstruction charge the Senate voted 50-50.
[136] Bill Clinton and
Andrew Johnson; being the only two American presidents to be impeached, both served the remainder of their terms.
Disbarment
In a separate case, Clinton was
disbarred from his Arkansas law license for five years and ordered to pay $25,000 in fines to that state's bar officials.
[137] The agreement came on the condition that Whitewater prosecutors would not pursue federal
perjury charges against him.
[138] In October 2001, Clinton was suspended by the Supreme Court and, facing disbarment from the high court as well, Clinton resigned from the Supreme Court bar in November.
[139]
Administrative controversy
Main articles: White House travel office controversy,
White House FBI files controversy
The White House travel office controversy began on
May 19,
1993, when several longtime employees of the White House Travel Office were fired. A
whistleblower's letter, written during the previous administration, triggered an FBI investigation, which revealed evidence of financial malfeasance. Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr investigated the firings and could find no evidence of wrongdoing on the Clintons' part.
[140]
The White House FBI files controversy of June 1996 arose around improper access to
FBI security-clearance documents. Craig Livingstone, head of the White House Office of Personnel Security, improperly requested, and received from the FBI, background report files without asking permission of the subject individuals; many of these were employees of former Republican administrations. In March 2000, Independent Counsel Robert Ray determined that there was no credible evidence of any criminal activity. Ray's report further stated "there was no substantial and credible evidence that any senior White House official was involved" in seeking the files.
[141][142]
Pardons and campaign finance
Main articles: Bill Clinton pardons controversy,
1996 United States campaign finance controversy
On his last day in office (
January 20,
2001), Clinton issued 141 pardons and 36 commutations.
[32][144] Most of the controversy surrounded
Marc Rich and allegations that Hillary Clinton's brother,
Hugh Rodham, accepted payments in return for influencing the president's decision-making regarding the pardons.
[145] Other presidential clemency actions have been controversial, such as President
George H. W. Bush's pardons of six
Reagan administration officials accused or convicted in connection with the
Iran-Contra affair and
Orlando Bosch.
[146][147][148] Nevertheless, some of Clinton's pardons remain a point of controversy.
[149]
The 1996
United States campaign finance controversy was an alleged effort by the
People's Republic of China (PRC) to influence the domestic policies of the United States, prior to and during the Clinton administration and also involved the fundraising practices of the administration itself.
[Woodward, Bob and Duffy, Brian, "Chinese Embassy Role In Contributions Probed", ''Washington Post'', February 13, 1997]
Sexual assault allegation
Main articles: Kathleen Willey,
Juanita Broaddrick
Two claims of sexual misconduct on the part of Bill Clinton were alleged by
Kathleen Willey and
Juanita Broaddrick (referred to as Jane Doe #5 by Independent Counsel
Kenneth Starr), during the Clinton Administration. Neither claim was proven in a court of law; neither claim ever resulted in charges being made. In the Willey case no charges were brought and with regard to a sexual allegation by Broaddrick, the Arkansas statute of limitations had long since expired, and Broaddrick's only sworn statement was a denial of the allegations she subsequently made.
[150]
Clinton and the death penalty
Clinton’s 1994 Omnibus Crime Bill expanded the application of the federal death penalty, including to crimes not resulting in death such as running a large-scale drug enterprise. Clinton remarked enthusiastically during his reelection campaign, "''My 1994 crime bill expanded the death penalty for drug kingpins, murderers of federal law enforcement officers, and nearly 60 additional categories of violent felons.''"
[151].
While campaigning for US President, Clinton returned to Arkansas to see that Ricky Ray Rector would be executed. Though Rector's IQ was not known, he was said to be profoundly retarded due to a lobotomy.
However, Clinton was the first President to pardon a death row inmate since the federal death penalty was reintroduced in
1988 [152].
See also
References
1. Biography of William J. Clinton, ''The White House''
2. Marc Sandalow, Clinton Era Marked by Scandal, Prosperity: 1st Baby Boomer in White House Changed Notions of Presidency, San Francisco Chronicle; January 14, 2001
3. Joe Klein, 'The Natural': The Misunderstood Presidency of Bill Clinton, 2003, ISBN 0-7679-1412-0
4. Library of Congress - House Report 105-648 - DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS BILL, 1999
5. H-net Online Book Review: Benjamin Ginsberg and Alan Stone, eds. Do Elections Matter. Third Edition. Armonk, N.Y. (1997)
6. Clinton impeached December 19, 1998
7. Washingtonpost.com Clinton Accused - Special report.
8. Poll: Clinton Legacy Mixed, ABCNews.com, January 17, 2001.
9. Biography of William J. Clinton, ''The White House''
10. My Life, Bill Clinton, Random House, 2004, ISBN 0-375-41457-6
11. My Life, Bill Clinton, Random House, 2004, ISBN 0-375-41457-6
12. First In His Class : A Biography Of Bill Clinton, David Maraniss, Random House, 1996, ISBN 978-0684818900
13. President Bill Clinton's Hometown Homepage
14. My Life, Bill Clinton, Random House, 2004, ISBN 0-375-41457-6
15. First In His Class : A Biography Of Bill Clinton, David Maraniss, Random House, 1996, ISBN 978-0684818900
16. It All Began in a Place Called Hope
17. Famous Non-Masons
18. My Life, Bill Clinton, Random House, 2004, ISBN 0-375-41457-6
19. Clinton, brother of Alpha Phi Omega
20. First In His Class : A Biography Of Bill Clinton, David Maraniss, Random House, 1996, ISBN 978-0684818900
21. My Life, Bill Clinton, Random House, 2004, ISBN 0-375-41457-6
22. First In His Class : A Biography Of Bill Clinton, David Maraniss, Random House, 1996, ISBN 978-0684818900
23. First In His Class : A Biography Of Bill Clinton, David Maraniss, Random House, 1996, ISBN 978-0684818900
24. First In His Class : A Biography Of Bill Clinton, David Maraniss, Random House, 1996, ISBN 978-0684818900
25. First In His Class : A Biography Of Bill Clinton, David Maraniss, Random House, 1996, ISBN 978-0684818900
26. ''The Natural: The Misunderstood Presidency of Bill Clinton'', Joe Klein, 2003, ISBN 0-7679-1412-0
27. First In His Class : A Biography Of Bill Clinton, David Maraniss, Random House, 1996, ISBN 978-0684818900
28. First In His Class : A Biography Of Bill Clinton, David Maraniss, Random House, 1996, ISBN 978-0684818900
29. ''The Natural: The Misunderstood Presidency of Bill Clinton'', Joe Klein, 2003, ISBN 0-7679-1412-0
30. The Clinton Wars, ISBN 0-374-12502-3, 2003, ISBN ISBN 0-374-12502-3
31. First In His Class : A Biography Of Bill Clinton, David Maraniss, Random House, 1996, ISBN 978-0684818900
32. ''The Survivor: Bill Clinton in the White House'', John F. Harris , 2005, ISBN 0-375-50847-3
33. David Maraniss, ''First in His Class: A Biography of Bill Clinton'' (New York: Random House, 1996; ISBN 978-0684818900).
34. Joe Klein, ''The Natural: The Misunderstood Presidency of Bill Clinton'' (2003; ISBN 0-7679-1412-0).
35. Bob Woodward, ''The Choice: How Clinton Won'' (1996; ISBN 0-684-81308-4).
36. ''The choice: how Clinton won'', Bob Woodward,1996, ISBN 0-684-81308-4
37. ''The choice: how Clinton won'', Bob Woodward, 1996, ISBN 0-684-81308-4
38. The Political Mobilization of the New Christian Right
39. Clinton beats Bush to the White House, BBC News, 1992
40. President seeks better implementation of 'do not ask, do not tell' - CNN, 1999-12-11
41. Stranger Among Friends. - book reviews - John Cloud, ''Washington Monthly'', November 1996
42. Washington Blade Editorial: Bush Has Mandate to Let Gays Serve - Kevin Naff, Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military, 2003-01-10
43. ''The Natural: The Misunderstood Presidency of Bill Clinton'', Joe Klein, 2003, ISBN 0-7679-1412-0
44. Welcome to the White House
45. The Clinton White House Web Site
46. Welcome to the White House
47. The Clinton White House Web Site: Part 2: Preserving the Clinton White House Web Site
48. The Clinton White House Web Site: Part 1: Perhaps the most important Web site in American history
49. Livingston, C. Don, Kenneth A. Wink; "The Passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement in the U.S. House of Representatives: Presidential Leadership or Presidential Luck?" Presidential Studies Quarterly, Vol. 27, 1997
50. ''The Survivor: Bill Clinton in the White House'', John F. Harris , 2005, ISBN 0-375-50847-3
51. ''The Survivor: Bill Clinton in the White House'', John F. Harris , 2005, ISBN 0-375-50847-3
52. ''The Natural: The Misunderstood Presidency of Bill Clinton'', Joe Klein, 2003, ISBN 0-7679-1412-0
53. ''The Survivor: Bill Clinton in the White House'', John F. Harris , 2005, ISBN 0-375-50847-3
54. 1994 State of the Union Address
55. Presidential Press Conference - 08/03/1993
56. Time Line
57. ''The Survivor: Bill Clinton in the White House'', John F. Harris , 2005, ISBN 0-375-50847-3
58. Clinton acquitted by Senate, CNN, 1999
59.
60. Iraq Liberation Act of 1998, H.R.4655, One Hundred Fifth Congress of United States of America at Second Session; Library of Congress
61. The Iraq Liberation Act, Statement by the President, Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release, October 31, 1998
62. Cohen, William (April 7, 1999). "Secretary Cohen's Press Conference at NATO Headquarters".
63. Clinton, Bill (June 25, 1999). "Press Conference by the President".
64. Resolution 1244 adopted by the United Nations Security Council on June 10 1999.
65. The Impact of the Laws of War in Contemporary Conflicts (PDF) by Adam Roberts on April 10 2003 at a seminar at Princeton University titled "The Emerging International System — Actors, Interactions, Perceptions, Security". Retrieved January 25 2007.
66. Two die in Apache crash by BBC News on May 5 1999. Retrieved January 25 2007.
67. Pilger, John (September 4, 2000). "US and British officials told us that at least 100,000 were murdered in Kosovo. A year later, fewer than 3,000 bodies have been found". ''New Statesman''.
68. Pearl, Daniel and Block, Robert (December 31, 1999). "War in Kosovo Was Cruel, Bitter, Savage; Genocide It Wasn’t". ''The Wall Street Journal'', p. A1.
69. "Kosovo assault 'was not genocide'". (September 7, 2001). BBC.
70. Encylopaedia Britannica - Ethnic Cleansing.
71. "The charges against Milosevic". (July 5, 2004). BBC.
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73. ''The Survivor: Bill Clinton in the White House'', John F. Harris , 2005, ISBN 0-375-50847-3
74. Clinton's Vietnam Visit, BBC News 2000
75. Historical Presidential Approval Ratings Gary Langer
76. Historical Budget Data
77. Appointment and swearing in of Justice Breyer, 1994
78. Job Performance Ratings for President Clinton
79. Bill Clinton: Job Ratings - PollingReport.com
80. Poll: Clinton's approval rating up in wake of impeachment - CNN, 1998-12-20
81. Poll: Majority of Americans glad Clinton is leaving office - Keating Holland, CNN, 2001-01-10
82. Poll: Majority of Americans glad Clinton is leaving office - Keating Holland, CNN, 2001-01-10
83. Presidents and History
84. Poll: Clinton outperformed Bush - CNN.com
85. Martin Walker, Clinton: the President they deserve, Fourth Estate 1999
86. Bob Woodward, The choice: how Clinton won, Touchstone 1996, ISBN 0-684-81308-4
87. The Muddled Meaning of the 2000 Election Robert J. Bresler
88. A Conversation With President Bill Clinton on Race in America Today - interview with Clinton, Center for American Progress, July 16, 2004.
89. Clinton as the first black president
90. Press release: President Bill Clinton to be keynote speaker at World Congress on IT 2002, ''World Information Technology and Services Alliance'', Adelaide, South Australia
91.
Katherine Hamilton. "Bill Clinton to speak at Class Day", ''The Daily Princetonian'', 2006-04-18
92. Clinton Is Welcome in Harlem
93. Clinton Campaign Blitz, CNN, 2002
94. Poll: No boost for Kerry after convention Susan Page
95. Josh Gerstein, ''Clinton Eligible, Once Again, To Practice Law'', New York Sun, January 17, 2006, downloaded from N.Y. Sun article.
96. Bill Clinton Ponders a role as 'First Gentlemen', NY Times, 2007
97. Forty Million Dollar Bill, Independant, 2007
98. Hillary Clinton's campaign has help: Bill, Associated Press, 2007
99. Clinton Raises ,000 for Campaign, NY Times, 2007
100. Historic Campaign Financing, Chicago Times, 2007
101. Clinton Library open for business, BBC News, 2004
102. Opening of Clinton Library in Pictures, BBC News, 2004
103. Alfred A. Knopft (2004) Bill Clinton's ''My Life'' sets one day, non-fiction sales record
104. Oprah Winfrey book deal tops Clinton's m Dan Glaister
105. Clinton Global Initiative
106. William J. Clinton Foundation announces agreement to reduce junk food in schools
107. 2006 Philadelphia Liberty Medal Award
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