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William Jefferson Clinton (born August 19, 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Before his Presidency, Clinton served five terms as the Governor of Arkansas.
A member of the Democratic Party, Clinton was generally considered a political moderate. During his tenure as President, his domestic priorities included legislation to upgrade education, to restrict handgun sales, to strengthen environmental rules, to protect the jobs of parents who must care for sick children. Internationally, his priorities included reducing trade barriers and mediating the Northern Ireland and Israeli-Palestinian conflicts.
His tenure was marked by an adversarial relationship with the Republican-controlled U.S. Congress. He was also subjected to a series of independent counsel investigations by the Democrat-controlled 103rd Congress, resulting in the indictment and/or conviction of many staff members, associates, and friends. He became only the second president to be impeached, as a result of the Monica Lewinsky scandal, but he was acquitted by the Senate. He was the third youngest president and the first of the baby boomer generation. At times his approval rating was very low, setting a record low in his first year, but upon leaving office, it was the highest for a retiring President in modern U.S. history.
Bill Clinton was the first United States President born after the close of the Second World War. As such, his assumption of office marked a "generational shift" from the former Presidents who were mostly World War II veterans and had experienced the start of the Cold War in the 1950s.
Early life and education
Clinton was born William Jefferson Blythe III in Hope, Arkansas and raised in Hot Springs, Arkansas. He was named after his father, William Jefferson Blythe Jr., a travelling salesman who had been killed in a car accident in Scott County, Missouri between the towns of Sikeston and Morley just three months before his son was born. His mother, born Virginia Dell Cassidy, remarried in 1950 to Roger Clinton. Billy, as he was called, was raised by his mother and stepfather, using the last name "Clinton" throughout elementary school, but not formally changing it until he was 15. Clinton grew up in a turbulent family. His stepfather was a gambler and alcoholic who regularly abused his wife, and sometimes Clinton's half brother Roger, Jr. (born 1956). Clinton excelled as a student and as a saxophone player. At one time, he considered becoming a professional musician. As a delegate to Boys Nation while in high school, he met President John F. Kennedy in the White House Rose Garden. This encounter has often been romanticised as a crucial factor in leading Clinton to begin a life of public service.
He rose from poverty to graduate from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University with a degree in International Affairs. While attending Georgetown, he was a congressional aide for Senator William Fulbright. After graduation, he attended England's prestigious Oxford University (University College) on a Rhodes Scholarship, and received a law degree from Yale Law School. At Yale, Bill Clinton met Hillary Rodham, and they married in 1975. They have one daughter Chelsea, born in 1980.
Arkansas political career Clinton taught law at the University of Arkansas for a few years. During this time, he ran for the House of Representatives in 1974 against Congressman John Paul Hammerschmidt. Clinton lost the election by over 6,000 votes. After his teaching stint, Clinton was elected Attorney General of Arkansas in 1976. Bill Clinton was elected governor of the state of Arkansas first in 1978, when at the time he was the youngest state governor in the United States. His first term was fraught with difficulties, including an unpopular motor vehicle tax, and popular anger over the escape of Cuban prisoners (from the Mariel Boat Lift) detained in Fort Chafee in 1980. President Carter (right) meets with Governor Clinton. Furthermore, Hillary Rodham's decision to keep her maiden name while Arkansas' First Lady raised many eyebrows in the traditionally conservative state. After only one term, Clinton was defeated by Republican challenger Frank D. White in 1980. As he once joked, he was the youngest ex-governor in the nation's history.
Out of office, Clinton addressed the concerns that led to his political failure. He established new relationships with business interests, and made amends with the political establishment of the state. Hillary took her husband's surname and adopted a more traditional public role as a political wife, while quietly establishing herself as a political force in her own right through her skills as an attorney. Clinton was elected governor again in 1982, and was re-elected again in 1984, got the state constitution changed to allow governors four year terms, then was elected in 1986 and 1990, serving until 1992.
Clinton's business-friendly approach mollified conservative criticism during his terms as governor. However, several deals the Clintons made during this period led to the Whitewater investigation, which dogged his later presidential administration.
During this time, Clinton had hundreds of affairs, which he later admitted to Monica Lewinsky, according to sworn testimony of Lewinsky reported in the Starr report. [1] (http://www.msnbc.com/modules/starr_rpt/6narrit7.htm) "Earlier in his marriage, he told her, he had had hundreds of affairs; but since turning 40, he had made a concerted effort to be faithful."
Presidency Clinton's first major foray into national politics occurred when he was enlisted to speak at the 1988 Democratic National Convention, introducing candidate Michael Dukakis. Clinton's address, scheduled to last 15 minutes, became a debacle as Clinton gave a notoriously dull speech that lasted over an hour (he joked about the length of this speech at the 1992 convention).
Despite this setback, Clinton prepared for a run in 1992 against incumbent president George H. W. Bush. In the aftermath of the Persian Gulf War, President Bush seemed undefeatable, and several potential Democratic candidates — notably New York Governor Mario Cuomo — passed on what seemed to be a lost cause. Positioning himself as a straight-talking everyman, Clinton handily won the Democratic Party's nomination.
Clinton and Gore on the White House lawn. Clinton chose U.S. Sen. Albert A. Gore Jr. (D-Tenn.) to be his running mate on July 9, 1992. Initially this decision sparked criticism from strategists due to the fact that Gore was from Clinton's neighboring state of Tennessee. In retrospect, many now view Gore as a helpful factor in the successful 1992 campaign.
Clinton's opponents raised various "character" issues during the campaign, including his avoidance of military service during the Vietnam War, and his glib response to a question about past marijuana use. Allegations of womanizing and shady business deals also were raised. While none of these alleged flaws led to Clinton's defeat, they did fuel unusually vehement opposition to Clinton among many conservatives from the very beginning of his presidency.
Clinton won the 1992 presidential election against Republican George H. W. Bush and independent candidate H. Ross Perot, largely on a platform focusing on domestic issues, notably the economic recession of the pre-election period — using the line "It's the economy, stupid!" For more information about Clinton's campaign, see Bill Clinton presidential campaign, 1992.
Clinton was the first Democrat to serve two full terms as President since Franklin Delano Roosevelt. His election ended an era in which the Republican party had controlled the Presidency for 12 consecutive years, and for 20 of the previous 24 years. That election also brought the Democrats full control of the political branches of the federal government, including both houses of U.S. Congress as well as the Presidency, for the first time since the administration of Jimmy Carter.
Clinton's first act as president was to sign executive order 12834 (entitled "Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Appointees"), which placed substantial restrictions upon the ability of his senior political appointees to lobby their colleagues after they leave office. Clinton rescinded the order shortly before he left office in executive order 13184 of December 28, 2000.
Shortly after taking office, Clinton fulfilled a campaign promise by signing the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, which required large employers to allow their employees to take unpaid leave because of a family or medical emergency. While this action was popular, Clinton's initial reluctance to fulfill another campaign promise relating to the acceptance of openly gay members of the military garnered criticism from both the left (for being too tentative in promoting gay rights) and the right (for being too insensitive to military life). After much debate, Clinton and the Pentagon agreed to a "Don't ask, don't tell" policy, which officially remains in effect.
The most important item on Clinton's legislative agenda, however, was a complex health care reform plan, the result of a taskforce headed by Hillary Clinton, aimed at achieving universal coverage. Though initially well-received, it was ultimately doomed by well-organized opposition from conservatives and the health insurance industry, who labeled it "socialized medicine". It was the first major legislative defeat of Clinton's administration.
As president, Clinton was characterized as being a much more "hands on" president than some of his Republican predecessors. While Bush and Reagan had operated under what some critics dubbed an Imperial Presidency of bureaucratic "courtiers," Clinton had much more fickle relationships with his aides, and did not delegate them significant powers. He went through four White House Chiefs of Staff — a record number of men in a position that had once been the epicenter of the Imperial Presidency. This is not to say that Clinton was without political confidants in the White House. The First Lady played an active role in helping the President form policy, and Clinton's two best friends and most loyal supporters, Paul Begala and James Carville, could often be seen defending the President's policies in Washington and the media.
After two years of Democratic party control under Clinton's leadership, the mid-term elections in 1994 proved disastrous for the Democrats. They lost control of both houses of Congress for the first time in 40 years, in large part due to stalled legislation, including a failed attempt to create a comprehensive health care system under a plan developed by the First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton.
After the 1994 election, the spotlight shifted to the Contract with America spearheaded by Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. The Republican-controlled Congress and Clinton sparred over the budget, resulting in a series of government shutdowns at a political penalty to the Republicans.
Clinton embraces British Prime Minister Tony Blair. In the 1996 presidential election, Clinton was re-elected by a healthy margin over Republican Bob Dole and Reform candidate Ross Perot, while the Republicans retained control of the Congress losing but a few seats.
Clinton developed a close working relationship with Tony Blair, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, when he was elected in 1997.
In 1999, in conjunction with a U.S. Congress controlled by the Republican Party the United States had a balanced federal budget for the first time since Richard Nixon's presidency in 1969.
He took a personal interest in The Troubles in Northern Ireland and paid three visits there while he was president in order to encourage peace. His involvement set in motion the process that lead to the Provisional Irish Republican Army commencing disarmament on October 23, 2001. By the beginning of 2005, however, the PIRA declared that it was withdrawing from the disarmament process.
In 2002, a UPI story stated that documents discovered in Afganistan showed that al-Qaeda may have plotted to kill Clinton toward the end of his term.[2] (http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=04022002-082828-8434r)
Legislation and Programs
Major legislation signed - September 21, 1993 - creation of the AmeriCorps volunteer program
- November 30, 1993 - Brady Bill
- January 1, 1994 - NAFTA
- September 13, 1994 - Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, part of an omnibus crime bill, the federal death penalty was expanded to some 60 different offenses
- 1995 - Executive Order 12958, created tough new standards for the process of classifying documents.
- February 1, 1996 - Communications Decency Act
- February 8, 1996 - Telecom Reform Act: eliminated major ownership restrictions for radio and television groups.
- February 26, 1996 - Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, a welfare reform bill
- March 14, 1996 - authorized $100 million anti-terrorism agreement with Israel to track down and root out terrorists.
- April 24, 1996 - Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act
- August 20, 1996 - Minimum wage Increase Act
- September 21, 1996 - Defense of Marriage Act, allowed states the power to refuse to recognize gay marriages granted in other states, among other things
- October 28, 1998 - Digital Millennium Copyright Act
- October 31, 1998 - Iraq Liberation Act
Major legislation vetoed
Proposals not passed by Congress
Initiatives - Appointed a committee on Social Security Reform and then dismissed their recommendations without ever proposing legislation.
- 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.
Cabinet Clinton and his administration
Supreme Court appointments Clinton appointed the following justices to the Supreme Court:
The economy during the Clinton administration Following up on a campaign promise, Clinton pursued a balanced budget and made attempts to keep inflation in check. During his tenure, the U.S. enjoyed continuous economic expansion, reductions in unemployment, and growing wealth through a massive rise in the stock market. Although it is debated to what extent his policies were responsible, upon leaving office, Clinton proudly pointed to a number of economic accomplishments, including: - More than 22 million new jobs
- Highest homeownership in American history
- Lowest unemployment in 30 years
- Higher incomes at all levels
- Largest budget deficit in American history converted to the largest surplus
- Lowest government spending as a percentage of GDP since 1974 [3] (http://www.gpoaccess.gov/usbudget/fy00/guide04.html)
- Higher stock ownership by families than ever before
Foreign Policy Clinton deployed the U.S. military several times under hostile circumstances. In 1993, U.S. troops fought the Battle of Mogadishu attempting to capture local warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid in Somalia. In 1994, Clinton sent U.S. troops into Haiti to restore Jean-Bertrand Aristide as president, ending a period of intense violence. Aristide, who had been elected, had been ousted in a coup just seven months into his term in 1991. Clinton also committed troops twice in the former-Yugoslavia to stop ethnic violence, most notably in Kosovo. In addition, Clinton launched military strikes on Iraq several times to punish violations of UN sanctions and an attempt to have former President George H. W. Bush assassinated.
In 1994, Clinton negotiated and signed the Nuclear Accords with North Korea. The underlying concern was that North Korea was developing nuclear weapons technology under the guise of a nuclear power plant. In exchange for assistance with energy needs, North Korea agreed to abandon all ambitions for acquiring nuclear weapons. However, by the mid 1990s defectors from North Korea, along with reports from the IAEA, indicated that North Korea was violating both the Nuclear Accords and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. In December, 2002, North Korea expelled IAEA inspectors from its Yongbyon nuclear facility, and announced (privately in 2003 and publicly in 2005), that they possessed nuclear weapons.
After his presidency, Clinton identified his proudest foreign policy accomplishments as mediating peace talks between Israel and Palestine, resulting in the Oslo Accords. Subsequent events, including the collapse of the 2000 Camp David Summit and the commencement of the al-Aqsa Intifada, resulted in the Oslo Accords being widely discredited within Israel and in various Palestinian factions by 2004.
Mr. Clinton identified his major foreign policy failure as lack of response to the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. Along with the United Nations, the Clinton administration initially did not publicly acknowledge that genocide was occurring.
During Clinton's tenure attacks on the U.S. by foreign terrorists included the 1993 bombing of New York's World Trade Center, the 1996 bombing of the military quarters at the Khobar Towers, the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, and the bombing of the U.S. Navy destroyer Cole in Yemen in 2000.
Impeachment and other scandals - Main article Impeachment of Bill Clinton
Clinton was impeached as President of the United States on December 19, 1998 by the House of Representatives. The charges were perjury and obstruction of justice. The Senate acquitted Clinton on both counts in a trial concluding on February 12, 1999.
The charges arose from an investigation by independent counsel Kenneth Starr. Originally dealing with the failed land deal years earlier known as Whitewater, Starr expanded his investigation into Clinton's conduct during the sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a former Arkansas government employee, Paula Jones. In a sworn deposition taken for this case, Clinton denied having sexual relations with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Based on information from Lewinsky's confidante, Linda Tripp, Starr reached the conclusion that Clinton's statement constituted perjury.
Clinton, under threat of impeachment, reaffirming his intentions to not resign. The Senate impeachment trial lasted from January 7, 1999 until February 12. No witnesses were called during the trial. A two-thirds majority, 67 votes, is necessary to convict the President on impeachment charges. The perjury charge was defeated with 45 votes for conviction and 55 against. The obstruction of justice charge was defeated with 50 for conviction and 50 against. Again, the impeachment effort lacked bipartisan support, with no Democratic votes for conviction.
In addition to impeachment, the Clinton White House was the subject of many lesser scandals. Travelgate refers to the firing of White House travel office staffers. Filegate refers to White House handling of hundreds of personnel files from individuals without asking for their permission. Chinagate involved Democrats accepting improper campaign contributions; allegedly the ultimate source of this money was the Chinese government. Pardongate refers to a grant of clemency to FALN members in 1999 and pardons to Marc Rich and others in 2001. In 1998, Juanita Broaddrick alleged that Clinton had raped her in 1978. No evidence was produced or charges brought; similar allegations of rape have also been lodged against presidents Reagan and G.W. Bush.
Despite being acquitted in his Senate impeachment trial, Clinton was disbarred from practicing law for five years by the State of Arkansas and the United States Supreme Court. President Nixon was similarly disbarred by the State of New York after resigning the Presidency.
Timeline - April 19, 1993 - A government siege of the Branch Davidian compound at Waco, Texas, results in the deaths of 80 people when a cult leader allegedly sets fire to his own compound. Clinton and Attorney General Janet Reno receive criticism for mishandling the stand-off.
- July 20, 1993 - Clinton friend and confidant Vince Foster is found dead of a gunshot wound
- October 3, 1993 - Battle of Mogadishu - Ranger Units receive heavy casualties in Somalia, Blackhawk Down incident.
- January 14, 1994 - Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin sign the Kremlin accords which stop the preprogrammed aiming of nuclear missiles to targets and also provide for the dismantling of the nuclear arsenal in the Ukraine.
- April 19, 1995 - Oklahoma City bombing - Bombing of federal building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma results in the deaths of 168 people, 19 of whom were children.
- November 14, 1995 - Budget negotiations between Congress and the President break down, resulting in a temporary shutdown of the Federal Government. Shutdowns (partial and full) continue through January, 1996.
- November, 1995 - Clinton organizes peace talks for Bosnia and Herzegovina at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, eventually resulting in the Dayton Agreement.
- December, 1995 - Clinton visits Ireland, leading to the establishment of an International Commission chaired by former U.S. Senator George J. Mitchell.
- November, 1996 - Clinton is reelected, defeating Republican challenger Bob Dole.
- October, 1997 - Visit by President of the People's Republic of China Jiang Zemin to the White House.
- August, 1998 - Clinton orders cruise missile strikes on Afghanistan and a suspected chemical weapons factory in Sudan as Monica Lewinsky testifies before a grand jury about her relationship with Clinton.
- August 17, 1998 - Clinton testifies before a grand jury about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky. In the evening, he delivers a nationally televised address (http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/08/17/speech/transcript.html) in which he describes the relationship as "not appropriate" but also "nobody's business".
- December 19, 1998 - Clinton is impeached by the House of Representatives on grounds of perjury and obstruction of justice.
- January 7, 1999 - The trial of Clinton in the Senate begins.
- February 12, 1999 - Clinton is acquitted of all charges by the Senate.
- March 24 to June 10, 1999 - NATO bombs Kosovo and Serbia. (See Kosovo War.)
- May 7, 1999 - U.S. planes accidentally bomb China's embassy in Belgrade. (See Kosovo War.)
- June, 1999 - Serbia hands control of Kosovo to the United Nations. (See Kosovo War.)
- October 5, 2000 - The defeat of Slobodan Milosevic in earlier elections leads to mass demonstrations in Belgrade and the ultimate collapse of the regime's authority. Opposition leader Vojislav Kostunica takes office as the Yugoslavian president the next day.
Public image Clinton remained very popular throughout his presidency, especially with younger people. As the first Baby Boomer president, Bill Clinton was seen during his presidency and during his candidacy as a change from the presidents of the World War II Generation. Upon his entering the national political horizon, he was commented upon as an remarkably informal pers |
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