Bill Clinton1993-2001
Biography
• William Jefferson Blythe III born in Hope, Arkansas
• Father died before he was born• In 1950 his mother re-married,
Roger Clinton, & the family moved to Hot Springs, Arkansas
• While in high school he was an avid reader, student leader, & musician (saxophone)• Went to White House & met JFK
in ’63
Biography
• Went to Georgetown U. • Interned for Arkansas Senator during summer of ’67
• Won a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford• Participated in Vietnam protests while there• Used his influence w/ a Senator to avoid being drafted• Legal, but criticized by opponents
• Next, went to Yale Law School in ‘73• Met Hillary in a Yale library• Married in ’73
• Law professor at U. of Arkansas in ’74• Ran for H.O.R. in ‘74, but lost• Elected Attorney General of Arkansas in ‘76
Biography
• Elected governor of Arkansas in ’78
• Served as governor ‘78-80 & ‘82-’92
• Youngest governor in the country, only 32 y.o.• The “Boy Governor”
• “New Democrat”• Education reform was top
priority• Also focused on economic
growth & job creation
First Term
• Jan. 1993, inaugural address• Feb. 1993, announced plan
to raise taxes & fix deficit• Aug. 1993, law that cut
taxes for low-income families & small businesses, & raised taxes on wealthiest 1% of taxpayers
• Sept. 1993, speech to Congress aimed at universal coverage w/ a nat’l health care plan• Plan was defeated
First Term
• Nov. 1993, Whitewater Scandal emerges• Clinton, while
Governor, forced others into illegal loans while making land deals
• Clinton was never charged
• Dec. 1993, Clinton implements “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”• Repealed in 2011• Compromise after
attempt to allow gays to openly serve in military was shot down
First Term
• Oct. 1994, launches 1st White House website
• Nov. 1994, Democrats lost control of Congress in mid-term elections
• Sept. 1996, Clinton signs Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) • Marriage=one man &
one woman
• Despite DOMA, Clinton viewed as 1st President to champion gay rights
• Sept. 1996, passed bill aimed at curbing illegal immigration
Election of 1996
• Opponents:• Bob Dole,
Republican, Senator from Kansas
• Ross Perot, Reform Party, Businessman from Texas
• Televised debates featured only Dole & Clinton, not Perot
• Dole was 73 y.o., seemed old & frail at times• Reference to “Brooklyn”
Dodgers, Dodgers left Brooklyn in 1957
• Clinton maintained lead in polls throughout
Election of 1996
2nd Term
• Oct. 1997, Clinton announces he will get hearing aids
• Balanced Budget Act of 1997 greatly reduces spending
• 1998, House votes to impeach Clinton • Perjury & obstruction of
justice—related to Monica Lewinsky
• 2nd Pres. to be impeached
2nd Term
• Clinton was acquitted on all charges• Votes were mostly along party lines; 2/3 need to convict• Trial lasted 21 days; ended on Feb. 12, 1999
Foreign Policy
• Somalia, 1993—Battle of Mogadishu, 18 American soldiers killed—U.S. forces withdrawn
• Bosnia, 1995—U.S./NATO aircraft attack Bosnian Serb targets• Deployed peacekeepers to Bosnia in ‘95
• Hoped to capture Osama Bin Laden• Al-Qaeda bombed U.S. embassies in E. Africa in ‘98• Clinton ordered missile strikes on terrorist targets in Afghanistan
& Sudan
• NATO bombing campaign in Yugoslavia in ‘99• Ethnic cleansing/genocide
• Four-day bombing campaign against Saddam Hussein/Iraq in ‘98
Etc.
• Appeared on Arsenio Hall & MTV• Admitted to smoking pot• Toni Morrison, “the first Black President”• Played the saxophone• Loved McDonald’s• “Bubba”• Several sexual accusations• Jones, Flowers, Lewinsky
Legacy????
• The good…. • The bad…