Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Talk:Rush Limbaugh

2008-02-02T19:22:37Z

Keg646:

Rush _was_ caught illegally scoring painkillers. Should we leave that out just because it 'looks bad'? Truth is truth, even when it's ugly. --[[User:Ballon|Ballon]] 18:03, 11 March 2007 (EDT)

: It's gossip. It's not educational. We're not Wikipedia where nearly every entry has some gossip in it. Feel free to see what other editors think, but that's my view.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 18:06, 11 March 2007 (EDT)

::I've got to wonder where the line is drawn for this. This site still needs so many fundamental topics covered, but since January there's been an article on Chappaquiddick. Still, CP doesn't want to include the dirty bits of people's biographies? Hunh.

::And before you say it, I'm no Ted Kennedy fan (if I had a vote in MA. I doubt I'd have ever voted for him), but I just about lost it when "Random page" led me that article. Where are the priorities? :p Anyway, the "gossip" argument doesn't hold much weight imo. [[User:Aziraphale|Aziraphale]] 13:02, 12 March 2007 (EDT)

It is not gossip, it is part of his biograpghy. ref <http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/10/10/rush.limbaugh/>

Yes, but it makes him look bad, therefore it lacks sufficient truthiness to be posted here. --[[User:Ballon|Ballon]] 18:28, 11 March 2007 (EDT)

::I would say it can be mentioned only because he talked often about illegal drug users on his show, so the irony is rather large. Also, it was in the news extensively. BUT, it needs to be dealt with factually, not emotionally from either side.--[[User:Dave3172|Dave3172]] 18:29, 11 March 2007 (EDT)

Rush Limbaugh is SATAN in the flesh.

== First source ==

Could somebody tell me how the first source backs the statement? I couldn't find any mention of "Limbaugh" or "Franken" on that page... I left it in because I didn't dive deeper into the thread, but a quick explanation would be appreciated :) --[[User:Sid 3050|Sid 3050]] 17:16, 12 March 2007 (EDT)

I thought it was Bill O'Rielly and Al Franken that clashed constantly?

==On painkillers==
Limbaugh himself admitted doing it, so it's not gossip. [[User:MountainDew|MountainDew]] 17:18, 12 March 2007 (EDT)

== Parkinson's ==

The previous editor said that Fox's jerking actions were the results of his medication, not his disease. However, the citation itself says the exact opposite, stating that Fox often goes '''off''' of his medicine to make the symptoms more pronounced. Any assertion to the contrary of would need a new cite, one strong enough to disprove the citation offered (USA Today), common knowledge, and medical journals.--[[User:AmesG|AmesG]] 00:15, 13 March 2007 (EDT)

:For what it is worth, my grandfather suffered from Parkinson's. The shaking occurs because of the disease, not the medication.--[[User:Dave3172|Dave3172]] 00:18, 13 March 2007 (EDT)
::Absolutely, that's true. But Rush didn't know it, and claimed that Fox was faking the shaking by taking his medication. Completely wrong, and completely vile. - [[User:Factcheck|Factcheck]] 20:02, 14 March 2007 (EDT)

== Denounced as a Witch? ==

Can anyone verify that? Took it out until someone can.

== Trivia ==

I removed the unsourced trivia (deaf in left ear, six toes, three divorces). [[User:Myk|Myk]] 08:14, 16 March 2007 (EDT)
: I agree with this removal. [[User:Crocoite|Crocoite]][[User Talk:Crocoite|talk]] 10:16, 16 March 2007 (EDT)

== "Illegally" ==
It is a descriptive term—not a legal claim. For example, the article on Hitler says he “murdered” 6 million Jews in the Holocaust, should that be deleted because Hitler was never arrested? Or tried for murder? Likewise, in the Clinton article says he “committed perjury”, but Clinton was never arrested or tried for perjury (He was Impeached for “high crimes and misdemeanors” but not convicted), should that be deleted? Of course not, nether should be deleted, the claims describe the facts not the legal situation. Here, what Rush did was illegal, though he was never charged—I see no reason to omit that fact.--[[User:Reginod|Reginod]] 09:49, 26 March 2007 (EDT)

: It is libel to say that someone committed a crime, when he was never convicted. Yes, those other pages should be fixed. Hitler is dead, and cannot sue. The Clinton page is wrong. Clinton was accused, but acquitted by the Senate. [[User:RSchlafly|RSchlafly]] 11:27, 26 March 2007 (EDT)

::I disagree with your reading of libel law—it’s only libel (since we are talking about a public figure) if the person making the statement can be shown to know it was false. But, that aside, if you honestly believe the position you are advancing here, I have pointed out two major changes that need to be made and I urge you to do so (I will refrain from doing so, since I am not yet convinced by your position)—if your position is correct then there should be no major backlash.
::I maintain that, libel aside, if one breaks the law one has committed an illegal act, whether on not they were ever charged with a crime, and whether or not they are ever convicted. If that is correct, then the adjective belongs in the article, if it is not then it should be taken out of the article—I’ve yet to hear any argument that it is not correct. --[[User:Reginod|Reginod]] 13:08, 26 March 2007 (EDT)

== Controversy section - how much should be kept or removed? ==
How is any of that information relevant or encyclopedic? I thought we were trying to avoid the gossip that is so prevelant on Wikipedia. I removed it, but some liberal agitator put it back almost immediately.--[[User:Conservateur|Conservateur]] 16:41, 30 March 2007 (EDT)

:See [[Conservapedia:Manual of Style/Politicians]] scandals the political personality is known to have been involved in—not just rumored to have been involved in—are considered appropriate content. Here, Limbaugh is known to have been involved in all of these scandals and has given comments on them, so they are not simply gossip and are considered appropriate content.--[[User:Reginod|Reginod]] 16:50, 30 March 2007 (EDT)

::<s>Don't misquote: it says 'non-gossip scandals'.</s> --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] 17:14, 30 March 2007 (EDT)

: "It's pure gossip. If I were to add a reference to a cigar in Clinton's article or Gore's son's pot arrest, you'd throw a fit and you know it.)" -- If Gore's son's arrest would be appropriate material, so would Bush twins being arrested for under age drinking[http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0IBX/is_1_8/ai_78052874][http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1379000.stm]. Things the ''politician'' were involved in yes. Family members - no. --[[User:Mtur|Mtur]] 16:57, 30 March 2007 (EDT)

::So you would have no problem with me adding a cigar reference to Clinton's article?--[[User:Conservateur|Conservateur]] 17:01, 30 March 2007 (EDT)
::: Is that appropriately family friendly that should be read by a 12 year old? As it stands, the Starr report is blocked at the company I work at for "Erotica and Sex". I seem to recall that under the Communications Decency Act (granted, struck down) that the Starr report would have been considered an explicit document[http://www.i2i.org/main/article.php?article_id=846]. Feel free to link to it, but I doubt such explicit material is appropriate here when other explicit material is blocked. --[[User:Mtur|Mtur]] 17:06, 30 March 2007 (EDT)
::::It would be no worse than the references to @n@l $ex found [[homosexuality|here]], which I have complained about in that talk page.--[[User:Conservateur|Conservateur]] 17:10, 30 March 2007 (EDT)

When you read an article about a perversion, you expect to see references to gross or raunchy stuff. Not when you are reading the biography of a respected adult. Clinton and Limbaugh are respected adults (okay, maybe only liberals respect Clinton). --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] 17:13, 30 March 2007 (EDT)

: The Oxycontin story is significant, but the other stuff is just stupid trivia. It is not a scandal just because someone criticizes him. Rush says controversial stuff every day. I say it should be deleted. [[User:RSchlafly|RSchlafly]] 17:13, 30 March 2007 (EDT)

::Removed all but the pain-killer story. If we report every unkind remark made by politicians and pundits, we'll be swamped in gossip. Better to talk about the things he repeatedly says, like ''feminazi'' or ''talent on loan from God''.

::I don't really want to explain to my kids what a semen-stained dress is, or what Clinton and his girl intern were doing with a cigar. --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] 17:22, 30 March 2007 (EDT)

:::Me either, and thanks to you and RSchlafly for making the right decision on how to improve this article.--[[User:Conservateur|Conservateur]] 17:25, 30 March 2007 (EDT)

:::At the very least, Limbaugh’s repeated comments condemning illegal drug users should be restored to the Oxicoton controversy—otherwise it lacks context. It was the hypocrisy of doing what he had soundly condemned that made this scandal so big.--[[User:Reginod|Reginod]] 17:44, 30 March 2007 (EDT)

::The Viagra stuff is also a legitimate scandal—it involves illegal drug use just like the other one—and it is all the more relevant as it follows the Oxycontin scandal (illegal drug use after illegal drug use after criticizing illegal drug use is legitimate information). As far as the other two “Controversies” go—Allegedly attacking a 13 year-old child for who her parents are says as much about who Rush is perceived to be as the fact there is a newsletter named after him, and is relevant to understanding both why he and why talk radio are so controversial—the Michael J. Fox thing is probably relevant as the most recent time Rush made the national news (it was all over CNN, over and over and over again—in a very boring and monotonous way, but in a way that made national headlines that his other controversial statements don’t).--[[User:Reginod|Reginod]] 17:34, 30 March 2007 (EDT)

:::Conservapedia is not a forum for liberals to attack people they don't like with rumors and innuendo. Viagra is not an illegal drug, and Limbaugh was never arrested for being in possession of it. If you want to be a scandalmonger, feel free to take it to Wikipedia where it belongs.--[[User:Conservateur|Conservateur]] 17:42, 30 March 2007 (EDT)

::::Utilizing a prescription not made out to you is a crime—hard to prove, so no arrest, but, I think, relevant given his past drug abuse. I’d be happy to discuss the merits of my position with you, but if you insist on descending to ad hominem attacks, I fear that will be impossible.
::::My objection to Rush, by the way, is not a “liberal” one, I think he makes conservatives sound like school-yard bullies—and no one (or very few people) would vote for the school-yard bully—if I was a “liberal” I would love Rush the same way that most conservatives I know love [[Michael Moore]] (he makes liberals look so bad that it is easier to convince undecided voters).--[[User:Reginod|Reginod]] 18:20, 30 March 2007 (EDT)

It is not a scandal that Rush makes fun of people. Do you ever listen to his show? He makes fun of people a lot. I did revised the oxycontin paragraph. We really don't know that anyone did anything illegal, except that his housekeeper got immunity for something. [[User:RSchlafly|RSchlafly]] 17:58, 30 March 2007 (EDT)

:Ok, I think there is a difference between making fun of politicians and a 13-year old child, but if you don’t that’s fine. (I don’t listen to his show anymore, because I find his “humor” offensive, and counter-productive.) What about the Viagra and the Michael J. Fox things? Also, the revised section on painkillers is, currently, miss-sourced. The link goes to the transcript of Rush’s admission that he had been abusing pain-killers which doesn’t support the vast majority of the claims in the paragraph it is currently the reference for (in fact most of the events in the paragraph it is the reference for occurred after the statement was made).--[[User:Reginod|Reginod]] 18:08, 30 March 2007 (EDT)

: I think that it is tacky to make fun of a 13-year-old, but not a scandal. Viagra and Fox? Not scandals at all. Who cares? I wrote the painkiller stuff largely on memory. If I got anything wrong, please correct it. I didn't like the earlier text that implied that Rush had hired someone to buy illegal drugs for him. The charges were dropped. The prosecutor claimed to want to get him for "doctor shopping" anyway, and different offense. The prosecution appeared to be politically motivated to me. But I left that out. Try to stick to the facts. [[User:RSchlafly|RSchlafly]] 18:47, 30 March 2007 (EDT)

::It all seems politically motived to me, except the inconsistency about the prescription pain-killers. Wikipedia recently beefed up their standards on "how much you can attack a public figure" in a biography article.

::Basically, people attack your character when they run out of ways to respond to your ideas. It's like an [[ad hominem]] argument. He insulted a kid, so his critique of feminism must be wrong. Should we attack Clinton's senate votes on the grounds that she abused FBI files or (may have) covered up the death of [[Vince Foster]]? I'd rather not.

::We should present verifiable (reliable) information about the careers and viewpoints of public figures. Well, that's only my opinion - I'm the new guy around here. --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] 18:57, 30 March 2007 (EDT)
:::I guess I’m not seeing the same distinction you are—I’m more than willing to concede the point, but I’d like it if there could be clearer guidance on what counts as a “scandal” and what is “just gossip”. (I wouldn’t have bothered to defend the inclusion of these scandals for nearly as long as I have were I not concerned that their removal as “gossip” would get the people who added them (and I am one of those people) labeled as a violator of the [[Conservipedia Commandments]], or just as too liberal, and then banned—my inclusion of the Viagra information was (I assure you) in good faith, but, apparently, I was adding gossip— clarity is much needed here and would be much appreciated).--[[User:Reginod|Reginod]] 10:32, 31 March 2007 (EDT)

== Nobel Peace Prize nomination? ==

http://nobelprize.org/nomination/nomination_facts.html says:

:*Can I nominate someone for the Nobel Prize?

::If you are not invited you cannot nominate.

:*Has X been nominated as a candidate for the Nobel Prize?

::Information about the nominations, investigations, and opinions concerning the award is kept secret for fifty years.

:*What about the rumours circling around the world about certain people being nominated for the Nobel Prize this year?

::Well, either it's just a rumour, or someone among the invited nominators has leaked information. Since the nominations are kept secret for 50 years, you'll have to wait until then to find out.

Although the Landmark Legal Foundation issued a [http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/02-01-2007/0004518421&EDATE press release] giving the text of a letter offering Limbaugh's name as an "unsolicited nomination," it does not give any evidence whatsoever that the Foundation, or Mark R. Levin, was invited to make any such nomination. If there was no invitation, there was no nomination. [[User:Dpbsmith|Dpbsmith]] 14:08, 6 April 2007 (EDT)

P. S. Personally, I think Levin's use of the word "unsolicited" strongly suggests that he is not an invited nominator. The Nobel Foundation has a list of [http://nobelprize.org/nomination/peace/nominators.html qualifications for nominators], and the only one I can see him as meeting as "directors of peace research institutes and foreign policy institutes."

I think it's a (successful) publicity stunt to counter the (equally baseless) rumors that Al Gore has been nominated. [[User:Dpbsmith|Dpbsmith]] 14:27, 6 April 2007 (EDT)

P. P. S. Google News search on [http://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Talk:Rush_Limbaugh&action=edit&section=8 limbaugh nobel peace prize] only turns up four hits, none of them looking to me like a genuine news story. Two are from Rush Limbaugh's own website, one is about a (phony) "nomination" of Muhammed Ali, and one rambling essay that touches on Gore's rumored nomination and also mention Rush Limbaugh (not Limbaugh's nomination, just Limbaugh) separately many paragraph's later. '''If''' someone can find evidence that anything resembling a news source has reported this, a line could be added to the effect that "News sources have reported that 'Rush Limbaugh was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.'" [[User:Dpbsmith|Dpbsmith]] 14:37, 6 April 2007 (EDT)

Rush's "Nobel nomination" was by Mark R. Levin, aka F. Lee Levin ( who is a Limbaugh flunky ).

::If we include his <ahem> "nomination" we should also include Elvis' FBI badge. [[User:Flippin|Flippin]] 17:50, 8 May 2007 (EDT)

== Help! ==

<s>I tried to undo vandalism, but it was spread across two edits. Someone please revert!--[[User:Autofire|Autofire]] 13:59, 17 July 2007 (EDT)</s>
:Nevermind. I got it.--[[User:Autofire|Autofire]] 14:03, 17 July 2007 (EDT)

==Who's phony?==

Based on [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,298858,00.html this] and other news stories, I'd say that Limbaugh was using the term ''phony'' ambiguously. But there are no grounds to suggest that he mean "all soldiers who oppose US military policy in Iraq".

He apparently had two other meanings in mind, although (unlike yours truly) he's not an expert on clarifying word meanings:
#a phony is a [[ringer]], someone who pretends to be representative of a typical person but has been specially selected, with the hope of swaying public opinion; or,
#a phony is someone who says something he knows to be false (also with the intent of swaying public opinion)

Reid correctly pointed out that Limbaugh used the same term for more than one soldier. But his error lies in concluding that Limbaugh had the entire "anti-war" population of soldiers in mind.

It doesn't make sense for Reid to condemn a remark (especially when it's only two words long, in an unscripted conversation). Now condemning an opinion which a speaker confirms and stands by is another thing. But Limbaugh has repudiated the meaning Reid attributed to him, so what's to condemn?

Only a chimera, an false image constructed for the single purpose of discrediting a man. And it's pretty clear that Reid is not after truth but about making Limbaugh shut up.

Democrats and Republicans should debate the issues; neither side should engage in [[ad hominem]] arguments. --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] [[User talk:Ed Poor|Talk]] 07:42, 2 October 2007 (EDT)

== Cochlear Implant ==

I'm not overly familiar with Mr Limbaugh, but he is a notable [[cochlear implant]] recipient[http://www.audiologyonline.com/news/news_detail.asp?news_id=432]. Is this worthy of mention? [[User:Ferret|-- Ferret]] [[User talk:Ferret|Nice old chat]] 07:22, 25 October 2007 (EDT)

*Indeed, I think it most certainly is. If you want, prepare a paragraph, and I can either open it for you to add, or paste it from here, crediting you. Whatever works best for you Ferret. --[[User:TK|şŷŝoρ-₮K]][[User_Talk:TK|/Ṣρёаќǃ]] 08:20, 25 October 2007 (EDT)

::Given time zone issues, probably easiest if I leave something here for you to post. Many thanks TK.

Limbaugh is a sufferer of Auto-Immune Inner Ear Disease, a condition which leads to a profound hearing loss. In 2002 he became one of the highest profile people to receive a [[cochlear implant]] [http://www.audiologyonline.com/news/news_detail.asp?news_id=432], a device which can provide some deaf people with the ability to hear artificially.

== Rush Limbaugh on Paul Hackett ==

Paul Hackett is an Iraq War veteran who served in the U.S. Marine Corps as a civil affairs officer assigned to Ramadi. After he returned home, he ran as a Democrat in a special election for Ohio's 2nd Congressional District seat in August 2005, narrowly losing to Republican Jean Schmidt. On the day of the election, Mr. Limbaugh accused him of "hiding behind a military uniform" while "lying and denying his liberalism." Mr. Limbaugh claimed later in the show that Mr. Hackett went "to Iraq to pad the resume." -- [[Frey]] December 12, 2007 (Forgive me if this is inappropriate for the talk page, but it's relevant to Rush Limbaugh's attitude on certain things, and the article itself is currently locked from any additions.)

:I am thinking this might be more appropriate under an article on Paul Hackett. Rush Limbaugh, as a talk show host, talks on many people each day. I don't see this particular incident as standing out. [[User:Learn together|Learn together]] 13:09, 13 December 2007 (EST)

== Phony soldier incident ==

Phony soldier incident
CALLER: No, it's not. And what's really funny is they never talk to real soldiers. They like to pull these soldiers that come up out of the blue and spout to the media.[4]
Here the caller is using the word real in the typical media way, distinguishing interviewees picked at random (as in a legitimate survey) from those specially selected to give predetermined views. The context is the liberal media's desire to portray the average US soldier as opposing administration policy or otherwise bad-mouthing the military.

There was not even a hint that the soldiers called "phony" were in any way not doing their jobs competent. The meaning of phony in this context was obviously "picked to give a predetermined" view.

A parallel can be found in the distinction between models and "real people" often made by photographers. Another example is employees to demonstrate a product vs. casual users or customers (real people).

In the street hustle of three-card monte, shills will place bets and give and receive money from the dealer, but it is all a sham. The shills are not "real people" (actual gamblers) but ringers.

Why is this here? This is the most irrelevant piece of information that I have ever seen on a biography on any website. Limbaugh has done many amazing things in his career and this piece of imformation is placed on his short biography. [[User:Creationist|Creationist]] 00:20, 25 December 2007 (EST)Creationist

:It's here because a senior officer of the [[United States Senate]] dared threaten a media executive with some unspecified business harm in connection with that call to Rush's radio program. It is not here because we believe for one second any part of that Senator's fevered claims.--[[User:TerryH|TerryH]][[User talk:TerryH|Talk]] 02:56, 25 December 2007 (EST)
:Limbaugh used "phony soldiers" to identify those individuals who claim to have fought in Iraq, got wounded in Iraq, and were discharged from the Army when in fact they were never in the Army at all. This grew out of an individual who was washed out of boot camp at Fort Bragg during his fourth week; this same man did a video that was posted on YouTube dressed in his Army battle dress uniform, but wearing the insignia of an officer. As a veteran myself, I'm not going to put up with phony soldiers, neither am I going to put up with those who'll believe their idiotic rants and dare to broadcast them here as if they were gospel truth. [[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 04:53, 25 December 2007 (EST)

::This is the link to Rush Limbaugh's site, which he goes into detail about his use of "phony soldiers" [http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_092807/content/01125106.guest.html]; it also includes references to other sites, as well as the original phony soldier himself admitting he's a liar. [[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 05:18, 25 December 2007 (EST)

Bill Clinton

2008-02-02T19:19:21Z

Keg646:

{{President
|image=billclinton.jpg
|seq=42
|term_start=January 20, 1993
|term_end=January 20, 2001
|party=Democratic
|vp=Al Gore
|previous=George H. W. Bush
|next=George W. Bush
|birth_date=August 19, 1946
|birth_place=Hope, Arkansas
|death_date=
|death_place=
|spouse=[[Hillary Rodham Clinton]]
|spouse2=
|religion=[[Baptist]]
}}
'''William Jefferson''' "Bill" '''Clinton''' '''(August 19, 1946 - present)''' served two terms as the 42nd [[President of the United States of America]] from 1993-2000, following [[George H. W. Bush]] and preceding [[George W. Bush]]. During the administration of William Jefferson Clinton, the U.S. enjoyed more peace and economic well being than at any time in its history.

== Early Life ==

Clinton was born William Jefferson Blythe III on August 19, 1946 in Hope, [[Arkansas]]. His father, William Jefferson Blythe Jr. died in a car accident while his mother was pregnant with him. Clinton's mother later married Roger Clinton, and the four year-old William was given his stepfather's name.<ref>http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/bc42.html</ref>

Clinton was active in high school, participating in various student government organizations as well as playing the saxophone. Roger Clinton, however, made Bill's family life unpleasant by repeatedly abusing Clinton's mother and her children. Bill Clinton would eventually stand up to his stepfather in high school, forcing his stepfather to stop beating his mother and kicking him out of the house.<ref>http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=50652</ref> After Roger Clinton underwent alcohol rehabilitation, he would eventually rejoin the family.

Clinton attended [[Georgetown University]], then [[Oxford University]] after receiving a prestigious [[Rhodes Scholarship]]. He also then earned a Juris Doctorate from [[Yale University]] in 1973. At Yale he met [[Hillary Clinton|Hillary Rodham]], whom he would later marry.<ref>http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/bc42.html</ref>

== Early Political Career ==

After returning to live in Arkansas, Clinton was elected [[Attorney General]] of Arkansas in 1976. Two years later, he was elected Governor of Arkansas, becoming the youngest governor in the country at 32 years-old. Though defeated in 1980, Clinton won back the governorship in 1982 and held it until becoming President in 1992.

In December 1989 a three-judge district federal court held Bill Clinton's state-wide legislative reapportionment plan violated Section 2 of the [[Voting Rights Act|Voting Rights Act of 1965]], 42 U.S.C. 1973. 1990 the [[Supreme Court]] of the United States found in the case of ''[[Clinton vs Jeffers]]'' <ref>Findings of the Supreme Court of the United States in [http://www.usdoj.gov/osg/briefs/1990/sg900402.txt Clinton vs Jeffers] No. 90-394 (1990) on appeal 730 F. Supp. 196, 198-201 (ED Ark. 1989) (three-judge court), aff'd, No. 89-2008 (Jan. 7, 1991).</ref> the former Arkansas Governor and [[Democratic]] president had violated the Voting Rights Act. The Justices findings were,

{{Cquote|Bill Clinton does not dispute here -- that "violations of the [[Fourteenth amendment|fourteenth]] or [[fifteenth amendment]] justifying equitable relief have occurred in Arkansas."

In May 1990, the district court turned to those claims, holding that "the State of Arkansas has committed a number of constitutional violations of the voting rights of black citizens." J.S. App. A5. In particular, the court determined that the "State has systematically and deliberately enacted new majority-vote requirements for municipal offices, in an effort to frustrate black political success in elections traditionally requiring only a plurality to win." In 1990...Devotion to majority rule for local offices lay dormant as long as the plurality system produced white office-holders. But whenever black candidates used this system successfully -- and victory by a plurality has been virtually their only chance of success in at-large elections in majority-white cities – the response was swift and certain. Laws were passed in an attempt to close off this avenue of black political victory.}}

The court therefore concluded that

{{Cquote|This series of laws represents a systematic and deliberate attempt to reduce black political opportunity. Such an attempt is plainly unconstitutional. It replaces a system in which blacks could and did succeed, with one in which they almost certainly cannot. The inference of [[bigotry|racial motivation]] is inescapable.}}

===Early Scandals===
Clinton was known to have been involved in several scandals while Governor of Arkansas. He used Arkansas state policemen to arrange for him to meet women outside of marriage.

His close personal business partnerships with James and Susan McDougall in a failed Savings and Loan business venture lead to investigation of the [[Whitewater]] affair. Several of the people involved with the sale of land prior to the Clinton presidency were indicted, but prosecutors were never able to charge the Clintons with a crime because Susan McDougall would not cooperate with investigators. Clinton later pardoned Susan McDougall for her role in the Whitewater affair.{{fact}}

== Presidency==
[[Image:Somalia.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Poster to end the "[[racist]] occupation of Somalia"; eighteen US soldiers were killed and some of their bodies were dragged through the streets.<ref>[http://www.netnomad.com/fineman.html The Oil Factor in Somalia]: Four American [[Big Oil|Petroleum Giants]] had Agreements with the Arfican Nation before its Civil War began. They could reap big rewards if peace is restored. By Mark Fineman, ''Times Mirror Company'', January 18, 1993.</ref>]]
Clinton won in the [[United States presidential election of 1992]] with 43% of the popular vote versus President [[George H. W. Bush]]'s 37%, capitalizing on public discontent with a weak economy and public displeasure with Bush's proposed tax increases, and Ross Perot, a third candidate.

In his first two years in office, 1993 through 1994, popular outcry against Clinton's [[radical]] health-care "reform" scheme led to failure of the plan. The collapse of Soviet Bloc only a few years earlier made [[socialism]] unpopular and was accreditted with the widespread disillussionment with the proposal. The approach consisted of appointing an [[economic planning|planning committee]] with secret members to reshape this important sector of the economy.{{fact}} The [[Association of American Physicians and Surgeons]] successfully sued to force disclosure of the committee financing, expenses and membership. The program ultimately became so unpopular after two years the Democratically controlled Congress shielded its members records by never bringing it to floor for a vote.

In 1994, voters expressed their high disapproval of several decades of Democratic control of Congress by giving a victory to Republicans. This event was tagged the "Republican Revolution," and began a series of showdowns with the Republican-led Congress.{{fact}} These showdowns were epitomized by the budget conflict with then-Speaker of the House [[Newt Gingrich]] in 1995. Gingrich refused to pass Clinton's budget proposal, and the latter threatened to shut down the government as Reagan had done in the 1980s. Clinton did not back down, however, and eventually had his budget passed.<ref>http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commentprint082800d.html</ref> This showdown backfired for the Republicans, as it reinvigorated Clinton's flagging approval ratings.<ref>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/Clinton_approval_rating.JPG</ref>

In 1994 a [[Pentagon]] researcher in the Clinton Administration requested funding to develop a non-lethal "love bomb" that would chemically alter the state of mind of [[enemy combatant]]s and make them want to have sex with each other rather than fight.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,281217,00.html Air Force Considered Gay 'Love Bomb' Against Enemies], ''Fox'', June 12, 2007.</ref>

In late 1995, President Clinton dispatched some 20,000 U.S. troops to [[Bosnia]].

Clinton aggressively advocated [[homosexuality]]. <ref>[http://www.behindthebadge.net/articles/a105.html]</ref>

==1996==

Clinton was reelected in the [[United States presidential election of 1996]] and carried 49.2% of the popular vote against Republican candidate ([[Robert Dole | Bob Dole]]), who won 41%, and "populist" candidate, [[H. Ross Perot]], who won 8%. During Clinton's second term, together with the Republican-controlled Congress, he produced record federal budget surpluses reaching $236 billion by the year 2000, and representing a net federal budget gain of $526 billion.<ref>[http://www.uuforum.org/deficit.htm Congressional Budget Office figures]</ref>

He spent much of the remainder of his presidency combating scandals. A special prosecutor's report was not released until well into Clinton's second term, and brought documented evidence of Clinton giving false testimony in the Paula Jones civil lawsuit while President which resulted in his impeachment and disbarment from the legal profession.{{fact}} The main charge was that he had committed perjury in a civil suit. The perjured testimony directly related to an attempt to defraud the plaintiff of damages. The Senate failed to make clear what constitutes high crimes and misdemeanors.<ref>[http://www.australianpolitics.com/usa/clinton/trial/statements/lieberman.shtml Statement by Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-Connecticut)], Congressional Record for Friday, February 12, 1999.</ref>

In 1998 the [[Good Friday Agreement]] was signed between Northern Ireland's Nationalist and Unionist parties and the British and Irish governments. Clinton took part in brokering the deal, phoning the participants in negotiations, at Senator Mitchel's behest, and hosted Unionist and Nationalist leaders at the White House.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/04/10/nclinton.ireland.api/]</ref>

===al-Qaeda bombing===

During Clinton's presidency the [[terrorist]] group [[al-Qaeda]] conducted the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993, simultaneous bombings of the US embassies in [[Kenya]] and [[Tanzania]] in 1998, and the attack on the [[USS Cole]] in 2000. Terrorist leader [[Osama bin Laden]]<ref>[http://www.bannerofliberty.com/OS8-98MQC/8-24-1998.1.html Did Bill Clinton Smooth the Way for Bin Laden to Become the World's Most Successful Terrorist?], Mary Mostert, Original Sources, August 24, 1998.</ref> issued two public [[fatwa]]s declaring War on America.<ref>[http://www.kimsoft.com/2001/binladenwar.htm Bin Laden's Declaration of War], 1998.</ref> In the 1998 fatwa <ref>Bernard Lewis, [http://www.msu.edu/course/iss/325/stein/read-325-3.htm#Lewis License to Kill], Foreign Affairs, November/December 1998.</ref> bin Laden told ''[[Jihad|jihadist]]s'' worldwide,
{{Cquote|Clinton appeared in front of the whole world threatening and promising revenge, but these threats were merely a preparation for withdrawal. You have been disgraced by [[Allah]] and you withdrew; the extent of your impotence and weaknesses became very clear. It was a pleasure for the "heart" of every Muslim and a remedy to the "chests" of believing nations to see you defeated in the three Islamic cities of Beirut, [[Aden]] and [[Mogadishu]].<ref>[http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/context.jsp?item=a1097mohamedinterview&scale=0#a1097mohamedinterview October 1997: [[Ali Mohamed]] Tells FBI He Helped Al-Qaeda Kill US Soldiers, But FBI Takes No Action]</ref>}}

Bin Laden told ''ABC News'' at the time, "We do not have to differentiate between military or civilian. As far as we are concerned, they are all targets." <ref>The 9-11 Commission Report, [http://www.gpoaccess.gov/911/pdf/sec2.pdf2. The Foundation of the New Terrorism], Official Government Edition, GPO, 2004.</ref>
===Cruise missiles to manipulate opinion polls===
Suspicions often arose during Clinton's tenure about the timing of [[cruise missile]] attacks to manipulate public sympathy at crucial points when his approval ratings sagged. On several occasions <ref>[http://article.nationalreview.com/print/?q=NzhjODk1ODg4M2NiODU4Yzc3YWE1OTA1MDNmYWQ5M2Y= The Facts About Clinton and Terrorism], Byron York, ''National Review Online'', September 11, 2006. </ref> generally when the approval ratings dipped to 47%, surprise cruise missile attacks<ref>[http://www.fas.org/news/iraq/1998/12/21/wwwh8d21.html Airstrikes Against Iraq: 'What Happens Now?'], U.S. Information Agency ''Daily Digest'', December 21, 1998.</ref> were launched which resulted in a 10 point gain in the public opinion polls. Nick Gillespie of ''Reason'' remarked,
{{Cquote|Consider, for instance, the relative lack of scrutiny accorded the August 20 cruise missile attacks on Afghanistan and [[Sudan]] … immediately after the bombing, polls showed that close to half of all Americans thought the missile strikes were meant to divert attention from the president's sex life… the Sudanese bombing suggests something else as well: If and when the public's and the media's attention shifts from the president's sex life to wider-ranging inquiries about how he makes deadly serious policy decisions…"<ref>[http://www.reason.com/news/show/30827.html Bombs Away - Troubling questions about the U.S. attack on Sudan], ''Reason'', December 1998.</ref>}}

Clinton also signed into law the [[Violence Against Women Act]], which opened the federal courts to claims of domestic disputes between men and women, which had always been handled under state rather than federal law. Portions regarding civil rights remedies were later found unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

Bill Clinton's Chief of Staff was John Podesta between 1998-2001.

Clinton left office with an approval rating of 65%, the highest of any modern president, and remains the only modern president to leave office with a higher approval rating than he had when he took office.<ref>[http://uspolitics.about.com/od/polls/l/bl_historical_approval.htm Presidential Approval Ratings]</ref>

===Impeachment===

On Aug. 17, 1998, after relentless media attention, leaks, and news of Lewinsky's upcoming testimony, Clinton made history by becoming the first U.S. president to testify in front of a grand jury in an investigation of his own possibly criminal conduct. In an address to the nation, he admitted to having misled the public and a Federal Court over keys elements of testimony. [[Kenneth Starr]], a special prosecutor appointed to investigate the case, was instructed to pursue the matter.

In the second term Clinton was accused of perjury in connection to the Paula Jones sexual harassment lawsuit. Clinton adviser and close confidant [[George Stephanopoulos]] said publicly that there would be a "scorched-earth policy" if Clinton were impeached.<ref>[http://www.alamo-girl.com/02742.htm Insight Magazine], J Michael Waller, 6/19/00.</ref> Clinton previously had decried the "politics of personal destruction."<ref>[http://www.jewishworldreview.com/weekly/standard072299.asp Bill Clinton, Historian], Peter Wehner, Jewish World Review July 22, 1999.</ref>

During the impeachment trial, pornographer [[Larry Flynt]], an old friend of Clinton advisers [[James Carville]] and [[Strobe Talbott]], publicly offered a $1 million reward for any information about the personal lives of members of Congress that could be used for the purposes of blackmail. Although a majority of 55 Senators voted to convict, a minority of 45 Senators gained his acquittal, a two thirds majority being necessary to remove him from office.

[[David Gergen]], former White House Communications Director for both Presidents Reagan and Clinton, summarized the sentiments of many regarding the President's conduct:
{{Cquote|The deep and searing violation took place when he not only lied to the country, but co-opted his friends and lied to them....when you have gone over the line, you won't bring others into it...You don't foul the nest."<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/stories/quinn110298.htm In Washington, That Letdown Feeling], By Sally Quinn, ''The Washington Post'', November 2, 1998, Page E01</ref>}}

Clinton lost his law license in Arkansas because he had committed perjury before a Federal judge.

It was during this scandal that Clinton famously stated: "It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is".<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/21/newsid_2525000/2525339.stm</ref>

===Terrorist pardons===

On August 11, 1999, President Clinton offered clemency to members of the [[Armed Forces of National Liberation]] (FALN) [[terrorist]] group. <ref>[http://rpc.senate.gov/_files/92199CoddlingTerrorists.pdf U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee] testimony available at http://www.senate.gov/~judiciary/wl91599.htm, ''The Tampa Tribune'', S.J.Res. 33 (passed 95-2).</ref> On January 24, 1975 the FALN bombed Fraunces Tavern in Manhattan killing four people. Over a six-year period, the group claimed responsibility for more than 100 bombings that took six lives and injured some 130 people.<ref>[http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/puertorico/sep4.htm Clinton Pardons Terror], ''New York Post'', August 13, 1999. rtetrieve from http://www.latinamericanstudies.org September 14, 2007.</ref>

== Legacy ==
During the administration of William Jefferson Clinton, the U.S. enjoyed more peace and economic well being than at any time in its history.

Clinton has spent much of time since leaving office working for charitable causes such as support and fund-raising for the victims of AIDS and the Asian tsunami. In the case of the Indian Ocean tsunami, he teamed with former president [[George H.W. Bush]] to raise money for relief efforts.

Bill Clinton's wife, [[Hillary_Rodham_Clinton|Hillary Clinton]], was elected Senator to New York in 2000. She was reelected in 2006. While his wife is now seeking financial donations for the [[2008_Presidential_Election#Declared_Democratic_Party_Candidates|Democratic presidential nomination in 2008]] may face a felony conviction that carries with it a five year sentence, according to WorldNetDaily, for receiving $1.9 million to her Senate Campaign in illegal donations,<ref>[http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55320 'Smoking gun' tape indicts Hillary] Art Moore, WorldNetDaily.com, April 21, 2007.</ref> Bill Clinton has refused to make known the identities of financial donors to his Presidential library.<ref>[http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2007/09/clinton-libary-.html Clinton Library Donors Remain Secret], [[ABC News]], September 27, 2007.</ref>

==See also==
*[[Institute for Policy Studies]]
*[[Gay Bomb]]

== References ==
{{reflist|2}}

==External link==

*[http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=625 No evidence of genocide or ethnic cleansing in Kosovo], by Rollie Keith, Global Research, July 2, 2005.
*[http://www.zmag.org/crisescurevts/germandocs.htm Internal Documents from Germany's Foreign Office Regarding Pre-Bombardment Genocide in Kosovo].

{{USPresidents}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clinton, Bill}}
[[Category:Presidents of the United States]]

Bill Clinton

2008-02-02T19:18:50Z

Keg646:

{{President
|image=billclinton.jpg
|seq=42
|term_start=January 20, 1993
|term_end=January 20, 2001
|party=Democratic
|vp=Al Gore
|previous=George H. W. Bush
|next=George W. Bush
|birth_date=August 19, 1946
|birth_place=Hope, Arkansas
|death_date=
|death_place=
|spouse=[[Hillary Rodham Clinton]]
|spouse2=
|religion=[[Baptist]]
}}
'''William Jefferson''' "Bill" '''Clinton''' '''(August 19, 1946 - present)''' served two terms as the 42nd [[President of the United States of America]] from 1993-2000, following [[George H. W. Bush]] and preceding [[George W. Bush]].

== Early Life ==

Clinton was born William Jefferson Blythe III on August 19, 1946 in Hope, [[Arkansas]]. His father, William Jefferson Blythe Jr. died in a car accident while his mother was pregnant with him. Clinton's mother later married Roger Clinton, and the four year-old William was given his stepfather's name.<ref>http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/bc42.html</ref>

Clinton was active in high school, participating in various student government organizations as well as playing the saxophone. Roger Clinton, however, made Bill's family life unpleasant by repeatedly abusing Clinton's mother and her children. Bill Clinton would eventually stand up to his stepfather in high school, forcing his stepfather to stop beating his mother and kicking him out of the house.<ref>http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=50652</ref> After Roger Clinton underwent alcohol rehabilitation, he would eventually rejoin the family.

Clinton attended [[Georgetown University]], then [[Oxford University]] after receiving a prestigious [[Rhodes Scholarship]]. He also then earned a Juris Doctorate from [[Yale University]] in 1973. At Yale he met [[Hillary Clinton|Hillary Rodham]], whom he would later marry.<ref>http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/bc42.html</ref>

== Early Political Career ==

After returning to live in Arkansas, Clinton was elected [[Attorney General]] of Arkansas in 1976. Two years later, he was elected Governor of Arkansas, becoming the youngest governor in the country at 32 years-old. Though defeated in 1980, Clinton won back the governorship in 1982 and held it until becoming President in 1992.

In December 1989 a three-judge district federal court held Bill Clinton's state-wide legislative reapportionment plan violated Section 2 of the [[Voting Rights Act|Voting Rights Act of 1965]], 42 U.S.C. 1973. 1990 the [[Supreme Court]] of the United States found in the case of ''[[Clinton vs Jeffers]]'' <ref>Findings of the Supreme Court of the United States in [http://www.usdoj.gov/osg/briefs/1990/sg900402.txt Clinton vs Jeffers] No. 90-394 (1990) on appeal 730 F. Supp. 196, 198-201 (ED Ark. 1989) (three-judge court), aff'd, No. 89-2008 (Jan. 7, 1991).</ref> the former Arkansas Governor and [[Democratic]] president had violated the Voting Rights Act. The Justices findings were,

{{Cquote|Bill Clinton does not dispute here -- that "violations of the [[Fourteenth amendment|fourteenth]] or [[fifteenth amendment]] justifying equitable relief have occurred in Arkansas."

In May 1990, the district court turned to those claims, holding that "the State of Arkansas has committed a number of constitutional violations of the voting rights of black citizens." J.S. App. A5. In particular, the court determined that the "State has systematically and deliberately enacted new majority-vote requirements for municipal offices, in an effort to frustrate black political success in elections traditionally requiring only a plurality to win." In 1990...Devotion to majority rule for local offices lay dormant as long as the plurality system produced white office-holders. But whenever black candidates used this system successfully -- and victory by a plurality has been virtually their only chance of success in at-large elections in majority-white cities – the response was swift and certain. Laws were passed in an attempt to close off this avenue of black political victory.}}

The court therefore concluded that

{{Cquote|This series of laws represents a systematic and deliberate attempt to reduce black political opportunity. Such an attempt is plainly unconstitutional. It replaces a system in which blacks could and did succeed, with one in which they almost certainly cannot. The inference of [[bigotry|racial motivation]] is inescapable.}}

===Early Scandals===
Clinton was known to have been involved in several scandals while Governor of Arkansas. He used Arkansas state policemen to arrange for him to meet women outside of marriage.

His close personal business partnerships with James and Susan McDougall in a failed Savings and Loan business venture lead to investigation of the [[Whitewater]] affair. Several of the people involved with the sale of land prior to the Clinton presidency were indicted, but prosecutors were never able to charge the Clintons with a crime because Susan McDougall would not cooperate with investigators. Clinton later pardoned Susan McDougall for her role in the Whitewater affair.{{fact}}

== Presidency==
[[Image:Somalia.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Poster to end the "[[racist]] occupation of Somalia"; eighteen US soldiers were killed and some of their bodies were dragged through the streets.<ref>[http://www.netnomad.com/fineman.html The Oil Factor in Somalia]: Four American [[Big Oil|Petroleum Giants]] had Agreements with the Arfican Nation before its Civil War began. They could reap big rewards if peace is restored. By Mark Fineman, ''Times Mirror Company'', January 18, 1993.</ref>]]
Clinton won in the [[United States presidential election of 1992]] with 43% of the popular vote versus President [[George H. W. Bush]]'s 37%, capitalizing on public discontent with a weak economy and public displeasure with Bush's proposed tax increases, and Ross Perot, a third candidate.

In his first two years in office, 1993 through 1994, popular outcry against Clinton's [[radical]] health-care "reform" scheme led to failure of the plan. The collapse of Soviet Bloc only a few years earlier made [[socialism]] unpopular and was accreditted with the widespread disillussionment with the proposal. The approach consisted of appointing an [[economic planning|planning committee]] with secret members to reshape this important sector of the economy.{{fact}} The [[Association of American Physicians and Surgeons]] successfully sued to force disclosure of the committee financing, expenses and membership. The program ultimately became so unpopular after two years the Democratically controlled Congress shielded its members records by never bringing it to floor for a vote.

In 1994, voters expressed their high disapproval of several decades of Democratic control of Congress by giving a victory to Republicans. This event was tagged the "Republican Revolution," and began a series of showdowns with the Republican-led Congress.{{fact}} These showdowns were epitomized by the budget conflict with then-Speaker of the House [[Newt Gingrich]] in 1995. Gingrich refused to pass Clinton's budget proposal, and the latter threatened to shut down the government as Reagan had done in the 1980s. Clinton did not back down, however, and eventually had his budget passed.<ref>http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commentprint082800d.html</ref> This showdown backfired for the Republicans, as it reinvigorated Clinton's flagging approval ratings.<ref>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/Clinton_approval_rating.JPG</ref>

In 1994 a [[Pentagon]] researcher in the Clinton Administration requested funding to develop a non-lethal "love bomb" that would chemically alter the state of mind of [[enemy combatant]]s and make them want to have sex with each other rather than fight.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,281217,00.html Air Force Considered Gay 'Love Bomb' Against Enemies], ''Fox'', June 12, 2007.</ref>

In late 1995, President Clinton dispatched some 20,000 U.S. troops to [[Bosnia]].

Clinton aggressively advocated [[homosexuality]]. <ref>[http://www.behindthebadge.net/articles/a105.html]</ref>

==1996==

Clinton was reelected in the [[United States presidential election of 1996]] and carried 49.2% of the popular vote against Republican candidate ([[Robert Dole | Bob Dole]]), who won 41%, and "populist" candidate, [[H. Ross Perot]], who won 8%. During Clinton's second term, together with the Republican-controlled Congress, he produced record federal budget surpluses reaching $236 billion by the year 2000, and representing a net federal budget gain of $526 billion.<ref>[http://www.uuforum.org/deficit.htm Congressional Budget Office figures]</ref>

He spent much of the remainder of his presidency combating scandals. A special prosecutor's report was not released until well into Clinton's second term, and brought documented evidence of Clinton giving false testimony in the Paula Jones civil lawsuit while President which resulted in his impeachment and disbarment from the legal profession.{{fact}} The main charge was that he had committed perjury in a civil suit. The perjured testimony directly related to an attempt to defraud the plaintiff of damages. The Senate failed to make clear what constitutes high crimes and misdemeanors.<ref>[http://www.australianpolitics.com/usa/clinton/trial/statements/lieberman.shtml Statement by Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-Connecticut)], Congressional Record for Friday, February 12, 1999.</ref>

In 1998 the [[Good Friday Agreement]] was signed between Northern Ireland's Nationalist and Unionist parties and the British and Irish governments. Clinton took part in brokering the deal, phoning the participants in negotiations, at Senator Mitchel's behest, and hosted Unionist and Nationalist leaders at the White House.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/04/10/nclinton.ireland.api/]</ref>

===al-Qaeda bombing===

During Clinton's presidency the [[terrorist]] group [[al-Qaeda]] conducted the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993, simultaneous bombings of the US embassies in [[Kenya]] and [[Tanzania]] in 1998, and the attack on the [[USS Cole]] in 2000. Terrorist leader [[Osama bin Laden]]<ref>[http://www.bannerofliberty.com/OS8-98MQC/8-24-1998.1.html Did Bill Clinton Smooth the Way for Bin Laden to Become the World's Most Successful Terrorist?], Mary Mostert, Original Sources, August 24, 1998.</ref> issued two public [[fatwa]]s declaring War on America.<ref>[http://www.kimsoft.com/2001/binladenwar.htm Bin Laden's Declaration of War], 1998.</ref> In the 1998 fatwa <ref>Bernard Lewis, [http://www.msu.edu/course/iss/325/stein/read-325-3.htm#Lewis License to Kill], Foreign Affairs, November/December 1998.</ref> bin Laden told ''[[Jihad|jihadist]]s'' worldwide,
{{Cquote|Clinton appeared in front of the whole world threatening and promising revenge, but these threats were merely a preparation for withdrawal. You have been disgraced by [[Allah]] and you withdrew; the extent of your impotence and weaknesses became very clear. It was a pleasure for the "heart" of every Muslim and a remedy to the "chests" of believing nations to see you defeated in the three Islamic cities of Beirut, [[Aden]] and [[Mogadishu]].<ref>[http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/context.jsp?item=a1097mohamedinterview&scale=0#a1097mohamedinterview October 1997: [[Ali Mohamed]] Tells FBI He Helped Al-Qaeda Kill US Soldiers, But FBI Takes No Action]</ref>}}

Bin Laden told ''ABC News'' at the time, "We do not have to differentiate between military or civilian. As far as we are concerned, they are all targets." <ref>The 9-11 Commission Report, [http://www.gpoaccess.gov/911/pdf/sec2.pdf2. The Foundation of the New Terrorism], Official Government Edition, GPO, 2004.</ref>
===Cruise missiles to manipulate opinion polls===
Suspicions often arose during Clinton's tenure about the timing of [[cruise missile]] attacks to manipulate public sympathy at crucial points when his approval ratings sagged. On several occasions <ref>[http://article.nationalreview.com/print/?q=NzhjODk1ODg4M2NiODU4Yzc3YWE1OTA1MDNmYWQ5M2Y= The Facts About Clinton and Terrorism], Byron York, ''National Review Online'', September 11, 2006. </ref> generally when the approval ratings dipped to 47%, surprise cruise missile attacks<ref>[http://www.fas.org/news/iraq/1998/12/21/wwwh8d21.html Airstrikes Against Iraq: 'What Happens Now?'], U.S. Information Agency ''Daily Digest'', December 21, 1998.</ref> were launched which resulted in a 10 point gain in the public opinion polls. Nick Gillespie of ''Reason'' remarked,
{{Cquote|Consider, for instance, the relative lack of scrutiny accorded the August 20 cruise missile attacks on Afghanistan and [[Sudan]] … immediately after the bombing, polls showed that close to half of all Americans thought the missile strikes were meant to divert attention from the president's sex life… the Sudanese bombing suggests something else as well: If and when the public's and the media's attention shifts from the president's sex life to wider-ranging inquiries about how he makes deadly serious policy decisions…"<ref>[http://www.reason.com/news/show/30827.html Bombs Away - Troubling questions about the U.S. attack on Sudan], ''Reason'', December 1998.</ref>}}

Clinton also signed into law the [[Violence Against Women Act]], which opened the federal courts to claims of domestic disputes between men and women, which had always been handled under state rather than federal law. Portions regarding civil rights remedies were later found unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

Bill Clinton's Chief of Staff was John Podesta between 1998-2001.

Clinton left office with an approval rating of 65%, the highest of any modern president, and remains the only modern president to leave office with a higher approval rating than he had when he took office.<ref>[http://uspolitics.about.com/od/polls/l/bl_historical_approval.htm Presidential Approval Ratings]</ref>

===Impeachment===

On Aug. 17, 1998, after relentless media attention, leaks, and news of Lewinsky's upcoming testimony, Clinton made history by becoming the first U.S. president to testify in front of a grand jury in an investigation of his own possibly criminal conduct. In an address to the nation, he admitted to having misled the public and a Federal Court over keys elements of testimony. [[Kenneth Starr]], a special prosecutor appointed to investigate the case, was instructed to pursue the matter.

In the second term Clinton was accused of perjury in connection to the Paula Jones sexual harassment lawsuit. Clinton adviser and close confidant [[George Stephanopoulos]] said publicly that there would be a "scorched-earth policy" if Clinton were impeached.<ref>[http://www.alamo-girl.com/02742.htm Insight Magazine], J Michael Waller, 6/19/00.</ref> Clinton previously had decried the "politics of personal destruction."<ref>[http://www.jewishworldreview.com/weekly/standard072299.asp Bill Clinton, Historian], Peter Wehner, Jewish World Review July 22, 1999.</ref>

During the impeachment trial, pornographer [[Larry Flynt]], an old friend of Clinton advisers [[James Carville]] and [[Strobe Talbott]], publicly offered a $1 million reward for any information about the personal lives of members of Congress that could be used for the purposes of blackmail. Although a majority of 55 Senators voted to convict, a minority of 45 Senators gained his acquittal, a two thirds majority being necessary to remove him from office.

[[David Gergen]], former White House Communications Director for both Presidents Reagan and Clinton, summarized the sentiments of many regarding the President's conduct:
{{Cquote|The deep and searing violation took place when he not only lied to the country, but co-opted his friends and lied to them....when you have gone over the line, you won't bring others into it...You don't foul the nest."<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/stories/quinn110298.htm In Washington, That Letdown Feeling], By Sally Quinn, ''The Washington Post'', November 2, 1998, Page E01</ref>}}

Clinton lost his law license in Arkansas because he had committed perjury before a Federal judge.

It was during this scandal that Clinton famously stated: "It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is".<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/21/newsid_2525000/2525339.stm</ref>

===Terrorist pardons===

On August 11, 1999, President Clinton offered clemency to members of the [[Armed Forces of National Liberation]] (FALN) [[terrorist]] group. <ref>[http://rpc.senate.gov/_files/92199CoddlingTerrorists.pdf U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee] testimony available at http://www.senate.gov/~judiciary/wl91599.htm, ''The Tampa Tribune'', S.J.Res. 33 (passed 95-2).</ref> On January 24, 1975 the FALN bombed Fraunces Tavern in Manhattan killing four people. Over a six-year period, the group claimed responsibility for more than 100 bombings that took six lives and injured some 130 people.<ref>[http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/puertorico/sep4.htm Clinton Pardons Terror], ''New York Post'', August 13, 1999. rtetrieve from http://www.latinamericanstudies.org September 14, 2007.</ref>

== Legacy ==
During the administration of William Jefferson Clinton, the U.S. enjoyed more peace and economic well being than at any time in its history.

Clinton has spent much of time since leaving office working for charitable causes such as support and fund-raising for the victims of AIDS and the Asian tsunami. In the case of the Indian Ocean tsunami, he teamed with former president [[George H.W. Bush]] to raise money for relief efforts.

Bill Clinton's wife, [[Hillary_Rodham_Clinton|Hillary Clinton]], was elected Senator to New York in 2000. She was reelected in 2006. While his wife is now seeking financial donations for the [[2008_Presidential_Election#Declared_Democratic_Party_Candidates|Democratic presidential nomination in 2008]] may face a felony conviction that carries with it a five year sentence, according to WorldNetDaily, for receiving $1.9 million to her Senate Campaign in illegal donations,<ref>[http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55320 'Smoking gun' tape indicts Hillary] Art Moore, WorldNetDaily.com, April 21, 2007.</ref> Bill Clinton has refused to make known the identities of financial donors to his Presidential library.<ref>[http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2007/09/clinton-libary-.html Clinton Library Donors Remain Secret], [[ABC News]], September 27, 2007.</ref>

==See also==
*[[Institute for Policy Studies]]
*[[Gay Bomb]]

== References ==
{{reflist|2}}

==External link==

*[http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=625 No evidence of genocide or ethnic cleansing in Kosovo], by Rollie Keith, Global Research, July 2, 2005.
*[http://www.zmag.org/crisescurevts/germandocs.htm Internal Documents from Germany's Foreign Office Regarding Pre-Bombardment Genocide in Kosovo].

{{USPresidents}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clinton, Bill}}
[[Category:Presidents of the United States]]