Bill Clinton

United States President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton; Forty-second President of the United States
Born	August 19, 1946
Term	1993-2001

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton (August 19, 1946 - present) served as the 42nd President of the United States of America from 1993-2001, following George H. W. Bush and preceding George W. Bush.

Early Life

Clinton was born William Jefferson Blythe III on August 19, 1946 AD 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.[3]

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 him to stop beating his mother and kicking him out of the house. [[4]] After Roger Clinton underwent alcohol rehabilitation, he would eventually rejoin the family.

Clinton attended Georgetown University, then Oxford University after receiving a Rhodes Scholarship, and finally earned a Juris Doctorate from Yale University in 1973 AD. At Yale he met Hillary Rodham, whom he would later marry [5].

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 as a 32 year-old. Though defeated in 1980, Clinton won back the governorship in 1982 and held it until becoming President in 1992.

Presidency

Poster to end the "racist occupation of Somalia"; eighteen US soldiers were killed and some of their bodies were bodies were dragged through the streets, [2]

Despite never winning a majority of the popular vote during either of his elections (although he did win the popular vote over other candidates), President Clinton enjoyed very good public approval ratings during parts of his second term. Clinton won in 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 1994, conservative voters expressed their high disapproval of Clinton by giving a victory to Republicans in Congress. This event was tagged the "Republican Revolution," and began a series of showdowns with the Republican-led Congress.^{[Citation Needed]} 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 [6]. This showdown backfired for the Republicans, as it reinvigorated Clinton's flagging approval ratings. [7].

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

Clinton was reelected in 1996 and carried 49.2% of the popular vote against Republican candidate ( Bob Dole), who won 41%, and "populist" candidate, H. Ross Perot, who won 8%. Clinton spent a lot of the remainder of his presidency combating scandals. A special prosecutor's report documented that Clinton had given false testimony in a civil lawsuit while President, which resulted in his impeachment. Clinton was acquitted by the Senate, though he was later disbarred by the state of Arkansas.

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.

Whitewater Scandal

His close personal business partnerships with James McDougall in a failed savings and loan led to investigation of the Whitewater Development Corporation. Several of the people involved with the sale of land prior to the Clinton presidency were indicted, but the Clintons were never charged with a crime.

Impeachment

On Aug. 17, 1998, after relentless media attention, leaks, and news of Monica 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 had an "inappropriate relationship" with Lewinsky, but reaffirmed that he did not ask anyone to lie about or cover up the affair.

After the Presidency

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

Bill Clinton's wife, Hillary Clinton, was elected Senator from New York in 2000. Reelected in 2006, she is now seeking the Democratic nomination for President 2008.

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