2. 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 â63
3.
4. Biography
⢠Went to Georgetown U.
⢠Interned for Arkansas Senator during summer of â67
⢠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 â73
⢠Met Hillary in a Yale library
⢠Married in â73
⢠Law professor at U. of Arkansas in â74
⢠Ran for H.O.R. in â74, but lost
⢠Elected Attorney General of Arkansas in â76
5. Biography
⢠Elected governor of
Arkansas in â78
⢠Served as governor â78-
80 & â82-â92
⢠Youngest governor in
the country, only 32 y.o.
⢠The âBoy Governorâ
⢠âNew Democratâ
⢠Education reform was
top priority
⢠Also focused on
economic growth & job
creation
6.
7. 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
natâl health care plan
⢠Plan was defeated
8. 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 âDonât
Ask, Donât Tellâ
⢠Repealed in 2011
⢠Compromise after
attempt to allow gays
to openly serve in
military was shot down
9. 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
10. 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 âBrooklynâ
Dodgers, Dodgers left
Brooklyn in 1957
⢠Clinton maintained lead
in polls throughout
12. 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
justiceârelated to
Monica Lewinsky
⢠2nd Pres. to be impeached
13. 2nd Term
⢠Clinton was acquitted on all charges
⢠Votes were mostly along party lines; 2/3 need to convict
⢠Only 50 for obstruction & 45 for perjury
⢠Senate had 55 Republicans
⢠Trial lasted 21 days; ended on Feb. 12, 1999
14. Foreign Policy
⢠Somalia, 1993âBattle of Mogadishu, 18 American soldiers
killedâU.S. forces withdrawn
⢠Bosnia, 1995âU.S./NATO aircraft attack Bosnian Serb targets
⢠Deployed peacekeepers to Bosnia in â95
⢠Hoped to capture Osama Bin Laden
⢠Al-Qaeda bombed U.S. embassies in E. Africa in â98
⢠Clinton ordered missile strikes on terrorist targets in Afghanistan
& Sudan
⢠NATO bombing campaign in Yugoslavia in â99
⢠Ethnic cleansing/genocide
⢠Four-day bombing campaign against Saddam Hussein/Iraq in
â98
15.
16. Etc.
⢠Appeared on Arsenio Hall & MTV
⢠Admitted to smoking pot
⢠Toni Morrison, âthe first Black Presidentâ
⢠Played the saxophone
⢠Loved McDonaldâs
⢠âBubbaâ
⢠Several sexual accusations
⢠Jones, Flowers, Lewinsky