Clinton, William J. (1946–)

WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON was born William Jefferson Blythe IV in Hope, Arkansas. His father died prior to his birth, and he adopted the last name of his stepfather, Roger Clinton, whom his mother, Virginia Kelley, would later remarry. Clinton received his education at Georgetown, Oxford, and Yale universities and became governor of Arkansas in 1978 at the age of 32.

He lost his governorship in 1982, before regaining the position in 1986 and holding it until his bid for the presidency. In 1992, he successfully defeated the incumbent candidate, Republican George H.W. Bush, to become the 42nd president of the United States. Clinton's presidency lasted two terms, as he successfully defeated Republican candidate Bob Dole in the 1996 election and became the first Democrat to win reelection since the 1940s.

Clinton brought a new hybrid of mostly liberal Democratic policy mixed with some conservative Republican doctrine to his presidency. On the liberal side, his universal healthcare proposals epitomized the left, while his welfare reform package reflected conservative concerns. Though a Democrat through and through, Clinton managed to steal the thunder of the right wing on occasion and fold it into his administration's policies.

His presidency was marked by allegations of misconduct, especially in his private life, and he became the second president in U.S. history to be impeached. However, as leftist commentators suggest, the charismatic president, with genuine political skill, was able to overcome these potentially politically fatal events and guided America through a period of economic prosperity, unrivaled by either his predecessor or his successor. During his tenure, more than 20 million new jobs were created in the United States.

Clinton's presidency was confronted with a Republican-controlled U.S. Congress during his first term. Nonetheless, he was able to achieve many successful acts, largely in part to his conservative liberal views and ability to appeal to moderate conservatives. The Brady Bill, passed during the first term in November 1993, stated that there would be a waiting period when purchasing a gun, thus allowing authorities to run background checks on buyers. A month later, he signed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which helped to bring about freer trading conditions with Mexico and Canada.

While Clinton found much success in his first term, the Whitewater land investment scandal came to the public's attention. Beginning in 1994, Clinton appointed an independent counsel to determine whether he had committed any wrongdoing regarding a sale of land in Arkansas while he was governor. The final conclusion of the investigation, which would ultimately not be decided until September 2000, was that Clinton was cleared of any wrongdoing.

Clinton gave particular attention to acts of violence and crime. In September 1994, he passed the 1994 Crime Bill, which increased the rights of the victims and established more severe penalties for criminals. Partially though through these measures, the crime rate in America dropped in each of Clinton's eight years in office. In 1995, Clinton was able to successfully fend off Republicans in budget negotiations, even though partisan opposition meant that the government was actually shut down for a limited time. His defiance of the Republicans gained him public approval and boosted his popularity in the wake of his reelection campaign. In April 1996, his administration was marked by the successful passage of an increase in the minimum wage, which affected over 10 million workers. This rise in minimum wage was the highest increase in American history (reflecting Clinton's liberal side).

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