Bill Clinton, 'we get by with a little help from our friends'!
Bill Clinton
*Bill Clinton was born on this date in 1946. He is an American ambassador, administrator, activist and former politician, the 42nd President of the United States of America.
He was born William Jefferson Blythe III in Hope, Arkansas, three months after his father died in a traffic accident. When he was four years old, his mother married Roger Clinton, of Hot Springs, Arkansas. In high school, he took the family name. He excelled academically and as a musician and once considered becoming a professional musician. As a delegate to Boys Nation while in high school, he met President John Kennedy in the White House Rose Garden. The encounter led him to enter a life of public service.
Clinton graduated from Georgetown University and in 1968 won a Rhodes scholarship to Oxford University. He received a law degree from Yale University in 1973, and entered politics in Arkansas. He was defeated in his campaign for Congress in Arkansas's Third District in 1974. The next year he married Hillary Rodham, a graduate of Wellesley College and Yale Law School. In 1980, Chelsea, their only child, was born. In 1976, Clinton was elected as Arkansas Attorney General, and elected governor in 1978. After losing a bid for a second term, he regained the office four years later, and served until he defeated incumbent George Bush and third party candidate Ross Perot in the 1992 presidential race.
Clinton and his running mate, Tennessee's Senator Albert Gore Jr., then 44, represented a new generation in American political leadership. For the first time in 12 years both the White House and Congress were held by the same party. But that political edge was brief; the Republicans won both houses of Congress in 1994. In 1998, as a result of his personal indiscretions with a young woman White House intern, Clinton was the second U.S. president to be impeached by the House of Representatives. He was tried in the Senate and found not guilty of the charges brought against him. He apologized to the nation for his actions and continued to have unprecedented popular approval ratings for his job as president.
Bill Clinton has a special bond with blacks, a relationship that fueled his decision to move his post presidential office to Harlem. When his presidency ended in January 2001, Clinton's approval rating was eight-seven percent of African Americans and just 45 percent of whites viewed Clinton favorably. Part of Clinton's backing by African Americans has to do with the fact that, though he was reared in the still-often-racist South, some of his most prominent friends were black. He filled the senior ranks of his administration with black officials, stood up in favor of affirmative-action programs (when Republicans sought to dismantle them), by discussing racial issues repeatedly, publicly, and demonstrating his prodigious intellect.
This last fact was not lost on Tennessee author Alice Randall, who said: I think this intelligence, this raw intelligence, is very attractive to African Americans. I actually think that there is a tremendous prejudice in the African-American community toward very bright people, which I would distinguish from very well educated people. I'm talking about innately bright people. George W. Bush, I think is the exact opposite of this. He is clearly not very bright. I mean, on an objective level he's a man who had every privilege and managed to be a C student at Yale -- and is proud of it. If my daughter, an African-American girl, went to Yale and was a C student, she wouldn't have much of a future in front of her. This is one of those truths about black life that Clinton understands so well. Black people can identify with the very hardworking, very bright person, who makes something of himself from nothing. And that's Bill Clinton.
To African Americans, President Clinton was definitely a kindred soul, far more than his predecessors. But what really cemented the close relationship between the 42nd president and African America may have been the Republican 1998 method to oust Clinton for whom blacks had twice voted overwhelmingly from the White House.
Many of the things that made African Americans believe they had a friend in the Oval Office during the Clinton years, though, weren't so politically charged. He always seemed comfortable at black gatherings, like he genuinely belonged; and he could sing the Negro National Anthem, "Lift Every Voice and Sing," without having the lyric sheet in front of him. Clinton found a way to connect with blacks that was personal and close. He convinced African-America in words and in actions that part of this relationship was from his heart, as well as in his head.
Globally, he successfully dispatched peace keeping forces to war-torn Bosnia and bombed Iraq when Saddam Hussein stopped United Nations inspections for evidence of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. He became a global proponent for an expanded NATO, more open international trade, and a worldwide campaign against drug trafficking. He drew huge crowds when he traveled through South America, Europe, Russia, Africa, and China, advocating U.S. style freedom.
During the administration of William Jefferson Clinton, America enjoyed more peace and economic well being than at any time in its history. He was the first Democratic president since Franklin D. Roosevelt to win a second term. During his terms America had the lowest unemployment rate in modern times, the lowest inflation in 30 years, the highest home ownership in the country's history, dropping crime rates in many places, and reduced welfare rolls.
He proposed the first balanced budget in decades and achieved a budget surplus. As part of a plan to celebrate the millennium in 2000, Clinton called for a great national initiative to end racial discrimination. After the failure in his second year of a huge program of health care reform, Clinton shifted emphasis, declaring "the era of big government is over." He sought legislation to upgrade education, to protect jobs of parents who must care for sick children, to restrict handgun sales, and to strengthen environmental rules.
During the 2008 Democratic Primary he campaigned for his wife against Barrack Obama. During that time he revealed a competitive side that showed characteristics of racial intolerance. He has mentioned since the Primary that he is not a racist.
How Bill Clinton will be remembered by history cannot yet be decided. There are still too many strong partisan opinions floating about to determine whether his reputation will be enhanced by the passage of time (as happened to Harry Truman) or called into question (as was the case with Warren G. Harding and, to a lesser extent, Ronald Reagan).
Reference:
A&E Television Networks,
235 East 45th Street,
New York, NY 10017,
(212) 210-1400
Bill Clinton and Black America,
by DeWayne Wickham,
Ballentine Books, copyright 2002,
ISBN 0-345-45032-9,
----- Original Message -----
From: kenneth harrow
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Sent: 8/2/2012 7:00:43 AM
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - As Fellow Alumnus And Brother BillCinton Said, "It's The Ecnomy, Stupid!"
my recollection of analyses of bill clinton's actual policies and budgetary commitments to african americans was that they were cuts, programs vitiated, actual funding reduced.
the "Brother" in clinton was all rhetoric, no action.
it always disturbed me to read how he managed to negotiate this policy so as get support from the very community he actually harmed in his actions
ken
On 8/1/12 4:06 PM, Abdul Karim Bangura wrote:
Two Major Factors for the US 2012 Presidential Elections:
Employment Index Slips to 2012 Low
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
The Rasmussen Employment Index slipped two points in July to 80.5, marking the lowest level of confidence since December 2011.
Still, worker confidence is up 10 points from a year ago and 12 points from two years ago.
Now, however, just 20% of working Americans report that their firms are hiring while 22% report layoffs. This marks the first time in nine months that the number laying off workers has topped the number hiring.
Generally speaking, a decrease in the Rasmussen Employment Index suggests the upcoming government reports on job creation will be weaker than the prior month's. However, perceptions of the labor market have been somewhat erratic lately.
49% Trust Romney More On Economy; 43% Trust Obama More
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Voters continue to trust likely Republican nominee Mitt Romney more than President Obama when it comes to the economy and taxes but are more narrowly divided on three other key issues.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely Voters shows that 50% trust Romney more to handle the economy, while 42% trust the president more. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on June 11-12, 2012 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Fieldwork for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
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kenneth w. harrow
distinguished professor of english
michigan state university
department of english
east lansing, mi 48824-1036
ph. 517 803 8839
harrow@msu.edu
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