Personally I feel Bill Clinton a very poor president who abused the powers of his office and deliberately lied under oath, However it must be said, I doubt there would be any honest politicians anywhere.
But how bad was Clinton or do you feel he was a good president?
Regards digger.
Well, he certainly knew how to get ahead. 
Well I will say that most of Billâs praise comes after being president. If you thought Bill was bad just wait till you see Dubya! :mrgreen:
Bill mostly worked on internal issues. His foreign policy was good but not great. One of the 1st presidents to balence the budget in a long time. I would say mostly he keep the status quo and improved what he could. Also have to remember that he was really the 1st president that didnt really have to worry about the USSR. At least as a potential threat. He probably wont be remembered as a great pres but a good one coz he was, for the most part, a peace time leader.
Bush probably will not be remembered as a bad pres. Like I said before to hit the bottom according to Americans you have to do nothing. Even thou Im not a fan I cant say he did a bad job leading the country right after 9/11. Or lets just say the end of 2001. However im sure you will not find him anywhere close to the list of great presidental speeches.
Back to BillâŚhe will be forever plagued with the scandal towards the end. Personally I thought it was funny until they impeached him. This was nothing more than the Republicans trying to show muscle. Much like now with the Democrats and their time tables. Both are pretty silly.
Personally, I think he was a very good President. When he left office, the country was running a budget surplus (the deficit âclockâ in Times Square actually ran âbackwardsâ), he had reduced welfare rolls in the country, and the US was both admired and well loved in the world. He didnât preside over the sale of America to China, thatâs for sure. He fought a brief, sharp war in Kosovo and got in and out rapidly, especially because the Republicans imposed a timetable on him (Tony Snow: âIf you think Vietnam was bad, wait til you see Kosovo.â How wrong can one be?). He won that war. Memories are very short around here.
The bad press he got for the Monica Lewinsky affair was deserved but it was not an impeachable offense, especially when compared to what is going on now, or, compared to the antics of people like Newt Gingrich who went after Clinton with hammers and tongs and then told his wife who was in the hospital with cancer that he was leaving her for another woman he had been âdatingâ. Geez, the pot calling the kettle black. I think historyâs verdict on Clinton will be very positive, especially by comparison. A BJ under the desk may be unseemly, but it is not the same thing as 3500 dead kids in a faraway land for dubious reasons.
i think that all billâs negative views com from the lewinsky scandal, after all he was president from 93-01 and that has been the most economically prosperous time in US history
Funny enough according to this graph( that doesnt site a source besides wiki common) Bill was far more popular during his 2nd term than his first. Also close to the highest approval rating he had ever had when he left office.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Clinton_approval_rating.JPG
Clinton did something useful by firing some missiles at Gaddafi, who pulled his head in afterwards.
Pity he didnât wipe out Gaddafi and his whole command crew on that occasion. I know Gaddafiâs young child was killed. So? Did Gaddafi give a cube about anyone of any age being killed by the mongrels he supported? As ye sow ⌠etc
Might have discouraged some others to host, for want of a better word, terrorists in their countries. And avoided a lot of other problems caused by people who thought, correctly, that they were beyond the reach of justice.
Clinton is a traitor and should be in jail! The sensitive technology that he allowed to be sold to China qualifies him for a long prison term. This action allowed the Chinese to advance at least 10 to 15 years with their long range weapons program. Plus, his constant trampling of the U.S. Constitution by signing in to law things such as more gun controland ceding American soverignty to the Unitd Nations! The worst part is this scoundral is now being supported by the taxpayer, even though he could afford to pay his own security detail and office space with the millions of dollars he has made since leaving office. What a low life this man is!!!
He did preside over the sale of Amerca to the Chinese. He got political donations from him my friend, and allowed the sale of sensitive technology. So he lobbed a few missles, he didnât do a damm thing after the Kobar towers attack, the Cole attack, the embassy bombing attacks, nothing. We still have troops in the Balkins also. Please!!! And lets not forget about him sending Sandy Burger to the National Archives to steal papers that would make him look bad as regards our friend Bin Laden and 911!
It was lying under oath that was the impeachable offence and the Republicans at least followed the Constitution concerning this matter. These 3500 soldiers (not kids) were all volunteers. They knew what could happen to them when they joined the military. It was American policy, even under Clinton to get rid of Saddamâs regime, but Clinton didnât have the cohones to do it militarily And many Democrats voted for the war and they now are running away from it . I donât have any respect for these folks.
I donât think anyone was overly concerned with the sexual antics of the man, perhaps other than the moral majority. What was of concern was his abuse of power of his office, his bald faced lies and deliberate attempts to destroy Monika Lewinsky.
Remember she was not the only woman he did this to, it was just that Lewinsky was the first to have the gumption to bring it in to the open and show Americans what a low life this sod is.
And yes his track record on foreign relations was not that good. In fact his reactions to the Balkans crisis were so slow, more lives were lost than necessary.
Regards Digger
Yea ⌠and both parties voted for the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution which was all based on BS. Just like the reasons to go to Iraq. I dont care who it is but someone has to say âhey we made a mistake and what are we going to do about it?â Now we have a wonderful situation caused by us were humans are constantly being thrown in the meat grinder. Now im not for immediate withdrawal or stupid time tables but something needs to be done.
This is why Clinton did things by the book and went with the UN. Just like Bushâs Dad in Iraq. Saddam was a bastard and im glad he is gone. But thats no reason to go to war. If thats the case I say we declare war on AfricaâŚplenty of crazy bastards down there that make Saddam look like a girl scout.
LOL, well, Laconia, I certainly managed to ârattle your cageâ! Since the original question was whether or not he was a good or bad president, I stand by my âopinionâ that he was an excellent one, especially compared to the cretinized midget who is currently occupying the White House, and who has shown himself to be a bigger liar in every possible sense of the word than Bill Clinton who lied about a blow job from a woman of consenting age. If you disagree with this, fine. Thatâs your prerogative and thatâs what this forum is for. Welcome.
Laconia: it takes a real man to say he was wrong; it takes a real fool to say he has never been wrong and has never made a mistake. Who was it who said, âFoolish consistency is the hobgoblin of small mindsâ?
Wow. âMore lives were lost than was necessary.â Gee, um, let me think now, is there anyone else I can compare Clintonâs performance with⌠letâs see, live, un-necessary losses⌠let me thinkâŚ
William Jefferson Clinton was an excellent President. You can say all you want about his shortcomings, and he did have some. But his steady leadership heralded the ending of deficit spending, a booming economy, and a relatively safe world in which the United States was by-in-large respected. He helped prevent an Islamic insurgency in the Balkans by goading reluctant, rudderless European countries into taking action against Serbian genocide. Although his actions against Osama Bin Laden were somewhat lacking, he did take him seriously as a longterm threat. On the negative side, I think his signing off on NAFTA was foolish and has had a negative long term effect on both the US and South American economies while providing very little benefits. And yes, he did try to cover up his affair with Monica Lewinsky and was probably a womanizer. But you know what? Grow the fuck up already! Firstly, he TECHNICALLY did not âlie under oath,â since the âdefinition of sexâ given to him did not include âoral.â So yes, he lied in spirit, but not in letter. And where is the moral equivalency of investigating the Presidentâs sex life? I mean, it was an open secret that Eisenhower was in a long term sexual relationship with his driver, an Irish Actress named Kay Sommersby that was accepted into the US Army (inexplicably) as basically a concubine (I think the joke goes that: âEisenhower and Kay have broken down on the road. Kay opens the hood to have a look at the engine, and Ike goes to the trunk to pull out the mechanicâs tool set. He says, âscrewdriver?â and Kay replies, âmight as well, I canât fix the goddamn engine!ââ George Bush 41 is said to have had numerous affairs with prostitutes, and of course the Reagan family was hardly one to emulate.
Forty million dollars were spent investigating Clinton by a âvast right wing conspiracyâ feeding Ken Starr mostly false information via the âArkansas Projectâ (the editor has since apologized to the Clintons and has admitted a grand design to slander and overturn a democratic election via false or exaggerated accusations with the goal of impeachment). He survived all of this, and managed to keep the country on track despite constant wasteful investigations and partisan smear and a completely transparent, phony, and a hypocritical Republican congress which has since violated nearly every tenant in their âContract with America.â In light of all this, Iâd say heâs probably one of the greatest presidents ever.
Idiot. âClinton sold China technology?â Well, WTF is Bush selling them? Why is everything in fucking Wal-Mart made in China since Bush took office?
More âArkansas Projectâ crap basically holding Bill Clinton personally accountable for Chinese espionage. Well pumpkin, ALL presidents should be âin jailâ then. Shouldnât they?
From an outside view over his 8 years I think he was better than what you have now. Not as good as some, but better than others.
I liked Clinton, unfortunately I canât say the same for the present US president
I think Clinton sucked, definitely not as good as we have now. I still remember Clinton saying he smoked a joint but he didnât inhale and who can forget " define is". Check out this list of Pardons issued by Clinton http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/pardons6a.htm Why so many to cocaine dealers?