Bill Clinton

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Bill Clinton
Image of Bill Clinton
Prior offices
Attorney General of Arkansas

Governor of Arkansas

President of the United States

Education

High school

Hot Springs High School

Bachelor's

Georgetown University

Law

Yale Law School

Personal
Profession
Politician, Lawyer
Contact

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton (b. William Jefferson Blythe III on August 19, 1946, in Hope, AR) was the 42nd president of the United States. He served from 1993 to 2001.

Clinton was the second president to be impeached, on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice in a scandal involving a White House intern. However, he was acquitted by the Senate and served his complete term of office.[1]

Prior to serving as president, Clinton was the governor of Arkansas.[2]

Biography

Clinton was born in Hope, Arkansas. His father, William Jefferson Blythe, died in a car accident before his son's birth. His mother, Virginia Blythe, earned a nursing degree in 1950 in order to support him. She married Roger Clinton later that year. Clinton attended a Baptist church and gained an interest in the saxophone while growing up.[2] He changed his name from Blythe to Clinton, the last name of his step-father.[3] Roger Clinton developed a drinking problem and was abusive toward Blythe, leading her to divorce him in 1962. Clinton attended a segregated, all-white school, Hot Springs High School. As a representative of the American Legion's Boys Nation, Clinton met President John F. Kennedy in 1963.[2]

During his first two years at Georgetown University, he served as class president. He won a Rhodes Scholarship after graduating from Georgetown, but initially his studies were cut short when he received his draft notice. He joined the ROTC program at the University of Arkansas but instead resumed his Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford University. He also resubmitted his name to the draft board but was not selected to serve during the Vietnam War. After finishing his time at Oxford, he attended Yale Law School, where he met Hillary Rodham. The couple moved to Arkansas upon graduation and married in 1975.[2]

Career

Below is an abbreviated outline of Clinton's academic, professional, and political career:[2][3]

  • 1968: Graduated from Georgetown University
  • 1968-70: Awarded Rhodes Scholarship and studied at Oxford University
  • 1972: Directed Texas campaign for George McGovern's presidential candidacy
  • 1973: Earned J.D. from Yale Law School
  • 1973-1976: Professor at University of Arkansas at Fayetteville
  • 1974: Ran unsuccessfully for U.S. House seat
  • 1976-78: Arkansas State Attorney General
  • 1978-1980: Governor of Arkansas
  • 1982-1993: Governor of Arkansas
  • 1993-2001: President of the United States
  • 2004: Released memoir titled My Life
  • 2005: Paired with President George H.W. Bush to raise money for tsunami and Hurricane Katrina reconstruction projects
  • 2007: Released the book Giving
  • 2009: Appointed U.S. Special Envoy for Haiti
  • 2011: Released the book Back to Work
  • 2013: Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama

State of the Union addresses

Every year in office, the president of the United States addresses Congress on the present state of affairs as well as the administration's goals for the coming year.[4] Addresses made by presidents in their inauguration years are not technically "State of the Union" addresses and are typically held in February.[5] Following are pages with information on Clinton's State of the Union addresses.

Elections

1996 presidential election

In 1996, Clinton defeated Republican challenger Bob Dole for the United States presidency.

U.S. presidential election, 1996
Party Candidate Vote % Votes Electoral votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngBill Clinton/Al Gore Incumbent 49.3% 47,402,357 379
     Republican Bob Dole/Jack Kemp 40.8% 39,198,755 159
     Independent Ross Perot/Pat Choate 8.4% 8,085,402 0
     Green Ralph Nader/Winona LaDuke 0.7% 685,128 0
     Libertarian Harry Browne/Jo Jorgensen 0.5% 485,798 0
     U.S. Taxpayers Howard Phillips/Herbert Titus 0.2% 184,820 0
     Natural Law John Hagelin/Mike Tompkins 0.1% 113,670 0
Total Votes 96,155,930 538
Election results via: 1996 official election results


Other candidates that appeared on the ballot received less than 0.1% of the vote. Those candidates included: Monica Moorehead, Marsha Feinland, Charles Collins, James Harris, Dennis Peron, Mary Cal Hollis, Jerome White, Diane Beall Templin, Earl F. Dodge, A. Peter Crane, Justice Ralph Forbes, John Birrenbach, Isabell Masters and Steve Michael.[6]

1992 presidential election

In 1992, Clinton defeated incumbent President George H.W. Bush for the United States presidency.

U.S. presidential election, 1992
Party Candidate Vote % Votes Electoral votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngBill Clinton/Al Gore 43.1% 44,909,889 370
     Republican George H.W. Bush/Dan Quayle Incumbent 37.5% 39,104,545 168
     Independent Ross Perot/James Stockdale 19% 19,742,267 0
     Libertarian Andre Marrou/Nancy Lord 0.3% 291,628 0
     Populist James "Bo" Gritz 0.1% 107,002 0
Total Votes 104,155,331 538
Election results via: 1992 official election results

Other candidates that appeared on the ballot received less than 0.1% of the vote. Those candidates included: Lenora Fulani, Howard Phillips, John Hagelin, Ron Daniels, Lyndon LaRouche, James Mac Warren, Drew Bradford, Jack Herer, John Quinn Brisben, Helen Halyard, John Yiamouyiannis, Delbert Ehlers, Earl Dodge, Jim Boren, Eugene Hem, Isabelle Masters, Robert J. Smith and Gloria Estella La Riva.[7]

Issues

Impeachment

Clinton was the second president in U.S. history to be impeached. He faced four charges from the House, two of which passed on December 20, 1998. The two charges that passed were perjury before a federal grand jury and obstruction of justice, both stemming from Clinton lying about an affair he had with then-White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Two other charges—regarding a sexual harassment lawsuit by Paula Jones and abuse of power—failed in the House.[8] On February 12, 1999, Clinton was acquitted by the Senate on both charges.[9]

Analysis

The Congressional Budget Office reported a budget surplus between the years 1998 and 2000, the last three years of Clinton's presidency.[10] Clinton left office with the highest end-of-office approval rating of any U.S. president since World War II.[11][12]

2016 Democratic National Convention

Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Clinton is married to Hillary Rodham Clinton, with whom he has a daughter, Chelsea.[2]

Recent news

This section links to a Google news search for the term Bill + Clinton.


External links

Footnotes

  1. The Clinton Impeachment, a Basic Chronology--with links to some video on the affair
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Biography.com, "Bill Clinton biography," accessed November 25, 2013
  3. 3.0 3.1 CNN, "Bill Clinton Fast Facts," November 25, 2013
  4. Congressional Research Service, "The President’s State of the Union Address: Tradition, Function, and Policy Implications," January 24, 2014
  5. The American Presidency Project, "State of the Union Addresses and Messages," accessed October 14, 2014
  6. FEC, "1996 Presidential Election Results," accessed November 26, 2013
  7. FEC, "1992 Presidential Election Results," accessed November 26, 2013
  8. New York Times, "IMPEACHMENT: THE OVERVIEW -- CLINTON IMPEACHED; HE FACES A SENATE TRIAL, 2D IN HISTORY; VOWS TO DO JOB TILL TERM'S 'LAST HOUR'," December 20, 1998
  9. Washington Post, "The Senate Acquits President Clinton," February 13, 1999
  10. Citing a Record Budget Surplus, Clinton Offers Congress a Deal
  11. Presidential Approval Ratings -- Bill Clinton
  12. Historical Presidential Approval Ratings
  13. Ballotpedia's list of superdelegates to the 2016 Democratic National Convention is based on our own research and lists provided by the Democratic National Committee to Vox.com in February 2016 and May 2016. If you think we made an error in identifying superdelegates, please send an email to [email protected].
  14. To find out which candidate a superdelegate supported, Ballotpedia sought out public statements from the superdelegate in other media outlets and on social media. If we were unable to find a public statement that clearly articulated which candidate the superdelegate supported at the national convention, we listed that superdelegate as "unknown." If you believe we made an error in identifying which candidate a superdelegate supported, please email us at [email protected].
  15. Congressional Research Service, "The Presidential Nominating Process and the National Party Conventions, 2016: Frequently Asked Questions," December 30, 2015
  16. CNN, "New York Exit Poll," accessed April 19, 2016
  17. 17.0 17.1 Democratic National Committee, "2016 Democratic National Convention Delegate/Alternate Allocation," updated February 19, 2016
  18. The Green Papers, "2016 Democratic Convention," accessed May 7, 2021
  19. Democratic National Committee's Office of Party Affairs and Delegate Selection, "Unpledged Delegates -- By State," May 27, 2016