William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton was the
42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Clinton presided over the longest period of
peace-time economic expansion in American history, which included a balanced
budget and a reported federal surplus of $559 billion. At the end of his
presidency, Clinton reported a surplus of $559 billion. He became the
first member of the Democratic Party since Franklin D. Roosevelt to win a
second term as president .Later he was impeached for obstruction of justice,
but was subsequently acquitted by the US Senate. However, his impeachment
failed to affect his popularity and left office with an approval rating at 66%. Since then, he has been
involved in public speaking and humanitarian work, most notably the
treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS.
Unfortunately, Clinton's presidency which should be remembered for his
brilliant fiscal policies, The North American Trade Agreement, and welfare reform, and other landmark social policies, may be best remembered as
one of the most scandal-laden presidencies in history. There was Travelgate,
Troopergate, Whitewater, the suspension of Clinton's Arkansas law license
for five years, a series of highly controversial pardons, and being the
second U.S. president to be impeached . His impeachment was based on charges
of obstruction of justice and perjury charge on his testimony about
his relationship to Monica Lewinsky during a sexual harassment lawsuit
brought by former Arkansas state employee Paula Jones.
The Senate concluded a twenty-one day trial on February 12, 1999, with the
vote on both counts falling short of the Constitutional two-thirds majority
requirement to convict and remove an office holder. The final vote was
generally along party lines, with no Democrats voting guilty. Some
Republicans voted not guilty for both charges. On the perjury charge,
fifty-five senators voted to acquit, including ten Republicans, and
forty-five voted to convict; on the obstruction charge the Senate voted
50-50.
A historical note. The word
testify comes from the Latin testes. The early Romans would swear an
oath by placing a hand over their testicles since the penalty for perjury
was castration. If we had kept this practice, the Clinton presidency
might have been better remembered for his great accomplishments rather than
for his impeachment.But Bill survived
and went on to be one of our most popular presidents and former presidents
and has raised millions for
HIV/AIDS
Funding and other critical causes including
$10 million needed to completely fund the
Flight 93 National Memorial. However, for his birthday. we suggest watching
Primary Colors (1998) and watch John Travolta's great impersonation
of Bill while enjoying a dish of
Peach-Mint Sorbet and what we hope you will also find a tasty pun.
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