Bill Clinton was president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He was born in Hope, Arkansas, and developed his interpersonal skills at an early age. After graduating from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., he went to Oxford, England, as a Rhodes Scholar. Next he earned a law degree from Yale. While studying there he met and married his classmate Hillary Rodham (1947- ). In 1979, aged thirty-two, he was elected governor of Arkansas—the youngest U.S. governor. Clinton’s persuasive skills as a public speaker, his wit, and his personal charm made him attractive to Democrats, who were looking for a charismatic presidential candidate. He defeated incumbent Republican president George Bush (1924- ) in the 1992 election, aided by third-party candidate Ross Perot (1924- ), who garnered nearly 20 percent of the popular vote.
Official presidential portrait of Bill Clinton
Clinton worked in vain to overhaul the U.S. health care industry. He benefited from an amazing economy, in which stock market prices reached previously undreamed of heights. Clinton, however, is more likely to be remembered for taking risks rather than for his presidential leadership. The former usually entailed sex—and the lies needed to cover up the sex. He barely survived a formal impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate as a result of an “inappropriate” relationship with a similarly inclined young White House intern named Monica Lewinsky (1973- ).
Clinton’s adulterous ways were established during his years as Arkansas governor. In 1991 Paula Corbin Jones (1966- ) filed a sexual harassment suit, claiming that Clinton had exposed himself to her in a hotel room. In 1997 the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously agreed that the suit could go forward while Clinton was president. Meanwhile, Kenneth Starr (1946- ), an independent counsel, was looking into alleged financial improprieties involving Bill and Hillary Clinton dating back to their Arkansas days. Starr soon turned to something more titillating: evidence of a sexual relationship between Bill and Monica. The affair continued apace, next to the Oval Office. Clinton lied under oath, insisting that he had not had a “sexual relationship with that woman.” It soon became obvious that he had had just that when a dress Lewinsky had kept (rather than have dry-cleaned) was revealed to have dried semen on it, which DNA analysis confirmed was Clinton’s. On 17 August 1998 Clinton admitted to Starr under oath that his relationship with Monica Lewinsky entailed “inappropriate conduct,” and that earlier he had lied about this under oath. In December 1998 the House Judiciary Committee recommended impeachment. Clinton was charged with perjury and obstruction of justice. He was acquitted in a trial that ended on 12 February 1999. Clinton, of course, was guilty of lying under oath and doing everything possible to keep Starr from learning of his relationship with Lewinsky—both examples of criminal misconduct. The lies were solely intended to cover up a steamy sexual relationship, but not everyone felt the president should be removed from office for covering up an affair. Besides, the Starr Report, published in September 1998 and weighing in at 322 pages, disclosed every titillating detail of the affair; it was published online as well, marking the first time a major government investigation was made available in such a fashion. Many felt the institution of the presidency had been permanently damaged by Clinton’s actions. Propaganda concerns for the Clinton presidency will certainly continue to center on his relationship with Monica Lewinsky. Clinton spent the final hours of his presidency issuing pardons to notorious felons, including financier Marc Rich (1934— ). It remains to be seen if the president will be remembered as one senator claims: “The name Clinton has already gone into the lexicon as a synonym for an elegant and well-crafted lie.”
