In the public mind, US President Bill Clinton is associated not with his foreign policy or the reforms that he initiated, but with the scandal that arose in 1996 on the basis of a very banal adultery. The whole world, with a wry grin, was discussing the physiological structure of the chief state official of the superpower, while the “hero” himself had to answer with a guilty-ironic smile. Now that two decades have passed, it is time to give a more objective assessment of the personality of the “Arkansas saxophonist, ” as the president was nicknamed for his addiction to playing this wind instrument.
Who is William Jefferson Blythe Third
If you dig a little deeper, then he is not Bill at all, but William. Besides Jefferson. And not just Jefferson, but the Third. And the surname is different, Blythe. It was under such a full name that the baby was born in 1946, on August 19, who became the 42nd President of the United States. And it’s not a matter of secret affairs, he did not change the city, did not change the name, but it turned out that Bill’s father, full of his namesake, only the Second, died in a car accident shortly before the birth of his son, performing the duties of industrial marketing manager equipment. So, he got married four times, the whole war passed, and Egypt, and Italy, and death awaited him in peacetime and on his native land.
Grandfather, grandmother, mother, brother and stepfather
Grandfather and grandmother brought up the boy, wonderful people, supporters of equality and opponents of racial segregation. At that time, in the South, blacks bought, ate, went and even went to the toilet only where there were “Only black” signs, and Cassidy's grocery store served everyone who came. Mother, Virginia, meanwhile studied at Shreveport (Louisiana). In 1950, she remarried, and soon she had a second son, Roger. At the age of fifteen, Bill, evaluating the role of the stepfather in his life, took his last name. The family then already lived in the town of Hot Springs (Arkansas).
Studying in high school, Bill Clinton was fond of jazz, assembled a jazz band, George Gershwin became his favorite composer. He studied well, and therefore in the summer of 1963 took part in a meeting of the best youth representatives with US President J. F. Kennedy, and even shook his hand.
His universities
Further education was somewhat unsystematic, although the names of the universities that the young man replaced indicate his desire to join the establishment: Oxford, Yale, Georgetown. The lack of money interfered, the stepfather washed down, family incomes fell, and the young man could only rely on himself. He received a scholarship, raised as an excellent student, and worked simultaneously in three places. But youth is strong, and despite the infernal burden, Bill Clinton found time for his personal life. In Yale, he met Hillary Rodham, and after two years of meeting, the young people got married (1975).
The graduate’s career was not bad, right after studying he was offered a teaching position at the University of Fayetteville, but a long meeting with Kennedy set him on a political career, and the young man could not dream of anything else.
The path to governorship
At the age of 28 (1974), Bill Clinton stood for Congressional election from Arkansas, failed, but did not lose heart. Even defeat can be used to achieve future victory. There were connections and acquaintances, the experience of political struggle, and it always tastes bitter. In 1976, the youngest Minister of Justice appears in Arkansas, then the attorney general, and a little later, in 1978, the youngest governor. He became Bill Clinton, and he was then 32 years old.
Governor Clinton's successes
He held this position for 11 years, and the board was generally successful. Revenues to the treasury increased, education became much more accessible. Bill Clinton's wife, Hillary, assisted her husband, energetically addressing family issues and children's rights. Both that and another was important both for the "first lady" of the state, and for the governor, in 1980 their daughter Chelsea was born.
Arkansas has taken a leading position in terms of per capita funds allocated for education. The importance of quality education for Clinton has always been an axiom, he actively dealt with this issue as governor of the state, and then, having achieved good results and becoming chairman of the Association of Governors (1986), he began to promote his ideas at the federal level.
However, there were failures, which include the loss of sympathy for a significant part of voters. South America traditionally adheres to the republican platform, and the position of the Democrats is peculiar here. The lack of support for liberal ideas is offset by a pragmatic approach to solving many issues that are so characteristic of political opponents. Such a "hybrid" was called "southern democracy." But even maximum flexibility did not save Clinton from the conservatism of the residents of Arkansas, the workers and the middle class did not want to vote for the Democratic Party. There was a lot of work to do.
To the White House!
In 1991, Clinton decided to run for President of the United States. The bet was on the deterioration in the economy caused by the reign of senior George W. Bush. Things were going in a really bad way, unemployment increased, inflation, external debt and budget deficit increased. But the Republicans also had serious assets: a successful military operation in Kuwait, called the “Desert Storm, ” and the possibility of justifying the low macro indicators with various objective circumstances.
In addition, competitors learned that in his younger years, Bill happened to "score a jamb." The applicant himself did not deny this fact, explaining his experiments with marijuana by youthful curiosity, however, with the proviso that he did not like the effect and immediately abandoned this stupid thing.
In general, the success of the elections was under a big question mark.
Help came from Ross Perot, an independent candidate, Bill Clinton and Al Gore were able to repeat the success of John F. Kennedy, who defeated the Republicans "on their field" in the Southern states.
After the inauguration of Bill Clinton, the US President made a speech in which he outlined his position on the upcoming changes and the responsibility of politicians for their country. Among the priority issues were the fight against unemployment, the reform of the healthcare system and the reduction of tax burden in relation to the middle class, the basis of society.
Failures
During the formation of the team, both the lack of experience and all the personality shortcomings that Bill Clinton suffered were manifested. The domestic policy of his administration has experienced several serious failures, which include the collapse of the pre-advertised reform of insurance medicine. She was engaged in by Hillary, the wife of Bill Clinton, who did not have the necessary qualifications in this area. The attempt to attract homosexuals to the military service who did not hide their non-traditional orientation was also pitiable. Pentagon officials opposed such liberalization of statutory relations. Zoya Beard, Clinton’s protégé to the post of Attorney General, herself turned out to be a criminal, a malicious tax evader.
Foreign affairs
Bill Clinton's foreign policy was dictated by the heady sense of US dominance in the entire global space that swept the leadership of this country after the collapse of the communist system. Despite the almost complete absence of serious confrontation from the former "evil empire, " the US army, acting with a UN mandate, managed to be defeated during the conflict with Somali rebels. The Vatican opposed the birth control project advocated by the United States.
However, good luck also happened. A lesser number of countries doubted the US's dominant role, especially after the indicative “flogging” of Yugoslavia and the creation of an independent Kosovo state. NATO safely moved eastward, to the accompaniment of sluggish protests from Yeltsin’s Russia, and sometimes without them. At the same time, the number of military conflicts in which the American army took part was reduced.
The Goal is America's Power Growth
Despite a fairly active expansion of US influence, B.N. Yeltsin repeatedly listed his "friends" - Helmut Coll and, of course, Bill Clinton. Photos and videos in which the President of the Russian Federation conducts the orchestra, then twists, sometimes makes the American colleague very funny, were regularly published by all news channels at that extraordinary time. US power was strengthened at the lowest cost, in the 90s the military budget was reduced, which freed up funds for social programs. The unemployment rate decreased, research was actively conducted, in the field of information technology Japan was pushed to second place in the world, and hostile countries were either defeated or began to adhere to friendly policies. Old conflicts subsided, new ones were not expected.
To the new election
The policy of Bill Clinton was liked by the Americans and was carried out in the national interests of the only superpower at that time. Russia and China could not be taken into account, Europe obediently moved in the fairway set by the White House, one could not think about other countries at all.
The 1996 election from the start did not raise doubts as to who would be the winner. Bill Clinton, whose biography itself embodied the Great American Dream, impressed the voters, as did his general image. However, something happened that shook such a stable and almost perfect situation.
Case with Monica
A young, energetic and not very beautiful trainee created problems that the representatives of the Democratic Party and Bill Clinton himself were not ready for. The scandal flared up suddenly, and all the more unexpected was a public reaction to it. The reason for initiating the procedure for removing the president from power was not even adultery, but the fact that the first person of the state lied during the court hearings, denying his unworthy behavior. The story surfaced during the proceedings at the request of a certain Paula Jones, who accused the president of being, as a governor, he molested her (of course, sexually).
Later it turned out that Monica Lewinsky and Bill Clinton were in an intimate relationship, starting in 1995 for two years. Relations were of a sophisticated erotic nature. The trainee presented personal items as evidence, on which she kept “traces of passion”, including her own underwear, for which she received the nickname “got dirty”. Details were savored for a long time, and the romantic story itself is of some interest now.
The public was also the fact that Monica Lewinsky and Bill Clinton from time to time gave each other souvenirs, however, inexpensive.
Consequences of the scandal
Clinton had been unblocking for a long time, but under the pressure of incontrovertible facts, including even DNA examinations, in the end, he split. He then publicly apologized to his wife and the entire American people. A successful alignment of political forces saved him from impeachment; for him, there were not enough votes.
Lewinsky subsequently overcame the effects of psychological stress for a long time, and even apologized “for the whole story”, which did not prevent her from writing and publishing an autobiographical book along with knitting. Well, this is a business, and nothing personal.
If for Clinton, the attempt to remove from power ended quite well, except for the unpleasant but tolerable events, the Democratic Party suffered more tangible losses. The sexual scandal had a devastating effect on her reputation, and there was no reason to hope that the next American president would leave her ranks. And so it turned out that Bush Jr., a Republican, won the next election.
