The Clinton Legacy
Draft #2
The 42nd President of the United States. Often called "slick Willie" for
his seaming ability to get out of jams. The
2nd President to be Impeached - though acquitted by the Senate in a partisan
45-55 (perjury), 50-50 (obstruction of justice)
vote. the articles First President to be held in contempt of
court. First President to give perjured testimony
before a federal grand jury, and in a civil
deposition.
Failed to keep campaign promises. The most notable of which were his promise
to create a national health insurance program
similar to what most Europeans and Canada
have and the promise to end discrimination
against gays in the military. He backed down
to military commanders creating the so called
"don't ask, don't tell" policy.
National health insurance has been sidelined
as an issue with Al Gore now only talking
about covering kids and not the 40 million
or so adults with no health insurance in
the United States.
First President to try and suppress a website. White House official David Lytel successfully
put pressure on Hotwired Magazine to stop
linking President Clinton's name to the Skeleton Closet - a website with less than flattering information
about the president. [See: Yes, Things Suck] Clinton has been unpopular among website
authors through his support for the Communications
and Decency Act and other measures aimed
at censoring the Internet. This shows a lack
of understanding of the growing significance
of the Internet on public opinion and popular
culture and a willingness to go along with
the "gatekeeper" control mentality
which has governed government propaganda
efforts in this century.
Clinton is no friend of Free Speech and Civil
Liberties. From his support of Communications and Decency
Act to attacks on habeas corpus, harsher
treatment of immigrants and the Anti-Terrorism
and Effective Death Penalty Act Clinton has
taken the authoritarian side on most issues
involving the rights of citizens. See: -
Clinton vs. the First Amendment By Floyd Abrams, New York Times, March 30, 1997
A reliance on military force and sanctions
to accomplish Foreign Policy objectives. From Iraq to Yugoslavia, Clinton has preferred
to use bombs to "send messages"
rather than diplomacy to execute foreign
policy. Clinton has consistently ignored
the Constitutional requirement that Congress
must explicitly approve warmaking actions.
A clear Foreign Policy has never been articulated
with the administration seeming to go from
crisis to crisis in an ad hoc manor. Clinton
started his administration with a weak Secretary
of State, Warren Christopher and in 1997
replaced him with Madeleine Albright. Madeleine
Albright is perhaps best characterized by
her famous remark on 60-minutes that it was
somehow "worth it" to let half
a million Iraqi kids die. The bombing of
a medical factory in Sudan is perhaps the best example of
the many Foreign Policy blunders of the Clinton
Administration.
Cuba is another area where the Clinton Administration
has failed. By signing the Helms-Burton Act (described
as the dumbest law ever written by the Congress) Clinton effectively tied his hands behind
is back in dealing with Cuba. The law is
recognized a world class blunder and has
become a rallying point for those who resent
the unilateral power of the United States.
See: Canada Strikes Back
Being Pro-China in a critical political climate. This is an area where Clinton has shown
some courage (or perhaps just allegiance
to those who have given him money) to stand
up to an unholy alliance of groups bent on
blaming China for what ails the US. US unions,
certain "human rights" groups and
a powerful Taiwan lobby have all been pushing
to have the US start dictating to China how
it should govern itself internally. These
groups have tried to enlist help of the Dalai
Lama in their crusade to embarrass the Chinese
leadership. Trip to China - June 1998
Weak Staff. The Clinton Administration has suffered
from a less than competent staff. Janet Reno,
Madeleine Albright, Warren Christopher, Ron
Brown, Hazel R. O'Leary all come to mind
as examples of people second rate in their
fields.
A strange number of people surrounding Clinton
have turned up dead. Perhaps a coincidence - but left largely
uninvestigated by the mass media. See: Arkansas Sudden Death Syndrome
Contempt for the will of the voters. More people in California voted for Proposition 215 (Medical Use of Marijuana) than voted for
Clinton in 1996, yet he has continued the
hard line "War on Drugs" mentality
of the Federal government. While many people
have advocated treating drug abuse as a public
health issue and realizing that you "cannot
arrest you way out of the problem",
Clinton has shown no leadership on the issue
of drugs. Cars and alcohol kill far more
people each year - yet billions are spent
on programs to stop drug use. How many more
people are in prison for drugs since Clinton
took office? The voters are ahead of Clinton
on this issue.
Clinton is not even respected by the Washington
Establishment. ... there runs an undercurrent of distaste,
disdain, even contempt. Last month, the unapologetically
establishment journalist R.W. Apple Jr. wrote
a piece in GQ about Clinton's place in history.
Though he hasn't screwed up in any profound
way, Apple contended, Clinton will be remembered
as a middling president, at best. No Respect Why the Washington establishment
hates Bill Clinton
Weakness may be the underlying theme of the
Clinton Administration. Clinton has been unwilling to go to bat
for controversial appointments preferring
to back off and avoid controversy. When Surgeon
General Joycelyn Elders made the suggestion
that masturbation was a proper subject in
sex education, Clinton asked her to resign.
After the Lewinsky scandal and his attempt
to justify his lies, just about no one has
been willing to believe him. Perhaps most
Americans would like Clinton to just go away
and never have to hear about him again.
"The chief legacy of Clinton will be
the significant erosion of American credibility
outside of NATO. I fully expect acts of terrorism
to arise from his angering of Russians, Chinese,
and Moslems. It is just a shame that this
terrorism will target all Americans, and
not just the ones that supported Clinton".
... Sudanese factory
"We [I love the Royal We] could give
[the surpluses] all back to you and hope
you spend it right . . . But if you don't
spend it right" Clinton's Fascist vision for America
Bombing the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade. The "v-chip" - Waco, Ruby Ridge and Oklahoma City - INS meltdown - Black
men in prison - smoking and not inhaling
- Whitehouse overnight Guests "spin" more government regulation
- "I never had sex with that woman"
cigar jokes and the 2nd President in history to be Impeached
by the House - First elected President to
be impeached! First President to be held
in contempt of court! First President to
give perjured testimony before a federal
grand jury, and in a civil deposition! invented
the "politics of personal destruction". "diplomacy by bomb" and
a national conversation about oral sex.
"The Ultimate World Terrorist"
- People Who Must Die
NATO is being repositioned as a "global
zapping force," in Tariq Ali's phrase,
marginalizing the UN. The rechristened NATO
will keep Western Europe bound to the U.S.
in a subordinate role, and with Eastern Europe
at a lower level of subordination, giving
the U.S. and its allies a military presence
right up to the Russian border ... To achieve
that vision, people will have to die ...This Kosovo thing, LOB
BBC: A British biologist, Roger Coghill,
says he expects the depleted uranium weapons
used by U.S. aircraft over Kosovo will cause
more than 10,000 fatal cancer cases ....
" ...an overwhelming majority of Greeks
want Bill Clinton and Tony Blair indicted
for war crimes. "War crimes:" violations
include, but not be limited to, murder, ill-treatment
... of civilian population, ... wanton destruction
of cities, towns or villages, or devastation
not justified by military necessity"
Are they War Criminals?
To this day, the Review remains one of the few publications in America
that recognizes that the Clinton story is
not about sex but about mob politics -- the
intertwining of corrupt politicians with
drug trafficking, other organized crime,
rogue intelligence operations, and international
espionage.
"the White trash version of John F Kennedy"
- the Clinton Haters
The "Unofficial" Bill Clinton- images
What do you think?
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Clinton's greatest Blunders
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