Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton as toddler.

A famous saying is that a man should not be judged by how he treats his superiors, but by how he treats the ones he has power over. If Bill Clinton is judged using that criteria, then he should be regarded as a great hero. Born William Jefferson Blythe III and nicknamed Billy in his childhood, his father William Jefferson Blythe, Jr. died 3 months before he was born. His mother Virginia Dell Cassidy then married Roger Clinton, an abusive alcoholic and gambler who frequently hit Bill’s mother and his half-brother Roger Clinton, Jr. until Bill would intervene with threats of violence if he didn’t stop (“William Jefferson Clinton."). Clinton graduated from Yale, where he met his future wife Hillary Rodham with whom he had his only child, Chelsea Clinton. He served as Governor of Arkansas (1979-1981, 1983-1992), and as President of the United States for two terms (1993-2001). Although he is mostly remembered for his affair with Monica Lewinsky, nobody is perfect, including presidents, and therefore, he should be remembered for his leadership and humanitarianism.

Throughout his political career Clinton repeatedly used his leadership abilities to good use. As governor of Arkansas, Clinton reformed the education system, turning it from the worst in the nation into one of the best. This shows that Clinton not only cared about his political career, but also the welfare and future of the people that he governed. This is also only one example of the vast amount of achievements which required Clinton’s ability to be productive (“William Jefferson Clinton."). As President of the United States, Clinton turned the 3 trillion USD deficit he inherited from Bush into a 70 billion USD surplus, the first surplus since Eisenhower’s presidency in 1969 even though both the House of Representatives and the Senate were controlled by Republicans (Dumas). This was accomplished through his ability to compromise for the sake of the people. Only a great leader could have done all the things necessary to bring the country to economic prosperity. When Clinton left office, his approval rating was 65%, the highest of any leaving president. This is the ultimate mark of a great leader, as it shows that the American people largely approved of the job he did governing them. This is also very important because this was his approval rating after his second term, meaning he couldn’t get reelected and that everything he did in that term was for the people. His leadership has made him into one of the greatest presidents in American, if not world, history.

To be a hero someone must not only be accomplished in his field, but must also strive for the good of others. Clinton demonstrated this quality in his humanitarian efforts during and after his presidency. When Yugoslavia started an “ethnic cleansing” of ethnic Albanians living in Kosovo, NATO began an air strike, primarily composed of American planes and missiles given from Clinton, which stopped the mass murder that was being conducted by Slobodan Milosevic. After the initial strikes, Clinton gave 7,000 troops to take part in the peacekeeping force stationed in Kosovo (Dumas). This action saved countless of lives that would have otherwise been slaughtered. He stopped another mass genocide on the scale of Hitler or Stalin from happening. Another example is when the Haitian military overthrew their first democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Massive amounts of Haitians were fleeing Haiti to avoid the military’s human rights atrocities. Clinton demanded that the military step down or otherwise he would invade Haiti, at which point they reluctantly handed power over to Aristide (Dumas). It would have been much easier for Clinton to just have done as previous presidents, and support the dictatorship in the hope that they would ally themselves with the United States. Instead, he cared more for the wellbeing of the Haitian people. After he left office, Clinton partnered with George H. W. Bush to provide relief for survivors of both the Indonesian Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina (Dumas). At this point in his life, Clinton could have easily retired and enjoyed the rest of his life peacefully. Instead, he continued to work for charity and disaster relief. Lastly, Clinton started his own charity called the William J. Clinton foundation to fight AIDS, poverty, public health problems, and religious and ethnic conflict. His compassion and generosity is evident throughout his post-presidential work. This humanitarianism is what truly makes Bill Clinton a hero.

Clinton making his infamous denial of the affair

Although Clinton’s life is filled with heroic achievements, his legacy will always be tainted with the scandal of his extra-marital affair with Monica Lewinsky. His famous phrase “I did not have sexual relations with that woman” will live in infamy. It is unfair that such a great man’s life of helping others will always be remembered for one mistake. Although his lie hurt his public image, it mainly affected his family and not the American people. His lapse of judgment is small compared to the enormous effect he had improving people’s lives. Bill Clinton symbolizes the person everyone should aim to be, not perfect but always trying to make the world a better place. He is an inspiration through his generosity ability to bring people together.