William (Bill) Clinton

Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the United States (http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/first-family/masthead_image/42bc_header_sm.jpg)

“A good politician is quite as unthinkable as an honest burglar” (Menken). Henry Menken is a resemblance of the average American stereotype against politicians. However, Menken and his supporters should not to be criticized. The United States has had its share of corrupt politicians. Unfortunately, another man had become entangled into this typical stereotype. Bill Clinton, to this day, is known mostly for his involvement in the Whitewater scandal and the “Lewinsky Affair”. And because of these two tragic watershed moments in his career, his contributions to society and beneficial achievements were overlooked; disregarded; neglected. In reality, William “Bill” Clinton served as an exceptional politician and devoted himself to serving victims of troubled situations; he altruistically sacrificed his own welfare in order to beneficially impact the world. Furthermore, through his manifolds of reformations and amendments, Clinton ushered in a new era of global peace and economic prosperity equivalent to the burgeoning of art in the Renaissance.

Bill Clinton in his early childhood. (http://crivera725.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/william_jefferson_blythe_1950.jpg)

Bill Clinton was born “William Jefferson Blythe III” on August 19, 1946, in Hope, Arkansas to Virginia Cassidy and Jefferson Blythe. Subsequent to birth, his father died in an automobile accident. Clinton’s mother was forced to re-marry in order to support her family. In 1950, she wedded Roger Clinton, and when Bill was 15, he formally changed his last name to Clinton. Throughout Clinton’s childhood, he, his half-brother, and mother habitually faced turbulent situations from his abusive alcoholic stepfather. In 1950, the Clinton family moved to Hot Springs, Arkansas. Bill Clinton attended a high school in Hot Springs, where he showed early signs of interest and gifts in politics. He held many offices and a schoolmate recalled that Bill was always "running for something"(Dumas). Clinton sealed his fate in politics in 1963 when he met John F. Kennedy. After graduating high school in 1964, Clinton attended Georgetown and served as class president during his freshman and sophomore years. Following his graduation at Georgetown, Bill entered Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar and remained there for two years. In 1970, Clinton attended Yale Law School where he met Hilary Rodham Clinton. After four years of dating, Bill married Hilary and in 1980, they conceived their first and sole child, Chelsea. Clinton later returned to Arkansas and ran for governor in 1979. He served as the governor of Arkansas from 1979-1981, then again from 1983-1992. In 1992, Clinton alongside with Gore as his vice-president, ran for president and was inaugurated as the 42nd president of the United States on January 20, 1993. Clinton was re-elected a second term from 1997 to 2001. After Clinton left office, Hillary was elected as the senator of New York; subsequently, they moved there. Currently, the Clintons reside in Chappaqua, New York.

Clinton reach out his hand to comfort a Haitian c (http://www.dailyworldbuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/bill-clinton-haiti.jpeg)

As a responsibility to his fellow Americans, Clinton attempted to lessen the tensions and reconcile relations between the world and the United States. While residing at Georgetown, Clinton had majored in international affairs, thus his prior academic knowledge contributed to his critical success. Amid Clinton’s second year in office in 1994, he helped restore Haiti’s first democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who had been overthrown in 1991. Restoring Haiti’s order was one of the first of Clinton’s arduous tasks in order to restore America’s image. In 1994, Clinton threatened Haiti's top military leader, Raoul Cedras, with armed forces if they did not hand over power to Aristide and stand down. Although the threat was violent, Clinton reached a diplomatic resolution with Cedras in which he sent a U.S. negotiation team led by former president Jimmy Carter to administer the signing of the treaty. Through this act, Clinton proved to the world that he was capable of peaceful resolutions. He utilized his power so that in result, the Haitians could actually live in their country without the fear of threats from their unstable, corrupt government. He answered the prayers of millions, and he facilitated their lives.

As this dilemma dissipated, another plight arose. On the other side of the globe in Bosnia-Herzegovina, beginning in April 1991, genocide ran rampantly throughout the former Yugoslavian countryside. The conflict between the Serbs and Muslims had steadily worsened after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. In April of 1991, open hostilities began. Clinton focused on this issue as millions of Americans watched televised images of the ongoing bloody slaughter in Europe. With the support of his country, Clinton led a UN approved embargo against providing arms to any of the former Yugoslav republics to contain fighting from spreading in the area. Under his command, the United Air Force was sent to aid relief efforts for Bosniaks under siege, and to halt Serb aggression. After several months, the U.S. joined NATO allies in aerial bombings to end Serbia’s “ethnic cleansing” and force an end to the war in Bosnia. In December of 1995, under Clinton’s supervision, representatives of opposing sides in the Bosnian Civil War signed a peace plan that included the cease of fire. In cooperation with NATO, Bill sent troops to enforce the plan and to police the area. While Clinton could not resolve the Bosnian conflict as effortlessly and as diplomatically as he did with the Haitians, he did manage to prevent the loss of more lives in a vain genocide.

Not only did he resolve global issues, Clinton also slashed crime rates domestically to an all time low in 26 years. This was because of “President Clinton’s comprehensive anti-crime strategy of tough penalties, more police, and smart prevention, as well as common sense gun safety laws”(Sabochik). Just in his first term, Clinton had accomplished more than many presidents had in years. And on top of his critical success of ending a reign of Haitian dictatorship and preventing further bloodshed in Bosnia, he reduced his country’s crime rate. He made it possible for Haitians to live their lives comfortably, Muslim men could stroll their streets without having to worry about being shot at or their wives being raped and he made the cities and streets of the U.S. safer places. Only Clinton was capable of these miraculous feats because of his quick, decisive thinking. He dared to stand up for helpless people under the tyranny of their situations and pilot them through the darkness. By facilitating the lives of many individuals, Bill Clinton has made a positive impact on the world, thus he is praiseworthy of the hero status.

The reunion between the two released journalists (http://media.sacbee.com/smedia/2009/08/05/09/711-journalists26.standalone.prod_affiliate.4.jpg)

Unlike many presidents and politicians that preceded him, Bill Clinton can also be commended for his work as a humanitarian and philanthropist. He stood up to support people in dire situations before his ascension to presidency, throughout his presidency and in his post-presidency. As a child, Clinton neither had the luxury of an ordinary childhood nor the privilege of a real father. In fact, through the duration of Clinton’s turbulent childhood, there were many instances where Bill’s stepfather would physically beat Bill, his half-brother, or his mother. But “at least once Bill stood up to his stepfather to protect his mother and half brother” (Dumas).Considering that Clinton’s stepfather was a raging abusive alcoholic, seldom would you encounter a child who would step up to their father in order to defend their mother and younger brother from harm’s way. Moreover, Clinton was raised in a troubled family. To be able to defend the helpless, especially at a young age, is indefinitely a gift and a source of inspiration for timid individuals, unable to stand up for themselves.

Years after Clinton had left the White House, in 2005, hurricane Katrina decimated the eastern seaboard; it resulted in catastrophic damage and devastatingly high life tolls. Bush immediately appointed Clinton as the head of the relief team alongside with Bush Sr. Together the two created the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund (BCKF). As of July 31, 2007 the Fund has raised approximately 130 million USD to rebuild interfaith worship areas, rebuild several states, rebuild facilities of higher education, and to support health, housing and shelter for the homeless. Not only did he help create the Fund, but as supply aid kits arrived, “he personally handed a kit to each individual and gave a motivational ‘mini-speech’ to raise them out of their damp spirits” (Sabochik). Clinton’s allegiance to help the victims of Katrina also demonstrates why he deserves the hero status. He simply could have refused Bush’s offer and not have distributed the kits to each person. He most likely met confused and distressed men and women, but after he or she conversed with Clinton each of them would have left with a grin, with a stronger hope for tomorrow. Clinton sacrificed his own time to make the lives of devastated families more comfortable and so to speak, “worth living for”.

Last year, two American journalists were incarcerated by North Korean officials. “Until their release, Ling and Lee faced spending 12 years in a labor camp. Meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il, Clinton successfully negotiated a pardon of the journalists” (“Clinton, Bill”). During the time of the detainment of these two women, tensions between North Korea and the United States were exceedingly elevated because each nation threatened the other with weapons. Fearlessly, Clinton decided to take matters into his own hands. Knowing that the stakes were high and he was risking his own welfare and freedom in order to free the women, he persisted to fly to North Korea. Clinton’s hostile negotiation skill along with his fearlessness and trait of sacrifice not only saved the life of two journalists, but he prevented bloodshed from occurring. By making the lives of his mother and brother safer, Katrina victims’ lives more livable, and by risking his own well-being to save two journalists, Clinton deserves the hero status.

The economy of the United States from 1993-2001. (http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=^DJI+Interactive#chart5:symbol=^dji;range=my;indicator=volume;charttype=line;crosshair=on;ohlcvalues=0;logscale=on;source=undefined)

On January 20, 1993, when Clinton was bestowed with the responsibilities of the Leader of the Free World, the economy was in a decent shape. But under the administration of Bill Clinton, the economy boomed at such exponential rates that preceding presidents’ economic milestones were overshadowed by Clinton’s grand monument. Over the span of eight years, Clinton could proudly boast that he created 22 million jobs; the most created under any single administration. Inversely proportional to the creation of jobs, Clinton also slashed the unemployment rates from more than over 7% to an appalling 4%; the lowest, overall unemployment rate in 30 years, the lowest in record for Hispanics and African Americans, and the lowest for women in 40 years. Furthermore, due to his Economic Plan, poverty rates declined from 15% to 11.8%; the lowest in 20 years. With the support of the Congress, he continued on to raise the minimum wage and by doing so, it partly contributed to the median increase of $6300 to every individual’s income in the United States. In terms of national debt, between 1998-2000 Clinton reduced debt by 363 billion dollars; the largest pay-down in three years. And with the 1993 Deficit Reduction Act, the 1997 Balanced Budget Act, and “President Clinton’s call to save the surplus for debt reduction, Social Security, and Medicare solvency, America put its fiscal house in order”(“Clinton, Bill”). Deficits soared as high as $293 billion dollars in 1993, but Clinton converted the deficit into the largest surplus (of 237 billion USD) in American history. Overall, Clinton gave rise to the largest economic expansion in American history (115 months). Clinton literally dedicated all his energy and time into make the lives of 281 million people enjoyable. He took initiative to restore the grandeur of “Old Glory”. As president he cared for his people, and he truly defines the meaning of “sharing the wealth around”. Once again, Clinton is unquestionably fitting of the title of “hero”.

Bill Clinton is an ideal example of a role model because of his cohesive traits. Clinton displayed early signs of heroic qualities especially during his childhood when he stood up to his abusive stepfather on several occurrences to protect his mother and brother. His fortitude is also a quality to mold after. As a young adult, his determination and perseverance to achieve his dreams, such as becoming the President of the United States, is also model-able. He reinforces the idea that “anything is possible, if you put your mind to it.”

Lastly, his trait of selfless service exemplifies to every individual that “one person can make a difference”. Clinton transformed the world into a more livable place and continues to do so to this day. He has left an imprint that most people cannot compete with. By giving rise to one of the most economically prospering nations in the world, by repairing America’s image and by devoting himself to serve the people of the world, Bill Clinton is beyond doubt a hero and indefinitely has affected the lives of millions of people around the globe.