What Does it Take to be a Great President?

Radhika Garimella, Julia Manzella, Elizabeth Odil

 

William J Clinton 

 

Blog: http://billclintondailydiary.blogspot.com/

Website: http://www.clintonlibrary.gov/

http://www.clintonfoundation.org/index.htm

http://www.clinton.archives.gov/

 

About Me:

My name, as you all know, is William J. Clinton. I am also known as Bubba. I am the 42nd president of the United States of America, having served as president from 1993-2001. I published my memoir, My Life, in 2004, and another book, Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World, in 2007.

 

Date of Birth:

19 August 1946

 

Date of Death:

N/A

 

Where I Live(d):

Born in Arkansas

 

Sex:

Male

 

Political Party:

Democrat

 

Religion:

Southern Baptist

 

Years Served as President:

1993-2001

 

Relationship Status:

Married to Hillary Rodham Clinton

It's Complicated with Monica Lewinsky

 

Children:

Chelsea Clinton, born 1980

 

Looking for:

Friendship

 

Occupations:

Lawyer, Law Professor, State Attorney General, Governor of Arkansas, President of the United States

 

Interests/Hobbies:

• Saxophone
• Reading books

 

Education:

Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service (B.S.F.S) from Georgetown University

Juris Doctor from Yale Law School

 

Favorite Books:

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou.

Meditations, Marcus Aurelius.

The Denial of Death, Ernest Becker.

Parting the Waters: America in the King Years 1954-1963, Taylor Branch.

Living History, Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Lincoln, David Herbert Donald.

The Four Quartets, T.S. Eliot.

Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison.

The Way of the World: From the Dawn of Civilizations to the Eve of the Twenty-First Century, David Fromkin.

One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

The Cure at Troy: A Version of Sophocles' Philoctetes, Seamus Heaney.

King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism in Colonial Africa, Adam Hochschild.

The Imitation of Christ, Thomas a Kempis.

Homage to Catalonia, George Orwell.

The Evolution of Civilizations: An Introduction to Historical Analysis, Carroll Quigley.

Moral Man and Immoral Society: A Study in Ethics and Politics, Reinhold Niebuhr.

The Confessions of Nat Turner, William Styron.

Politics as a Vocation, Max Weber.

You Can't Go Home Again, Thomas Wolfe.

Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny, Robert Wright.

The Collected Poems of W.B. Yeats, William Butler Yeats.

 

Favorite Movies:

High Noon

 

Favorite Music:

Miles Davis - My Funny Valentine

Nina Simone- I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free

John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman - My One and Only Love

Zoot Sims - Summertime

Mahalia Jackson - Take My Hand, Precious Lord

Igor Butman - Nostalgie

Judy Collins - Chelsea Morning

Art Tatum - There Will Never Be Another You

Mickey Mangun - In the Presence of Jehovah 

 

Friends: 

• Hillary Clinton
• Al Gore
• Ehud Barak
• Yasser Arafat
• Hosni Mubarak
• George H. W. Bush
• George W. Bush
• Mikhail Gorbachev
• Sophia Loren
• Michael Dukakis
• Joe Duffy
• Taylor Branch
• Kofi Annan
• Boris Yeltsin
• Monica Lewinsky

 

Sports:

• Golf
• Jogging
• Football

 

During my stint as president, the political, social and economic factors and challenges that I had to deal with (at home) included:

 

Political

• While I was president, I did quite a bit to improve our country's health care system.

 

Social 

• I was honored by the NAACP in 2001, accredited with improving the lives of African Americans during my two terms as president.

• I received the National Coalition of Minority Businesses Legacy Award in 1999 for my dedication to assisting minority businesses.

 

Economic

• I supported free trade and decisions such as NAFTA and the GATT.
• I had many successes relating to our country's economy during my term as president: unemployment was lower than it had been in decades, the stock market did extremely well, and inflation was kept well under control.
• My Welfare Law gave states the responsibility of assisting the poor with only a small amount of economic support from the federal government which was referred to as a "block grant."

 

 

During my stint as president, the political, social and economic factors and challenges that I had to deal with (abroad) included:

 

Political

• I supported Russia's leader, Boris Yeltsin, and his successor, Vladimir Putin, based on their similar thoughts about Communism- both Russia and the United States wanted to move away from the Communistic ideas of government.

 

Social

• I worked for peace between Israel and Arab countries like Jordan and Palestine, as well as in Northern Ireland, and I was successful in this endeavor for a time.

 

Economic

• Under my leadership, the House granted China permanent normal trade relations in June 2000, which ultimately led to China's admission to the WTO.

 

Looking back at my presidential career, I had to wear several "hats."  Wearing these different "hats," these were my most significant achievements and failures:

 

Commander-in-Chief

I didn't take care of our country very well during my time as President.  I unwisely lowered the number of armed forces protecting the country.  The war on terrorism was a growing problem I had to deal with.  I had the chance to capture Osama bin Laden in 1998, but I was unavailable.  I decided not to support reasearch of a Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), a system that would shield the U.S. from missile attacks.

Chief Executive

I passed many laws and acts during my time as President.  Some of them are the following:

• Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993
• Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993
• Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994
• Minimum Wage Increase Act of 1996
• Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998

Chief Diplomat

I supported the United States/Canada/Mexico free-trade agreement.  It eliminated tariffs and other trade barriers.  I also planned to create a separate environmental agreement between Mexico and the U.S. to make sure the U.S.-Mexican border remained unpolluted.

Ceremonial Head of State

I was very involved with the public so that I could achieve a good reputation among the American people. I was part of the VJ Day 50^th Anniversary ceremony, which was in 1995, the Apollo Ceremony, which was in 1996, and many other such ceremonies held throughout America. 

Manager of the Economy

While I was president, America's economy was particularly prosperous. Everyone enjoyed this successful economy and, as a country, we achieved overall great results. I also expanded some of our American policies to place in Eastern Europe. 

Party Leader

 Even though I had tough times while I was a president, the fact that I was a great public speaker helped enormously. I found it very easy and enjoyable to connect with the people and help them out. People believed me because I promised to change the American path into a good one. I amazed people with this famous quote: "Our democracy must be not only the envy of the world but the engine of our own renewal. There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America." 

National Leader 

In 1992 when I ran against Ross Perot and George Herbert Walker Bush; I got elected president of the United States with 43% of the popular vote beating George W.H. Bush by 5% and Ross Perot by 24%. Then in 1996 when I ran for my second term; I won once again with 48% of the popular vote beating Bob Dole by 7% and Ross Perot by 39.5%.

 

Favorite Quote

“If you live long enough, you'll make mistakes. But if you learn from them, you'll be a better person. It's how you handle adversity, not how it affects you. The main thing is never quit, never quit, never quit." 

 

Positive Political Cartoon

 

Negative Political Cartoon

 

 

Works Cited:

 

The White House. 10 May 2008. 10 May 2008 <http://www.whitehouse.gov/>. 

 

William Jefferson Clinton. 17 February 2008. Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd ed. 17 Vols. Gale Research, 1998. 10 May 2008 <http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC>.  

 

Bill Clinton. 2008. Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations, Volume 6: World Leaders, 10th ed. Gale Group, 2001. 22 May 2008 <http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC>.

 

Bill Clinton. 14 February 2008. 23 May 2008 <http://www.discoverthenetwork.org/individualProfile.asp?indid=644>.

 

Bill Clinton 1996 On The Issues. 2008. 23 May 2008 <http://www.4president.org/issues/clinton1996/clinton1996africanamericans.htm>.

 

Clinton, William J. Presidents: A Reference History. Ed. Henry F. Graff. 3^rd ed. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2002. 611. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Gale. INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL. 23 May 2008 <http://go.galegroup.com/ps/start.do?p=GVRL&u=lom_inac>.

 

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998.  December 1998.  23 May 2008 <http;//www.copyright.gov/legislation/dmca.pdf>.

  

Environmental Study Ruled Necessary Before Accord Can Take Effect.  1 July 1993. 23 May 2008 <http://www.iht.com/articles/1993/07/01/nafta.php>.

  

Remarks on signing the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993.  16 August 1993.  23 May 2008 <http://findarticles.com/>. 

 

Statement on the Family and Medical Leave Act-Bill Clinton-.  15 Jan 2001.  23 May 2008 <http://findarticles.com/>.

 

Violent Crime Control and the Law Enforcement Act of 1994.  2008. 23 May 2008 <http://www.academon.com/lib/paper/21369.html>.  

 

William Jefferson Clinton. 2008. Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd ed. 17 Vols. Gale Research, 1998. 22 May 2008 <http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC>.

 

William J. Clinton. William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum. 23 May 2008 <http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/bc42.html>.

 

Images:

About.com: American History. 2008. The New York Times Company. 10 May 2008. <http://americanhistory.about.com/>.

 

Tornoe, Rob. Editorial Cartoons. 10 April 2008. PolitickerNJ.com. 10 May 2008 <http://politickernj.com/>.

 

Friends of the American Revolution. 23 May 2008 <http://cronus.com/images/bush_clinton.jpg>.