Term Paper on "Bill Clinton"

Term Paper 10 pages (3317 words) Sources: 8 Style: MLA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Bill Clinton

William Jefferson Clinton, the twice-elected 42nd president of the United States (1993-2001) was a paradox. While he is frequently counted among the most popular American presidents of the 20th century who presided over the longest period of economic growth and prosperity in the country, he was only the second U.S. president to have been impeached for his personal indiscretions. Although it may still be too early to pass a definitive judgment on his place in history, his political leadership and personal style that he brought to the Oval office offers a fascinating subject for study and analyses. This paper presents an overview of Bill Clinton's political leadership by reviewing glimpses of his leadership qualities during his early life, student days, and his political career, particularly his Presidency.

Early Life

In order to understand the man and how he developed his leadership style, it is necessary to take a brief look at his early life. Bill Clinton was born on August 19, 1946, in Hope, Arkansas. He was originally named William Jefferson Blythe IV, after his father who had died in a car accident before he was born. Bill lived with his grandparents in an African-American neighborhood for a while who instilled strong values in the boy and taught him that segregation was wrong; lessons that he never forgot. ("It All Began...") Bill took the name William Jefferson Clinton when his mother remarried. His step-father, Roger Clinton, was an alcoholic and often beat his wife and verbally abused the sons. At the age of 15, Bill made it clear to his step-father that he would protect his mother and brother from further assaults; he thus demonstrated at a very young age that he had the courage and the character to stand up for himself and others when the chips were down. At a later stage, Bill forgave his step-father, and showed that he had compassion, as he often drove hundreds of miles from his University in Washington to visit his father as he lay dying of cancer in a hospital.

Education

Clinton initially attended a Roman Catholic school and then went to public schools for his primary education. He was an outstanding as well as a popular student from the beginning; got high grades, held several student offices, was elected as a delegate from Arkansas to American Legion Boys' Nation, and even met President John F. Kennedy at a ceremony in the White House in 1963. The event was a memorable one for the young Clinton, and he is said to have decided at the time to enter politics. ("It All Began...")

Realizing that he needed a high quality education to meet his goals, which was expensive, Bill Clinton worked very hard in school. As a result, he got scholarships and loans and was able to attend Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. For his Bachelor of Science degree in International Affairs. During this period, he also worked as an intern in the office of Arkansas Senator J. William Fulbright, who was a leading opponent of the Vietnam War. After graduating from Georgetown University in 1968, Clinton was awarded a Rhodes scholarship to continue his post graduate studies at the Oxford University.

As a Rhodes scholar in England, he helped organize an anti-war protest rally and in 1969, wrote a letter from Oxford to an army colonel in the University of Arkansas ROTC program concerning his draft eligibility and expressed his opposition to the draft by stating that no government.".. should have the power to make its citizens fight and kill and die in a war they oppose..." ("Bill Clinton's Draft Letter") the letter became an issue during Clinton's bid for the candidacy with his opponents dubbing him a draft dodger; Clinton never denied that he had opposed the Vietnam War as a student but did not accept that he was a "draft dodger" contending that he had subjected himself to a draft lottery and only the luck of the draw - a high lottery number - prevented him from being drafted. Even as a 23-year-old student, Clinton probably had his future political career in mind and did not go overboard in his opposition to the war by an outright rejection of the draft.

After returning from Oxford, he went to Yale law school, where, besides completing his law degree, he met and married a fellow student, Hillary Rodham. At the time, Hillary, a junior staffer on the Senate Watergate Committee is said to have told a fellow staffer and future White House counsel, that he should meet her boy friend [Bill Clinton] because he was going to be president one day (Campbell and Rockman, 345) the incident shows that even at a young age, Clinton was ambitious, had set himself a lofty (some would say 'impossible') goal, and was totally focused in achieving his aim: all hallmarks of a successful leader.

Entering Politics: Baptism of Fire

After getting his law degree from Yale, Clinton returned to his home state to teach law at the University of Arkansas and to enter politics. In 1974, he made his first attempt at seeking public office as a candidate of the Democratic Party by challenging the incumbent Republican congressman in Arkansas, John Paul Hammerschmidt, for a seat in the United States House of Representatives. Hammerschmidt was considered unbeatable and had won all his previous elections by wide margins. At such an early stage of his political career, Clinton had shown that he had the political courage to fight against heavy odds and loved an electoral fight. Although he lost the election, Clinton caught the eye as he gave the veteran Republican his closest-ever fight by running an energetic campaign. Two years later, he was elected attorney-general of Arkansas State and by 1978; he had contested and won the governorship, becoming the one of the youngest persons ever to hold the office at the age of 32 (Dumas).

During his first term as governor, Clinton made efforts to improve Arkansas's economy, which was among the poorest in the country. He focused on improving the state highways as they were in a bad shape but had to raise taxes for meeting the cost, which proved unpopular. Some of his other initiatives such restriction on tree-cutting in national forests were opposed by the lumber and paper-making companies, while bankers were annoyed with his proposal to withhold state funds from banks that did not lend enough money for small businesses. Most of all, his opponents exploited the government's settling of Cuban refugees in Arkansas, by evoking the fear that they would take away jobs from the local workers. All of these factors contributed to Clinton's defeat in his bid for re-election for the governorship in 1980 against the Republican Party candidate (Ibid.)

Perseverance in Defeat

After the defeat, most of his advisers and friends, suggested that he should wait a while before running for office again. Clinton, however, was made of sterner stuff and showed exemplary perseverance in defeat. Ignoring the advice, he again challenged White in the very next gubernatorial election in 1982, winning back the office by polling nearly 55% of the vote.

Apart from perseverance and persistence, Clinton also showed that he had the capacity to learn from his mistakes. He recognized that in his first term as Governor, he had attempted to tackle a wide range of issues in too short a time, and perhaps lost his focus. He learned valuable lessons of politics in his defeat -- to tackle one issue at a time; to choose his fights carefully, to resist the urge to change everything at once, and to prepare people before proposing major changes. These lessons helped Clinton to win consecutive reelection as Governor of Arkansas in 1984, 1986, and 1990 (Dumas).

Political Leadership at the State Level

Clinton demonstrated strong, effective, and compassionate political leadership during his lengthy tenure as Governor of Arkansas and had a number of notable achievements to his credit. Taking one thing at a time, he first resolved to improve the educational standards in the state, which were abysmally low as compared to other states. In the mission, Clinton also used the formidable talents of his wife, Hillary, by appointing her the head of a committee charged with proposing higher standards for Arkansas schools, while he worked tirelessly for winning approval from the state legislature for the proposed reforms. Ultimately, he managed to get the taxes raised in order to pay higher wages to the teachers, offer more courses in schools, provide more college scholarships, and distribute more money to the poorest schools the result was a substantial improvement in college-entrance tests by Arkansas students; significant fall in the dropout rate of high school students, and a corresponding rise in the percentage of students who went to college.

Clinton also tackled the sluggish economy of the state by focusing on promotion of new businesses and job growth. He streamlined banking laws, persuaded them to provide more money for new technology-oriented businesses, and reduced the taxes… READ MORE

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