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Line 16: − + + + + − + − Clinton was active in high school, participating in various student government organizations as well as playing the saxophone. Roger Clinton, however, made Bill's family life unpleasant by repeatedly abusing Clinton's mother and her children. Bill Clinton would eventually stand up to his stepfather in high school, forcing his stepfather to stop beating his mother and kicking him out of the house.<ref>http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=50652</ref> After Roger Clinton underwent alcohol rehabilitation, he would eventually rejoin the family. − − Clinton attended [[Georgetown University]], then [[Oxford University]] after receiving a prestigious [[Rhodes Scholarship]]. He also then earned a Juris Doctorate from [[Yale University]] in 1973. At Yale he met [[Hillary Clinton|Hillary Rodham]], whom he would later marry. The couple had one daughter, [[Chelsea Clinton|Chelsea]]. <ref>http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/bc42.html</ref> − + − − In December 1989 a three-judge district federal court held Bill Clinton's state-wide legislative reapportionment plan violated Section 2 of the [[Voting Rights Act|Voting Rights Act of 1965]], 42 U.S.C. 1973. 1990 the [[Supreme Court]] of the United States found in the case of ''[[Clinton vs Jeffers]]'' <ref>Findings of the Supreme Court of the United States in [http://www.usdoj.gov/osg/briefs/1990/sg900402.txt Clinton vs Jeffers] No. 90-394 (1990) on appeal 730 F. Supp. 196, 198-201 (ED Ark. 1989) (three-judge court), aff'd, No. 89-2008 (Jan. 7, 1991).</ref> the former Arkansas Governor and [[Democratic]] president had violated the Voting Rights Act. The Justices findings were, − − {{Cquote|Bill Clinton does not dispute here -- that "violations of the [[Fourteenth amendment|fourteenth]] or [[fifteenth amendment]] justifying equitable relief have occurred in Arkansas." − − In May 1990, the district court turned to those claims, holding that "the State of Arkansas has committed a number of constitutional violations of the voting rights of black citizens." J.S. App. A5. In particular, the court determined that the "State has systematically and deliberately enacted new majority-vote requirements for municipal offices, in an effort to frustrate black political success in elections traditionally requiring only a plurality to win." In 1990...Devotion to majority rule for local offices lay dormant as long as the plurality system produced white office-holders. But whenever black candidates used this system successfully -- and victory by a plurality has been virtually their only chance of success in at-large elections in majority-white cities – the response was swift and certain. Laws were passed in an attempt to close off this avenue of black political victory.}} − − The court therefore concluded that − − {{Cquote|This series of laws represents a systematic and deliberate attempt to reduce black political opportunity. Such an attempt is plainly unconstitutional. It replaces a system in which blacks could and did succeed, with one in which they almost certainly cannot. The inference of [[bigotry|racial motivation]] is inescapable.}} − + − − His close personal business partnerships with James and Susan McDougall in a failed Savings and Loan business venture led to investigation of the [[Whitewater]] affair. Several of the people involved with the sale of land prior to the Clinton presidency were indicted, but prosecutors were never able to charge the Clintons with a crime because Susan McDougall would not cooperate with investigators. Clinton later pardoned Susan McDougall for her role in the Whitewater affair.<ref>Byron York, ''[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1282/is_3_53/ai_70433367 If you knew Susan like he knows Susan]'', National Review, February 19, 2001.</ref> − The videotape ''[[The Clinton Chronicles]]'' provided convincing evidence that Clinton engaged in drug smuggling through the airport in Mena, Arkansas when he was governor. He even committed murder to cover his tracks. Nevertheless, his supporters have continued to dispute these allegations.+
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'''William Jefferson''' "Bill" '''Clinton''' (born '''William Jefferson Blythe III''' August 19, 1946 in Hope, [[Arkansas]]) served two terms as the 42nd [[President of the United States of America]] from 1993-2001, following [[George H. W. Bush]] and preceding [[George W. Bush]]. He was only the second president ever to have been impeached, and the only president since [[World War II]] to be elected twice with pluralities of less than 50% of the popular vote.<ref>http://www.usconstitution.net/elections.html</ref> He governed in a more [[conservative]] manner after the Democrats in [[Congress]] lost in a landslide in the 1994 midterm elections, signing into law the [[Defense of Marriage Act]] and the [[Welfare Reform Act]].
'''Bill Clinton''' (formally '''William Jefferson Clinton'''; born William Jefferson Blythe III) (1946—) a Democrat, was president of the United States, elected in 1992 and reelected in 1996. Previously he had served as governor of Arkansas. His administration was characterized by sustained prosperity, a budget surplus, free trade internationally, military interventions in southeastern Europe, reform of the [[New Deal]] welfare system, and an impeachment by the House of Representatives. In the Senate, Clinton was acquitted and remained in office. Clinton, a policy wonk, was (with Ronald Reagan) one of the two best campaigners in recent decades. Although a mediocre speaker Clinton became known as "the Great Campaigner." His discursive style is personal and intimate, yet, thanks to television, was vicariously enjoyed by large audiences. Like Ronald Reagan. Clinton used his rhetorical skills to achieve political success; he survived despite legislative defeats, repeated scandal (he was notorious as a womanizer) and an actual impeachment.<ref> Whittington (1997)</ref>
After leaving the White House, he became a very well-paid speaker. His wife, [[Hillary Clinton]], was elected to the Senate in 2000 from New York, reelected in 2006, and in 2007 was the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008. Clinton became the major fundraiser and campaigner for his wife, and tried but failed to use his special appeal to the African American vote to neutralize her main opponent, [[Barack Obama]]. Obama named Hillary Secretary of State and thus far Bill Clinton has kept a low profile.
== Early Life ==
== Early Life ==
Clinton was born on August 19, 1946 in Hope, [[Arkansas]]. His name at birth was William Jefferson Blythe III. His father, William Jefferson Blythe Jr. died in a car accident while his mother was pregnant with him. Clinton's mother later married Roger Clinton, and the four year-old William was given his stepfather's name.<ref>http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/bc42.html</ref>
Clinton was born in Hope,<ref> [[Mike Huckabee]] was born in Hope in 1955, but did not know Clinton.</ref> Arkansas, a month after his father William Jefferson Blythe III, a salesman, was killed in an auto accident. He was raised by his maternal grandparents until age 4, when his mother Virginia Kelly, a nurse, married Roger Clinton, a car dealer. Roger was an alcoholic and violent; the marriage was tempestuous, including a divorce and a remarriage in 1962. A life-long Southern Baptist, Clinton graduated from the Hot Springs public high school in 1964. He attended Georgetown University in Washington D.C., where he became active in Democratic politics and won prestigious Rhodes scholarship to Oxford University in England. He was a bit player in the anti-Vietnam war movement, and managed to stall the draft until he received a high lottery number, an evasion that became controversial in his first presidential campaign. He attended Yale Law School (JD 1973). A hail fellow well met, Clinton developed a vast network of friends. He met [[Hillary Clinton]] at Yale; they married in 1975 and had one daughter, Chelsea in 1980.
== Early Political Career ==
== Early Political Career ==
After returning to live in Arkansas, Clinton was elected [[Attorney General]] of Arkansas in 1976. Two years later, he was elected [[Governor]] of Arkansas, becoming the youngest governor in the country at 32 years-old. Though defeated in 1980, Clinton won back the governorship in 1982 and held it until becoming President in 1992.
After returning to Arkansas as a law professor at the university, Clinton was elected state Attorney General in 1976. In 1978, he was elected Governor of Arkansas, becoming the youngest governor in the country at age 32 . Though defeated in 1980, Clinton won back the governorship in 1982 and held it until becoming President in 1992.
===Early Scandals===
===Early Scandals===
Clinton was known to have been involved in several scandals while Governor of Arkansas. He allegedly used Arkansas state policemen to arrange for him to meet women outside of marriage.<ref>Thomas C. Reeves, ''[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1571/is_n14_v10/ai_14988880 Why Troopergate matters to voters]'', Insight on the News, April 4, 1994.</ref>
Clinton was involved in several scandals while Governor of Arkansas. He used Arkansas state policemen to arrange rendezvous with meet women.<ref>Thomas C. Reeves, ''[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1571/is_n14_v10/ai_14988880 Why Troopergate matters to voters]'', ''Insight on the News,'' April 4, 1994.</ref>
His close personal business partnerships with James and Susan McDougall in a failed Savings and Loan business venture led to investigation of the [[Whitewater]] affair. Several of the people involved with the sale of land prior to the Clinton presidency were indicted, but prosecutors never charged either Clintons with a crime.
==1992 Presidential Campaign==
==1992 Presidential Campaign==