January 20, 1993, William Jefferson Clinton took the oath of office as the 42nd president of the United States of America and swore to "preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States" from enemies both foreign and domestic.
During the next eight years, Bill Clinton presided over the most corrupt administration in American history.
He would be only the second president in American history to be impeached.
The Clinton stain upon the Presidency (as well as the stain on Monica's blue dress) left a legacy of controversy and scandal.
Legacy $ 1: Commercialization of the Presidency :
Everything had a price:
overnight stays in the Lincoln bedroom ($50,000-$100,000),
seats on the Dept of Commerce's foreign trade missions ($50,000),
dinner with Clinton at his table ($100,000)
Legacy # 2: Target for Terrorism :
Terrorism was treated as a law enforcement matter.
Neither Clinton nor former members of his administration want Americans to remember this.
After the first World Trade Center attack, Clinton never visited the site and his only public comment was to caution against "over-reacting."
On Clinton's watch:
1993 World Trade Center bombing (killed 6 and injured a hundred more),
1995 bombing in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (killed 5 U.S. military personnel),
1996 Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia (killed 19 and injured 200 U.S. military personnel),
1998 bombing of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania (killed 258 and injured 5,000),
2000 bombing of the USS Cole docked in Yemen (killed 17 and injured 39 U.S. sailors)
After each attack Clinton promised that those responsible would be hunted down and punished. He did nothing. Osama was watching.
Legacy # 3: Foreign Policy, a Time Bomb :
Clinton's foreign policy was driven by t.v. news coverage and endless political polling (aka CNN Diplomacy).
China: all those covert Chinese campaign donations bought them access to high-tech missile and satellite technology. Now their long-range missiles can hit our west coast.
NK: bad-boy Kim Jong Il 'promised' not to build nukes with the two light water reactors that Clinton gave him. We saw what happened there.
Iran: the Gore-Chernomyrdin agreement was supposed to halt the transfer of nuclear technology to Iran. It didn't. Then they up came with Operation Merlin, a scheme personally approved by Clinton, where the CIA deliberately gave Iranian physicists blueprints for part of a nuclear bomb.
Hello? We helped helped Tehran advance its nuclear weapons development program?
Iraq: Saddam kicked out U.N. weapons inspectors and got away with it.
Russia: Moscow dropped its once-positive relationship with the US and began a "strategic relationship" with China.
Legacy # 4: A Depleted and Demoralized Military :
Although managing to avoid serving his country in uniform, Clinton apparently got a thrill of exercising his power as C in C, deploying military forces more than any other president: 40 times, compared with 14 times under President G.H.W. Bush and 16 times under President Reagan.
And he did this while slashing the military budget: In 1990 defense spending represented nearly 30% of the total annual federal budget; By 2000 it had been chopped to 15% (The money 'saved' went to Clinton social programs).
Clinton slashed 700,000 active duty military members & 293,000 reservists (40% reduction); Reduced army divisions from 18 to 10; Reduced active duty AF active duty fighter squadrons from 24 to 12; Cut 232 strategic bombers, 500 ICMs with 1950 warheads, 546 naval vessels (including 4 aircraft carriers, 19 strategic ballistic missile submarines, 121 surface combat ships, plus all of the associated logistical assets)
During the Clinton-Gore years many military enlisted families had to apply for food stamps and 2/3 of all military family housing was characterized as 'substandard' by the Defense Science Board.
Legacy # 5: Records for Personal Worsts :
- The only president ever impeached on grounds of personal malfeasance, 1st president sued for sexual harassment, 1st president accused of rape, 1st first lady to come under criminal investigation, 1st president to establish a legal defense fund, 1st president to be held in contempt of court, 1st president required to give a blood sample for DNA, 1st president disbarred from the US Supreme Court and a state court
- Most number of cabinet officials to come under criminal investigation; Most number of convictions and guilty pleas by friends and associates; Most number of witnesses to flee country or refuse to testify; Greatest amount of illegal campaign contributions, here and from abroad.
Legacy # 6: Scandal after Scandal :
Billing-gate, Cattlegate, Chinagate, Filegate, Fostergate, Galagate, Lootgate, Pardongate, Travelgate, Vandalgate, Whitewater, Zippergate
Legacy # 7: New words - Clintonesque and Clintonian :
Clintonesque: 1. shaded by deceit 2. Having Clinton-like qualities* 3. In matters of speech, to parse the English language at a direct question as to avoid responsibility for your own actions. In matters of conduct, to be more interested in #1, instead of the greater good
Clintonian: referring to any sex act except for penile to vaginal penetration. Most commonly used for oral sex.
Legacy # 8: The lesson of the Clinton-Gore administration: you can use the executive branch of government to punish political enemies, abuse executive power for personal and political ends ... and get away with it.
*Clinton-like qualities: Classless, arrogant, dishonesty, elitist, shameless, corrupt, secretive, vicious, vengeful, elitist, and intoxicated by political power.
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