Happy Birthday Slick Willie
Today is Bill Clinton's 65th birthday. William Jefferson Blythe III was born on August 19, 1946, 65 years ago today.
Clinton was the 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. He defeated popular incumbent President George H. W. Bush in 1992. Just a year earlier Bush had an unprecedented 90% approval rating, which underscores what an impressive campaigner Clinton was. Before being elected President, Clinton was the Governor of Arkansas. Clinton was inaugurated at the age of 46, making him the third-youngest president. He was the first president of the baby boomer generation. Clinton and his wife Hillary Rodham Clinton both received their law degree from Yale Law School.
It's unfortunate that Clinton is best remembered for his sexual indiscretions, including a White House affair with a 22 year old intern named Monica Lewinsky. Without this blemish on his Presidential record, he would surely be remembered for his economic successes in office, including a series of surplus budgets, negotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement and welfare reform. He presided over the longest period of peacetime economic expansion in American history. The Congressional Budget Office reported a budget surplus between the years 1998 and 2000 during the last three years of Clinton's presidency. He attempted health care reform, but was unsuccessful, following which Republicans won control of the House of Representatives in 1994, for the first time in forty years. In 1996, Clinton was re-elected and became the first Democrat since Franklin D. Roosevelt to win a second full term as president.
Clinton was impeached for perjury and obstruction of justice in a scandal involving White House intern Monica Lewinsky, but was acquitted by the U.S. Senate. He left office with the highest end-of-office approval rating of any U.S. president since World War II.
In his post-presidential life, Clinton has been involved in public speaking and humanitarian work. He created the William J. Clinton Foundation to address international causes such as treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS and global warming. In 2004, he released his autobiography My Life, and in 2008 he was involved in his wife Hillary's unsuccessful presidential campaign. Following the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Clinton teamed with George W. Bush to form the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund.
He has also undergone some serious health issues since leaving the White House. In September 2004, Clinton underwent quadruple bypass surgery. In March 2005, he had surgery for a partially-collapsed lung. Then on February 11, 2010, he was rushed to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York City after complaining of chest pains, and had two coronary stents implanted in his heart. In a humorous moment, Clinton was a guest on the final show of Larry King Live. King awkwardly stated that they were both members of the "zipper club". King later explained that he was referring to the zipper chest scar from open-heart surgery, to which Clinton responded, "I'm glad you clarified that, Larry".
Clinton was the 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. He defeated popular incumbent President George H. W. Bush in 1992. Just a year earlier Bush had an unprecedented 90% approval rating, which underscores what an impressive campaigner Clinton was. Before being elected President, Clinton was the Governor of Arkansas. Clinton was inaugurated at the age of 46, making him the third-youngest president. He was the first president of the baby boomer generation. Clinton and his wife Hillary Rodham Clinton both received their law degree from Yale Law School.
It's unfortunate that Clinton is best remembered for his sexual indiscretions, including a White House affair with a 22 year old intern named Monica Lewinsky. Without this blemish on his Presidential record, he would surely be remembered for his economic successes in office, including a series of surplus budgets, negotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement and welfare reform. He presided over the longest period of peacetime economic expansion in American history. The Congressional Budget Office reported a budget surplus between the years 1998 and 2000 during the last three years of Clinton's presidency. He attempted health care reform, but was unsuccessful, following which Republicans won control of the House of Representatives in 1994, for the first time in forty years. In 1996, Clinton was re-elected and became the first Democrat since Franklin D. Roosevelt to win a second full term as president.
Clinton was impeached for perjury and obstruction of justice in a scandal involving White House intern Monica Lewinsky, but was acquitted by the U.S. Senate. He left office with the highest end-of-office approval rating of any U.S. president since World War II.
In his post-presidential life, Clinton has been involved in public speaking and humanitarian work. He created the William J. Clinton Foundation to address international causes such as treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS and global warming. In 2004, he released his autobiography My Life, and in 2008 he was involved in his wife Hillary's unsuccessful presidential campaign. Following the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Clinton teamed with George W. Bush to form the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund.
He has also undergone some serious health issues since leaving the White House. In September 2004, Clinton underwent quadruple bypass surgery. In March 2005, he had surgery for a partially-collapsed lung. Then on February 11, 2010, he was rushed to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York City after complaining of chest pains, and had two coronary stents implanted in his heart. In a humorous moment, Clinton was a guest on the final show of Larry King Live. King awkwardly stated that they were both members of the "zipper club". King later explained that he was referring to the zipper chest scar from open-heart surgery, to which Clinton responded, "I'm glad you clarified that, Larry".