The Good and Bad Times of Clinton Office Essay Example for Free

The Good and Bad Times of Clinton Office Essay Every presidency left people with significant events, both good and bad. This holds true to the American setting where each administration is sure to impart both legacy or prominence and most notably, controversy. In fact, it is ironic that people are keener in discussing the intrigues and flaws committed by a former President rather than acknowledge his concrete accomplishments and contributions to the country. Despite however this glaring life reality and human nature, it is still essential that a previous American leader be recognize for his efforts in unifying American people under a common stand which is for the nation to be stable, progressive and remains to be one of the most powerful and influential countries in the world. Such condition is what happened to the regime of the 42nd commander-in-chief of the United States, President William Jefferson â€Å"Bill† Clinton. Foremost his achievements and deeds, which are all supposedly aimed at empowering and uplifting the plight of American people; Clinton is best remembered through his controversial decisions and activities. In fact, beyond the apparent economic growth that his office attained, people are unfortunately reminded of Clinton’s dishonorable ethical blunder which was highlighted by the reported Monica Lewinsky sexual scandal. In an effort, therefore, to best understand and realize both the good and bad times of the Clinton office, it is empirically fair to present the nice and unpleasant things and events that happened during this presidential term. This is because in doing so, people will have the opportunity to realize the benefits of Clinton’s triumphs and most importantly, learn from his leadership mistakes. In his memoir â€Å"My Life,† Clinton made a poignant effort for the American people to understand him beyond his presidency. Regardless however of his charismatic and celebrated personality, Clinton struggled to rectify his dwindled and scandal-ridden administration. It became an inevitably difficult task for Clinton to fulfill his promises, while still campaigning for presidency, as well as adhere to his platform during his two-term office. This is primarily due to the reality that his feats were marred by his own faults. It is first worthy to take into consideration that Clinton’s political era has manifested goodness even before he became the initial Democratic president after Franklin D. Roosevelt to prevail over a two-term White House office. When his time came to lead the nation, Clinton made Americans benefit from further peace and order as well as economic advantages (â€Å"Bill Clinton† 1). Additionally, the good times of the Clinton office are further illustrated with the country reflecting the ever lowest unemployment rate, a feat which previous presidents have not achieved. The economic benefits made by the Clinton office were also depicted by the lowest inflation in a span of three decades, the soaring housing ownership in the entire history of U. S. , significant fall of crime rates in a number of states, and lessened welfare turn-over. These fiscal triumphs were more highlighted with the Clinton office’s proposal of the first fair national budget which eventually ended in a budget surplus (â€Å"Bill Clinton† 1). Clinton time in office was likewise marked by an end of the period of the so-called big government. This is when significant measures were made that improved the educational system, protected and assured people with jobs, curbed firearms trade and reinforced environmental policies. The economic prosperity of Clinton office was corroborated by Kelly who stated that it is in his time that the stock market climbed radically. Aside from this, Kelly added that it is in Clinton’s regime that the Family and Medical Leave Act and North American Free Trade Agreement were passed and ratified, respectively. Lastly it was during Clinton office that international hostilities were put to an end including the reign of Saddam Hussein (Kelly 1). While the bad time of Clinton office significantly resulted from the failure of his proposal to undertake a system for national health care, it was in the second term that his presidency started to fall off. In fact, it is the period when Clinton earned more fame due to controversies that included the Gennifer Flowers, Whitewater Travelgate, the FBI file controversy as well as the emergence of Paula Jones and eventually the Lewinsky alleged intimate affair. Relatively, Gertz alarmingly noted that beyond Clinton’s dreadful confession, over a national television, that he â€Å"misled† the American people concerning the Lewinsky scandal, he is more accountable for further upsetting cover-up. According to Gertz, the Clinton office was definitely blemished by a bad leadership decision that concerned guidelines which, in turn, affected and eventually harmed the nation’s security (Gertz 3). Gertz further revealed how Clinton betrayed the American people through his office’s determined failure and disobedience to â€Å"provide for the common defense† which the American constitution requires. The author added that Clinton’s reckless guidelines, as regard key military and intelligence measures, affected the country’s protection. Clinton’s apparent inconsiderate cover-up of this apparent wrongdoing betrayed and left the country with weaker and susceptible military. This is unfortunate especially during a period that its rival countries have strengthened and a more unsafe world exists (Gertz 3). Judging from the cited good and bad times of Clinton office, the historical importance of his regime became evident. In a time of a mounting divided politics and instability, Clinton succeeded in moving his plan to a core which led to mainstream America. Despite however of the bad times and even the aborted impeachment, Clinton is still and ultimately considered to be a very popular president. Works Cited â€Å"Bill Clinton. † The White House. n. d. 17 March 2009 http://www. whitehouse. gov/about/presidents/williamjClinton/. Gertz, Bill. Betrayal: How the Clinton Administration Undermined American Security. Washington, DC: Regnery Publishing, 2001. Kelly, Martin. â€Å"Bill Clinton – Forty-second President of the United States. † n. d. About. com: American History. 17 March 2009 http://americanhistory. about. com/od/williamjclinton/p/pclinton. htm.