Poll: How was Bill Clinton as President?

[BurtWorm]

Poll question: Poll: How was Bill Clinton as President?

[Walt Starr]

1. I couldn't rightly say he was the greatest ever

Thomas Jefferson gets that distinction, in my book.

I will say I consider him the greatest president of the 20th century.

Since he also served 20 days in the 21st century he has that one licked for now as well.

[displacedvermoter]

9. Greatest President in 20th Century?

If you overlook FDR, perhaps. And the things that Truman, LBJ, Kennedy, and even Wilson accomplished make Clinton "greatest in 20th" a bit of a stetch. Still above average -- although his achievements were swamped by the BS Monicagate frenzy. Obviously not all his fault, but his conduct did provide fuel for the fire.

A very good president who could have been a great one. IMHO.

[Walt Starr]

13. Nope, I consider him greater than any of those

He accomplished so much while a political witch hunt that was out to get him at any cost was run.

In my book, his accomplishments in the face of those outrages of the VRWC make him the greatest president of the 20th century, and nearly the greatest president of all time.

[displacedvermoter]

21. How about what FDR was able to accomplish facing a world-wide

Depression, World War II, and an unfriendly media and powerful right-wing industrialists AND a very split Democratic Party?

Don't want to argue with you, Clinton did remarkable things given the political climate. But, FDR saved the nation and, in large part, saved the world.

[Ishoutandscream]

30. Yep, FDR was number 1 in the 20th Century. But in my book

Clinton is the greatest in my lifetime. I was born in 1961, so that spans Kennedy to Whistleass.

[kmla]

33. Wow - you must be my long lost twin...

I was gonna say the same thing, almost word for word. Except I was born in 1962.

However, if I were your twin, that would have made one excructiatingly long labor for Mom....

[Ishoutandscream]

34. Howdy. I turn 42 on the 17th.

And I am a Texan to boot. Ya'll can keep the Village Idiot out of Texas, as long as he doesn't occupy the White House.

[arcos]

53. Not if you were born in the very early morning of Jan 1st...

and your twin nearing midnight of Dec 31st

;-)

[wuushew]

18. Please try to defend Jefferson's second term

since it was an abysmal failure.

In your heart of hearts you know the greatest is FDR

[patrice]

2. I couldn't rate him as high as I would have liked

because of environmental issues and NAFTA.

[Emboldened Chimp]

3. Above Average

Infinitely better than *, however.

[demnan]

4. Considering that he had to fight

against a hostile Congress tooth and nail, I'd put him in the top ten.

A lesson lies here to all - we must get back control of Congress as well as the Presidency

[rock]

5. Greatest ever, in my experience

Ike was the first president I remember noticing.

[liberalhistorian]

6. Who in the hell in their right mind would vote

for Abysmal? He left us in the greatest shape we've been in in decades, if not ever. I suppose you'd rather have Raygun or Bush Sr. or Jr., or Nixon? I suppose you'd rather the economy never have dramatically improved, the Family and Medical Leave Act never been signed, the Veterans Enhancement Act of 1998 never been signed, countless jobs not have been created, etc., etc.?

[Catherine Vincent]

27. Freepers posing?

[Wickerman]

7. Abyssmal?

If you're gonna vote that, then at least have the class to say why he was so rotten. Would Bush then be Greatest ever? Bwaahaahahahahahahah!

[w13rd0]

8. I said pretty good, top 10...

...for purely selfish reasons. I did fairly well during the second Clinton term, socially, fiscally, emotionally, etc. Certainly could have been better, but that's why I'm actually involved in politics now, actively seeking to oust this fraud presently occupying the WH...

[grytpype]

10. Enough with the fucking polls.

[IndianaGreen]

12. Don't reply to them

get another hobby, like knitting...

[BurtWorm]

15. Now, now

I can deal with constructive criticism. ;)

[IndianaGreen]

11. Compared to the Bushes and Raygun

Pretty GREAT!

[IrateCitizen]

14. Full of promise and potential, but overall a disappointment, IMHO

I base my opinion on the following:

1. NAFTA
2. Gutting of welfare -- "reform" would be inaccurate, in this case, even though it did need reforming.
3. Signing of 1996 Telecommunications Act -- immediately after which the campaign contributions started rolling in. Hmmmm....
4. Trying to cut in the insurance companies on nationalized health care, helping its demise.
5. Permanent Normalized Trade Relations with China -- how we can condemn Cuba for human right violations, yet open up to China, is beyond me.
6. At least 500,000 children dead due to sanctions in Iraq -- Madeline Albright even admitted that this cost was "worth it".
7. Terry McAuliffe as DNC Chairman -- this sleazy bagman is, to me, highly indicative of the Democratic Party losing it's base value system.
8. His lack of self control re: Monica -- the Repukes had a witch hunt out for him, and he helped them find something to pin on him.
9. Failure to aggressively push for increased CAFE standards or a drive for renewable energy sources.
10. Deference to Wall Street in forming financial policy. The cabinet battle was between Bob Reich and Bob Rubin, and the plutocrat Rubin won out. The losers were, as always, the majority of American people.

I'm certain that those who worship the former President Clinton will be calling for my head, but this is how I see him. He was a man of incredible charisma and promise, but his faults ended up neutralizing him. He had the potential to be a truly great President, but history will judge him as a man of great oratory and rhetoric, but little substance in fighting for working Americans.

[BurtWorm]

17. I understand your disappointment

Don't necessarily agree with you, though. I was more than a bit disappointed with Clinton's first term. But he won me over by the end of the second. Not that I think he was the greatest president ever, but I am impressed by the actual statistics showing how much he improved the lot of working people--creating 20 million jobs, lowering African-American unemployment and raising African-American standard of living, etc., etc.

I will say I think he's a damn fine ex-president, too. Maybe even better as an ex than as an actual. No hidden digs intended.

[IrateCitizen]

19. I'll agree with you on the ex-President thing...

He has used his status to push some important issues. Although, you must admit that his status as an ex-President is still far behind that of Jimmy Carter.

Then again, Jimmy Carter is probably the best "ex-President" as far as using his status to fight for important causes that the US has ever seen. So playing second to him ain't too bad. ;-)

[BurtWorm]

22. Exactly right about Jimmy Carter.

He's a trail blazer, and Clinton is following in his trail. But Clinton has shown a willingness to hit back that he was careful to disguise for decorum's sake when he was in office. I like that.

[OneTwentyoNine]

20. What would you have done in Iraq?

Invade? Bomb like Chimpboy? Lift all sanctions? Iraq had sanctions but they could sell PLENTY of oil for $$$$ through the UN and use the funds for the Iraqi people. Iraq did that and SH didn't use the money for his people. Thats Clinton's fault? Shit...its a lose,lose no matter what he did. People in Iraq were going to die one way or the other.

I think Clinton did the right thing given the impossible circumstances.

David

[IrateCitizen]

25. Obviously you've never heard of Hussein Kamel

He was SH's son-in-law who defected and conclusively verified that all of Iraq's WMD's were destroyed in the mid 1990's. The UN, at the urging of the US and UK, kept the sanctions in place. The US and UK also stopped many items from being allowed to enter Iraq under the "dual use" classification, even though the other members of the UNSC urged them to be allowed.

Then, we have the removal of the inspectors in 1998 under Clinton, prior to the bombing campaign. That's right -- REMOVAL -- as in, they were not kicked out but REMOVED.

Finally, the sanctions actually helped SH solidify his grip on power, since the Iraqi people were left to depend on his regime for such basic necessities as food. It's hard for an uprising to take place when people only have one place to go for the food to survive.

I realize that there was no simple solution to this issue. But the condemning of over 1,000,000 people to their deaths due to lack of food, medical care, and DU poisoning is simply unconscionable.

[dudeness]

40. well said irate

a lot of untruths are about in relation to sanctions and inspectors..clinton may have been great on domestic issues..but like all modern western leaders he was at the behest of WTO and IMF policies and he enforced them militarily..

[dudeness]

42. may i suggest a read

Iraq under seige..the deadly impact of sanctions and war..

edited by anthony arnove

contributions by
dennis halliday
robert fisk
john pilger
phyllis bennis ..ect

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

23. well said

i wanted to like him,. he is, after all, the guy that got me into politics back in 9th grade. but his constant caving to the corporate agenda lost my respect. he didn't give the country the much-needed turn to the left it needed after 12 years of reagen-bush. in stead he merely persued the same pro-conglomerate plan, but at a slightly slower pace.

and i don't think it had anything to do with political realities, which is the excuse i'm so sften given by his supporters, nafta, 96 telecommunications act...no one was clamoring for this except for a few wealthy donors. he wouldn't have lost votes if he'd developed a spine on these issues

[clar]

37. I complete agree with

your excellent post.

[teknomanzer]

51. These are the reasons I voted above average.

Much of this is due to having to battle Repukes at every turn. The rest is due to trying to reach for the center, instead of influencing the people to more progressive attitudes.

[Sean Reynolds]

16. Above average - but really an average president would be poppy Bush.

So it isn't saying much.

[joeybee12]

24. Poppy Bush was average?

No, No, NO! He was definitely below average. Reagan would have been average, and history will judge him so, despite all the Rethug whores trying to plaster his face all over the country.

[imhotep]

26. Abyssmal

Clinton was the worst President after Bush 2, Raygun, Bush 1.

He did absolutely nothing for the working class, the environment, and set back the Dem party for lets see....10+ years since we had control of Congress.
Peace and prosperity? Bullshit. More like living off credit and the most countries ever bombed. The rich got richer, yipee.

[VermontDem2004]

29. Also, my mom were won one of the tens of millions

of people who worked their way from poverty into the middle class during Clinton's years so your second question is total bullshit. She benefitted enormously from the FMLA which Kerry Co-Sponsered and Clinton signed. Pretty, much everyone got richer during Clinton's years and I may be in the minority, but I don't have problem with the rich getting richer as long as it is done legally. I didn't agree with alot of the Clinton wars though, but he was hardly abyssmal.

[OneTwentyoNine]

45. Bullshit pal

Clinton worse that Ronnie??,bull fucking shit.

Name me anything that Reagan did for working class people. Go ahead,name me one. Union busting,no minimum wage increases,tax INCREASES for working class while giving millionaires a HUGE tax reduction--etc..etc...

Clinton fought for minimum wage increases that had been at a standstill for about 12 years. He initiated the tax CREDIT for working families with children. Instead of some BS write off you actually got a real credit toward the amount of taxes paid in--with 3 kids its saved us some real money.

He initiated the family leave act which means nothing to many people unless you've had a boss that was about like Hitler and would rather fire your ass than see you miss a couple of days for a funeral or care giving.

He signed in the aviation liability act which got Cessna and many other companies back in the building of small aircraft employing thousands.

Abysmal my ass....

David

[fujiyama]

47. Worse than Nixon?

Worse than Ford? Worse than Ike? Would you honestly say Carter and Johnson were better?

Your post is bullshit.

[CMT]

28. above average

I wouldn't say he was great.

[spooky3]

32. interesting--causes me to rethink

The results of this poll surprised me. It makes me think I was wrong when I voted on an earlier poll asking whether we believed most DUs held views similar to that of the average American or to the left of him/her (I'm not sure I have the wording correct).

[Aristus]

31. If you overlook the way he caved to Repuke interests,

and hung himself with the rope they gave him, I'd say he was only a rung or two down from truly great. I'm a huge Bill Clinton fan, but I'm being truthful here.

[mvd]

35. I voted pretty great (top 10)

I felt he was a leader in foreign policy (still too hawkish, but he was really a uniter - he had the right intentions, unlike Bush does now), and Bush has changed things so much that I realize how much better domestic policy was then. He also had a feel-good aspect to him, and that's important. He let me down a lot with the Lewinsky affair, but at least he didn't lie about national security, and there's no evidence the affair affected his performance. I can't believe a smart guy like him would fall into the right wing trap!

[leftofthedial]

36. best since WWII

I disagreed with many of his more centrist (and even conservative) policies, but he was damned effective.

He oversaw unprecedented peace and prosperity and international respect for the USA.

[damnraddem]

38. I was not disappointed in him, as were some others who think like me.

That was because I didn't expect as much as they did. He actually turned out better than I expected.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

39. for the "below average" and "abyssmal" voters a question

was it the 8 years of peace or was it the 8 years of prosperity that pisses you off?

[Cat Atomic]

41. NAFTA is a serious strike against him, at least for me.

Above average.

[DemVet]

54. Yep.

nt

[PAMod]

43. Best president in my lifetime...

I was born in 1966.

Greatness is only visible in times of great crisis so I graded him above average.

Clinton was extremely successful, with the handling of Healthcare Reform being his only botch-job. Great idea, poor execution (he should have waited & then he should have asked Moynihan to help write it).

But hell, he "failed while daring greatly". I was proud he was my president.

He also gets some of the onus for losing congress, but remember he was under attack the whole way through.

My step mother has a Streisand video where they scroll the numerous acheivements of Clinton while she sings "Happy Days are Here Again". I got chills when I saw that.

[Darranar]

44. It really depends on how you're looking at it...

I don't think he was a very good president, due to his pathetic foreign policy, endorsement of globalization, war on drugs, and continuation of the vile and inhumanitarian sanctions on Iraq, but I think he was better than most, especially when it comes to domestic affairs. However, I don't think he should have cut welfare.

[friendofbenn]

46. hah

:puke:

peace for america. war, coups and economic imperialism for everyone else

[Deja Q]

48. Disappointing - though he's had a few good things worth mentioning too

* DMCA (has been misused in any number of silly ways, just ask Lexmark for example...)

* Welfare "reform" of 1995 yet did nothing toward government subsidies - aka corporate welfare.

* NAFTA (US cheats other countries' energy supplies in case of energy crisis and allows businesses to move jobs offshore and slowly assist in lowering the quality of life for workers here at home. May have helped economy in short-term, but what the hell is going to replace "globalization" when it reaches its zenith? Our economy is ltimately going to collapse on itself since it's based on expansion rather than self-sufficiency! Yes, Mr. Clinton helped the economy. But did his own actions allow the economy a long-term stability, or a short-term one? And given the current state of events and how more and more well-paying jobs are being scuffled overseas leaving only the slave-wage ones behind, it's NEVER going to get better. Ever. Not when the system is allowed to continue unchecked and unregulated.)

* He fired Jocelyn Elders at the behest of the repukes - during an election year no less! Says a lot about standing up for who you hire and support... she managed to get people to talk about an issue, and she HAD guts! What did she do to get sacked? She merely brought up the issue of teaching masturbation in schools as a form of safe sex! :eyes: How controversial! (NOT! They teach, in sanitized wording, what the things are and what you do with them so why was masturabation so taboo?!) What a sin to worth being fired for! </sarcasm> We could only hope Tommy Thompson has even a grain of sensibility and get the sheeple to talk about an issue and maybe Bush*'ll sack him too... In Shrubbystump's administration, anyone found causing the people to think (of anything) is a crime!

* Abandoned the universal health care initiative instead of finding a way to make it work.

* Monica Lewinsky - yes, it was an issue in his personal life. But became a public issue and he should have known better, for any number of reasons.) To me, this is minor compared to the other point I'm mentioning. Even lying under testimony. It's a paltry issue, but he still lied. I'm also a thousand million times more angry at Shrubbystump* for his lies and deceptions, he should be begging for a job at walmart right now given all he's done. Even I want Clinton back at this point!

One of the GOOD points is that Clinton fired weapons at the Iraqi Intelligence headquarters upon finding out their plot to assassinate Poppy Bush. You think Shrubbystump* would have been satisfied with that...

In early Sept 1993 he increased taxes and cut spending to help fix the budget cesspool that Reagan created and Poppy Bush did nothing to do to resolve. Clinton definitely did the right thing here.

Clinton created a proposal to force a Constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget. Thanks to the repukes, this failed. :grr: :mad: Damn bastards. Remember this should Shrubbystump* attempt the same thing and yell it out loud!

His foreign policies were definitely decent, and certainly infinitely better than Shrubbystump's "kll 'em all, bring 'em on" approach. Shrubbystump* is thrice the coward Clinton is and infinitely more barbaric.

[Darranar]

49. His foreign policy was DECENT?

I suppose you've forgotten about the bombing of Iraq? The bombing of Kosovo? The sanctions on Iraq?

When it came to a number of other nations, he was great, though.

[Unforgiven]

50. Want him back

Take him back at any price, maybe even say $87b ?

[burr]

52. Not the greatest ever...

but in the top ten.

My other nine...Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, TR, FDR, Truman, JFK, LBJ, and Jimmy Carter.

To believe in America, you must believe that the greatest is yet to come!

[UTUSN]

55. We Supported Him, Now Can We Go On?

Look, he asked a lot from us, and we gave it. Now. Can we go on?



There's the last line from "Primary Colors" ----------"O.K., we gave it to you. Now, DON'T GO BREAKIN OUR HEARTS."


He did.