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Bill Clinton
Retired figureUnited StatesBorn 1946

Bill Clinton

42nd President of the United States (1993-2001) · Governor of Arkansas (1979-1981, 1983-1992)

Democrat from Arkansas who won the presidency in 1992 as a centrist, balanced the budget, signed NAFTA and welfare reform, and sent NATO into Bosnia and Kosovo.

Compare yourself See the 12 scores
Profile on 12 axes11 of 12 documented
ECONOMYSTATESOCIETYWORLDOwnershipMarketsWelfareAuthoritySecurityStructureMoralityReligionTechnologyCultureTradeForeign
Where they stand

Bill Clinton, axis by axis

  1. 01Ownership+30
    PublicPrivate

    Private business stayed the base of the economy under him and he offered no public ownership plans, which puts him toward private.

  2. 02Markets+25
    PlannedFree

    He signed deregulation bills from a Republican Congress and also lifted the minimum wage, which puts him moderately toward markets.

  3. 03Welfare-5
    SharedSelf-reliant

    His 1993 budget raised taxes mostly on higher earners, but in 1996 he signed a reform that ended AFDC in favour of state block grants. The score sits near the middle.

  4. 04Authority-50
    DemocraticStrong leader
  5. 05Security+35
    LibertyOrder

    Executions took place while he was governor and he signed the 1994 crime bill, so he is scored toward order.

  6. 06Structure0
    LocalCentral

    He handed welfare to the states through block grants while growing some national programs, so the score is at the middle.

  7. 07Morality-5
    ProgressiveTraditional

    He went along with the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell deal and put his name to the Defense of Marriage Act, although his party backed abortion rights. The score is near the middle.

  8. 08Religion0
    SecularReligious

    He often spoke of his Baptist faith but sought no change in the line between church and state, so the score is at the middle.

  9. 09TechnologyNo clear record
    EmbraceCaution

    The sources used here record no view on technology policy, so the axis is left null.

  10. 10Culture0
    MulticulturalNational identity

    Most legal immigrants lost welfare access for five years under his law, yet he never asked for fewer arrivals, so the score is at the middle.

  11. 11Trade-65
    GlobalProtected

    NAFTA passed in 1993 and the revised GATT in 1994, both on his push, which makes him a firm free trader.

  12. 12Foreign policy-20
    CooperationStrength

    He sent NATO into action over Bosnia and Kosovo and wanted more market democracies tied together by alliances and trade, so he leans toward cooperation.

One axis has no clear record, so matching leaves it out.

Who is Bill Clinton?

Bill Clinton was born in Hope, Arkansas, in 1946 with the name William Jefferson Blythe III. He studied at Georgetown, then Oxford, then Yale Law School. Back in Arkansas he served as attorney general and later as governor, first for two years from 1979 and then for nine more after a break, until 1992. He took the presidency in 1992 as a 'New Democrat' who wanted a Democratic Party closer to the middle ground, then won a second term in 1996. After leaving the White House he set up the Clinton Foundation, took a UN envoy role for Haiti and spoke at campaigns for Democrats.

Political views

  • His 1993 budget raised taxes mostly on high earners and trimmed spending. By 1999 the federal books showed a surplus of $124 billion.Source: millercenter.org
  • In 1996 he signed the welfare law he had promised, the one meant to 'end welfare as we know it'. It scrapped AFDC and sent block grants to each state.Source: millercenter.org
  • A health plan for universal coverage, drawn up by a task force under Hillary Clinton, was dropped by Congress in 1994.Source: millercenter.org
  • He signed the 1994 crime law, saying his party should stop feeling guilty about shielding the innocent.Source: en.wikipedia.org
  • Congress passed NAFTA under him in 1993, followed by a revised GATT agreement in 1994.Source: millercenter.org
  • He urged NATO to bomb Bosnian Serb forces, which led to the Dayton Accords, and he supported the 1999 air campaign against Serbian ethnic cleansing in Kosovo.Source: millercenter.org
  • He supported NATO membership for the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland.Source: millercenter.org

Legacy

Supporters credit Clinton with a long run of economic growth, budgets in surplus, a Democratic Party that could win from the centre, and peace efforts in Northern Ireland and the Balkans. On the left, critics say welfare reform, the 1994 crime law and looser financial rules hurt poor Americans and fed mass imprisonment and the 2008 crisis. Gay rights groups fought both the military policy known as Don't Ask, Don't Tell and the Defense of Marriage Act. Many also faulted his government for standing aside in the 1994 Rwandan genocide. He later apologised. In December 1998 the House impeached him for perjury and obstruction linked to the Monica Lewinsky affair. The Senate voted to acquit in February 1999.

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Bill Clinton: questions

Where did Bill Clinton sit on the political spectrum?

He is best described as a moderate Democrat. On one side, he lifted taxes for top earners and pushed universal health coverage. On the other, he put his name to welfare reform, a harsh crime law and NAFTA.

What did Bill Clinton believe about welfare?

He promised to 'end welfare as we know it'. In 1996 he signed a law that replaced AFDC with block grants to the states, and critics on the left say it hurt poor families.

What was a New Democrat?

It was the label Clinton used for a Democrat who wanted the party to sit closer to the centre. He ran on it in 1992 and led the group in the 1990s.

Sources