Name Name Research Paper Clinton In newspapers, on television and radio, and even on the internet, the eight years of the Bill Clinton presidential administration have been discussed and debated limitlessly. Whether portrayed in a comic strip, song, sarcastic TV skit, or even official political statement, the issues surrounding the Clinton administration were never far from the public eye. It is unfortunate but extremely common in America for a preoccupation with the personal lives of famous people to overshadow the things about them that should be focused on. As in the case with many political figures, President Clinton’s personal life has overshadowed his accomplishments as President. The question is whether a political leader’s personal life should have an impact on how history portrays the success or failure of his presidency. Normally, one would think an individual’s personal life is his own and not subject to public scrutiny. However, in President Clinton’s case this did not hold true. There are many who believe that President Clinton’s indiscretions had compromised his ability to remain as a legitimate head of our nation. History will show President Clinton to have been an effective leader and popular public figure despite his personal affairs. The first sentence of the presidential biography of President Clinton from the official White House website reads, “During the administration of William Jefferson Clinton, the United States enjoyed more peace and economic well being than at any time in history.” President Clinton can also be held accountable for our nation seeing the lowest unemployment rate in modern times. President Clinton put his emphasis on getting legislation to upgrade education, to protect jobs of parents who must care for sick children, to restrict handgun sales, and to strengthen environmental rules (Whitehouse). President Clinton also ordered the United States Justice Department to conduct the first-ever crackdown on deadbeat parents who refuse to accept financial responsibility for their children. Under President Clinton’s leadership, almost six million new jobs were created in the first two years of his administration (Klein 32-50). What the presidential biography fails to mention are the details of the well documented affair President Clinton took part in while in office. When a political figure makes the mistake of engaging in an inappropriate relationship, people often tend to focus completely on the hype generated by the media as opposed to how he handled the current political issues. This was the case leading to the impeachment of President William Jefferson Clinton. Although the personal life of President Clinton did not affect his ability to preside over our nation effectively, Congress voted to have him impeached. On January 26, 1998, President Clinton delivered a statement which most Americans living during his presidency will never forget, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman-Ms. Lewinsky”. He also denied that he ever asked her to lie about their affair. Over the next several months the President continued defending himself and denied having a relationship with Ms. Lewinsky. Then additional moral issues began to arise. There were rumors and accusations of previous affairs. The most offensive of these additional charges was an accusation of perjury committed by President Clinton while giving a deposition in the Paula Jones sexual harassment case. Nearly a year after the famous Lewinski affair denial, on December 19th, the House of Representatives voted to impeach the President of The United States of America. President Clinton was charged under two articles of impeachment with “high crimes and misdemeanors” for lying under oath and obstructing justice while attempting to cover up his affair with Monica Lewinski (Gibson). The question remains whether this action was taken due to a true moral outrage or an attempt to gain political advantage of one political party over another as President Clinton was a Democrat and the House of Representatives was controlled by the Republican Party. These actions taken by the Congress were the result of Clinton having an inappropriate sexual relationship with White house intern Monica Lewinski. Although Clinton accomplished many important goals for the benefit of the American people during his terms of office, many of the people whose lives were changed for the better were the same ones that immediately turned their backs on him when he needed support the most. By simply laughing at the jokes, watching the interviews of Monica Lewinski, and then going as far as supporting the idea of having Clinton impeached, most of the American public contributed in some way to criticize a good man who made a mistake. “He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone” (Jn 8:7). The irony of the situation is the sympathy our nation has for Monica Lewinski. Her story has portrayed her as somewhat of a victim, while President Clinton is being portrayed as the abuser. Yet she knew very well that he was a married man and that what they were doing could have ruined his career and marriage. She has been a topic on several daily talk shows, and she has made many appearances on late night television. The “exclusive” personal interviews discussing her dramatic situation are countless. She has been the object of Saturday Night Live skits, and the focus on other comical shows. She has even designed her own collection of handbags. To say she has been over-publicized is an extreme understatement. In reality while gaining a negative reputation from the affair she has actually benefited, at least financially. Despite the attempt of the media and the President’s political enemies to have the general public buy into the hype of the “Clinton Scandal”, the majority of Americans stayed loyal to President Clinton through it all. A CBS news poll conducted after the Senate impeachment vote indicated that sixty-four percent of the public supported acquittal while just thirty-four percent thought President Clinton should have been convicted on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice (Enquirer). The American people that were unaffected by the media’s obvious bias and still supported Clinton were able to see that a President’s personal life does not necessarily bear on public performance. The President should be judged on how he deals with complex issues such as, education, welfare, and healthcare for instance. The fact that the American people were so prosperous during his administration should have an obvious connection to the President’s work. Our society, for some reason, holds famous and public figures to a higher moral code and is often brutally unforgiving when this code is corrupted. The intense media scrutiny under which President Clinton was subjected is exceptional. Throughout history there have been elected officials, artists and entertainers, sports figures, and major business leaders who have been guilty of the personal and moral mistakes that many of the general public have been guilty of as well. However, the vast majority of these incidents were largely ignored or under-reported by the media allowing these people to maintain their power and fame and remain as icons of our society. For example, John Kennedy’s presidential term was known for his propensity for extra-marital affairs but his legend remains largely untarnished as one of America’s most popular and effective presidents. This is due in part to the media allowing President Kennedy a large amount of personal privacy. Whether this was done out of respect for the man, his family, or his office is still unclear today. President Clinton was not afforded the same amount of tolerance. Today the media is only too ready to expose the personal weaknesses and mistakes in judgment of many public figures. Simply read the sports pages on a routine basis and it seems there is as much news printed about an athlete’s personal exploits as about his professional ones. While it is obviously true that President Clinton has undesirable personal traits, he stands to this date as a very popular President who is perceived to have been an extremely effective leader who provided the American people with eight years of a mostly good economic and social environment. While President Clinton may not be the most desirable figure as a role model for young Americans, no one can deny his record as one the great politicians of our time. In other words, it is possible and appropriate to separate Bill Clinton, the man, from Bill Clinton, the President.