"Politics is not religion and we should govern on the basis of evidence, not theology. "

A Lusty, Zesty Kinda World Leader!

Bill Clinton, whose full name is William Jefferson Clinton, is a moderate Democrat who was the 42nd President of the United States (1993-2001).

Clinton was born William Jefferson Blythe III on August 19, 1946, in Hope, Arkansas, three months after his father died in a traffic accident. When he was four years old, his mother married Roger Clinton, of Hot Springs, Arkansas. In high school, he took the Clinton family name.

He was raised partially by his grandparents. Clinton's childhood was stressful: his stepfather was an alcoholic who turned abusive. He attended public schools and was an excellent student and saxophone player. He once considered becoming a professional musician.

Clinton graduated from Georgetown University and in 1968 won a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University. He received a law degree from Yale University in 1973, and entered politics in Arkansas. In 1975 he married Hillary Rodham, a graduate of Wellesley College and Yale Law School. In 1980, Chelsea, their only child, was born.

Beginning in 1978, Clinton served five terms as the governor of Arkansas. At the time, he was the youngest state governor in the United States. He was the third youngest president and the first of the baby boomer generation.

Along with his running mate Senator Al Gore, Clinton won the 1992 presidential election against Republican George H. W. Bush and independent candidate H. Ross Perot, carrying 43.3% of the vote.

As president, Clinton's priorities included legislation to enhance education, restrict the sales of handguns, reaffirm environmental legislation, and protect the jobs of parents with sick children. Internationally, most of his concern was on reducing trade barriers and acting as a mediator to the Northern Ireland and Israel-Palestine conflicts.

His first term marked a period of economic recovery. He inherited, at that time, the largest American budget deficit in history from his predecessor President George H. W. Bush, and turned it into the largest surplus. Clinton's economic accomplishments include the creation of more than 22 million new jobs, a homeownership rate increase, the lowest unemployment in 30 years, higher incomes at all levels, lowest government spending as a percentage of GDP since 1974, and higher stock ownership by families.

One of the most important items on Clinton's legislative agenda was his health care reform plan. The task force was initially headed by Hillary Clinton. Even though the Democratic party held a majority in the House and Senate, the initiative failed to gain broad public support, and contributed to Democratic party's loss of control of both houses of Congress for the first time in 40 years, in 1994.

Clinton's second term became dominated by accusations of marital infidelity, perjury, and obstruction of justice. His reputation was severly damaged when he lied to cover up his affair with a White House intern, Monica Lewinsky. The House of Representatives voted in favor of two articles of impeachment. He become the second president to be impeached on these charges by a grand jury. However, the charges were soon dropped by the Senate. He later admitted to giving misleading testimony.

Clinton was the first Democrat to serve two full terms as President since Franklin D. Roosevelt.

He is characterized as being a more fickle president than his Republican predecessros, not handing significant powers to his aides, and replacing them often. He had four chiefs of staff, a record number.

Clinton continues to speak publicly on a variety of political and humanitarian issues. In June 2004 he published My Life, a collection of his memories. In the book, he admits that during his presidency he made many mistakes. He discusses his thoughts about the administration of President George W. Bush, and speaks about prospects of a future Clinton presidency if his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, decides to run for office in 2008.