Though many of us expected Bill Clinton to chain himself to his desk in the Oval Office, he finally left the White House for good on Saturday. True to form, he continued to make appearances and drag out good-byes rather than graciously yielding the spotlight on President Bush's day to shine. This was just a reminder to the nation that the Clinton presidency was ultimately an eight-year campaign to control public opinion polls. With the Cold War over, the economy booming, and a high-tech industrial revolution, Clinton had an incredible opportunity to move the country in a new direction for a new millennium. Clinton's ultimate failure as a president was his inability to realize that the goal of the presidency is not to become re-elected but to try and work to pass policy that is commensurate with a cohesive philosophy for the betterment of America.
Clinton was perhaps the most monarchal and arrogant president in recent times. He used the Reno-led activist Justice Department to tactlessly enforce his authority. America became all too familiar with armed government officials breaking down doors like the late night raid to "rescue" Elian Gonzalez, the deaths at Ruby Ridge and the fiery slaughter of innocent children at Waco. Though the government was probably on the right side of all three of these issues, the way they were handled was at best amateurish and at worst criminal. At the same time, Reno did her best to sweep under the carpet all the campaign wrongdoings of Clinton and his cronies. We never saw a clear answer to the Buddhist temple or the other fundraising scandals. We also never really found out what happened to Vince Foster, what happened with the travel office officials or if there were any wrongdoings in the Clinton land and cattle deals.
Foreign policy was perhaps both the biggest challenge for the Clinton administration as well as one of its biggest failures. For the first time in nearly a century, the United States had no clear enemy -- we alone were the remaining superpower. We should have used this time to determine new long-term strategic objectives. Instead, the Clinton administration had a schizophrenic policy with few clear global objectives. This has led America into messy situations like the Balkans where there is no clear mission and no clear exit strategy. Our soldiers should be warriors; we send them to kill, not to wear blue berets and be policemen in places America or its allies have no real interest in. Rather than developing the military into a more sophisticated fighting force for the new century, Clinton slashed the budget for our armed forces. Because of Clinton, Americans view the Commander-In-Chief with less respect, and therefore fewer young Americans answer the noble call to wear the uniform that protects the nation and fosters freedom throughout the world.
It would be unfair to completely dismiss the Clinton administration without recognizing some of its accomplishments. As governor of Arkansas, Clinton was one of the pioneers of the Democratic Leadership Council, a group who came to be known as the New Democrats. Clinton and long time advisor Dick Morris subscribed to the policy of triangulation. Essentially this meant to take the good ideas from the left and the good ideas of the right, discard the divisive rhetoric of both extremes in order to create common sense policy. Clinton's biggest successes came when he stuck to this philosophy as he did with NAFTA, welfare reform and the crime bill. All three of these were essentially Republican bills, with certain goodies thrown in for the Democrats as well. Clinton was constantly torn between the DLC and the traditional Democratic talking heads like Jesse Jackson and Dick Gephardt to whom he somehow felt indebted. His biggest defeats came from catering to this contingency. Clinton learned how to play the Washington hardball after Hillary's poorly conceived and embarrassingly defeated health care reform debacle.
Every president adds something to the country's perception of the office. The mark that Clinton makes on the presidency is one of lowering the prestige and sanctity of the office. Scandal is the ultimate legacy of the Clinton administration. If any of the sex scandals had hit a normal politician or CEO of a corporation, it would have led to their resignation. But Clinton was able to use his political skill to tell America and its children that fidelity doesn't matter, that sexual harassment doesn't matter, and those women who accuse an authority figure of sexual wrongdoing must just be redneck bimbos. But amazingly feminists like Gloria Steinem still continue to back him. The Clinton spin machine is even powerful enough to champion Hillary Clinton-- a woman who stood by her sexual predator husband and denounced his accusers as members of a vast right-wing conspiracy-- as a role model for women.
Bill Clinton had incredible intelligence, incredible political skill and an incredible era in which to lead. Rather than use his skill to create a vision for the 21st century, he concentrated only on his day-to-day popularity. Unfortunately, though he was successful in keeping his approval numbers up while he was in the White House, history will not treat him so kindly. The office is cheapened and it will take a great effort to restore dignity to it. Clinton's legacy will center around the aura of corruption that has clouded his policy victories. In the years to come, the names that we will remember will not be Rubin, Albright or Lockhart, they will be Gennifer, Paula and Monica. The lasting artifact of this administration won't be new peace in Ireland, but a stained dress.
