Clinton Initiative

Wealth Is Not Issue, Hillary Clinton! Commitment To Those Less Fortunate Is The Issue, So Stop Protesting Your Wealth!

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Hillary Clinton is causing all kinds of grief and problems for herself by stating that she is not “truly rich”!

Sorry, Hillary, you and your husband have over $100 million in wealth, gained mostly through books and lectures, and just being famous, where people are willing to pay you and your husband large amounts for your thoughts and insights!

This is nothing to be ashamed of!

What would be something to be ashamed of is a wealthy person who did not earn their wealth through hard work, but simply lived off their parents or other relatives, and never knew what hard work was, and there are plenty of such people among the top one percent!

What is also to be ashamed of is a wealthy person who does not give a damn about others, about the middle class and the poor, who does nothing to try to make the lives of other Americans better.

Such is the case with most Republicans and conservatives, who flaunt their wealth, and do not care one iota about the future of the nation, only about their own selfish welfare!

The Clintons are not such people, as they have worked to help the advancement of those who are not as fortunate as them, both in America and the world, through the Clinton Foundation and Clinton Initiative.

Other such people in the past included Franklin D. Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, Ted Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, and numerous other Democrats and some Republicans who devoted their public lives to making life better for the American people in a myriad of ways. These are people with progressive and liberal values as part of their basic commitment.

So having wealth is not the issue, but whether one, by his or her words and actions, is committed to public service in a way which advances the lives of those less fortunate!

Presidential Retirement Years And Constructive Post Presidencies

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All of our Presidents, except for eight who died in office, have had periods of retirement after their years in the Presidency.

Some have had very short periods of retirement, periods of less than ten years, including George Washington, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, James K, Polk, Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant, Chester Alan Arthur, Benjamin Harrison, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Calvin Coolidge, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Lyndon B. Johnson.

So fully half of our Presidents either died in office or had periods of retirement less than ten years.

On the other hand, the following Presidents had particularly long periods of retirement of fifteen or more years: John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, John Quincy Adams, Martin Van Buren, John Tyler, Millard Fillmore, Grover Cleveland, William Howard Taft, Herbert Hoover, Harry Truman, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and George H. W. Bush.

The following Presidents had between ten and fifteen years of retirement: Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, Rutherford B. Hayes, and Ronald Reagan.

Bill Clinton has had 13 years out of office, and George W. Bush has had five years out of office at this time.

With the retirement periods of all of these Presidents listed above, the question that arises is which Presidents made major contributions in their post Presidency years.

That list is a short one:

John Quincy Adams
Martin Van Buren
Theodore Roosevelt
William Howard Taft
Herbert Hoover
Richard Nixon
Jimmy Carter
Bill Clinton

Adams served nearly eighteen years in Congress.

Van Buren ran for President on the Free Soil Party line in 1848.

Roosevelt ran for President on the Progressive Party line in 1912, and went on an African safari, and explored the Amazon River basin in Brazil.

Taft served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court for nine years.

Hoover wrote books and served as an adviser to President Truman on reorganization of the executive branch of government.

Nixon wrote about ten books and remained an adviser on diplomacy in his nearly twenty years in retirement.

Carter has written nearly twenty books, and engaged in diplomacy, promotion of democracy, fought diseases, and built housing through the Carter Center and Habitat for Humanity.

Clinton has done similar good deeds through his Clinton Initiative, and also worked on relief for the Haitian earthquake and the Pacific Tsunami with George H. W. Bush.

The contributions of these former Presidents have had a major impact on America, and are worthy of remembrance!

Rand Paul And Bill Clinton: A Losing Strategy!

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Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul Has decided that he is willing to bring up the controversies surrounding Bill Clinton’s indiscretions a generation ago as his tactic to win the Presidency of the United States in 2016.

This is a strategy that will fail, as it does not dignify Rand Paul to talk about an issue that is dead and gone a long time ago.

Let me make it clear, that this author deplored the behavior of Bill Clinton, and at the time, took the position that the President should resign over his misbehavior, but should NOT be impeached.

Be that as it may, Bill Clinton suffered total humiliation and exposure, was impeached, was found not guilty by the US Senate, finished his term, and has gone on to achieve a level of popularity for a former President unmatched by any in American history, even Theodore Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, or Ronald Reagan in their retirement years.

Bill Clinton has done a lot of good with his Clinton Initiative, following the work at good deeds only matched in retirement by former President Jimmy Carter, who has not been as fortunate to be as popular and respected and admired as Bill Clinton.

While his private behavior then, and by rumor even now, is reprehensible, Bill Clinton is no worse than millions of American men, and many Republican and Democratic Congressmen, Senators, and Governors. The difference is that he was a President, but then when one examines the sexual exploits of other Presidents, he is far from unique.

The point is that no matter how much one might condemn his behavior, he did not create any “victims”, as Monica Lewinsky was not a child, was not an innocent, knew precisely what she was doing, wanted to do what she did, and is responsible for her own behavior.

If anything, Rand Paul needs to answer for his voting record, for his statements against the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and if one is going to bring up the past, let him explain the wacky behavior and voting record and associations of his libertarian father, former Congressman Ron Paul, with racist and secessionist groups over his long career.

One might say that would be unfair, but would it be any more unfair than to try to harm Hillary Clinton by attacking her husband’s behavior, which has caused much grief for her, behavior which she personally is not responsible for, and for her to have to hear him being called a “sexual predator” by a man who cannot walk in her husband’s shoes in his level of intelligence, accomplishment, and historic role in American history?

15th Anniversary Of Bill Clinton Impeachment By The Republican House Of Representatives

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Fifteen years ago today, President Bill Clinton was impeached by the Republican House Of Representatives on flimsy grounds, and well knowing that there was no possibility of Clinton being removed from office in his impeachment trial in the US Senate.

The major issue was Clinton’s illicit sexual tryst with Monica Lewinsky, but as reprehensible as that was, it was not an impeachable act, a high crime or misdemeanor, and Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, Majority Leader Bob Livingston, and Judiciary Committee Chairman Henry Hyde were guilty of the same reprehensible behavior.

Clinton survived the impeachment trial, and has recovered very nicely in public opinion ever since, really the most popular former President in modern times while still alive and kicking.

His wife, Hillary Clinton, has had a distinguished career in the Senate and State Department, and is for now the frontrunner for the Presidency in 2016, even if one can see faults and issues in her record, which is par for the course for any Presidential candidate.

Bill Clinton has devoted his life to good deeds through the Clinton Initiative and Clinton Foundation, and like Jimmy Carter, has devoted his post Presidency to commitment to social justice.

Impeachment was a major mistake, and yet now the Republicans in the House are threatening to impeach President Barack Obama, although he has done nothing to deserve such action, and were he to be impeached, again he would not be removed, but it is all based on vindictiveness and hate.

The End Of The Hillary Clinton Presidential Campaign

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The boom for Hillary Clinton to be the next President of the United States has been derailed permanently by the news that her concussion, suffered a few weeks ago, led to a blood clot behind her right ear, between her skull and her brain.

This wonderful woman has worn herself out, setting an all time record for travel for a government official in any position, nearly a million miles in four years. It is hard to imagine any business man or woman having traveled as much, and certainly, not worldwide, as Hillary has done.

Hillary is now 65, and needs a long period of rest and recreation to recover from this dangerous medical condition, and for her to imagine herself running for President after this event would require her to be suicidal in nature!

Retiring from the State Department, Hillary Clinton can pursue a more relaxed life of being a famous public citizen, and she can write her memoirs of her recent years in public life since being First Lady; can deliver well paid speeches all over the nation, but at a relaxed pace; join her husband’s Clinton Initiative and do good for human rights around the world; and enjoy whatever number of grandchildren daughter Chelsea produces over the coming years!

For her to decide to go through the “living hell” of campaigning for two years or more; coming under constant attack by fellow Democrats and, more significantly, Republicans (who have a long history of attacking the Clintons in the most vicious manner, often forgotten as the years have gone by); then facing the torment of the fall campaign, with non stop campaigning and dissection by the news media; and then facing the stresses and burdens of the Presidency from age 69 to 73 or 77—this would be enough to shorten her life considerably, and increase the chances of her death in office, if not before!

Hillary Clinton is very ambitious, hard working, and dedicated! She is a wonderful public servant who has contributed a great deal as First Lady, US Senator, and Secretary of State.

Let her retire and rest, and sometime in 2014, the logical and sensible and sane event would be a public announcement that she is NOT running for President; that she had her chance, and that at her advancing age and health situation, that she will continue to be a public figure, but no longer be part of the political battles!

Hillary Clinton deserves our respect and support as she makes other contributions, under much less scrutiny and publicity and stress, and lives the good life with her husband, daughter, son in law, and any grandchildren, able to share the rest of her life with her! The American people have gained enough from her to allow her to leave the political debates and controversies, but with the certainty that she will go down as one of the very best Secretaries of State, one of the top few First Ladies, a significant United States Senator, and a great promoter of human rights!

Commitment To Others (Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama) Vs. Commitment To One’s Own Wealth Acquisition (Mitt Romney)!

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Two former Democratic Presidents—Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton—have devoted their post Presidential lives to a commitment to help others, through the Carter Center and the Clinton Initiative.

They have both stood out for their efforts to promote peace, fight hunger and disease, improve the lives of others, rather than set out to add to their own wealth acquisition.

At the same time, Barack Obama seems likely to follow the same pursuits, because, after all, he devoted his early adult life to being a community organizer in the toughest neighborhoods of Chicago, dealing with poverty, hunger, and family problems of many Chicago residents. He has been ridiculed by the right wing of the Republican Party for doing so, but then the right wing of the GOP has also shown a lack of respect and deference toward both Carter and Clinton with their retirement years commitment to doing good for others!

Meanwhile, Mitt Romney has devoted his entire adult life simply to the acquisition of wealth for the sake of wealth, not concerning himself with the closing down of businesses by Bain Capital, and the loss of jobs by many thousands of workers. He also likes to flaunt wealth, as with the car elevator at his one of many homes in California, and his refusal to release his tax returns, because it would reveal just how manipulative and deceitful he has been, a man who has no ethics or morals when it comes to the making of money!

Of course, it is said that Mitt Romney gives to “charity”, but that “charity” is almost completely to his Mormon Church, which requires a tithe of ten percent from its membership. So that is not all voluntary, and in any case, giving “charity” solely to one’s church is not true charity, in the sense that he has shown no interest, with his vast wealth, to support good causes, as has Carter and Clinton, both far less wealthy than Romney.

And it is predictable that if Romney loses the Presidency, he will devote his life to his church and to the constant acquisition of wealth, as this is the trend of his life, not devoting time and effort to good causes, as Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton have done, and assuredly, that Barack Obama will do in his post Presidency!

The Night Of Bill Clinton: The High Point Of His Post Presidency Tonight At The Democratic National Convention

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Former President Bill Clinton will be the center of attention this evening when he delivers the nominating speech for President Barack Obama.

Having gone through the hell of being President and having strong GOP opposition, and being impeached by the Republican House on flimsy grounds, Bill Clinton has survived heart surgery, promoted the Clinton Initiative, and become popular to the point that over 60 percent of the American people, in a public opinion poll, have a favorable view of him, and even the Republicans have rewritten history, and now tend to speak of him favorably, as part of their tactic to attack Barack Obama.

This is a first, for a former President, to give the nominating speech for one of his successors, but Bill Clinton is a master wordsmith, and his speech tonight will boost Obama greatly.

In a way, it is quite amazing that this is happening, as four years ago, there was bad blood between Obama and both Bill and Hillary Clinton, due to the struggle for the Democratic Presidential nomination, but Hillary ended up as an exceptional Secretary of State for President Obama, and the Clintons now have a good relationship with Obama.

What this might mean for Obama and any plans of Hillary Clinton to run for President as his successor is unknown, but certainly the Clintons will remain in the public eye, even after Hillary Clinton leaves the cabinet in 2013, for a well deserved rest, and to consider her future!

Bill Clinton Becomes 65: A Former President Who Continues To Have Impact!

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Former President Bill Clinton hits 65 years old today, and in many ways, although out of the White House now for eleven years, he still has a major impact on America!

Considering that he had open heart surgery in 2004 due to bad eating habits, Clinton has slimmed down and become a vegan, and he has been active with his Clinton Initiative and Clinton Foundation and the Clinton Presidential Library.

The former President has been engaged at times in diplomacy, along with fundraising for disasters such as the Haitian earthquake, and also been a spokesman on human rights.

Clinton has great respect internationally, and has become the most active former President along with former President Jimmy Carter. Both have given back to their nation and the world after the honor of serving in the White House!

While controversial for his past actions and statements, and still debated as to his effectiveness as President, today is a day to celebrate and say: Happy Birthday, Mr. President!

January 20: Historic Day Over And Over Again! :)

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Today is January 20, which has been Inauguration Day for the President of the United States every fourth year since 1937, due to the 20th Amendment which was added to the Constitution in 1933 in record time, after the horrors of waiting four months until March 4, 1933, to see the transition between defeated President Herbert Hoover to President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the worst days of the Great Depression.

So every President since then has been inaugurated on January 20, with the exception of Harry Truman in 1945 (upon the death of FDR), Lyndon Johnson in 1963 (upon the death of John F. Kennedy), and Gerald Ford ni 1974 (upon the resignation of Richard Nixon). But Truman and Johnson were later inaugurated for a full term on January 20, with only Gerald Ford never experiencing the pomp and circumstance of Presidential Inauguration Day, as a result of his defeat for a full term of office in the 1976 Presidential Election to Jimmy Carter.

Round numbers tend to carry more weight, somehow, so today it is 50 years since John F. Kennedy took the oath and 30 years since Ronald Reagan uttered the oath.

It is also 30 years since Jimmy Carter left the White House, and 10 years since Bill Clinton left the Oval Office.

Kennedy and Reagan have become the favorite Presidents of the poorly informed general public, based on public opinion polls every year to commemorate President’s Day every February.

But it is worth some consideration to think about the contributions of Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton AFTER they left the White House!

Carter has already had the second longest retirement of any President, and in mid September 2012, he will surpass Herbert Hoover as the longest retired President ever, and since he is seemingly in tip top shape physically and mentally at age 86, it seems likely he will beat the Hoover record.

Often called the best former President in American history, while far from the best President in office, Carter has stirred some outrage and animosity for some of his views and statements in the past thirty years, particularly regarding Israel and the Arabs.

But despite this, he has been engaged in many good deeds, including Habitat for Humanity and promotion of democracy and free and fair monitored elections all over the world through the Carter Center in Atlanta, and he has great acceptance as an outstanding man promoting peace and diplomacy and the fight against poverty and hunger in the world community.

His stature has risen, and he is the author of about ten books, the most prolific author ever, even surpassing Richard Nixon.

Meanwhile, Bill Clinton in ten years time has pursued a similar commitment to peace, diplomacy, and the fighting of hunger and poverty through the Clinton Initiative. He has a great international image and is seen, much like Carter, as a man of wisdom and principle. He has written his memoirs and has given advice to President Obama, and has stood by very proudly as his wife has become an exceptional Secretary of State after being a Senator from New York for eight years.

Both men have their definite faults and shortcomings, as all of us do, but both have gone the extra mile and done the office of the Presidency proud, setting a distinct image and imprint on the potential of a former President to have a major impact even beyond his years in the Oval Office!

So there is a lot to celebrate on January 20 this year!

The Amazing Revival Of Bill Clinton!

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Former President Bill Clinton has emerged as the most popular Democrat in the nation, with ratings in the 60s in public opinion polls, while President Barack Obama languishes in the low 40s! Of course, Bill Clinton is not in a position of power, while Obama is!

Considering how Clinton faced impeachment in 1998-1999 and was constantly pilloried by the Republican party, it is amazing how he remained highly popular in his last years as President!

Out of office, he became intimately involved in the Clinton Initiative, promoting health care, education, eradication of poverty, and involvement in world issues of all kinds, making him a world leader of high respect!

His popularity may have suffered during his wife’s pursuit of the Presidency in 2007-2008, but he has now become a trusted adviser to the Democratic Party and President Obama, promoting the party’s values and programs!

It is clear that if the Democrats avoid the major disaster many have predicted, it will be due a lot to Bill Clinton’s campaigning!

Bill Clinton has devoted his post Presidential years to great deeds, in that sense matching, if not surpassing, former President Jimmy Carter!

It has been said that if there were no 22nd Amendment, Bill Clinton would have run for a third term in 2000, and would have beaten George W. Bush!

It has also been speculated that were he able to run in the future, after years of retirement, he would be a tough candidate to beat for the White House!

But Bill Clinton, no longer able to wield power in office, has become a giant figure, much admired by a majority of Americans, and his contributions should be saluted for what they are: fantastic! 🙂