Students, faculty debate Clinton legacy

By Sarah Szczepanski
Assistant Features Editor

Even though President Bill Clinton presided over the country during eight years of economic prosperity and had a high approval rating upon leaving office, there is still disagreement on how history will view him.

Clinton, who is the second president to go through the impeachment process, has a track record that is a large source of debate.

Some say the 42nd president’s legislative accomplishments are enough to carry him though history favorably, while others say that the scandals in the administration will not fade over the years.

Three years ago today marks the date when President Clinton denied sexual relations with Monica Lewinski.

This started a flurry of controversy over the privacy of public figures, the crime of perjury and the use of impeachment proceedings, which continues today with the Clinton legacy debate.

"After a period of time, history will forget about the sex scandals, but it will remember that the presidency had lots of scandals," said Alex Housten, the vice-chairman of College Republicans and a junior in the School of Industrial Engineering.

"The 140 pardons at the end of his presidency are the perfect example of how corrupt the administration was," Housten said.

Tim Carey, the President of College Democrats, said the focus should be on the good things that Clinton accomplished while in office.

"He made sure there was a place for everyone in America," said Carey, a sophomore in the School of Management.

Among the accomplishments Clinton takes credit for are low unemployment and crime rates, a balanced budget and a first-ever surplus.

But Housten said a large amount of Clinton’s political effort was spent defending himself.

"There was an incredible amount of energy wasted when it could have been used for legislation," he said. "He kept the ship on course, but he didn’t do anything to improve the path. He squandered eight years."

Carey said there was a time that Clinton couldn’t get things accomplished because of the impeachment proceedings.

"It was mostly a Republican effort to discredit the President," he said. "It kept him from getting anything done in the next one to two years."

An assistant professor of political science, Roger Larocca said Clinton is interesting because he brought the Democrats back to the White House after years of Republican dominance.

"But he lost the House and Congress, so he was a contradiction," said Larocca.

The impeachment process was only one factor that weakened Clinton’s presidency, according to Larocca.

He said another low point for Clinton was after the Democrats lost the House of Representatives in the 1994 election. "You didn’t see him active — he was almost invisible," said Larocca.

In 1995, when Congress was deciding what to work on next, Clinton had to assert that his position was still substantial.

Larocca said this showed how weak the presidential office was then. "He had to argue for the relevancy of it," said Larocca.

Andrew Johnson was the only other United States president that went through the impeachment proceedings. Although Johnson was not removed from office, some thought his presidency never recovered.

"It was completely irrelevant afterwards," said Larocca. "The presidency suffered a decline up until Teddy Roosevelt."

But Larocca said Clinton’s impeachment should not have a direct harmful effect on the next president.

"Clinton's impeachment caused the public to be more lenient in what sort of behavior it expected from the president," said Larocca. "They have been exposed."

Because people are more immune to the shock of the impeachment, it's not as much of a shock to know other things about other candidates, Larocca said.

Whether the public will be lenient towards Clinton’s legacy remains to be seen. Most agree, it’s too early to tell exactly what history will write.

"It currently depends on partisan political views; whether the people will overlook it, or whether it fades," said William McLauchlan, a professor of political science. "But it’s still too early to tell."

Students, faculty debate Clinton legacy

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