Bill Clinton: The Courageous Comeback Kid

In order for a nationally elected official to be considered courageous, they must possess certain qualities that improve the nation. Bill Clinton is a great example of one such official. According to Elsie Ziebro, “He was a very intelligent person. I thought he did a good job for the most part, regarding the politics and legal issues, but I didn’t like how he handled the social aspect of the Presidency.” He negotiated major peace talks, passed many laws that shaped the nation, and survived sexual harassment and investment fraud charges.

First of all, President Clinton negotiated extremely important peace talks between Israel and the PLO, Palestine Liberation Organization. Israel and Palestine had been at war for decades because of land disputes. “To form Israel, land had been taken from the Palestinians and other Arabs in the region. This created terrible problems. For years, a group called the Palestine Liberation Organization fought the Israelis, trying to take back land once owned by Arabs” (Gaines 29). Of course, both countries would not give in, and the dispute grew deeper. Violence resumed after his second term, but as a result of Bill Clinton facilitating imperative peace talks, an important first step was taken toward resolving peace. According to Benson, another Middle Eastern conflict that Clinton dealt with was countries that claimed independence from Yugoslavia in the early 1990s. “The president authorized aerial attacks to rescue United Nations peacekeeping troops stationed there. Then he sent a diplomatic mission into the area to arrange a cease-fire among the warring groups” (Benson 69). President Clinton was clearly proud of what he had accomplished, although this conflict was not completely resolved.

Next, Clinton passed many laws that aided the nation; the first of these is the Brady Bill. Anyone wishing to purchase a handgun must wait five days before the purchase is finalized. This was helpful because people who bought guns in a hurry were most apt to commit crimes with them (Benson 67). This shows that Clinton was courageous by trying to prevent many crimes. Another law that Clinton passed for the people was the Family and Medical Leave Act, which required employers to allow employees time off as a result of sickness or pregnancy in the family (Gaines 28). This endeavor alone must have been executed with a great amount of courage. Another courageous undertaking that Clinton took into consideration was the national financial system – the economy. “In his speeches, Clinton promised voters a “New Covenant” between government and the American people, offering more affordable health care, education reform, welfare reform, job training, middle-class tax relief, and government help in spurring the economy” (McCollum 48). Clinton followed through with his promises, and did indeed reform the welfare system, reduce taxes for the average person, and cut small business startup costs. In the midst of all these accomplishments, the national debt was reduced by sixty percent. “The Clinton administration had less success on its most ambitious proposal, the Health Security Act of 1993. At the time, more than 37 million Americans had no health insurance, making it difficult for them to get medical care” (McCollum 58). This shows that not all of Clinton’s plans were successful. However, the American people backed him in many of his attempts. If Bill Clinton did not improve the economy for the people, he would not have gotten reelected.