Portal:Arkansas/Selected biography
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Portal:Arkansas/Selected biography/1
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III on August 19, 1946) was the forty-second President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. He was the third-youngest president, older only than Theodore Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy. He became president at the end of the Cold War, and is known as the first baby boomer president, as he was born in the period after World War II. He is the husband of the junior United States Senator from the state of New York and a Democratic candidate in the 2008 US presidential election, Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Clinton was described as a New Democrat and was largely known for the Third Way philosophy of governance that came to epitomize his two terms as president. His policies, on issues such as the North American Free Trade Agreement, have been described as "centrist." Clinton presided over the longest period of peace-time economic expansion in American history, which included a balanced budget and a reported federal surplus. Clinton reported a surplus of $559 billion at the end of his presidency, based on Congressional accounting rules. His presidency was also quickly challenged. On the heels of a failed attempt at health care reform with a Democratic Congress, Republicans won control of the House of Representatives for the first time in 40 years. In his second term he was impeached by the U.S. House for perjury and obstruction of justice, but was subsequently acquitted by the United States Senate and completed his term.
Clinton left office with a 65% approval rating, the highest end-of-presidency rating of any President who came into office after World War II. However, public reaction to the Lewinsky scandal left a mixed impression about his personal character. Since leaving office, Clinton has been involved in public speaking and humanitarian work. He created the William J. Clinton Foundation to promote and address international causes, such as treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS and global warming. In 2004, he released a personal autobiography, My Life. (more...)
Portal:Arkansas/Selected biography/2
Michael Dale "Mike" Huckabee (born August 24, 1955) is an American politician and a member of the Republican Party. He was the governor of the U.S. state of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007 and was a candidate in the 2008 United States presidential election; he announced his candidacy on January 28, 2007. Following losses to John McCain in the Texas, Ohio, Vermont, and Rhode Island primaries, he ended his presidential campaign the evening of March 4, 2008.
Huckabee is the author of several books, an ordained Southern Baptist minister, a public speaker, and a musician; he plays bass guitar in his rock band, Capitol Offense. He is well known for having lost 110 pounds (50 kg) in a very short time and for advocating a healthy lifestyle. He and his wife, Janet, have been married 33 years and have three grown children: John Mark, David, and Sarah. (more...)
