Bill Clinton: This is how the ex-president spends retirement
- By sennenqshop/li>
- 385
- 19/11/2022
He looks good. The slightly tanned face, although aged, is angular and contrasts attractively with the cropped icy gray hair, which he has pulled back tightly to add to the dynamic appeal. A man in his prime, that's what they used to say to someone like him.
Well, the best years thing is such a thing. From a purely biological point of view, Bill Clinton is long past that. There shouldn't be any new highlights in his career either, after all he was President of the United States of America from 1993 to 2001. More is not possible.
He's focused on the good things in life
On August 19, Bill Clinton will be 75 years old and he looks to be enjoying his retirement, which may well be Clinton's finest years especially since his once burning ambition is now limited to writing books, playing the saxophone and all the other pleasant things in life.
It used to be very different. William Jefferson "Bill" Blythe III - his biological father William Jefferson Blythe Jr. died in a car accident in 1946, his stepfather Roger Clinton gave him his surname Clinton years later - had the irresistible urge to be number one: at the age of 22 he had a bachelor's degree from the renowned Georgetown University in Washington as an economist. He was already working part-time as an assistant to Democratic Senator J. William.
A fascinating power couple
In 1968, Bill Clinton received a scholarship to the University of Oxford in England, and in 1973 he completed a three-year law degree at the elite Yale University. There he also met his future wife Hillary (73), who was also a brilliant lawyer whose ambition was to surpass that of her husband. Together they were (and still are) a fascinating power couple that America is not quite sure whether to admire or fear...
After teaching as an assistant professor of law at the University of Fayetteville, Arkansas, the "Boy Wonder," as the press dubbed the young Bill Clinton, became Arkansas Attorney General at 30 and the youngest governor in the country at 32 .
Although he lost re-election in 1980, he regained office in the elections two years later. Now Bill Clinton was also a great hope for the Democratic Party. And indeed, in 1992, the teenage governor of Arkansas won the presidential election. He was only 46 then.
Was he a great president?
Bill Clinton served two terms in the White House. Was he a great president? "After the bankruptcy of the Eastern bloc, the 42nd president's term in office was marked by an incomparable economic boom - the golden 90s," writes "Manager Magazin". "He even managed the feat of achieving budget surpluses - today that sounds like Cockaigne. Politically speaking, Clinton, the born rhetorician with seductive qualities, was simply a Sunday child."
And the "Deutschlandfunk" judges: "Peace, prosperity and scandals: That's how many Americans today see the era of Bill Clinton. When he left office, dirty jokes were made about him, but he still enjoyed the highest approval, the an outgoing American president has ever experienced."
Extramarital affairs
"Slick Willie" (slick Willie), that's what the journalists also called him. He is said to have had an extramarital relationship for many years as Attorney General of Arkansas. "Slick Willie" did not directly confirm this, but later only admitted in the presence of his wife Hillary that there had been "problems in the marriage" at the time.
This is one of Bill Clinton's specialties: admitting something - and denying it at the same time. Example: When accused of drug use during the presidential campaign, he admitted to smoking marijuana as a young man - but not inhaling it! - to have.
Even in the biggest scandal of his career, the Lewinsky affair, which led to (failed) impeachment proceedings, he stubbornly denied having had "a sexual relationship" as president with then intern Monica Lewinsky (48). He later admitted that he "only" had oral sex with Lewinsky in the White House.
In the course of this procedure, which should actually be called the Clinton scandal and not the Lewinsky scandal and which today would inevitably have ended with the resignation of the President, allegations from other women also became known. Stories that - despite all the political merits - are an inseparable part of the vita and reputation of Bill Clinton, who, in retirement, is the Elder Statesman with great persuasiveness. After two heart operations, he demonstrates the sovereign composure of a man who has achieved everything in life.
Second career as a speaker and writer
He fights for cheaper AIDS drugs with his Clinton Foundation and is committed to helping disabled people. And he is making a second career as a speaker and writer: For his memoirs "My Life" he received a double-digit million amount. He has just published the political thriller "The President's Daughter" with writer James Patterson (74). The author duo already had a bestseller success in 2018 with the novel "The President is missing".
Actually, only one plan in the Clinton budget went horribly wrong: Hillary Clinton's wife, previously a Senator from New York and US Secretary of State, wanted to become the first US President. She lost to a certain Donald Trump (75) in 2016. There was nothing with Bill Clinton's favorite title "First Dude" - first dude of the nation.
Instead, a quip about him from President George W. Bush (75), once a political opponent and now a friend, is still haunting Washington: "If Clinton were the 'Titanic', the iceberg would have sunk".
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