Survey Results: As time passes, how do you think history will rate Bill Clinton as president?

No matter what you think of Bill Clinton, he will leave a legacy... most (if not all) presidents do. But love him or hate him, Clinton will leave a legacy which will outlast many of his counterparts.

It is clear that under Clinton's watchful eye the economy flourished. Some of this can be attributed to his prowess in foreign policy, most notably the ratification of NAFTA and GATT, which both helped to bolster our trade and in turn our economy.

Yes, a personal scandal did hurt Clinton's true ability to be judged unbiasedly. And unfortunately many will never put that mistake aside. These are the same people that voted him "One of the worst" Presidents in history, which is absolutely ridiculous. A surprising 19% of my readers put Clinton in this category. This is clearly a case of disregarding the facts and simply voting on his sometimes questionable morals. I digress.

Back to the facts... Clinton's foreign policy, though not great, was considered a positive. Along with the aforementioned NAFTA and GATT accomplishments, Clinton also helped to denuclearize several Soviet Republics, like the Ukraine. Though he can't be given all the credit, as many of his predecessors set the table for this to occur.

How about the Chemical Weapons Convention. Signed in 1993 under Clinton's administration, it was basically an extension of the Geneva Convention urging countries not to stockpile chemical weapons. The pact put into effect many verification measures including on-site inspections and compliance guidelines. That's not too bad... but again, not really Clinton's idea, but good for him for signing it. But since 184 of the 195 recognized states or countries signed it (though not all will remain compliant) we can't really give much of hoorah a to Mr. Bill.

1996 brought about a United States led effort to save the Mexican peso and subside any chance for a full fledged Mexican depression. NAFTA would help in the long run, but Mexico needed help now. Clinton's compassion for our southern neighbor staved off what would have been a huge calamity in Mexico, which could have led to an influx of Mexican's flocking to the US for jobs... heck that happens now, but imagine what it could have been.

Through deterrence, diplomacy and some Clinton charm, he reduced the threat of North Korea going postal, by negotiating the Framework Agreement to freeze and dismantle North Korea’s nuclear weapons fuel production and long range missile testing. (Little good it did, consider where North Korea is now).

This also helped to open a dialogue with South Korea, where Clinton played the "good neighbor" by trying to get two quarrelling neighbors to kiss and make up... a la Jimmy Carter. In doing this, Clinton helped to coordinate the Four Party Talks, which included both Koreas, the US and Japan.

Clinton also negotiated the exit of Russian troops from the Baltics, brought NATO missions into the Balkans and helped Russia to end to the Kosovo war. He then invited Russia to join the G-8, ATEC and into talks with NATO. He convinced Russia to dismantle thousands nuclear warheads, lessening the threat of nuclear danger, and finally helped to build Russia's economy by offering more than 250,000 Russian entrepreneurs training, consulting services and US backed loans to welcome them into the world of Free enterprise/market economy... It's about time, right?

He strengthened our relationship with China, helping to bring them into the World Trade Organization (which most likely helped to plant the seed of what China's economy is today... which is rather large and getting larger...)

With Bono's help (yep.. that Bono from U2) he helped broker the Good Friday Peace Accord, which ended decades of bloodshed, and finally allowed the people of Northern Ireland to live in relative peace and decide their own destiny.

He's done similar revitalizations with countries in Africa and Vietnam... and all of it was in the best interest of our country... a lot of win/win situations.

I could go on and on... and this is just foreign policy... this is not our Economy... I'll save that for another entry...

So here are the results of the poll... (with 52 votes)

As time passes, how do you think history will rate Bill Clinton as president?

Better than most - 36% (19 votes)

Not as good as most - 26% (14 votes)

One of the worst - 19% (10 votes)

One of the Best - 13% (7 votes)

Worse than Most - 3% (2 votes)

Would anyone care to vote again? Can he really be considered one of the worst?

I'd like to hear your thoughts on Clinton's legacy... and how he can be considered one of the worst.

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St. Patrick's Day - An American Tradition

March 17 marks the feast day of Ireland's patron saint, Patrick. St. Patrick (386-461), a cleric in the Catholic sense, is credited with banishing Ireland of snakes, even though Ireland never had snakes. Because of this, St. Patrick's day is an official holiday in Ireland, but it is celebrated informally worldwide by people of every ethnic background.

The first recorded celebration of St. Patrick's Day in the American Colonies was in Boston in 1737. These early celebrations were by men of wealth and means living in the colonies.

In the wake of American independence, many Irish Catholics from all walks of life were continuously lured to the United States with the promise of religious freedom. It was this movement that prompted St. Patrick's day to take on a more common man personae.

In 1827 restrictions on Irish emigration was lifted by Britain, and by 1835, more than 30,000 Irish immigrants were arriving in New York each year. These impoverished, uneducated immigrants established themselves quickly with their undying loyalty to their new country. The Irish came in droves and promptly joined the police and fire departments and railroad companies. To this day, many police officers, firemen, and railroad workers carry on the tradition of their forefathers by doing what their daddy did. Just look through the roster of any New York or Philadelphia police department or fire company and you'll see a plethora of Irish names.

As the number of Irish-Americans grew, so did the celebration of St. Patrick's day. Along wit hthis came the political power of the Irish communities in Boston, New York and Chicago. It was these political groups that helped get John Fitzgerald Kennedy, our nation's first and only Catholic President into office. This also explains the Boston Celtics and the Chicago River being dyed green during Chicago's St. Patrick's day celebration.

Many of the Irish in America used the March 17th celebrations as a platform for their American right of free speech. The 1970s brought a tone of political activism on St. Patrick's day with fundraising for Irish charities calling for the withdrawal of British occupancy in Northern Ireland. This brought the awareness of The Troubles in Northern Ireland to the United States.

For those that are unfamiliar with this conflict, Northern Ireland has been the site of a violent and bloody political conflict between Nationalist who want Northern Ireland to be part of the Irish Republic and the Unionists who wish to remain part of the United Kingdom.

This activism is what prompted President Bill Clinton to invite those involved in the Irish conflict to Washington to negotiate peace, on St. Patrick's Day 1998. These talks resulted in the Good Friday Accord of April 10, 1998, which called for Protestants (Unionists) to share political power with the Catholics (Nationalists), and gave the Republic of Ireland a say in the affairs Northern Ireland.

And what would an Irish peace treaty be without Bono, pictured between David Trimble (left) and John Hume, respective leaders of Unionists and the Nationalists in a 1998 concer supporting the Good Friday agreement.

Clinton's action, is similar to the action's of Jimmy Carter at the Camp David Accords, where Muhammad Anwar al-Sadatand of Egypt and Menachin Begin of Israel were invited to Jimmy Carter's Camp David retreat to iron out their differences. The two countries did eventually find peace... here is the framework of that agreement.

PS - And here's a neat article on Green Beer, i.e. environmentally friendly breweries. Off the subject slightly, but worthy of a look-see.

Here's 1,001 Things Everyone Should Know About Irish American History and A History of the Irish in America.

And finally, here's a candid picture of Ronald Reagan celebrating St. Patrick's Day. For more pics of Ronald Reagan, go to http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/photographs/candid.html

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