Bill Clinton

"Filegate" judge: There's no there there -- and never was

Joe Conason — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:11:00 PST

"Filegate" is a term that always deserved scare quotes, because the putative scandal concerning the misuse of FBI files in the Clinton White House was so clearly, from its very beginning in 1996, no scandal at all. But the obvious absence of any credible evidence that Bill or Hillary Clinton or any of their employees or associates had ordered up such files, or committed any abuse of them, did nothing to dissuade mainstream media, right-wing outlets, or Republican politicians from hysterically promoting the pseudo-scandal.

Newsmax: Americans strongly prefer Obama -- to Bush

Joe Conason — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:09:00 PST

Online polls taken by partisan Web sites tend to be discounted -- and some observers would question a Zogby online poll in particular -- but when the results cut against the ideology of the sponsor, they may still be worth noting. Today's morning lead on the ultra-conservative Newsmax site touts a Zogby online survey on presidents past and present, with findings that bolster the White House’s current occupant, who is usually the target of extremely harsh criticism from Newsmax and its columnists (one of whom seemingly advocated a military coup last year).

Bill Clinton back home after heart procedure

JIM FITZGERALD, Associated Press — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 06:50:00 PST

Former President Bill Clinton was recovering at his suburban home Friday after leaving a Manhattan hospital where he underwent a heart procedure.

Why Bill Clinton won't slow down

Joe Conason — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 17:12:00 PST

Often since his first heart surgery in 2004, Bill Clinton has alluded to an increased awareness of his own life’s limitations; it is a sense that must have enveloped him again on Thursday, when chest pains sent him into the operating room at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan for a new pair of stents in his chest. But the paradox of Clinton is that these experiences -- no matter how unpleasant and ominous -- ultimately spur him on rather than slow him down.

Ah, the joys of anonymous sourcing

Alex Koppelman — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 14:30:00 PST

Any time there's a breaking news event, you can count on the cable news networks to be as breathless, speculative and just plain dumb as possible. For instance, these inadvertently hilarious sentences were just now spoken by CNN's Gloria Borger as she was reporting on former President Bill Clinton's having had two stents implanted in one of his coronary arteries:

Bill Clinton hospitalized

Alex Koppelman — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 13:48:00 PST

Former President bill Clinton was "rushed" to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan Thursday afternoon, ABC News is reporting. ABC's George Stephanopoulos says Clinton was taken to the hospital "likely for a stent procedure" related to his heart.

Clinton: Take back the Tea Party!

Joe Conason — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 15:16:00 PST

When Bill Clinton flew up to Massachusetts on Friday afternoon to campaign with Martha Coakley, he brought a special message for Bay State Democrats facing the enraged right-wing activists mobilized around her opponent Scott Brown.

Obama, Bush, Clinton to talk Haiti

Alex Koppelman — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 10:30:00 PST

For the third time in as many days, on Friday President Obama spoke about Haiti, the situation there since the earthquake that devastated the country, and what the U.S. is doing to help. Among other things, he announced that he'll be meeting at the White House with former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush on Saturday to discuss relief efforts.

Bill Clinton, George W. Bush join for Haiti

Alex Koppelman — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 18:15:00 PST

Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush aren't exactly kindred spirits. But they'll be working together for at least a little while now, as President Obama has asked them to lead fundraising efforts in the wake of the earthquake that hit Haiti earlier this week. Below, a joint statement the two put out Thursday:

Bill Clinton pushing hard for Haiti relief

Joe Conason — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 09:10:00 PST

Officially, Bill Clinton is the U.N. special envoy to Haiti, appointed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last summer, and in that post he is already deeply involved in the international relief and reconstruction effort for that devastated country. Unofficially, Clinton is the global “master of disaster," a position he has occupied ever since the Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, when he joined with former President George H.W. Bush to raise and direct the expenditure of billions of dollars. So if he is suddenly appearing everywhere again in the wake of the earthquake, that should come as no surprise.

The Clinton boom was real -- then Bush happened

Will Marshall — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 10:15:00 PST

Most progressives were happy to say goodbye to the “aughts,” as dismal a decade as America has endured since the snake-bitten 1970s. But they may be surprised to learn that the U.S. economy’s poor performance on George W. Bush’s watch was actually Bill Clinton’s fault.

Foreign govt's among Clinton funders

SHARON THEIMER, Associated Press — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 20:31:00 PST

Foreign countries including Norway and Oman contributed to former President Bill Clinton's charity, and donors including Donald Trump, multinational soft drink company Coca-Cola and singer Elton John's foundation also pitched in as Hillary Rodham Clinton served her first year as secretary of state.

Let's make 2010 the year of no sex scandals

Gene Lyons — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 09:32:00 PST

Now that the annual holiday drinking…um, party season is almost over and many are vowing never to do anything like that again—certainly not in a supply closet, anyway—here’s my idea for a national New Year’s resolution: How about we declare a moratorium on celebrity sex scandals?

Big Dog backs reform bill

Thomas Schaller — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 14:14:00 PST

No surprise here. Former President Bill Clinton has weighed in on the healthcare reform legislation, and he's in the take-what-you-can-get camp:

Conservatives prefer Bill to Barack

Thomas Schaller — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 09:15:00 PST

A new poll from Public Policy Polling has some mostly unsurprising findings about how Americans rate the past five U.S. presidents, including incumbent Barack Obama. Ronald Reagan, whose name is legally required to be revoked every four minutes during Republican presidential primary debates, leads the pack, with 41 percent citing him as their most favorite of the five, ahead of Bill Clinton (27 percent) and Barack Obama (22 percent). The Bushes finished fourth and fifth, with W trailing his father.

Bill Clinton tells Senate Dems to get to work

Mike Madden — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:11:00 PST

Bill Clinton had a pretty simple message for Senate Democrats on Tuesday: don't screw this healthcare stuff up.

Clinton to rally Democratic senators on healthcare

Alex Koppelman — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 07:40:00 PST

When you're in a tough spot -- like when, say, you need to herd the group of cats that is the Senate Democratic caucus -- the thing to do is call out the big guns. Or, in some cases, you call out the Big Dog: Former President Clinton.

"Obama is average"

Klaus Brinkbäumer and Gregor-Peter Schmitz — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:24:00 PDT

Mr. Krauthammer, did the Nobel Commitee in Oslo honor or doom the Obama presidency by awarding him the Peace Prize?

Time for the media to fess up

Joe Conason — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 00:09:00 PDT

"Better late than never" isn't always true, but public candor from people and institutions that have misled us for many years can be refreshing -- and sometimes even liberating.

The vast right-wing conspiracy is back

Joe Conason — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:07:00 PDT

Wearily familiar as he is with the "vast right-wing conspiracy," Bill Clinton says the network that sought to destroy him and his wife, Hillary, remains malignant as ever, yet lacks the might of a decade ago. "It's not as strong as it was, because America's changed," he told David Gregory on "Meet the Press." "But it's as virulent as it was."