In "Clinton" (May 8th and May 15th), the latest installment in the critically acclaimed and successful series of presidential biographies, AMERICAN EXPERIENCE explores the fascinating story of an American president who rose from a broken childhood in Arkansas to become one of the most successful politicians in modern American history and one of the most complex and conflicted characters to ever stride across the public stage.
It recounts a career full of accomplishment and rife with scandal, a marriage that would make history and create controversy and a presidency that would define the crucial and transformative period between the fall of the Berlin Wall and 9/11.
It follows Clinton across his two terms as he confronted some of the key forces that would shape the future, including partisan political warfare and domestic and international terrorism, and struggled, with uneven success, to define the role of American power in a post-Cold War world. Most memorably, it explores how Clinton’s conflicted character made history, even as it enraged his enemies and confounded his friends.
The program features unprecedented access to scores of Clinton insiders including White House Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers, White House Counsel Bernard Nussbaum, White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta and Deputy Chief of Staff Harold Ickes, as well as interviews with foreign leaders, members of the Republican opposition, childhood friends, staffers from Clinton’s years as governor of Arkansas, biographers and journalists.
Above: The first chapter of "Clinton," a biography of a president who rose from a broken childhood in Arkansas to become one of the most successful politicians in modern American history, and one of the most complex and conflicted characters to ever stride across the public stage.
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American Experience: Clinton: The Lewinsky Scandal
Above: Clinton understood how the allegations of a sexual relationship with a White House intern could derail his presidency. He asked Dick Morris if he should lie to the American people. "They will forgive the adultery, but they won’t easily forgive that you lied." Morris concludes.
Above: First Lady Hillary Clinton was blamed for the poor showing during the 1994 midterm elections. "Voters thought that it was a zero sum game, that for Hillary to be strong Bill would have to be weak, and as a result the perception of Hillary’s strength became a perception of Bill’s weakness," says Political Consultant Dick Morris.
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American Experience: Clinton: The Oklahoma City Bombing
Above: After the Oklahoma City Bombing, Clinton's ability to reach Americans on a personal level did much to help the nation's grief. "It’s kind of a throwaway line now, I feel your pain, but he literally could," says Robert McNeely. "I mean he could take people and just hug them and connect to them in a way and really listen to them."
Above: When Bosnian Serb soldiers murdered thousands in July 1995, Clinton initiated a massive NATO military response. "He didn't blink," National Security Coordinator Richard Clarke said. "We knew that day that we had a commander-in-chief who was rational and comfortable with the use of force."
vradomir | February 22, 2012 at 10:41 a.m. ― 3 months ago
I saw most of the documentary and was surprised that savage UN-unauthorized bombing of Serbia (1999) was not mentioned at all. That was THE ultimate media distraction from Lewinsky scandal and civilians in Serbia paid for it with couple of thousand lives (not to mention destroyed hospitals, power plants, bridges, roads, homes and corporate buildings - estimated ~30 billion USD).
If US wants to re-think foreign policy and avoid current resentment of the entire world that started with Bill Clinton and his reckless behavior in Oval Room and on international stage, these kind of mishaps simply cannot happen. George Bush is not the only one with poor foreign policy and unnecessary military interventions - Bill Clinton started it years before and for reasons that have nothing to do with US interests (but only with media distraction).
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vradomir | February 22, 2012 at 10:41 a.m. ― 3 months ago
I saw most of the documentary and was surprised that savage UN-unauthorized bombing of Serbia (1999) was not mentioned at all. That was THE ultimate media distraction from Lewinsky scandal and civilians in Serbia paid for it with couple of thousand lives (not to mention destroyed hospitals, power plants, bridges, roads, homes and corporate buildings - estimated ~30 billion USD). If US wants to re-think foreign policy and avoid current resentment of the entire world that started with Bill Clinton and his reckless behavior in Oval Room and on international stage, these kind of mishaps simply cannot happen. George Bush is not the only one with poor foreign policy and unnecessary military interventions - Bill Clinton started it years before and for reasons that have nothing to do with US interests (but only with media distraction).
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