Reply #24: I am so grateful to Bill Clinton for everything he did for this country [View All]

His presidency is the only reason we were able to survive the Bush years IMO.

To say that Clinton didn't prioritize health care is astounding to me. He did not care more about welfare reform, it was barely debated in 94. Health Care was his top priority and he fought like a dog for it. There weren't 60 votes in the Senate for an employer mandate. And that was the center piece of his plan. Without it there couldn't be universal coverage. There were also 40 Republicans signed on to the Dole plan--meaning they weren't looking to work for reform. And Shelby of Alabama, still a Democrat at the time, was never going to vote for anything. And let's not forget Harry and Louise and all their damage.

I don't understand how you can think Clinton could have gotten the ban of gays lifted. It came up early because the GOP made an immediate stink. They were going to attach an amendment to Family and Medical leave to require the ban stay--and they had the votes. I might add....that was why Hillary's lobbying congress on FML was relevant, a fact conveniently forgotten during the primaries when HRC was denounced as a liar. She worked to persuade lawmakers to keep the two issues separate. (And it was reported in the media at the time). But the Congress was never going to just butt out, the military was never going to support it and the public wasn't behind the president on this issue. He did his best at the time, attitudes being what they were. And Bill Clinton showed respect and inclusion to gay Americans that no previous president had ever approached. In doing so he laid the groundwork for the shift in attitudes that ultimately followed.

I seriously doubt that Barack Obama--or someone like Mario Cuomo or Russ Feingold, for that matter--would have gotten better results then Bill Clinton got in 93 and 94. He had to fight like hell just to get the budget through. And in doing so--as far as I'm concerned--he saved our country.

Steve