Original_To:  WORD
Original_cc:  185422285
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.words-l
Date:         Tue, 15 Sep 1992 09:31:00 EST
From:         "Alec D. Plotkin" <185422285%VUVAXCOM.BITNET@uga.cc.uga.edu>
Subject:      Bill's Life

 BORN: August 19, 1946, Hope AR
 MARTIAL STATUS: married (Hillary in 1975)    RELIGION: Baptist
 EDUCATION:
    Georgetown Univ, BS, FS 1968
    Rhodes Scholar, Oxford Univ., 1968-70
    Yale Univ., JD 1973

 POLITICAL & GOV'T POSITIONS:
    1972 George McGovern campaign worker
    1974 Democratic Nominee for US House of Reps.
    1975 Chairman Housing Development Corp.
    1976-78 Arkansas Attorney General
    1978-80 Governor of Arkansas, lost in 1980
    1982-PR Governor of Arkansas, term expires Jan. 1995

    ELECTION RESULTS (GOVERNOR)
    1990 General    Bill Clinton (D)       57%
                    Nelson Sheffield (R)   42%
         Primary    Bill Clinton (D)       55%
                    Tom McRae (D)          39%
    1986 General    Bill Clinton (D)       64%
                    Frank White (R)        36%
         Primary    Bill Clinton (D)       61%
                    Orval E. Faubus (D)    33%
    1984 General    Bill Clinton (D)       63%
                    Woody Freeman (R)      37%
         Primary    Bill Clinton (D)       64%
                    Connie Tucker (D)      24%
    1982 General    Bill Clinton (D)       55%
                    Frank D. White (R)     45%
         Runoff     Bill Clinton (D)       42%
                    Joe Purcell (D)        29%
    1980 General    Frank D. White (R)     52%
                    Bill Clinton (D)       48%
    1978 General    Bill Clinton (D)       63%
                    A. Lynn Lowe           37%
         Primary    Bill Clinton           60%
                    Joe Woodward           22%

 NOTE: It appears from 1978-86, term for Gov was 2 years.  From
 1986,the term was 4 years.

 BUSINESS & PROFESSIONAL POSITIONS:
    1973-76 Professor of Law, Univ. of Ark. at Fayetteville
    1973-76 Attorney, private practice
    1981-82 Attorney, Wright, Lindsay & Jennings, Little Rock

 HONORS & AWARDS:
    1988 Distinguished Service Award, Council of Chief State Officers

 MEMBERSHIPS:
    National Governor's Association (Chairman 1987)
    Education Committee of States (Chairman 1987)
    National Association of Attorney Generals

 SUMMARY FROM THE 1992 ALMANAC OF AMERICAN POLITICS:  As a politician,
 Bill Clinton has a lot going for him: brains, charm, sure political
 instincts, a genuine interest in real-world problems.  However, he
 has had problems governing Arkansas.  Education was Clinton's major
 focus and the one issue where he spent the majority of his time.
 From the beginning, he knew that to ensure Arkansas of a higher wage
 economy, it must have a higher-skill work force.  Implementing this
 vision has not been easy for him.

 In 1983, he pushed through a reform package in the state legislature
 that including competency tests for new and working teachers, a
 teachers pay raise and a sales tax increase to pay for it.  Teachers'
 groups vigorously opposed the tests, and the sales tax hike did not
 generate enough money for his programs.  In 1987 and 1988, the
 legislature turned down his tax package twice.  In 1989, it passed
 his entire education package, except for the taxes, which meant that
 teachers got raises of $1000 rather than $4000.  The package included
 the following changes: choice provisions allowing parents to choose
 their children's schools, even across district lines, provided there
 is not a segregationist effect; mandatory kindergarten and mandatory
 curriculums for high schools; annual report cards for college faculty
 and schools; fines for parents of chronic truants; revocation of
 driver's licenses of school dropouts; reenactment of consolidation
 incentives for Arkansas's 300-plus school districts; banning beepers
 in schools and strict penalizes for drug sales near schools.

 In January 1991, the legislature passed a half-cent sales tax
 increase, which Clinton signed into law.  These taxes were designed
 to raise teacher salaries by $4000 over the next two years, in
 addition to funding other educational programs.

    By the early 1990's, these reforms had not had their intended
 impact on education.  Clinton's political opponents blamed him for
 low teacher pay, low test scores, neglecting the environment and
 raising taxes too much.  During the 1990 campaign, his Republican
 opponent Nelson Sheffield, campaigned that ten years of Clinton was
 enough.  In order to disarm voters' suspicions that he was too
 interested in national politics, Clinton promised not to run for
 President in 1992.  In refuting opponents arguments that he is stale,
 he pointed to his latest ideas: new highways, apprenticeship programs
 and boot camps for nonviolent offenders.  Clinton has shown that he
 is energetic and innovative, but can his programs help Arkansas
 overcome its natural disadvantages and compete in across the country
 and globe.

    During all this turmoil, Clinton has remained a nationally
 significant politician.  He considered running for President in 1988,
 but declined  saying it would be unfair to his 7-year old daughter.
 He co-chaired the National Governors' Conference task force on
 setting specific educational goals in connection of President Bush's
 1989 Education Summit.  In 1990, he became head of the
 moderate-leaning Democratic Leadership Conference.
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