Playing the race card is an idiomatic phrase that refers to the act of bringing the issue of race or racism into a debate. It is mostly used by the person accused of being prejudicial by the other. For instance, "He/she played a race card on me," means that "He/she accused me of being a racist, but it wasn't about race." On the other hand, the person "playing the race card" perceived the debate legitimately or not as being partially caused and/or influenced by race.

Usage

In the less critical sense, the phrase is commonly used in two contexts. In the first, and more common context, it alleges that someone has deliberately and falsely accused another person of being a racist in order to gain some sort of advantage. An example of this use of the term occurred during the O. J. Simpson murder trial, when critics accused the defense of "playing the race card" in presenting Mark Fuhrman's racist past (e.g., his recorded use of the word "nigger" in addition to his being accused of tampering with murder evidence in prior cases, as well as his use of the Fifth Amendment to avoid potential self-incrimination upon questioning) as a reason to draw his credibility as a witness into question.

In the second context, it refers to someone exploiting prejudice against another race for political or some other advantage. The use of the southern strategy by a political candidate is said by some to be a version of playing the race card, such as when former Senator Jesse Helms, during his 1990 North Carolina Senate campaign ran an ad showing a black man taking a white man's job, intended as a criticism of the idea of racial quotas. The ad was interpreted by many people as trying to play to racist fears among white voters.

Stanford professor Richard Thompson Ford has argued that the race card can be played independent of the person making the claim, or the race in question. An example cited was the Hillary Clinton campaign claiming that Obama won the 2008 Democratic Primary in South Carolina due to the disproportionate number of black registered Democrats in the state, implying more racism in the general population.

Conservatives have often accused liberals of using the race card simply to win debates or discredit their opponents.

On the other hand, George Dei, Karumanchery, et alia, in their book Playing the Race Card argue that the term itself is a rhetorical device used in an effort to devalue and minimize claims of racism.

Malaysian politics

In February 2008, Group Chief Editor Wong Chun Wai of The Star wrote, just before the Malaysia general election came, there is an unusual degree of tolerance and flexibility in matters of race, language and religion as politicians try to woo the people. "Also, there are those who still continue to play the race card, in this age and time. At their party conferences each year, they play to the gallery by projecting themselves as the communal heroes. But during the general election, they shamelessly become the true Malaysian leaders we dream of. They greet their voters in Malay, English, Mandarin and Tamil; and if they can speak all these languages fluently, they would do so."

In August 2006, the Singapore Institute of International Affairs wrote that Malaysia politician Khairy Jamaluddin "played the race card" by stirring up the Malays and the Chinese Malaysian community. Responding to criticisms and demands for an apology, Khairy said his remarks were misunderstood and he "will not apologise" as he was acting only "in defence of the Malays and his party" and that "if we truly fight for our race, one should not apologise".

See also

Ad hominem

Wedge issue

Race baiting

Identity politics

Laissez-Faire Racism

References

External links

Political Rap Rock Group named Race Card

Category:American English idioms Category:Racism Category:Politics and race

Coordinates	23°17′56″N48°03′18″N
Name	Bill Clinton
Order	42nd
Office	President of the United States
Term start	January 20, 1993
Term end	January 20, 2001
Vicepresident	Al Gore
Predecessor	George H. W. Bush
Successor	George W. Bush
Order2	40th and 42nd
Office2	Governor of Arkansas
Term start2	January 9, 1979
Term end2	January 19, 1981
Lieutenant2	Joe Purcell
Predecessor2	Joe Purcell (Acting)
Successor2	Frank D. White
Term start3	January 11, 1983
Term end3	December 12, 1992
Lieutenant3	Winston Bryant (1983-1991)Jim Guy Tucker (1991-1992)
Predecessor3	Frank D. White
Successor3	Jim Guy Tucker
Order4	50th
Office4	Arkansas Attorney General
Term start4	January 3, 1977
Term end4	January 9, 1979
Predecessor4	Jim Guy Tucker
Successor4	Steve Clark
Birth date	August 19, 1946
Birth place	Hope, Arkansas
Birthname	William Jefferson Blythe III
Party	Democratic
Spouse	Hillary Rodham Clinton
Children	Chelsea Clinton (b. 1980)
Profession	Lawyer
Alma mater	Georgetown University (B.S.) University College, OxfordYale Law School (J.D.)
Religion	Baptist
Signature	Signature of Bill Clinton.svg
Signature alt	Cursive signature in ink
Website	William J. Clinton Presidential Library

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III, August 19, 1946) served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. At 46 he was the third-youngest president. He became president at the end of the Cold War, and was the first baby boomer president. His wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, is currently the United States Secretary of State. Each received a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Yale Law School.

Clinton has been described as a New Democrat. Some of his policies, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement and welfare reform, have been attributed to a centrist Third Way philosophy of governance, while on other issues his stance was left of center. Clinton presided over the continuation of an economic expansion that would later become the longest period of peace-time economic expansion in American history. The Congressional Budget Office reported a budget surplus in 2000, the last full year of Clinton's presidency. After a failed attempt at health care reform, Republicans won control of the House of Representatives in 1994, for the first time in forty years. Two years later, in 1996, Clinton was re-elected and became the first member of the Democratic Party since Franklin D. Roosevelt to win a second full term as president. Later he was impeached for perjury and obstruction of justice in connection with a scandal involving a White House intern, but was subsequently acquitted by the U.S. Senate.

Clinton left office with the highest end-of-office approval rating of any U.S. president since World War II. Clinton created the William J. Clinton Foundation to promote and address international causes such as treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS and global warming.

In 2004, he released his autobiography My Life, and was involved in his wife Hillary's 2008 presidential campaign and subsequently in that of President Barack Obama. In 2009, he was named United Nations Special Envoy to Haiti. In the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Clinton teamed with George W. Bush to form the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund.

Early life and career

.]] in Washington, D.C., receiving a degree in 1968, during which he ran for President of the Student Council.]]

Bill Clinton was born William Jefferson Blythe, III, in Hope, Arkansas. His father, William Jefferson Blythe, Jr., was a traveling salesman who died in an automobile accident three months before Bill was born. The family moved to Hot Springs in 1950.

Although he assumed use of his stepfather's surname, it was not until Billy (as he was known then) turned fourteen that he formally adopted the surname Clinton as a gesture toward his stepfather.

In Hot Springs, Clinton attended St. John's Catholic Elementary School, Ramble Elementary School, and Hot Springs High School - where he was an active student leader, avid reader, and musician.

With the aid of scholarships, Clinton attended the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., receiving a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service (B.S.) degree in 1968. He spent the summer of 1967, the summer before his senior year, interning for Arkansas Senator J. William Fulbright. He is a member of Kappa Kappa Psi's National Honorary Band Fraternity, Inc.

Upon graduation, he won a Rhodes Scholarship to University College, Oxford where he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics, though as a result of switching programs and leaving early for Yale, he did not obtain a degree there. He developed an interest in rugby union, playing at Oxford and later for the Little Rock Rugby club in Arkansas. While at Oxford he also participated in Vietnam War protests, including organizing an October 1969 Moratorium event.

Clinton's political opponents charge that to avoid being drafted into the Vietnam War during his college years, he used the political influence of a U.S. Senator, who employed him as an aide. Col. Eugene Holmes, an Army officer who was involved in Clinton's case, issued a notarized statement during the 1992 presidential campaign: "...I was informed by the draft board that it was of interest to Senator Fullbright's office that Bill Clinton, a Rhodes Scholar, should be admitted to the ROTC program... I believe that he purposely deceived me, using the possibility of joining the ROTC as a ploy to work with the draft board to delay his induction and get a new draft classification."

Clinton did not join the ROTC program, but the temporary ROTC status prevented him from being drafted. This was not illegal, but it became a source of criticism from conservatives and some Vietnam veterans.

After Oxford, Clinton attended Yale Law School and obtained a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree in 1973.

The Clintons' personal and business affairs during the 1980s included transactions which became the basis of the Whitewater investigation which dogged his later presidential administration. After extensive investigation over several years, no indictments were made against the Clintons related to the years in Arkansas.

He defeated a total of four Republican candidates for governor: Lowe (1978), White (1982 and 1986), and businessmen Woody Freeman of Jonesboro, (1984) and Sheffield Nelson of Little Rock (1990).

Democratic presidential primaries of 1988

with President Ronald Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan, 1987.]] In 1987 there was media speculation Clinton would enter the race after then-New York Governor Mario Cuomo declined to run and Democratic front-runner Gary Hart withdrew owing to revelations of marital infidelity. Clinton decided to remain as Arkansas governor (following consideration for the potential candidacy of Hillary Rodham Clinton for governor, initially favored – but ultimately vetoed – by the First Lady). For the nomination, Clinton endorsed Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis. However, he did give the opening night address at the 1988 Democratic National Convention, which was nationally televised, but it was criticized for length. Presenting himself as a moderate and a member of the New Democrat wing of the Democratic Party, he headed the moderate Democratic Leadership Council in 1990 and 1991.

1992 presidential campaign

Due to his youthful appearance, he was often called the "Boy Governor". In the first contest, the Iowa caucus, he finished a very distant third to Iowa Senator Tom Harkin. During the campaign for the New Hampshire Primary reports of an extramarital affair with Gennifer Flowers surfaced. As Clinton fell far behind former Massachusetts Senator Paul Tsongas in the New Hampshire polls, Finally, conservatives were previously united by anti-communism, but with the end of the Cold War, the party lacked a uniting issue. When Pat Buchanan and Pat Robertson addressed Christian themes at the Republican National Convention – with Bush criticizing Democrats for omitting God from their platform – many moderates were alienated. Clinton then pointed to his moderate, "New Democrat" record as governor of Arkansas, though some on the more liberal side of the party remained suspicious. Many Democrats who had supported Ronald Reagan and Bush in previous elections switched their allegiance to Clinton.

Clinton's election ended twelve years of Republican rule of the White House and twenty of the previous twenty-four years. The election gave Democrats full control of the United States Congress. Further concern arose when Bill Clinton announced that, with Hillary, voters would be getting two presidents "for the price of one".

Presidency, 1993–2001

During his presidency, Clinton advocated for a wide variety of legislation and programs, much of which was enacted into law and/or was implemented by the executive branch. At the very end of his presidency, Clinton moved to New York and helped his wife get elected to the U.S. Senate there.

First term, 1993–1997

during his 1993 presidential inauguration.]]

Clinton was inaugurated as the 42nd President of the United States on January 20, 1993. In his inaugural address he declared:

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Clinton in his first address to the nation on February 15, 1993, announced his intention to raise taxes to cap the budget deficit.

On February 17, 1993, in a nationally televised address to a joint session of Congress, Clinton unveiled his economic plan. The plan focused on deficit reduction rather than a middle-class tax cut, which had been high on his campaign agenda. (Clinton was pressured by his advisers, including Robert Rubin formerly of Goldman Sachs, to raise taxes on the theory that a smaller federal budget deficit would reduce bond interest rates.) (In December 2010, Clinton defended President Barack Obama’s compromise with the Republican congressional leadership, extending the George W. Bush’s era tax cuts, which many Democrats felt unfairly favored the wealthy.)

Shortly after taking office, Clinton signed the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, which required large employers to allow employees to take unpaid leave for pregnancy or a serious medical condition. While this action was popular, Clinton's attempt to fulfill another campaign promise of allowing openly homosexual men and women to serve in the armed forces garnered criticism from the left (for being too tentative in promoting gay rights) and from the right (who opposed any effort to allow homosexuals to serve). After much debate, Congress implemented the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy, stating as long as homosexuals keep their sexuality secret, they may serve in the military. Some gay rights advocates criticized Clinton for not going far enough and accused him of making his campaign promise to get votes and contributions. These advocates feel Clinton should have integrated the military by executive order, noting President Harry Truman used executive order to racially desegregate the armed forces. Clinton's defenders argue an executive order might have prompted the Democratic Senate to write the exclusion of homosexuals into law, potentially making it harder to integrate the military in the future.

The Clinton administration launched the first official White House website on October 21, 1994. It was followed by three more versions, resulting in the final edition launched in 2000. The White House website was part of a wider movement of the Clinton administration toward web-based communication. According to Robert Longley, "Clinton and Gore were responsible for pressing almost all federal agencies, the U.S. court system and the U.S. military onto the Internet, thus opening up America's government to more of America's citizens than ever before. On July 17, 1996, Clinton issued Executive Order 13011 - Federal Information Technology, ordering the heads of all federal agencies to fully utilize information technology to make the information of the agency easily accessible to the public."

who negotiated lifting the remaining sanctions on South Africa.]] Also in 1993, Clinton controversially supported ratification of the North American Free Trade Agreement by the U.S. Senate. Clinton, along with most of his Democratic Leadership Committee allies, strongly supported free trade measures; there remained, however, strong intra-party disagreement. Opposition came chiefly from anti-trade Republicans, protectionist Democrats and supporters of Ross Perot. The bill passed the house with 234 votes against 200 opposed (132 Republicans and 102 Democrats voting in favor; 156 Democrats, 43 Republicans, and 1 independent against). The treaty was then ratified by the Senate and signed into law by the President on January 1, 1994.

On November 30, 1993, Clinton signed into law the Brady Bill, which imposed a five-day waiting period on handgun purchases. He also expanded the Earned Income Tax Credit, a subsidy for low-income workers. In 1999, Clinton signed the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act, a bank deregulation bill that repealed a Depression-era law known as Glass-Steagall.

One of the most prominent items on Clinton's legislative agenda was the result of a taskforce headed by Hillary Clinton, which was a health care reform plan aimed at achieving universal coverage via a national health care plan. Though initially well-received in political circles, it was ultimately doomed by well-organized opposition from conservatives, the American Medical Association, and the health insurance industry. However, John F. Harris, a biographer of Clinton's, states the program failed because of a lack of co-ordination within the White House. and raised taxes on the wealthiest 1.2% of taxpayers. Additionally, through the implementation of spending restraints, it mandated the budget be balanced over a number of years.

As part of a 1996 initiative to curb illegal immigration, Clinton signed the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA). Appointed by Clinton, the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform called for reducing legal immigration to about 550,000 a year. The proposals drew criticism from a wide range of business, ethnic and religious groups.

Senators Ted Kennedy – a Democrat – and Orrin Hatch, a Republican, teamed up with Hillary Rodham Clinton and her staff in 1997 and succeeded in passing legislation forming the Children's Health Insurance Program, the largest (successful) health care reform in the years of the Clinton Presidency. That same year Hillary Clinton shepherded through Congress the Adoption and Safe Families Act and two years later Rodham Clinton succeeded in helping pass the Foster Care Independence Act. President Bill Clinton supported both bills as well, and signed both of them into law.

Travelgate controversy

Clinton fired seven employees of the White House Travel Office in May 1993, giving rise to a controversy, though the Travel Office staff served at the pleasure of the President, and could be dismissed without cause. The White House responded to the controversy by claiming that the firings were done because of financial improprieties that had been revealed by a brief FBI investigation. Critics contended the firings had been done to allow friends of the Clintons to take over the travel business and that the involvement of the FBI was unwarranted.

White House FBI files controversy

The White House FBI-files controversy of June 1996 arose concerning improper access by the White House to FBI security-clearance documents. Craig Livingstone, head of the White House Office of Personnel Security, improperly requested, and received from the FBI, background report files without asking permission of the subject individuals; many of these were employees of former Republican administrations. In March 2000, Independent Counsel Robert Ray determined that there was no credible evidence of any criminal activity. Ray's report further stated "there was no substantial and credible evidence that any senior White House official was involved" in seeking the files.

Death penalty

The application of the federal death penalty was expanded to include crimes not resulting in death – such as running a large-scale drug enterprise – by Clinton's 1994 Omnibus Crime Bill. During Clinton's re-election campaign he said, "My 1994 crime bill expanded the death penalty for drug kingpins, murderers of federal law enforcement officers, and nearly 60 additional categories of violent felons."

While campaigning for U.S. President, the then Governor Clinton returned to Arkansas to see that Ricky Ray Rector would be executed. After killing a police officer and a civilian, Rector shot himself in the head, leading to what his lawyers said was a state where he could still talk but didn't understand the concept of death. According to Arkansas state and Federal law, a seriously mentally impaired inmate cannot be executed. The courts disagreed with the allegation of grave mental impairment and allowed the execution. Clinton's return to Arkansas for the execution was framed in a New York Times article as a possible political move to counter "soft on crime" accusations.

According to some sources, Clinton was in his early years a death penalty opponent who switched positions. During Clinton's term, Arkansas performed its first executions since 1964 (the death penalty was re-enacted on March 23, 1973). As Governor, he oversaw four executions: one by electric chair and three by lethal injection. However, Clinton was the first President to pardon a death-row inmate since the federal death penalty was reintroduced in 1988. Federal executions were resumed under his successor George W. Bush.

Assassination attempt

Law professor Ken Gromley's book The Death of American Virtue reveals that Clinton escaped a 1996 assassination attempt in the Philippines by terrorists working for Osama bin Laden. During his visit to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Manila in 1996, he was saved shortly before his car was due to drive over a bridge where a bomb had been planted. Gromley said he was told the details of the bomb plot by Louis Merletti, a former director of the Secret Service. Clinton was scheduled to visit a local politician in central Manila, when secret service officers intercepted a message suggesting that an attack was imminent. A transmission used the words "bridge" and "wedding", supposedly a terrorist's code words for assassination. The motorcade was re-routed and the US agents later discovered a bomb planted under the bridge. The report said the subsequent US investigation into the plot "revealed that it was masterminded by a Saudi terrorist living in Afghanistan named Osama bin Laden". Gromley said "It remained top secret except to select members of the US intelligence community. At the time, there were media reports about the discovery of two bombs, one at Manila airport and another at the venue for the leaders' meeting".

Second term, 1997–2001

for his work toward European integration.]] Cohen presents President Clinton the DoD Medal for Distinguished Public Service.]]

In the 1996 presidential election, Clinton was re-elected, receiving 49.2% of the popular vote over Republican Bob Dole (40.7% of the popular vote) and Reform candidate Ross Perot (8.4% of the popular vote), becoming the first Democratic incumbent since Lyndon Johnson to be elected to a second term and the first Democrat since Franklin Roosevelt to be elected President more than once. The Republicans lost a few seats in the House and gained a few in the Senate, but retained control of both. Clinton received 379, or over 70% of the Electoral College votes, with Dole receiving 159 electoral votes.

Lewinsky scandal

Clinton's sexual relationship with a 22-year-old White House intern named Monica Lewinsky led to the Lewinsky scandal. the House began impeachment hearings before the mid-term elections. Although the mid-term elections held in November 1998 were at the 6-year point in an 8-year presidency (a time in the electoral cycle where the party holding the White House usually loses Congressional seats), the Democratic Party gained several seats. To hold impeachment proceedings, the Republican leadership called a lame duck session in December 1998.

presiding.]]

While the House Judiciary Committee hearings ended in a straight-party-line vote, there was lively debate on the House floor. The two charges passed in the House (largely on the basis of Republican support, but with a handful of Democratic votes as well) were for perjury and obstruction of justice. The perjury charge arose from Clinton's testimony about his relationship to Monica Lewinsky during a sexual harassment lawsuit (later dismissed, appealed and settled for $850,000) brought by former Arkansas state employee Paula Jones. The obstruction charge was based on his actions during the subsequent investigation of that testimony. The Senate later voted to acquit Clinton on both charges. The Senate refused to convene to hold an impeachment trial before the end of the old term, so the trial was held over until the next Congress. Clinton was represented by Washington law firm Williams & Connolly.

The Senate concluded a twenty-one day trial on February 12, 1999, with the vote on both counts falling short of the Constitutional two-thirds majority requirement to convict and remove an office holder. The final vote was generally along party lines, with no Democrats voting guilty. Some Republicans voted not guilty for both charges. On the perjury charge, fifty-five senators voted to acquit, including ten Republicans, and forty-five voted to convict; on the obstruction charge the Senate voted 50-50.

Law license suspension

In 2000 the Arkansas Supreme Court's Committee on Professional Conduct called for Clinton's disbarment, saying he lied about his affair with Monica Lewinsky.

In January 2001 Clinton reached an agreement under which he was ordered to pay $25,000 in fines to Arkansas state's bar officials and his Arkansas law license was suspended for five years. The agreement came on the condition that Whitewater prosecutors would not pursue federal perjury charges against him. Clinton was suspended by the Supreme Court in October 2001, and, facing disbarment from that court, Clinton resigned from the Supreme Court bar in November.

Military and foreign events

Paul Fletcher, USAF, before boarding Air Force One, November 4, 1999.]] Numerous military events occurred during Clinton's presidency. The Battle of Mogadishu also occurred in Somalia in 1993. During the operation, two U.S. MH-60 Black Hawk helicopters were shot down by rocket-propelled grenade attacks to their tail rotors, trapping soldiers behind enemy lines. This resulted in an urban battle that killed 18 American soldiers, wounded 73 others, and one was taken prisoner. There were many more Somali casualties. Some of the American bodies were dragged through the streets – a spectacle broadcast on television news programs. In response, U.S. forces were withdrawn from Somalia and later conflicts were approached with fewer soldiers on the ground.

In 1995 U.S. and NATO aircraft attacked Bosnian Serb targets to halt attacks on U.N. safe zones and to pressure them into a peace accord. Clinton deployed U.S. peacekeepers to Bosnia in late 1995 to uphold the subsequent Dayton Agreement.

In response to the 1998 al-Qaeda bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa that killed a dozen Americans and hundreds of Africans, Clinton ordered cruise missile strikes on terrorist targets in Afghanistan and Sudan. He was subsequently criticized when it turned out that a pharmaceutical plant in Sudan (originally alleged to be a chemical warfare plant) had been destroyed. , May 5, 1999.]] To stop the ethnic cleansing and genocide of Albanians by nationalist Serbians in the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia's province of Kosovo, Clinton authorized the use of American troops in a NATO bombing campaign against Yugoslavia in 1999, named Operation Allied Force. General Wesley Clark was Supreme Allied Commander of NATO and oversaw the mission. With United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244, the bombing campaign ended on June 10, 1999. The resolution placed Kosovo under UN administration and authorized a peacekeeping force. NATO announced that its forces had suffered zero combat deaths, and two deaths from an Apache helicopter crash. Opinions in the popular press criticized pre-war genocide statements by the Clinton administration as greatly exaggerated. A U.N. Court ruled genocide did not take place, but recognized, "a systematic campaign of terror, including murders, rapes, arsons and severe maltreatments". The term "ethnic cleansing" was used as an alternative to "genocide" to denote not just ethnically motivated murder but also displacement, though critics charge there is no difference. Slobodan Milošević, the President of Yugoslavia at the time, was eventually charged with the "murders of about 600 individually identified ethnic Albanians" and "crimes against humanity."

In Clinton's 1998 State of the Union Address, he warned Congress of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's possible pursuit of nuclear weapons: }}

holding a joint press conference at the White House, October 29, 1997.]]

To weaken Saddam Hussein's grip of power, Clinton signed H.R. 4655 into law on October 31, 1998, which instituted a policy of "regime change" against Iraq, though it explicitly stated it did not speak to the use of American military forces. The administration then launched a four-day bombing campaign named Operation Desert Fox, lasting from December 16 to December 19, 1998. For the last two years of Clinton's presidency U.S. aircraft routinely attacked hostile Iraqi anti-air installations inside the Iraqi no-fly zones.

Clinton's November 2000 visit to Vietnam was the first by a U.S. President since the end of the Vietnam War. Clinton remained popular with the public throughout his two terms as President, ending his presidential career with a 65% approval rating, the highest end-of-term approval rating of any President since Dwight D. Eisenhower. Further, the Clinton administration signed over 270 trade liberalization pacts with other countries during its tenure. On October 10, 2000, Clinton signed into law the U.S.–China Relations Act of 2000, which granted PNTR trade status to People's Republic of China. The president asserted that free trade would gradually open China to democratic reform. Clinton also oversaw a boom of the U.S. economy. Under Clinton, the United States had a projected federal budget surplus for the first time since 1969.

After initial successes such as the Oslo accords of the early 1990s, Clinton attempted to address the Arab-Israeli conflict. Clinton brought Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat together at Camp David. The situation broke down completely with the start of the Second Intifada.

A U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation did result in convictions against the McDougals for their role in the Whitewater project, but the Clintons themselves were never charged, and Clinton maintains innocence in the affair.

Attempted capture of Osama bin Laden

Capturing Osama bin Laden has been an objective of the United States government since the presidency of Bill Clinton. It has been asserted that in 1996 while the Clinton Administration had begun pursuit of the policy, the Sudanese government allegedly offered to arrest and extradite Bin Laden as well as to provide the United States detailed intelligence information about growing militant organizations in the region, including Hezbollah and Hamas, and that U.S. authorities allegedly rejected each offer, despite knowing of bin Laden's involvement in bombings on American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

In 1998, two years after the warning, the Clinton administration ordered several military missions to capture or kill bin Laden that failed.

Troopergate

Troopergate is the popular name of a scandal involving allegations by two Arkansas state troopers that they arranged sexual liaisons for then-Governor Bill Clinton. The allegations by state troopers Larry Patterson and Roger Perry were first reported by David Brock in the American Spectator in 1993, then confirmed the next day in The Los Angeles Times. The story mentioned a woman named Paula, a reference to Paula Jones. Brock later apologized to Clinton, saying the article was politically motivated "bad journalism" and that "the troopers were greedy and had slimy motives."

Pardons and campaign finance

Clinton issued 141 pardons and 36 commutations on his last day in office on January 20, 2001. Most of the controversy surrounded Marc Rich and allegations that Hillary Clinton's brother, Hugh Rodham, accepted payments in return for influencing the president's decision-making regarding the pardons. Some of Clinton's pardons remain a point of controversy.

The 1996 United States campaign-finance controversy was an alleged effort by the People's Republic of China (PRC) to influence the domestic policies of the United States, prior to and during the Clinton administration, and also involved the fundraising practices of the administration itself.

Judicial appointments

Clinton appointed the following justices to the Supreme Court: Ruth Bader Ginsburg - 1993 Stephen Breyer - 1994

In addition to his two Supreme Court appointments, Clinton appointed 66 judges to the United States Courts of Appeals, and 305 judges to the United States district courts. His total of 373 judicial appointments is second in American history, behind Ronald Reagan's. Clinton also experienced a number of judicial appointment controversies, as 24 nominees to 20 different federal appellate judgeships were not processed by the Republican-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee.

Public opinion

throughout his presidential career.]]

Clinton's job approval rating ranged from 36% in mid-1993 to 64% in late 1993 and early 1994. In his second term, his rating consistently ranged from the high-50s to the high-60s. After his impeachment proceedings in 1998 and 1999, Clinton's rating reached its highest point at 73% approval. He finished with an approval rating of 68%, which matched those of Ronald Reagan and Franklin D. Roosevelt as the highest ratings for departing presidents in the modern era.

As he was leaving office, a CNN/USA TODAY/Gallup poll revealed 45% said they would miss him. While 55% thought he "would have something worthwhile to contribute and should remain active in public life", 68% thought he would be remembered for his "involvement in personal scandal", and 58% answered "No" to the question "Do you generally think Bill Clinton is honest and trustworthy?". 47% of the respondents identified themselves as being Clinton supporters. 47% said he would be remembered as either "outstanding" or "above average" as a president while 22% said he would be remembered as "below average" or "poor".

The Gallup Organization published a poll in February 2007 asking respondents to name the greatest president in U.S. history; Clinton came in fourth place, capturing 13% of the vote. In a 2006 Quinnipiac University poll asking respondents to name the best president since World War II, Clinton ranked 3% behind Ronald Reagan to place second with 25% of the vote. However, in the same poll, when respondents were asked to name the worst president since World War II, Clinton placed 1% behind Richard Nixon and 18% behind George W. Bush to come in third with 16% of the vote.

In May 2006, a CNN poll comparing Clinton's job performance with that of his successor, George W. Bush, found that a strong majority of respondents said Clinton outperformed Bush in six different areas questioned. ABC News characterized public consensus on Clinton as, "You can't trust him, he's got weak morals and ethics and he's done a heck of a good job." Clinton's 66% Gallup Poll approval rating was also the highest Gallup approval rating of any postwar President leaving office, three points ahead of Reagan.

In March 2010, a Newsmax/Zogby poll asking Americans which of the current living former presidents they think is best equipped to deal with the problems the country faces today, found that a wide margin of respondents would pick Bill Clinton. Clinton received 41% of the vote, while former President George W. Bush received 15%, former President George H. W. Bush received 7%, and former President Jimmy Carter received 5%. Although 26% chose "none", and 5% were not sure, Clinton maintained the highest percentage.

Public image

As the first baby boomer president, Clinton was the first president in a half-century not to have been shaped by World War II. Authors Martin Walker and Bob Woodward state Clinton's innovative use of soundbite-ready dialogue, personal charisma, and public perception-oriented campaigning was a major factor in his high public approval ratings. When Clinton played the saxophone on The Arsenio Hall Show, he was described by some religious conservatives as "the MTV president." Standing at a height of 6'2" (1.88 m), Clinton is tied with five others as the fourth-tallest president in the nation's history.

Clinton drew strong support from the African American community and made improving race relations a major theme of his presidency. In 1998, Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison in The New Yorker called Clinton "the first Black president", saying, "Clinton displays almost every trope of blackness: single-parent household, born poor, working-class, saxophone-playing, McDonald's-and-junk-food-loving boy from Arkansas", and comparing Clinton's sex life, scrutinized despite his career accomplishments, to the stereotyping and double standards that blacks typically endure.

In 2008, Morrison's sentiments were raised anew as Barack Obama, who would later become the country's first African-American President, ran for the presidency. After endorsing Obama, Morrison distanced herself from her 1998 remark about Clinton, saying that it was misunderstood. She noted that she has "no idea what his real instincts are, in terms of race" and said she was only describing the way he was being treated during the impeachment trial as an equivalent to a poor black person living in the ghetto. Obama himself, when asked in a Democratic debate about Morrison's declaration of Clinton as "black", replied that Clinton had an enormous "affinity" with the black community, but joked he would need to see Clinton's dancing ability before judging "accurately [...] whether he was, in fact, a brother".

Sexual misconduct allegations

Throughout his career, Clinton has been subject to various allegations of sexual misconduct, though only his extramarital relationships with Monica Lewinsky and Gennifer Flowers have been admitted by him.

For alleged misconduct during his governorship Paula Jones brought a sexual harassment lawsuit against Clinton while he was president. Clinton argued that as a sitting president, he should not be vulnerable to a civil suit of this nature. The case landed in the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court held that "Deferral of this litigation until petitioner's Presidency ends is not constitutionally required."

However, a U.S. judge in Arkansas, Susan Webber Wright, ruled that since Jones had not suffered any damages, the case should be dismissed. On April 2, 1998, Judge Susan Webber Wright dismissed Jones' lawsuit. On July 31, 1998, Jones appealed the dismissal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

During the deposition for the Jones lawsuit which was held at the White House, Clinton denied having sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky a denial that became the basis for the impeachment charge of perjury.

On November 18, 1998, Clinton agreed to an out-of-court settlement, and agreed to pay Jones and her attorneys a sum of $850,000.00. Clinton, however, still offered no apology to Jones and still denied ever engaging in a sexual affair with her. Gennifer Flowers, Elizabeth Ward Gracen, Sally Perdue, and Dolly Kyle Browning each have reported having adulterous sexual relations with Clinton during or before his service as governor. Gracen later apologized to Hillary Clinton.

Dolly Kyle Browning alleged that she and Clinton engaged in a long sexual affair. Browning began writing a "semi-autobiographical novel" about the affair. In the publication process, Browning asserted that Clinton did everything in his power to prohibit and undermine publication. Browning sued Clinton for damages, but the US Court of Appeals denied her appeal.

Post-presidential career

, dedicated in 2004.]] in January 2005.]] , Laura Bush, George H. W. Bush, Condoleezza Rice, and Andrew Card pay their respects to Pope John Paul II before the pope's funeral in April 2005.]]

Just as Clinton was leaving elective office, his wife was entering it, as a U.S. Senator from New York. Bill Clinton proceeded to give speeches around the world, often for over $100,000 a speech. Altogether, Clinton has spoken at the last six Democratic National Conventions, dating back to 1988.

Activities up until 2008 campaign

In 2002 Clinton warned that pre-emptive military action against Iraq may have unwelcome consequences. In 2005, Clinton criticized the Bush administration for its handling of emissions control, while speaking at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Montreal.

The William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park in Little Rock, Arkansas was dedicated in 2004. Clinton released an autobiography, My Life in 2004. In 2007, he released, which became a bestseller and garnered positive reviews.

In the aftermath of the 2005 Asian tsunami, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed Clinton to head a relief effort. After Hurricane Katrina, Clinton established, with fellow former President George H. W. Bush, the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund and Bush-Clinton Tsunami Fund. As part of the tsunami effort, these two ex-presidents appeared in a Super Bowl XXXIX pre-game show, and traveled to the affected areas. They also spoke together at the funeral of Boris Yeltsin.

The William J. Clinton Foundation includes the Clinton Foundation HIV and AIDS Initiative (CHAI), which strives to combat that disease, and has worked with the Australian government toward that end. The Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), begun by the Clinton Foundation in 2005, attempts to address world problems such as global public health, poverty alleviation and religious and ethnic conflict. In 2005, Clinton announced through his foundation an agreement with manufacturers to stop selling sugared beverages in schools. Clinton's foundation joined with the Large Cities Climate Leadership Group in 2006 to improve cooperation among those cities, and he met with foreign leaders to promote this initiative. He also spoke in favor of California Proposition 87 on alternative energy, which was voted down.

The foundation has received donations from a number of governments in the Middle East. In 2008, Mr. Clinton travelled to Kazakhstan with Canadian mining magnate Frank Giustra who then won three lucrative uranium mining contracts from the Kazakh government, and Giustra donated $US31 million to Mr. Clinton's charity. Many were especially critical of him following his remarks in the South Carolina primary, which Obama won. Later in the 2008 primaries, there was some infighting between Bill and Hillary's staffs, especially in Pennsylvania. Based on Bill's remarks, many thought that he couldn't rally Hillary supporters behind Obama after Obama won the primary. Such remarks lead to apprehension that the party would be split to the detriment of Obama's election. Fears were allayed August 27, 2008 when Clinton enthusiastically endorsed Obama at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, saying that all his experience as president assures him that Obama is "ready to lead".

After 2008 election

In 2009, Clinton travelled to North Korea on behalf of two American journalists imprisoned in North Korea. Euna Lee and Laura Ling had been imprisoned for illegally entering the country from China. Jimmy Carter had made a similar visit in 1994.

Also in 2009, Clinton was named United Nations Special Envoy to Haiti.

In 2010, Clinton announced support and delivered the keynote address for the inauguration of NTR, Ireland's first ever environmental foundation.

Post-presidential health concerns

In September 2004, Clinton received a quadruple bypass surgery. In March 2005 he underwent surgery for a partially collapsed lung. On February 11, 2010, he was rushed to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York City after complaining of chest pains, and had two coronary stents implanted in his heart. As a guest on the final show of Larry King Live, King awkwardly stated that they were both members of the "zipper club". King later explained that he was referring to the zipper chest scar from open heart surgery, to which Clinton responded, "I'm glad you clarified that, Larry". It has been widely reported that Clinton has become a vegan for health reasons, but he still occasionally eats fish.

Honors and accolades

Clinton has received many honorary degrees. Schools have been named for him, and statues do homage him. He has been honored in various other ways, in countries that include the Czech Republic, New Guinea, Germany, and Kosovo. U.S. states where he has been honored include Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, and New York.

In 1993 Clinton was selected as Time Magazine's "Man of the Year", and again in 1998, along with Ken Starr.

From a poll conducted of the American people in December 1999, Clinton was among eighteen included in Gallup's List of Widely Admired People of the 20th century.

In 2004, he received a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children for narrating the Russian National Orchestra's album Wolf Tracks and Peter and the Wolf (along with Mikhail Gorbachev and Sophia Loren) and 2005 Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for My Life. In 2005, he received the J. William Fulbright Prize for International Understanding, and 2007 TED Prize (named for the confluence of technology, entertainment and design).

On June 2, 2007, Clinton, along with former president George H.W. Bush, received the International Freedom Conductor Award, for their help with the fund raising following the tsunami that devastated South Asia in 2004. On June 13, 2007, Clinton was honored by the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria alongside eight multinational-companies for his work to defeat HIV/AIDS.

On September 9, 2008, Bill Clinton was named as the next chairman of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His term began January 1, 2009 and he succeeded Fmr. President George H. W. Bush.

In December 2010 Bill Clinton was named PETA's 2010 person of the year for using his influence "to promote the benefits of following a vegan diet."

References

Further reading

Primary sources

Clinton, Bill. My Life. (2004). ISBN 0-375-41457-6.

--- (with Al Gore). Science in the National Interest. Washington, D.C.: The White House, August 1994.

--- (with Al Gore). The Climate Change Action Plan. Washington, D.C.: The White House, October 1993.

--- (with Al Gore). Technology for America's economic growth, a new direction to build economic strength. Washington, D.C.: The White House, February 22, 1993.

Sidney Blumenthal The Clinton Wars. (2003). ISBN 0-374-12502-3

Taylor Branch The Clinton Tapes: Wrestling History with the President. (2009) Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781416543336

Kenneth Starr The Starr Report: The Findings of Independent Counsel Kenneth W. Starr on President Clinton and the Lewinsky Affair (1998) ISBN 1-891620-24-X

George Stephanopoulos All Too Human: A Political Education (1998) ISBN 0-316-92919-0

S. Daniel Abraham Peace is Possible, foreword by Bill Clinton

Popular books

Peter Baker The Breach: Inside the Impeachment and Trial of William Jefferson Clinton (2000) ISBN 0-684-86813-X

James Bovard Feeling Your Pain: The Explosion and Abuse of Government Power in the Clinton-Gore Years (2000) ISBN 0-312-23082-6

Joe Conason and Gene Lyons The Hunting of the President: The Ten-Year Campaign to Destroy Bill and Hillary Clinton (2003) ISBN 0-312-27319-3

Elizabeth Drew On the Edge: The Clinton Presidency (1994) ISBN 0-671-87147-1

David Gergen Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadership. (2000) ISBN 0-684-82663-1

Nigel Hamilton Bill Clinton: An American Journey (2003) ISBN 0-375-50610-1

John F. Harris The Survivor: Bill Clinton in the White House (2005) ISBN 0-375-50847-3

Christopher Hitchens No One Left to Lie to: The Triangulations of William Jefferson Clinton (1999) ISBN 1-85984-736-6

Michael Isikoff Uncovering Clinton: A Reporter's Story (1999) ISBN 0-609-60393-0

Mark Katz Clinton and Me: A Real-Life Political Comedy (2004) ISBN 978-0-7868-6949-7

Joe Klein The Natural: The Misunderstood Presidency of Bill Clinton (2003) ISBN 0-7679-1412-0

David Maraniss First in His Class: A Biography of Bill Clinton (1996) ISBN 0-684-81890-6

David Maraniss The Clinton Enigma: A Four and a Half Minute Speech Reveals This President's Entire Life (1998) ISBN 0-684-86296-4

Dick Morris with Eileen McGann Because He Could (2004) ISBN 0-06-078415-6

Roger Morris (American writer) Partners in Power: The Clintons and Their America (1996) ISBN 0-89526-302-5

Richard A. Posner An Affair of State: The Investigation, Impeachment, and Trial of President Clinton (1999) ISBN 0-674-00080-3

Mark J. Rozell The Clinton Scandal and the Future of American Government (2000) ISBN 0-87840-777-4

Michael Waldman POTUS Speaks: Finding the Words That Defined the Clinton Presidency (2000) ISBN 0-7432-0020-9

Ivory Tower Publishing Company (1995) ISBN 0-88032-748-0

Academic studies

Cohen; Jeffrey E. "The Polls: Change and Stability in Public Assessments of Personal Traits, Bill Clinton, 1993-99" Presidential Studies Quarterly, Vol. 31, 2001

Cronin, Thomas E. and Michael A. Genovese; "President Clinton and Character Questions" Presidential Studies Quarterly Vol. 28, 1998

Davis; John. "The Evolution of American Grand Strategy and the War on Terrorism: Clinton and Bush Perspectives" White House Studies, Vol. 3, 2003

Edwards; George C. "Bill Clinton and His Crisis of Governance" Presidential Studies Quarterly, Vol. 28, 1998

Fisher; Patrick. "Clinton's Greatest Legislative Achievement? the Success of the 1993 Budget Reconciliation Bill" White House Studies, Vol. 1, 2001

Glad; Betty. "Evaluating Presidential Character" Presidential Studies Quarterly, Vol. 28, 1998

Gormley, Kenneth, The Death of American Virtue: Clinton vs Starr. Crown. (2010) ISBN 9780307409447

Harris, John F. The Survivor: Bill Clinton in the White House. (2005) ISBN 0-375-50847-3, biography

William G. Hyland. Clinton's World: Remaking American Foreign Policy (1999) ISBN 0-275-96396-9

Jewett, Aubrey W. and Marc D. Turetzky; " Stability and Change in President Clinton's Foreign Policy Beliefs, 1993-96" Presidential Studies Quarterly, Vol. 28, 1998

Johnson, Fard. "Politics, Propaganda and Public Opinion: The Influence of Race and Class on the 1993 - 1994 Health Care Reform Debate." (2004). ISBN 1-4116-6345-4

Laham, Nicholas, A Lost Cause: Bill Clinton's Campaign for National Health Insurance (1996)

Lanoue, David J. and Craig F. Emmert; "Voting in the Glare of the Spotlight: Representatives' Votes on the Impeachment of President Clinton" Polity, Vol. 32, 1999

Livingston, C. Don, Kenneth A. Wink; "The Passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement in the U.S. House of Representatives: Presidential Leadership or Presidential Luck?" Presidential Studies Quarterly, Vol. 27, 1997

Maurer; Paul J. "Media Feeding Frenzies: Press Behavior during Two Clinton Scandals" Presidential Studies Quarterly, Vol. 29, 1999

Nie; Martin A. "'It's the Environment, Stupid!': Clinton and the Environment" Presidential Studies Quarterly, Vol. 27, 1997

O'Connor; Brendon. "Policies, Principles, and Polls: Bill Clinton's Third Way Welfare Politics 1992-1996" The Australian Journal of Politics and History, Vol. 48, 2002

Poveda; Tony G. "Clinton, Crime, and the Justice Department" Social Justice, Vol. 21, 1994

Renshon; Stanley A. The Clinton Presidency: Campaigning, Governing, and the Psychology of Leadership Westview Press, 1995

Renshon; Stanley A. "The Polls: The Public's Response to the Clinton Scandals, Part 1: Inconsistent Theories, Contradictory Evidence" Presidential Studies Quarterly, Vol. 32, 2002

Rushefsky, Mark E. and Kant Patel. Politics, Power & Policy Making: The Case of Health Care Reform in the 1990s (1998) ISBN 1-56324-956-1

Schantz, Harvey L. Politics in an Era of Divided Government: Elections and Governance in the Second Clinton Administration (2001) ISBN 0-8153-3583-0

Wattenberg; Martin P. "The Democrats' Decline in the House during the Clinton Presidency: An Analysis of Partisan Swings" Presidential Studies Quarterly, Vol. 29, 1999

Wattier; Mark J. "The Clinton Factor: The Effects of Clinton's Personal Image in 2000 Presidential Primaries and in the General Election" White House Studies, Vol. 4, 2004

Smithers, Luken J. "The Miracle Whip"

External links

;Official

White House biography

Clinton Presidential Materials Project Archive of press releases and speech transcripts from the administration.

Clinton Presidential Library official website

Clinton School of Public Service

;Organizations

William J. Clinton Foundation official website

Clinton Global Initiative official website

;Talks and interviews

Oral History Interview with Bill Clinton from Oral Histories of the American South

TED Prize Wish: Bill Clinton on rebuilding Rwanda at TED in 2007

President Clinton: The Youtube Interview

The Wanderer- A profile of Clinton in The New Yorker, September 18, 2006, the most extensive interview in his post-presidency

;Articles

Full audio of a number of Clinton speeches via the Miller Center of Public Affairs (UVa)

Extensive essays on Bill Clinton and shorter essays on each member of his cabinet and First Lady from the Miller Center of Public Affairs

Armigerous American Presidents Series article from the American Heraldry Society.

Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture entry: Bill Clinton

;Books and movies

|- |- |- |- |-

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Coordinates	23°17′56″N48°03′18″N
Name	Barbara Levy Boxer
Jr/sr	Junior Senator
State	California
Alongside	Dianne Feinstein
Term start	January 3, 1993
Preceded	Alan Cranston
Date of birth	November 11, 1940
Place of birth	Brooklyn, New York
Dead	alive
Occupation	Politician
Residence	Rancho Mirage, California
Party	Democratic
Spouse	Stewart Boxer
Children	Douglas BoxerNicole Boxer
Alma mater	Brooklyn College (B.A.)
Net worth	$1–5.5 million (USD)
Religion	Judaism
State2	California
District2	6th
Term start2	January 3, 1983
Term end2	January 3, 1993
Preceded2	Phillip Burton
Succeeded2	Lynn C. Woolsey
Order3	Chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works
Term start3	January 4, 2007
Predecessor3	James Inhofe
Order4	Chairwoman of the Senate Select Committee on Ethics
Term start4	January 4, 2007
Predecessor4	George Voinovich
Website	Barbara Boxer: US Senator from California

Barbara Levy Boxer (born November 11, 1940) is the junior United States Senator from California and a member of the Democratic Party.

With the convening of the 110th Congress, Boxer became the first female chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee, following the resignation of Sen. Tim Johnson (D-South Dakota) from the post, she was also chosen as chair of the Select Committee on Ethics, making her the only senator to preside over two committees simultaneously. She holds the record for the most popular votes in a statewide contested election in California, having received 6,955,728 votes in her 2004 re-election over former Republican Secretary of State Bill Jones.

She currently holds the position of Chief Deputy Whip of the Democratic Majority and defeated Republican challenger Carly Fiorina in the United States Senate election on November 2, 2010.

Early life and family

Barbara Levy Boxer was born in Brooklyn, New York to Jewish parents Sophie (née Silvershein; born in Austria) and Ira Levy. She attended public schools, and graduated from George W. Wingate High School in 1958.

In 1962, she married Stewart Boxer and graduated from Brooklyn College with a bachelor's degree in Economics. While in college she was a member of Delta Phi Epsilon (social) sorority.

Boxer worked as a stockbroker for the next three years, while her husband went to law school. Later, the couple moved to Greenbrae, Marin County, California, and had two children, Doug and Nicole. She first ran for political office in 1972, when she challenged incumbent Peter Arrigoni, a member of the Marin County Board of Supervisors, but lost a close election. Later during the 1970s, Boxer worked as a journalist for the Pacific Sun and as an aide to John Burton, then a member of Congress. In 1976, Boxer was elected to the Marin County Board of Supervisors, serving for six years. She was its first woman president.

In 1994, her daughter Nicole married Tony Rodham, brother of then-First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, in a ceremony at the White House. The couple had one son, Zachary, and divorced in 2000.

Boxer's husband, Stewart, a prominent attorney in Oakland, represents injured workers in worker's compensation cases, keeping a very low political profile. Many cases are referred to him by labor unions, including the Teamsters. In 2006, the Boxers sold their house in Greenbrae, where they had lived for many years, and moved to Rancho Mirage. Their son, Douglas, a lawyer, practices with Stewart and is a member of the Oakland Planning Commission, having been appointed to that office by then-mayor Jerry Brown

According to one story, which Boxer has acknowledged, in 1972, Stewart had planned to run for the Marin County Board of Supervisors, but decided the campaign would interfere with his law practice in Oakland, so Barbara ran instead. She was supported in that election by Marin Alternative, a broad-based, liberal political organization which she had helped found a few years before. A very active force in Marin County politics for a while, Marin Alternative dissolved in the late 1970s.

Boxer's first novel, A Time to Run was published in 2005 by San Francisco-based publishing company Chronicle Books. Her second novel Blind Trust was released in July 2009 by Chronicle Books.

U.S. Representative

Boxer was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1982, defeating Dennis McQuaid. Her slogan was "Barbara Boxer Gives a Damn." In the House, she represented California District 6 (Marin and Sonoma Counties) for five terms.

During this time she focused on human rights, environmental protection, military procurement reform, and abortion issues from a pro-choice stance. She was also involved in seeking protection for whistleblowers in government and pushed for higher budget allocations for health, biomedical research, and education.

As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, with the help of the Project on Military Procurement (now Project On Government Oversight [POGO]), Boxer exposed the "$7,600 Pentagon coffee pot" and successfully passed more than a dozen procurement reforms.

In 1992, Boxer was embarrassed by the House banking scandal, which revealed that more than 450 Congressional Representatives and aides, herself included, wrote overdraft checks covered by overdraft protection by the House Bank. In response, she issued a statement saying "in painful retrospect, I clearly should have paid more attention to my account" and wrote a $15 check to the Deficit Reduction Fund for each of her 87 overdrafts.

In 1991, during the Anita Hill Senate hearings, where Hill accused U.S. Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment, Boxer led a group of women House members to the Senate Judiciary Committee – demanding that the all-white, all-male Committee of Senators take Hill's charges seriously.

U.S. Senator

Elections

Democratic Senator Alan Cranston retired in 1992, creating an open contest, which Boxer won in the U.S. Senate elections that year, defeating Bruce Herschensohn, a conservative television political commentator, by 4.9% after a last-minute revelation that Herschensohn had attended a strip club. In 1998, she won a second term, beating sitting California State Treasurer Matt Fong by 10% of the vote. She had decided to retire in 2004 but says she decided to run to "fight for the right to dissent" against conservatives like Tom DeLay. After facing no primary opposition in the 2004 election, Boxer defeated GOP candidate Bill Jones, the sitting California Secretary of State, by a margin of 20 percent.

Committees

Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

*Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security

*Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance

*Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard

*Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security

*Subcommittee on Science and Space

Committee on Environment and Public Works (Chairwoman)

'''Committee on Foreign Relations

*Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs

*Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs

*Subcommittee on International Operations and Organizations, Human Rights, Democracy and Global Women's Issues (Chairwoman)

*Subcommittee on International Development and Foreign Assistance, Economic Affairs, and International Environmental Protection

Select Committee on Ethics (Chairwoman)

A member of the Senate Democratic Leadership, Boxer serves as the Democratic Chief Deputy Whip, which gives her the job of lining up votes on key legislation. She also serves on the Democratic Policy Committee's Committee on Oversight and Investigations.

Presidential politics

2004

.]] On January 6, 2005, Boxer joined Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-Ohio) in filing a U.S. Congressional objection to the certification of Ohio's Electoral College votes in the 2004 U.S. presidential election. She called the objection her "opening shot to be able to focus the light of truth on these terrible problems in the electoral system". The Senate voted the objection down 1–74; the House voted the objection down 31–267. It was only the second Congressional objection to an entire State's electoral delegation in U.S. history; the first instance was in 1877.

As a gesture of appreciation and support for her stance on the alleged Presidential election irregularities and Condoleezza Rice's confirmation hearings, Stacy Davies of California began, via e-mail, the "Barbara Boxer Rose Campaign", wherein people collaborated to buy Senator Boxer roses.

2008

in Denver, Colorado.]] As a superdelegate, Boxer had declared that she would support the winner of the California primary, which was won by Hillary Clinton. However, she remained neutral and only officially backed Barack Obama's candidacy the day after the last primaries, once he had garnered enough delegate votes to clinch the nomination.

Platform and votes

Health care

Senator Boxer is part of a coalition to increase medical research to find cures for diseases. In 2007, she authored successful bipartisan legislation with Senator Gordon Smith to combat HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis globally. In 1997, she authored a Patients' Bill of Rights. She has written a bill to make health insurance tax-deductible and another bill to let any American buy into the same health insurance program that members of Congress have. She supports comprehensive prescription drug coverage through Medicare and the right of all consumers to purchase lower-cost prescription drugs re-imported from Canada.

In October 2002, Boxer urged the Bush Administration to take specific steps to address the causes of the steep increase in autism cases in California. She wrote Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tommy Thompson to establish a common national standard for the diagnosis of autism; instruct the CDC and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry to convene a task force to review the current literature on autism and conduct its own study if necessary; and direct the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to work with the states to create a national chronic disease database.

Boxer is an advocate for embryonic stem-cell research, which has the potential to help those with diabetes, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, spinal cord injuries, and other diseases.

In March 2010, Boxer voted to support the health care reform agenda of the Obama Administration and Democratic 111th Congress by voting yes on the Health Care Reconciliation Act and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Education

Boxer introduced legislation providing Federal funding for local after-school programs, which have been shown to increase student performance while decreasing juvenile delinquency, crime, and drug use. Her 'Computers in Classrooms' law encourages the donation of computers and software to schools.

Boxer supported the No Child Left Behind Act. Since its passage in 2001, she claims that the bill has been underfunded by billions of dollars. She vows to work towards a goal that assures it will be fully funded going forward, as originally pledged by former President George W. Bush.

Boxer has voted to increase the maximum award for the Pell Grant program, which provides grants to lower income students for college. In addition, she has supported tax benefits that she claims will help more families pay for higher education.

Boxer has co-introduced legislation that she claims is designed to allow college graduates to refinance their student loans at market rate, in order to ease the financial burden on those starting their careers.

Boxer established the Excellence in Education award to recognize teachers, parents, businesses and organizations that are working to make positive changes in education. Since 1997 Senator Boxer has presented the Excellence in Education Award to 38 recipients.

The economy

Senators Boxer and John Ensign (R-NV) are the authors of the Invest in the USA Act. This legislation, which was signed into law in October 2004 as a small part of the more comprehensive American Jobs Creation Act, is intended to encourage American companies to bring overseas profits back to the United States, to create jobs in the U.S., and stimulate domestic economic growth.

In March 2004, Boxer offered an amendment to the Federal budget to create a $24 billion jobs reserve fund. The amendment would set aside funds for a variety of investments to improve the economy and create jobs by establishing a manufacturing jobs tax credit for companies that create jobs in the United States, expanding investment in science research and development, providing a tax credit to small businesses to pay for health insurance for their employees, and expanding trade adjustment assistance to help those who lose their jobs because of foreign trade. The Boxer amendment would also end the tax break that companies receive after moving plants overseas.

On October 1, 2008, Boxer voted in favor of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act.

On May 11, 2010, Boxer voted against the Vitter Amendment to the financial reform bill (no. 3760) originally crafted by Ron Paul, which would have given authorization for a complete audit of the Federal Reserve. Boxer instead voted for a stripped down version of the Amendment offered by Senator Bernard Sanders.

The environment

Boxer successfully led the 2003 Senate floor battle to block oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. In 2005, Boxer voted again to block oil drilling at ANWR.

Boxer has introduced the National Oceans Protection Act (NOPA) of 2005. Some of the provisions of this act are: strengthen ocean governance; protect and restore marine wildlife and habitats; address ocean pollution; improve fisheries management. The bill also addresses needs regarding marine science, research and technology, marine mammals, coastal development, and invasive species.

Boxer is an original cosponsor of Senator Jim Jeffords’ (I-VT) Clean Power Act. This legislation would reduce emissions of three pollutants coming from power plants; sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and mercury, and also reduce emissions of carbon dioxide .

As the new head of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in January 2007, Boxer wants to reduce energy consumption. She is attempting to curb global warming by leading pilot programs. The few things that she and some of her fellow Senators are doing could cut electricity consumption by as much as 50 percent in their Capitol Hill offices.

Senator Boxer was the Senate sponsor of the Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage Wilderness Act, which was signed in to law by President George W. Bush on October 17, 2006. The bill protected of federal land as wilderness and of stream as a wild and scenic river, including such popular areas as the King Range and Cache Creek. Senator Boxer worked with Senator Dianne Feinstein and Representative Mike Thompson (the bill's House sponsor) in the five-year effort to pass the legislation.

Boxer along with her colleague Dianne Feinstein voted in favor of subsidy payments to conventional commodity farm producers at the cost of subsidies for conservation-oriented farming.

Reproductive Rights, Family Planning and Birth control

event.]]

Boxer maintains a strong stance in support of abortion rights. Boxer authored the Freedom of Choice Act of 2004 and participated in the floor fight for passage of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act.

Boxer is an original cosponsor of the Title X Family Planning Services Act of 2005, S.844, by Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY). This legislation aims to improve access to women's health care. It authorizes funding for family planning services grants; allows states to provide such services to individuals who may not be eligible for Medicaid; prohibits health insurance providers from excluding contraceptive services, drugs or devices from benefits; establishes a program to disseminate information on emergency contraception; requires hospitals receiving federal funding to offer emergency contraception to victims of sexual assault; provides grants to public and private entities to establish or expand teen pregnancy prevention programs; and requires that federally funded education programs about contraception be medically accurate and include information about health benefits and failure rates.

She was strongly critical of the Stupak-Pitts Amendment, which would prevent taxpayer-funded abortions possibly resulting in women not being able to pay with their own funds for abortion coverage Affordable Health Care for America Act.

Social Security

Boxer supports the current system of Social Security, and opposed President George W. Bush's plan for partial privatization of Social Security. She introduced the 401(k) Pension Protection Act to protect retirement by requiring the diversification of 401(k) plans. A modified version of the bill was signed into law as part of the 1997 tax bill.

Following the Enron scandal, Boxer again worked to ensure that retirement plans are diversified. She also introduced a bill to prohibit accounting firms from auditing and consulting for the same company.

National security

After the September 11, 2001 attacks, Boxer authored a bill to protect commercial airliners against attacks by shoulder-fired missiles, and wrote the law allowing airline pilots with special training to carry guns in the cockpit.

. (2005-03-22)]]

Boxer wrote the High-Tech Port Security Act, and sponsored the Chemical Security Act to address terrorist threats against chemical plants. Senator Boxer also cosponsored comprehensive rail security legislation.

Iraq War

In October 2002, Boxer voted against the joint resolution passed by the U.S. Congress to authorize the use of military force by the Bush Administration against Iraq. In June 2005, Senators Boxer and Russ Feingold (D-WI) cosponsored Senate Resolution 171 calling for a timeframe for U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq.

Boxer's petition demanding an exit strategy from Iraq drew 107,218 signatures.

Surveillance

In June 2008 Boxer spoke in the Senate in opposition to the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, a pending bill in the United States Congress to amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, and later broke with her counterpart Sen. Dianne Feinstein and voted against it.

Election reform

Boxer voted in support of the 2002 Help America Vote Act, which mandated the use of voting machines across the country, among other provisions. On February 18, 2005 Senators Boxer, Hillary Clinton, and Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones introduced the Count Every Vote Act of 2005, which would provide a voter verified paper ballot for every vote cast in electronic voting machines and ensure access to voter verification for all citizens. The bill mandates that this ballot be the official ballot for purposes of a recount. The bill sets a uniform standard for provisional ballots and requires the Federal Election Assistance Commission to issue standards that ensure uniform access to voting machines and trained election personnel in every community. The bill also mandated improved security measures for electronic voting machines. The bill did not pass.

Bush nominees

During the confirmation hearings for the United States Secretary of State nominee Condoleezza Rice in January 2005, Boxer challenged her to admit to alleged mistakes and false statements made by the Bush Administration in leading the United States into the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and ultimately voted against confirmation, along with twelve other senators. The dissent was the highest vote against a Secretary of State nominee since 1825 when Henry Clay was so named.

Boxer voted against John Bolton's nomination for U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and filibustered him on the Senate floor. As a result of the strong Democratic opposition Bolton could not obtain Senate approval. However, President Bush bypassed the Senate by employing the constitutional right of recess appointment, only the second time such an appointment has been used for a United States ambassador to the United Nations since the UN's founding in 1945. Recess appointments themselves have been used numerous times by various presidents.

Boxer voted against the confirmation of Chief Justice of the United States nominee John Roberts, and against the confirmation of Associate Justice nominee Samuel Alito.

Foreign policy

In 1997, the Senate passed a Boxer resolution calling on the United States not to recognize the Taliban as the official government of Afghanistan because of its human rights abuses against women.

Ariel Sharon. (2005-03-30)]]

In 2002, Senator Boxer voted against the U.S. invasion of Iraq. She has subsequently referred to that vote as the best vote of her career. She also voted against the first Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm) while a member of the House in 1991 and was a very vocal protester against the Vietnam War in the 1970s.

Boxer is a cosponsor of S. 495, or the Darfur Accountability Act of 2005, which would impose sanctions against perpetrators of crimes against humanity in Darfur.

The Internet

Along with former Republican Senator George Allen (R-VA), Boxer authored the Jumpstart Broadband Act. This bill would make more spectrum available for use by devices that incorporate new broadband technology, such as WiFi. The Federal Communications Commission is now implementing the Boxer-Allen bill.

Drug Policy Reform

Senator Boxer has come out against reforming marijuana policy and is opposed to the California Ballot measure to legalize and tax marijuana for those 21 and older in the state. Notably, this position is against the majority of Californians, of whom a recent Field Poll pegs 56% as supporting taxing and legalizing the plant.

Gun control

Senator Boxer joined colleagues to pass a Federal ban on various semi-automatic firearms and established the COPS program. She supports reauthorization of both programs.

LGBT issues

The Human Rights Campaign gave Boxer ratings of 100%, 88% and 100% for the 107th, 108th, and 109th sessions of Congress, respectively, indicating a support of the HRC's slate of pro-gay rights legislative issues. In 1996, she was one of fourteen Senators to vote against the Defense of Marriage Act and also voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment in 2004 and 2006, although when San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom issued a directive to the city-county clerk to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples she stated that she supported California's domestic partnership law but agreed with its definition that marriage was between a man and a woman. However, her 2010 re-election campaign website states that "Senator Boxer supports marriage equality."

She has also co-sponsored the Matthew Shepard Act, which expanded the federal definition of hate crimes to include crimes based on the victim's sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as the Uniting American Families Act. She opposed Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment that prohibited same-sex marriage in California. Proposition 8 passed with a 52.30% to 47.70% majority.

India-U.S. nuclear deal

Boxer is one of the most outspoken critics of the nuclear energy deal between the United States and India. Boxer is of the opinion that India should not get help from the U.S. in the civilian nuclear energy sector until it breaks its relationship with Iran.

Indian gaming

The Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, formerly the Federated Coast Miwok, was officially recognized by the U.S. government on December 27, 2000, pursuant to an act of Congress. California 6th District Representative Lynn Woolsey introduced the Graton Rancheria Restoration Act (105th CONGRESS, 2d Session, H.R. 4434) August 6, 1998. It was ultimately approved and signed by President Clinton as Title XIV of the Omnibus Indian Advancement Act (Public Law No. 106-568).

Representative Woolsey's original bill (H.R. 4434, later H.R. 946) would not have permitted the FIGR to have a casino. Senator Boxer removed that prohibition when she included Woolsey's bill in the Omnibus Act.

Censuring President Bush

Senator Boxer was, along with Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, one of only two Senate Democrats to come out in favor of Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold's resolution to censure President George W. Bush.

Support for Fellow Democrats

Senator Boxer is a major supporter of fellow Democrats running for office. Boxer’s PAC for a Change, an ActBlue-active PAC, is a progressive organization that advocated for basic human rights, economic justice, and social justice, and supports candidates who share those values.

Congressional scorecards

See also

Project Vote Smart provides the following results from congressional scorecards.

American Civil Liberties Union – 83% for 2005–2006

Americans for Democratic Action – 95% for 2006

American Land Rights Association – 11% for 2006

Americans for Tax Reform – 5% for 2006

AFL-CIO – 100% in 2006

Campaign for America's Future – 100% for 2005–2006

Conservative Index-John Birch Society – 20% for Fall 2004

Children's Defense Fund – 100% for 2006

Drum Major Institute – 100% for 2005

Family Research Council – 0% for 2006

FreedomWorks – 17% for 2006

Gun Owners of America – 0% for 2006

Humane Society of the United States – 100% for 2005–2006

League of Conservation Voters – 100% for 2006

NARAL Pro-Choice America – 100% for 2006

National Association of Wheat Growers – 0% for 2005

National Education Association – 100% for 2005–2006

National Federation of Independent Business – 0% for 2005–2006

National Journal – Composite liberal score of 95% for 2006

National Organization for Women – 96% for 2005–2006

National Rifle Association – F for 2006

National Right to Life Committee – 0% for 2005–2006

National Taxpayers Union – 11% for 2006

Population Connection – 100% for 2006

Republican Liberty Caucus – 10% for 2005

Secular Coalition for America – 90% on 2006 scorecards

United States Chamber of Commerce – 25% for 2006

Public image, political reception and controversy

As a liberal and also a feminist, Boxer has often been described as a tenacious fighter for what she thinks is right, both by herself and in news accounts.

Conversation with Brigadier General Michael Walsh

In 2009, Boxer was criticized for berating a general for calling her "ma'am." Brigadier General Michael Walsh was testifying on the Louisiana coastal restoration process in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and answered Boxer's query with "ma'am" when Boxer interrupted him. "Do me a favor," Boxer said. "can you say 'senator' instead of 'ma'am?'" "Yes, ma'am," Walsh interjected. "It's just a thing, I worked so hard to get that title, so I'd appreciate it. Thank you," she said. The Army's guide to protocol instructs service members to call members of the U.S. Senate "sir," "ma'am" or "senator." Boxer's adversary in the 2010 Senate election, Carly Fiorina, has used this incident prominently in campaign ads. Hollywood director David Zucker created a parody of the exchange, which he hopes to run in a 30-second ad.

Criticizing Condoleezza Rice's judgment

Boxer criticized then United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's judgment in relation to the war in Iraq: "I personally believe – this is my personal view – that your loyalty to the mission you were given, to sell the war, overwhelmed your respect for the truth."

In January 2007, Boxer was in the news for comments she made when responding to Bush's plans to send an additional 20,000 troops to Iraq. "Who pays the price?" Boxer asked Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. "I'm not going to pay a personal price. My kids are too old and my grandchild is too young. You're not going to pay a personal price with an immediate family. So who pays the price? The American military and their families... not me, not you." When Rice interjected, Boxer responded by saying, "Madam Secretary, please. I know you feel terrible about it. That's not the point. I was making the case as to who pays the price for your decisions. And the fact that this administration would move forward with this escalation with no clue as to the further price that we're going to pay militarily... I find really appalling."

The New York Post and White House Press Secretary Tony Snow considered this an attack on Rice's status as a single, childless female and referred to Boxer's comments as "a great leap backward for feminism." Rice later echoed Snow's remarks, saying "I thought it was okay to not have children, and I thought you could still make good decisions on behalf of the country if you were single and didn’t have children." Boxer responded to the controversy by saying "They’re getting this off on a non-existent thing that I didn’t say. I’m saying, she’s like me, we do not have families who are in the military."

Keith Olbermann accused the commentators, particularly Rush Limbaugh, of making Boxer's comments into an issue when the same people were not outraged when "Laura Bush said Secretary Rice would never be elected president because she was not married."

Television appearances

She has made cameo appearances as herself in several television shows, including Murphy Brown (1994), as well as a cameo (as herself) in the 2000 film Traffic. On November 2, 2005 she made an appearance on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart to discuss her new novel “A Time To Run”.

Awards and honors

Boxer has been honored in Congress by:

Consumer Federation of America

Planned Parenthood

League of Conservation Voters

Public Citizen

Sierra Club

Center for Environmental Education (now The Ocean Conservancy)

Center for Defense Information

American Association of University Women

Boxer has also been recognized by:

The Anti-Defamation League

The Human Rights Campaign

The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights

Women's Image Network, The WIN Awards Lifetime Achievement Honoree 2006

The Family Violence Law Centre

Division of Women's Issues of the New York State Psychological Association

NETWORK, National Catholic Social Justice Lobby

Boxer has been awarded with two Doctor of Laws honorary degrees, one from Mills College and the other from Dominican University of California.

Major speeches and statements

Excerpts from Senator Boxer's Senate Floor Statement on the Resolution Authorizing the Use of Military Force against Iraq, October 10, 2002

On Her Objection to the Certification of Ohio’s Electoral College Votes, January 6, 2005

Transcript from the Confirmation Hearing of Condoleezza Rice, January 18, 2005

Senate Floor Debate on the Confirmation of Condoleezza Rice as Secretary of State, January 26, 2005 On the Nomination of Alberto Gonzales to be Attorney General, February 1, 2005 On the President's Budget, February 7, 2005 On Social Security, February 11, 2005 Senate Floor Debate on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, March 16, 2005 Statement on Earth Day, April 20, 2005 On the Iraq War, July 6, 2005

On Karl Rove's CIA Leak, July 20, 2005

On the Energy Bill, July 29, 2005 On Her Opposition to the Confirmation of Chief Justice Nominee John Roberts, September 21, 2005

Addressing World Affairs Council of Northern California (Video), October 13, 2006

Congressional service

Electoral history

Boxer was first elected to the Senate by a 4.9% margin in 1992. She was reelected in 2010, defeating businesswoman Carly Fiorina.

References

External links

United States Senator Barbara Boxer official U.S. Senate site

Barbara Boxer 2010 Senate official campaign site

NPR: Barbara Boxer: Rice Hearings and the 2004 Vote, Terry Gross, February 10, 2005

Progressive Magazine: Barbara Boxer Interview, Ruth Conniff, July 2005

Barbara Boxer speaks at The World Affairs Council of Northern California video, October 13, 2006

Category:1940 births Category:American pro-choice activists Category:California county supervisors Category:California Democrats Category:Female members of the United States House of Representatives Category:Female United States Senators Category:Jewish United States Senators Category:Jewish members of the United States House of Representatives Category:Living people Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives from California Category:People from Brooklyn Category:People from Marin County, California Category:United States Senators from California Category:Women in California politics Category:Brooklyn College alumni Category:Democratic Party United States Senators

Coordinates	23°17′56″N48°03′18″N
Name	Kevin Fisher
Series	The Young and the Restless
Portrayer	Greg Rikaart
First	July 11, 2003
Creator	John F. Smith & Kay Alden
Image1	Image:GregRikaart.jpg
Caption1	Greg Rikaart as Kevin Fisher (2007)
Image1 size	220px
Nickname	Pumpkin (by Chloe Mitchell)
Gender	Male
Born	1978
Age	30
Occupation	Co-owner Crimson Lights Coffee House (with Mackenzie Browning) IT person for Tucker McCall Unlimited
Residence	196 E Chestnut St. Genoa City, Wisconsin
Parents	Tom Fisher(deceased) Gloria Bardwell
Siblings	Michael Baldwin (maternal half-brother)Ryder Callahan (paternal half-brother) Daisy Callahan (paternal half-sister)
Spouse	Jana Hawkes [2008-2010] (divorced)
Romances	Lily Winters (statutory rape) Mackenzie Browning
Nieces/nephews	Fenmore Baldwin
Relatives	Jeffrey Bardwell (step-father) Lauren Fenmore (sister-in-law)
Color	gray
Color text	black

Kevin Fisher is a fictional character on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless, portrayed by Emmy Award-winning actor Greg Rikaart since July 11, 2003. Rikaart won a Daytime Emmy Award for his portrayal of Kevin in 2005.

Kevin is the son of Tom (Roscoe Born) and Gloria Fisher (Judith Chapman) and the maternal half-brother of Michael Baldwin (Christian LeBlanc). He is currently married to Jana Hawkes (Emily O'Brien). Over the years Kevin has committed numerous crimes including statutory rape, attempted murder, arson, breaking and entering, stealing government money, assault, and computer hacking.

Character's background

In 2003, teenaged Lily Winters (Christel Khalil) meets mentally unstable internet predator Kevin Fisher in an on-line chat room. Even though Kevin is much older than Lily, the two start dating and Kevin often persuades Lily to skip school to hang out with him at his place. He eventually convinces her to have sex with him. The statutory rape results in Kevin giving Lily chlamydia, a common sexually transmitted disease.

Colleen Carlton (then played by Lyndsy Fonseca), Lily's best friend, hates Kevin and Lily's relationship and often told Kevin how she felt. In return, Kevin attempts to kill Colleen by locking her in the refrigerator at local restaurant, Gina's, and then setting it on fire. He is never found guilty for these crimes.

However, in 2004, while working as a bookkeeper at Marilyn's Cabaret, Kevin is wrongly accused of electrocuting Brittany Hodges (Lauren Woodland). Desperate to avoid jail time, Kevin turns to brother Michael for help. They are soon joined by their mother, Gloria (then played by Joan Van Ark) after Kevin runs away back home to Detroit fearing he would be sent to jail. Gloria decides to return with Kevin and Michael after Michael makes a deal with the police. Later, Kevin is sent to prison, where he is beaten to a pulp by cellmates because they know he committed statutory rape.

It was ultimately Lily's father, Neil (Kristoff St. John) who finds the evidence to have him acquitted. It is some enemies of Bobby Marsino's (John Enos) who electrocuted Brittany and framed Kevin. Kevin soon becomes obsessed with Lauren Fenmore (Tracey E. Bregman), a glamorous older woman, because she treats him so kindly. Kevin is heartbroken when he discovers that Lauren was only spending time with him in hopes that he would confess to his crimes. He threatens to commit suicide. Michael talks Kevin out of killing himself, and he and Lauren agree to be friends. He and Gloria then move in with Michael and drive him crazy at every turn. Kevin is furious upon discovering that Michael is dating Lauren behind his back. This prompts him to challenge Michael to a boxing match where they compete for Lauren's love. During the match, Kevin finally releases all the anger he feels towards his abusive father and Michael apologizes for not being there for him more as they were growing up. Kevin eventually gets over his obsession with Lauren and becomes very happy for Michael and Lauren.

Later, Kevin befriends Daniel Romalotti (Michael Graziadei) who has just returned to Genoa City from boarding school. To help boost Kevin's reputation, Daniel hires a guy named Alex (Nick Chastain) to attack Lily so Kevin can rescue her and regain his reputation. In exchange, Kevin agrees to put in a good word for Daniel to Mackenzie Browning, whom has recently befriended him. However, Alex takes the plan too far and slips Lily a date rape drug. Kevin ends up saving her anyway and Alex disappears. Lily and her family hesitantly thank Kevin. Alex then returns and threatens Daniel and Kevin. They then tell Michael and Daniel's mother Phyllis (Michelle Stafford) what they have done. In a heated confrontation between Alex, Daniel and Phyllis, Phyllis' boyfriend Damon Porter (Keith Hamilton Cobb) arrives and saves them. Alex leaves town. As Kevin rises to fame because of his daring rescue, he decides to tell Lily that he is responsible for the situation with Alex. She agrees not to tell her parents.

Kevin soon begins a flirtation with Mackenzie (then played by Ashley Bashioum). Mac is a very good friend to Kevin and persuades him to seek counseling and to become a better person. Kevin and his brother Michael win the lottery, and Kevin uses his share to enter a partnership with Mac and purchase Crimson Lights Coffee House from Nicholas Newman (Joshua Morrow) and his wife, Sharon Newman (Sharon Case). While Mac appears to have slight feelings for Kevin, she is in love with Kevin's nemesis, J.T. Hellstrom (Thad Luckinbill).

Both Kevin and Michael are shocked to discover that their mother (now played by Judith Chapman) has secretly been dating the wealthy John Abbott (Jerry Douglas). Gloria successfully manages to keep both her son's identities a secret from John and his kids Jack (Peter Bergman) and Ashley (Eileen Davidson) until after she and John are married due to John's hatred for Michael and Kevin in particular (for trying to kill his granddaughter Colleen). Ashley then discovers the truth and tells a furious John. However, John's opinion of Kevin improves after he saves John's life after he fell down the stairs and accidentally stabbed himself. Jack and Ashley then hire a nurse named Geita to care for him. A jealous Gloria asks Kevin to help get rid of her and he agrees only to find himself immediately attracted to her. He then discovers that she was just using him to get a green card to stay in the country. He then preyed on her superstitious beliefs and scared her away from Genoa City. Gloria and John reunite and John comes to accept Kevin and Michael as family. Just then Kevin's abusive father, "Terrible Tom" Fisher, returns in 2005, and Kevin is forced to relive the memories of the physical and emotional violence that Tom inflicted upon him as a child. Tom then gets involved with psychotic Sheila Carter (Kimberlin Brown) in her mission to kill Lauren. Not realizing Sheila was intent on murder, Tom rescues Lauren as Sheila is about to blow up her and Michael's honeymoon yacht. Thinking Tom is responsible, Kevin's stepfather John shoots him. Tom died at the hospital before he can tell Kevin and Michael that Lauren is still alive (she was later rescued by Paul Williams (Doug Davidson)). After Tom is cremated, Kevin takes his remains and said good-bye to his father for good as he pours them down the drain.

In 2006, Mac leaves town after a bad break up with J.T., and Kevin is left to run Crimson Lights alone. Kevin's mother, Gloria, convinces Kevin that he shouldn't settle for just selling coffee, but should try to get a job at Jabot Cosmetics. Kevin is then hired to run Jabot's website, and still owns and manages Crimson Lights.

Shortly after Mac left Kevin begins dating new Crimson Lights worker Jana Hawkes. Just as things seem to be going well, Alex returns to blackmail Kevin and Daniel about their involvement in his attack on Lily. His plan fails when Kevin, Gloria and Jana make a fake video that shows Kevin (disguised as Alex) attacking Jana to make it seem like he is attempting to rape her. Alex then leaves town. Kevin and Jana fall in love and are living together by the holidays. During their relationship Jana develops a strange fascination with the murder of PR woman Carmen Mesta, who has been found dead behind new club Indigo. She even makes a "hobby" out of keeping a scrapbook of Carmen's murder. In February 2007, Jana and Colleen appear to have been kidnapped and/or killed by Adrian Korbel (Eyal Podell). However, this proves to be wrong, as Jana planned out the kidnappings. Jana "escapes" from the refrigerator where she and Colleen were held, and manages to get Kevin to the fridge, where she holds him and Colleen at bay with a taser while confessing to the murder of Carmen Mesta (Marisa Ramirez) and the kidnappings. Kevin is shocked, saying that he thought she loved him. Jana says she used Kevin and then fell for him. Jana then locks Kevin and Colleen in the fridge, and proceeds to set the building on fire and plants Kevin's drivers license (Colleen's license was inside of that) by Colleen's car, trying to make it look like Kevin kidnapped and attempted to kill Colleen in the same manner as he did years before, only he locked himself in there by mistake. After several unsuccessful breakout attempts, Kevin and Colleen pass out from the smoke. They are rescued by J.T. and Korbel, who fell for Jana's plan and are under the impression that Kevin kidnapped and attempted to murder Colleen. While Colleen lies in a coma, Kevin is arrested at the hospital as everyone (except his family) believed he had harmed Colleen, Jana, and Carmen. While being hauled off, a furious Brad Carlton (Don Diamont) punches him in the face. After being released on bail, Kevin and J.T. (who wanted him in jail) begin viewing security footage of the day of Carmen's murder. Jana had planted a fake video that makes it seem as if Kevin is dragging out Carmen's dead body. J.T. then hits Kevin on the head with a coffee pot, knocking him out. Just as this is happening Colleen wakes up and reveals the truth. After Kevin wakes up, the two forgive each other and become friends. J.T. is then arrested (but released shortly after, infuriating Kevin). Kevin then receives a call from Jana apologizing for her actions but Kevin vows to kill her if they ever met again.

When Amber Moore (Adrienne Frantz) asks Kevin if her cousin Garrett can stay with him for a while, he reluctantly agreed. Actually "Garrett" is really Amber's ex-boyfriend Plum who is blackmailing her with nude photos. After continuously being threatened by Plum, Amber (along with Kevin and Daniel) discovers him dead after an accidental fall. As Amber scrambles for the device containing the nude photos Plum had, the three stumble across a bag full of money. Since Kevin desperately needs cash to find Jana and exact revenge, he agrees they should all keep it. After both Kevin and Daniel's homes are broken into and Amber is kidnapped by the people in search of the money, they have no choice but to come clean. After Amber is rescued they are all arrested and released on bail. In the midst of all of this, Kevin teams up with Colleen to track down Jana after she begins emailing and calling him expressing how sorry she was. Kevin decides to play on her feelings for him to lure her back. He then deliberately smashes his car into a tree and ends up in the hospital. His plan works as Jana agrees to meet him in a nearby warehouse. He then pulls a gun on her and attempts to kill her, but Michael, Colleen and Daniel talked him out of it. As she is about to be arrested, Jana has a seizure and it is discovered that she has a brain tumor which may have been what caused her crazy behavior. At first, Kevin doubts her symptoms but eventually falls back in love with her, which leads him to blackmail Gloria about her involvement in the Glow-Again Scandal to help pay for Jana's surgery. After the surgery, it is revealed that 99% of the tumor was removed. As Kevin and Jana envision their life together, Jana worries that the tumor will come back and make her evil again. She then tells Kevin that they should not be together. But Kevin does receive some good news after Michael manages to get him, Daniel and Amber two years probation, community service and no jail time. No sooner does Kevin dodge one bullet, he can not resist helping his mother get revenge against Jack by leaking video footage of Jack admitting that he illegally owns Jabot as he is forbidden to purchase it after the tainted cream disaster (which was started by Gloria).

Kevin proposes to Jana on Thanksgiving Day. Although she initially says no, Kevin gives her more time to think about it. As he continues his campaign to free Jana, he is pleasantly surprised when A.D.A. Heather Stevens (Vail Bloom) suddenly drops the case and Jana is released from prison. Months later the two are married in an Ashram in Malibu. The guru who marries them turns out to be Michael's father River Baldwin (Michael Gross). As Michael tries to contend with his own "daddy issues," Kevin feels that he and his new bride were becoming too "mainstream," saying that he needs more of an edge to their lives. He then decides to team up with Gloria and Jeffrey in their plot to gain control of Jabot by getting Katherine Chancellor's (Jeanne Cooper) stock one Gloria promises a huge payday for them. After Gloria notices Katherine's memory lapses she asks for Kevin's help in helping to take advantage of it by hot-wiring her car so that she would think she forgot where she put it and printing up documents for her to sign her stock over to Gloria, making Katherine believe that she had agreed to do so due to a cell phone call that Kevin created. In the midst of all of this, Kevin becomes increasingly interested in having access to the money Gloria promised him. It is soon afterward that he discovers a large sum of cash in Katherine's purse that she left at the coffeehouse. He wrestles with the decision of whether or not to return it saying he wants to lavish Jana with expensive gifts. However, Jana makes it clear that all they need is each other. Kevin then decides it is best to call Katherine and tell her he has the money. It is not Katherine who answered the phone, though; it is her look-alike, Marge (whom Katherine has agreed to help with her drinking problem by paying for her stay in a rehab center, which is what the money is for). Once Katherine gets her phone back, she phones for Kevin to meet her at her house but on the way she and Marge are in a car accident. Kevin's weird behavior after finding the money is quickly noticed by Amber who becomes convinced that Kevin has done something to Katherine. After spending some of the money on a gift for Jana and other expenses, she discovers the bag of cash at the coffeehouse. While she tells him many times to stop spending it, he refuses saying that no one else knows about it so it's "finders keepers." Jana's "new age" way of thinking makes her believe that the guilt over having the money is torturing Kevin so she gives it to Micheal's dad Lowell for the Ashram (who was then revealed to be a con man who takes the money in hopes of going on the run). Upon finding out about this Kevin is immediately furious. Jana expresses her sorrow over this and dumps her whole view of "enlightenment." Once she and Kevin discover that the money is hidden in Michael's half-sister's teddy bear they decide to steal it back. While breaking into Nick and Phyllis' house, the two are discovered by Michael whom helps them out. Once Kevin tells him the truth Michael immediately tells him to return the money. Kevin then recalls that while visiting his mother in jail he noticed a woman who resembled Katherine. After visiting her, he believes her story and gives the remaining money to her friend Murphy to get her out of jail. Murphy then returns the remaining money to Kevin who then gives it to Michael to represent Katherine. Amber is still convinced that Kevin murdered Katherine and attempts to have him arrested. She comes to realize Kevin did not commit the murder when she sees Katherine walk into the coffeehouse. Amber then apologizes and tries to find Katherine to help her remember.

Once Amber finds Katherine, she is convinced that it is really her and she, Kevin, Jana, and Daniel all agree to help her get her life back. They discover that her identity can be proven if her antique ring is found that she wore during the car crash. The foursome then break into a pawn shop where she pawned it a few months before and got it back from the person who bought it. A court-ordered DNA test that Michael arranges for Jill and Katherine comes back negative so everyone still believes that Katherine is dead, with the exception of Kevin and Amber. Katherine is then kidnapped by con man Clint Radison (James Michael Gregary) who was responsible for posing Marge as Katherine twenty years earlier. As Clint and his accomplices Roger and Annie Wilkes (David Leisure and Marcia Wallace) held Katherine and Esther Valentine (Kate Linder) hostage in a motel, Kevin and Amber manage to track them down. After being tricked into the room by Clint, Kevin is drugged. The three of them then take photos of Kevin holding a bomb while he is high on the drugs to make it seem as if he is planning on blowing up the motel with Katherine and Esther inside. They take Kevin along with them, locking him in the trunk of a car where he is forced to relive the abuse he suffered as a child by "Terrible Tom." Meanwhile, Kay and Esther are rescued by Gloria and Amber who arrive at the motel looking for Kevin. Once the photos of Kevin with the bomb are found by the police, Kevin becomes the prime suspect in the explosion. The police then discover Kay's purse at his apartment that she left her money in and research on Kevin's computer when he hotwired Kay's car. While being held hostage Kevin is drugged and ordered to rob banks. Fearing being caught, Annie and Rodger flee and Kevin is left alone with Clint, who locks him in a closet. While watching an interview with Gloria on TV, Clint learns of the abuse Kevin suffered from his father and takes advantage of it by claiming to be his father (which reverted Kevin back to childhood) and continuing to force him to rob banks. Not long after Clint has a heart attack and dies. Kevin then begins to suffer from Stockholm syndrome and continues robbing banks. Amber soon finds him but is taken hostage by Kevin and forced to rob a bank with him. Once they are found, Kevin and Amber are arrested. While Amber is let go on bail, Michael manages to have Kevin admitted for psychological evaluation, but Heather Stevens has Kevin put in a padded room where he is heavily medicated.

Kevin later overcomes his problems & tries to reconnect with Jana after her ordeal with Lauren after the two of them were kidnapped & locked up in a cage in an amusement park. Kevin is devastated to discover Jana having an affair with his half-brother Ryder Callahan after finding them in bed together.

Kevin finds a friend in Chloe Mitchell, who herself is dealing with some devastation of her own after breaking up with her fiance Chance Chancellor after he had revealed to her that he had had a one-night stand with Heather Stevens. Kevin allows Chloe and her daughter, Delia, to move into his apartment. After they talk, Kevin surprises Chloe with a silly rap he made up and a cupcake topped with a birthday candle on it to try and cheer her up. She is grateful to him for his kind gesture and blows out the candle.

When Kevin and Chloe go to the opening of his mother Gloria's new nightclub Gloworm, Jana shows up wanting to apologize for what happened with Ryder and wants to give their marriage another chance. Kevin, still hurt over Jana's affair, refuses, and Chloe, ever the fashionable one, makes her dislike for Jana known as well as her dislike for the hat Jana was wearing. Jana becomes convinced that the two are a couple when she witnesses a friendly moment between Kevin and Chloe who are modeling for a photo shoot at Gloworm for Billy Abbott's magazine Restless Style. Jana becomes even more jealous of Kevin & Chloe's friendship when she sees them posing for pictures at Crimson Lights with Chloe's daughter Delia. Jana then takes a job at Delia's preschool as an art teacher in order to keep an eye on Kevin & Chloe.

Kevin even comforts Chloe after she, along with others, finds out that Chance has been killed after he tried to put a stop to the drug case he was working on.

Kevin is now struggling with romantic feelings for Chloe whose feelings for him remain platonic or so it seems.

The return of Kevin's half-sister Daisy rattles Kevin. The fact that she's expecting a child with his best friend Daniel rattles Kevin even more. Daisy's return & the revealation of her pregnancy puts a strain on Kevin & Daniel's friendship.

Kevin also confesses his feelings to Chloe, which leaves her stunned. She then decides to move out of Kevin's apartment, which leaves him hurt.

On December 16, 2010, Kevin & Jana reconnect & have sex. However, while helping organize a church recital that will feature Kevin's nephew Fenn, Gloria, who's still angry at Jana for cheating on Kevin, warns her to stay away from her son.

Meanwhile, Kevin is awaiting the birth of his half-sister Daisy Carter's daughter with his best friend Daniel. Kevin plans to be his niece's guardian once she is born.

On New Year's Eve, after confessing how she felt about him, Kevin & Chloe kiss outside Jimmy's Bar as 2011 begins. Jana sees this & vows to do what she can to have Kevin back in her life no matter the cost, even going so far as to let Daisy, who's in labor, drive off. Jana even fakes an injury & claims Daisy attacked her in order to play on Kevin's sympathy.

References

Category:The Young and the Restless characters Category:Fictional hackers Category:Fictional shopkeepers

Coordinates	23°17′56″N48°03′18″N
Name	John McCain
Jr/sr	Senior Senator
State	Arizona
Term start	January 3, 1987
Term end
Alongside	Jon Kyl
Predecessor	Barry Goldwater
State2	Arizona
District2	1st
Term start2	January 3, 1983
Term end2	January 3, 1987
Predecessor2	John Jacob Rhodes Jr.
Successor2	John Jacob Rhodes III
Order5	Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
Term start5	January 3, 1995
Term end5	January 3, 1997January 3, 2005 January 3, 2007
Predecessor5	Daniel Inouye (1995)Ben Nighthorse Campbell (2005)
Successor5	Ben Nighthorse Campbell (1997)Byron Dorgan (2007)
Order6	Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
Term start6	January 3, 1997
Term end6	June 6, 2001January 3, 2005 January 3, 2007
Predecessor6	Larry Pressler (1997)Ernest Hollings (2003)
Successor6	Ernest Hollings (1997)Ted Stevens (2005)
Birth date	August 29, 1936
Birth place	Coco Solo Naval Air Station, Panama Canal Zone
Birthname	John Sidney McCain III
Nationality	American
Party	Republican
Spouse	Carol Shepp (m. 1965, div. 1980)Cindy Lou Hensley (m. 1980)
Children	Douglas (b. 1959, adopted 1966),Andrew (b. 1962, adopted 1966),Sidney (b. 1966),Meghan (b. 1984),John Sidney IV "Jack" (b. 1986),James "Jimmy" (b. 1988),Bridget (b. 1991, adopted 1993)
Residence	Phoenix, Arizona
Alma mater	U.S. Naval Academy (B.S.)
Profession	Naval AviatorPolitician
Religion	Baptist congregant(Brought up Episcopalian)
Net worth	$40.4 million (USD)
Signature	John mccain signature2.svg
Website	U.S. Senator John McCain: Arizona
Footnotes	This article is part of the series At that time, the Panama Canal was under U.S. control.
Before	John Jacob Rhodes
State	Arizona
District	1
Years	1983–1987
After	John Jacob Rhodes III}}

* Category:2008 Republican National Convention Category:American memoirists Category:American military personnel of the Vietnam War Category:American military writers Category:American motivational writers Category:American people of English descent Category:American people of Scotch-Irish descent Category:American political writers Category:American prisoners of war Category:American torture victims Category:Arizona Republicans Category:Baptists from the United States Category:English-language writers Category:International Republican Institute Category:Jeopardy! contestants Category:Living people Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives from Arizona Category:Military brats Category:Politicians with physical disabilities Category:Recipients of the Air Medal Category:Recipients of the Bronze Star Medal Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Category:Recipients of the Legion of Merit Category:Recipients of the Order of the Three Stars, 2nd Class Category:Recipients of the Prisoner of War Medal Category:Recipients of the Purple Heart medal Category:Recipients of the Silver Star Category:Republican Party (United States) presidential nominees Category:Shot-down aviators Category:Skin cancer survivors Category:Sons of the American Revolution Category:United States Naval Academy graduates Category:United States naval aviators Category:United States Navy officers Category:United States presidential candidates, 2000 Category:United States presidential candidates, 2008 Category:United States Senators from Arizona Category:Vietnam War prisoners of war Category:Writers from Arizona Category:Zonians Category:1936 births Category:Republican Party United States Senators

Coordinates	23°17′56″N48°03′18″N
Nationality	American
Image name	Jesse Jackson at Max Palevsky Cinema crop.jpg
Caption	Jackson at the University of Chicago in 2009.
Office	United States Shadow Senatorfor the District of Columbia
Party	Democratic
Term start	January 3, 1991
Term end	January 3, 1997
Alongside	Florence Pendleton
Preceded	none
Succeeded	Paul Strauss
Date of birth	October 08, 1941
Place of birth	Greenville, South Carolina
Birthname	Jesse Louis Burns
Occupation	American civil rights activist minister
Spouse	Jacqueline Lavinia Brown (m. 1962)
Children	Santita Jackson, Jesse Jackson Jr., Jonathan Jackson, Yusef DuBois Jackson, Jacqueline Lavinia Jackson, Ashley Laverne Jackson (with Karin Stanford)
Alma mater	North Carolina A&T;Chicago Theological Seminary
Religion	Baptist}}

Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr. (born October 8, 1941) is an American civil rights activist and Baptist minister. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as shadow senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. He was the founder of both entities that merged to form Rainbow/PUSH. Representative Jesse Jackson, Jr. is his eldest son. In an AP-AOL "Black Voices" poll in February 2006, Jackson was voted "the most important black leader" with 15% of the vote.

Early life

Jackson was born Jesse Louis Burns in Greenville, South Carolina, to Helen Burns, a 16-year-old single mother. His biological father, Noah Louis Robinson, a former professional boxer and a prominent figure in the community, was married to another woman when Jesse was born. He was not involved in his son's life. In 1943, two years after Jesse's birth, his mother married Charles Henry Jackson, who would adopt Jesse 14 years later. Jesse went on to take the surname of his stepfather.

Education

Jackson attended Sterling High School, a segregated high school in Greenville, where he was a student-athlete. Upon graduating in 1959, he rejected a contract from a professional baseball team so that he could attend the racially integrated University of Illinois on a football scholarship. One year later, Jackson transferred to North Carolina A&T; located in Greensboro, North Carolina. There are differing accounts for the reasons behind this transfer. Jackson claims that the change was based on the school's racial biases which included his being unable to play as a quarterback despite being a star quarterback at his high school. ESPN.com suggests that claims of racial discrimination on the football team may be exaggerated because Illinois's starting quarterback that year was an African American, although it does not mention factors besides the quarterback's race which may have contributed to this perception (such as team dynamics or interpersonal interactions with other players on the team). Jackson also mentions being demoted by his speech professor as an alternate in a public-speaking competition team despite the support of his teammates who elected him a place on the team for his superior abilities. He was ordained in 1968, without a theological degree; awarded an honorary theological doctorate from Chicago in 1990; and received his Master of Divinity Degree based on his previous credits earned, plus his life experience and subsequent work, in 2000.

Family

Jackson married Jacqueline Lavinia Brown (born 1944) on, December 31, 1962, and they had five children: Santita (1963), Jesse Jr. (1965), Jonathan Luther (1966), Yusef DuBois (1970), and Jacqueline Lavinia (1975).

In 2001, it was revealed Jackson had an affair with a staffer, Karin Stanford, that resulted in the birth of a daughter, Ashley, in May 1999. According to CNN, in August 1999, The Rainbow Push Coalition had paid Stanford $15,000 in moving expenses and $21,000 in payment for contracting work. A promised advance of an additional $40,000 against future contracting work was rescinded once the affair became public. This incident prompted Jackson to withdraw from activism for a short time. Separate from the 1999 Rainbow Coalition payments, Jackson pays $4,000 a month in child support.

Civil rights activism

In 1965, he participated in the Selma to Montgomery marches organized by James Bevel, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and other civil rights leaders in Alabama. When Jackson returned from Selma, he threw himself into SCLC's effort to establish a beachhead of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in Chicago.

In 1966, King and Bevel selected Jackson to be head of the SCLC’s Operation Breadbasket in Chicago, and SCLC promoted him to be the national director in 1967. Following the example of Reverend Leon Sullivan of Philadelphia, a key goal of the new group was to foster “selective buying” (boycotts) as a means to pressure white businesses to hire blacks and purchase goods and services from black contractors. One of Sullivan's precursors was Dr. T.R.M. Howard, a wealthy South Side doctor and entrepreneur and key financial contributor to Operation Breadbasket. Before he moved to Chicago from Mississippi in 1956, Howard, as the head of the Regional Council of Negro Leadership, had successfully organized a boycott against service stations that refused to provide restrooms for blacks.

When King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee, the day after his famous "I’ve been to the mountaintop" speech at the Mason Temple, Jackson was in the parking lot one floor below. Jackson's appearance on NBC's Today Show, wearing the same blood-stained turtleneck that he had worn the day before, drew criticism from several King aides; some King associates also dispute Jackson's description of his personal involvement and also of the sequence of events surrounding the assassination.

Jackson has been known for commanding public attention since he first started working for King in 1966. His primary goal for this attention has been to give blacks a sense of self-worth.

Beginning in 1968, Jackson increasingly clashed with Ralph Abernathy, King's successor as chairman of SCLC. In December, 1971, they had a complete falling out. Abernathy suspended Jackson for “administrative improprieties and repeated acts of violation of organizational policy.” Jackson resigned, called together his allies, and Operation PUSH was born during the same month. The new group was organized in the home of Dr. T.R.M. Howard who also became a member of the board of directors and chair of the finance committee.

national headquarters in Kenwood, Chicago]] In 1984, Jackson organized the Rainbow Coalition, which later merged, in 1996, with Operation PUSH. The newly formed Rainbow PUSH organization brought his role as an important and effective organizer to the mainstream. Al Sharpton also left the SCLC in protest to follow Jackson and formed the National Youth Movement.

In March 2006, an African-American woman accused three white members of the Duke University men's lacrosse team of raping her. During the ensuing controversy, Jackson stated that his Rainbow/PUSH Coalition would pay for the rest of her college tuition regardless of the outcome of the case. The case against the three men was later thrown out and the players were declared innocent by the North Carolina Attorney General.

Jackson took a key role in the scandal caused by comedic actor Michael Richards' racially charged comments in November 2006. Richards called Jackson a few days after the incident to apologize; Jackson accepted Richards' apology and met with him publicly as a means of resolving the situation. Jackson also joined black leaders in a call for the elimination of the "N-word" throughout the entertainment industry.

International activism

During the 1980s, he achieved wide fame as an African American leader and as a politician, as well as becoming a well-known spokesman for civil rights issues. His influence extended to international matters in the 1980s and 1990s.

In 1983, Jackson traveled to Syria to secure the release of a captured American pilot, Navy Lt. Robert Goodman who was being held by the Syrian government. Goodman had been shot down over Lebanon while on a mission to bomb Syrian positions in that country. After a dramatic personal appeal that Jackson made to Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, Goodman was released. Initially, the Reagan administration was skeptical about Jackson's trip to Syria. However, after Jackson secured Goodman's release, United States President Ronald Reagan welcomed both Jackson and Goodman to the White House on January 4, 1984. This helped to boost Jackson's popularity as an American patriot and served as a springboard for his 1984 presidential run. In June 1984, Jackson negotiated the release of twenty-two Americans being held in Cuba after an invitation by Cuban president Fidel Castro.

On the eve of the 1991 Persian Gulf War, Jackson made a trip to Iraq, to plead to Saddam Hussein for the release of foreign nationals held there as the "human shield", securing the release of several British and twenty American individuals.

He traveled to Kenya in 1997 to meet with Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi as United States President Bill Clinton's special envoy for democracy to promote free and fair elections. In April 1999, during the Kosovo War, Jackson traveled to Belgrade to negotiate the release of three U.S. POWs captured on the Macedonian border while patrolling with a UN peacekeeping unit. He met with the then-Yugoslav president Slobodan Milošević, who later agreed to release the three men.

His international efforts continued into the 2000s. On February 15, 2003, Jackson spoke in front of over an estimated one million people in Hyde Park, London at the culmination of the anti-war demonstration against the imminent invasion of Iraq by the U.S. and the United Kingdom. In November 2004, Jackson visited senior politicians and community activists in Northern Ireland in an effort to encourage better cross-community relations and rebuild the peace process and restore the governmental institutions of the Belfast Agreement. In August 2005, Jackson traveled to Venezuela to meet Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, following controversial remarks by televangelist Pat Robertson in which he implied that Chávez should be assassinated. Jackson condemned Robertson's remarks as immoral. After meeting with Chávez and addressing the Venezuelan Parliament, Jackson said that there was no evidence that Venezuela posed a threat to the U.S. Jackson also met representatives from the Afro Venezuela and indigenous communities.

In 2005, he was enlisted as part of the United Kingdom's "Operation Black Vote", a campaign run by Simon Woolley to encourage more of Britain's ethnic minorities to vote in political elections ahead of the May 2005 General Election.

Jackson inherited the title of the High Prince of the Agni people of Côte d'Ivoire from Michael Jackson. In August 2009, he was crowned Prince Côte Nana by Amon N'Douffou V, King of Krindjabo, who rules more than a million Agni tribespeople.

Political activism

1984 presidential campaign

On November 3, 1983, he announced his campaign for presidency. In 1984, Jackson became the second African American (after Shirley Chisholm) to mount a nationwide campaign for President of the United States, running as a Democrat.

In the primaries, Jackson, who had been written off by pundits as a fringe candidate with little chance at winning the nomination, surprised many when he took third place behind Senator Gary Hart and former Vice President Walter Mondale, who eventually won the nomination. Jackson garnered 3,282,431 primary votes, or 18.2 percent of the total, in 1984, and won five primaries and caucuses, including Louisiana, the District of Columbia, South Carolina, Virginia, and one of two separate contests in Mississippi.

As he had gained 21% of the popular vote but only 8% of delegates, he afterwards complained that he had been handicapped by party rules. While Mondale (in the words of his aides) was determined to establish a precedent with his vice presidential candidate by picking a woman or visible minority, Jackson criticized the screening process as a "p.r. parade of personalities". He also mocked Mondale, saying that Hubert Humphrey was the "last significant politician out of the St. Paul–Minneapolis" area.

Remarks about Jews

While talking with the Washington Post reporter Milton Coleman in January 1984, Jackson referred to New York City as "Hymietown". Hymie is a pejorative term for Jews. Jackson first denied having the conversation and said Jews were conspiring against him. Jackson has since apologized for at least some of these remarks, but they badly damaged his campaign, as "Jackson was seen by many conservatives in the United States as hostile to Israel and far too close to Arab governments."

Years later, Jackson was invited to speak in support of Jewish Senator and Vice Presidential candidate Joe Lieberman at the 2000 Democratic National Convention.

1988 presidential campaign

Four years later, in 1988, Jackson once again offered himself as a candidate for the Democratic Party presidential nomination. This time, his successes in the past made him a more credible candidate, and he was both better financed and better organized. Although most people did not seem to believe he had a serious chance at winning, Jackson once again exceeded expectations as he more than doubled his previous results, prompting R.W. Apple of the New York Times to call 1988 "the Year of Jackson".

and Del. Curt Anderson during a Maryland Legislative Black Caucus meeting in Annapolis, Maryland (1988)]]

He captured 6.9 million votes and won 11 contests; seven primaries (Alabama, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Puerto Rico and Virginia) and four caucuses (Delaware, Michigan, South Carolina and Vermont). Jackson also scored March victories in Alaska's caucuses and Texas's local conventions, despite losing the Texas primary. Briefly, after he won 55% of the vote in the Michigan Democratic caucus, he was considered the frontrunner for the nomination, as he surpassed all the other candidates in total number of pledged delegates.

In early 1988, Jackson organized a rally at the former American Motors assembly plant in Kenosha, Wisconsin, approximately two weeks after new owner Chrysler announced it would close the plant by the end of the year. In his speech, Jackson spoke out against Chrysler's decision, stating "We have to put the focus on Kenosha, Wisconsin, as the place, here and now, where we draw the line to end economic violence!" and compared the workers' fight to that of the civil rights movement in Selma, Alabama. As a result, the UAW Local 72 union voted to endorse his candidacy, even against the rules of the UAW. However, Jackson's campaign suffered a significant setback less than two weeks later when he was defeated handily in the Wisconsin primary by Michael Dukakis. Jackson's showing among white voters in Wisconsin was significantly higher than in his 1984 run, but was also noticeably lower than pre-primary polling had indicated it would be. The discrepancy has been cited as an example of the so-called "Bradley effect."

Jackson's campaign had also been interrupted by allegations regarding his half-brother Noah Robinson, Jr.'s criminal activity. Jackson had to answer frequent questions about his brother, who was often referred to as "the Billy Carter of the Jackson campaign".

On the heels of Jackson's narrow loss to Dukakis the day before in Colorado, Dukakis' comfortable win in Wisconsin terminated Jackson's momentum. The victory established Dukakis as the clear Democratic frontrunner, and he went on to claim the party's nomination, but lost the general election in November.

Campaign platform

In both races, Jackson ran on what many considered to be a very liberal/socialist platform. Declaring that he wanted to create a "Rainbow Coalition" of various minority groups, including African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Arab-Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, family farmers, the poor and working class, and homosexuals, as well as European American progressives who fit into none of those categories, Jackson ran on a platform that included:

creating a Works Progress Administration-style program to rebuild America's infrastructure and provide jobs to all Americans,

reprioritizing the War on Drugs to focus less on mandatory minimum sentences for drug users (which he views as racially biased) and more on harsher punishments for money-laundering bankers and others who are part of the "supply" end of "supply and demand"

reversing Reaganomics-inspired tax cuts for the richest ten percent of Americans and using the money to finance social welfare programs

cutting the budget of the Department of Defense by as much as fifteen percent over the course of his administration

declaring Apartheid-era South Africa to be a rogue nation

instituting an immediate nuclear freeze and beginning disarmament negotiations with the Soviet Union

supporting family farmers by reviving many of Roosevelt's New Deal–era farm programs

creating a single-payer system of universal health care

ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment

increasing federal funding for lower-level public education and providing free community college to all

applying stricter enforcement of the Voting Rights Act and

supporting the formation of a Palestinian state.

With the exception of a resolution to implement sanctions against South Africa for its apartheid policies, none of these positions made it into the party's platform in either 1984 or 1988.

Stand on abortion

Although Jackson was one of the most liberal members of the Democratic Party, his position on abortion were originally more in line with pro-life views. Jackson once endorsed the Hyde Amendment, which bars the funding of abortions through the federal Medicaid program. He wrote an article published in a 1977 National Right to Life Committee News report:

"There are those who argue that the right to privacy is of [a] higher order than the right to life...that was the premise of slavery. You could not protest the existence or treatment of slaves on the plantation because that was private and therefore outside your right to be concerned.

What happens to the mind of a person, and the moral fabric of a nation, that accepts the aborting of the life of a baby without a pang of conscience? What kind of a person and what kind of a society will we have twenty years hence if life can be taken so casually? It is that question, the question of our attitude, our value system, and our mind-set with regard to the nature and worth of life itself that is the central question confronting mankind. Failure to answer that question affirmatively may leave us with a hell right here on earth."

However, since then, Jackson has adopted a pro-choice view, believing that abortion is a right and that the government should not prevent a woman from having an abortion.

Later political activities

He ran for office as "shadow senator" for the District of Columbia when the position was created in 1991, and served as such through 1997, when he did not run for re-election. This unpaid position was primarily a post to lobby for statehood for the District of Columbia.

In the mid-1990s, he was approached about being the United States Ambassador to South Africa but declined the opportunity in favor of helping his son, Jesse Jackson, Jr., run for the United States House of Representatives.

While Jackson was initially critical of the "Third Way" or more moderate policies of Bill Clinton, he became a key ally in gaining African American support for Clinton and eventually became a close advisor and friend of the Clinton family. Clinton awarded Jackson the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest honor bestowed on civilians. His son, Jesse Jackson, Jr., also emerged as a political figure, becoming a member of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois. In 2002, scholar Molefi Kete Asante listed Jesse Jackson on his list of 100 Greatest African Americans. In 2003, Jackson surprised many observers by declining to endorse the campaigns of either Al Sharpton or former Senator Carol Moseley Braun, the two African American candidates, in the race for the Democratic Party's 2004 presidential nomination. Instead, Jackson remained largely silent about his preference in the race until late in the primary season, when he allowed Democratic Representative Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, another presidential candidate, to speak at a Rainbow/PUSH forum on March 31, 2004. Although he did not explicitly voice an endorsement of Rep. Kucinich, Jackson described Kucinich as "assuming the burden of saying 'you make the most sense, but you can't win.'" He also writes for The Progressive Populist.

Jackson was a target of the 2002 white supremacist terror plot.

2004 presidential election

Jackson gathered information and support to investigate the 2004 U.S. presidential election controversy, particularly the voting results in Ohio and its recount. He called for a congressional debate on the matter, asking for a fair count and national voting standards, saying that the elections in the United States are each run with different standards by different states with partisan tricks, racial bias, and widespread incompetence and are an open scandal.

Jackson said that he held some hope that the election could be overturned, although he admitted that that was very doubtful. Jackson compared the voting irregularities of Ohio to that of the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election, saying that if Ohio were Ukraine, the U.S. presidential election would not have been certified by the international community. Jackson called Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell inappropriately partisan and said that Blackwell may have been pressured by President George W. Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney to deliver Ohio to the Republican Party.

Based on information obtained in hearings held by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) and discovered during a flawed recount of the Ohio presidential vote called for by Green Party candidate David Cobb and Libertarian Party candidate Michael Badnarik, Jackson suggested that the Ohio voting machines were "rigged" and that some African-Americans were forced to stand in line for six hours in the rain before voting. When asked for evidence, Jackson replied, "Based on distrusting the system, lack of paper trails, the anomaly of the exit polls."

On January 6, 2005, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee Democratic staff released a 100 page report on the Ohio election. This challenge to the Ohio election was rejected by a vote of 74-1 by the United States Senate and 267-31 in the House. Many high-ranking Democrats chose to distance themselves from this debate, including John Kerry, despite Jesse Jackson personally asking Kerry for help. The call for election reform legislation and voting rights protection nonetheless continued.

Terri Schiavo case

In early 2005, Jackson visited the parents in the Terri Schiavo case; he supported their unsuccessful bid to keep her alive.

Firearms protest and arrest

On June 23, 2007 Jackson was arrested in connection with a protest at a gun store in Riverdale, a poor suburb of Chicago, Illinois. Jackson and others were protesting due to allegations that the gun store had been selling firearms to local gang members and was contributing to the decay of the community. According to police reports, Jackson refused to stop blocking the front entrance of the store and let customers pass. He was charged with one count of criminal trespass to property.

2008 presidential election

In March 2007, Jackson declared his support for then-Senator Barack Obama in the 2008 democratic primaries. Jackson later criticized Obama in 2007 for "acting like he's white," in response to the Jena 6 beating case.

On July 6, 2008, during an interview with Fox News, a microphone picked up Jackson whispering to fellow guest Dr. Reed Tuckson: "See, Barack's been, ahh, talking down to black people on this faith-based... I want to cut his nuts out." Jackson was expressing his disappointment in Obama's Father's Day speech chastisement of black fathers. Only a portion of Jackson's comments were released on video. A spokesman for Fox News stated that Jackson had "referred to blacks with the N-word" in his comments about Obama; Fox News did not release the entire video or a complete transcript of his comments. Subsequent to his Fox News interview, Jackson apologized and reiterated his support for Obama.

Electoral history

New York State Right to Life Party Presidential convention, 1980

Ellen McCormack: 79,609 (67.33%)

Ronald Reagan: 34,293 (29.00%)

No candidate: 2,729 (2.31%)

Jesse Jackson: 1,606 (1.36%)

1984 Democratic presidential primaries

Walter Mondale: 6,952,912 (38.32%)

Gary Hart: 6,504,842 (35.85%)

Jesse Jackson: 3,282,431 (18.09%)

John Glenn: 617,909 (3.41%)

George McGovern: 334,801 (1.85%)

Unpledged: 146,212 (0.81%)

Lyndon LaRouche: 123,649 (0.68%)

Reubin O'Donovan Askew: 52,759 (0.29%)

Alan Cranston: 51,437 (0.28%)

Ernest Hollings: 33,684 (0.19%)

1984 Democratic National Convention

Walter Mondale: 2,191 (56.41%)

Gary Hart: 1,201 (30.92%)

Jesse Jackson: 466 (12.00%)

Thomas F. Eagleton: 18 (0.46%)

George McGovern: 4 (0.10%)

John Glenn: 2 (0.05%)

Joe Biden: 1 (0.03%)

1988 Democratic presidential primaries

Michael Dukakis: 9,898,750 (42.47%)

Jesse Jackson: 6,788,991 (29.13%)

Al Gore: 3,185,806 (13.67%)

Dick Gephardt: 1,399,041 (6.00%)

Paul M. Simon: 1,082,960 (4.65%)

Gary Hart: 415,716 (1.78%)

Unpledged: 250,307 (1.07%)

Bruce Babbitt: 77,780 (0.33%)

Lyndon LaRouche: 70,938 (0.30%)

David Duke: 45,289 (0.19%)

James Traficant: 30,879 (0.13%)

Douglas E. Applegate: 25,068 (0.11%)

1988 Democratic National Convention

Michael Dukakis: 2,877 (70.09%)

Jesse Jackson: 1,219 (29.70%)

Richard H. Stallings: 3 (0.07%)

Joe Biden: 2 (0.05%)

Dick Gephardt: 2 (0.05%)

Lloyd Bentsen: 1 (0.02%)

Gary Hart: 1 (0.02%)

Shadow Senator from District of Columbia, 1990

Two candidates who won the highest number of vote take two shadow seats.

Jesse Jackson (D): 105,633 (46.80%)

Florence Pendleton (D): 58,451 (25.89%)

Harry T. Alexander (I): 13,983 (6.19%)

Milton Francis (R): 13,538 (6.00%)

Joan Gillison (R): 12,845 (5.69%)

Keith M. Wilkerson (D.C. Statehood): 4,545 (2.01%)

Anthony W. Peacock (D.C. Statehood): 4,285 (1.90%)

John West (I): 3,621 (1.60%)

David L. Whitehead (I): 3,341 (1.48%)

Sam Manuel (Socialist Workers): 2,765 (1.23%)

Lee Black (I): 2,728 (1.21%)

In popular culture

In the 1970s, Jesse Jackson recited his poem "I Am – Somebody" on Sesame Street, as the child audience repeated his verses.

Jackson performed the marriage ceremony for Sammy Davis, Jr. and Altovise Davis in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 11, 1970.

See also

"I Am - Somebody" - a well-known Jesse Jackson poem

Notes

References

Bibliography

. .

External links

Jesse Jackson - Keep Hope Alive

Affiliates

Quotes

Ubben Lecture at DePauw University

1984 DNC speech transcript and audio

1988 DNC speech transcript and audio

Jesse Jackson Calls for "War on Poverty" - video interview by Democracy Now!

Category:1941 births Category:Living people Category:20th-century African-American activists Category:African American religious leaders Category:African Americans' rights activists Category:African American United States presidential candidates Category:American adoptees Category:American football quarterbacks Category:Baptist ministers from the United States Category:Baptists from the United States Category:Illinois Fighting Illini football players Category:Jackson family (Chicago) Category:North Carolina A&T; Aggies football players Category:People from Chicago, Illinois Category:People from Greenville, South Carolina Category:Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Category:Spingarn Medal winners Category:United States presidential candidates, 1984 Category:United States presidential candidates, 1988 Category:United States Shadow Senators from District of Columbia Category:University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign alumni

Coordinates	23°17′56″N48°03′18″N
Name	Ice Cube
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	O'Shea Jackson
Alias
Born	June 15, 1969 From the 2000s onwards, Jackson focused on acting, and his musical output has slowed down considerably.
- style	"background:#b0c4de; text-align:center;"
- style	"background:#b0c4de; text-align:center;"
- style	"background:#b0c4de; text-align:center;"
Name	Ice Cube
Date of birth	1969-06-15

Category:1969 births Category:Living people Category:Ice Cube Category:1990s rappers Category:2000s rappers Category:2010s rappers Category:Actors from California Category:African American Muslims Category:African American converts to Islam Category:African-American film producers Category:African American film actors Category:African American rappers Category:African American singers Category:American film actors Category:American music video directors Category:American Muslims Category:American screenwriters Category:Capitol Records artists Category:Converts to Islam from Christianity Category:N.W.A members Category:Priority Records artists Category:Rappers from Los Angeles, California Category:Ruthless Records artists

Coordinates	23°17′56″N48°03′18″N
Jr/sr	Senior Senator |
State	Missouri |
Alongside	Roy Blunt |
Party	Democrat |
Term start	January 3, 2007|
Preceded	Jim Talent |
Order2	34th State Auditor of Missouri |
Term start2	1999 |
Term end2	2007 |
Governor2	Mel Carnahan (1999-2000)Roger B. Wilson (2000-2001)Bob Holden (2001-2005)Matt Blunt (2005-2007) |
Preceded2	Margaret B. Kelly |
Succeeded2	Susan Montee |
Office3	Member of theMissouri House of Representatives |
Term start3	1982 |
Term end3	1988 |
Date of birth	July 24, 1953 |
Place of birth	Rolla, Missouri
Dead	alive
Residence	St. Louis, Missouri
Spouse	David Exposito (div.)Joseph Shepard |
Children	AustinMaddieLily
Alma mater	University of Missouri (B.A., J.D.)
Religion	Roman Catholic |
Profession	Attorney |
Footnotes	|

Claire Conner McCaskill (; born July 24, 1953) is the senior United States Senator from Missouri and a member of the Democratic Party. She defeated Republican incumbent Jim Talent in the 2006 U.S. Senate election, by a margin of 49.6% to 47.3%. She is the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from Missouri in her own right. She became the state's senior U.S. Senator upon the retirement of Kit Bond in 2011.

Before her election to the U.S. Senate, McCaskill was State Auditor of Missouri from 1999 to 2007. She previously served as Jackson County Prosecutor (1993–1998) and a member of the Missouri House of Representatives (1983–1988). She was an unsuccessful candidate for Governor of Missouri in the 2004 gubernatorial election. She is a native of Rolla and graduate of the University of Missouri.

In the U.S. Senate, McCaskill serves as a member of the Committee on Armed Services, Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and Special Committee on Aging. She is chairman of the Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight. She was cited by The New York Times to be among the seventeen women most likely to become the first female President of the United States.

Early life

McCaskill was born in Rolla, Missouri. McCaskill's father, William Y. McCaskill, served as a state Insurance Commissioner during the administration of Governor Warren E. Hearnes. Her mother Betty Anne was the first woman elected to the City Council of Columbia, Missouri. Interestingly, Betty Anne McCaskill lost a race for a seat in the state House of Representatives to Leroy Blunt, former Governor Matt Blunt's grandfather. McCaskill spent her early childhood in the small Missouri town of Houston, later moving to Lebanon, and eventually Columbia. McCaskill attended David H. Hickman High School in Columbia, where she was a cheerleader, Pep Club president, a member of the debate club, performed in school musicals, and was elected homecoming queen. While attending the University of Missouri, McCaskill joined Kappa Alpha Theta sorority, graduating in 1975 with a B.A. in political science. She received her Juris Doctor (J.D.) from the University of Missouri Law School in 1978.

Early political career

Except for three years spent in private practice as an attorney at the firm of a Kansas City trial lawyer (1989 to 1991), McCaskill has worked in the public sector continuously since graduating from law school in 1978. Claire, following her graduation from law school, spent one year as a law clerk on the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Western District, which sits in Kansas City. Thereafter, McCaskill joined the Jackson County prosecutor's office where she specialized in arson cases. In 1982, McCaskill was elected to represent the Brookside neighborhood of Kansas City in the Missouri House of Representatives, where she became the first female attorney to serve in that body in approximately 40 years. During her time in the House, McCaskill became the first Missouri state lawmaker to give birth while in office. McCaskill left the state House to contemplate running for Jackson County Prosecutor in 1988, but did not pursue the position when fellow Democrat and incumbent Prosecutor Albert Riederer decided to seek another term. In 1990, McCaskill was elected to the Jackson County Legislature (the equivalent of a county commission or county council). In 1991, McCaskill made a bold announcement when she expressed her intention to run for County Prosecutor. The announcement was significant in that the elected Democratic Prosecutor Riederer had not announced that he wasn't going to seek re-election. McCaskill then went on to an impressive victory in capturing the Jackson County Prosecutor's Office in 1992.

McCaskill was the first woman to serve as Jackson County Prosecutor, and was re-elected to that office in 1996. In 1998 McCaskill was elected to the position of State Auditor, and was the second woman State Auditor after her predecessor, Margaret B. Kelly.

2004 gubernatorial campaign

On August 3, 2004, McCaskill defeated Governor Bob Holden in the Democratic primary race, becoming the first person to defeat an incumbent governor in a primary election in state history. McCaskill also was the first primary challenger to defeat an incumbent Governor in the United States since 1994, when Bill Janklow defeated Walter Dale Miller in South Dakota, and Myrth York defeated Bruce Sundlun in Rhode Island. Despite McCaskill's victory, however, she was criticized by some Democrats for accepting campaign contributions from Anheuser-Busch, who had pulled their support for Holden after he vetoed a concealed weapons bill passed by the state legislature. On November 2, 2004, McCaskill lost to then-Secretary of State Matt Blunt in the general election by a margin of 51% to 48%. McCaskill's loss to Blunt was the first defeat in her 20-year political career.

2006 U.S. Senate race

Both Talent and McCaskill easily defeated their opponents in their respective primaries on August 8, 2006. McCaskill and Talent debated each other on Meet the Press on October 8, 2006. On November 8, 2006, McCaskill defeated Talent by a margin of 49.6% to 47.3%.

U.S. Senate tenure

Overview

McCaskill entered the U.S. Senate promising to raise the minimum wage and to work with her counterpart from Missouri, Republican Senator Kit Bond.

She introduced legislation with then-Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) after the Walter Reed Army Medical Center neglect scandal erupted which demanded the full accountability of wounded veterans and agencies that would ensure physical and mental health conditions being addressed. "Those who have fought this war and felt its effects most personally, our servicemen and women, deserve to have a real researched plan for dealing with the aftermath of their sacrifice, so that the mistakes made by the administration in war planning are not repeated in planning for the readjustment needs of these heroes," McCaskill noted on the Senate floor after Obama made comments about the same issue. McCaskill also took Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson to task over the "irresponsibility" regarding overlooking the Department of Veterans Affairs.

In the Senate Armed Services Committee, McCaskill has made herself known for being aggressive by questioning officials in the Department of Defense and their "loose" spending habits. McCaskill grilled top officials of the military's auditing agencies for rewarding KBR for their Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (LOGCAP) contract, a contract now valued at over $20 billion, despite audit reports indicating extreme contractor mismanagement and expansive overcharging of the U.S. government. She has also been critical of DoD's auditors, the Defense Contract Audit Agency, based on a recent GAO report which alleges that audits were not properly supported or supervised, and in some cases been changed by managers in order to appease the procurement community and/or the audited contractor.

McCaskill invoked the name of President Harry Truman, who was one of the predecessors to McCaskill's current seat, by indicating the Truman Committee.

A November 2007 poll had McCaskill's approval rating at 48%, with 46% disapproving. The same poll shows McCaskill with the support of 71% of Democrats, 35% of independents, and 29% of Republicans. By December 2008, the same poll had her approval rating rising to 53%, with 43% disapproving. Another poll in late September 2009 has her approval holding steady, with 50% in approval, and 43% disapproving.

McCaskill has denounced the use of earmarks and pork barrel spending, and with Russ Feingold she is one of only two Democratic senators that have sworn not to use earmarks.

In February 2009 McCaskill came out in support of Republican U.S. Representative Anh Joseph Cao and Democratic fellow U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu in their insistence on corrections of mismanagement of the New Orleans office of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

in Denver, Colorado.]] In January 2008, Claire McCaskill decided to endorse Senator Barack Obama in his campaign for the Democratic nomination for the presidential elections of 2008, making her one of the first senators to do so. She has been one of the most visible faces for his campaign. McCaskill's support was crucial to Obama's narrow victory in the Missouri primary in February, 2008. She has credited her daughter as the one who made her publicly endorse Obama. She had been frequently mentioned as a possible vice presidential choice of Senator Obama in the 2008 run for the White House, but was never seriously considered. She spoke on the opening day of the Democratic National Convention in August 2008.

McCaskill regularly writes about her daily activities and opinions on the micro-blogging site Twitter. Her "tweets" often attract coverage by traditional press. McCaskill is currently the second-most followed member of congress on Twitter.

She was critical of the Stupak-Pitts Amendment, which places limits on taxpayer-funded abortions in the context of the November 2009 Affordable Health Care for America Act.

Committees

Committee on Armed Services

*Subcommittee on Airland

*Subcommittee on Personnel

*Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support

Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation

*Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security

*Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs, Insurance, and Automotive Safety

*Subcommittee on Interstate Commerce, Trade, and Tourism

*Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Innovation

Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

*Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information and International Security

*Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations

*Ad Hoc Subcommittee on State, Local, and Private Sector Preparedness and Integration

*Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight (Chairwoman)

Special Committee on Aging

Impeachment Trial Committee on the Articles against Judge G. Thomas Porteous, Jr. (Chairwoman) Senator McCaskill also served as the Chairwoman of the Select Committee for the Impeachment of Samuel B. Kent, which was disbanded July 22, 2009, after Judge Kent resigned.

Notes

McCaskill is the first elected woman to represent Missouri in the U.S. Senate. Jean Carnahan was appointed to the Senate following her husband's death and posthumous election, but was defeated in a close election by Jim Talent.

McCaskill has been selected by the DNC to lead a commission alongside Jim Clyburn that will investigate the rules and structure of the 2012 primary season.

Electoral history

Personal life

McCaskill was married to David Exposito, with whom she had three children. The couple divorced in 1995, while McCaskill was Jackson County Prosecutor. Exposito was found murdered in Kansas City, Kansas on December 12, 2005

On the October 3, 2009 episode of NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!, McCaskill spoke about a vacation early in her career as a lawyer, where she was a contestant on High Rollers. McCaskill would reign as champion for four days, and later sold several of her prizes to pay off her student loan debt.

In April 2002, McCaskill married St. Louis businessman Joseph Shepard. Shepard loaned $1.6 million to McCaskill's 2004 gubernatorial campaign and also had business interests in the nursing home industry. Because as state auditor McCaskill was responsible for auditing the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, which regulates the state's nursing home system, Shepard's financial interests in the industry became an issue during the 2004 gubernatorial campaign.

In May 2007, an invitation for McCaskill to speak at the graduation of her daughter Maddie Esposito at Catholic St. Joseph's Academy in St. Louis was withdrawn after the school president was contacted by a call from diocesan officials because of her position strongly supporting abortion and embryonic stem cell research.

References

External links

United States Senator Claire McCaskill official Senate site

ClaireOnline.com official campaign site

Claire McCaskill at Twitter

Category:1953 births Category:Living people Category:Members of the Missouri House of Representatives Category:People from Rolla, Missouri Category:People from the Kansas City metropolitan area Category:American prosecutors Category:Missouri lawyers Category:State Auditors of Missouri Category:United States Senators from Missouri Category:University of Missouri alumni Category:American Roman Catholic politicians Category:Female United States Senators Category:Women state legislators in Missouri Category:Federal Emergency Management Agency critics Category:Missouri Democrats Category:Democratic Party United States Senators