Episode 25: William J. Clinton - a podcast by SMU Center for Presidential History

Today’s episode is all about William Jefferson Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States, the first baby boomer to hold the office, and indeed, the second youngest man ever elected president. Clinton’s legacy is ongoing and a work in progress even now nearly thirty years since he took office. Changing political winds, changes within the democratic party in particular, a changing sensibility over welfare and the war on crime, and let’s face it, a different sensibility of what constituted sexual harassment than was the case during the early 1990s have all changed how we view not only this period, but this man. And we’re going to get into all of it today, as we rush forward through the 1990s across the bridge to the 21st century, with Bill Clinton, a complicated, fascinating, conundrum of a man, whose political enemies and allies alike nearly universally agree was the greatest natural politician of his generation—with perhaps the greatest unfulfilled promise.

We began with Dr. Sarah Coleman, author of The Walls Within: The Politics of Immigration in Modern America, but more importantly, a much beloved alum of the CPH Post-doc program.  We then turned the conversation to Dr. Carly Goodman, one of the nation’s leading experts on the confusing but critical US Visa Lottery, and also a co-editor of the Washington Post’s influential “Made by History” series. 

Together our guests illuminated two key themes. 

• First, changes in immigration policy were changing the face of America
• Second, new media, in particular right wing media, responded with anxiety to that changing face

To learn more, visit pastpromisepresidency.com.

Further episodes of The Past, the Promise, the Presidency

Further podcasts by SMU Center for Presidential History

Website of SMU Center for Presidential History