By Andrew Coen
The three-day conference, titled, "William Jefferson Clinton: The 'New Democrat' from Hope," included an address by Clinton. It was Hofstra's 11th conference devoted to modern presidents since 1982, when the first examined Franklin D. Roosevelt's years in the White House. Subsequent conferences have focused on each president since FDR.
Nassau County Legislator Dave Denenberg (D-Merrick) said that Clinton, to him, meant a new kind of Democrat who was more moderate than previous Democratic presidential candidates, who were more liberal. "I think people will remember that his fiscal conservatism and social moderation was something that connected with suburban voters and benefited the middle class," said Denenberg.
Former Hempstead town supervisor and Lido Beach resident Richard Guardino, now the dean of Hofstra's Center for Suburban Studies in the university's Business Development Center, said it was fitting that the Clinton conference was being held in America's first suburb, Nassau County, since suburban voters were a major reason why the longtime Arkansas governor made it to the White House. "[Clinton's] success with suburban voters was absolutely key to his win," said Guardino, explaining that close to half of the country was made up of suburbanites in the 1992 and 1996 elections, and that there are even more today. "For Democrats to be able to win in suburbia was a new phenomenon."
Clinton's success in the suburbs was evident in historically Republican Nassau County, which he carried in both elections.
To Lawrence High School senior Michelle Williams, Clinton was someone she looked up to as a young girl and who, she said, she prefers much more than the current president, George W. Bush. "I liked [Clinton's] issues," said Williams. "If he ran again, he'd have my vote."
However, Harvey Colton of Lawrence said that Clinton's affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky and his subsequent lying about the matter to a federal grand jury brought "shame to society." "Bill Clinton is a liar, a cheater, and all the Democrats look aside his indiscretions," said Colton. "He diminished the role of the presidency."
U.S. Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford), who was one of only four Republican members of the House of Representatives to vote against all four articles of impeachment at Clinton's Senate trial, said at a conference forum that despite disagreeing with Clinton on many social issues, he felt that what his fellow Republicans did was wrong, and bad for the country. "What was done with Bill Clinton's impeachment was terrible for the country," said King, adding that impeachment should be reserved for very serious issues, and that lying, a human flaw, was not a sufficient reason. "The impeachment of Clinton permanently poisoned our politics."
Despite Clinton's impeachment, his approval numbers remained high until he left office, which Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg (D-Long Beach) said shows the great job Clinton did maintaining a prosperous economy and keeping the country in solid standing around the globe. "Everything was moving in the right direction," said Weisenberg. "The conditions that existed in the country then were so much better than they are today."
Speaking before a near full house at Hofstra Arena on Nov. 10, Clinton said that despite controversies like the Lewinsky affair and the impeachment that clouded his second term, he has no regrets about his pursuit of the presidency. "If I could live my life over again, I would not avoid a life of public service," he said. "With all its slings and arrows, I would do it all over again."
Clinton offered his assessment of his years in the Oval Office, discussing both the positives and negatives of his presidency. He also made a plea that his time in the White House be judged by what he did as America's leader, and not by the impeachment that marred his second term. He described the Republican-led House of Representatives' vote to impeach him as "an egregious abuse of the Constitution," which was met by a burst of applause from the crowd. "If you think [the impeachment] was right, then stand up and say so, but if you think it was wrong, don't pretend it should be given weight," Clinton said.
Hofstra's examination of the American presidency will continue in future years, thanks in part to a pledge of $1.5 million from alumnus and Board of Trustees member Peter Kalikow, the current chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, to endow an academic chair in presidential studies. According to Hofstra officials, Kalikow's gift will allow the university to recruit a leading scholar in the study of the presidents and create a center for those studies.
The next conference will focus on Bush after he leaves office - when scholars will likely still be trying to determine how history will treat the Clinton years.
Comments about this story? ACoen@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 210.
