7.2. Bill Clinton vs. Grover Cleveland

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7.2. Grover Cleveland and Bill Clinton

The following parallels exist between the lives of Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th President and William Jefferson Clinton, the 42nd President:

7.2.1. Personal History

1. Both were born and lived in small towns under humble circumstances.

Cleveland was born in Caldwell, New Jersey, the son of a minister with nine children. [AP 176] Clinton was born in Hope, Arkansas. His mother was a nurse and he was raised by his grandparents until he was four. [BCAK 23] 2. Both their fathers died before their sons reached adulthood.

Cleveland's father died when he was 16. [AP 176] Clinton's father died in an automobile accident three months before the future president was born. [BPL 65] 3. As an adult, both used a name other than his birth name.

Cleveland dropped his first name of Stephen [FFTP 20]. Clinton, whose father died before he was born, took his stepfather's last name, though he was never adopted. [BPL 65] 4. Both lived in Fayetteville.

Cleveland's family moved to Fayetteville, New York in 1841 [GC xiii]. Clinton lived in Fayetteville, Arkansas. [FHC 327-328] 5. Both avoided the military draft as young men.

Cleveland legally hired a substitute for $300 when his name came up for the draft in the Civil War. [AP 177] Clinton promised service in the ROTC in exchange for killing a draft notice. Then he broke his promise for ROTC service. [BCAK 46-47] 6. Cleveland lived in Clinton, NY. [AP 176] On the day before he was elected president, Clinton campaigned in Cleveland, Ohio. [TIME.2]

Cleveland also studied Latin and mathematics at the Clinton Liberal Institute in 1850 and 1851. [GC 14] 7. Both liked to vacation near Cape Cod.

Cleveland enjoyed Buzzard's Bay [GC 175], while Clinton liked to visit Martha's Vinyard. [TIME.1][TIME.3] 8. Both were large men, inclined to be overweight.

Cleveland with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 34.6 would be considered "obese" while Clinton's BMI of 28.3 is only "overweight." [BPL 43] Cleveland was 5 feet 11 inches in height, Clinton 6 feet 2 1/2 inches. [FFTP 7-8]

7.2.2. Careers

1. Both were teachers for brief periods.

Cleveland worked one year at the New York City Institution for the Blind as an assistant teacher. [GC 16-17] Clinton taught law at the University at Fayetteville from 1973-1976. [FHC 327-328, 287] 2. Both were Lawyers. [BPL 21]

3. Cleveland's first government position was Assistant District Attorney. [GC 29-30] Clinton's first elective position was Attorney General. [FHC 350]

4. Both were Governors of States.

Cleveland was Governor of New York, Clinton was Governor of Arkansas. [BPL 17] Both began their terms of office in '83. [BPL 17] 5. Both were elected to high office, lost the office, then regained it in the next election.

7.2.3. Election to the Presidency

1. Both were two term Democrats. [BPL 4-5]

2. Cleveland was elected in 1892, Clinton in 1992. [BPL 4-5]

3. Neither was ever elected with a majority of the popular vote.

Cleveland had 48.5% and 46%, Clinton 43% and 49.2% [BPL 31] 4. Both faced charges of sexual misconduct in his first campaign.

It was charged during his 1884 campaign that Cleveland was the father of Mrs. Maria Crofts Halpin's illegitimate son. [GC 41] In his 1992 campaign, Clinton faced charges that he had a long term affair with Gennifer Flowers [BCAK 213] 5. The first election of each followed two Republican presidents. The second republican served as the vice-president of the first. The first suffered a gunshot wound while in office.

Cleveland's predecessors were Garfield (who was assassinated) and Arthur. Clinton's predecessors were Reagan (wounded in an assassination attempt) and Bush. [AP 164, 170, 410,433] 6. In their second campaigns, both faced third party candidates who received a significant portion of the popular vote.

In 1892 James Weaver received 8.5% of the popular vote. [AP 456] In 1996 Ross Perot received about 9% of the popular vote.

7.2.4. Their Presidencies

1. Cleveland was 47 when he took office for the first time. Clinton was 46. [BPL 23]

2. Both wanted to lower tariffs.

Cleveland fought for a bill to lower tariffs in 1894. [AP 185] Clinton supported NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) to eliminate tariffs with Mexico. He also supported the GATT treaty and others which would reduce trade barriers. [PWD 285-294] 3. Both wanted to raise income taxes.

In 1894 Cleveland signed the Wilson Tariff Act which also levied a new income tax. [AP 185, GC 264] Clinton supported raising income taxes on the wealthy to reduce the budget deficit. [PWD 171-172, 181] 4. Both underwent surgery during their second terms.

Cleveland for cancer in his jaw and Clinton to repair a knee injury. [BPL 37, 39] 5. Both enjoyed federal budget surpluses during part of their tenure.

For Cleveland it happened during his first term. [GC 150] Clinton recently announced a budget surplus. The 105th Congress balanced the budget "for the first time in three decades." [AJC.3] 6. Both had to deal with economic crises during his second term.

For Cleveland it was a major depression, which occurred in 1893. Stock prices plunged and many people were unemployed. [GC 187, 193] For Clinton it was a major recession in Asia. Many markets (including the New York stock market) plunged and were volatile for many months. Several currencies were devalued. [NW.1] 7. Mid-term elections in '94 were disasters for the Democrats, losing both houses of Congress to the Republicans. [BPL 35]

8. Both had Resolutions of Impeachment concerning them introduced in Congress. [BPL 28]

7.2.5. Wives

1. Frances Folsom Cleveland died in the same month and year that Hillary Rodham Clinton was born.

In fact, Frances Folsom Cleveland died (on October 29, 1947) only three days after the birth of Hillary Rodham (October 26, 1947). [PW 185, HRC 29]

IF HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF WE CAN EXPECT THE FOLLOWING FOR PRESIDENT CLINTON:

1. As economic conditions worsen, his popularity will plunge.

2. Democratic politicians will began to disengage themselves from the administration and attack the President himself. In his last years in office he will be a very weak president.

3. In spite of many problems, he will complete his second term of office.

4. The Democratic party will become dominated by its radical left wing and this will lead to the election of a conservative Republican president.

5. After leaving office, Clinton will become associated with a major university. He will become an "elder statesman" and historians will rate him as a better than average president.