I am a liberal. A proud outspoken leftist. Liberals have no illusion of what Clinton is or represents. Clinton's so-called "welfare reform" bill destroyed the Aid for Families with Dependent Children program and made it harder for people to get food stamps. Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage act, another assault on our civil liberties that would've done a compassionate conservative proud. I personally hold that Bill Clinton has always been a conservative Democrat and made no effort to hide it. Besides his original hoopla about gays in the military (which he abandoned) and national health care (which he abandoned), he's spent most of his time catering to the right. He did take some brave stands, like the Brady Bill, but at the same time tried to stick it to welfare, stick it to other countries, and stick up for big business and exploitative trade practices.

His greatest contribution as president was as a diplomat. His foreign policy was sound and he deserves at least some credit for the prosperous times our country is now in.

His worst trait, though, has nothing to do with the myriad stupid scandals he was forced to endure. His worst trait is tied to his best trait — his ability to be a (manipulative) diplomat. Clinton took the positions of his opponents (the most moderate positions) and left them looking like extremists. A political animal from birth, Clinton was not a great president, not known for his dalliances, but rather his callousness.