What kind of a governor was Bill Clinton?

[bluestateguy]

I'm curious to know because a student in my class said that Clinton "didn't really do anything as governor of Arkansas". I didn't really challnege this point because it was not related to the topic at hand, but I'd like to hear from you Arkansans why he was so popular as governor.

[murielm99]

1. I know he overhauled education in Arkansas.

Their standards for teachers were very poor. They raised those standards to conform better with the rest of the country.

He raised standards students had to meet also. They did not have any kind of standardized testing, and Arkansas had few college grads, compared to the rest of the states.

I do not think testing kids to death is the best way to be sure they are learning, but some standards do have to exist.

Clinton also set up a series of rural clinics, and improved health care for children in Arkansas. That is why he had a blueprint of sorts when he went to Washington. He wanted to reform health care for the rest of the country, too.

He also fixed the state highways, which were crappy.

Bill was also president of the National Governor's Association. The other state governors thought highly of him, and felt he had made great strides for Arkansas as governor.

I am not from Arkansas, but I had family there in the eighties.

Remember, he lost after one term, then won again. Some people were unhappy because he had raised taxes during his first term, to pay for everything he had done. There was also some negative campaigning against him (as usual) after his first term when some Cuban detainees rioted, and caused alarm in citizens there.

Bill is always going to be controversial. But I bet there are people in Arkansas who miss him as governor as much as we miss him as President. God, we need some sanity and prosperity again!

[ArkDem]

2. The teachers were tested not the students.

The highways have NEVER been fixed.

[Coyote_Bandit]

3. Wish he was still governor....

I was born in Arkansas in the 60's into a family that traces its roots back to early 1800's Arkansas on both sides. I graduated in the 70's. Still have family there and still spend a lot of time there.

I met Bill and Hillary during his first campaign for governor. Petersen Farms used to have a weekend barbeque with entertainment and stuff in Decatur and he was there campaigning. I was a teenager at the time. He spent well over an hour sitting and talking with my parents about various issues.

Just a few year before he was elected there had been a big scandal regarding the operation of Cummins prison. I believe the governor at the time was Winthrop Rockefeller. When Clinton first took office the population of the entire state was probably not even that of most mid-size metropolitan areas today. He made several changes. Lost a bid for re-election because he dared to raise the tax on car tags. If I remember a Republican named Frank White held office during the interim until Mr. Bill was subsequently re-elected.

His accomplishments as governor? He definitely improved the educational system in the state. He did improve roads and transportation. Yes, both of these things still have significant need for improvement. What you have to realize is how undeveloped much of the state was. I can take you to a home (now abandoned) that did not have electricity or indoor plumbing until the late 1960's when that was made possible under the rural electrification program. It was during the mid to late 1970's when Clinton first became governor that the state began to market its natural beauty and become a retirement destination - something that has definitely fostered tourism, growth and development within the sate. Probably Clinton's greatest success as governor was making the state friendly to business development and growth. When he became governor there were some fledgling businesses that while not exactly new kids on the block have since experienced significant growth while maintaining their corporate headquarters in Arkansas. Chief among these of course is Wal-Mart - and lets not forget that Hillary served on their Board of Directors before becoming First Lady. Other noted corporate citizens include Tyson Foods, Dillards Department stores, and JB Hunt Trucking. Not too shabby for a state whose total population still lags behind that of most major cities in our country. And let us not forget that one area of the country that has maintained a fairly healthy economy and showed continued gorwth throughout the Bush administration is the Fayetteville metropolitan area.

I would suggest that the student who said that Clinton did nothing for the sate of Arkansas as governor lacked the context of time and thus the ability to see just how much development occurred within the state under Clinton's governorship.

[Name removed]

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