History UsefulNotes / BillClinton

* ControversyProofImage: One of the most memorable elements of his presidency and career in general was how no scandal seemed to be able to hurt his popularity. His approval rating actually ''went up'' during his impeachment trial and he left office with one of the highest recorded approval ratings of any president. ''Series/MadTV'' made fun of this, portraying Clinton as the protagonist of ''Film/LiarLiar 2'' in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbZCw9OUmSY a memorable sketch]]; Clinton being forced to come clean about all his scandals and secrets thanks to his newfound complete inability to lie or hide his true feelings ... resulted in him becoming even more popular.

* In ''WesternAnimation/MrPeabodyAndSherman'', Peabody recieves a triplicate presidential pardon from George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Bill Clinton, who adds "I've done worse!"

Despite his being mostly remembered as a relatively popular president, Clinton was actually pretty ''un''popular during his first two years in office, struggling to turn around the economic troubles he inherited from Bush and being simultaneously seen as too right-wing (by more liberal Democrats) and too left-wing (by most Republicans), causing the Republicans to earn the biggest mid-term victory since TheGreatDepression. However, the size of the victory actually worked against the Republicans, who quickly descended into vicious infighting -- between eventual nominee Bob Dole's more moderate establishment faction and the growing arch-conservative evangelical faction of Pat Buchanan -- over the presidential nomination for what they assumed would be an easy win in 1996's election. Clinton, meanwhile, slowly improved the economy and his own personal image, contrasted his image as a moderate figure against what was seen as an increasingly divided, extreme, and worn-out[[note]](Clinton and running-mate UsefulNotes/AlGore had a combined age of 97 years old when running for re-election; the combined age of Dole and his running-mate Jack Kemp was ''134 years'', a record that -- for a major party ticket, at least -- wouldn't be surpassed until UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump and Mike Pence were up for re-election in 2020 with a combined age of 135 years)[[/note]] Republican Party, ultimately resulting in his re-election victory being even more decisive than his initial win.

Contrary to the image of the presidency as an upper-class platform, Clinton came from a background of fierce lower-class struggle. This ended up working to his advantage, as rather than being portrayed as a backwater hick or a repeat of former farmer Carter, it allowed him to craft a populist image that could directly contrast the "dorky old dad" image the elder Bush had developed and appeal more easily across class lines; a campaign speech in which a teary-eyed Clinton stated that "I feel your pain" became emblematic of his image as a president for the people. During his time in office, African-American writer Creator/ToniMorrison dubbed him "the first black president" as a result of how effectively Clinton's invocations of his background appealed to and resonated with redlined black voters in particular, with black scholars generally agreeing with the label and its connotations in analyzing Clinton's popularity among black communities. This also led to heightened expectations for the ''actual'' first black president, UsefulNotes/BarackObama, who had a more upper-class and Bohemian image more in-step with the conventional image of the presidency prior to Clinton (though Obama, like Clinton, successfully maintained heavy popularity among black Americans, aided in part by him constantly staying in touch with trends and issues relevant to ordinary black Americans rather than falling victim to the classist apathy of black capitalism).

Despite his being mostly remembered as a relatively popular president, Clinton was actually pretty ''un''popular during his first two years in office, struggling to turn around the economic troubles he inherited from Bush and being simultaneously seen as too right-wing (by more liberal Democrats) and too left-wing (by most Republicans), causing the Republicans to earn the biggest mid-term victory since TheGreatDepression. However, the size of the victory actually worked against the Republicans, who quickly descended into vicious infighting -- between eventual nominee Bob Dole's more moderate establishment faction and the growing arch-conservative evangelical faction of Pat Buchanan -- over the presidential nomination for what they assumed would be an easy win in 1996's election. Clinton, meanwhile, slowly improved the economy and his own personal image, contrasted his image as a moderate figure against what was seen as an increasingly divided, extreme, and worn-out[[note]](Clinton and running-mate UsefulNotes/AlGore had a combined age of 97 years old when running for re-election; the combined age of Dole and his running-mate Jack Kemp was ''134 years'', a record that -- for a major party ticket, at least -- wouldn't be surpassed until UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump and Mike Pence were up for re-election in 2020)[[/note]] Republican Party, ultimately resulting in his re-election victory being even more decisive than his initial win.

In the run-up to the 1992 presidential election, Clinton emerged as one of four front-runners, along with Nebraska senator Bob Kerrey, former Massachusetts senator Paul Tsongas, and former (and future) California governor Jerry Brown. Kerrey's campaign never really got going, Paul Tsongas couldn't match Clinton's fundraising abilities, while Brown made a fatal error by publicly hinting he would likely pick Jesse Jackson as his running-mate, with Jackson's past comments and political positions alienating several sections of the Democratic voter base in one go. Clinton thus took the nomination, and while few initially expected anything other than a sixth Republican landslide in seven elections, various factors, including Bush suffering declining poll numbers and being forced to adopt a more socially conservative platform than he wanted, together with the surprise emergence of UsefulNotes/RossPerot's third-party candidacy (which in turn was fatally undermined when Perot temporarily withdrew his candidacy, only to re-enter the race within a month) ultimately added up to propel Clinton to the White House.[[note]]Some Republicans blame Perot for both of Clinton's victories to this day, even though analysis of both the 1992 and 1996 elections has shown that Perot actually took votes from the Democrats and Republicans in relatively equal measure, taking slightly more from the Democrats in 1992, and slightly more from the Republicans in 1996.[[/note]]

In the run-up to the 1992 presidential election, Clinton emerged as one of three front-runners, along with Nebraska senator Bob Kerrey, and former (and future) California governor Jerry Brown. Kerrey's campaign never really got going, while Brown made a fatal error by publicly hinting he would likely pick Jesse Jackson as his running-mate, with Jackson's past comments and political positions alienating several sections of the Democratic voter base in one go. Clinton thus took the nomination, and while few initially expected anything other than a sixth Republican landslide in seven elections, various factors including Bush suffering declining poll numbers and being forced to adopt a more socially conservative platform than he wanted, together with the surprise emergence of UsefulNotes/RossPerot's third-party candidacy (which in turn was fatally undermined when Perot temporarily withdrew his candidacy, only to re-enter the race within a month) ultimately added up to propel Clinton to the White House.[[note]]Some Republicans blame Perot for both of Clinton's victories to this day, even though analysis of both the 1992 and 1996 elections has shown that Perot actually took votes from the Democrats and Republicans in relatively equal measure, taking slightly more from the Democrats in 1992, and slightly more from the Republicans in 1996.[[/note]]

* Obliquely referenced in the original ''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoClassic Grand Theft Auto]]'' title. In an optional mission, the First Lady is said to be touring the Vice City hospital which Deever, the cartoonishly evil ex-cop, instructs you to blow up. His motive? Well, [[DisproportionateRetribution she didn't answer his fan mail.]] In another mission, the Rastafarians dispatch you to attack a "[[ConspiracyTheories/OToZ Babylonian]]" army that turns out to be the presidential motorcade (good luck surviving this mission; it is impossible).

Clinton was elected as Governor of Arkansas in 1979, and while he lost re-election in 1981, he made a comeback at the next election in 1983 and won re-election three more times, with his total of 11 years and 11 months in office making him the second-longest-serving governor in the state's history.[[note]](The longest being Orval Faubus, who served an even 12 years -- and Clinton would actually have exceeded his record if not for his leaving office to become president. Neither Clinton's nor Faubus' length in office is ever likely to be matched, as the state has since put term limits on the office, meaning an individual can no longer serve more than 10 years)[[/note]] He first came to national attention when he made what turned out to be an extremely poorly-received nomination speech for Michael Dukakis at the 1988 Democratic Convention, which many predicted at the time would end any hope Clinton had of advancing his career beyond Arkansas; fortunately for him, the speech was soon overshadowed by Dukakis' own blunders (as well as those of Bush's running-mate, UsefulNotes/DanQuayle) during the ensuing campaign, and Clinton made sure to improve his media image when he was up for re-election as governor in 1990.

In the run-up to the 1992 presidential election, Clinton emerged as one of three front-runners, along with Nebraska senator Bob Kerrey, and former (and future) California governor Jerry Brown. Kerrey's campaign never really got going, while Brown made a fatal error by publicly hinting he would likely pick Jesse Jackson as his running-mate, with Jackson's past comments and political positions alienating several sections of the Democratic voter base in one go. Clinton thus emerged as the front-runner, and while few initially expected anything other than a sixth Republican landslide in seven elections, various factors including Bush suffering declining poll numbers and being forced to adopt a more socially conservative platform than he wanted, together with the surprise emergence of UsefulNotes/RossPerot's third-party candidacy (which in turn was fatally undermined when Perot temporarily withdrew his candidacy, only to re-enter the race within a month) ultimately added up to propel Clinton to the White House.

** The season 20 (1994-95) premiere episode opened with some of the show's male performers (Creator/ChrisFarley, Creator/DavidSpade, Creator/AdamSandler, Creator/ChrisElliott, and Creator/TimMeadows) auditioning to be the new Clinton impersonator (due to Hartman having left the show after the previous season), and each infuses their signature style into their portrayals, e.g. Farley does an energetic fitness bit, Spade snarks on world leaders, and Sandler sings a song about great it is to be the president.

* ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' originally cast Creator/PhilHartman as a folksy, oblivious President Clinton who was eternally cheating on his diet, particularly in a sketch featuring Clinton stopping at a [=McDonald=]'s and eating everybody's food. Creator/DarrellHammond took over following Hartman's departure from the show; the skits became widely popular, catapulting Hammond from B-List status and rivaling even Creator/DanaCarvey's memorable turn as UsefulNotes/GeorgeHWBush. Clinton 2.0 was more of a MemeticBadass and [[ThePornomancer Pornomancer]]. Witness his response to being acquitted:
-->"[[PunctuatedForEmphasis I. Am.]] '''[[ImmuneToBullets Bullet-proof]]'''. Next time, ya'll better bring some [[{{Franchise/Superman}} Kryptonite]]."

That said, Clinton's power and popularity has dramatically declined over the past few years. Hillary's loss to UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump in the 2016 election severely damaged his reputation as a political operator and saw him lose much of the power he used to wield within the Democratic Party (ironically, the 2017 book ''Shattered'' claims that Bill correctly diagnosed the problems that doomed Hillary's campaign early on but his warnings were ignored and concerns dismissed by campaign manager Robby Mook). As the Democratic base became younger and more populist, more serious scrutiny was applied to his behavior and his record. Millennials fault his economic policies for helping cause the economic difficulties their generation faces, with longshot challenger UsefulNotes/BernieSanders -- a self-identifying democratic socialist in a country where "socialist" has been an epithet for decades -- attracting a surprising amount of youth support for that reason. The mainstream Democratic base more broadly is soured by how Hillary's decade-long attempt to elevate herself to the White House ended with the far-right rising to power and their party being reduced to minority status at the federal level and in a majority of state governments, forcing them to rebuild and reunite under elderly leaders like UsefulNotes/JoeBiden, UsefulNotes/NancyPelosi and Chuck Schumer.

* Creator/JohnMulaney has a bit explaining that his parents went to Georgetown at the same time as he did, which meant John had a ''lot'' of fun watching them watch someone they went to college with become President. He also reveals that at the time, the college encouraged the male students to walk their female classmates home at night, and Clinton walked John's mom home once. Fast forward a couple decades, she wants to go see him at a campaign event for Georgetown alumni, but John's father doubts he'll remember her. So she takes a young John to the event with her instead... and Clinton takes one look at her and says, "Oh, hey, Ellen!"

** In "A Taste of Freedom", the Decapodian fleet [[VisualEntendre cuts the tip off the Bill Clinton monument]]. This was actually a late addition [[DistancedFromCurrentEvents due to the September 11th attacks]], which made shots of rampantly destroyed buildings distasteful.

* Creator/ConanOBrien had "Clinton" on as a regular guest, voiced by Robert Smigel (the madman behind ''SNL'''s TV Funhouse). This particular Clinton's hormones were jacked UpToEleven, as were his redneck mannerisms. (See also his Tv Funhouse entry below)

** Also, in "E Pluribus Wiggum", he was in Springfield posting signs for [[UsefulNotes/HillaryRodhamClinton his wife]]'s campaign. When she told him over the phone he needed to put 25 more signs, he asked what he did to deserve that. She told him he knew what he did and he complained [[NeverLiveItDown she'd never let him live it down]].
** In "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday", he calls the winning team from the Super Bowl, but Homer answers it instead, though Clinton gets interrupted by UsefulNotes/AlGore, [[FunnyAneurysmMoment who's taking measurements of the Oval Office]].

Moreover, the several allegations of sexual misconduct that were leveled against him during his presidency received far more scrutiny from both the press and his own party in the wake of [=#MeToo=], not only due to the acts involved in the accusations (alongside connections with infamous child trafficker Jeffrey Epstein), but also the huge imbalance of power between the ''president of the United States'' and the interns who accused him. This led to him not making a single appearance during the 2018 midterm elections, as many Democrats conceded that he's become too controversial to be used in public campaigns anymore. Similarly, he kept a low profile during the 2020 presidential campaign and his diminishment was crystallized by the 2020 Democratic National Convention, [[DemotedToExtra where he only spoke for five minutes alongside Jimmy Carter before fading into the background]], a dramatic change from the hour-long top-billed speeches Clinton gave at conventions during the 2000s and 2010s.[[note]]While all of the 2020 [=DNC=] speeches were much shorter than pervious ones, Clinton's was especially terse compared to Obama's 19 minute speech and was even shorter than the ones given by Biden's primary rivals Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.[[/note] Though to be fair, it may also be due to the fact that it has been over 20 years since he was President, whereas most young voters know him mainly as Hillary Clinton's husband, and that Barack Obama and Joe Biden are the more recent Democratic presidents.

That said, Clinton's power and popularity has dramatically declined over the past few years. Hillary's loss to UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump in the 2016 election severely damaged his reputation as a political operator and saw him lose much of the power he used to wield within the Democratic Party (ironically, the 2017 book ''Shattered'' claims that Bill correctly diagnosed the problems that doomed Hillary's campaign early on but his warnings were ignored and concerns dismissed by campaign manager Robby Mook). As the Democratic base became younger and more populist, more serious scrutiny was applied to his behavior and his record. Millennials fault his economic policies for helping cause the economic difficulties their generation faces, with longshot challenger UsefulNotes/BernieSanders -- a self-identifying democratic socialist in a country where "socialist" has been an epithet for decades -- attracting a surprising amount of youth support for that reason. The mainstream Democratic base more broadly is soured by how Hillary's decade-long attempt to elevate herself to the White House ended with the far right rising to power and their party being reduced to minority status at the federal level and in a majority of state governments, forcing them to rebuild and reunite under elderly leaders like UsefulNotes/JoeBiden, UsefulNotes/NancyPelosi and Chuck Schumer.

Moreover, the several allegations of sexual misconduct that were leveled against him during his presidency received far more scrutiny from both the press and his own party in the wake of [=#MeToo=], not only due to the acts involved in the accusations (alongside connections with infamous pedophile Jeffrey Epstein), but also the huge imbalance of power between the ''president of the United States'' and the interns who accused him. This led to him not making a single appearance during the 2018 midterm elections, as many Democrats conceded that he's become too controversial to be used in public campaigns anymore. Similarly, he kept a low profile during the 2020 presidential campaign and his diminishment was crystallized by the 2020 Democratic National Convention, [[DemotedToExtra where he only spoke for five minutes alongside Jimmy Carter before fading into the background]], a dramatic change from the hour-long top-billed speeches Clinton gave at conventions during the 2000s and 2010s.[[note]]While all of the 2020 [=DNC=] speeches were much shorter than pervious ones, Clinton's was especially terse compared to Obama's 19 minute speech and was even shorter than the ones given by Biden's primary rivals Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.[[/note] Though to be fair, it may also be due to the fact that it has been over 20 years since he was President, whereas most young voters know him mainly as Hillary Clinton's husband, and that Barack Obama and Joe Biden are the more recent Democratic presidents.

That said, Clinton's power and popularity has dramatically declined over the past few years. Hillary's loss to UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump in the 2016 election severely damaged his reputation as a political operator and saw him lose much of the power he used to wield within the Democratic Party (ironically, the 2017 book ''Shattered'' claims that Bill correctly diagnosed the problems that doomed Hillary's campaign early on but his warnings were ignored and concerns dismissed by campaign manager Robby Mook). As the Democratic base became younger and more populist, more serious scrutiny was applied to his behavior and his record. Millennials fault his economic policies for helping cause the economic difficulties their generation faces, with longshot challenger UsefulNotes/BernieSanders -- a self-identifying democratic socialist in a country where "socialist" has been an epithet for decades -- attracting a surprising amount of youth support for that reason. The mainstream Democratic base more broadly is soured by how Hillary's decade-long attempt to elevate herself to the White House ended with the far right rising to power and their party being reduced to minority status at the federal level and in a majority of state governments, forcing them to scramble to rebuild and reunite under elderly leaders like UsefulNotes/JoeBiden, UsefulNotes/NancyPelosi and Chuck Schumer.

Moreover, the several allegations of sexual misconduct that were leveled against him during his presidency received far more scrutiny from both the press and his own party in the wake of [=#MeToo=], not only due to the acts involved in the accusations (alongside connections with infamous pedophile Jeffrey Epstein), but also the huge imbalance of power between the ''president of the United States'' and the interns who accused him. This led to him not making a single appearance during the 2018 midterm elections, as many Democrats conceded that he's become too controversial to be used in public campaigns anymore. Similarly, he kept a low profile during the 2020 presidential campaign and his diminishment was crystallized by the 2020 Democratic National Convention, [[DemotedToExtra where he only spoke for five minutes alongside Jimmy Carter before fading into the background]], a dramatic change from the hour-long top-billed speeches Clinton gave at conventions during the 2000s and 2010s. Though to be fair, it may also be due to the fact that it has been over 20 years since he was President, whereas most young voters know him mainly as Hillary Clinton's husband, and that Barack Obama and Joe Biden are the more recent Democratic presidents.

* The unnamed president in ''[[VideoGame/StrikeSeries Jungle Strike]]'' clearly resembles him.
** Unnamed? Heck, [[http://i.imgur.com/cVKt2Gx.jpg the game even credits him by name!]]
* The president and his family in VideoGame/SilentScope closely resemble Hillary, Chelsea, and himself. Not to mention that the penultimate boss who's holding the president captive is named Monica.

* In the arcade versions of ''VideoGame/Cruisn USA'', the ending [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbqeCrsTFTA#t=35s actually has]] the American President (who looks like Clinton) in a hot tub atop the White House with women in bikinis!

* '''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbqeCrsTFTA#t=35s BEST. PRESIDENT. EVER.]]'''

* BigEater: The common angle comedians took in portraying him pre-Monica Lewinsky, such as how Creator/PhilHartman famously [[https://youtu.be/eYt0khR_ej0 portrayed him in the now-classic]] "Bill Clinton at UsefulNotes/McDonalds" ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' sketch. The sight of this trope now dates any portrayal that uses it, both because of how he's now commonly portrayed as a LovableSexManiac and how he became a vegetarian (mostly) in his post-presidency.[[note]] Worth noting that even the Hartman sketch contains the line "there's gonna be a whole ''bunch'' of things we don't tell Mrs. Clinton", since Bill's ReallyGetsAround reputation was well-known and publicized, even in 1993.[[/note]]

--> '''Alien Leader''': [with [[RedEyesTakeWarning fierce, glowing red eyes]]]: "You, degenerate President, we'll tell the world about your secret sex life!"
--> '''President Totally-Not-Clinton''': "No, please don't. Let's take a break in there... for a friendly talk..." [cue next level starting, and said incident is [[LetUsNeverSpeakOfThisAgain NEVER]] mentioned for the remainder of the game]

* TrademarkFavoriteFood: [=McDonald's=], thanks in part to ''Saturday Night Life''.