Introduction>>
Bill Clinton, whose full name is William Jefferson Clinton, served the United States as its 42nd president from 1993 to 2001. Clinton’s supporters say that he helped the country to improve in many ways. Others point out his impeachment and say that he definitely was not a good president.
Constructive Debater 1 Henry
A lot of people attack Clinton for his character, and they often talk about how he was involved in a scandal with Monica Lewinsky. Let me say this, though. Clinton’s private life had nothing to do with his abilities as president. First of all, the crime rate fell every single year that Clinton was president. How did this happen? Well, he obtained funding for 100,000 new police officers. He also signed a bill that made it necessary to get a background check to buy a handgun.
Debater 2 Ashley
Well, I won’t focus on Clinton’s personal life. Instead, I’ll provide solid reasons why he was not a good president. One of Clinton’s biggest goals was health care reform, but he wasn’t prepared to take on such a huge task. In the end, nothing substantial happened regarding health care. That’s one reason why the Republicans were able to take over the office. Also, he passed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which resulted in more air pollution. He even allowed logging in national forests.
Rebuttal
Debater 1 Henry
Clinton was involved in the fight against AIDS. When he was president, funding for AIDS-related programs went up by 150 percent. Furthermore, he signed the Newborns’ and Mothers’ Health Protection Act of 1996. This made it possible for women to stay in the hospital for a longer period of time after giving birth. As for his environmental policies, he strengthened the Safe Drinking Water Act, made efforts to preserve 4.6 million acres of land in national monuments, and enacted tougher emissions and energy efficiency standards.
Debater 2 Ashley
According to writer Stephen Moore, the number of prisoners doubled under Clinton’s presidency. Moreover, 58 percent of them were sent to jail for drug-related crimes. Clinton didn’t do very much to improve rehabilitation or crime prevention. Incarceration was his main priority. Something else that he neglected was the U.S.’ space program. In 1995, Clinton cut NASA’s budget by $715 million. It struggled to operate even after Clinton left, and some experts even blame him for the 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia explosion.
Judge’s Comments
Henry and Ashley both did very well this week. Their arguments were strong and full of detailed information. It was a difficult decision, but Ashley wins. She provided a lot of statistics to back up her claims, and she made sure to thoroughly respond to each of Henry’s points.
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