Clintonian

Clintonian is an ambiguous term that either refers to the political behavior of United States President Bill Clinton or his administrative style and personal group of political allies.

Ideological sense

A Clintonian is a member of the political faction of the United States Democratic Party centered around former President Bill Clinton and his wife, current Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. This faction is thought to include journalist Sidney Blumenthal, former Democratic National Committee Chairman Steven Grossman, former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Henry Cisneros, former Treasury Department Secretary Robert Rubin, and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

While the primary qualification is being aligned with or part of the web of political and donor connections associated with the Clintons, the ideology of the faction can be said in broad outline to favor certain policies:

• Free trade: Bill Clinton supported and worked to pass the North American Free Trade Agreement and create the World Trade Organization. Free trade was an essential component of his economic policy.
• Balanced budget: The Clintonians are associated with restraining the growth of federal spending, in order to allow lower interest rates and freer monetary policy.
• Greater willingness to use and fund the military and to compromise on social issues such as abortion.
• Reform or reduction of some government programs, exemplified by the ending of Aid to Families with Dependent Children as part of welfare reform.
• Internationalism, particularly the expansion of North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

The ideology is sometimes thought of as part of the Third Way, a brand of politics that is said to include former Prime Minister Tony Blair's New Labour in the United Kingdom, the Liberal Party in Canada, and the Social Democratic Party in Germany under former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder.

Political sense

“	It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is. If the--if he--if 'is' means is and never has been, that is not--that is one thing. If it means there is none, that was a completely true statement...	”
	— Bill Clinton during the independent counsel testimony.[1]

Following the Monica Lewinsky scandal and the Impeachment of President Bill Clinton the term "Clintonian" has also carried the connotation of verbal craftiness, usually in a political or legal context, intended to deceive or obscure the truth.

"The word Clintonian is in our lexicon and means being sneaky, and tough." -Tony Blankley^[2]

Notes

1. ^ "Slate dot com, Sept. 13, 1998", lewinsky testimony search engine (Slate (magazine)), http://www.slate.com/id/1000162, retrieved 3/4/08 
2. ^ MSNBC - Hardball with Chris Matthews, originally aired February 8, 2008