State distrusted 'brilliant' Clinton, Bumpers said in '09 interview

Arkansans had antipathy for Bill and Hillary Clinton from the moment they first showed political aspirations, former U.S. Sen. Dale Bumpers said in an interview made public Thursday.

When the Clintons moved to Fayetteville in the 1970s to teach at the University of Arkansas law school, people in the state "accepted that," said Bumpers.

"But when they got into politics, people began to become wary of them," he said. "Hillary was a strong champion of women's right and spoke forthrightly about it. Well, that's not who we want living in the governor's mansion."

In that last sentence, Bumpers was speaking, presumably, for an Arkansas electorate, not voicing his own opinion.

"Hillary had a very astute mind, but so did Bill," said Bumpers.

"They were both very keen thinkers, and usually way ahead of the crowd."

Bumpers made the comments on Oct. 13, 2009, while being interviewed by Russell Riley, associate professor and co-chairman of the Miller Center's Presidential Oral History Program at the University of Virginia.

A transcript of the one-hour interview was released and posted on the group's website, millercenter.org. The topic of conversation was former President Bill Clinton.

The William J. Clinton Presidential Project was begun in 2001 as a collaborative effort between the Miller Center and the David and Barbara Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, with the cooperation and support of the Clinton Foundation.

"Drawing on the special strengths of each of these two centers, the Clinton Project has produced an oral history rivaling in depth any undertaken on an American president to date," according to the Miller Center's website. The project includes 134 interviews.

In the interview, Bumpers generally praised former President Clinton.

"The truth of the matter is he is one of the most brilliant men I have ever known," said Bumpers.

Bumpers was less generous in diaries written 27 years earlier. Those diaries were among the Dale Bumpers Papers in the special collections department of the UA library in Fayetteville until they were removed by Bumpers' family in March.

In 1982 diary entries, Bumpers wrote that the Clintons were obsessed with political ambition and that Bill Clinton had problems "when character is required to make the right decision."

Brent Bumpers, Dale Bumpers' son, said his father doesn't remember writing the diaries and they shouldn't have been included with his papers donated to the university. Dale Bumpers is 89 years old and no longer talks to reporters.

"I am very happy to see the release of this interview because it is a true reflection of Dad's feelings toward Bill Clinton," said Brent Bumpers.

"I don't think it would be a stretch at all to say, and this interview confirms, that clearly Dale Bumpers considers Bill Clinton to be not just among the most brilliant and talented men he has ever known, but also one of the greatest presidents in history. It would be much better, of course, if Dad could speak for himself, but I can assure you with 100 percent certainty this interview reflects his true feelings towards Bill Clinton, both then and now."

In the Miller Center interview, Riley asked Bumpers if he felt threatened by the political upstart Bill Clinton.

Bumpers said he told an aide after hearing Clinton speak in 1974, "I hope I don't ever have to run against that guy."

Bill Clinton lost that first political race in 1974, for Congress, to Republican John Paul Hammerschmidt of Harrison.

Clinton was governor of Arkansas from 1979-81 and again from 1983-92. He was president from 1993-2001.

Bumpers was governor from 1971-75 and a U.S. senator from 1975-99. Bumpers and the Clintons are Democrats.

Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham met while students at Yale University Law School.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is a candidate for president. She lost the Democratic nomination in 2008 to Barack Obama.

In the Miller Center interview, Bumpers said Washington Post reporter David Broder told him he should keep his speeches to 10 minutes, 15 at the most. Broder said he was passing on advice he'd heard from Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass.

Bumpers said he thought about that often during his political career. He said voters didn't always understand the complexities of policy and politics, and too much explaining seemed to make it worse.

Bumpers said he was surprised that crowds didn't applaud when he told them there was a $600 billion surplus at the end of Clinton's second term as president.

"They didn't seem to understand the meaning," said Bumpers. "The magnitude of it was indescribable."

Bumpers was referring specifically to the Budget Reconciliation Act of 1994, which he described as a "magnificent" achievement on Clinton's behalf.

"I know of no president, other than Abraham Lincoln, who ever had the strength to do what Clinton did in 1994," said Bumpers. "It was paying off beautifully until George W. [Bush] became president. He disposed of that $600 billion surplus in nothing flat."

Bumpers said Republicans won control of the Senate and House of Representatives later that year, in part, by rallying opponents of the tax increase.

"That's anathema to a Republican no matter the benefit," Bumpers said of tax increases. "They couldn't stand the thought of it, no matter how meritorious the justification. It also presented a political opportunity. They could convince the people of this country they were going to go broke because of this massive tax increase the president had imposed on them. ... While the Republicans were livid about the tax increases, they could hardly wait to get their hands on the money."

Bumpers also talked about Bill Clinton's temper.

"I've seen his temper, yes, but really not at its zenith," Bumpers told Riley. "I've just seen him when he was upset about something. But he was not slow to anger. But his anger wasn't contrived, it was something his genes required of him; to let it go, to explode. That was a genuine feeling. It was not contrived. The ones who did know about his anger were forgiving about it because he was under tremendous pressure all the time."

Bumpers is known as one of Bill Clinton's most eloquent defenders. He gave an impassioned speech on the Senate floor during Clinton's impeachment trial on Jan. 21, 1999.

Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice, then was acquitted in the Senate on Feb. 12, 1999.

Bumpers, age 73 at the time, had retired early that January after 24 years in the Senate. Clinton's defense team asked Bumpers to return to the Capitol and give a closing argument.

Bumpers told Riley he was asked after the speech if he wanted it to be his legacy.

"My answer was 'No. I want my legacy to be that I voted against 38 amendments, either Constitutional amendments or other amendments that could lead to a Constitutional amendment,'" said Bumpers. "I never voted for anything that could even lead to a Constitutional amendment. All those prayer in school amendments and all the things the hard-core conservatives could think up drove me crazy. It irritated me that we were even talking about such things. The Founding Fathers must have been turning in their graves."

Metro on 07/10/2015

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