When listing the ideals desirable for an American president, the two most desirable ideals are those of honesty and integrity. The American people want a president they can trust, a president with civic virtues who puts aside all his personal pleasures in lieu of serving his country to the best of his ability. Bill Clinton, during his presidency and even in his earlier government positions, tried to maintain his personal pleasures while appearing to the public as a man of civic virtue. This approach ultimately backfired in some of the most embarrassing scandals known to the presidential office. Clinton's scandals have undermined respect for the position of president as they have now shown the world that immoral scandals are not beneath the highest elected office in America. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The majority of the Clinton scandals began before he even became president. While Clinton was governor of Arkansas, he was involved in a lending scandal involving the sale of unused land that was presented as more than it actually was. While this scandal was in no way illegal, it was clearly unethical and a rather misguided decision for a future president. Clinton had also sexually harassed an Arkansas state employee named Paula Jones while she was governor of Arkansas, a move that would later lead to the revelation of other sexual affairs and result in his eventual impeachment . These cases clearly diminish Clinton's credibility as governor of Arkansas, a position that was already considered insufficient political experience for a president. Although at the time these decisions may have seemed logical to Clinton, his decision to run for president was ill-advised since he would accept the position with ample evidence that could, and would, incriminate him, so that he was trying to fulfill his presidential duties. Clinton's past scandals fortunately were not an issue for him during his first term as president, allowing the first four years of the Clinton administration to be a resounding economic success. During Clinton's first term, America began to see the positive effects of George Bush's tax increases on the economy. Although the government shut down twice during the Clinton administration, it could be argued that it was a necessary measure that ultimately did more good for the U.S. economy than previously thought. didn't think so before. During the government shutdown in 1996, with the House led by new House Speaker Newt Gingrich, immense pressure was placed on Clinton to compromise with Republicans on the national budget. Fortunately, Clinton and Gingrich were able to reach a compromise that significantly reduced the deficit, resulting in a budget surplus. The surplus, coupled with the fact that the Clinton years were initially economically prosperous, resulted in very positive sentiment toward the Clinton administration in terms of the economy. Although to some extent the economy could have prospered regardless of who was president, due to the tax increases Bush enacted during his term, among other economic factors, it can be argued that the compromise of Clinton was very constructive for the American economy and was probably defined as his.