Voting Station

Jim McDougal

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Financier

The Resume

    (August 25, 1940-March 8, 1998)
    Born in Bradford, Arkansas
    Operated Madison Guaranty Savings and Loan
    With his then-wife Susan, partnered with Bill and Hillary Clinton in Whitewater Development Corp. (1979)
    Convicted on 18 felony charges of fraud and conspiracy relating to bad loans made by Madison (April 14, 1997)
    Sentenced to 3-1/2 years in prison
    Died in federal prison

Why he might be annoying:

    He twice ran unsuccessfully for the House of Representatives (1992, 1994), the second time at the height of the Whitewater scandal.
    He used a series of intermediaries to hide that he had invested $1.75 million in funds from Madison -- $1.15 more than he was legally allowed -- in a second non-Clinton-related failed real estate venture, Castle Grande (1985).
    The failure of Madison Guaranty cost taxpayers $73 million to cover insured deposits.
    He did a complete 180 in his public statements on the guilt of the Clintons in Whitewater, leaving observers to decide (usually based on their pre-existing political leanings) if he was lying initially to shield the President and First Lady or if he was lying later to try to cut a deal with Kenneth Starr (who did recommend leniency at McDougal's sentencing based on his cooperation with Starr's investigation).
    If he had produced dirt on the Clintons' finances that Starr could make stick, we might have been spared from learning about the President's tastes in interns and cigars.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He was a former aide to Senator J. William Fulbright.
    Some of his real estate dealings, like Maple Creek Farms (1983), were successes.
    He had been acquitted on charges filed by state bank examiners and noted that ordinarily would have been the end of his troubles -- except his former business partner became President.

Credit: C. Fishel


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Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 11 Votes: 54.55% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 19 Votes: 68.42% Annoying