At Bill Clinton's speach

[heidi]

He's speaking this afternoon here in Ft Lauderdale, and this is my contemporaneous account of it, via Sidekick.

I still have such a crush on this man. It's now fifteen years since I sat through the whole of his speech at the democratic national connection, drawing in red on my white keds while I waited for some sort of sound bite to use on the 11 pm news (I was an intern that summer).

First impression - he's lost weight and he looks *great*.

He's funny, he's brilliant and he's not perfect, but he is someone who loves this country and did some wonderful work to make this country do amazing things during his presidency.

There are Clark people here and some with Hillary '08 signage, which I think is a little defeatest for 2004 :X

He spoke about the projects he's been working on in the last 3 years, including the conflict resolution work he's done around the world, and his anti-AIDS work in cutting drug and testing costs.

What we do as a nation, he said, is important - our collective decionmaking as a country. The fundamental thing each person needs is an understanding, from his or her point of view, as to how the world works, and how it should work. In short, a worldview.

Informational interdependence is something that, when he mentioned it, made me think of LJ. Everything we discuss here is a window into the world we live in, and every post we read is a chance to look into the world of someone else - sometimes in the same city, sometimes around the world.

I've seen the "Dubya's Resume" thing floating around again this weekend. How can that man be president? What in the world does he do? How does he fill his mind every day? What's he going to do after his term (singlular sense) ends? Jog?



Pause.

It seems someone in my row has just had a heart attack. They've called the paramedics and they're on their way. God, this is surreal.

They have her on oxygen and just took her out; she's conscious, thank God.

Ok, will concentrate on Bill again.

We need to think more, he said, and shout less. He spoke about the need to have more information, and to understand why decisions are made to vote for and against things, rather than listening to the administrations justification.

HE's answering imprompteau questions now, about Northern Ireland and the economy, the telecoms

Which other president in recent memory could do this? He thought ahead with so many different projects, from Ireland to China, and his mind just synthesizes everything together. Yes, a worldview - to be able to hold disparate concepts in some sort of unity - when your mind moves so quickly, you can create that sort of spontaneous integration.

He spoke about the difference between republicans and democrats in elections. Democrats go in looking to fall in love with a candidate whereas the republicans know that to win they must fall in line. He said the reason he will not endorse a primary candidate because they all helkped in his administration in various ways, and he thinks any of them would make a fine president.

A note for the writers here - he's writing his own memoirs in longhand, by himself (with 2 researchers) in westchester, and he said if it's bad, it's his fault.

We're off now - I'll post the one photo I took later. But what a grand afternoon1

Comments

[effervescent.livejournal.com]

You know - I'm Canadian, and as such I never knew Bill Clinton that well. But, despite everything that happened in his personal life, I remember that I could always say very easily that in spite of it all, he was a good President. And that I didn't particularily care what he did in his spare time. I don't think the majority of Americans did, either. Because he was doing a good job at what they needed him for - and I can't say the same thing about Bush. It's kind of ironic which one was up for impeachment, isn't it? *shakes head* Thanks for the post, Heidi. :)

[guttaperk.livejournal.com]

Not that I agree with everything he did- but the above well summates my own view on the matter.

[emiliap.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you had a great afternoon, Heidi! Sounds like a wonderful speech. :D

Hugs,
Kate

[longtimegone]

Dude, he's in Ft. lauderdale! I miss a lot of stuff by staying in Birmingham. Maybe I should join my parents and move to South Florida!

Anyway, how exciting to get to see him speak! Looking forward to the photo... >:D

Ugh

[amandageist.livejournal.com]

Okay, our politics aside (for oil and water shouldn't discuss such things)--leaving Bush out of the equation and simply looking at Bill Clinton as a male of the species....

Attraction has never been any part of my reaction and I have always been baffled by people who find him in any way something good on the eyes or the fantasies.

~Amanda

[ladylaw7.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much for this post! I too am a huge fan of Clinton...the man is unbelievably brilliant, exudes charisma without even trying, and it's so unfortunate that dirty politics cast a shadow over such an effective presidency.

I had the opportunity to see him speak and shake his hand when he was campaigning for a gubernatorial candidate here last year, and it was truly inspiring.

Can't wait to see the picture!

[katiemorris.livejournal.com]

Never been attracted to Clinton. A friend of mine said she was, but only because of the Power thing - he was President of the US and all that. Power doesn't do it for me. But my God the man had personality, which is something Bush lacks entirely.

Glad you had a good time, but darling, you spelled speech wrong in your title. Guess it's just a typo?

Love from Kate

[evil-erato.livejournal.com]

Thanks for this, Heidi! I miss being excited about my President - somehow a burning rage just isn't the same as a true sense of things being accomplished. No matter what his personal proclivities, Clinton at least he had a good grasp on world affairs and knew how the US should interact on a worldwide stage. Can't say I had a crush on him myself, but he was charismatic and intelligent. I miss seeing that in the White House.

[ishafel.livejournal.com]

He spoke about the difference between republicans and democrats in elections. Democrats go in looking to fall in love with a candidate whereas the republicans know that to win they must fall in line.

What a gorgeous way to put it :) It's totally true, too, and I think it explains why so many Democrats haven't thrown their support in for strong candidates like Dean and Kerry. I miss Mr. Bill! Thanks for posting :)

[chinawolf.livejournal.com]

*loves*

How fortunate it is that the US had him for eight years.

[wordplay.livejournal.com]

This was so interesting, Heidi - thanks for posting it. I have very mixed feelings re. Clinton (b/c of his politics, not b/c of his personal life) but the man IS very charismatic and he is one hell of a speaker. And very very sharp - I always thought the slick analogies missed the point. He's quick.

He spoke about the difference between republicans and democrats in elections. Democrats go in looking to fall in love with a candidate whereas the republicans know that to win they must fall in line.

Like many other left-leaning folks in the US, I have been thinking along these lines over the last few months. I voted Nader in 2000, b/c (a) we were in TX and it was going for Bush no matter what anyone did, really; and (b) I was so freakin' frustrated with the Democratic Party. I'm on the left side of the party and Clinton in his second term just annoyed the hell out of me - he seemed so willing to give so much. I was one of those who fell out of love when he passed the Welfare Reform Act, a piece of legislation that I still see as mean-spirited and problematic.

I still have mixed feelings on this, and I'm glad Gore isn't running b/c I'd be having the same problems now that I did then. I do think that we will see more unity and passion among Dems and other left-leaning folk this year. I have a few friends who are active in the Texas Green Party and are putting a lot of energy into working for Dem candidates already. It certainly promises to be interesting, doesn't it?

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

How does he fill his mind every day?

That's sadly easy to answer: Beer. Hm, and probably concentrating so that he doesn't choke on pretzels again, too. Gotta have something to go with your beer, after all.

If Clinton could run again, he'd have my vote any day of the week. Heck, I'd vote him in as king, if we could do that.

[loup_noir]

Clinton has charisma and intelligence. He was a world leader and helped enhance our reputation as a nation. I miss him. I didn't agree with everything he did, but he seemed to have a vision that encompassed the whole, not who was going to line his pockets.

I despise Bush. Pathetic excuse for a human being let alone a president.

Never thought I would be envious of someone attending a speech.

[sff-corgi.livejournal.com]

Y'know, I think you put what I'm feeling about the Clinton presidency into very tidy words. Thanks for that.

[guttaperk.livejournal.com]

Well said.

[sugarjet03.livejournal.com]

Thanks for posting this! I have always loved the man, and he took office when I was 7. He's very eloquent, intelligent, and charming. I thought that he was a great president- someone who really seemed to care about the country and it's people.

How can that man be president? What in the world does he do? How does he fill his mind every day? What's he going to do after his term (singlular sense) ends? Jog?

My thoughts exactly :-D

~Erin

[annearchy.livejournal.com]

I never got to hear Bill Clinton speak but I did shake his hand once at a campaign rally in 1992. No, he's not handsome in any traditional sense but he is very magnetic. I don't care who he boinked or didn't boink in the White House or anywhere else. At least when he lied, nobody died. And he never went AWOL either.

[aigooism.livejournal.com]

Finally. Someone else who thinks Clinton was a decent president and a decent man. Unless you are totally mocking him above and I misintrepret everything. XD But really if you are, kudos to you! If not, Oh well..