“If there’s one thing we’ve learned from this election campaign, it’s that a few words from Bill Clinton can do a man a lot of good… All I have to do is wait a few days for the bounce.” – Mitt Romney
FROM CNN’s Piers Morgan to “Morning Joe,” including a second session with Morgan with some of the Clinton Global Initiative’s speakers for Wednesday night, President Bill Clinton’s philanthropic dream is not only a reality, but this Annual Meeting had the biggest political stars in the American universe.
Secretary Hillary Clinton arrived to a standing ovation, as her tenure moves into its final months, having revitalized the State Department from the bad old Bush-Cheney days, as well as fought the good budget fight against the Pentagon, winning budget battles of her own. Nobody should doubt the Hillary Effect at the State Department.
CGI coming after the heartbreaking loss of Ambassador Chris Stevens, as well as three other Americans, two of which were Navy SEALS, it had to be a welcome moment, especially with drama swirling around the terrorist attack.
During her remarks on Monday, at one point her signature smile broke across her face as she gave a sideways glance, teasing to all watching, especially those who know her style, that a zinger was on its way. Once again she stated she was out of politics, but didn’t waste the moment to weigh in that “the elite” in countries across the world, where there are a lot of rich people, she emphasized, don’t contribute to their own country as they should to make things better for the people.
President Barack Obama spoke at the United Nations General Assembly earlier in the day on Tuesday, then came to CGI to talk about human trafficking being “slavery,” which I wrote about earlier. The President heaped praise on President Clinton, talking about his “extraordinary leadership, and I think I speak for the entire country when I say, you continue to be a great treasure for all of us.”
Mitt Romney came to speak at CGI as well, after talking to NBC’s Brian Williams at their Education Nation event. A moment backstage to speak with Chelsea Clinton and President Clinton was caught, as you see in the shot above, which was circulating via Twitter [source unknown].
“President Clinton has devoted himself to lifting the downtrodden around the world,” said Romney. “One of the best things that can happen to any cause, to any people, is to have Bill Clinton as its advocate. That is how needy and neglected causes have become global initiatives.” [Politico]
The treatment President Clinton got from both Obama and Romney was a continuation of the blockbuster reviews Clinton received from his speech at the Democratic National Convention, which brought the house down and catapulted the presidential race into new territory with the “Bill Clinton bump.”
Maggie Haberman over at Politico called the Obama-Romney-Clinton exchanges a “love-fest” and it’s on the mark.
Romney’s remarks were better than anything he’s delivered in months. Haberman writing it was one of the “best-prepared, and best-delivered” of the campaign. Not only did Romney talk about public-private partnerships, something foundational to CGI, as well as Secretary Clinton, but he walked away from stingy Republican rhetoric on foreign aid that has represented the dialogue from the right for years.
“For American foreign aid to become more effective, it must embrace the power of partnerships, access the transformative nature of free enterprise, and leverage the abundant resources that can come from the private sector… “There are three, quite legitimate, objects of our foreign aid,” he said, citing humanitarian need, to “foster a substantial United States strategic interest,” and aid that “elevates” and brings “lasting change” in other communities. [Maggie Haberman, Politico]
Invoking Ronald Reagan, Romney also talked about “Prosperity Pacts.”
Compacted into just a few days, the Clinton Global Initiative was able to make news, make headlines and present to those attending the hottest tickets in politics, almost as a bonus and reward to the important working sessions and meetings that are signature and primary to CGI.
On CNN with Piers Morgan on Tuesday night, President Clinton was tired, but beaming. Launched in 2005, the CGI Annual Meetings are somewhat of a marvel. However, Bill Clinton had a simple explanation for why it’s been successful and how it all seems to come together.
“You know, nobody’s running for anything. We don’t have to produce miracles. All we produce is progress. And we just keep pushing these rocks up the hill. And I think there’s a real need for that in the world today,” says the man who left the White House with the highest end-of-office approval rating of any U.S. president since World War II. “It can’t all be done over the Internet. There needs to be some face time, some specific commitments, and some mechanism through which you help people to keep these commitments.” [CNN]
All we produce is progress…
It should be the motto for anyone in the business of politics, but in global philanthropy Bill Clinton style, it’s gospel.
Taylor Marsh, a veteran political analyst and former Huffington Post contributor, is the author of The Hillary Effect, available at Barnes and Noble and on Amazon. Her new-media blog www.taylormarsh.com covers national politics, women and power.
Photo: screencapture during livestreaming webcast.