President Bill Clinton appeared at the University of Kansas as the first speaker of the Bob J. Dole Institute for Politics (
http://www.doleinstitute.org/), last Friday.
It was an experience not to be missed!
12,000 enthusiastic supporters filled the Allen Field House. It was originally scheduled for the Lied Center which holds 2,000, however the demand was so huge it was moved to the field house. There were no more tickets by the day of the event and people were arriving 4 hours early to get a good seat. I counted at least 200-250 people at that time.
I thought to myself while Clinton was speaking; "Will GeoW Bush have this many people attending a speech given in a Democratic-friendly region 3 1/2 years after he leaves office?" I think we know the answer to that one!
Sen. Dole introduced him and there was thunderous applause. When the clapping and shouting/whistling died down and just before Clinton spoke, someone in the audience shouted "FOUR MORE YEARS!" This was met with a huge burst of laughter from the forum, including laughter from Clinton who grinned and looked in the direction of the voice.
The was constant applause with several standing ovations. Just about every statement warranted an audience outburst of applause.
I've been looking for a transcript to post excerpts, but since there is a link to the speech itself as posted by
nostamj in another thread (thanks,
nostamj!), I'll just post a few observations:
The man's a genius. He often cited statistics in his explanations. (One time when he had trouble remembering a statistic, he said "Oh well, I'm not president any more so I don't have to know that!" Several times he would preface an opinion with that Clinton smile and say "I'm not president now so I can say what I want!")
The man's funny. He had the audience roaring with laughter on many occasions. (He thanked Bob Dole for making it possible to have 90 percent of all Kansans who voted for him there). He told several jokes and worked them into his speech.
The man's a visionary. I was struck by a point he made several times, that if you have disagreements with people, then YOU GOT TO MAKE A DEAL. I sensed he was referring to Bush's "my way or the highway" approach to foreign policy (he never mentioned Bush, but I sensed many of his comments were veiled references to current situations). "Making the deal" is the art of politics just as compromise is the foundation of democracy. I really got the feeling that Clinton would like to be back in the White House "making the deals" that brought eight years of peace and prosperity.
The man's articulate, intelligent, and witty. I know now (as I already did before) why he is highly respected around the world (and why the GOP hates him).
Overall, it was a most enjoyable afternoon. And a little bittersweet as you really don't miss something until its gone. I became nostalgic for the "good old days" when our President was one of vision and wisdom, and could articulate that vision and wisdom. And work with people to achieve peace and prosperity, whether at home or halfway around the world.
Afterwards, he took questions (only four from the audience through a moderator), and waded into the first few rows to shake hands with the people there. Although we were about 15 rows back, my wife was able to go down front and shake hands with him!
I don't do him justice in this thread. There is so much he said. Please...please...listen to or read the transcript. You'll be ever so happy you did!
:dem:
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