Bill Clinton's great regret: race disparity in the U.S.

[Stephanie]

DEVLIN BARRETT

WASHINGTON

Former President Bill Clinton said one of his ''great regrets'' was failing to do more to bridge the economic and social gaps between white and black people in the United States.

Speaking to a black think tank on Tuesday, the former U.S. president offered a somber, sorrowful reflection on the end of his time in the White House and his failed effort to spark a national debate about race relations.

The current debate in the U.S. over immigration, Clinton told the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, is further proof important racial problems have yet to be solved.

''The idea that I live in a country I spent my lifetime trying to make better, but there's still hundreds of thousands, maybe millions ofpeople, most of them people of color, who will die before their time, drop out of school, go to prison, never have a chance to live their dreams, is galling and painful to me,'' Clinton said.

''One of the great regrets of my public life is that for all the progress we made in so many areas we are still losing so many of our young people of color, disproportionately African-American males,'' he said.
The former president urged private citizens to take action on racial issues, saying disasters like the tsunami in Asia and Hurricane Katrina show non-governmental organizations can rebuild and improve society.

''I don't know how you have a great country that is a beacon of hope for the world for peace and freedom and democracy if you let a third of any group of people wind up going to prison sometime in their lives,'' said Clinton.

A 2005 government report found that 8.4 percent of the country's black men between the ages of 25 and 29 were in state or federal prison, compared with2.5percent of Hispanic men and 1.2 percent of white men in the same age group.

Blacks made up an estimated 41 percent of inmates with a sentence of more than one year, the report said.

Clinton's reflective tone came at the end of a mostly upbeat speech peppered with funny political anecdotes and self-deprecating references to old battles. At one point, the former president said he's ''already made enough people mad in my life.'' At a New York City fundraiser the previous night, Clinton referred to himself as ''the world's most famous sinner'' _ a line he has used before to refer to the affair with Monica Lewinsky that led to impeachment. http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?at_code=323406

 

[Avatar4321]

I doubt that, Im willing to bet Bill Clintons biggest regret is that he couldnt run again.

He had no real leadership ability. people werent inspired to follow him. His example sure wasnt one the american people want to Emulate.

I mean atleast President Bush has potential to be a great leader. it be nice if he lived up to it fully. But the potential is there. President Clinton never even really bothered to try.

 

[Dr Grump]

I doubt that, Im willing to bet Bill Clintons biggest regret is that he couldnt run again.

He had no real leadership ability

This is the guy that came from nowhere to be be president for two terms. This is the guy that nobody gave a chance of winning in 92 and came through. This is the guy whose charisma turned naysayers into those who voted for him. You can tell me the guy has the morals of a sewer rat and you'll get no argument from me, but no real leadership ability? pppfffftttt

 

[jillian]

I doubt that, Im willing to bet Bill Clintons biggest regret is that he couldnt run again.

I don't know if that's his regret. He's doing wonderful work now and his heart problems probably wouldn't allow it anyway. I think putting Bush up against Clinton would probably be interesting. The guy with the 30% approval rating against the guy who's the most popular politician in the country/world and who left office (even after the so-called "impeachment") with an approval rating about twice that.

He had no real leadership ability. people werent inspired to follow him. His example sure wasnt one the american people want to Emulate.

I don't need to "emulate" the president. I just don't want him to be sub-literate and embarrassing with horrible decision-making skills.

I mean atleast President Bush has potential to be a great leader. it be nice if he lived up to it fully. But the potential is there. President Clinton never even really bothered to try.

I haven't seen any leadership ability on Bush's part. He had every opportunity, after 9/11, to get the American people to follow him. He squandered that opportunity and now has only about 1/3 of Americans even supporting him, much less following him.

 

[CSM]

He's doing wonderful work now??? At what?

Care to prove that the current President is "subliterate" as you imply?

You say that poor decision making skills is embarassing yet find nothing embarassing about a president who has no morals, scruples or integrity?

*sheesh*

 

[dilloduck]

Pardon me while I take some time to cry for Bill.





:rotflmao: :rotflmao:

What a drama king !!

 

[Nuc]

Care to prove that the current President is "subliterate" as you imply?

"Nucular"? "Misunderestimate"? I guess this stuff is not illiteracy but it's not a good grasp on English either.

 

[CSM]

"Nucular"? "Misunderestimate"? I guess this stuff is not illiteracy but it's not a good grasp on English either.

Literacey involves more than pronunciation and spelling. There are some on this board who are far more "subliterate" than the current President.

Again, if that is all that causes embarassment amongst the Bush haters, then I really am in awe of their shallowness.

 

[dilloduck]

"Nucular"? "Misunderestimate"? I guess this stuff is not illiteracy but it's not a good grasp on English either.

For some reason I don't think he cares

 

[CSM]

For some reason I don't think he cares

Wrong answer. You are supposed to say that you much prefer the guy who cannot define the word "is".

 

[Nuc]

For some reason I don't think he cares

That's unfortunate because he is the foremost representative of our country.

Literacey involves more than pronunciation and spelling. There are some on this board who are far more "subliterate" than the current President..

That's a fact.

On the other hand there are a lot of people on this board who have a lot more experience with the world than Bush had when he took office.

Again, if that is all that causes embarassment amongst the Bush haters, then I really am in awe of their shallowness.

I'm not a "Bush Hater" per se, but what do I tell people when I'm travelling in Europe, Asia or Africa when they ask me why they can speak English as a second language better than the President of the United States?

Sorry, but that is embarassing.

 

[I_Love_America!]

We have those who will believe the slick lies of the forked tongue of a devil, and honor him for it.

We have an honest man who sometimes misspeaks and holds true to his values and morals and integrity.

Whose side are you on?

 

[CSM]

,,,


I'm not a "Bush Hater" per se, but what do I tell people when I'm travelling in Europe, Asia or Africa when they ask me why they can speak English as a second language better than the President of the United States?

Sorry, but that is embarassing.

As I said, I am in awe of the shallowness.

Just curious: How many people in Europe, Asia or Africa have asked you that question? And in what language did they ask you that question?

 

[Nuc]

We have those who will believe the slick lies of the forked tongue of a devil, and honor him for it.

We have an honest man who sometimes misspeaks and holds true to his values and morals and integrity.

Whose side are you on?

Who is the devil you refer to? Rush Limbaugh? Then I'm on Bush's side.

So what should I tell people abroad when they ask why he can't speak English properly? Sometimes I say, "Fuck you, if not for us you'd be speaking German right now!"

But that's not always appropriate, especially not in Germany.

 

[Nuc]

As I said, I am in awe of the shallowness.

Just curious: How many people in Europe, Asia or Africa have asked you that question? And in what language did they ask you that question?

Dozens. They usually ask in English, which is the point. They don't understand why their English is better than Bush's.

 

[GotZoom]

I have no respect for the man.

Getting a blow job from an intern while conducting presidential business.

Trying to convince us that oral sex isn't sexual relations.

The infamous "what is, is?" bullshit.

The man is slime.

The man is a disgrace.

 

[dilloduck]

Dozens. They usually ask in English, which is the point. They don't understand why their English is better than Bush's.

Tell em it's not English---it's Texan. Then ask em how good thier Texan is. Besides, since when does anyone care what language is spoken in the US. Liberals wouldn't care if the president spoke only igpay-atinlay. It's global.

 

[CSM]

Dozens. They usually ask in English, which is the point. They don't understand why their English is better than Bush's.

Oh welll then that's different...lets throw out ANY of our politicians,diplomats and other public servants that have less than perfect diction, cannot speak eloquently or mispronounce any word EVER and and replace them with those great English speaking foriegners into office. Heaven forbid we should be embarrassed like that ever again...oh yeah, lets make sure those masters of English have a few interns they can diddle (after all that is not embarrassing and seems to gather high approval ratings) and cannot define the words they speak....

You have me convinced!

 

[jillian]

He's doing wonderful work now??? At what?

He's raised a fortune of money for AIDS relief around the globe and every time there's a disaster, he's called upon, even by this administration, to use his popularity to help. That's why Bush I works with him on things like Katrina and the Tsunami. It's also why Bush I calls him "son".

Care to prove that the current President is "subliterate" as you imply?

He has admitted that he doesn't read. He knows nothing of the world and has no intellectual curiousity. His inability to articulate is just a symptom of the rest.

You say that poor decision making skills is embarassing yet find nothing embarassing about a president who has no morals, scruples or integrity?

I don't care what his moral indiscretions were in Clinton's marriage. That was between himself and his wife. I care far more about indiscretions in hiding information from the American people, wiretapping people without warrants and using war as a first, instead of a last, resort. And if your response is going to be that he "lied" when caught -- yes, he did. But most men would lie if asked if they cheated on their wives and their wives would be privy to the answer. Again, that's between them. I find it much more admirable to actually care about the weakest and sickest among us.

*sheesh*

 

[jillian]

I have no respect for the man.

Getting a blow job from an intern while conducting presidential business.

Trying to convince us that oral sex isn't sexual relations.

The infamous "what is, is?" bullshit.

The man is slime.

The man is a disgrace.

Who cares what he did with a consenting adult? He still put in more hours than Bush who has been on vacation for 20% of his presidency? Again, I wouldn't want to be married to the guy. But no one has ever taken issue with how hard he worked.

If you disagree with his policies, that's fine. The other stuff is extraneous and isn't any more terrible than what Bush I, Kennedy, Eisenhower or many other presidents did.