This focused on his domestic agenda, including efforts on welfare reform, gun control, and balancing the federal budget. Helped by the institute of politics and Public Service, this is over an hour. Good morning, welcome back. For those of you that were here earlier, im executive director of the institute of politics and Public Service here at georgetowns Public Policy. Couldnt be more excited to get todays conversations started. This morning, were going to begin with a discussion reflecting on president bill clintons vision of america. The the goal of this overall symposium, overall, is to really drill down on the vision that helped bring him to the campaign helped bring him to the campaign and to office. And we couldnt be more excited to start that this year. In order to think about that though, its important to look at the Historical Context of bill clintons election and what happened in the 25 years between his graduation from georgetown and his election. Before we bring everyone up, i ask you all to sit back and enjoy as we reflect on what those 25 years were like. Incoming up out of arkansas the postwar era, during civil rights. A young, caucasian boy who had a deep and abiding sympathy to injustice. The fact that he got an opportunity to go to georgetown was the biggest thing that could have happened to him. He aspired to be like king. He aspired to be like john f. Kennedy. These were his heroes. He was moved by their power of words. He got some scholarship money and made his way to georgetown. He fell under the tutelage of j william fulbright. Fullbright in the 60s was a onlyful u. S. Senator, not the leader in education but a , talent scout and he saw in bill clinton the best that arkansas had to offer. Bill clinton was a natural at politics and leadership. And while he was at georgetown, he worked very hard to run for office, be involved with campus life. If you look at bill clintons time at georgetown, it coincides with lyndon johnson, a fellow southerner who pushed through the civil rights acts and voting of 1964 and 1965. By 68, the country was coming unglued. I shall not seek the nomination of my party for another term. Martin luther king was shot and killed tonight. This was a tumultuous time to be coming out of georgetown, but what fullbright and georgetown meant to bill clinton was the world at large. No longer was bill clinton a provincial boy from arkansas, he was now a young man with a global view. He emerges believing that he does want to get fully involved with politics, that he does want to come back to arkansas. By 1972, George Mcgovern gets the democratic nomination and bill clinton was a worker for the Mcgovern Campaign in places like texas. Mcgovern. Anyone recognized he bill clinton made a deep impression on George Mcgovern. Anybody who encountered him recognized he would be a force of nature in american politics. He didnt just define himself as a liberal or a fullbright democrat. He invented what he was himself. This invention comes about after watergate, watching what happens when the mighty fall. A sixyear period that people were taking a timeout and trying to think what is civility and in bill clinton case trying to get involved in arkansas politics on a local level. By the age of ronald reagan, the Democratic Party started finding themselves in trouble. Bill clinton recognized he needed to unite that party, that you had to be a centrist democrat if you wanted an election victory in novembers. The important thing that bill clinton did in 1992 when he ran, was he ran. There were a lot of people thinking he was too young, that little more experience, he should wait one more cycle. He went for it and he knocked down a whos who of leading democrats to procure the nomination. He was a policy wonk in the best sense of the word and he also was kind after blue collar charismatic folk figure in many ways. There was a feeling that he really truly want today make wanted to make your life better. Inthis was a tight election 92. Got 19 of the vote. But bill clinton one. Its a major victory in 92 because bush 41 wasnt that unpopular, but there was something about bill clinton that was special and that people wanted to bet all of americas fortunes on his number. I, William Jefferson clinton people were very excited about his inauguration. There was a feeling of new era in american politics. But we were also a divided country. Well, i think the great thing about bill clintons presidency and why i rank him very high in american president s is a 19932001, he did a miracle. He balanced the budget and created a national surplus. He stayed out of major wars. He eventually did all the right things in places like bosnia, haiti, the hotspots around the globe. He ended up being a change agent the country was looking for. Okay, one piece of housekeeping that i have to do. Georgetown university is committed to standards promoting speech and expression that foster the exchange of ideas and opinions. While it is recognized that not everyone may share the same views as the speakers, it is expected everyone in attendance respect the right of the speakers and the organizing group to share their perspectives by not causing a disruption to the activities. Bethe conclusion, there will a question and answer session where you can ask questions and engage in dialogue. Praise yourze comments in the form of a question. We have to be concise and only ask one question. It, have ao conversation about how bill clinton viewed america. To introduce our panel, im thrilled to introduce rew a roman, a firstyear student at the Mccourt School of Public Policy. [applause] good morning, everyone. Thank you so much for joining us today. I am a firstyear mbb student at the Mccourt School of Public Policy. I also serve on the student strategy team. My interest in all things feel politics started during orientation, when most spoke about geopolitics. He had me hooked when he said Public Service is a good thing, politics can be, too. I believe we all have a role to play in making it a good thing. Thats why im honored to introduce our speakers to talk about president clintons vision of america and the domestic agenda it inspired. The chief domestic policy advisor to president clinton, and more recently served as assistant to president obama and chief of staff to Vice President joe biden. He is currently ceo and cofounder of civic, a bipartisan policy ideas company. He has been a contributor to slate, the atlantic, the new republic, and coauthored the plan. Emanuel was Senior Adviser for policy and strategy to president clinton. He also served as a white house chief of staff in obamas administration. Mayor ofected the 55th the city of chicago in 2011, and was elected to a second term in 2015. He has overseen several initiatives for revitalizing the city. Me and more was the director of White House Political Affairs for president he has overseen sel clinton. She also is the ceo of the Democratic National committee. Today, she is considered one of the top strategic thinkers with Corporate Affairs and Public Policy. Joined as a principal in headed the state and local affairs and multistrategies practice. Maria was former White House Deputy chief of staff for president clinton. She is currently senior fellow at the Uc Berkeley Center for latin american studies. She has a distinguished career working as a Public Policy consultant, lecturer, a senior white house official, Longtime Community leader, and attorney. She focuses on immigration, civic engagement, labor rights, and education. Less than alleys, mike bailey is the interim dean of the Mccourt SchoolPublic Policy of university has go. And law professor of American Government in the department of government. He teaches and conducts research on american politics and clinical economy. He covers trade, congress, election law, Supreme Court met a lot of the methodology. Those are actually summaries. Keepast thing, we hope you your phones out and post it on todays discussion with the clinton25 and tagging geopolitics. Attorney to dean bailey. [applause] thank you, everyone. Us, is just like candy for to be able to get a good crew to talk about politics and clinton 25 years ago. Politics and clinton 25 years ago. We are going to stop our first two questions, we want to go back to the video and set the stage more. Bush had aesident ,4 approval rating, something imagine a president with a high approval rating. Bill clinton was a young governor of a small state. He obviously had clear president ial ambitions. He comes to georgetown, he lays out new covenant speeches, he laid out his vision. We can go to the first clip and see what he was saying. We all to ourselves, each other, and our country. It has been 30 years since a democrat ran for president. I have something for all the american people. I intend to challenge you all to do more and do better. We have to go beyond the competing ideas of the old political establishment. Himself ony man for one hand, and something for nothing on the other. We need a new covenant that will challenge citizens to be a first. Le, that was bruce, you worked with formednt clinton, and this idea of opportunity, responsibility, and community. Walk us through, what was new about this . Where did it come from and the challenges you saw . Let me tell you about that speech. Current students will be delighted to hear that bill clinton prepared for that georgetown speech the way he prepared for ever previous didgetown assignment, he absolutely nothing until the night before. [laughter] thats not a recommendation to you. [laughter] an 11 00 a. M. Speech. It was slow going. Let me give some of the context to the speech. Students, the 90s are a distant memory. I was reminded of this when i was working in the Obama White House for joe biden. A young speechwriter came to me and said you worked on the brady bill in the 90s . Thats so west wing. [laughter] the political context is interesting. When bill clinton came to georgetown in october of 91, the country was in rough shape. The middle class was angry and they were working harder and making less money and they were afraid of america was falling behind. That the American Dream was slipping away. We had just come off an ugly divisive racist president ial campaign. Washington was stuck in gridlock, nothing was getting done. The most popular book was why americans hate politics. In other words, it was but much like today. It was a particular challenge for democrats, because as the video alluded, republicans were great at winning elections, but terrible at solving problems. Democrats were terrible at winning elections and have lost the confidence of the country to solve problems. It got so bad that at one point, colorado congressman name Pat Schroeder said democrats just need to do three things to win back the white house. Unfortunately, nobody knows what they are. Bill clinton came here because he thought he knew what those three things were. On three speeches he gave social policy, economic policy, and National Security policy were all designed to address the three biggest doubts that americans had about democrats ability to lead. For the country thought we wouldnt follow their values, put their values to work in our programs at home. That we wouldnt stand up for American Interest abroad and wouldnt fight for their economic interests. The new speech, the first one, was designed to take on the basic problem that americans had with our governing philosophy. Clinton laid out a philosophy that he had worked out in part here at georgetown and watching his heroes of the day. In the clip he alluded to john kennedy and Bobby Kennedy as believing that what a leader needed to do was challenge the country, not just make promises. Thats what the new covenant speech was about. He laid out a series of challenges to everybody. He challenged ceos to pay their workers more, not just themselves. He challenged congress not to raise its own pay unless the american peoples pay was going up. He challenged the current occupant of the white house to stop running up the debt and giving tax breaks to people who didnt need them. He challenged ordinary people, too. He called for an end to welfare and asked people who could work. O go to work he doubled the earned income tax credit so they would make more money when they did, so nobody who worked fulltime with the family at home would have to raise the family in poverty. He also challenged the students. He laid out what he called a estic g. I. Bill its the first time hes ever spoken to music in a room. [laughter] its probably the signal to stop. [laughter] you should be able to borrow the money you need for college as long as you are willing to pay it back over time as a percentage of your income, or giving to your country in the form of service. Thats what became of americorps , and i think the many things he was proud of, one of the proudest has to be americorps. In the 25 years since, young people across america have kept that promise. One million students, young people have helped pave their way through college by serving in America Incorporated put in 1. 5 billion hours of service. Coming to the rescue of flooded communities and teaching innercity. He demonstrated that you can get more done by challenging people to unite together and solve the countrys problems. Another big part of the clinton vision was related to civil rights. We can go to our second crib from the gaston hall speeches, please. How does the president refuse to let a civil rights bill pass . Because he knows the people he is dependent on for his electoral majority, White Working Class men and women, have had their incomes declined in the 1980s. They may return to the natural home, someone who offers them real Economic Opportunity so he is revving up the same old tactics that the hard right has employed in my part of the country and the south since i was a child. When everything gets hyped and you think youre gonna lose those people you find the most economically insecure white people and you scare the living daylights out of them. That is wrong. Maria you were deputy chief , of staff in the white house and you worked a lot on civil rights immigration and a lot of other issues. Kind of situate civil rights and race issues within the context of clintons vision. I want to pick up on some words that bruce said. People often complain that we dont know what democrats stand for. I happen to be very fond of this frame and believe opportunity, responsibility, community. Those are three important concepts that can some of what democrats stand for. Unfortunately, there is a part of the left that hates the word responsibility. You saw that come into play in the debate around welfare reform and there is plenty to criticize , about that bill. And yet, it evidences clintons firm belief, deeply held belief people, when given a chance to get the tools they need. They want to work, they want to succeed, they want to provide for their families. Having had the good fortune of traveling traveling around this country on many a campaign, ive really come to see that its an enormously wonderful , interesting, diverse country. Yet everybody wants the same things for their families, communities, themselves. It is mind mindboggling to me that if we want the schools, all those things we work so hard on, why is it so hard to reach that compromise. Thats the other piece. Its quite easy to promise everything in a speech if you have no idea about how to deliver it. Im sick and tired of so many folks out there who diminish or dismiss pragmatism and compromise. Trust me, governing was not easy. We wereare reform bill, also in the context of politics. 1994 had proposition 187 out of california. Its hugely antiimmigrant proposition 209 against affirmative action. I was the white house, not in the white house in the first term, but in the second. Nonetheless, i was close enough to some of these issues to see how the president put together his team to look at the issue of affirmative action. There were real fears in the civil rights community, minority munities as to what was as to what was he going to do. While i was not at those meetings, i happen to be married to the person who oversaw the while i was not at those meetings, i happened to be married to the person who oversaw the redo of affirmative action, so i know about some of those hardfought battles. In the end, clintons belief in it sounds corny, but the believe that so many of us share , that there is nothing wrong with america that cant be fixed with what is right with america. He was coming from the south. He had a deep experience with blackwhite relations. Part of my job was trying to explain to the southwest, new york, other places, puerto ricans, mexican americans, who is this guy . Is he going to care about you . Understand that some experiences are different than what you have experienced . One story about how he was always thinking about all of us , when i first got to the white house, my first job was running the office of public liaison, now public engagement. There was a story in the new , rising wages,t latinos were not feeling it. They were not experiencing it. What isnote saying going on here . What is the reason . That led to a process of looking at education levels, young generation, and some decisions in terms of budget and trying to increase what came to known as the hispanic education plan. Where can you put the money so liftthe rising tide does all boats . You were the head of Political Affairs in the white house and also a public liaison as well. Tell us about how your experience of communicating with the public this complicated and new vision. It certainly, bruce well, certainly, bruce made out a beautiful vision. [laughter] that had to be implemented. And i must tell you, you know, on some days, it was really, really tough. But i think the premise when i looked at the video, i kept thinking to myself why is it that i love this president so much . It wasnt because he didnt take on the tough issues, he did take on the tough issues, but he didnt see me as a black person taking on these issues. He saw america and he kept thinking to himself what can i do to help america be better, be greater . So when we were talking to civil rights leaders and we were talking to the left base, you have to understand, i came from the rainbow coalition. So me and bruce. [laughter] is, the dirty little secret was i was probably closer to bruces philosophy, because im very moderate by nature, so i was able to at least say, people lets get to the table, and that was one thing i really enjoyed about our white house. We didnt mind bringing in the opposition. We sat and talked to the opposition and we made adjustments when things were so horribly off, we made adjustments. I was talking about the welfare reform bill about a month ago and she was talking about how everybody, we were making hay about the wellformed welfare welfare reform bill but we also put jobs in the bill. Labor actually implemented new policies because of the welfare reform bill. So selling it was tough. Just selling it to reverend jackson, marc morial and all those people, it was tough but they had so much respect because he was willing to come to the table. Mary, you are a senior were a Senior Adviser in the Clinton White house and part of that was getting things done. So tell us how you thought about , that and how that worked, taking this vision. If i told you, i would have to kill you. [laughter] pullback for one second. Professor bring we said he was a centrist. Biggest points i would make, president clinton redefined the debate not about left versus right, but Going Forward instead of going backward. You have to go back to the context of 1992. The president biggest contribution, he took a lot of ideas from the political spectrum. It wasnt that he was a centrist, he reframed the debate about whether were Going Forward or going back. As you have come up against the 21st century, its a perfect metaphor to making sure, as he would say in the reelect, everybody is going to go over the bridge into the 21st century. He readreframed the braindead policy of all parties. Big deal. Second, you have to understand what the magic is of bill clinton. This is a son of a single mother who was incredibly comfortable with Race Relations and discussions of race and class. To the base of the Democratic Party, he had an individual identity that was really unique. You couldnt have a democrat today talk about republicans using race to divide the country in a comfortable way like that. You just could not. Given his own background, where he was from, how he grew up, democratic constituencies felt a unique identity with his story. On the other hand, his language of welfare, his policies on welfare reform, National Service service, moving the economy, making the American Economy global and everybody able to compete and win, make sure that independent, suburban, moderate were also comfortable so, he built a unique coalition of both the Democratic Base and new voters who could identify. At the end of the day, if you believe in progressive politics with regard you have to be honest, theres a lot of different strikes and we have a lot of different battles so it would be less than honest if none of us said that. They were good battles, but battles. The fact of the matter is, on that front the president built a , coalition that was able to come at the end of the day, people believed the government could do something. The policy was right, but it made the politics of navigating people who were scared about feel theyething up could sit at the same table with people who they usually felt were opponents. Our job was to match the policy were to a political agenda you could get something done. If you look at the major policy bill, the brady assault weapons ban, the crime bill, welfare reform, balanced budget, et cetera, not the first budget but one of the key piece, they are all bipartisan. At the end of the day, his rhetoric and vision took from different parts weather was retort or policy and reframed it. Because of all the discussions about welfare reform, he vetoed two welfare bills to get to what he wanted. People forget, they talk about welfare, they had to republican welfare reforms. He vetoed them. They had to come back on his accept,hat he would working at the heart of it, responsibility which is not, we are now going to put out some data that is significant about the reduction of teen pregnancy. A big piece of welfare reform was about responsibility and putting in place the policy that you are now seeing the tail end of as it relates to teen pregnancy, which was a big driver about kids wanting to get away from home and start their own family just to get a welfare check. You cant underestimate his ability to drive social policy that has tremendously benefited but it was hard Building Political coalitions that never sat on the dinner table unless they were family members, and then under that rubric, which was not left and right but forward versus backward. Great. Now we want to turn to questions. We have a microphone floating around. The questions, the best question is something you care deeply about and express concisely. For that. Looking unlike the answers. [laughter] we will do our part to do the same. Mutual. In the second row, please. Good morning. Im joseph, im a freshman here at the college in georgetown. Im from queens, new york. My question is, the Democratic National committee recently put out their platform in 2016 stating that they were were for decreasing regulations on Financial Institutions and banks, getting rid of free trade agreements, not getting rid of them, but make them benefit the average working class, and making sure that the level of wealth and the party and the wealth inequality in the country was decreased. President clinton has faced criticism on all three of those fronts, because of nafta, not richng income taxes on the to the levels they were before ronald reagan, andy regulating glasssteagall. That was a long way of saying, is president clinton a democrat by todays standards . Absolutely. To take those criticisms, one by one, the first thing he did when he took office was raise taxes on the wealthy and impose brandnew high bracket of 39. 6 . Over the course of the 1990s, the one decade weve had in recent memory where incomes went up for everybody, every quintile. So, we would not have the kind of turmoil we have now over the last 15 years, poor and middleclass incomes had been if poor and middleclass incomes had been going up the way they did in 1990s. Second, nafta, look, i think that was of the hardest if poor and one decisions he had to make in his campaign. Speech,ad been at that it was like a pingpong match. It went back and forth. No one knew where the ball was going to stop. It was incredibly hard. Trade is a heart problem, because we have to open the markets overseas in order to expand opportunities at home. But we have to do everything we can to look out for the folks who were going to get left behind. He tried everything he could. Expanding skills, cutting taxes for working and middleclass people. I think there is always more to do, but i think he made the right call. You could make a good argument that that was a bad idea. It was a mistake. And we should own some of these. But, you know, i think the important thing with all of this is to remember that the fight is never over. If bill clinton had been , heident after september 11 would not of divided the country. If he had been president in the runup to the financial crisis, he would have done something about subprime lending. I just want to say, you raised the tax thing. These issues come up over and over. And my status is, 2001, we left a surplus. We were having great discussions about, hey, can we create individual accounts for people tax cutslp build dissipated, deficits. Right now, youre going to see a cuts, and ifax people arent paying attention, it is your generation that will pay the price if we dont defeat this tax plan. Go ahead. Dont take this the wrong way. I think lynwood say you have the wrong question. He would say its not whether you raise taxes, its what youre gonna do with those resources to make sure everybody wins. He would change the question. It wouldnt be about whether we have trade or not. Its who is going to make sure everyone has a chance to succeed. He would take the criticism. And dont forget this, people like itwas a democrat just happened after the fact. He would say the question doesnt ask how high our taxes are, its what the government does with those resources to make sure other people are part of the winning circle not on the losing side. He would reframe the question, which is part of the brilliance of what he would do. Not just from a tactical standpoint. , actually think the question the barometer of whether he is a democrat, is the wrong question. I would still give you an a in class, but thats the wrong question. [laughter] go ahead, right there. My name is bill. Im a member of the infamous class of 1968 and on a personal note, i was wondering if you could share any vignettes about the bill clinton people dont know about. Maybe personal stories that could be shared. Thank you. We are talking a lot about how you build these coalitions and how you really try to get people on your side. I remember when we are going through the crime bill, one of our civil rights leaders had really wanted the president to. Ome to atlanta he wanted him to Come Celebrate the opening of some big center. So the president you have to understand, when you pick up air force one for one event, you really want to be at that event. So the president said i have to be there. And i dont know why this sticks when we gotbut back, the next day, we were at the height of the crime bill. The very person he went to celebrate was the very person that was in the paper saying i will not support this bill under any circumstances. On my deskis article not he had circled that said good deed goes unpunished. That was the kind of life we lead, even with our friends. The assault weapon ban in the house was on, lets call it a tuesday, and everyone of us has had this experience. Its sunday night, and i remember this the white house operator,es in, the the president would like to speak to you. So you sit up. Its 2 00 a. M. In the middle of the conversation, we are going over votes. Im giving him a list of people to call. In the middle of the call, somewhere, amy goes to sleep. Another call comes. , 2 30 a. M. ,white house operator. The president would like to talk to you. Talking, amyou are , and she goes, who are you talking to . I said the president. Its the thinking same phone call you two need to get a life. Go back to bed. She rolls back over, and he was getting more phone calls at 2 30 on what weting and were supposed to do on monday morning. Now i want to close on a personal note. In 1994 to the trip israel. I was supposed to stay behind to do something on a legislative item. He said i want you to come on the trip to israel. He had known it would be a big deal to me. Get off the plane, all stuff goes in the back. Im lined up like everybody else trying to wait for the plane. Just going on the trip was cool enough, given my family history, my personal history, and he says, i want you to come to the front of the plane with me. The guy had a remarkable heart. I will never forget it. It meant a lot. I have a number of tremendous memories. Another question. Xray here. Yes, ray here. Right here. Im molly, im a junior. So, right now, we are in a really, really polarized time. You have all talked about the importance of bipartisanship. Im curious how you see, getting back to a place where people are coming from both sides of the spectrum, to the table in order to move forward. I think it starts with really forcing yourself to talk to people who dont agree with you. You might not know if they agree with you, but i watch these with my kids because i am not a social media person. Im definitely not, with your generation, not on twitter, not on facebook, but clearly there some selfsegregation going on about what people listen to, who would they are connecting to. Unless when we did a new Market Initiative which was an , effort to invest in parts of america that were not seeing economic you realize that as i said earlier, everybody wants the same things but you just needed to go talk to people who didnt look like you who had different experiences but had wanted the same opportunity. I always say in terms of this current debate on immigration, if you are a superintendent of a Small School District and all of a sudden youve got 40 of your kids who are English Learners and youre asking how does this happen, its easy for some people to say well, they are immigrants. But why isnt somebody asking, why is that meet Processing Plant intentionally hiring people at these lower wages from outside the country . They were, when unionized, they were hard jobs, but they did provide a living for the community. Its really understanding what is driving people, where is the source of anxiety, and maybe starting to recognize, as clinton said in the clip we saw, the way race and otherness is to divide people so people dont actually see who is responsible for the fact that their future isnt looking as bright, thats what we have to work on, and that only happens by talking to people who are different from us, who are coming from different experiences. I agree with all experiences. I agree with all that. I also think it starts at the top. It starts with the president. Its called a bully pulpit for a reason. You can raise the tone of this country to bring us together. When i worked at the white house, well saw when john podesta came in, he looked so mild and meek. He would never allow president clinton to go out on any form and say similar things he has said. Norwood bruce, nor would i. There is a reason why a person does what he does, and that white house is the most audacious place you can work, and to lower it or to raise it is a choice, and it starts with the man in charge, or the woman in charge, the woman that put them in charge. Just to give you some hope, so you dont have to think that our entire future rests on a change of heart with the bully at the pulpit, the mistake that we make is that we look at our leaders and we look at washington and we feel these politicians who are divisive and we assume we are as deeply divided as a country, that we have White Supremacists and people who arent White Supremacists. Im from idaho so maybe you can make a case, but the point is, what clinton was able to do was show people in the suburbs and people in the cities that they had the same concerns, they were worried about the quality of schools and crime, they were worried about lack of opportunity and about people not carrying their part of the load. When you speak to people like that, then these partisan labels though matters much. People on the other if you recognize your side doesnt have monopoly on truth, and you listen to the other side and try to pick up on the best parts of their argument and incorporate that into your way of thinking, thats the way the system is supposed to work. Thats the way most americans are. The way that washington behaves is fundamentally unnatural. If you talk to members ofcongress, they will tell you that. I ran a Bipartisan Commission sidese members from both to come because close doors and the members from both sides would come behind closed doors and save please dont make us do anything in public because then we have to resort to our talking points. Its the natural condition for people to Work Together and solve problems. It has been americas way of doing things for all these years and theres nothing that twitter and facebook and cable news can do to stop people who want to make progress. One anecdote which answers your question and also the prior question, is when the first bill crime bill failed on the rule, a lot of people thought we had to rip the assault weapons ban out, and bill clinton said not a chance. We reached out, and the person who led it on the other side was john kasich. Remember, we had these meetings , two weeks. Days we assemble the vote to bring up the crime bill that had the assault weapons ban, and a lot of people wanted to strip it out. It was listening to the other side, not giving up on your principles, finding a coalition tot would come behind it build political pressure. Its also not incumbent on elected officials to do it. Get engagedted to and listen to other people and not talk among themselves with an agreed audience before hand. There was an agreement between the Hillary Clinton campaign and the dnc to provide the dnc with the requirement for senior Personnel Division decisions and communication decisions. They had to seek approval from the Clinton Campaign before moving forward during the primary. I want to ask about whether the folks on the stage think that decision was appropriate and whether it violated neutrality. Second, dnc chief tom perez recently appointed and reappointed a number of d c dnc atlargeers members that would be me. Folks who serve as superdelegates. Several of them work as corporate lobbyists for big banks or other corporate interests. They also work for government affairs. Is that appropriate . Should the dnc have corporate lobbyists as part of the leadership . As a former lobbyist, i would simply say that there are good lobbyists and bad lobbyists. Called recommend a book who will tell the people . Book aboutry good the thing bruce was talking about. Outside, inside, how you make change. Is collocated. The sierra club has lobbyists. Take an issue that is the thing about americans. We are the most organization prone people. If there is an issue, someone has organized a group around it. The litmus test of, if you are , we should get money out of politics. Woulde said yesterday he be looking for a candidate who wants to change campaign finance. We really need to do something about that. Beyond that, in terms of the dnc, i think we have a lot to learn, but i will simply say, having not looked at the agreement, but this notion that the Hillary Campaign controlled the dnc and therefore rigged the process is nonsense. The schedules are set by the party. The elections are set by the state party. The elections are run by the states. At the end of the day, she won the primary. Think you are the one who writes all the time about me being a lobbyists. I am happy to meet you. If i was, i would probably own up to why i am a lobbyist. What i do for a living is help corporations probably get close to what your values are, making sure they understand that they serve the american people. But let me get to the dnc question. Agreements are always done with president ial candidates. Whether they are done early or late, they are always done. And they are done specifically because the dnc is always considered the stepchild. We want to candidate thats going to help build the party. If you know anything about the history of bill and Hillary Clinton, they have always been party people. In 1992 and 1996. The investment bill clinton made in the party was substantial. Hillary clinton had the same passion. Theyshe came into this, all had this same information that the party was broke and needed to raise money. Is sole purpose of the dnc to prepare for a president ial candidate. There are many nights when we were struggling and had to raise. Oney for her and for the dnc can i say one thing . I love you. This is totally irrelevant. We have a president of the United States who is championing the most regressive tax policy, undermining American Leadership around the world, undermining the rule of law, and we are arguing about an agreement from an election in which none of us wanted the result the same way the bush family is arguing about the nomination nobody won on their side. The argument, in my opinion. We need to look forward to 2020. And its not by looking back. Citye mayor of a big trying to move everybody in the city forward, if me something to fight for an something to believe in that brings people together that have a bigger vision. None of this is relevant. One more question from a student please. Imd israeli smith. I am a secondyear student in Public Policy. I want to talk about the policy issues. Looking at the clip, it seems like the more things change, the more they stay the same, tax cuts in these types of things. Setting aside taxes and racial divides, what is one thing you think could be an issue that the country together and move us forward. National service. I was going to say that. I was too. The differences i am a middle child and had to wait for my two siblings. Bruce and i had an idea for a book in 2005. If you believe which i dont , youat we are coming apart need to find an experience and place where people together in al walks of life can serve higher thing called america. Its the most important thing we can do as a country. Serve the place we want our children to inherit. 100 National Service. Give five months of your life to something called america. I just want to double endorse that. I remember having a conversation al gore in 2000. His experience having served in and when you talk to people who have served in the military when we had the draft and everybody was , it broughtve people. It created a camaraderie. But more importantly, it was about something bigger, america. When the military became all volunteer, i believe part of the reason we are in the wars we are in, the longest wars, is because the suffering and the sacrifice is not shared equally among all of us. To go to war. S but there is plenty of work to do in this country. And National Service, where all of us had to serve in one way or another, would bring us together. We would see each other as americans and not as these boxes. [applause] nowhat i would like to do is turn the attention from the past to the future. President Franklin Roosevelt said that all great president s are thought leaders. They are able to answer questions that need clarifying. I think a lot of us in the room there are different versions of this, but i think there is a lot of unease about where we are going. For the democrats, how do you capture 1992 or 2008, what next question mark thats too big of a question to do at this, but how about some advice for a young person who is thinking in these terms . To find that vision or find someone to work for who has that vision. What would your advice be . Jump in. Jump in. I was a lawyer working in new york, perfectly fine, but i came from a farm worker family. I know that getting an education was the most critically important thing that changed my life. Work for someone who believed in. Was yeah, this guy is not going anywhere. I worked for howard dean in 2004, that didnt work out, but i took a chance. Find something you believe in. Its about passion. Get involved. Citizenship needs to be active, and not just on election day, holding ourd institutions accountable. There is so much to pick from. Pick the one that gets you fired up. I think the thing we always forget about politics is that the purpose of it is to get something done. Whether you are interested in politics or some other walk of , think about how you can actually make a difference, and make that your northstar. Really easy to get lost in everything else. You know, when we worked in the , i put ahite house yellow sticker with a list of Clintons Campaign promises on my wall every day and thought, what can i do to further that . Thats how bill clinton was. He had so many things there were all kinds of scandals in the 1992 campaign. Being with him on the night that his political life seem to be falling apart in the New Hampshire primaries. People were telling him to panic. [laughter] stephanopoulos, begala and i wrote this stupid statement aimed at the Washington Press corps, and all clinton wanted to talk about was what can i do to help homeowners in New Hampshire who are at risk of losing their homes because the banks were pulling credit out from under them . That was why he was in the race. Rest of us, stuck to that, and was rewarded for it. Life is not about what other people think of what you are doing. Life is about what you can get done for others. I would say, especially for the young people, part to kill early young women particularly young women, you have to have the courage of your convictions. Started, the mayor of washington noticed he did not have a youth director. Me and my friends went to his and became his youth directors. We are living at a particular time when you can use your voice. Millennials are different. Young people are different. They see race differently. But you have to have the courage to speak out when things are not comfortable. If you have that kind of currid, if you have that kind of will, i think courage, if you have that kind of will, i think you can help take our country forward. And that is what i would advise you to do. At every juncture in american history, a leader does come about. Not that the leaders are not here, but if you are thinking about the next election or something shortterm in the next person willthink a be there. The question is what are you not just to help that person, but to help him or her from a policy standpoint, a political standpoint . That philosophy guided me as mayor. I created a thing where if you get a b average in high school, we pay for community college. You earn Free Community college. The sense that there is opportunity if you take responsibility its not open to everybody. 72 of the kids that take it are the first ones in their family to go to college. We know they will be different than where there parents are. That philosophy bill clinton has helped me as mayor think about what i am going to do. I will say one other thing, and this may not be the note you want to and on o god. [laughter] we are out of time. I do think a lot of times we that a president is filled with great ideas or just political. About lyndonmovie johnson, you will see both. My view is you have to be idealistic enough and principled enough to know why you are doing what you are doing, and rufus and of to get it done. If you look at successful president s, lyndon johnson, clinton, lincoln, roosevelt, they had both qualities. Ast think back on politics being idealist without the effective ability to get something done, and dont think of getting something done as a northstar without having an idea of what you are doing. Remember that you have to combine both a certain vision of the future with the capacity to move that vision forward. At the end of the day, why i was calledclinton the natural is because he had an politicalal mind, a capacity, and the language to talk to america about america being in a different place. Great notethat is a and on. Wee at georgetown, obviously are engaging in the nuts and bolts of policy, but that is one of the things we understand here, the politics matter. So please join me in thanking our panelistss. [applause] so, as always, i want to thank mo, hannah, and everyone here at georgetown. This has been a wonderful day, and the day is only beginning. Going toa. M. , we are have visions of the world with Madeleine Albright and ernesto patio. Illo. D , president clinton will revisit the old font and give a keynote. Again, thank you for a great session. We look forward to the rest of the day. [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2017] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] announcer georgetown institutes policy and public georgetown universitys institute of policy and public politics recently discussed the legacy of president clinton and foreign affairs. This is about an hour and 15 minutes. Morning. Thank you for being here. Thank our lasto panel and the Mccourt School of Public Policy for cohosting our discussion on bill clintons vision of america. Toare looking forward continuing the conversation as we go a little more global. I am the executive director of the institute of politics and