As someone who’s political knowledge is in the negatives, I believe I am able to bring a unique perspective to Bill Clinton’s speech at AU. While he talked, I discovered three basic things:
1) I totally see where Monica Lewinsky was coming from. Bill Clinton is quite possibly the most charming person I’ve ever seen speak. Move over, Anderson Cooper. Bill may be emerging as my new silver fox.
I initially went with the intention of asking him if he thought I was hot enough to cause a political scandal. Let’s face it—coming from Bill, it’d be the ultimate validation. However, the more he talked, the more I realized that if he had answered the hypothetical question I posed, I definitely would’ve tried to turn it into a real thing.
2) Listening to him talk about Hillary Clinton was incredibly surreal. He briefly—and quite casually—slipped her name into his speech when he talked about learning string theory and “running home to tell Hillary about it.” In my mind, they might be married, but they definitely don’t speak. And when they do, it’s so not about string theory. It was weird—they are such separate entities in my mind that to hear him talk about her was off-putting. But when he did drop her name, there was spontaneous applause from the audience, which made me happy.
3) Bill Clinton is actually pretty funny. I was too young when he was president to watch him at his Correspondents’ Dinners, so I had no idea. He started the night off by saying that he didn’t care if the audience asked him controversial questions, because “he’s not president anymore so he can say whatever the hell he wants.” When he thanked AU for naming him “Wonk of the Year”, he couldn’t help giggling through the words. Later, he used the expression “you can’t get blood out of turnip” at least twice—try saying that without smiling. Finally, he ended by saying that as a democrat, it has been a sheer pleasure watching the Republican nomination process pan out. Funny, right?
All in all, I really enjoyed watching him speak. And for me, that’s pretty huge.
-Sam
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