Bob's Blog: Pres. Clinton on "Face the Nation"

This Sunday I'm sitting down with President Bill Clinton in New York City. I'm really looking forward to getting his take on the wild few weeks out there on the campaign trail - and the state of the country overall.

He's been out there on the campaign trail a bit himself, but next week his focus is on the Clinton Global Initiative in New York City. Both President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney will speak at the event, which is a conference that brings together world leaders in government, business, education and technology to work together in addressing global issues.

While getting ready for Sunday's interview I've thought a bit about an interview I did with him in 1997, just a few months after his second inauguration. He was preparing for another big summit he'd put together - one in Philadelphia with former presidents George Bush and Jimmy Carter, Vice President Al Gore and retired Gen. Colin Powell. The focus of the summit was volunteering.

Of course, that didn't stop us from talking a lot of politics during the interview.

Looking back at that interview, it's pretty incredible that some of the things we talked about are the same battles being fought today. Listen to this, he told me "I have made it clear publicly that we're prepared to meet the Republicans more than halfway on trying to save the Medicare program and lengthen the life of the Medicare Trust Fund." Sound familiar?

Then we talked about Social Security.

And we discussed how you get anything done in Congress. He told me that what he and both parties in Congress had done with the Chemical Weapons Convention "offers a road map of the kind of bipartisan progress what will prepare this country for the 21st century."

Maybe on Sunday he'll refresh our memories about that road map for getting things done in Congress. And maybe we'll see if he has any advice for this Congress about getting things done.

After I sit down with the president, we've got a terrific panel lined up to examine the latest news from the campaign trail and share their take on where this thing is headed. Mother Jones' David Corn, who discovered the Romney "47 percent" video that's giving his campaign a lot of trouble will join me. The Wall Street Journal's Peggy Noonan had some strong words for the Romney campaign this week, she wrote "It's time to admit the Romney campaign is an incompetent one. It's not big, it's not brave, it's not thoughtfully tackling great issues--" she'll also be with us. TIME Magazine's Managing Editor Richard Stengel, whose cover story this week was written by Pres. Clinton, former Clinton adviser and Harvard University Professor David Gergen and CBS News' John Dickerson will offer their takes, too.

There's lots to talk about this weekend - I hope you'll join us. Check your local listings so you know where to find us on TV.