President Clinton Campaigns For Hillary - With Many References To Himself
LUBBOCK, TEX. -- For someone who's supposed to be out stumping for his wife in Texas, former President Bill Clinton sure has been making subtle, yet distinct steps toward plugging his own legacy.
Yesterday, he touted his speeches in front of the Brandenburg Gate and in front of a million people in Ghana. Today in Lubbock, it was his record on Iraq.
While making a point about why "half the world is mad at us," President Clinton said hindsight shows that his actions as president were principal among the reasons why no weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq.
"They think we made a mistake going in there [Iraq] without letting the U.N. inspectors finish their jobs," he said. "And they would have found that the weapons of mass destruction that did exist – the biological and chemical material – were destroyed in 1998 when Saddam Hussein kicked the weapons inspectors out and I bombed where I thought they were. We got it, but we didn't know. That's what the inspectors are for."
But enough with the past, President Clinton wanted to make sure the 1,750 people inside the gym at Lubbock High School knew what he was working on these days, with his work in moving toward a global green economy.
"I am not just giving a campaign speech," said Clinton. "This is work I do in my other life. I work in 40 cities in six continents proving that it's good business to save the planet and to become energy independent."
And in looking toward the future, near the end of the hour and 10-minute speech, Clinton said he hopes to continue his role in working toward making the world a better place after the election.
"When this campaign's over I'll do whatever I'm asked to do if you elect her," he said. "But I want to do my foundation work again. I like saving lives and just keeping score in an old-fashioned way."