Bill Clinton

Post-presidential career

On January 18, 2001, he addressed the nation one last time on television from the Oval Office of the White House, two days before handing over the presidency to George W. Bush, whose father he had defeated in 1992.

Related Topics:
January 18 - 2001 - George W. Bush - 1992

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Like many former American presidents, Clinton has engaged in a career as a public speaker on a variety of issues. In these, he continues to comment on aspects of contemporary politics. One notable theme is his advocacy of multilateral solutions to problems facing the world. Clinton's close relationship with the African American community has been highlighted in his post-Presidential career with his opening of his personal office in the Harlem section of New York City. He assisted his wife Hillary Clinton in her campaign for office as a senator representing New York.

Related Topics:
African American - Harlem - New York City - Hillary Clinton - Senator - New York

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In February 2004, Clinton (along with Mikhail Gorbachev and Sophia Loren) won a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children for narrating the Russian National Orchestra's album Peter and the Wolf/Wolf Tracks. Clinton won a second Grammy in February 2005, Best Spoken Word Album for My Life.

Related Topics:
February - 2004 - Mikhail Gorbachev - Sophia Loren - Grammy Award - Best Spoken Word Album for Children - Russian National Orchestra - Peter and the Wolf - 2005 - Best Spoken Word Album - My Life

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Clinton collected his memoirs into a book entitled My Life, which was released on June 22, 2004. Commenting on memoirs in general, he said "some are dull and self-serving, hopefully mine will be interesting and self-serving." The book made an unprecedented three appearances on the Amazon.com best-seller list, before it was even released. In an interview with David Dimbleby http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/programmes/panorama/transcripts/clintoninterview.txt which aired on the BBC on June 23, 2004, Clinton was questioned at length about the effects to his presidency of his affair with Monica Lewinsky, conceding that he had made many mistakes while in office. He also spoke about the prospects of a future Clinton presidency, should his wife Hillary Clinton decide to run for office in 2008.

Related Topics:
Memoir - Book - My Life - June 22 - 2004 - Amazon.com - Interview - David Dimbleby - BBC - June 23 - Monica Lewinsky - 2008

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Clinton has gone to other countries for his book tours and has given media interviews on them. One of those was in Canada. On September 11, 2004, CBC Newsworld, which is the CBC's cable news network, began its sixth season of "Mansbridge One on One" with an interview Clinton gave with the program's host, the network's chief correspondent, Peter Mansbridge http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/clinton/interview.html http://media.cbc.ca:8080/ramgen/newsworld/clips/rm-newsworld/mansbridge_clinton0408051.rm. Unlike Dimbleby, Mansbridge didn't mention the Lewinsky affair. Nor was there any mention of Hillary Clinton. Clinton mostly talked about his book and how he went about writing it, his thoughts on the issues that confronted the Bush administration, and the 2004 presidential election. He also talked about repealing the 22nd Amendment in the event of a terrorist attack.

Related Topics:
Canada - September 11 - 2004 - CBC Newsworld - CBC - Peter Mansbridge - Lewinsky affair - 2004 presidential election - 22nd Amendment - Terrorist attack

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On July 26, 2004, Clinton spoke for the fifth time in a row to the Democratic National Convention. He used his speech to praise candidate John Kerry. Many have argued that Clinton's speech is one of the best in Convention history. In it, Clinton criticized George W. Bush's depiction of Kerry, saying that "Strength and wisdom are not opposing values."

Related Topics:
July 26 - 2004 - Democratic National Convention - John Kerry

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On September 2, 2004, Clinton had an episode of angina and was evaluated at Northern Westchester Hospital. It was determined that he had not suffered a coronary infarction, and he was sent home, returning the following day for angiography, which disclosed multiple vessel coronary artery disease. He was transferred to Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City, where he successfully underwent quadruple coronary artery bypass surgery on September 6, 2004. The medical team responsible for Clinton claimed that, had he not had surgery, he would likely have suffered a massive heart attack within a few months. On March 10, 2005, he underwent a follow-up surgery to remove scar tissue and fluid from his left chest cavity, a result of his open-heart surgery.

Related Topics:
September 2 - 2004 - Angina - Northern Westchester Hospital - Coronary infarction - Angiography - Coronary artery disease - Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center - Coronary artery bypass surgery - September 6 - Heart attack - March 10 - 2005

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He dedicated his presidential library, which is the largest in the nation, the William J. Clinton Presidential Center, in Little Rock, Arkansas on November 18, 2004. Under rainy skies, Clinton received words of praise from former presidents Jimmy Carter and George H. W. Bush, as well as from the current president, George W. Bush. He was also treated to a musical rendition from Bono and The Edge from U2, who expressed their gratitude at Clinton's efforts to resolve the Northern Ireland conflict during his presidency.

Related Topics:
Presidential library - William J. Clinton Presidential Center - Little Rock, Arkansas - November 18 - 2004 - Jimmy Carter - George H. W. Bush - George W. Bush - Bono - The Edge - U2

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On November 22, 2004, New York Republican Governor George Pataki named Clinton and the other living former presidents (Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and George H. W. Bush) as honorary members of the board rebuilding the World Trade Center.

Related Topics:
November 22 - 2004 - George Pataki - Gerald Ford - Jimmy Carter - George H. W. Bush - World Trade Center

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On December 8, 2004, Clinton announced that he was the new spokesperson for Accoona, an internet search engine company.

Related Topics:
December 8 - 2004 - Accoona - Internet - Search engine

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There had been reported signs of a friendship growing between Clinton and George W. Bush. After the official unveiling of his White House portrait in June 2004, and especially since the 2004 election, Clinton and Bush met on occasion, although the nature of the friendship did not appear to be a reconciliation of political opinions.

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On January 3, 2005, President George W. Bush named Clinton and George H. W. Bush to lead a nationwide campaign to help the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. On February 1, 2005, he was picked by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to head the United Nations earthquake and tsunami relief and reconstruction effort. Five days later, he and Bush both appeared on the Super Bowl XXXIX pre-game show on Fox in support of their bipartisan effort to raise money for relief of the disaster through the USA Freedom Corps, an action which Bush described as "transcending politics." Thirteen days later, they both traveled to the affected areas to see how the relief efforts are going.

Related Topics:
January 3 - 2005 - 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake - February 1 - Kofi Annan - United Nations - Earthquake and tsunami relief and reconstruction effort - Super Bowl XXXIX - Fox - USA Freedom Corps

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Following the death of Pope John Paul II on April 2, 2005 Clinton stirred up a mini-controversy saying the late pontiff, "may have had a mixed legacy?there will be debates about him. But on balance, he was a man of God, he was a consistent person, he did what he thought was right." Clinton sat with both President George W. Bush and former President George H.W. Bush as the first American heads of state to attend a papal funeral.

Related Topics:
Death of Pope John Paul II - April 2 - 2005

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In August 31, 2005, following the devastation of the Gulf Coast by Hurricane Katrina, Clinton again teamed with George H. W. Bush to coordinate private relief donations, in a campaign similar to their earlier one in response to the Indian Ocean tsunami. Clinton was highly critical of the federal government response to the hurricane, saying that the government "failed" the people affected, and that an investigation into the response was warranted. http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/05/clinton.katrina/index.html

Related Topics:
August 31 - Gulf Coast - Hurricane Katrina

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On September 16, 2005, Clinton appeared on Larry King Live, they spoke on several topics but Mr. Clinton was quick to put to rest any notions that Mrs. Clinton would run for President in 2008.

Related Topics:
September 16 - Larry King Live

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