New York magazine has a really interesting article in its current issue on Bill Clinton and what’s he’s been up to lately. There’s no ground-breaking news in there — sorry, no hints about Hillary’s plans — but the piece shed light on Clinton’s ongoing role as an international leader.
Five years after his presidency, Clinton still thinks like a world leader. In some ways, it’s more complicated: He thinks like the leader of the world. While there’s no official means to be president of the planet, other than as U.N. secretary-general — a prospect constantly floated by Clinton supporters, though it’s practically impossible — he certainly seems to be trying hard to invent one. On September 15, the former president will be hosting the grandly titled Clinton Global Initiative, a conference timed to coincide with the World Summit at the U.N. The guest list features an impressive and eccentric mix of moguls, heads of state, and problem-solvers — from Sonia Gandhi to George Soros to Rupert Murdoch — who, after three days of panel-going and furious rubber-chicken consumption, are expected to sign pledges to do something about bettering the world. […]
For the former president, it’s finally a chance to press forward, to shore up his legacy — to throw an inaugural ball, really, for his third term. Before this moment, Clinton hadn’t had a career so much as big projects to complete: millions in legal bills to pay off; a $180 million library to design, curate, and pay for (it’s still not paid for); a $10 million autobiography to write; and, most unexpectedly, two heart surgeries from which to recover.
No longer. Clinton, the man people accused of trying to be everything to everyone, can now embrace just that role, recasting himself in purely global terms. Since leaving the White House, he has traveled to 67 countries. On this African sweep, he manages to squeeze in six in seven days. “I think there are three people who are universal, whose prestige truly extends way over borders,” says Hernando de Soto, the Peruvian economist and author of The Mystery of Capital (and a key participant in the CGI). “There’s Nelson Mandela, Kofi Annan, and Clinton. The problem with Kofi is that he leads the world’s biggest bureaucracy. And Mandela is basically an African. He’s never had something to say about Asia. He’s never said, ‘I like mambo.’ Strangely, the only one who does this is Clinton, and he doesn’t even speak a foreign language.”
He pauses. “I mean, say Jacques Chirac retires,” says De Soto. “He can’t do the Chirac Global Initiative.”
I know it must drive the right completely batty, but it’s worth remembering that Bill Clinton is not only among the most popular Americans in the world, he also remains one of the most well-liked and well-respected people on the planet.
Also consider how this came to be. It didn’t take a coordinated effort by sycophantic ideologues to get streets, schools, and highways named after him. People, here and around the world, still believe that Clinton is an engaging figure whose vision and opinions matter. Five years after leaving the White House, everyone, nearly everywhere, still wants to know what Clinton is thinking, reading, doing, and considering.
Is the Clinton Global Initiative just another gathering for intellectuals, like Davos? Perhaps. But will Clinton’s role in the event bring international leaders together to discuss world affairs and international crises? You bet.
I’m curious — in 2013, will leading thinkers and policy makers from around the world go to great lengths to listen to George W. Bush speak on anything.