Quotes About Former President Bill Clinton

The following quotes were gathered by The Washington Post from people involved in bringing former president Clinton to speak before their organizations:

Andrew Wilding, Catholic Family Counseling Center, Kitchener, Canada: "He has a way of compelling the entire audience. The whole place went silent. He was able to speak for an hour and a half without any notes at all. We were raising money to accentuate our domestic violence services. He was able to talk about domestic and family violence on a personal level, talking about his step father, about suicide bombers and their families. I had never heard anyone speak as eloquently and intelligently."

President Clinton, during a speech in Canada: "I love doing these talks, and I try to do them mostly across my country but also quite a bit around the world because I think that it's important for someone like me whose had a unique perspective on the way the 21st century world has emerged to try to at least help other people think through the bewildering array of challenges and opportunities we all face."

Gustavo Mutis, chief executive, Gold Service International, Bogota, Colombia: "We had 3,000 people in Bogota to hear him. Before he started we had an orchestra of young people, all of them deaf and dumb. He couldn't believe it. He really got emotional. They played the U.S. national anthem. He really got moved. He went and shook hands with all these musicians. Then he improvised for about 15 to 20 minutes, talking from the heart. He said, 'I want to hear them again.' He said he was amazed. After the lecture, he walked on the streets of Bogota. It was to imply this is a safe city. We walked six blocks with the president of colombia on the street. He went shopping. He went to a huge mall. I asked him, 'Do you really mean it?' The security guy with them said, 'You're crazy Mr. President.' I thought he was joking. But he said he wanted us to move the caravan to a good Colombian place where he could by good Colombian stuff for his wife and daughter."

Mark K. Updegrove, author of the book Second Acts: Presidential Lives and Legacies After the White House: "One thing makes President Clinton slightly different from his predecessors. Not only has he carried the prestige of the presidency, but he maintains the mystique of celebrity. To some degree Clinton was modeling his career on Jimmy Carter. But Carter is not a glamorous figure. Not much dash to Carter. Clinton has that in spades."