Bill Clinton spoke deftly and often with humor today on the topic of "the common good," in a speech delivered at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., marking the 15th anniversary of speeches he delivered there while running for president in 1991.
"Given the nature of the political debate today," said the former president, "I think it's important to point out that... we are not perfect, we never will be perfect, no one has the whole truth, but we can always do better. That's what a more perfect union meant. It is a permanent mission for America designed to make America a permanent work in progress."
Clinton decried divisive politics and the apathy it engenders, quoting a book whose thesis was that "Americans hate politics because it seems irrelevant to them, and they feel like they're being manipulated because they're always being asked to make false choices. ...
he truth is, most of us don't think that way... ost of us long for a politics where we have genuine arguments, vigorous disagreements, but we don't claim to have the whole truth and we don't demonize our opponents..."
The full transcript of the speech follows the video.
http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Bill_Clinton_talks_about_common_good_1018.html