begin quote from:
The
pair, speaking in Dallas at the George W. Bush Presidential Library,
spoke about their post-office friendship, and, although they didn’t
mention the current president by name, …
In Talk With Clinton, Bush Says Being ‘Humble In Victory’ Is Key To Presidency
“If you want to be president, realize it’s about the people, not about you,” Clinton says.
Brandon Wade / Reuters
Former President George W. Bush, in conversation with his predecessor, President Bill Clinton, said Thursday it was important for a leader to be “humble in victory” in order to work with others.
“I
think it starts with Bill Clinton being a person who refused to lord
his victory over dad. In other words, he was humble in victory, which is
very important in dealing with other people,” Bush, speaking about
Clinton’s 1992 defeat over his father, George H.W. Bush, told a crowd
gathered for the graduation of the Presidential Leadership Scholars
program. “I think Dad was willing to rise above the political contest.
It starts with the individual’s character, and both men in my judgment
displayed strong character and therefore their friendship was able to be
formed.”
Bush was also asked what the most important quality is to be commander in chief. His reply: “Humility.”
“I think it’s really important to know what you don’t know and listen to people who do know what you don’t know,” he said, according to NPR.
Clinton continued with a similar sentiment: “If you want to be president, realize it’s about the people, not about you.”
“You
want to be able to say, ‘Things were better off when I quit, kids had a
better future, things were coming together,’” he said. “You don’t want
to say, ‘God, look at all the people I beat.’”
Reuters notes many in the crowd thought the pair may have been referencing the administration of President Donald Trump. Trump has continued to speak about his win over presidential opponent Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton’s wife, nearly six months after he assumed office and has pressed on with his unsubstantiated claims that millions voted illegally in the 2016 election.
During
the talk in Dallas, former President Clinton lamented the current state
of American politics, saying an increasing divide between political
ideologies had him worried about the future.
“One
of the things that is wrong with America today, that bothers me more
than anything else about our future, is we have separated ourselves into
like-minded communities,” Clinton said. “Diverse groups make better
decisions than homogeneous ones. Everyone knows that, but they almost
can’t help themselves.”
The
pair, however, both said they’d recommend the presidency to young
people today, with Clinton noting he’d advise the next generation to
seek to hold the office “in a heartbeat.”
Watch the entire conversation between the two below:
Do you have information you want to share with HuffPost? Here’s how.
No comments:
Post a Comment