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Periscope by Niall O'Dowd

Why Bill Clinton is the greatest ex-president

Posted on Monday, January 18, 2010 at 09:49 PM

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Bill Clinton is the best ex-president of the United States. Whatever you thought of him as president, you have to accept he has become one of the greatest humanitarians on earth.

Some may say Jimmy Carter, who won the Nobel Prize, is the greatest ex-prez, but I think Clinton wins it. He is simply a more inspirational figure.

Yesterday, as UN special envoy, Clinton met with the injured in Haiti and promised massive support. The sight of him helping the earthquake victims was at once compelling and uplifting. Here was American soft power at its best, along with the troops President Obama has sent and the joint work that former presidents George Bush and Clinton will undertake together for Haiti.

Kudos to to Bush the younger, who has taken his father's role alongside Clinton as a world ambassador for peace.

If you follow Clinton's work on AIDS in Africa, his efforts to curb childhood obesity here in America and his continued role as a troubleshooter in international conflicts, you cannot but be impressed.

His Clinton Foundation has become one of the world's great philanthropic organizations, with a turnover of $300 million last year.

We Irish know all about his peacemaking skills. Without him, there would have been no peace in Northern Ireland. It is as simple as that.

He has brought that skill to the world now, unencumbered by the strains of high office. He is proving a remarkable ambassador for our country, one who perhaps was more loved abroad during his time in office than he ever was at home.

He has used that fame, not to enrich himself -- which he could have done so easily -- but to help the less fortunate, the forgotten, the frail.

His visit to Haiti yesterday was very much in keeping with that spirit. He does us all proud.

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IrishEddy | Jan 21, 2010, 09:57 PM EST

Jimmy Carter is still the best ex-President, he was the go to guy when the other administrations had difficulties

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killowen | Jan 20, 2010, 08:23 PM EST

joanmoody - got to be joking ... freedom in NI ... there is none. England's Irish statelet will be retain for ever so that a harp (representing Ireland) will continue in support of the harp that they've symbolically carved and featured on flags and on the queen standard and on high everthing of theirs. Folks need educating on how great is their need to hold on at all costs. Naturally, aided and abetted by Big Saxon bro in the USA, and Canada, Aus, NZ NI SA .....

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BURTONPORT | Jan 20, 2010, 08:09 PM EST

Aside from his marital problems which have engulfed a number of celebrities, his participation in world events totally outweigh his indiscretions, We should all be proud of his Political and world assitance

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killowen | Jan 20, 2010, 08:07 PM EST

Billy has that Tiger Woods problem - its not easy I grant you, with all those dingbats at one's feet.

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willieboy | Jan 20, 2010, 07:27 PM EST

I don't know about this greatest ex-president thing. Now greatest sex-president I can Buy....

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joanmoody | Jan 20, 2010, 04:52 PM EST

Clinton's only claim to fame is the Good Friday Agreement. He did do us proud in trying to obtain freedom for NI.

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2BorNot2B | Jan 20, 2010, 03:16 PM EST

As for Kathy Callahan, now there's a piece of convoluted, upside/down, quasi-religious logic, typical of those totally confused on the God concept. -- This woman wants God to shower His blessings on a lying cad who openly favors the killing on the womb of His children... Yeah, that makes sense! Those are the people God truly loves, I'm sure. -- And this woman has a licence to give counsel?

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2BorNot2B | Jan 20, 2010, 03:08 PM EST

Allan500 Well said, your post is true from beginning to end. -- I believe mine are being excised from print, so say it for me, bro!

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allan500 | Jan 20, 2010, 01:11 PM EST

Niall, come from under your haystack and get real. Have you never heard of Ronald Reagan? (He's the guy who, with Pope John Paul II, pretty much ended communism.) To place Jimmy Carter, one of the worst, and Bill "I did not have sex with that woman" Clinton even near Reagan is a sign of mental illness, and as such you cannot be blamed for your very strange thoughts, but you ought to be locked up for your own safety.

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mcginleynj | Jan 20, 2010, 01:07 PM EST

I agree! He always steps up to the plate with a great vigor and energy. He is truly a bi-partisan in responding to the call when asked.

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lynchsteele | Jan 20, 2010, 11:39 AM EST

I agree, those who sought to defame him did so because they simply weren't smart enough to out think him or produce better results, I hate those who attack a mans faults because he is, in total , a great man.

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rickduff | Jan 20, 2010, 11:32 AM EST

As a liberal Democrat, I appreciate all the great things he did, but he disgraced the office of president and I think he should have resigned.

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FastEddy | Jan 20, 2010, 11:22 AM EST

" Bill Clinton is the best ex-president of the United States. ..." Agreed, living anyway. The all time best ex-President is of course Ronald Reagan = quiet as a church mouse after leaving office except for the net-positive international promotional tours. One thing our slickest ex has done is get that North Korean clown to kiss his ...

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kelauggie1 | Jan 20, 2010, 11:18 AM EST

We are better off now that he is an ex. His humanitarian efforts are really fundraising efforts for his foundation and his library. His legacy as president is poor - he is trying to build a new legacy. This is typical Clinton behavior - both he and Hillary are more concerned about themselves than about others. Don't be fooled.

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katieherk | Jan 20, 2010, 11:09 AM EST

I agree that he's a "pretty good" ex-president, maybe making up for not being a good president. That being said, I hope everyone will lay off trying to canonize him. It's good to get a second chance and he's making the most of it.

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