Clinton Assails Bush at Commencement Talk

AP ^ | 5/19/03 | BARBARA POWELL

[shhrubbery!]

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) -

Former President Bill Clinton accused President Bush of spending more time fighting the war on terrorism than on domestic issues during a commencement speech at Tougaloo College.

"I supported the president when he asked for authority to stand up against weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, but we can't be forever strong abroad if we don't keep getting better at home," Clinton said Sunday to a crowd of about 8,000.

Clinton also criticized Bush's position on affirmative action and tax cuts just two days after the President formally kicked off his re-election campaign.

Clinton stayed for the entire three-hour ceremony and shook hands with each of the 144 graduates at the relatively obscure historically black college. But this private school of 800 students will also be the site of the Aug. 13 Democratic presidential debate.

Judging from the warm reception to his every blast of the Bush administration, Clinton had a lot of supporters in the crowd - which included former Democratic governors of Mississippi, Ray Mabus and William Winter.

On the stage with Clinton were Governor Ronnie Musgrove, and U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., a Tougaloo graduate and a member of the Congressional Black Caucus.

"We Democrats in Congress miss you," Thompson said, referring to the Republican majority in both houses of Congress and the Democrats' inability to derail Bush's tax cut plan.

Clinton, who commands as much as $350,000 a speech, was speaking at Tougaloo for free.

Clinton's attack on the president comes as Bush - who in the latest Washington Post/ABC News poll had an approval rating of 71 percent, down from 77 percent during the war in Iraq - is drawing criticism from Democrats for his tax cut proposals and support for "race neutral alternatives" to affirmative action.

Clinton laughed long and heartily when student government president C.J. Lawrence assured the crowd that selecting Clinton was not an example of affirmative action. "Yes, Oprah Winfrey and Bill Cosby were also considered, but I assure you Bill Clinton was selected solely on his merit," Lawrence said, drawing a big round of applause.

Despite the laughter, Clinton spoke seriously about what he said is the need to show that America takes care of its citizens of all races and all income levels through affirmative action and after-school care programs.

Clinton suggested that Bush's priorities are fighting terrorism, not domestic issues.

The Bush administration, Clinton said, "is still focused on defeating terrorism and weapons of mass destruction, and that's good, but not good enough. The power of our example is just as important as our military might."

Clinton also took aim at the growing budget deficit and Bush's tax cut proposals - all issues that are being raised by the nine Democrats who are running for president in 2004. Sunday's crowd at Tougaloo made it plain who many of them would like to see in the White House.

"I think if you were to take a vote here, they'd vote for Bill Clinton if he was running again," said Jerry Keahey, class of '61.

Clinton, who sang along with the choir to "Lift Every Voice and Sing" and chatted at length with many of those around him on the podium, also took time to take a jab at Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss.

Lott lost his Senate Majority Leader position after his comment in December that the nation would have been better served if retiring Sen. Strom Thurmond had been elected president in 1948 when he ran on a segregationist platform.

Referring to the 134-year-old college's need to raise money to renovate its old buildings, Clinton suggested that Lott might want to help them raise money to make up for his remarks.

"Reach out, don't give up on anybody," Clinton said. "This is Sunday. Ask Lott to give you the money for the buildings. He said he was going to spend the rest of his life making up for the little trouble he had."

[twigs]

Had Clinton paid attention to the terrorist threats to this country when it was his responsibility to do so, President Bush could be concentrating more on the economy! As it is, I suspect that when all is said and done, President Bush will easily do more on all fronts than Clinton ever did.

[B Knotts]

Rather than being on stage at a commencement, Clinton should be speaking from his jail cell.

[MHGinTN]

As a college textbook rep in the early seventies, I called on Tougaloo College. It was a small school but the instructors were fiercely proud of the standards they maintained for the students. Many graduates have become statesmen, lawyers, doctors, teachers ... I'm deeply saddened that Tougaloo has slipped so far as to welcome the degenerate x42 as their commencement speaker! [A further note: Tougaloo was so dedicated to academics that at one time decades ago an athletic program was passed over in deference to hiring more instructors! That is to be admired.]

[Uff Da]

People are sick of you and want you to go away. But your grandiose view of your very disgusting self just can't allow you to keep your mouth shut.

Is anyone familiar with the quote that goes something like this: "It's best to keep ones mouth shut and look like a fool than to open it and remove all doubt !!"

[Howlin]

What's the NE story? I seemed to have missed this.

[demkicker]

This line tells you all you need to know about Tougaloo College.

And this line:

"I think if you were to take a vote here, they'd vote for Bill Clinton if he was running again," said Jerry Keahey, class of '61.

Black democrats can't seem to ween themselves from the koolaide.

[cardinal4]

More mudslinging from someone who should remain silent out of respect for his successor. Has anyone noticed that the Clintons badmouth the Bush at every turn, but the Bush administration has remained silent?

[gortklattu]

Remember when W couldn't answer the questions concerning those four foreign leaders? Remember how the Dems said that he would be good on domestic issues but totally incompetent on foreign issues?

Now, they're admitting they were wrong by claiming they are right.

Clinton is an egoist, a dishonest one at that.

Gort

[Helms]

Clinton Does The Tougaloo:

http://www.tougaloo.edu/ In good Biblical style one might say that the Amistad (the famous court case which freed Africans who are accused of mutiny after they killed a part of the captor crew of the slave ship Amistad and took over the vessel) begat the American Missionary Association, and the American Missionary Association begat Tougaloo College and her five sister institutions". (Campbell, Clarice T. and Oscar Allen Rogers, Jr., Mississippi: The View from Tougaloo, Jackson, MS: University of Mississippi Press, 1979, p.3). In 1869, the American Missionary Association of New York purchased a plantation of five hundred acres of land near Jackson, Mississippi, and established on it a school for the training of young people "irrespective of religious tenets, and conducted on the most liberal principles for the benefit of our citizens in general." In 1871, the Legislature of the State of Mississippi granted the institution a charter under the name of "Tougaloo University." The Normal Department was recognized as a teacher training school until 1892 when the college ceased to receive aid from the state. Courses for college credit were first offered in 1897, and the first Bachelor of Arts degree was granted in 1901. In 1916, the name of the institution was changed to Tougaloo College......http://www.tougaloo.edu/history.html Can Clinton visit revive Tougaloo College?-http://www.cnn.com/2003/EDUCATION/05/14/tougaloo.college.ap/ Wednesday, May 14, 2003 Posted: 11:29 AM EDT (1529 GMT) Tougaloo College president Beverly Hogan JACKSON, Mississippi (AP) -- Tucked behind a Target store on 500 acres of shaded grounds, little Tougaloo College has survived for 134 years in a relatively obscure corner of academia. While beloved by its 800-member student body and a hardcore group of dedicated alumni, Tougaloo has struggled with declining enrollment and a chronic funding shortage. But Tougaloo President Beverly Hogan and other backers of the school are hoping a commencement address from former President Bill Clinton on Sunday and a Democratic presidential debate sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus will bring the troubled campus some positive attention. Clinton, one of the world's most sought-after speakers and arguably the highest paid, isn't charging Tougaloo a fee. While Hogan is grateful and honored by the gesture, she said she wants more. "I'm hoping that Tougaloo College becomes part of the things he thinks about," said Hogan, who met Clinton when he was governor of Arkansas and she directed Mississippi's Office of Federal State Programs. "I won't let him forget Tougaloo." Though it produces doctors, lawyers and teachers, Tougaloo never attracted the enrollment, money or prestige afforded such other black institutions as Howard University -- which has an endowment of more than $300 million and more than 10,000 students. But Hogan, herself a Tougaloo alumna, and the chairman of Tougaloo's board of trustees, Leroy Walker Jr., believe a visit from a former president confers a seal of approval and a status from which Tougaloo can benefit. "For a small black college, this will do volumes from the standpoint of public relations," said Walker, who owns 21 franchised McDonald's restaurants. "We are proud that President Clinton hasn't forgotten that these are the kinds of institutions that make a difference to regular people." C.J. Lawrence, a graduating senior and student government association president who expects to meet the former president on Sunday, said Tougaloo students can relate to Clinton because he was in office in the 1990s. "I was one election away from being able to vote for him," the 22-year-old said. "He's a president of our lifetime. We got to see him grow just as we grew." High hopes Tougaloo is no stranger to high-profile visitors. Last year's commencement speaker was former Clinton adviser Vernon Jordan, a powerful Washington lawyer who drew a record crowd of 5,000. This year, Tougaloo sent out more than 10,000 graduation invitations. The school will set out 7,000 chairs on the campus green. But since the ceremony is open to the public as well as alumni, school officials are bracing for thousands more to attend. Workers have planted shrubs along the route Clinton may take when he arrives Sunday, and they plan to put up large banners welcoming him. Even Hogan's on-campus house has received a landscaping makeover. "You see how it is right now -- it's calm and quiet," Tougaloo spokesman Chip Washington said as he walked across the campus last week. "But picture how it's going to be on May 18. Mass hysteria." U.S. Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, a Tougaloo alumnus who helped bring the August 13 Democratic debate to the campus, said all the attention also could help turn the struggling college around. "This is Tougaloo's time to shine, no doubt about it," he said.

[Helms]

Clinton Does The Tougaloo:

http://www.tougaloo.edu/ In good Biblical style one might say that the Amistad (the famous court case which freed Africans who are accused of mutiny after they killed a part of the captor crew of the slave ship Amistad and took over the vessel) begat the American Missionary Association, and the American Missionary Association begat Tougaloo College and her five sister institutions". (Campbell, Clarice T. and Oscar Allen Rogers, Jr., Mississippi: The View from Tougaloo, Jackson, MS: University of Mississippi Press, 1979, p.3).

In 1869, the American Missionary Association of New York purchased a plantation of five hundred acres of land near Jackson, Mississippi, and established on it a school for the training of young people "irrespective of religious tenets, and conducted on the most liberal principles for the benefit of our citizens in general." In 1871, the Legislature of the State of Mississippi granted the institution a charter under the name of "Tougaloo University." The Normal Department was recognized as a teacher training school until 1892 when the college ceased to receive aid from the state. Courses for college credit were first offered in 1897, and the first Bachelor of Arts degree was granted in 1901. In 1916, the name of the institution was changed to Tougaloo College......http://www.tougaloo.edu/history.html

Can Clinton visit revive Tougaloo College?-http://www.cnn.com/2003/EDUCATION/05/14/tougaloo.college.ap/

Wednesday, May 14, 2003 Posted: 11:29 AM EDT (1529 GMT)

Tougaloo College president Beverly Hogan

JACKSON, Mississippi (AP) -- Tucked behind a Target store on 500 acres of shaded grounds, little Tougaloo College has survived for 134 years in a relatively obscure corner of academia.

While beloved by its 800-member student body and a hardcore group of dedicated alumni, Tougaloo has struggled with declining enrollment and a chronic funding shortage.

But Tougaloo President Beverly Hogan and other backers of the school are hoping a commencement address from former President Bill Clinton on Sunday and a Democratic presidential debate sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus will bring the troubled campus some positive attention.

Clinton, one of the world's most sought-after speakers and arguably the highest paid, isn't charging Tougaloo a fee. While Hogan is grateful and honored by the gesture, she said she wants more.

"I'm hoping that Tougaloo College becomes part of the things he thinks about," said Hogan, who met Clinton when he was governor of Arkansas and she directed Mississippi's Office of Federal State Programs. "I won't let him forget Tougaloo."

Though it produces doctors, lawyers and teachers, Tougaloo never attracted the enrollment, money or prestige afforded such other black institutions as Howard University -- which has an endowment of more than $300 million and more than 10,000 students.

But Hogan, herself a Tougaloo alumna, and the chairman of Tougaloo's board of trustees, Leroy Walker Jr., believe a visit from a former president confers a seal of approval and a status from which Tougaloo can benefit.

"For a small black college, this will do volumes from the standpoint of public relations," said Walker, who owns 21 franchised McDonald's restaurants. "We are proud that President Clinton hasn't forgotten that these are the kinds of institutions that make a difference to regular people."

C.J. Lawrence, a graduating senior and student government association president who expects to meet the former president on Sunday, said Tougaloo students can relate to Clinton because he was in office in the 1990s.

"I was one election away from being able to vote for him," the 22-year-old said. "He's a president of our lifetime. We got to see him grow just as we grew." High hopes

Tougaloo is no stranger to high-profile visitors. Last year's commencement speaker was former Clinton adviser Vernon Jordan, a powerful Washington lawyer who drew a record crowd of 5,000. This year, Tougaloo sent out more than 10,000 graduation invitations.

The school will set out 7,000 chairs on the campus green. But since the ceremony is open to the public as well as alumni, school officials are bracing for thousands more to attend.

Workers have planted shrubs along the route Clinton may take when he arrives Sunday, and they plan to put up large banners welcoming him. Even Hogan's on-campus house has received a landscaping makeover.

"You see how it is right now -- it's calm and quiet," Tougaloo spokesman Chip Washington said as he walked across the campus last week. "But picture how it's going to be on May 18. Mass hysteria."

U.S. Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, a Tougaloo alumnus who helped bring the August 13 Democratic debate to the campus, said all the attention also could help turn the struggling college around.

"This is Tougaloo's time to shine, no doubt about it," he said.

[Miss Marple]

It's a rehash of the Jenna drug party story that appeared in the NY Post gossip column, based on the recounting of the tale by an actor who says he was there, and it happened over a year ago.

No accusations of participation; just her presence at this party, but the NE managed to get an entire 2-page article out of it, complete with pictures.

[TomHarkinIsNotFromIowa]

I'll bet ya he took a poll before writing his speach.

[Liz]

The Clintonista program continues:

Clarification: The Clintonista disinformation program continues:

[skeeter]

AP and the democrats are still pining for this impeached, disbarred, disgraced pervert. They've got no one else to speak for them.

How utterly pathetic.

[Aeronaut]

It is unheard of for a former president to attack a sitting president during the latter's term.

It was unheard of for a former president to attack a sitting president during the latter's term. They all had class.

[Recovering_Democrat]

TheBentOne: irrelevant, irresponsible, and irritating.

[WKB]

Ask Lott to give you the money for the buildings. He said he was going to spend the rest of his life making up for the little trouble he had."

Maybe he lied like you do.
Hey everybody does it . RIght?

[Mia T]

 

 

Q ERTY6

PING!

Q ERTY9

BUSH: "I will not wait on events, while dangers gather."

 

President's Remarks view

This country has many challenges. We will not deny, we will not ignore, we will not pass along our problems to other Congresses, to other presidents, and other generations. (Applause.) We will confront them with focus and clarity and courage...

Sending Americans into battle is the most profound decision a President can make. The technologies of war have changed; the risks and suffering of war have not. For the brave Americans who bear the risk, no victory is free from sorrow. This nation fights reluctantly, because we know the cost and we dread the days of mourning that always come.

We seek peace. We strive for peace. And sometimes peace must be defended. A future lived at the mercy of terrible threats is no peace at all. If war is forced upon us, we will fight in a just cause and by just means -- sparing, in every way we can, the innocent. And if war is forced upon us, we will fight with the full force and might of the United States military -- and we will prevail. (Applause.)

State of the Union Address by President George W. Bush

The REAL "Living History" -- clintoplasmodial slime

Q ERTY8 Democratic Party's Problem Transcends Its Anti-War Contingent  BUMP!

 

[nfldgirl]

Despite the laughter, Clinton spoke seriously about what he said is the need to show that America takes care of its citizens of all races and all income levels through affirmative action and after-school care programs.

"Reach out, don't give up on anybody," Clinton said. "This is Sunday. Ask Lott to give you the money for the buildings. He said he was going to spend the rest of his life making up for the little trouble he had."

Billy Jeff Clinton....ever-n-always the true race-baiter.

[TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!]

Clinton Assails Bush at Commencement Talk

Mississippi Gov. Ronnie Musgrove, left, U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., second from left, listen as former President Bill Clinton encourages graduating seniors at Tougaloo College in Jackson, Miss., to give back to the community as they seek to fulfill their personal goals, Sunday, May 18, 2003. Clinton, the school's commencement speaker was also awarded an honorary degree. (AP Photo/Rogelio Solis)