DENVER – Former President Bill Clinton said compromise and collaboration between government and private business is key to advancing widespread prosperity while speaking in Denver on Tuesday.
The Democrat spoke during the annual Clinton Global Initiative America meeting, of which he and his daughter, Chelsea Clinton, serve as leaders. The conference runs through Wednesday, with remarks expected from high-profile national and world leaders, including members of President Barack Obama’s administration and chief executives of large companies.
Absent from the conference this year was Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who continues to receive questions about a potential conflict of interest between donations made to the Clinton Foundation and her role as the former head of the State Department. Her husband, however, led the charge for the Clinton initiative.
“Politics is good; differences are important,” Clinton said. “But as I always say, if you really read the constitutional history of America, it would have been helpful to us today if the framers added a subtitle to the U.S. Constitution: ‘Let’s make a deal.’”
Much of the thrust of the meeting was to discuss advancing global economic equality, even in the United States, where wealth is dominated by only a small percent of Americans. Clinton said there is a gap between government and the private sector, and there is an opportunity for the two to work together.
“We can’t forget there are still millions of people in all kinds of communities across this country who can’t find work, many more who don’t work enough hours to support themselves and their families,” Clinton said.
Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, introduced the former president.
“This is an America where people can make it. The American Dream is embedded in that promise that everyone should have equal opportunities to succeed,” Hickenlooper said. “We all need to strive for a balance wherein our capitalistic aspirations are in harmony with our obligations to our fellow men and fellow women.”
Clinton largely steered away from politics during his remarks, despite his wife’s highly publicized 2016 run for president. The conference in Denver comes as the Clinton Foundation – which oversees the Clinton Global Initiative – has hit controversy. Questions remain regarding the Clinton Foundation’s foreign donors as it might have related to Hillary Clinton’s former role as secretary of state and the impact to foreign affairs.
pmarcus@durangoherald.com
