Clinton lays claim to progressive tradition

In his third trip to Princeton during his time in the White House, President Clinton visited campus yesterday to give the keynote address in a two-day conference on the American progressive tradition.

Clinton's helicopter landed on Poe Field just before 2:30 p.m. He met his limousine behind Scully Hall and rode to Richardson Auditorium where he spoke for about an hour.

His speech, which was the first event of the conference, examined the legacies of progressive presidents from the first half of the 20th century. He drew several parallels between his term in office and the presidencies of Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson 1879.

"Their time had much in common with ours," Clinton said. "The progressive era and this time represent two of five pivotal moments in American history."

He said he believes the world is changing because of revolutions in information technology — much the same way it did 100 years ago because of advances in industry and science.

Though this was a not a political event, Clinton was careful to work in a few items on his political agenda. When he first came to the podium he quickly recognized New Jersey 12th district congressman Rush Holt — who holds a Ph.D. in physics — sitting in the audience.

"Rush Holt is the only bona fide scientist in Congress," Clinton said, "and Lord knows we need at least one."

Clinton was also careful to mention Vice President Al Gore as an equal partner when he talked about his administration's successes.

"Al Gore and I believed we had to find a new way, a way forward to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow," he said while comparing and contrasting his accomplishments to those of Roosevelt and Wilson.

Indeed, much of Clinton's speech was a laundry list of his policy initiatives during the past eight years, placing special emphasis on the importance of the Family and Medical Leave Act as well as earned income tax credits.

Clinton also made several references to the controversy over elections in Yugoslavia, where people were rioting in the streets yesterday literally as he spoke. He said he hoped the protestors would be heard and that the democratic nations of Europe and North America could welcome the troubled Balkan state to the world community.

Clinton was introduced by a series of prominent campus figures, beginning with Wilson School dean Michael Rothschild, followed by American Studies program director Sean Wilentz and President Shapiro.

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Wilentz joked that he had the privilege of "being on stage with the two presidential successors to Woodrow Wilson, both of whom will be leaving office in the coming months."

When he took the microphone, Clinton responded in kind, saying, "This might be the only place in America where people thought Woodrow Wilson might have gotten a demotion when he was elected president."

Before he spoke, Clinton received the James Madison Award for Distinguished Public Service from the American Whig-Cliosophic Society. The award, named for the former president who was a member of the Class of 1771, was presented by Whig-Clio president Katherine Gilbert '02. Previous recipients include Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren and civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson.

After the speech, Clinton spent nearly one-half hour talking to students along a rope line in a tent set up outside Alexander Hall. He answered questions and posed for pictures, while Holt — who is in a tight race to keep his seat in Congress — followed close behind, working the crowd.

When he finished talking to the students gathered in the tent, Clinton hopped back in his car and returned to Poe Field where his helicopters were waiting to take him to New York.

Last night he was scheduled to attend a fund raiser for Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) and then a dinner with Delaware Gov. Tom Carper — who is running for the Senate — to raise money for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.