Clinton wows them in New Brunswick
Published Friday November 28th, 2008
From kids to the business elite, a huge crowd turns out for former president's N.B. visit
Eight-year-old Nicholas Salerno wasn't even born when Bill Clinton left office, but that didn't stop the Saint John boy from joining his dad Anthony on a road trip to Moncton to see the former U.S. president speak yesterday.
It was just one example of how a 45-minute speech on the economy was seen as the must-see event of the year, one of those experiences people just didn't want to miss.
The event, which saw Clinton discuss the global economy with former New Brunswick premier and Canadian ambassador to the U.S. Frank McKenna, may not have sounded sexy on the face of it, but there was no denying the charisma and rock star sex appeal Bill Clinton brought to the proceedings.
Taking the stage to the sound of Bono singing Pride (In the Name of Love), Irish pop band U2's anthemic tribute to Martin Luther King, Clinton immediately warmed up the crowd up by teasing his distinguished host. Marvelling at the more than 5,000 people packing the Moncton Coliseum, Clinton said, "I must say I was shocked by the size of the crowd. I think there are more people here than voted for Frank McKenna when he was running for office."
It was like the Elton John concert, but with a better dressed audience. Had the roof collapsed during the speech, it might not be an exaggeration to say the economy of New Brunswick would have collapsed in the aftermath. Every captain of industry, every mover and shaker, and everyone hoping to network with those movers and shakers was there. With hundreds more coming from beyond the borders of New Brunswick, it was hard to tell the Secret Service agents in the sea of suits, but for the fact they were the only ones who weren't smiling. It was also difficult to get into the Coliseum from Berry Mills Road, which backed up past Horsman Road for close to an hour at one point.
It wasn't all people in power suits though. A four-year-old girl nestled in her father's lap in the fifth row, and five top students from Riverview High School sat a few rows back, awarded tickets thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor. One of them, a Grade 12 exchange student named Stephanie Pang, will have quite a story to tell friends and family when she returns to Hong Kong.
Students from a number of other schools in New Brunswick were also on hand, close to two-dozen of them from School District 16 in the Miramichi region.
District 16's Marjorie Sinclair organized the field trip, saying it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the students, and not one that could ever be replicated in a classroom. The Miramichi students were either from journalism classes or courses in world issues at the five high schools in the district, and teacher Jamie O'Toole had prepared most of them for the speech with a week long unit of global economic issues.
O'Toole said the trip was about the next generation understanding the global economy, not simply about seeing a celebrity, but that Clinton was nevertheless the perfect person to bring the classroom lessons to life.
While the anticipation of having Clinton appear on stage rivalled that of any concert, if anyone was truly star struck by the day, it was probably Frank McKenna, who said, "this is clearly one of the most precious moments of my life."
McKenna's pride in returning with Clinton to the building where he won the New Brunswick Liberal leadership 22 years ago this month was obvious, and McKenna surprised many by seeming at first nervous when he took the stage.
While McKenna is credited by getting Moncton on a speaking tour whose other Canadian engagements were Toronto and Montreal, the former premier told the audience another expatriate deserved much of the credit.
"I want to give a shout out to another New Brunswicker and his family, Joey Cashion, who graduated from Fredericton High and works for President Clinton and does everything he can to bring him to Canada as often as he can."
Cashion is chief of staff of the William Jefferson Clinton Foundation which has been active in the fight against HIV/AIDS, on climate change, and most recently in bringing emergency aid to Haiti.
Clinton, too, began his remarks by taking a moment to praise the influential 31-year-old who, until yesterday, few New Brunswickers had heard of.
"I'm glad Frank gave him a pat on the back," Clinton said. "That helps me keep him and all our other young workers in our foundation happy. They all work for peanuts and for long hours."
After that, the former president delivered a speech that was vintage Bill Clinton – erudite, informed, and infused with both gravitas and folksy wisdom.
He called Larry Summers, his former treasury secretary now picked by Barack Obama to be the president-elect's top economic advisor, "the smartest man on the planet. If he's not, he's so close you can't tell the difference."
Clinton reassured Canadians about our nation's economic prospects thanks to our blessing of natural resources.
"Sixty per cent of the world's mining wealth is traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange," he said. "The long-term looks good."
He also told the audience something he thought a lot of Canadians didn't know but should know and be proud of, that Canada and Ireland were the first nations to put up money for the Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS work that is giving millions hope and stabilizing entire regions in our increasingly interdependent world.
He recalled with bemused horror that even just a week before the Bush administration put together its multi-billion dollar package to get the country out of an economic crisis caused by easy credit, the message had not gotten through. On a day off from campaigning for Senator Obama, Clinton said "I was home trying to read a book and I got two robo-calls hawking credit cards."
Apparently, even the Secret Service can't protect you from telemarketers.
Clinton spoke for 45 minutes and he and McKenna had an onstage Q&A that lasted half-an-hour.
More Business
Search Articles
More CE Network Sites & Partners:
