Clinton discusses globalization
In a venue more suited to Cher or Jerry Seinfeld, former President Bill Clinton addressed nearly 1,000 people at Caesars Palace on Monday night about the common threads of humanity, all for the price of a concert ticket.
Bette Midler's Caesar Salad Girls were nowhere to be found.
Clinton exuded a rock-star aura from the Colosseum's stage as he accepted $1 million for the Clinton Foundation -- a gift from Harrah's Entertainment for his public service involving Haiti and other communities.
"Current global economic conditions and recent natural disasters have created an unfortunate perfect storm of distress," said Jan Jones, Harrah's vice president. "Harrah's and the Harrah's Foundation is committed to fundamentally changing the lives of people most in need."
Photographers walked around prior to the event taking photos of groups eager to hear to Clinton's speech.
Clinton, who was recently hospitalized for heart surgery, was welcomed on stage with a standing ovation as the crowd whooped and hollered. He discussed globalization, and emphasized that all countries rely on each other in some way and need to work together for the common good.
Inequality, instability and unsustainability are the three interrelated and most current challenges involved with energy, technology, politics, health care and access to other resources, Clinton said.
"As you look at where we are today and where we're going and how to make it better, I think it's very important to understand that what we're dealing with in the United States, and around the world, is a part of a pattern that characterizes the best and worst of the 21st century," Clinton said. "This is the most interdependent time in human history."
With an increase in technology, the former president who served two terms from 1992 to 2000, said communication is accelerating rapidly and is a necessity to move forward in philanthropy and volunteerism.
"Whether we like it or not we're all interdependent and we're all going up, or down, together," Clinton said.
Contact Kristi Jourdan at kjourdan@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0279.
