Democratic politicians may have had poor luck at the polls on Election Day recently.
But at UC Davis Sunday, it was clear that one prominent member of the party had survived the election with his popularity intact.
Former President Bill Clinton strode onto the stage at the Mondavi Center at noon to a nearly universal standing ovation, thunderous cheers and a smattering of "whoo-hoos." A similar reaction came at Freeborn Hall, where Clinton's message was simulcast live.
Acknowledging the crowd, he apologized for his hoarse voice, the result of three overnight flights the week before the Nov. 5 elections and 50 radio interviews on the day of the contests. "I lost more than my vote on Election Day," he quipped.
But Clinton said he was happy to be at UC Davis, noting his own ties to campus. King Hall Law School graduate Angela Oh served on Clinton's Commission on Race. Richard Rominger, Clinton's Deputy secretary of agriculture, received his plant science degree from UC Davis. And M.R.C. Greenwood, the former dean of graduate studies and the current chancellor of UC Santa Cruz, served as associate director for science in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
But his favorite UC Davis interaction came during a Lake Tahoe preservation summit, when he climbed aboard a boat with Professor Charles Goldman to learn how he tested the lake's clarity - with the drop of a white plate.
"I was actually relieved to know, being technically challenged, that there was an old- fashioned way to do something important in this new world," Clinton said, drawing one of many bouts of laughter from the audience.
Research in areas of water and air quality, plant disease and alternative-fuel technology demonstrated at UC Davis reflects the great potential of the 21st century, Clinton said.
Countering terrorism with aid
"It is ironic, I think, that with all the good things that are going on, so much of our attention here and around the world is focused on terrorism, the threat of weapons of mass destruction, and the fear and insecurity they breed in us," he said.
The key to turning back this tide of terror is for nations to move away from relationships of dependency to those of integration, or cooperation. Clinton called on the United States to develop a four-point plan - combining national security, foreign assistance, strong multinational institutions and changed attitudes about globalism - to accomplish this.
The U.S. should boost national security by fighting terrorism, containing weapons of mass destruction and ensuring that all government agencies cooperate in counter-terrorism efforts, he said.
But security will not only be achieved through defense strategies. Clinton encouraged the audience to think of foreign aid as more than charity. He recalled how the Marshall Plan following World War II helped reconstruct Germany, then a great enemy of the United States.
"We need to spend a little money to make more partners and fewer terrorists," he said.
Despite its power the U.S. should not, however, resort to unilateral decision-making, Clinton said. Instead, it should support institutions such as the United Nations in joint actions such as the resolution calling for Iraqi arms inspections.
Finally, he said, Americans need to "develop habits of mind and heart to live in a global community."
That means supporting places like Rwanda's Reconciliation Village - visited by Clinton earlier this year - where traditional tribal enemies, the Hutu and Tutsis, live among one another - and following political leaders who embrace change and the inclusion of others.
Clinton encouraged students to read widely on human conflict and cooperation. Their knowledge, he said, can help make the world a better place in years to come. "All that you have to do is, in a world without walls, go out and share the future."
- stopover at Freeborn Hall
He reiterated that message during an in-person visit to Freeborn Hall - where almost 650 students, faculty and staff members - had viewed his lecture live on a big screen, clapping and laughing in tandem with the Mondavi audience.
"More than any time in my lifetime, individual citizens can have a lot of impact on issues like those I've discussed today," Clinton said to the Freeborn audience. "Don't ever minimize what you might be able to do with a few like-minded individuals. You can exert enormous leverage, if you work in concert with others."
"California has become the first state where there is no majority race," he added. "If you look around the room today, you see a microcosm of what we could do in the world."
"The People's President," as Clinton was introduced by Andrea Chalupa, entertainment director for the UC Davis Associated Students, entered Freeborn to an extended standing ovation. "When I visit college campuses, I always try to make myself available to students," Clinton said, noting that education is key to building a better world. Without that foundation, he said, people become "vulnerable to being told that their differences matter more than their common humanity."
"You can be hopeful for the future," Clinton said. "But it's like the future of any other time - you still have to make it."
"That's an important message to get across," said junior Jonathan Levinson, who took advantage of the Freeborn simulcast. "It's a message that can be lost on people of our generation," he said, as, during their college years, students seek to "cement what they believe in in the world."
"It means a lot more coming from him than a professor," the political science major added. "He's achieved the highest levels, so I think his message resonates more."
Jumping at the chance to meet him
After Clinton's short address at Freeborn, attendees swarmed toward the stage, even climbing over chairs to make their way to the front of the auditorium. Surrounded by a sea of people, Clinton shook hundreds of hands, autographed event programs and answered questions as "Jump" and other Van Halen tunes filled the hall.
Student Rachelle Cox was pleased the president thought to make the need for increased efforts to combat global warming, a part of his lecture theme of how the world must learn to share the future. Amid the crowd at the front of hall, the fourth-year economics and environmental policy student, had a chance to quickly ask the president about his predictions regarding the preservation of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
"He said that he thinks it will be preserved," she said, smiling and admitting she was initially somewhat indifferent about meeting him. "But once I got to talk to him, that was really cool," Cox said.
Sruthi Naidu, a fourth-year political science and history major, was similarly pleased that Clinton advocated relieving more of the debts of Third World countries and tripling foreign aid. "I think a lot of people don't realize the impact that can have," she said, noting that shaking Clinton's hand left her too "awestruck" to ask him a question. "I couldn't think of anything to say."
Clinton's post-speech visit and the festive atmosphere inside Freeborn Hall compensated for not getting to see his lecture in person, attendees said.
"It was extraordinary to see someone who has been holding the fate of the free world in his hands literally rush forward to hold the hands of students, whom he seemed to think were more important than anyone else around him," said Alison Kent, communications director for the Office of Graduate Studies.
"The way he practically gave his secret service agents coronary after coronary as he left the building, seeking out more and more groups of people to connect with, was breathtaking," Kent said. "He just genuinely wants to connect."
For Sports Information Director Mike Robles, who was a speech communcations major, the former president's delivery of the message was just as interesting as the message itself. "He's one of the best communicators of our time, so the chance to listen and watch him communicate was fascinating."
Impressive global perspective
Clinton closed his prior talk at Mondavi by answering questions - on the global AIDS crisis, foreign debt and America's energy consumption - submitted by UC Davis students studying in the university's Washington Center program.
As the crowd streamed out of the Mondavi Center, lecture patrons seemed just as pleased with Clinton's message as they had with his appearance at UC Davis.
"I was so impressed with how he focused on the global problem," said Ann Hafter of Sacramento. "He gave such clean and concise suggestions about things that most people would just throw their hands up at."
With Hafter was her 15-year-old son, Morgan, who came to the Mondavi Center to hear his first talk by a political figure.
"He started at the top," Hafter said.
Megan O'Keeffe, a student at UC Berkeley, and Samantha Rogers, a UC Davis student, said they decided to come to the talk because they share many of the same political views as Clinton. But the friends also learned something during his discussion of international relations, O'Keeffe said.
"His spin -- the way he talked up the role of the United Nations - was something I really hadn't heard before," she said.
Several protesters did stand outside carrying banners and flags. One group's sign asked, "Where are the conservative speakers?" and held up a cardboard cutout of President George W. Bush. Others implored the government to spend money on education, not a war in Iraq.