Mitt Romney Speaks at the Clinton Global Initiative
Bill Clinton is a Democrat who, as we all know, was President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Mitt Romney as wel also know is the Republican candidate for President in this election. But differing political stripes proved to be no impediment as Clinton invited Romney to speak at the Clinton Global Initiative this morning.
In his speech at former President Clinton's annual global charitable gathering in New York this morning, Romney called for an overhaul of the country’s foreign assistance programs which he said would stimulate economic growth across the developing world. Governor Romney toned down his criticism of President Obama’s foreign policies, but he did include this jab at his opponent, saying, “I will never apologize for America.”
Governor Romney looked for common ground in his 17-minute speech. Clinton delivered a warm introduction of Romney, and after Romney responded with kind words about Clinton, he announced his plans for a “Prosperity Pact” program that he said would link trade policy with development policy to promote investment and entrepreneurship in developing nations. He said: “Nothing we can do as a nation will change lives and nations more effectively and permanently than sharing the insight that lies at the foundation of America’s own economy, and that is that free people pursuing happiness in their own ways build a strong and prosperous nation.”
Under Romney’s foreign aid plan, the government’s foreign aid would be more closely linked to trade policies as well as private investment and corporate partnerships. He said this could “empower individuals, encourage innovators and reward entrepreneurs.” For example, Romney would support new financing structures for small- and medium-size enterprises that are too large to benefit from existing microfinance programs but too small to acquire capital from banks.
Romney did not say that he would cut foreign aid budgets, but he did criticize foreign aid programs for focusing too greatly on delivering social services instead of seeding longer-term reforms and institutional developments to help countries build free-enterprise economies. He said: “A temporary aid package can give an economy a boost. It can fund some projects. It can pay some bills. It can employ some people some of the time. But it can’t sustain an economy, not for the long term. It can’t pull the whole cart, if you will, because at some point the money runs out. But an assistance program that helps unleash free enterprise creates enduring prosperity.”
In the audience were hundreds of international leaders with an interest in continuing robust U.S. foreign assistance programs, including heads of nongovernmental organizations, charities and philanthropic foundations. Former Clinton administration secretary of state Madeline Albright was also present.
Romney also met privately with Clinton and his daughter, Chelsea Clinton, before speaking, according to Rick Gorka, a Romney spokesman. This was a nonpartisan gathering and President Obama is scheduled to address the group later today. But Romney did make one reference to the state of the presidential campaign. After Clinton walked offstage, Romney suggested that the former president was responsible for Obama’s polling lead. “If there’s one thing we’ve learned in this election season, by the way, it’s that a few words from Bill Clinton can do a man a lot of good,” Romney said, drawing laughter from the audience. “All I’ve got to do now is wait a couple of days for that bounce.”
Following is a video of Romney making that joke:
In his speech at former President Clinton's annual global charitable gathering in New York this morning, Romney called for an overhaul of the country’s foreign assistance programs which he said would stimulate economic growth across the developing world. Governor Romney toned down his criticism of President Obama’s foreign policies, but he did include this jab at his opponent, saying, “I will never apologize for America.”
Governor Romney looked for common ground in his 17-minute speech. Clinton delivered a warm introduction of Romney, and after Romney responded with kind words about Clinton, he announced his plans for a “Prosperity Pact” program that he said would link trade policy with development policy to promote investment and entrepreneurship in developing nations. He said: “Nothing we can do as a nation will change lives and nations more effectively and permanently than sharing the insight that lies at the foundation of America’s own economy, and that is that free people pursuing happiness in their own ways build a strong and prosperous nation.”
Under Romney’s foreign aid plan, the government’s foreign aid would be more closely linked to trade policies as well as private investment and corporate partnerships. He said this could “empower individuals, encourage innovators and reward entrepreneurs.” For example, Romney would support new financing structures for small- and medium-size enterprises that are too large to benefit from existing microfinance programs but too small to acquire capital from banks.
Romney did not say that he would cut foreign aid budgets, but he did criticize foreign aid programs for focusing too greatly on delivering social services instead of seeding longer-term reforms and institutional developments to help countries build free-enterprise economies. He said: “A temporary aid package can give an economy a boost. It can fund some projects. It can pay some bills. It can employ some people some of the time. But it can’t sustain an economy, not for the long term. It can’t pull the whole cart, if you will, because at some point the money runs out. But an assistance program that helps unleash free enterprise creates enduring prosperity.”
In the audience were hundreds of international leaders with an interest in continuing robust U.S. foreign assistance programs, including heads of nongovernmental organizations, charities and philanthropic foundations. Former Clinton administration secretary of state Madeline Albright was also present.
Romney also met privately with Clinton and his daughter, Chelsea Clinton, before speaking, according to Rick Gorka, a Romney spokesman. This was a nonpartisan gathering and President Obama is scheduled to address the group later today. But Romney did make one reference to the state of the presidential campaign. After Clinton walked offstage, Romney suggested that the former president was responsible for Obama’s polling lead. “If there’s one thing we’ve learned in this election season, by the way, it’s that a few words from Bill Clinton can do a man a lot of good,” Romney said, drawing laughter from the audience. “All I’ve got to do now is wait a couple of days for that bounce.”
Following is a video of Romney making that joke: