Why Am I Telling You This? with Bill Clinton

The Presidency and the People: How to Form a More Perfect Union

In commemoration of Presidents Day, President Bill Clinton traces the evolution of the presidency from America’s founding through modern history and explores how the best presidents used the office to build an America that more closely resembled our highest ideals and aspirations. This special episode, from the original version of “Why Am I Telling You This?”, features President Clinton’s keynote speech from the 2019 Presidential Ideas Festival at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center. For this episode, David Blight, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom” and Professor of American History at Yale University, provides original commentary on President Clinton’s speech. Professor Blight says the speech is a “rare blend of learned history and lived experience... a reminder of what the future of the institution of the presidency can still be.”This episode was originally released in July 2019. Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com">https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com</a>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

President Bill Clinton has always been known for his ability to explain complex issues in a way that makes sense, and for finding a way to connect with everyone he meets. To hear him tell it, this comes from growing up in a family and a culture where storytelling was their entertainment. From a young age, he learned to speak by learning to listen. He found that everyone has a story, and understanding their story is the key to understanding them as people. And if you understand people, it’s easier to make sense of our world. Inspired by this belief, this series will feature conversations with Bill Clinton and some of the most fascinating people of our time—to explore where we’ve been, but more importantly, where we’re going.