(Bill )Clinton conference begins at Hofstra

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Amid fanfare and protest, Hofstra University's 11th Presidential Conference analyzing Bill Clinton's eight years in office began Thursday. Opening remarks were given by Clinton's former Chief of Staff Leon Panetta and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
Panetta, who was Clinton's chief of staff from 1994 to 1997, talked about looking forward to the next few days. "It will be good to catch up with some old friends," he told the auditorium crowd during his opening remarks. Panetta referred to his time in the administration as "the good old days."


Albright, who became the highest ranking woman in the history of U.S. government after being appointed by President Clinton, spoke briefly this morning about how proud she was to be a member of the Administration. She also shared some thoughts on the war on terror.
Albright said it was the Clinton administration's desire to catch Osama Bin Laden, noting that they went as far as to place U.S. warships in the gulf region to accomplish the task. After participating in the opening session, Albright ducked into a panel discussing the United States' relationship with the United Nations. She sat in the last row with students.

Separately, a protest organized by members of the Hofstra faculty took place in the student center, protesting the war in Iraq. Faculty members read aloud the names of soldiers killed in the war and called on the Democratic party to act. "Today we have an opportunity to get a message to the two leading figures of the Democratic Party, Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, that this war in Iraq is opposed not only by Democrats, but by the majority of Americans," said David Green, associate professor of political science at Hofstra. "It is time for leadership to actually lead," said Green. Clinton is scheduled to give a speech at the conference today. About a dozen cabinet members and former staffers will speak at the three-day event. About 2,000 people have registered for the conference at the Hempstead campus, which concludes Saturday, university officials said. The university also announced receiving a $1.5-million pledge from Hofstra alumnus and university trustee Peter Kalikow to endow an academic chair in presidential studies.

Beyond the big names from the Clinton administration, about 300 scholars will appear on some 50 panels, which include two on Clinton's impeachment. In addition, 100 scholarly papers have been submitted. Given the wide spectrum of participants and scholarly papers, conference director Eric J. Schmertz, an emeritus professor of the Hofstra Law School, said the forum presented a "balanced" approach to assessing Clinton's presidency. The event "is not intended to be a celebration," he said. "We are not honoring a presidency. We are studying and assessing a presidency through the academic community of scholars." Hofstra began its presidential conferences in 1982, starting with Franklin Delano Roosevelt and continuing with every American president since Roosevelt.

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