CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) – Former President Clinton told 1,700 Harvard University seniors Wednesday that he had a suspicion why he was invited to speak at their Class Day celebration.
“Maybe because you’re about to name Faust president, and I think women should run everything now,” Clinton said in a not-so-veiled reference to his wife, New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Drew Gilpin Faust will take over July 1 as the first female president of Harvard.
Clinton, who served two terms, has been traveling the country to raise money for his wife’s presidential campaign. Before speaking at the annual day-before-commencement celebration at Harvard, Clinton attended a fundraising luncheon in Providence, R.I.
During his speech, he mostly stayed away from politics and urged the graduates to work toward breaking social barriers.
“I believe one of the most important problems is the way people think about each other, that our differences are more important than our humanity, when our humanity is more important than our differences,” he said.
Since his presidency, Clinton established the William J. Clinton Foundation to address world issues that include climate change and childhood obesity. The Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative has expanded access to HIV medications and treatments, and the Clinton Global Initiative addresses world challenges such as poverty and religious conflicts.
He also has worked with former President George H.W. Bush on disaster relief efforts. Clinton told the Harvard seniors his work with Bush was “one of the greatest things I’ve ever done.”
“I love the guy,” he said. “Sorry to all of you hard-core Democrats in the audience, I just do.”
Class Day, held the day before commencement, is a tradition that includes award presentations and singing of the Class Ode, a satirical rendition of the school’s commencement song “Fair Harvard.” Speakers in previous years have included actor Will Ferrell and U2 frontman Bono.
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